2019 Chance Harman Senior Honorable Mention Team
This past weekend was the 12th Annual Chance Harman Classic in Floyd County, VA. The little mountain town outside of Christiansburg, VA is one of my favorite communities that I have gotten to know over the past five years that…
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Continue ReadingThis past weekend was the 12th Annual Chance Harman Classic in Floyd County, VA. The little mountain town outside of Christiansburg, VA is one of my favorite communities that I have gotten to know over the past five years that I’ve done this. After his son Chance passed away on July 6, 2007 at the age of four from a rare form of brain cancer (Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor), Floyd County head coach Brian Harman and some of his staff and friends started the Chance Harman Memorial Fund, and held the first Chance Harman Classic later that year. The event has grown into one of the top events in the area, bringing together top teams from across VA, NC, WV, TN and others, and has raised more than $300,000 for cancer research in the form of ticket sales, sponsorships, raffles, silent auctions and much more. It is a wonderful cause held by wonderful people who take great care of me and anyone else who comes to support, and I would highly recommend supporting them in some way shape or form. Here’s the website for more information if you’d be interested.
https://chanceharman.org/index.php/chance-harman-classic/
While I’m happy I get to support the cause (I bought a raffle ticket), I’m also there to cover great basketball both locally in SWVA and throughout the area. There were 12 games throughout Friday and Saturday, and unfortunately I was only able to watch 9 of them, but I decided to put together a First Team, Second Team and a few Honorable Mention Teams from the 9 games that I saw. The First Team will be the top performers from the winning teams, the Second Team will be the top performers from the losing team with the Honorable Mention teams being the other standouts on the teams. With no further ado, here’s a look at the honorees of the Prep Hoops VA 2019 Chance Harman Senior Honorable Mention Team.
Quinn Slazinski | 6’8” WF | Huntington Prep (WV) 2019
The Louisville commit looked like former Louisville star and national champ Luke Hancock, who hailed from just north of Floyd in Roanoke. Slazinski has good size on the wing, he’s a knock down catch and shoot guy and he rebounds well too. He finished with 16 points, going 4-for-7 from behind the arc.
Luis Herrera | 6’4” G | Teays Valley (WV) 2019
A big off guard who can be a secondary ball handler and a good defender, Herrera showed he can be the jack-of-all-trades glue guy for a team at the next level. He made some tough shots, made plays for others when they needed one and played hard on both ends. He finished with 14 points on 4-for-8 shooting and pitched in five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Mason Shifflett | 6’4” G | Teays Valley (WV) 2019
Shifflett was a standout last season at Chance Harman for TVCS, and he continued to show his potential as a scholarship level kid. He’s a natural leader who understands the game and is able to motivate his teammates and bring them down when they need it. He makes the right play, shoots the basketball, gets to the line and plays hard on both ends. He finished with 14 points, going 4-for-8 from behind the arc.
Kasey Draper | 6’4” G | Northside 2019
Draper has been on fire for Northside early this season, and while he didn’t shoot the basketball particularly well he still was a big factor down the stretch and finished with 13 points, 8 rebounds and five assists. He attacked the basket hard, rebounded well for his size on both ends and was a good secondary ball handler that made the right play and took care of the ball.
Jalen Jackson | 6’1” G | Northside 2019
It took a whole effort for Northside to get the win, and Jackson was as important as anyone. He only finished with nine points, but he was 3-for-6 from behind the arc and he hit arguably the biggest shot of the game. With less than thirty seconds left, Jackson caught a kick-out on the wing and knocked down a three that tied the game up and allowed them to win the game.
Mareng Gatkouth | 6’5” G/F | Huntington Prep Gold (WV) 2019
Gatkouth got out to a fast start, as he made some shots early and looked like a solid, available wing that could be a mid major guy. He can put it on the deck and hit shots off the bench, he’s filled out a little bit and he can play and guard multiple positions.
Jarren McAllister | 6’3” WG | Massanutten 2019
The VCU commit didn’t shoot it as well as I’ve seen him in the past few times, but he showed off his great athleticism on drives, finishes and it turned to Huntington having to foul him to stop him. He got to the line a lot, going 9-for-10 from the stripe, and he made plays on both ends that were energy plays. He finished with 24 points and 5 rebounds in their win.
Mahamadou Diawara | 6’9” PF | Massanutten 2019
It just doesn’t make sense to me why this kid doesn’t have more high major looks with his mix of production and potential. He doesn’t need the ball in his hands to make an impact, and when he does get his opportunities he takes advantage of them. When he stays within his game he’s efficient and a force in the paint. He finished with 12 points going 5-for-6 from the field and had a double-double with 10 rebounds as well.
Noah Bolt | 6’5” F | Floyd County 2019
Bolt played one of his best games of the season according to Head Coach Brian Harman, and he looked like a project a division three school could work with. He’s an athletic leaper with good size and good feet on the defensive end, and with some work offensively he could be pretty solid. He played hard on both ends of the floor, and finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds on 6-for-9 shooting from the field.
Bryce Hall | 6’0” PG | Carlisle 2019
Against a really good Teays Valley team, Hall showed poise and leadership and made plays for others throughout the game. The stocky lead guard showed good strength and the ability to change speeds well and get in the lane and find his shooters. He can make shots from deep and the mid-range making him a good dual-threat guy and he’s a good rebounding guard as well. He finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds and three assists in the loss.