2019 First Team All Chance Harman
This 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…
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Continue ReadingThis 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.
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 First Team All Chance Harman Classic.
Quinton Morton-Robertson | 5’7” PG | Radford 2019
On Friday night, Morton-Robertson showed an undefeated Patrick Henry team why Radford is often considered the best team in the Timesland area. The diminutive lead guard looked like he could get by everyone, as he already owns a lightning quick first step but showed that he can change speeds and see the game ahead of everyone else with the ball in his hands. No one could stay in front of him, he got wherever he wanted on the court and he showed the ability to finish over bigger guys and through contact. He’s also a lockdown defender and a playmaking whiz that makes everyone else on the team better. He finished with 20 points, 8 rebounds (smallest guy on the court, yeah), and six assists in their blowout win over a good PH team. He’ll stay local and has committed to Radford University.
Jaemyn Brakefield | 6’7” W | Huntington Prep (WV) 2020
One of the top ranked juniors in the country didn’t have the most dominating performance in their win over Blue Ridge, but he showed that he’s the best player right now on a team that’s chock full of high major talent. He has a great frame that’s both strong and athletic, and wherever you want to play him he can do it. He can attack in straight lines off the bounce and he’s a capable drive-and-kick guy, he can play on the wing where he can catch-and-shoot and run in transition and he can play in the post where he can use his strength and athleticism to finish through contact or keep plays alive on the glass and finish second chance opportunities. He finished with 21 points on 10-for-20 shooting, and pitched in four rebounds (3 offensive), two assists and two steals.
Jackson Gammons | 6’0” G | Calvary Day (NC) 2019
In a win over Roanoke Catholic, Gammons came out on fire and didn’t stop. He played both on and off the basketball and was the main ball handler, and that was pretty smart because not only is he the top playmaker for them he’s also a lethal shotmaker off the catch and off the bounce. He came out aggressive, going 7-for-8 from the field and 3-for-3 from deep in the first half with 17 points. He obviously couldn’t continue with that pace, but he did finish with an impressive 24 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the field and guarded the opposing team’s best player. The senior is committed to the Citadel and should be a perfect fit for them.
Julien Wooden | 6’6” G/F | Northside 2019
In one of the more highly anticipated matchups of day two, Wooden and his Northside team out of Roanoke took on nationally ranked junior and his AAU teammate Henry Coleman and the Richmond private school power Trinity Episcopal. Northside had just beat Richmond public power LC Bird the weekend before, and while Wooden didn’t shoot it as well as he did in that game he came up big down the stretch, fighting through cramps and making plays on both ends of the floor. Down the stretch he had a couple good takes, and even hit the two free throws that ended up being the go ahead points in a wild back-and-forth matchup. The JMU commit finished with 23 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and had 0 turnovers as the primary ball handler throughout the game.
Christian Hampton | 6’3” G | NW Guilford (NC) 2020
One of my favorite things about Chance Harman is that I get to see some out of state talent I don’t know about, and Northwest Guilford from Greensboro, NC has been a team the last three years I’ve learned about a guy from. Two years ago it was Jalen Spicer, last year it was current junior Dean Reiber (honorable mention), and this year it was junior guard Christian Hampton. Hampton is a high motor slasher with great athleticism that he uses on both ends. He had a couple of tremendous finishes, he rebounded on both ends of the floor and he made plays for others on the basketball. He finished with a near triple-double of 15 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals and turned the basketball over just once.
Darrius Davis | 6’4” G | Teays Valley (WV) 2021
Davis is a guy that mid and high major coaches need to learn about now! The Pittsburgh native moved to West Virginia and joined a Teays Valley team with four talented seniors but in desperate need of a playmaking guard. While Davis is still raw and needs to continue to hone his perimeter skill set, he’s a downhill guard with good speed, strength and the ability to finish at the rim or make plays for others. He used his speed on both ends, blowing by defenders with the ball and keeping ball handlers in front of him defensively, and he was a big help on the glass from the guard position. He finished with 18 points on 8-for-13 shooting, grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out four assists.
Zac Ervin | 6’5” G | Gate City 2019
Ervin had the high point total of the day, and what do you expect from the guy who just reached 2,000 points and has a chance at catching last year’s teammate and current Georgetown freshman Mac McClung for the all-time scoring leader in VHSL history. Well, the first half didn’t look like it was going to be one of those days. Floyd County did a great job shadowing Ervin, helping on his drives and forcing him into tough shots. After scoring 8 points on just 1-for-9 shooting in the first half, Ervin found his groove, and there’s not much you can do after that. He showed the ability to create his own shot and score from all three levels, and when he isn’t settling it’s hard not to foul him and send him to the line. He finished with 35 points, going 9-for-20 from the field and 14-for-15 from the line.
Dereon Seabron | 6’6” G | Massanutten 2019
It wasn’t Seabron’s finest game of the year, nor Massanutten who had to battle back from a double digit deficit with less than five minutes left, but he was the biggest reason they were able to fight back and beat Huntington Prep Post Grad team 79-75. The Colonels as a whole didn’t shoot the basketball particularly well or terrible at 45% on the game, but Seabron didn’t doubt his teammates and continued to go to them throughout the game. He played his tail off on both ends, helping on the glass making plays on both ends of the floor and continuously attacking the paint and getting to the rim. He was instrumental in helping them turn around and make a run down the stretch with his play and high motor. One of the most sought after available guards on the east coast, Seabron finished with 17 points (5-for-10 FG), 13 rebounds and four assists to just one turnover.
Grant Ledler | 6’4” WG | Grace Christian (TN) 2019
In a game that Grace Christian looked like they had no chance at winning against Blue Ridge, Ledler helped keep them in the game with his shot making ability. Early on I couldn’t see the buzz about the Tennessee-Chattanooga commit, because he wasn’t tall, fast or athletic, in other words he didn’t exactly pass the eye test. What Ledler has is a good understanding of how to get to his spots and he can make shots from all over the floor. He showed the ability to create space off limited dribbles, moved well without the ball and was always ready to shoot the basketball and looked for his shot. He finished with 27 points, four rebounds and three assists in the win.