Preseason All-Met First Team: Hampton Roads
Every year the Virginia Pilot does an All Met team, picking three teams of the top players in the Hampton Roads metro area. While constructing our previews this year, we decided to do a couple All Met Teams for different…
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Continue ReadingEvery year the Virginia Pilot does an All Met team, picking three teams of the top players in the Hampton Roads metro area. While constructing our previews this year, we decided to do a couple All Met Teams for different areas, now looking at the Hampton Roads area. We’ll be doing a first and second team, with eight guys on each team. Here’s a look at our preseason predictions for the All Met Hampton Roads First Team.
*Note: All Met selections are based on predicted production and impact at the high school level, not necessarily the best collegiate prospects in the area.
Preseason POTY: Jordan Battle | 6’2” G | Norfolk Collegiate
Somehow, Battle didn’t make the Pilot’s First Team last year despite leading the 757 in scoring last year, but did get the nod as the first guy on the second team. I understand that you have to take into consideration whether or not a guy leads his team to deep playoff runs and things like that, but the fact is Battle was so phenomenal last year and his numbers showed it as he averaged a jaw dropping 31 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists according to his Head Coach Junior Burrough, and yet still didn’t get first team (go figure). Battle has a Swiss army knife type of game and a very high motor and good energy to go along with it, so he’s a matchup nightmare for pretty much anyone on their schedule.
Zyrail Mitchell | 6’2” G | Lake Taylor 2020
If you made me pick one guy to challenge Battle for the scoring crown in the 757 this year, I’d probably go with Mitchell because of his situation as being the most experienced returner at Lake Taylor, and he’s going to have to carry a lot of the weight this year for the Titans. Last year he showed flashes of brilliance, including a 30 point game I witnessed with my own eyes at the Reebok Crossover Classic, and a couple other big time scoring performances. He’s a super talented shot creator and maker who can get streaky at times but when he’s on he can fill it up from all three levels and is very tough to guard with the ball in his hands.
Tim Montgomery | 6’0” PG | Portsmouth Christian 2020
Montgomery has been one of the most stellar guards in Hampton Roads for the past four seasons, and he even took his athletic abilities to the football field this fall where he was a star wide receiver despite never playing the game before. That mix of athleticism and natural understanding of the game is what makes him so good on the basketball court as well, as he’s a throwback kind of guard who can make all the right reads and passes, but can also fill it up in a number of ways when he needs to. He can get in the lane and finish with both hands, has really improved his shooting ability from deep and is always one of the smartest and toughest guys on the floor.
Karl Chavis | 6’5” PF | Oscar Smith 2020
Chavis was one of the top breakout guys in the 757 last year with Smith and is primed for another big year this season on a Smith team that is looking like one of the favorites in Class 6 with their mix of talent and experience. He’s a hybrid forward who is very bouncy on both ends and makes plays at the rim and controls the glass, but he’s also a mismatch at the four spot where he can shoot the basketball and take guys off the bounce and get to the rim. He averaged 14 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks last year for the Tigers in his first year as a starter.
Justin Fatherly | 6’3” WG | Nansemond River 2020
One of the more underrated guys in the area, Fatherly is set to explode this year after he quietly was one of the better scorers in Hampton Roads last year. At 6’3” he has a great mentality and motor where he’ll come at you time and time again, getting to the rack and finding his way to the line often throughout the game. He can score from all three levels and is great in transition, and he’s a guy who will come at whoever is in front of him. He’ll be one to watch as a sleeper in the area this year.
Jaylani Darden | 6’3” G | Norview 2021
Norview is one of the most talented teams in Class 5 this year, and a lot of their success will hinge on Darden, their utility junior guard who does a little bit of everything for them. He’s extremely long and active at 6’3” as a guy who defends well on and off the ball and rebounds well for a guard, but he’s improving in the right areas offensively that he should see a huge uptick in production from a scoring standpoint. The lefty has good vision in transition and when he gets downhill he can make plays for others, and he also has a great middle game and improved jumper from deep that should make him very tough to guard throughout the year.
Jacob Cooper | 5’8” PG | Green Run 2021
In an area chock full of talented point guards, there may not be any that are true floor generals the way that Cooper is. At 5’8” he isn’t the biggest guy but he’s highly skilled with the ball in his hands, he’s very smart on both ends of the floor and has great instincts and he can run the pick-and-roll where he can make all the right reads and make shots off the bounce. With the departure of Ashley James who’s now at Hargrave, he’s going to have the ball in his hands almost exclusively and will be the straw that stirs the drink for a talented Green Run team.
Jayden Epps | 6’0” PG | Kings Fork 2022
Ranked as the number one sophomore in the state, Epps is transferring to Kings Fork from Granby where he’ll join one of the most talented teams in all of Class 4. Epps is part of a group of talented young lead guards in the 757, and he can flat out go while also setting the tone on both ends of the floor and making everyone on his team better as well. He’s quick off the bounce and very strong with the ball so he’s able to get to his spots off the bounce, he can shoot from deep off the catch and he’s able to get hot quickly and take over a game. Throw in the fact he’s still young and will improve over time, he’ll be a guy that high majors track for the foreseeable future.