VHSL Hoops Top Tens - First Edition for 2023-24

The 2023-24 Virginia High School League Basketball season is underway, much to the delight of fans, athletes and coaches all over the Commonwealth.

There are plenty of storylines across the board to follow.

With Hayfield graduating its entire starting lineup from back-to-back state titles in Class 6, the door may finally be open for someone else to capture the crown. South Lakes, which reeled off 18 straight wins before falling to the Hawks in the State Semis, graduated just two starters from their 25-4 team. Most importantly, back is Region 6D Player of the Yearn and D-1 prospect Jordan Scott, a silky-smooth swingman.

Others should figure into the Class 6 title mix, including the Patriot team coached by Sherman Rivers that fell to Hayfield in last March's finale, and Landstown, which welcomes back four starters from a team that reached the State Tournament for the sixth time in ten seasons. Coach Dwight Robinson is 16 wins away from 400 in his career with the Eagles.

For Patriot, the addition of Osbourn transfer Tey Barbour, who will play his College Basketball in the Ivy League at Harvard, bolsters an already experienced Pioneers lineup that features holdovers like 6'7" senior forward Isaiah Vick and 6'0" senior guard Dezmond Hopkins, both of whom garnered All-Cedar Run District accolades a season ago.

Although Class 5 State Player of the Year Trevor Smith moved on to the University of Richmond, the Woodside Wolverines should be well-positioned to make another run at the crown. Stefan Welsh won back-to-back titles as a player for the Newport News program in 2004 and 2005. Now, he gets a chance to do it as a Head Coach with four starters back in forward Silas Barksdale, wing My'kel Jenkins, swingman Jermaine Detrick and point guard Masiah Stevens. Plus, 6'8" freshman Jordyn Houston will be a major component.

But we've yet to see anyone in Class 5 repeat as State Champs going back to the realignment to six classifications at the start of 2013-14, so there will be some challengers. Most notably, in their own region, the likes of Maury, which won the 2019 Class 5 crown, and Menchville, who had a perfect 22-0 season going until falling to the Wolverines in the regional semis at the Norfolk Scope, are thinking about a deep run.

At the Class 4 level, Varina managed to repeat a season ago and the Blue Devils like the nucelus in place for Head Coach Kenneth Randolph, headed up by 5'10" senior guard K.J. Wyche and 6'3" senior wing Malachi Cosby. Wyche was the Class 4 State Player of the Year a season ago, while Cosby posted a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds in the 59-56 triumph over E.C. Glass at the Siegel Center for the title.

In Class 3, Billy Pope's Northside Vikings are a remarkable 109-18 over the past five seasons with a couple of State Championships. They'll be trying to get another one behind the dynamic Class of 2025 duo of Mykell Harvey and Cy Hardy, a pair that combined for 33 points in their 58-52 win over Hopewell for the hardware last winter. However, there are some teams with a blend of size and athleticism thinking about playing into March, such as Lake Taylor out of Norfolk as well as perennial contenders like Spotswood and Cave Spring, among others.

John Marshall remains not only the team to beat in Class 2, but a nationally-ranked outfit chock full of college prospects as Ty White's Justices returned three All-State First Team performers in James Madison University signee Damon 'Redd' Thompson at the point, fellow senior guard Dominique Bailey (a pledge to D-2 Chowan in NC) and sophomore forward Latrell Allmond. The additions of powerful big man Marcus Jackson from Maryland and sharp-shooting guard Aiden Argabright out of Northern Virginia, both juniors, provide even more weaponry for the Richmond juggernaut.

In Class 1, the return of lethal scoring guard Troy Henderson will give Lancaster an opportunity to make it back to Richmond to defend its Class 1 title following a 29-0 season. The team that fell to them in that title game, George Wythe, welcomes back practically its entire squad from a 26-4 season, so the Maroons aren't thinking about just a repeat, but finishing the deal in 2024.

*** See Final VHSL Hoops Top Tens from 2022-23 season here

Without further ado, here are the Top Tens for each classification, and we plan to provide a closer look at these teams in the coming days, weeks and months in addition to updating the rankings on a weekly basis once football is completed...

1. South Lakes

2. Patriot

3. Landstown

4. Alexandria City

5. W.T. Woodson

6. Hayfield

7. West Potomac

8. Forest Park

9. Oscar Smith

10. Westfield

Honorable Mention:
South County
Potomac
George Marshall
Madison
Fairfax
Freedom-Woodbridge
Thomas Edison

1. Woodside

2. Maury

3. Potomac Falls

4. Albemarle

5. King's Fork

6. Menchville

7. Green Run

8. Stone Bridge

9. Kempsville

10. William Fleming

Honorable Mention:
James River-Midlothian
Hermitage
L.C. Bird
Norview
Patrick Henry-Roanoke
Salem-Virginia Beach
Riverside

1. Varina

2. Tuscarora

3. Hampton

4. E.C. Glass

5. John Handley

6. Eastern View

7. Charlottesville

8. Smithfield

9. Monacan

10. Sherando

Honorable Mention:
Churchland
Henrico
Broad Run
GW-Danville
Jefferson Forest
John Champe
Huguenot

1. Lake Taylor

2. Northside

3. Spotswood

4. Tunstall

5. Cave Spring

6. Hopewell

7. Western Albemarle

8. East Rockingham

9. Skyline

10. Booker T. Washington

Honorable Mention:
Grafton
Alleghany
Norcom

1. John Marshall

2. Floyd County

3. Madison County

4. Gate City

5. Strasburg

6. Radford

7. Stuarts Draft

8. Virginia High

9. Graham

10. Bruton

Honorable Mention:
Gretna
Central-Woodstock
Martinsville

1. George Wythe

2. Lancaster

3. Franklin

4. Brunswick

5. Auburn

6. Honaker

7. Narrows

8. Grundy

9. Altavista

10. Carver Academy

Honorable Mention:
Chilhowie
Holston
Parry McCluer

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.