8th Annual VaPreps Hoops Classic

The state's premier High School Basketball event is back! It's the Eighth Annual VirginiaPreps.com Basketball Classic Presented by Cox Sports.

A showcase that has become can't miss for fans all across the Commonwealth returns with 12 intriguing matchups over two Saturdays in January sure to have those in attendance on the edge of their seats.

All of the action gets underway on Saturday, January 9, 2016 at J.R. Tucker High School in Richmond, VA, beginning at Noon with the final game set to tip-off at approximately 8:45 PM.

Day 2 will be on Saturday, January 23, 2016 at Green Run High School in Virginia Beach, VA, also beginning at Noon and concluding with the final game tipping around 8:45 PM as well.

An estimated 65 next-level prospects will be participating in the event, including 30 athletes who are projected to go on to play Division I College Basketball. Of the 24 teams, 20 have been ranked in a Top 10 poll at some point during the season. Also, 11 of the 24 teams that are set to play in the Classic will be doing so for the first time, bringing some new flavor to this prestigious event.

"We're excited to have another deep, talented crop of teams and players for the 8th Annual Classic. Every year, we feel like this event gets better and better. This might be our best lineup yet," stated Event Organizer Matthew Hatfield.

"The idea behind this event has always been to put together competitive matchups and I think we've got a good variety of public school and private school programs from around Virginia playing. We like for it to have sort of that All-Star type of feel or what you may see in the State Tournament, which should be the case with numerous next-level players participating and squads that are highly ranked in their respective divisions."

Below is a schedule with information on some of the teams and players that will be in the VirginiaPreps.com Classic . . .

General Admission Day of Event: $10

General Admission Day of Event for Kids Ages 18 & Under: $5

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This year's nightcap features a Paul VI team that was rated as high #20 nationally in one poll to begin the season. Their talent-rich roster features five-star forward V.J. King, who's ranked #24 in the Class of 2016 by Rivals.com and headed to play his College Basketball at Louisville. Currently teammate Corey Manigault, a three-star forward signed with Pittsburgh, will be a future ACC rival of King's.

The star power doesn't end there for Paul VI as the Panthers have some promising underclassmen. Class of 2017 point guard Aaron Thompson is rated #140 overall nationally by Rivals.com and holds at least 13 offers. Another junior, 6-foot-6 forward Myles Douglas, holds a dozen offers. Four-star swingman Brandon Slater from the Class of 2018 holds offers from the likes of Louisville, Maryland, Miami (FL) and Virginia Tech among others.

Paul VI will take on the Green Run Stallions, the host school playing in the nightcap for the first time in their building for this event. They began the season ranked #2 in the state in Group 5A and opened with a 10-0 record, giving up the fewest points per game in 5A during that stretch. The Stallions boast a trio of All-Conference performers with 6-foot-5 senior forward Sterling Carrington, 6-foot-2 junior guard DeShaun Wade and 6-foot-6 junior center Emonni Wood. A Second Team All-State pick as a sophomore, Wade holds an offer from Maryland-Eastern Shore.

Before Green Run and Paul VI square off, Cape Henry and Norcom will face each other in a much anticipated showdown of teams that have been ranked #1 and #2 in the Virginian-Pilot rankings all season long. Between them, the two programs have won a combined six state titles over the past six years with Norcom capturing four and Cape Henry winning a pair.

Cape Henry, which beat a nationally-ranked Huntington Prep (WV) team at the buzzer in the Chance Harman Classic, is led by the trio of Class of 2017 point guard Malik Marrow, Class of 2016 wing Malcolm Weathers and freshman Dajour Rucker. Already, the 6-foot-5 Rucker has pulled in an offer from Hampton University. The Dolphins returned from the Chance Harman with a record of 120-13 in their last 133 games.

Norcom, which closed out the calendar year of 2015 on an 18-game winning streak, is ranked #1 in the VirginiaPreps.com 3A Top Ten. The Greyhounds are looking for a third straight state title and boast one of the most potent trios in all of Virginia with Class of 2016 point guard Travis Fields, Class of 2017 sharp shooter Kevin 'K.J.' Davis and junior guard Travis Ingram.

Listed at 6-foot-6, Davis has offers from Bethune-Cookman, Hampton, Hofstra, Norfolk State and Old Dominion. Ingram holds offers from Bethune-Cookman, Coppin State, Hofstra and Norfolk State. Fields, the 4A State Player of the Year last winter, has an offer from D-2 Mount Olive (NC).

In the nightcap on January 9th, defending Group 5A State Champ Henrico takes on a Lake Taylor team that opened the season ranked #1 in the state in Group 4A. If still unbeaten by the time this one tips, Henrico will bring a 31-game winning streak into this game. Last year, the Warriors rallied from 16 points down to beat Norview - who they later defeated for the state title - in the VirginiaPreps.com Classic at Virginia Wesleyan College. Headlining Henrico's attack is three-star wing De'Monte Buckingham, a two-time State Player of the Year in Group 5A who will play his College Basketball for the hometown Richmond Spiders. Helping Buckingham are point guard Gus Rowland, who holds an offer from Bryant University, and forward Richard Sanders, a transfer from George Wythe who has been offered by North Carolina A&T.

Lake Taylor brought back almost its entire team from last season's squad that finished 19-6 overall and reached the regional semifinals. Their catalyst is high-flying senior small forward Travius Smith, a Second Team All-State performer.

There will be no shortage of college-ready talent on the floor when Blue Ridge takes on John Marshall. Blue Ridge has one of the most sought after recruits in the Class of 2017 in four-star forward Aamir Simms, ranked #107 in the nation by Rivals.com. To go with him, the Barons bring two others that have already finalized their college plans in three-star swingman Scott Spencer and three-star point guard Malik Johnson. Spencer is a Clemson recruit, while Johnson has signed with Canisius.

John Marshall, which is only two seasons removed from winning the Group 3A state title, has one of the deadliest three-point shooters in Virginia in Jeremy Sheppard, who has signed with Central Florida. Junior forward Greg Jones, an MVP recipient in last year's VaPreps Classic victory over Landstown, has a list of suitors that includes Hampton, Longwood, Richmond and UNC-Greensboro.

There's plenty of anticipation for the Bethel-L.C. Bird matchup, especially now that Dajour Dickens has returned to Bethel after a brief stint at the Miller School. A four-star prospect, Dickens is a 6-foot-11 center rated #91 in the country by Rivals.com for the Class of 2017.

Around Dickens are some quality players in the Bethel rotation, such as junior guard Cam Bacote, who has offers from the likes of Hampton, Howard, IUPUI, Mount St. Mary's and Old Dominion, and sharp shooter Kyle Foster, who has been offered by Howard and Maryland-Eastern Shore.

L.C. Bird, which has made it to the regional semifinals each of the last four seasons and enters ranked #3 in the state in Group 5A in the week leading up to their date with Bethel at the VaPreps Classic, presents one of the most dangerous perimeter trios around.

Three-star Skyhawks guard Mario Haskett holds over a dozen offers with Cincinnati, Minnesota, Providence, VCU and Virginia Tech on that list. Another Class of 2017 prospect, point guard Johquin 'Pinky' Wiley, has been offered by Longwood and James Madison. Senior Charles Falden recently picked up a D-2 offer from Virginia Union.

The Westfield-Woodside matchup could turn out to be the best game of either day. Westfield opened the season ranked #1 in the state in Group 6A. The Bulldogs lost in last year's 6A State Championship. Meanwhile, Woodside opened the season ranked #2 in the state in Group 6A.

Westfield forward Tyler Scanlon, a three-star recruit headed to Boston University, will go up against another one of the state's top players at his position in three-star Chris Orlina, who averaged 33 points per game through the season's first five contests. Two of the premier point guards in the Class of 2016 also will go head-to-head in Westfield's Blake Francis and three-star Devante Carter of Woodside.

In the 3:30 PM matchup at Green Run, it'll be Landstown taking on defending 3A State Champ George Wythe. Landstown has been to the State Tournament Final Four each of the past two years and bring in a pair of All-Conference candidates in the backcourt with Maurice Jones and Daryus Evans as well as freshman 6-foot-5 forward Michael Christmas, a potential D-1 prospect.

George Wythe counters with one of the state's most dynamic playmakers in point guard Maliek White, a Providence signee. Rated #125 nationally by Rivals.com in the Class of 2016, White was the 3A State Player of the Year last season for the Bulldogs.

Old Dominion recruit Xavier Green headlines the Williamsburg Christian vs. James Monroe matchup on January 9th at J.R. Tucker. Another player bound to play his College Hoops in-state for a D-1 program is Donald Hicks, who has signed with Radford and will lead Oscar Smith against C.D. Hylton in a matchup of two highly-rated teams in Group 6A.

Oscar Smith has won its first ten games of the season to ascend to the #1 ranking in 6A, while C.D. Hylton, which opened the season #3 in the rankings and moved all the way up to #1 during December, counters with a prolific wing player of their own in Jerry Carter, signed to play for D-2 Mount Olive in North Carolina.

Some of the standouts to watch out for include Albemarle's Austin Katstra, Nansemond River's Josh Covington, Kellam's Noah Singer and Smithfield's Ryan Jones.

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