12/11/2023 basketball Edit

VHSL Hoops Top Tens - Entering 12-11-23 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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High School Football has ended and now the focus shifts to the hardwood, where there are already several early-season storylines to follow.

Since our initial rankings release to start off the 2023-24 campaign, we have 11 new teams making the Top Tens. Perhaps more noteworthy is that five teams that have won a State Championship within the past decade - Hayfield, Westfield, Stone Bridge, Smithfield and Hopewell - have fallen out of the rankings.

A freshman has burst onto the scene as Makel Minor of James Monroe erupted for 56 points with eight three-pointers in a recent win over Brentsville District. It's not only a school-record for the Yellow Jackets, but believed to be the most in Fredericksburg area history, surpassing the 51 scored by Caroline star David Ware in 2018.

While John Marshall saw its 38-game winning streak halted with a 64-58 loss to North Carolina power and fellow Top 25 nationally-ranked foe Myers Park in a game where they were out-rebounded 36-25, the Justices got a nice 63-55 overtime win over Sidewell Friends over the weekend. Junior guard Aiden Argabright led the way with 21 points on 5-of-8 shooting from behind the arc for a team that has also blitzed the likes of Hopewell (84-47) and Steward (90-45) in the early portion of the season.

With John Marshall suffering a defeat, it means the longest winning streak by a public school program in the state belongs to defending Class 1 State Champ Lancaster, winners of 32 in a row after handling Christchurch 70-40 to open this season at 3-0 overall.

South Lakes is off to a strong start at 4-0 behind Class of 2025 standout Jordan Scott, who had 23 points to open vs. W.T. Woodson, while Woodside took care of business at the Princess Anne Tip-Off Classic against Class 6 contender Patriot, 59-46. Junior forward Silas Barksdale had 20 points and seven rebounds to lead the way (see our Video Interview with him here).

You can see the full rankings below...

* Indicates record including Eastern District Tournament games

DeShawn Spellman, who put up 9.1 points per game as a freshman for Landstown, has put up 68 points in four wins so far this season (Matthew Hatfield, VirginiaPreps.com)

Class 6 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 12/11)
1	1	South Lakes	4-0
2	3	Landstown	4-1
3	2	Patriot	2-1
4	7	West Potomac	4-0
5	4	Alexandria City	1-1
6	5	W.T. Woodson	3-1
7	9	Oscar Smith	2-0
8	HM	Potomac	3-0
9	NR	Glen Allen	5-0
10	8	Forest Park	2-1

Dropped Out: #6 Hayfield (0-2) and #10 Westfield (3-2)

Honorable Mention:
George Marshall (4-0)
South County (3-1)
Freedom-Woodbridge (4-1)

Jeff Hawes has watched his Potomac Falls squad get off to a torrid start at 8-0 overall (Matthew Hatfield)

Class 5 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 12/11)
1	1	Woodside	5-0
2	3	Potomac Falls	8-0
3	2	Maury	5-1; 2-1*
4	5	King's Fork	1-1
5	10	William Fleming	3-1
6	4	Albemarle	3-1
7	7	Green Run	3-1
8	9	Kempsville	3-1
9	6	Menchville	4-1
10	HM	L.C. Bird	4-0

Dropped Out: #8 Stone Bridge (2-2)

Honorable Mention:
James River-Midlothian (3-1)
Norview (1-1; 0-0)
Hermitage (2-1)

Class 4 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 12/11)
1	1	Varina	1-0
2	3	Hampton	3-1
3	4	E.C. Glass	2-1
4	5	John Handley	3-1
5	2	Tuscarora	1-1
6	7	Charlottesville	4-0
7	NR	Orange County	5-0
8	9	Monacan	4-2
9	10	Sherando	3-2
10	HM	Broad Run	3-1

Dropped Out: #6 Eastern View (2-2) and #8 Smithfield (1-2)

Honorable Mention:
Blacksburg (4-1)
Henrico (3-1)

Class 3 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 12/11)
1	1	Lake Taylor	2-1; 0-0*
2	2	Northside	3-0
3	3	Spotswood	4-0
4	4	Tunstall	5-0
5	NR	James Monroe	4-0
6	5	Cave Spring	1-1
7	7	Western Albemarle	3-2
8	10	Booker T. Washington	3-1; 2-0*
9	HM	Grafton	4-0
10	NR	Carroll County	5-0

Dropped Out: #6 Hopewell (3-2), #7 East Rockingham (2-2) and #9 Skyline (3-2)

Honorable Mention:
Rustburg (5-0)
New Kent (4-0)
Meridian (5-0)
William Monroe (6-1)

With seven juniors dotting the roster, Antwan Walton has the Greensville Eagles off to a 4-0 start, where they're beating opponents by an average of 23.3 points per contest (Bob Lanum (BobLimages.com))

Class 2 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 12/11)
1	1	John Marshall	4-1
2	3	Madison County	2-2
3	2	Gate City	0-0
4	2	Floyd County	1-2
5	NR	Greensville	4-0
6	6	Radford	0-0
7	8	Virginia High	4-1
8	HM	Gretna	3-2
9	9	Graham	0-0
10	NR	Luray	3-1

Dropped Out: #5 Strasburg (0-3), #7 Stuarts Draft (3-3) and #10 Bruton (2-2)

Honorable Mention:
Lebanon (2-1)
Nelson County (3-2)

Chaevon Torrance is putting up 23.8 points per game for the Franklin Broncos, off to a 4-1 start to the season (Matthew Hatfield, VirginiaPreps.com)

Class 1 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 12/11)
1	1	George Wythe	0-0
2	2	Lancaster	3-0
3	3	Franklin	4-1
4	7	Narrows	2-0
5	4	Brunswick	2-1
6	5	Auburn	1-1
7	10	Carver Academy	5-0
8	8	Grundy	3-2
9	9	Altavista	3-2
10	6	Honaker	0-1

Honorable Mention:
Patrick Henry-Glade Spring (5-1)

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.