VirginiaPreps.com is proud to release our 9th Annual All-State Basketball Teams.

There are a total of 12 honors with six players, including a Player of the Year, for First Team and six more on the Second Team.

So what are the factors that go into the choices that are made? All selections are made by me with no consultation of the coaches simply because that’s what the VHSCA Teams are designed for in my opinion. However, we try to study individual statistics (some supplied by coaches upon request) as well as factor into the equation team success and overall impact.

Once everything is weighed, we try to blend it all together and make the best choices possible, even though there’s no such thing as a perfect team or right and wrong picks.

It’s never an easy process because there are always many deserving players who don’t get recognized on First or Second Team.

Without further ado, here’s the VirginiaPreps.com 1A All-State Basketball Teams for the 2016-17 campaign with bios on each player . . .

1A First Team:
Quinton Morton-Robertson - Radford - Soph.
Malik Johnson - George Wythe - Sr.
Stuart Anderson - Mathews - Sr.
Alec Anderson - Honaker - Sr.
Alex Peterson - Essex - Sr.
James Coleman - Lancaster - Sr.

Player of the Year: Quinton Morton-Robertson (Radford)
Coach of the Year: Rick Cormany (Radford)

1A Second Team:
Luke Lawson - Eastside - Jr.
Noah Atwood - George Wythe - Jr.
Josh McClure - Altavista - Sr.
Cameron Kestner - Chilhowie - Sr.
Miles Jones - Radford - Jr.
Calvin Henderson - Lancaster - Jr.

An unflappable conductor of Radford's attack, Morton-Robertson averaged a team-best 20.4 points per game on 48.4% shooting from the field (200-of-413) while also shooting 80.1% from the free-throw line (125-of-156) and 44.2% from long distance (68-for-154). The 5-foot-6 sophomore point guard was the lone double-figure scorer on average for a Bobcats team that finished 26-5 overall, repeating as Group 1A State Champs.

In the State Tournament, Morton-Robertson raised his game to another level as he averaged 25.7 points per game and shot a blistering 52.6% from behind the arc with a monster performance of 29 points in the state title game victory over George Wythe. His season-high, 46 points, came against 3A-West Region Tournament qualifier Blacksburg. Besides scoring at a greater clip than during his freshman season, the 1A-West Region Player of the Year had 87 rebounds, 82 assists and a team-high 67 steals.

Signed to play his College Hoops at Division II Concord University in West Virginia, Johnson is a repeat selection for First Team All-State recognition as he averaged a team-high 16.9 points per game along with 4.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game for a Maroons team that finished 25-3 overall. He was the top offensive threat each of the past two seasons as George Wythe made it to the State Tournament final Four, and this year the title game.

Johnson filled the stat sheet in the 1A Championship game loss to Radford with 18 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals, plus was quite accurate from the foul line throughout that entire State Tournament in converting 78.9% of his attempts. The Mountain West Conference 46 Player of the Year closed out his Wythe career with 1528 points and 459 assists, placing second in both departments in school history.

The son of Stuart Anderson - former UVA standout and NFL player - opened eyes a season ago with a 27-point effort against King & Queen in the Conference 42 Tournament, plus a 30-point output in a regional playoff loss to Altavista, but he was even better and more consistent during his senior campaign. Without the 6-foot-2 senior forward, the Blue Devils don't win 21 games and qualify for the State Playoffs.

Anderson Jr. picked up Player of the Year honors for the Tidewater District, Conference 42 and the 1A-East Region he led Mathews in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots. As a senior, he eclipsed the 1000-point barrier for his career with one of his best performances coming in the regional quarterfinals to secure the Blue Devils a State Tournament. That night, he scored 28 points - 13 in the first period alone - in a 62-43 rout of Riverheads.

This 6-foot-4 forward transferred to the Tigers from Christiansburg and immediately made an impact on his way to being named the Crooked Road Conference 47 Player of the Year. Anderson averaged 20.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 5.7 blocks per game while also earning First Team All-Region recognition.

Consistency was a big part of Anderson's game, too. He also made 54% of his field goal tries (207-of-383), knocked down 56 three-pointers and scored in double-figures in all but two of his team's 29 contests. With Anderson leading the way, Honaker went 24-5 overall, won the Black Diamond District regular season and tourney titles, and earned a third straight State Tournament appearance.

Using his height at 6-foot-6 to control the painted area, Peterson was one of the best front-court players in all of 1A as he led Essex to a 20-6 record that culminated in the program's first State Tournament Final Four trip since 2013. The senior center for the Trojans averaged 13.2 points and 11 rebounds per game en route to First Team All-Region and All-Conference 43 honors.

Peterson had some outstanding performances throughout the postseason for the 1A-East Region Champions. That included 20 points and 11 rebounds in the Conference 43 Tournament Championship against Lancaster, 18 points in a re-match with the Red Devils in the region title game, and a double-double of 11 points and 14 boards in the State Tournament quarterfinals against Eastside.

A 5-foot-10 senior and two-sport athlete that also served as Lancaster's starting quarterback in football, Coleman was a major component that helped the Red Devils reach the 1A State Tournament Final Four round for a second consecutive year. His three-point shooting and scoring ability from all areas on the floor was noticeable for coaches to name him Rappahannock River Conference 43 Player of the Year as well as First Team All-Region.

Coleman tore it up in the State Tournament quarterfinals against Honaker, tallying 29 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field, 3-of-5 from long distance and grabbed eight rebounds in a 75-66 win. He also hit a buzzer-beater against Northern Neck District rival Colonial Beach and tallied 23 points in a regional quarterfinal triumph over Franklin.

Despite losing five seniors and three starters from the 2015-16 State Championship winning team, Cormany's Bobcats managed to repeat and did so with three sophomores in the lineup. They re-grouped from a 4-4 start to win 22 of their final 23 games with a 61-60 victory over George Wythe giving the program its fifth state title since 2009.

Corman - who has also had coaching stops at Rocky Gap and Grayson County - now has 635 wins in his decorated coaching career. His Radford squad joined L.C. Bird (Group 5A) and Loudoun Valley (4A) as the lone VHSL teams this year to win titles at the conference tournament, regional and state levels.

A 6-foot-7 junior forward who can be effective near or away from the basket, Lawson was chosen as the Cumberland Conference 48 Player of the Year while helping lead the Spartans to a 20-9 overall record. That included a second straight State Tournament appearance and another Cumberland Conference 48 Tournament crown after two-time Conference Player of the Year Derrick Cusano graduated.

Also chosen First Team All-Region in 1A-West, Lawson raised his sophomore season averages of six points and four rebounds per contest to 13 points, nine boards and three assists a game during the 2016-17 campaign. His ability to score away from the basket, put the ball on the floor and block shots made him one of the more well-rounded performers in all of 1A.

Selected First Team All-Region and All-Mountain West Conference 46 First Team, Atwood made a difference on a Maroons squad that finished 25-3 overall and reached the State Championship game for the first time since 2008. The 6-foot-2 junior guard averaged 14.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 50.8% from the field, 44% behind the arc and 85% at the charity stripe.

Big moments and games didn't faze Atwood either. In fact, he embraced those opportunities, such as recovering from a sprained ankle that forced him to miss the final two regular season games by piling up 22 points in a 57-53 triumph over Chilhowie in the Mountain West Conference 46 Tournament Championship. He averaged 14.3 points per game during the State Playoffs while converting 92.3% of his free-throws and committing just two turnovers over 12 quarters of basketball.

Named the Conference 44 Player of the Year and First Team All-Region in 1A-East, McClure made it possible for Altavista to earn their fifth consecutive State Tournament appearance. The 6-foot-3 senior forward led the Colonels in scoring with 312 points and rebounds with 231, averages of 12 points and 8.9 boards a contest.

McClure entered the State Tournament having scored 196 points in the paint, second most on the Colonels, as well as a team-best 83 points outside the painted area to go with 35 assists, 28 blocks and 22 steals. Maybe the best thing is that for the Colonels went 88-18 overall during his career, winning a pair of state titles in that stretch along with four Conference 44 Tournament crowns.

Headed to play his College Basketball at Emory & Henry, Kestner concluded a prolific Chilhowie career with 1105 points, a school-record 436 assists, 434 rebounds and 134 steals. The 6-foot-4 senior averaged 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals per game while leading the Warriors to a 21-7 overall recorded that included a regional playoff berth.

A four-year starter at Chilhowie, Kestner was named First Team All-Mountain West Conference 46 for a second straight season. He was also chosen 1A-West First Team All-Region and participated in the VHSCA All-Star Game.

Known by many coming into the season as the son of Radford University Head Coach Mike Jones and younger brother of Bucknell's Nate Jones, Miles made his own mark by averaging 9.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, plus led the Bobcats in defensive rebounds with 116. He also shot 55.4% from the field (123-of-222) and finished with 62 assists and 34 steals

The 6-foot-5 sophomore forward raised his game up a notch during the State Tournament, posting 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go with four rebounds and three assists in the quarterfinal rout of Mathews. In their State Championship win over George Wythe, he had 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, draining both of his three-point tries while also tallying six rebounds and a pair of blocks.

For a second straight year, Lancaster reached the State Tournament Final Four and Henderson was a big reason why they accomplished that, finishing with a record of 20-5 overall and capturing the Conference 43 Tournament title. The 6-foot-2 guard turned forward often supplied energy and hustle on the defensively as well as excitement in the form of highlight reel plays on the offensive end.

Henderson had 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and three blocks in the State Tournament semifinal loss to Radford. He grabbed 11 rebounds in the Conference 43 Championship win over Essex. His impact went beyond the stat sheet though, which is why he was chosen First Team All-Region and All-Conference as a junior.

Matthew Hatfield serves as Publisher for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network, and is a regular contributor to the ACC Sports Journal. 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 10AM on ESPN Radio 94.1.