VaPreps 4A All-State Hoops Teams for 2016-17

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

There are a total of 12 honorees 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 4A All-State Basketball Teams for the 2016-17 campaign with bios on each player . . .

4A First Team:
Jordan Miller - Loudoun Valley - Jr.
Greg Parham - Monacan - Sr.
Dom Fragala - John Champe - Sr.
Nick Ball - Loudoun Valley - Sr.
Mason Wang - Jamestown - Sr.
Patrick Robinson - GW-Danville - Sr.

Player of the Year: Jordan Miller (Loudoun Valley)
Coach of the Year: Chad Dawson (Loudoun Valley)

4A Second Team:
Dereon Seabron - Lake Taylor - Jr.
Ryan Jones - Smithfield - Sr.
Evan Wang - Jamestown - Sr.
Joe Bryant - Lake Taylor - Jr.
Anias Saunders - Eastern View - Sr.
Michael Brown - Handley - Jr.

The 6-foot-6 junior small forward gave opponents fits all season long, averaging a team-best 22.9 points per game and converting 129-of-186 free-throws (69.4%) to help the Vikings capture their first ever State Championship. Miller was even more dominant during the State Tournament with averages of 24.7 points, 12.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 58.7% from the field (27-of-46) and 86.4% at the charity stripe (19-for-22).

In the 80-48 rout of Jamestown for the 4A title, Miller finished with 26 points on 11-of-12 shooting from the field, marking the 22nd time in 30 contests that he hit for 20-plus points. The 4A-West Region Player of the Year was certainly a model of consistency, scoring in double-figures every time out - with his lowest output being 12 points in a runaway win over Loudoun County - and eclipsing 30 points on four occasions.

Signed to play his College Hoops at VMI, the versatile 6'4" Parham embraced a larger responsibility during his senior campaign after flying under the radar as a junior that helped the Chiefs win their first state title from the #4 seed. Though Monacan didn't repeat as State Champs, they did return to the State Tournament and won 15 games.

Parham played a vital part in their success, averaging 19.5 points, 5.0 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game to go with 51% shooting from the field on his way to earning 4A-East Region Player of the Year. He converted 70% of his free-throws (83-of-118) and scored in double-figures in every game Monacan played except one.

It was a record-setting season for the 5-foot-11 guard headed to play his College Basketball in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference at Niagara. Fragala went from averaging 18.3 points and five rebounds per game with 67 three-pointers made as a junior, to averaging a whopping 36.9 points per game - tops in all of Virginia, nearly breaking the state record set by former NBA MVP Allen Iverson when he played at Bethel.

That's not all Fragala did; he drained a school-record 91 three-pointers and upped his free-throw percentage from 86.3% the previous year to 87.8% (273-of-311), also setting a state record for foul shots made. Not to mention, the level of consistency Fragala showed was remarkable as his 63 points against Freedom-South Riding in December marked the most by a VHSL player since 1984, plus he scored under 20 points only twice all season with 18 versus Woodgrove and 16 against Mills Godwin.

Though his scoring average took a slight dip from 15.2 points per game as a junior to 13.9PPG as a senior, Ball was an indispensable piece of Loudoun Valley's first ever State Championship team. He sank 52 three-pointers and made 70.4% of his free-throws on a Vikings squad that finished 30-1 overall, plus repeated as 4A-West Region Champs.

Ball didn't disappoint in the State Playoffs either, averaging 18 points, six rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while hitting 55.9% of his field goal attempts and sinking all 12 free-throws. The 6-foot-1 guard who was named First Team All-Region poured in a season-high 25 points in Loudoun Valley's State Tournament semifinal win over GW-Danville.

After a steady junior season in which he averaged 12.3 points per game for an Eagles team that enjoyed a big turnaround from 8-13 to 17-6 overall, Wang took it up another notch this past winter for Jamestown. He averaged a team-best 17.8 points per game along with five boards, four assists and two steals a contest on a squad that finished 27-3 overall.

Without Mason, it's hard to envision Jamestown capturing their first ever regional title, where they beat Bay Rivers District rival Smithfield 65-56 - defeating the Packers for a fourth time - for the crown. One of his best games came in a 66-65 victory over Handley during the State Tournament semifinals when the 5-foot-9 senior guard put up 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 5-for-8 from three-point land.

A key member of three GW-Danville teams that reached the 4A State Tournament Final Four, Robinson led the Eagles in three of the five major statistical categories, plus made more three-pointers and foul shots than anyone else for the Conference 23 Tournament Champs. The versatile 6-foot-2 guard averaged 16.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists and 2.3 steals per game.

Robinson shot a solid percentage as well; he was 165-for-332 (49.7%) on field goals and connected on 105-of-144 (72.9%) free-throws. Simply put, his overall productivity increased and that also showed in going from recording one double-double as a junior to five during his senior campaign while the Eagles finished 22-6 overall.

It was the finest ride of Dawson's coaching career in 2016-17 as his Loudoun Valley squad - which has now notched 20 or more wins in five of the past six seasons - finished 30-1 overall with the program's first ever state title. The dominant fashion that they handled opponents was attention grabbing, too.

The Vikings had 29 victories by double-digits with their closest win coming in the 4A-West Region Championship over Handley, 64-63, marking their second straight regional crown. All three wins for Dawson's bunch in the State Tournament - 83-61 over reigning State Champ Monacan, 75-43 over GW-Danville and 80-48 over Jamestown in the title game - were by more than 20 points.

With the Titans graduating starters Gabe Miller, Amahd Elliott and 1st Team All-State performer Travius Smith (Richard Bland College) from their 4A runner-up squad the season before, it opened the door for Seabron to grow into a more expanded role. The 6-foot-5 junior forward didn't disappoint and in fact flourished with averages of 17.2 points and seven rebounds per game while often leading the team in assists or blocked shots as well.

Seabron's performance was enough to earn him First Team All-Conference and First Team All-Region honors in 4A-East. His ability to facilitate and make plays for himself or teammates enabled the Titans to enjoy a second straight 20-win campaign and repeat as Conference 17 Champs for both the regular season and tourney.

For a second consecutive year, Jones earns a spot on the VaPreps 4A All-State 2nd Team as the Packers followed up a 19-4 campaign with 21 wins compared to just six losses during the 2016-17 season. The 6-foot-tall senior guard scored 1000 points in his decorated Packers career that concluded with the school's first trip to the State Tournament since 1989.

Jones, who'll play College Basketball in-state at Richard Bland next winter, averaged 14.1 points, 2.6 assists and 2.2 steals per game in his senior season at Smithfield. To no surprise, Ryan was chosen First Team All-Region in 4A-East and All-Ironclad Conference 18 First Team.

Part of a dynamic twin backcourt combo at Jamestown, Wang put up 16.2 points per game, second most on an Eagles squad that won its first ever regional title. Evan also averaged six rebounds and three steals per contest in helping Jamestown achieve a school-record 27 victories and trip to the 4A State Championship game.

In pressure situations, nothing seemed to faze Wang, who sank a pair of free-throws with 6.7 seconds left to lift the Eagles to a 65-64 win over Bay Rivers District rival Smithfield for the Ironclad Conference 18 Tournament Championship. Evan was selected as First Team All-Region in 4A-East and shared Ironclad Conference 18 Player of the Year honors with his brother, Mason.

This 6-foot-2 physical, power guard out of Norfolk showed signs of being a playmaker the Titans could depend on for the future as a sophomore and turned in an even more productive junior campaign for a Lake Taylor squad that finished 20-4 overall. Bryant averaged 17 points and six rebounds per game, earning Conference 17 Player of the Year honors.

Also named First Team All-Region in 4A-East, Bryant shined during the Norfolk Scope Holiday Classic, which the Titans won by beating the likes of Cox, Granby - where he scored 29 points - and Tallwood. He was named MVP of the Scope Holiday Classic and in many ways was the heartbeat of a team that won its second straight Conference 17 title.

This 6-foot-2 combo guard followed up a junior campaign where he averaged 16 points, six assists and five rebounds per game for an Eastern View team that went 25-2 overall with a trip to the 4A State Tournament by putting up 19 points, eight boards, six assists and two steals per game. With him leading the way, the Cyclones finished 20-4 overall and repeated as Conference 19 Tournament Champs.

Sanders concluded his Cyclones career as their all-time leading scorer, eclipsing the 1000-point mark during a victory over Culpeper on January 20th. Coaches named him the Conference 19 Player of the Year.

Even though Brown was third on the team in scoring at 10.3 points per game, one shouldn't under estimate the value he had as Handley went 26-3 overall and reached the 4A State Tournament Final Four, their first trip there since 2014. The 5-foot-6 junior point guard was named the Conference 21 Player of the Year as well as First Team All-Region in 4A-West.

Brown proved to be one of the state's most efficient floor generals, converting on 53.4% of his field goal tries (102-of-191), including 55.6% during the State Tournament, and 71.4% at the foul line (85-for-119). He also had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 139-62 while leading the Judges in steals with 53, an average of 1.8 a contest.

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.