The annual ASSIST Student Athletes Tip Off Classic is back at Meadowbrook High School this season with six games featuring twelve outstanding programs across the state of Virginia. The games will be featured in back-to-back succession, with the first game…
The annual ASSIST Student Athletes Tip Off Classic is back at Meadowbrook High School this season with six games featuring twelve outstanding programs across the state of Virginia. The games will be featured in back-to-back succession, with the first game tipping off at 12:15 and the last one scheduled for 9:15 pm. Here’s our breakdowns of the games, including a key matchup to watch in each, and our final score prediction.
Thomas Jefferson vs. Millwood School
Matchup to Watch: Daekwon Spence (TJ) vs Miles Gibson (Millwood)
This will be a tough matchup for TJ because of Millwood’s depth and athleticism. TJ is a scrappy group that won’t back down from anyone and will fight to the finish, so you can never completely count them out. Senior forward Daekwon Spence will be important for them because, at 6’6, he can matchup with the size of Millwood’s front line and wings, and he’s a good rebounder and finisher in traffic.
However, Millwood has TOO much size, especially at the guard and wing positions with CJ Williams, Ben Stanley, Aaron Cash and Miles Gibson. The Bobcats have too much length defensively and too many weapons on the offensive end, and will likely be able to wear down a thinner Thomas Jefferson team.
Prediction: Millwood 82 Thomas Jefferson 65
Menchville vs. Life Christian Academy
Matchup to Watch: Bruice Harris (LCA) vs TJ Turner (Menchville)
For Menchville, we didn’t get a chance to see them during the summer or fall, but they are led by two senior combo guards in TJ Taylor and Darryl Barbour. Taylor is a small, but scrappy, guard with shiftiness off the bounce, while Barbour is a menace in transition with his athleticism. The issue for Menchville will be their lack of size and go-to guy down the stretch.
This game could either be really close or possibly a blowout, mainly depending on how well LCA shoots the ball. Led by sophomore wing Derrick Redman and senior point guard Bruice Harris, they have a completely new core that is still gelling, but have shown flashes they could be very good this season. In a 40 point win over Christ Chapel earlier this year, LCA connected on 17 threes, and if they shoot it that well they’ll be tough to beat. The difference could be senior Eric Valentine, who’s a bull in the paint and Menchville simply doesn’t have anyone to matchup with him.
Prediction: Life Christian Academy 71 Menchville 56
Christ Chapel vs. Prince George
Matchup to Watch: Dominic Bailey (Christ Chapel) vs Cory Hill (PG)
Christ Chapel has a young group of talented players led by freshman point guard Dominic Bailey. They have been up and down early this season, which is to be expected of a young team, hanging with a tough Millwood team but then losing by 40 to Life Christian the next day.
Prince George is led by the senior inside-out combination of point guard Cory Hill and post Savonte Chappell. Chappell is a load inside at 245, and has a soft touch around the rim. Expect Hill to create a lot of plays and Chappell to to dominate the paint with his strength.
Prediction: Prince George 66 Christ Chapel 55
Parkview vs. John Marshall
Matchup to Watch: Mike Cunningham (Parkview) vs Jeremy Sheppard (John Marshall)
This matchup lost a little bit of it’s intrigue with nationally ranked sophomore Keldon Johnson sidelined after breaking his ankle in the preseason. However, fellow sophomore wing Mike Cunningham had a huge debut for Park View, as the sharpshooting guard dropped 30 points in their win over Blue Stone.
The problem is that without Johnson, Parkview won’t have the firepower to matchup with Marshall. The Justices have two sure fire division one upperclassmen in senior point guard Jeremy Sheppard and junior post Greg Jones, and have a host of young guards and wings that can fill it up as well.
Prediction: John Marshall 87 Parkview 60
Greenbrier Christian Academy vs. Benedictine
Matchup to Watch: Darrius Richmond (GCA) vs DeAndre Thomas (Benedictine)
This may be the most intriguing matchup of the event, because it’s an upstart program in GCA against an established powerhouse in Benedictine. Greenbrier boasts one of the more underrated point guards in the state in junior Lhordn Hyman, who’s a quick and scrappy pass-first point guard who runs the team very efficiently. GCA also has a lot of athleticism on the wing with Darrius Richmond and they like to pressure the basketball a lot, however they are missing a key piece with freshman DeArvae Heard out with injury.
Why does that boast a problem for Benedictine? There one area of concern is ball handler. Junior transfer Aaron Fowlkes has done a solid job handling the ball so far, however he’s more of a scoring combo guard, and whether he can handle in your face pressure has yet to be seen. On the plus side though, Benedictine has a lot of depth and size, and their front court trio of 6’11 John Salley, 6’8 Dimitiri Georgiadis and 6’7 Cutch Ellis makes them tough to matchup with. I think that gives them the edge on second chance points and protecting the rim.
Prediction: Benedictine 58 Greenbrier Christian 50
Granby vs. Meadowbrook
Matchup to Watch: Deondre “Diggy” Carter (Granby) vs James “Amp” Williams (Meadowbrook)
This is an interesting late night matchup, because both teams are inexperienced with a lot of new faces. Granby pulled in two really good transfers from Booker T in junior point guard Jeremiah Jenkins and senior combo guard Deondre “Diggy” Carter. They also have one of the best scoring freshman in the area in Antwan Epps, who dropped 17 points in his varsity debut. The three guard attack is capable of putting point up in bunches, and will hound ball handlers all 32 minutes.
Meadowbrook is led by two senior wings in James “Amp” Williams and Richard Legree, who both had a good start to the season with 24 and 21 points, respectively, in their loss to Hopewell. What concerns the Monarchs is where the other production will come from, and if they can step up and become that tough and gritty defensive team they’ve had success with. They gave up 96 points in their opener against Hopewell, and most of their wins last season came in the 50s.
This nightcap should be an intense matchup that could go either way, but we’ll have to give the slight nod to Granby because of their deep guard play and the lack there of at Meadowbrook.
Prediction: Granby 58 Meadowbrook 52