The 10th Annual VirginiaPreps.com Basketball Classic brings you Session 2 at Green Run High School in Virginia Beach on Saturday, January 27, 2018.
Schedule for the 10th Annual VaPreps Classic at Green Run HS on Sat. Jan. 27, 2018: [records going into 1/26/18]
11:00 AM - Cox (9-2) vs. Churchland (10-6)
12:40 PM - Henrico (9-5) vs. Kellam (11-3)
2:20 PM - Oscar Smith (10-2) vs. Patriot (11-5)
4:00 PM - Norcom (5-8) vs. Stonewall Jackson-Manassas (11-6)
5:40 PM - Phoebus (12-2) vs. Loudoun Valley (15-1)
7:20 PM - Maury (14-1) vs. Blue Ridge (13-5)
9:00 PM - Green Run (11-3) vs. Cape Henry (8-6)
The Champs Are Here:
Three schools that won a state title last season will be playing in Session 2 of the 10th Annual VirginiaPreps.com Basketball Classic on Saturday at Green Run High School with Blue Ridge (VISAA Division II), Loudoun Valley (Group 4A from Purcellville) and Norcom (4-time defending State Champs out of Portsmouth).
Future Champs?
Oscar Smith (6A), Maury, Green Run (5A) and Phoebus (3A) are all ranked in the Top 5 in the state in their respective divisions. Each will be in action in Saturday's VaPreps Classic as well as five other programs that have appeared in the Virginian-Pilot's Top 10 at some point during the season - Cape Henry, Churchland, Cox, Kellam and Norcom.
Maury makes its first appearance in the event since 2013 when the Commodores defeated T.C. Williams 42-37 at Virginia Wesleyan. They also beat Potomac in 2012.
Oscar Smith has won its past two appearances at the Classic - rallying from second half deficits to topple Varina last year and Landstown on a game-winner from Donald Hicks (Radford) in 2016.
Green Run is 5-4 all-time at the Classic.
Bucket Getters:
There will be four 1000-point scorers playing in the event in Antwan Miles of Phoebus, George Mason signee Jordan Miller from Loudoun Valley, Cape Henry forward Dajour Rucker and Liberty signee Darius McGhee from Blue Ridge.
2-Sport Standouts:
Some talented two-sport standouts will be participating in this year's VaPreps Classic with Tayvion Robinson of Cox, Patriot big man Jakai Moore and Oscar Smith guard BriQuan Harrell. All have excelled on the football field with Robinson and Moore at or approaching double-digit scholarship offers. Robinson scored 29 points in last year's VaPreps Classic win over Norview, a total bettered by only two players in the event's 10-year history - Lake Taylor's Jalen Jordan with 38 points earlier this month in a win over L.C. Bird and Kecoughtan's Rajay Bullock (now of Providence) witjh 31 points five years ago.
More on the Matchups: Capsules
11 AM - Cox vs. Churchland ... Both teams were riding nice win streaks before recent setbacks; Cox falling to NSA over the weekend and Churchland losing to Maury last week. Nonetheless, this matchup offers intrigue with a contrast of styles as Cox boasts one of the better perimeter attacks in the area with sharp shooter Kavon James (13.9PPG), sophomore Jordan Lewis (13.4PPG), Keshawn Lewis and Tayvion Robinson (11PPG). Keshawn Lewis had a triple-double earlier in the season.
Meanwhile, Churchland counters with nice size, led by a pair of 6'5" senior forwards in Dallas Wilson and Resean White, as well as a strong perimeter defender on the wing in Rontre Pope, an MVP recipient at the Reebok Crossover Showcase a month ago.
12:40 PM - Kellam vs. Henrico ... The Knights take on a perennial Richmond power in Henrico, which won state titles in 2013 and 2015. Henrico, led by senior guard Timon Jones (18PPG, 6APG) - who holds an offer from Longwood - is 3-0 all-time in the VaPreps Classic. Kellam is 5-1 at the event. Junior guard Josh Talbert (17.9PPG) is the primary offensive weapon for the Knights, but they are far from a one-man show. Tyler Carroll, Colin Lee and Christian Holcomb also contribute heavily to their success. Cline scored 22 points in last year's Classic triumph over Louisa, while Carroll is averaging over four blocked shots per game.
2:20 PM - Oscar Smith vs. Patriot ... Earlier this season, Patriot had a 16-point lead against Western Branch before falling to the undefeated Bruins 98-96 in overtime. Jay Villani scored 25 points with five three-pointers in that game. Patriot also has a dangerous shooter in Drake Marshall along with two-sport football standouts in Ike Onwuka and Jakai Moore, a burly 6-foot-6, 290 pounds. Oscar Smith has the length and strength to match them inside with 6'7" senior center Nyzaiah Chambers, one of the area's top big men, to go with BriQuan Harrell (18PPG) and Andre Bottoms on the outside.
4 PM - Norcom vs. Stonewall Jackson ... After a 8-2 start, the Raiders have dropped four of their past five. Stonewall Jackson is led by D-1 Presbyterian commit Jordan Gibson, who is averaging 17.8 points per game. The Raiders have for other players averaging 9.5 points per game or more, including 6'0" senior guard Antonio Warner (11.5PPG, 4.4APG, 4.3RPG).
Even though it has been somewhat of a re-building season for the Greyhounds, one can never count out a Leon Goolsby coached team. Senior guard Darien Allison is one of the holdovers from their defending state title winning team, while sophomore Donnell Langford has shown promise, scoring 32 points earlier in the season in a victory over Wilson.
5:40 PM - Phoebus vs. Loudoun Valley ... Fans of Lake Taylor may be interested to check out Loudoun Valley as the two could be on a collison course for the playoffs. Loudoun Valley, the defending Group 4A State Champions who are ranked #1 in the state in Class 4 and #4 in the Washington Post, suffered their lone loss to Conway, one of the top ranked teams in South Carolina.
The Vikings feature four double-figure scorers in Jordan Miller (17.6PPG), Mark Melbourne (12.1PPG), Jalen Williams (11.9PPG) and Dominic Peterson (10.6PPG). Phoebus, which has only lost twice all season to Green Run and Heritage, is averaging a whopping 77.6 points per game. Putting up more than 20 a contest is senior guard Antwan Miles, who holds offers from MEAC members Hampton, Howard and Maryland-Eastern Shore.
7:20 PM - Maury vs. Blue Ridge ... This has the makings of a high-scoring battle as Maury averages 72.1 points per game, while Blue Ridge has made 149 three-pointers this season The Barons - who won the VISAA Division II State Championship last March - are led by three double-digit scorers in Liberty University signee Darius McGhee (20PPG, 59 3's), Sardaar Calhoun (14PPG) and Myles Jones (11.9PPG). Balance has been the key for Maury under first-year coach Brandon Plummer. The Commodores have seen seven different players - Bryan Phillips (17.3PPG), Chase Coleman, Matthew Mensia, Jason Price, Lamont Edmonds, Clarence Rupert and Dasmon Wright - score in double-figures this season.
9:00 PM - Green Run vs. Cape Henry ... It's the first ever meeting between Green Run and Cape Henry under their respective coaches; Kenny Harris of the Stallions and Mark Hall with the Dolphins. They are the two winningest programs in Hampton Roads over the past six seasons in terms of winning percentage at the public school and private school levels, making this initial encounter all the more interesting to see who comes out on top.
Pacing the Stallions are junior Ashley James (18.1PPG) and senior Shawn Sanders (16.5PPG, 10.5RPG). Cape Henry counters with do-it-all forward Dajour Rucker and emerging freshman Christian Moore, who scored 18 points in a recent win over Benedictine. Both Sanders and Rucker were All-Tidewater selections last winter.
TICKETS:
General Admission: $10
Kids Ages 18 & Under: $5
* Save $2 by e-mailing tickets@matthewhatfield.com before Saturday.
Reserved Ticket: $8
Reserve Ticket for Kids Ages 18 & Under: $3
