Virginia Challenge Standouts (Part 3)
This past weekend was the second annual Virginia Challenge, a wonderful idea that brings together private school programs from the Northern Virginia area and the rest of the state (this year was all Richmond) giving each other opportunities to play…
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Continue ReadingThis past weekend was the second annual Virginia Challenge, a wonderful idea that brings together private school programs from the Northern Virginia area and the rest of the state (this year was all Richmond) giving each other opportunities to play different programs and let guys like us see teams compete that usually don’t meet. This year the event was held at Trinity Episcopal in Richmond, and featured four good matchups. Unfortunately, I was unable to get there in time for the first matchup (sorry St. Chris and Potomac School, I owe you one), but I did get to see plenty of big time performers in the event. Here’s a look at part one of my three part standouts series from the Virginia Challenge.
Potomac School 57 St. Chris 48
Episcopal 73 Benedictine 65
St. Stephen’s St. Agnes 62 Collegiate 27
Flint Hill 88 Trinity Episcopal 85 (OT)
Noel Brown | 6’10” PF | Flint Hill 2020
Brown is still somewhat of a project, but he showed great improvement and upside that should have division one coaches in the gym for him already. He’s a fluid athlete with a good frame that runs the floor, finishes in the paint and has a great motor on both ends. He battled through foul trouble in a weirdly called game, but in the first half he was a monster in the paint. He finished strong around the rim, showed some touch out to the midrange, rebounded well on both ends and was a physical presence in the middle when he was in the game. He finished with 12 points and six rebounds off the bench,
Henry Coleman | 6’8” PF | Trinity Episcopal 2020
Coleman continues to put up some of the biggest numbers in the state, and in a heavyweight matchup that went into overtime Coleman was the best and most productive guy on the floor. Against one of the top bigs in the country, he used his mismatch ability on the perimeter and showed improvement in his jumper hitting five threes in the game. His motor was never ending, as usual, and he stepped his game up in every aspect. While he scored a game high 38 points, he also trusted his teammates and made the right play, along with rebounding the basketball on both ends. He pitched in 10 rebounds and 7 assists on the game, and was 12-for-26 from the field, 5-for-10 from deep and 9-for-9 from the line.
Burke Smith | 6’10” PF | Trinity Episcopal 2020
Smith battled well against a front line of Flint Hill that boasts 6’8”, 6’9” and 6’11”. His ability to stretch the floor and take the bigs out was important, but he did most of his work in the paint for the game. He showed good touch with both hands, and he protected the rim with a couple of impressive blocks. He finished with 17 points on the game.
Darius Johnson | 5’11” PG | Episcopal 2021
Brother of Episcopal senior Xavier Johnson who’s heading to George Mason next year, Darius Johnson looks like he’s going to have quite the career himself. Last time I saw him he dropped 38 against Maret in the Sleepy Thompson Tournament, and while he didn’t reach that this game he was still impressive. He can play on or off the basketball, has deep range off the catch and he can create and score from all three levels. He finished with a game high 24 points, scoring 17 of them in the second half.
Erik Prosise | 6’0” G | Trinity Episcopal 2021
Prosise is one of the role players who is still figuring out his role, but as he’s getting more comfortable he’s showing that he can really play. The sophomore shot the basketball extremely well for the Titans, going 5-for-7 from deep and hitting a number of big shots in the second half for them. He can play on and off the ball, as he has good vision and playmaking ability as well. He finished with 15 points and four assists in their overtime loss to Flint Hill.
Wendell Tomlin | 6’4” F | Benedictine 2022
As far as freshmen go, Tomlin was the one who stood out the most. After getting some minutes in the first half and being productive, he played much more in the second half and showed a lot of promise moving forward. At 6’4” he has good length and looks like he may still grow a little bit, and he’s a utility guy to the point where I can’t tell what position he’ll play moving forward, but he’s a ball player with a good future. He finished with 11 points, going 4-for-6 from the field and 2-for-3 from deep, and he pitched in five rebounds and three assists as well.