The Crimson Wave have been as good as advertised, maybe better. Virginia Tech

commit Cadarian Raines, Chris Evans and Du'Vaughn Maxwell have played strong in

the front-court while guards Drejon Scott and Chris Moore have proved to be

steady complements to Petersburg's superior size and interior play. Two big

tests loom with Highland Springs on Saturday, Jan. 17 in the William Lawson

Classic and then against reigning Eastern Region Champion Bethel in the

VirginiaPreps Invitational at Virginia Wesleyan College on Saturday, Jan. 24.

Since a surprising 66-50 loss to Woodside, the Bruins have won six straight,

including a first place finish in the Ronald Curry Christmas Classic at the end

of December. During their win streak, Bethel has outscored opponents by 16

points per game, even rallying to beat the likes of Beach District preseason

favorite Landstown and Southeastern District preseason favorite King's Fork.

Mickey Hardy's Colonels are now the lone unbeaten team in the Northwest Region

after taking down a young yet talented GW-Danville squad on Tuesday. Three days

later, guard Troy Daniels hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to lift Fleming over

Franklin County, 65-62. What makes this team go is the inside-outside

combination of Jamelle Hagins and Daniels.

Anchored by Division I prospect and junior forward Travis McKie the Justices are

starting to round into form with a 7-0 mark in league play. Quantae Cooley

recently played his best game with 22 points as JM topped Douglas Freeman 84-80

in a pivotal Central Region showdown.

With two Division I hopefuls, Darius Theus and Deshawn Williams, leading the

Greyhounds in the backcourt, Norcom has reeled off nine straight wins. Only

once all season have they scored fewer than 60 points in a game. Their lone

loss was to a 12-1 King's Fork team that reached the State Tournament last

season.

Offensive potency is the name of the game for a Bulldogs team that features

double-figure scorers Jaquon Parker, Jamar Wertz and Davante Gardner. King's

Fork leads the Eastern Region in scoring at 75 points per game, eclipsing the

90-point plateau twice thus far. This team definitely has aspirations of making

it to Richmond come March.

Jim Smith's Chargers may be starting to assert themselves as the team to beat in

the Northern Region, especially considering they are 11-1 without their leading

scorer, 6-foot-4 junior forward Adam Fridy, who is serving a 30-day suspension

from athletics for violating team rules.

Perhaps the 'sleeper' to win the Central Region, the Rebels, led by the duo of

Josh Brinkley and Jake Eastman, are an extremely dangerous team that should be

able to rebound from a tough loss to John Marshall. This is one of the most

offensive-minded teams in the state when you stop to consider they've already

scored over 1000 points on the 2008-09 campaign.

Defending Group AAA State Champions, the T.C. Williams Titans have suffered only

two losses this season, both of which came against Maryland schools Riverdale

Baptist (59-58) and Montrose Christian (70-53). Senior guard Edward Jenkins

leads the way as they try to get back to the State Tournament for the third

straight year.

Despite graduating four starters, the Panthers are in position to win another

Cardinal District title and make a run at a ninth State Tournament appearance

since 1995. Potomac has a Division I prospect in 5-foot-8 junior point guard

Justin Burrell and a talented swingman in 6-foot-4 senior Charles Shedrick.

11. GW-Danville

12. Highland Springs

13. Booker T. Washington

14. Westfield

15. Stafford

16. Huguenot

17. Landstown

18. C.D Hylton

19. L.C. Bird

20. Norview

21. Lake Braddock

22. Franklin County

23. Thomas Dale

24. North Stafford

25. Indian River