12/19/2023 basketball Edit

VHSL Hoops Top Tens - Entering 12-19-23 Games

Tony Bentley's Wakefield Warriors cracked the Class 6 Top Ten, thanks to an overtime win over Westfield and a convincing 69-46 triumph over perennial power South County (Matthew Hatfield)

Matthew Hatfield • VirginiaPreps

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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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Holiday tournaments are approaching as the High School Basketball season gets in full swing all across the state.

Much of the strength seems to reside in Class 6 and Class 3, where there are a few unbeaten teams still sitting in the Honorable Mention columns, waiting to crack the Top Ten.

In Class 6, the biggest movement comes from the likes of Potomac and Oscar Smith moving upward multiple spots, while Landstown dropped eight slots from No. 2 to No. 10 with three straight losses to city foe Salem of Virginia Beach, Lake Taylor in the Woodside Hoopfest and at Class 2 heavyweight John Marshall.

At the Class 5 level, the Skyhawks of L.C. Bird under Head Coach Troy Manns don't exactly have the Division I caliber star power of teams past, but are playing terrific team ball in averaging 63.7 points per game and holding opponents to 45.4 PPG through a 7-0 start.

Although Varina suffered its first defeat to Frederick of Maryland by a count of 60-53, they remain at the top of the Class 4 picture, where only one unbeaten reamins in Mitch Minor's Charlottesville Black Knights.

Charlottesville was previously in Class 3, where there are six teams without a blemish when you throw in the ones that haven't lost a ratings scale game in Lake Taylor and Booker T. Washington. Zymareon Mitchell has filled the stat sheet in a major way for the Bookers with 45 points and 10 steals in a 79-72 victory over Great Bridge, then a 30-point, 7-steal game as they edged Eastern District rival Norcom 74-72.

Speaking of big performances, Gate City's Gunner Garrett made it a successful debut for Chris Fugate as Head Coach. The 6-foot-7 senior Garrett drained eight three-pointers with 34 points to propel the Blue Devils past Tennessee-based Sullivan East, 62-53.

In Class 1, Carver Academy and Narrows are off to strong starts, while top-ranked George Wythe came out with convincing wins over Galax 68-29 and Giles 86-32 to open 2-0.

You can see the full rankings below...

* Indicates record including Eastern District Tournament games

Potomac guard Kenny DeGuzman bunched 16 of his team-best 26 points during the second half of an 83-68 Cardinal District road win over Freedom-Woodbridge that improved the Panthers to 6-0 overall (Matthew Hatfield, VirginiaPreps.com)

Class 6 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 12/19)
1	1	South Lakes	7-0
2	3	Patriot	4-2
3	4	West Potomac	5-1
4	7	Oscar Smith	3-0
5	5	Alexandria City	4-2
6	8	Potomac	6-0
7	NR	Wakefield	5-1
8	10	Forest Park	3-2
9	9	Glen Allen	6-1
10	2	Landstown	4-4

Dropped Out: #6 W.T. Woodson (4-2)

Honorable Mention:
Western Branch (6-0)
George Marshall (7-1)
Fairfax (4-1)
Thomas Edison (5-1)
Colonial Forge (7-1)

My'Kel Jenkins and the Woodside Wolverines have already beaten the two teams that played in last March's Class 6 State Championship game, Hayfield and Patriot, on their way to an 8-0 start (Matthew Hatfield, VirginiaPreps.com)

Class 5 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 12/19)
1	1	Woodside	8-0
2	2	Potomac Falls	10-0
3	4	King's Fork	3-1
4	5	William Fleming	4-1
5	10	L.C. Bird	7-0
6	HM	Norview	3-1; 2-0*
7	3	Maury	7-2; 4-2*
8	8	Kempsville	5-1
9	6	Albemarle	5-2
10	9	Menchville	5-2

Dropped Out: #7 Green Run (3-2)

Honorable Mention:
James River-Midlothian (5-1)
Hermitage (5-1)
Salem-Virginia Beach (6-2)
Cox (6-1)
Massaponax (5-1)

Jayden Johnson poured in 38 points to earn Game MVP honors at the Kyle Honore Tip-Off Classic held at Potomac High School as Tuscarora breezed by Freedom-Woodbridge, 90-61, on December 16th (Matthew Hatfield, VirginiaPreps.com)

Class 4 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 12/19)
1	1	Varina	3-1
2	2	Hampton	5-1
3	4	John Handley	5-1
4	5	Tuscarora	4-1
5	6	Charlottesville	7-0
6	3	E.C. Glass	5-2
7	10	Broad Run	5-2
8	8	Monacan	6-3
9	NR	Rock Ridge	6-2
10	NR	Churchland	3-2; 3-1*

Dropped Out: #7 Orange County (6-2) and #9 Sherando (4-3)

Honorable Mention:
Woodgrove (4-0)
Blacksburg (6-3)
Atlee (5-1)
Henrico (4-2)
Jefferson Forest (4-1)

Zymareon Mitchell had 45 points for Booker T. Washington its win over Great Bridge (Matthew Hatfield, VirginiaPreps.com)

Class 3 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 12/19)
1	1	Lake Taylor	5-1; 3-0*
2	2	Northside	4-1
3	3	Spotswood	6-0
4	4	Tunstall	8-0
5	6	Cave Spring	4-1
6	7	Western Albemarle	6-2
7	8	Booker T. Washington	6-1; 5-0*
8	5	James Monroe	6-1
9	9	Grafton	6-0
10	10	Carroll County	6-0

Honorable Mention:
Hopewell (5-2)
Rustburg (6-0)
Meridian (7-0)

Gunner Garrett may be one of the state's best kept secrets, but probably not for long after exploding for 34 points and eight treys in his team's season-opening win (Submitted Photo)

Class 2 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 12/19)
1	1	John Marshall	6-1
2	3	Gate City	1-0
3	4	Floyd County	3-2
4	5	Greensville	6-0
5	10	Luray	4-1
6	NR	Union	4-0
7	NR	Bruton	6-2
8	6	Radford	0-1
9	9	Graham	0-1
10	2	Madison County	2-3

Dropped Out: #8 Virginia High (4-3)

Honorable Mention:
Ridgeview (4-0)
Lebanon (4-2)
Martinsville (4-2)

Shane Huff and the Maroons of George Wythe have won their first two games of the season with ease, defeating Galax 68-29 and Giles 86-32 (Bob Lanum, BobLimages.com)

Class 1 Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record (entering 12/19)
1	1	George Wythe	2-0
2	2	Lancaster	3-0
3	3	Franklin	6-1
4	4	Narrows	6-0
5	6	Auburn	3-1
6	7	Carver Academy	7-0
7	5	Brunswick	3-2
8	9	Altavista	5-2
9	10	Honaker	2-1
10	HM	Patrick Henry-Glade Spring	8-1

Dropped Out: #8 Grundy (5-3)

Honorable Mention:
Chilhowie (4-1)
Northampton (5-3)

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.