The Henrico Warriors have been a model of both consistency and excellence under Head Coach Vance Harmon. In his 13 years on the job, they've posted a record of 284-76 overall with no fewer than 14 wins in any season.

Although the Warriors were denied a third state title in four years this past season, they finished 22-3 overall and saw the great career of one De'Monte Buckingham - named 5A State Player of the Year on three occasions - in a Henrico uniform come to an end. Buckingham will play his College Basketball at the University of Richmond, a place where the new-look Warriors recently went for Team Camp.

With five brad new starters, Henrico won Richmond's Team Camp for the second time in three years, finishing with a 9-1 overall record and beat Chantilly for the Championship.

Harmon was pleased with how this new group - headlined by three reserves from a season ago in Timon Jones, Chris Morris and D'Marco Suggs - responded to the challenge against a quality field of participants.

“It was encouraging to see this core – in particular the likes of Jones, Morris and Suggs – able to step up and take on the leadership role. Those three made big strides for sure," Harmon told VirginiaPreps.com.

"Each one did what they’ve been doing, but did so at a higher level.”

Even though he averaged just three points per game last season as a junior, Morris has what it takes to run a team with a 39-17 assist-to-turnover ratio during the 2015-16 campaign off the bench. With a strong senior campaign, he should start to garner some looks for the next level.

“Chris is the true definition of a facilitating, pass-first point guard who’s always looking to get his teammates set up. You can kind of rest easy as a coach that he will get you into your sets and get the ball to where it needs to be gotten," Harmon noted.

Jones comes from a basketball family. Older brother Timmy Jones starred on Henrico's 2012-13 AAA State Championship winning squad and now plays College Basketball at Virginia Wesleyan. Big things are expected from Timon heading into his junior season.

“Timon’s body has gotten physically stronger and he’s worked on his skills a to," Harmon stated. "He’s been waiting patiently in the wings and we now feel he’s ready to step into that role as being one of the leading scorers not just for us, but probably in the local area as well."

In Suggs, the Warriors have a rare big man to turn to in the paint. Colleges, most notably those at the Division II and Division III level, have really been intrigued with his development over the off-season. His averages of 5.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game from last year have a great chance of doubling next winter.

“Suggs has gotten an inch bigger to where he’s a legitimate 6-6, probably about 230 in a grown man body. But his skill-set has improved and polished that up quite a bit," Harmon commented. "Previously, he was only able to go in one direction, whereas now he can go in multiple directions and to a repertoire of moves that opened his game up."

The Warriors' lone loss in Richmond's Team Camp came before tourney play to Oakton. In tourney play, Oakton's varsity lost in the opening round to St. Christopher's, but the Cougars won the J.V. tourney. James Monroe won the Varsity II bracket.

Chantilly reached the Championship by handing Green Run, which began 9-0 and earned the top seed on the opposite side of the bracket of Henrico, its first loss in the semifinals.

Henrico reached the Championship by besting Patriot in the opening round of tourney play, holding off Eastern View (a 4A State Tournament qualifier last season) in a quarterfinal nail-biter and topping Collegiate in the semifinals.

In addition to the trio of Jones, Morris and Suggs, the Warriors saw some new varsity faces provide valuable contributions throughout the weekend.

Zion Davis, a sturdy 6-foot-2 rising junior, plays alongside Jones on Team Richmond Garner Road's 16-Under squad on the AAU circuit. Davis comes up from junior varsity, where he put up around 12 points and eight rebounds per game last winter.

“He’s a very skilled, hard-worker who’s been getting after it in the weight room," Harmon said.

Another productive newcomer to watch out for is Jo Jo Morris, who arrived at Henrico from Conference 11 rival Hermitage back in March. His presence "definitely solidified the backcourt," in Harmon's eyes.

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say we may be the shortest potential backcourt in the state of Virginia. The two Morris’ are about 5-7 to 5-8, and Jones at 5-10 might be generous," Harmon also noted.

"Those three were fun to watch. We’ve practiced small ball for a while. But this takes small ball to a whole new extreme.”

Two names to also remember that may not be immediatae impact players right away when the 2016-17 season begins, but have the makings to by the end are La'Kye Owens and Mohamed Khamis.

Described by Harmon as a "facilitating, playmaking guard," Owens played the first few games of the Team Camp before straining his hamstring. He'll give them depth in the backcourt. Khamis, who checks in at 6-foot-1, fits in their up-tempo style. His brother runs cross country for VCU and Mohamed is just fine with playing at a fast pace.

Matthew Hatfield serves as State Basketball Analyst for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network, and is a staff writer for Tar Heel Illustrated. Check out Hatfield’s Twitter page for more sports related updates, and you can also read his work in the Suffolk News Herald. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and don’t forget to listen to him every Saturday at 10 AM on ESPN Radio 94.1, plus watch him on the Cox 11 Sports Report.