Takeaways: Richmond Times Dispatch Tournament
In the first big tournament of the year in the Richmond area, eight RVA teams across four different classifications battled it out, with the final day of games being played at the Richmond Coliseum. Here’s some of what we saw.…
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Continue ReadingIn the first big tournament of the year in the Richmond area, eight RVA teams across four different classifications battled it out, with the final day of games being played at the Richmond Coliseum. Here’s some of what we saw.
Trinity Takes Home RVA Bragging Rights
Picked as the favorite coming into the tournament, the Titans ran the table in the TDIT and improved to 10-0 on the season after beating Varina in the championship game. Sophomore big man Armando Bacot was named Tournament MVP after recording 20 points and 8 rebounds in the championship game and 24 points and 17 rebounds in their thrilling win over rival Benedictine in the semifinals.
Trinity breezed past Hanover in the first round, where their Richmond area private school rival Benedictine was waiting after a 3 OT first game win over Hopewell. The Titans were able to pull out the victory after a buzzer beating drive by 2018 Jason Wade.
The Titans had lofty expectations coming into the season, but questions quickly aroused when starting point guard and Army commit Aaron Duhart went down with knee complications. However, the Titans have rallied around the big three of Bacot, Wade and JMU commit Zach Jacobs and haven’t looked back all season.
The Titans big three performed at a high level throughout the tournament, with Jacobs joining Bacot on the All Tournament Team. However, Trinity got big time minutes and production out of their role players as well. Senior Malik Merritte finished with 12 points against Benedictine and hit big shots throughout the tournament, and junior point guard Tink Boyd finished with nine points, six assists and five rebounds against Varina in the championship.
Varina Continues to get Statement Wins
Despite the loss in the championship game, Varina got two big area wins in the tournament by defeating St. Chris in the first round and John Marshall in the semifinals. Last year’s star forward Kenneth Southerland was named to the All Tournament team, and the senior combo of him and point guard Andre Watkins have Varina off to a solid start this season against a tough schedule.
What’s intriguing for Varina though is how much two of their young pieces have improved in a short period this season. Sophomore Tyrese Jenkins, a 6’6” combo forward who finished with 16 points and five rebounds in their championship loss to Trinity, has shown great versatility and done a lot for them so far this season. He is one of their better shooters, he’s helped rebound and defend inside and has also been their secondary ball handler at times.
Freshman Kenard Richardson has slowly been finding his role in the early season as well. The 6’2” guard is a slashing wing that’s able to finish through contact, and is also a lockdown defender on the perimeter as well.
As these young guys and seniors continue to gel, expect Varina to be a dark horse competitor in a stacked 5A South field.
Justin Henry Emerges as Sleeper
While Benedictine lost a heartbreaker to rival Trinity in the semifinals and fell to John Marshall in the consolation game, senior sharpshooter Justin Henry was one of the top scorers in the three game tournament, scoring in double digits every game. In the first round, Henry’s 35 points helped the Cadets get a big 91-90 win in triple overtime, and he followed it up the next night with an 18 point outing in their close loss to Trinity. Despite a slow start to the season, Benedictine may have found their go-to perimeter scorer in Henry, and if he continues to shoot it the way he did this past weekend he won’t be unsigned for long.
Highland Springs Backcourt Impresses
There were tons of questions for Highland Springs entering the season, with their long time Head Coach George Lancaster retiring after 37 seasons and over 700 career wins. However, this weekend showed that they have a number of players to build around, including sophomore combo guard Jordan Crump who finished their semifinal win over St. Christopher’s with 32 points. Joining him in the backcourt are senior scoring guard Dionavan Ramseur, who had 18 points in their win over Hanover, and playmaking guard Christian Wilson who controlled tempo well all tournament. While he still has to establish his own culture at HSHS, Head Coach Reggie Tennyson has enough talent to compete, and they showed it by going 2-1 in the tournament.
John Marshall Senior Steals Young Guns’ Show
While John Marshall was upset in the semifinals by Varina after coming in as one of the favorites, senior forward and JMU commit Greg Jones reminded everyone that he’s still the heart and soul of this team. With all the attention coming into the season focused on 6’10 freshman Isaiah Todd and the sophomore backcourt duo of Levar Allen and DeMarr McRae, Jones’ leadership is one of the main reasons JM is sitting at 7-1 and #12 in the latest Vantage Hoops Power Poll. After willing them to comeback win over Armstrong last week, Jones did the same thing in their 62-49 win over Benedictine in the consolation game finishing with 20 points and 8 rebounds. He’s always been one of the most productive players in the state, but his leadership and energy will be big for a young JM team that’s still gaining experience on the fly.
Other Notes
- 2019 Armando Bacot of Trinity Episcopal is making a case to be a nationally ranked prospect moving into the summer. He’s slimmed down significantly from last season, allowing him to be more active on the glass, run the floor more fluidly and protect the paint better. He already has a feel and skill set that is beyond his age, along with double digit high major offers, and he’ll become a household name if he continues to produce.
- Lafayette commit Alex Petrie may have been overshadowed by current Richmond Spider Nick Sherod the past three seasons, but he won’t sneak up on anyone this year. No worries, because he’s still one of the best scoring point guards in the state. In their three games, Petrie scored 31 points in the opening round loss to Varina, 20 points in their next loss to Highland Springs and 28 points in their consolation win over Hopewell. He’ll face a lot of box-and-ones and full court denials this year, but he’s shown that he still can be an aggressive scoring threat through that.
- We’ve been waiting to see him take a jump, and it looks like Hopewell’s 2018 big man Malik Jefferson is ready for it. The 6’7” big man showed versatility by running the floor and making shots out to 18 feet, but what was most impressive was to see the improved motor he played with. He was aggressive looking for his shot, attacked the glass on both ends and guarded multiple positions defensively. If he can continue to be an impact player, he’ll land on the recruiting radar in no time.
- Hanover pulled perhaps the biggest upset of the tournament by beating Hopewell in the second round consolation. With the departure of Wade to Trinity many questioned what the Hawks would do, but they have a disciplined team with good size and interchangeable parts, making them prone to upset more teams moving forward.