Published Dec 17, 2024
VHSL Hoops Top Tens - Entering 12-17-24 Games
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Matthew Hatfield  •  VirginiaPreps
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@hatfieldsports

Football season is over and already a handful of basketball teams have played upwards of four games.

Nine new teams enter these Top Ten rankings across the six classifications with a change in the No. 1 spot at both the Class 6 and Class 4 levels.

Reigning Class 6 State Champ South Lakes saw its 20-game winning streak snap in a 66-52 loss at Hayfield on December 10th. Guard Aaron McFarlane scored 17 of his team-high 19 points after half-time for the victorious Hawks.

Spots 1 through 6 in Class 5 feature unblemished teams, including two-time defending State Champ Woodside and the runner-up from a season ago in L.C. Bird, which gets a test against Dominion District rival Manchester coming up December 18th. Meanwhile, the Wolverines host private school contender Miller School, a defending VISAA State Champ, on December 21st.

Hampton has suffered two early losses to both Woodside and John Marshall, plus recently escaped with a close 35-34 win over Denbigh on December 12th. Also of note in Class 4 are what both Varina and GW-Danville are doing.

Varina handed Patriot, the Class 6 runner-up from the past two seasons, a 79-49 loss in a game where sophomore guard Brian Mitchell exploded for 44 points. Meanwhile, GW-Danville is off to a hot start under new Head Coach DeMarcus Morrison, an alum of the program. His son, junior guard Kobe Morrison, is averaging 20 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals per game.

A big showdown in Richmond is coming up on December 19th when nationally-ranked John Marshall hosts Hopewell, which is off to a 5-0 start and looking like a Class 3 title contender behind the junior duo of DeShawn Spellman and Nick Byrd. Together, they're putting up over 37 points per contest. John Marshall has scored 221 points in its past two wins after getting a bit of a tussle in a 67-53 victory at Landstown on December 11th.

Class 1 favorite George Wythe opened its season strong with a 68-51 victory over John Battle in a game where Reed Kirtner bunched 12 of his game-high 23 points during the first quarter.

See the Preseason 2024-25 Hoops Top Tens Here


* Indicates record including Eastern District Tournament games


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Class 6 Top Ten:
Dropped Out: #3 Westfield (2-3) and #10 Highland Springs (2-3)
RankPreseasonSchoolRecord (entering 12/17)

1

2

Oscar Smith

4-0

2

4

Hayfield

3-1

3

7

Landstown

5-1

4

1

South Lakes

4-1

5

NR

Yorktown

6-1

6

5

C.G. Woodson

3-2

7

8

Glen Allen

6-1

8

6

South County

1-1

9

9

Patriot

6-2

10

HM

Colonial Forge

4-0

Honorable Mention:

Thomas Dale (5-0)

Gar-Field (5-1)

George Marshall (5-2)


Class 5 Top Ten:
Dropped Out: #6 Massaponax (4-2)
RankPreseasonSchoolRecord (entering 12/17)

1

1

Woodside

4-0

2

3

Riverside

5-0

3

4

L.C. Bird

3-0

4

7

King's Fork

3-0

5

8

Albemarle

4-0

6

HM

Kellam

6-0

7

2

Green Run

4-1

8

9

Norview

3-2

9

5

Maury

4-1

10

10

Potomac Falls

7-1

Honorable Mention:

Hermitage (3-0)

J.R. Tucker (4-0)

Riverbend (4-1)


Class 4 Top Ten:
RankPreseasonSchoolRecord (entering 12/17)

1

2

Handley

4-0

2

3

Varina

1-0

3

1

Hampton

3-2

4

6

Broad Run

6-1

5

7

Atlee

4-0

6

9

GW-Danville

5-0

7

5

E.C. Glass

2-1

8

8

Churchland

3-1

9

4

Tuscarora

2-2

10

10

Loudoun Valley

2-2

Honorable Mention:

Monacan (4-1)

Smithfield (4-0)

Powhatan (6-0)


Class 3 Top Ten:
Dropped Out: #9 Lafayette (1-2) and #10 Heritage-Lynchburg (1-2)
RankPreseasonSchoolRecord (entering 12/17)

1

1

Northside

5-0

2

2

Hopewell

5-0

3

4

Liberty Christian

4-0

4

5

Meridian

5-0

5

3

Spotswood

2-2

6

7

William Monroe

5-0

7

10

Lake Taylor

2-0

8

8

Cave Spring

1-1

9

HM

Wilson Memorial

4-0

10

NR

New Kent

5-0

Honorable Mention:

Carroll County (4-0)

East Rockingham (4-1)


Class 2 Top Ten:
Dropped Out: #8 Clarke County (1-4) and #10 Stuarts Draft (4-3)
RankPreseasonSchoolRecord (entering 12/17)

1

1

John Marshall

5-0

2

2

Floyd County

3-0

3

5

Virginia High

1-0

4

HM

Central-Woodstock

4-0

5

2

Dan River

3-2

6

9

Central-Wise

1-0

7

7

Graham

0-0

8

4

Bruton

3-2

9

6

Luray

3-1

10

HM

Union

3-0

Honorable Mention:

Martinsville (2-1)

Gretna (4-0)

Fort Defiance (5-0)


Class 1 Top Ten:
Dropped Out: #7 Narrows (1-2) and #8 Northampton (1-5)
RankPreseasonSchoolRecord (entering 12/17)

1

1

George Wythe

4-0

2

4

Patrick Henry-Glade Spring

3-0

3

3

Altavista

1-1

4

6

Lancaster

3-1

5

2

Auburn

2-1

6

5

Chilhowie

2-1

7

9

Eastside

2-1

8

HM

Fort Chiswell

4-1

9

NR

Middlesex

3-1

10

10

Northumberland

3-1

Honorable Mention:

Parry McCluer (3-1)

Rappahannock County (4-1)



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.