1/8/2024 basketball Edit

VHSL Hoops Top Tens - Entering 1-8-24 Games

Matthew Hatfield • VirginiaPreps

Publisher

Matthew Hatfield has been with VirginiaPreps.com since 2004, officially taking over as Publisher in 2016. Hatfield hosts 757 Saturday Sports Talk every Saturday, 10 AM to Noon, on ESPN Radio 94.1.

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Very little movement in the rankings from our first installment of 2024 to this week. In fact, only two teams - Wakefield and Rock Ridge - dropped out entirely. And in the case of Wakefield, it's probably a bit unfair as the Warriors are 10-2 overall and did not suffer a loss, but W.T. Woodson's four-overtime thrilling win over West Potomac, which also lost a squeaker to another Patriot District title contender in Alexandria City, bumps the Cavaliers into the Top Ten at the Class 6 level.

Also of note this past week was the fact that John Marshall suffered its first loss to a team from the Richmond area since 2017 as private school contender St. Christopher's, led by VCU signee Brandon Jennings, toppled the reigning two-time Class 2 State Champion Justices, 53-50.

There are some intriguing games on the docket this week, beginning on Monday night, January 8th, with Spotswood at Handley as well as Bay Rivers District contenders Grafton and Lafayete squaring off in Williamsburg. Spotswood won its first matchup with Handley earlier this season, 71-61 on December 5th in Penn Laird.

Following that on Tuesday, January 9th, it's Auburn hosting George Wythe in what could certainly turn out to be a preview of the Region 1C Championship. Worth circling on Thursday, January 11th is defending Class 5 State Champ Woodside hosting Hampton, a squad that sits at 9-1 overall and on a nine-game winning streak since falling at home to the Wolverines, 52-39.

Another rivalry game that highlights the schedule comes on Friday, January 12th with Green Run visiting Landstown.

* Indicates record including Eastern District Tournament games

Isaiah Vick and the Patriot Pioneers have faced a challenging schedule and sit at 7-3 overall through ten games in 2023-24 (Matthew Hatfield, VirginiaPreps.com)

Class 6 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 1/8)
1	1	Oscar Smith	8-0
2	2	Patriot	7-3
3	3	South Lakes	9-2
4	5	Alexandria City	8-2
5	6	Potomac	10-1
6	7	Forest Park	7-2
7	8	Landstown	8-4
8	9	Manchester	9-2
9	HM	W.T. Woodson	8-3
10	4	West Potomac	7-4

Dropped Out: #10 Wakefield (10-2)

Honorable Mention:
George Marshall (12-2)
Fairfax (9-3)
South County (9-4)
McLean (10-4)
Highland Springs (6-3)

Rather quietly without a lot of star power, Troy Manns has the L.C. Bird Skyhawks at 9-0 overall and thinking about perhaps yet another State Tournament trip under his guidance (Matthew Hatfield, VirginiaPreps.com)

Class 5 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 1/8)
1	1	Woodside	10-0
2	2	Potomac Falls	11-0
3	3	King's Fork	6-2
4	4	L.C. Bird	9-0
5	6	Albemarle	10-3
6	5	Norview	5-2; 4-1*
7	7	Maury	10-3; 7-3*
8	8	James River-Midlothian	9-1
9	10	Green Run	7-3
10	9	Menchville	6-3

Honorable Mention:
Hermitage (7-2)
Kempsville (7-3)
Massaponax (9-3)
Kellam (6-2)
Cox (8-2)

Class 4 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 1/8)
1	1	Varina	4-1
2	2	Hampton	9-1
3	3	Charlottesville	11-0
4	4	Tuscarora	10-1
5	5	Henrico	10-2
6	6	John Handley	8-2
7	7	Broad Run	6-2
8	8	Jefferson Forest	8-2
9	10	Churchland	9-3; 9-2*
10	HM	Woodgrove	8-2

Dropped Out: #9 Rock Ridge (7-3)

Honorable Mention:
Atlee (10-2)
Eastern View (7-4)
Monacan (6-4)
Loudoun Valley (8-4)

Cam Pacheco, who earned Player of the Year honors at the district and regional levels as a sophomore, leads a Spotswood team that is humming at 11-0 overall to start the 2023-24 campaign (Matthew Hatfield, VirginiaPreps.com)

Class 3 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 1/8)
1	1	Lake Taylor	10-1; 8-0*
2	2	Spotswood	11-0
3	3	Tunstall	13-0
4	4	Northside	10-2
5	6	Western Albemarle	10-3
6	7	Rustburg	10-1
7	8	Hopewell	7-2
8	9	Grafton	8-1
9	10	James Monroe	10-2
10	5	Carroll County	10-1

Honorable Mention:
Meridian (9-0)
Lafayette (8-1)
Alleghany (10-3)
Broadway (10-3)
New Kent (8-2)

Class 2 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 1/8)
1	1	John Marshall	9-3
2	2	Greensville	10-1
3	3	Floyd County	6-3
4	5	Bruton	9-2
5	4	Lebanon	8-2
6	8	Clarke County	8-3
7	10	Virginia High	7-4
8	7	Gate City	6-3
9	9	Union	8-4
10	6	Graham	4-1

Honorable Mention:
Amelia (6-2)
Madison County (6-5)
Martinsville (8-5)
Ridgeview (7-5)
Arcadia (6-4)

Lancaster guard Troy Henderson continues to pile up the points in bunches, including a 32-point showing with nine rebounds and six assists against Northampton (Matthew Hatfield, VirginiaPreps.com)

Class 1 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 1/8)
1	1	George Wythe	8-2
2	2	Lancaster	8-1
3	4	Narrows	11-1
4	4	Brunswick	9-3
5	6	Altavista	8-2
6	7	Carver Academy	8-1
7	5	Franklin	7-4
8	9	Parry McCluer	8-3
9	10	Patrick Henry-Glade Spring	10-3
10	8	Northampton	8-4

Honorable Mention:
Chilhowie (8-3)
Grundy (6-4)
Rappahannock County (6-3)

Matthew Hatfield serves as Publisher 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 be sure to Subscribe to Hometown Sports Productions where you can hear his Podcasts.