1/27/2021 basketball Edit

VHSL Hoops Top Tens - Entering Play on 1/27/21

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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Believe it or not, the regular season is winding down for Virginia High School Hoops. Really? Yes, really. Regional play begins on February 8th, and even some areas will take part in district tournaments before that happens.

Per the Virginia High School League's calendar, all region tournament games must be concluded by Saturday, February 13th so that there's adequate time to prep for the State Tournament, which will take place with semifinal games on February 16th and Championships on Saturday, February 20th.

Besides the 71 programs that won't get the chance to compete because of their school divisions opting out of winter sports, the playoffs will have a very different feel this year. There are still eight school divisions, including 12 schools, that remain in delay mode, so we're not sure if they will join those currently playing to be eligible for the postseason. But obviously with no large crowds and viewership essentially coming through streaming, it'll be a quest to the Championship unlike any other we've seen before.

*** Color coded sheet with list of Who's In / Who's Out Here ***

Only five schools fall out of the latest Top Ten rankings. The lone division without any team to drop out entirely of its Top Ten is Class 3, which may be as deep as any classification this season with the exception of Class 6, where 50 of the 54 member schools are playing.

See the latest rankings release going into the final Wednesday of January below...

Note - All records are through games played on Tuesday, January 26, 2021. *

Donald Hand Jr. scored 31 points in the opener of his junior season as Landstown breezed past First Colonial 91-28 (Matthew Hatfield, VirginiaPreps.com)

Class 6 Hoops Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record
1	1	Lake Braddock	7-0
2	2	Potomac	5-0
3	4	South County	8-1
4	5	Landstown	1-0
5	6	Thomas Dale	2-0
6	7	South Lakes	11-0
7	9	John Champe	9-1
8	8	Hayfield	8-1
9	3	Patriot	8-1
10	NR	Riverbend	7-0

Dropped Out: #10 Centreville (7-2)

Honorable Mention:
Woodbridge (7-1)
Madison (7-3)
Annandale (7-2)
Yorktown (8-3)

Opted Out:
2. Western Branch
9. Oscar Smith

Jaden Daughtry and the Skyhawks look to be a strong favorite out of Region 5B, particularly in a season where traditional contenders like Henrico and Varina won't be in the postseason field due to their schools opting out of winter sports (Rob's DigiPix)

Class 5 Hoops Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record
1	1	Green Run	2-0
2	2	L.C. Bird	8-1
3	5	Stone Bridge	10-1
4	4	Albemarle	4-1
5	6	Manchester	5-1
6	3	Patrick Henry-Roanoke	1-1
7	9	William Fleming	1-1
8	NR	Princess Anne	3-0
9	8	Rock Ridge	7-4
10	10	Riverside	7-4

Dropped Out: #7 Kempsville (1-1)

Opted Out:
3. Varina
4. Kecoughtan
6. Maury
8. Norview
9. Douglas Freeman

Demitri Gardner is putting up 25.8 points per game through a 4-0 start for the John Handley Judges (Submitted Photo)

Class 4 Hoops Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record
1	1	Halifax County
2	4	Dominion	7-2
3	9	Loudoun County	9-2
4	10	Handley	4-0
5	5	Monacan	4-3
6	3	Broad Run	9-3
7	7	Smithfield	1-0
8	8	Grafton	5-0
9	6	Jefferson Forest
10	2	GW-Danville	0-1

Dropped Out:

Honorable Mention:
Eastern View (8-1)
Courtland (8-1)
Hanover (4-1)

Opted Out:
1. King's Fork
2. Menchville
6. Woodrow Wilson

Zymir Faulkner scored 18 first half points in a recent 73-50 rout of Orange County for the Black Knights of Charlottesville (Twitter)

Class 3 Hoops Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record
1	1	Charlottesville	3-0
2	2	Northside	4-0
3	3	Hopewell	4-0
4	4	Cave Spring	3-1
5	7	Abingdon	10-1
6	5	Lord Botetourt	7-1
7	9	Western Albemarle	4-1
8	8	Skyline	8-1
9	10	Petersburg	6-1
10	6	Fluvanna	7-2

Honorable Mention:
Liberty Christian (7-1)
Heritage-Lynchburg (6-1)
Wilson Memorial (7-1)
Spotswood (3-1)

Opted Out:
7. Armstrong

Scott Vermillion and his Gate City Blue Devils have shaken off a slow start to get their offense on track with the playoffs near (Matthew Hatfield, VirginiaPreps.com)

Class 2 Hoops Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record
1	2	Radford	9-0
2	1	East Rockingham	5-2
3	4	Graham	11-0
4	3	Dan River
5	5	Union	10-3
6	7	Page County	6-1
7	6	Martinsville
8	8	Floyd County	5-3
9	NR	Fort Chiswell	6-2
10	NR	Gate City	7-5

Dropped Out: #9 Richlands (5-4) and #10 Ridgeview (8-4)

Honorable Mention:
Staunton (4-2)

Opted Out:
1. John Marshall
6. Brunswick

Auburn's Eagles, which won a share of the Class 1 crown last year, had six different players score at least six points as they doubled up Eastern Montgomery 74-37 in their opener (Submitted Photo)

Class 1 Hoops Top Ten:

Rank	Last Week	School	Record
1	1	Auburn	1-0
2	3	Parry McCluer	5-1
3	2	Grundy	7-2
4	4	J.I. Burton	11-1
5	8	George Wythe	4-0
6	10	Twin Springs	10-3
7	5	Rye Cove	10-3
8	NR	West Point	4-2
9	7	Mathews	5-2
10	9	Altavista	3-3

Dropped Out: #6 Carver Academy (2-2)

Honorable Mention:
Bland County (5-2)
Honaker (5-4)
Franklin (4-2)
Holston (6-5)

Opted Out:
7. Colonial Beach
10. Lancaster

Matthew Hatfield serves as Publisher for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network, and is a regular contributor to the ACC Sports Journal. 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 don’t forget to listen to him from 10 AM to Noon on 757 Saturday Sports Talk on ESPN Radio 94.1.