VaPreps 5A All-State Hoops Teams for 2015-16

VirginiaPreps.com is proud to release our 8th 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 5A All-State Basketball Teams for the 2015-16 campaign with bios on each player . . .

5A First Team:
De'Monte Buckingham - Henrico - Sr.
Jamal Washington - Potomac - Jr.
Charles Falden - L.C. Bird - Sr.
Austin Katstra - Albemarle - Jr.
Jeffrey Gordon - Potomac - Sr.
Jalen Ray - Hampton - Jr.

Player of the Year: De'Monte Buckingham (Henrico)
Coach of the Year: Keith Honore (Potomac)

5A Second Team:
Sterling Carrington - Green Run - Sr.
Jorge Pacheco - Deep Run - Sr.
Kyle Copeland - Tuscarora - Sr.
Johquin 'Pinky' Wiley - L.C. Bird - Jr.
Damontez Oliver - Deep Run - Sr.
Deng Nhial - Wakefield - Sr.

For the third straight year, Buckingham is our choice for VaPreps 5A State Player of the Year. Though this marked the lone season in his career that Henrico didn't play in the State Championship game, he left it all on the floor in the team's 81-73 overtime regional quarterfinal loss to L.C. Bird with 26 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and three blocks.

The University of Richmond recruit became the all-time leading scorer in Henrico County history, ironically passing his Head Coach, Vance Harmon, for top billing. As a senior, Buckingham averaged 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game on a team that went 22-3 overall. Those numbers were actually better than his junior year when he put up 21.5PPG, 9.6RPG and 3.6APG.

In Buckingham's four seasons on varsity, Henrico went 110-13 with a pair of State Championships.

Few players showed as much improvement from one season to the next as Washington, who shared team-high scoring honors with newcomer Jeffrey Gordon on a Potomac squad that captured its second State Championship in three years. Folks took notice and it resulted in him being named First Team All-State by the VHSL along with First Team All-Region.

Washington went from averaging 5.9 points and 0.7 assists per game as a sophomore to 12.5 points and 2.2 assists a contest during his junior year. Additionally, the 6-foot-2 guard averaged 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, but best of all, shot 79% from the field with averages of 6.7 boards and 2.3 steals per game in the State Tournament.

Even though the Skyhawks fell to Potomac 67-61 in the 5A State Championship, Falden left a great impression on those that watched the game as he scored 35 points with 19 in a row at one point during the fourth quarter to trim a 17-point deficit down to just two late. He was a no-brainer First Team All-State selection and shared 5A-South Region Player of the Year honors with the aforementioned De'Monte Buckingham of Henrico.

Also named the Conference 12 Player of the Year, Falden averaged 16.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Even better was the efficiency in which he got it all done, converting 50% of his field goals (182-of-364), 45% of three-point attempts (35-of-78) and 74% at the charity stripe (61-for-82).

Before this season, the last time that Albemarle reached the State Tournament Final Four was 1966. In the Patriots' 65-54 win over Hampton at Old Dominion University, Katstra was a big reason why his team advanced with 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting, 14 rebounds and a pair of blocks.

Another memorable moment for the 6-foot-5 junior forward came in the Eighth Annual VirginiaPreps.com Classic at J.R. Tucker High School when he had a buzzer-beating dunk to lift his team past Conference 12 Tournament Champ Varina. Named Conference 16 Player of the Year and First Team All-Region, Katstra averaged 14.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game while making 58% of his field goal tries.

Gordon, who arrived at Potomac from Evangel Christian, scored 16 points for the Panthers in their State Championship win over L.C. Bird. Furthermore, the 6-foot-3 senior forward shared team-high scoring honors with Jamal Washington at 12.5 points per game.

To go with that, Gordon averaged 4.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. His numbers really didn't dwindle in the postseason either, averaging 12.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in the State Tournament. Gordon was chosen as the VHSCA State Player of the Year in 5A as well as 5A-North Region Player of the Year and Conference 15 POY.

The junior guard delivered time and time again for the Crabbers with averages of 23 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.3 steals and 3.2 assists per game. His steady influence allowed Hampton to re-group from a 6-6 start and win 12 of their next 14 contests to earn a trip to the State Tournament.

Besides being tabbed First Team All-State by both the VHSL and VHSCA and All-Region First Team, Ray was named the PenSouth Conference Player of the Year. Even in his team's State Tournament quarterfinal loss to Albemarle, he did his part to keep Hampton in it with 31 points, six rebounds and three assists.

For the second time in three years, Honore hoisted the 5A State Championship trophy and did so defeating a Richmond area team. In 2014, they beat reigning State Champ. This year they won the crown over 5A-South Region Champ L.C. Bird. His Panthers posted a record of 27-2 overall and did something that they didn't two years ago, which was beat Wakefield for the 5A-North Region Championship.

A 1992 graduate of Potomac, Honore has guided his alma mater to three consecutive trips to the State Final Four at VCU. Over the past six seasons, he's won 135 of 159 games and that featured a 15-game winning streak to close out the 2015-16 campaign.

In the four years that Carrington was on varsity, Green Run went 83-20 overall - a record that really was only bettered at the 5A level by teams that won state titles during that span (i.e. Henrico and Potomac). The Atlantic Conference 9 Player of the Year was the driving force in the Stallions starting out 19-0 overall, marking the Virginia Beach school's longest winning streak since winning 21 consecutive in 1987-88.

Carrington posted 17 double-doubles as a senior, earning First Team All-Region honors and Second Team All-State recognition by both the VHSCA and VHSL. The 6-foot-5 forward averaged 12.7 points per game, 11.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.6 blocks per game as the Stallions ran the table in Conference 9 with both regular season and tournament titles.

Since coming to Deep Run from Puerto Rico, Pacheco has scored 1097 career points. The Liberty University commit averaged 18.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.2 steals per game Wildcats team that made its first ever State Tournament appearance. That included a school-record 23 victories, one of which was when they beat defending State Champ Henrico to end the Warriors' 33-game winning streak.

Pacheco shot 48% from the field (167-of-345) and 44% from three-point range (62-of-141) while also converting 86% of his free-throws (126-of-147).

Tuscarora enjoyed a school-record 21 wins during the 2015-16 campaign and was the lone 5A program in the entire state of Virginia not to suffer a regular season loss. Copeland's scoring ability and consistency was a huge reason why as he averaged 20 points per game, drained 56 three-pointers and made almost 80% of his free-throws (86-of-108).

On four occasions, Copeland scored 30-plus points and two of those times came against teams that were in the Top Ten of the state rankings - Wakefield and Stone Bridge. To no surprise, the 6-foot-4 wing was selected as Conference 14 Player of the Year as well as First Team All-State by the VHSCA and First Team All-Region.

While the season averages for Wiley don't seem all that overwhelming - 10.5 points, 5.2 assists and 2.1 steals per game while shooting 47% from the field (111-of-235) - you'd be hard-pressed to find a point guard that meant as much to his team's success. Bird went 25-3 overall and reached the State Championship game for the first time since 2011.

Wiley tallied 12 points, seven assists and no turnovers in the Skyhawks' 81-73 overtime win over a Henrico team that had eliminated them from the playoffs each of the three previous years. He then proceeded to hit the game-clinching free-throws in their 5A-South Region Championship win over Hampton, followed by a double-double of 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 11 assists in the State Tournament quarterfinals vs. Potomac Falls.

Able to score it both on the drive and from behind the arc, Oliver gave the Wildcats a mismatch advantage on the wing position that enabled them to achieve a school-record 23 wins. The Campbell University signee was chosen both First Team All-Region in 5A-South and All-Conference 11 First Team.

Oliver averaged 12.5 points and a team-best 5.6 rebounds per game, plus shot 55% inside the arc (94-of-171), 37% behind it (37-of-99) and hit 81% of his free-throws (51-for-63).

This senior forward started in all 28 games for the Warriors and helped them earn their third State Tournament Final Four spot in four years. Nhial, who shared Player of the Year honors in Capitol Conference 13 with George Marshall's Chase Barrand, scored 373 points for an average of 13.3 per game.

In addition, Nhial shot 51.3 on shots inside the arc (51.3%), made 91-of-146 free-throws (62.3%) and averaged 4.4 rebounds per game. The First Team All-Region selection also averaged 2.6 blocks, 2.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game, plus drew 10 charges.

Matthew Hatfield serves as State Basketball Analyst for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network. 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, plus watch him on the Cox 11 Sports Report.