John Marshall Wins Hampton Roads Fall League M Division
A State Tournament fixture, the John Marshall Justices have made five trips to the Final Four at VCU since 2008. Furthermore, the Richmond-based program that last won a state title in 2014 has gone 135-31 over the past six years under Head Coach Ty White.
Don't look for the winning to slow down any time soon. The Justices captured the title of the M Division in the Hampton Roads Fall League held weekly in September and October at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton.
John Marshall was 6-4 before the Fall League's playoffs, then beat the likes of Deep Creek (50-35), Western Branch (46-41), Green Run (45-38) and Jamestown (65-58) to capture the Championship. Their final two wins, over Green Run in the semis and Jamestown in the Championship, saw them rally from slim second half deficits.
Pacing the John Marshall was senior forward Greg Jones, who averaged 18 points per game in the playoffs of the Fall League. Jones - considering to play his College Basketball at East Carolina, Hofstra, James Madison, Marshall and Penn State - tallied a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds in the win over the Eagles for the title.
Jones wasn't the only Division I prospect that made an impact for the Justices. They got steady play from the likes of junior newcomer Audiese Toney, sophomores Levar Allen and DeMarr McRae, and freshman phenom Isaiah Todd.
McRae scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half of their Championship victory over Jamestown, slashing to the hoop consistently. Allen, physical style of guard, scored 13 points against Deep Creek, while Toney used his length and size to give perimeter players at the guard and wing spots trouble.
Toney had 13 points and six boards against Jamestown. Todd, a 6-foot-9 forward with a skill-set that's extremely advanced for his age, had double-digit scoring efforts of 14 points against Western Branch and 12 versus Jamestown. The ninth grader with an offer from Kansas already also grabbed six rebounds and swatted away two shots in the Championship.
Video Interview - John Marshall Coach Ty White
Matthew Hatfield has covered football and basketball since 2004 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.