Coaches 4 the Cure Preview: Part II
Tuesday, we took a look at the first half of the teams scheduled to play in Team Loaded’s annual, Coaches 4 the Cure, to be held this Saturday, February 3rd. Here, we will take a look at the remaining teams scheduled to participate in this weekend’s event.
Oscar Smith (11-3) vs. L.C. Bird (12-2)
Oscar Smith, led by the trio of Nyzaiah Chambers, Andre Bottoms, and transfer, BriQuan Harrell, the Oscar Smith instantly became a state title contender with the addition of Harrell to begin the season. LC Bird, the current 5A state champion, currently is going through a rebuild, with the lost of seniors, such as, Pinky Wiley and Mario Haskett, the Skyhawks are now led by seniors, Rahim Jenkins and Tyrek Williams, in addition to juniors, Corbin Slayton and Jamon Battle. Two teams that matchup pretty equally, the battle between the Tigers and the Skyhawks should be an interesting one, with both teams getting early practice for the upcoming state tournament.
Mississauga Secondary School vs. Huntington Prep (16-5)
Both of the teams head to Richmond from far. Mississauga Secondary School, makes the trip from Canada to take on basketball powerhouse, Huntington Prep, out of West Virginia. The Irish of Huntington Prep feature, the #13 ranked, Jaemyn Brakefield and #52, Cassius McNeily, and 2019 forward, Quinn Slazinski. Mississauga brings in 6’11 PF, Makur Maker, one of the best players Canada has to offer.
John Marshall (13-6) vs. Trinity Episcopal (18-2)
In what is undoubtedly the most anticipated matchup of the day, the John Marshall Justices, led by the #1 Sophomore in the nation, Isaiah Todd, goes head to head with another one of the nation’s best, junior, Armando Bacot, in what maybe the only regular season matchup you will ever see amongst two of arguably the best players that RVA has to offer. The Justices PG, Levar Allen should matchup well against Trinity PG, and ODU commit, Jason Wade, and in my opinion, other than the play of the two “stars” the play of each point guard will be beneficial in winning. Another matchup to look forward to in the last game of the night is that of Trinity’s, Henry Coleman, and John Marshall’s, Demarr McRae. These two players are two of the most athletic players in the state of Virginia. Either has the ability to take off from anywhere on the court, and make a team suffer. The trio from Trinity provides most of it’s offense, while the Justices feature a variety of players, such as Elijah Seward, who can come into the game at anytime and punish a defense with his shooting ability. Ultimately, winning this matchup will come down to which team’s role players decide to step up.