Takeaways: Chance Harman Classic
In the sleepy rural town of Floyd County, Virginia, a tournament with somber beginnings has grown into one of the premier basketball events in the entire state. The Chance Harmon Classic, an event started nine years ago to raise awareness…
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Continue ReadingIn the sleepy rural town of Floyd County, Virginia, a tournament with somber beginnings has grown into one of the premier basketball events in the entire state. The Chance Harmon Classic, an event started nine years ago to raise awareness and money for pediatric cancer, brings together local teams in the southwestern part of Virginia, as well as national powerhouse programs who make the trip for good basketball and a good cause.
This year, the headlining teams included High Point Christian (NC), Huntington Prep (WV), Elev8 Academy (FL), Cape Henry Collegiate and Mount Mission. While seeing some of the best players in the country was great, it was also a good chance to see some of the talent that the smaller schools in the state have to offer, schools we regularly wouldn’t get a chance to see.
Here’s five things that we took away from our time covering the Chance Harman Classic.
Cape Henry Still an Elite Program
Even after losing four starters, including Chris Clarke and Marcus Evans who went on to start at Virginia Tech and Rice, respectively, Cape Henry pulled off a big upset of nationally ranked Huntington Prep in dramatic fashion. Unsigned senior Malcolm Weathers hit a three at the buzzer as Cape battled back from trailing the majority of three quarters.
The success for Cape starts with two people: Head Coach Mark Hall and junior point guard Malik Marrow. Hall has proved time and time again that he is one of the best coaches in the state, and despite many saying that they were going to have a down year, he stuck with his national schedule and proved that they will compete winning three of their five games in six days last week.
However good Few was, especially in preparing his team and coaching them down the stretch, he doesn’t win that game without a gutsy effort from Malik Marrow, who finished with 24 points and 8 assists. He was huge down the stretch, going for 19 points in the second half, many of them he created himself and finished through contact off the bounce. Cape will need consistent efforts out of Weathers, freshman Dajour Rucker (who finished with 18 points against Huntington), and senior Mark Seaman, but Marrow is capable of making them all better when he’s got it going.
Gate City Trio Shows Out for SWVA
Gate City was one of the teams that we were looking forward to seeing the most, and they didn’t disappoint in their win over the host team Floyd County. While they stumbled at times in the first half, they leaned on senior forward John Reed-Barnes who stepped up to the challenge and came through with 23 points. The stretch four had 15 points in the first half, including three big triples to keep them in the hunt.
In the second half, it was the Mac McClung show, as the 5’11 sophomore point guard wowed the crowd with his ball handling and toughness. Despite his size, McClung is an explosive athlete with a quick first step, and his ability to keep it on a string was on display throughout the game as he spun defenders in the open court and backed them up in the half court. He finished with 15 points on the night.
The one who intrigued us the most, however, was freshman Zac Ervin, who finished with 10 points. The 6’3 wing played with poise, and despite not having his best game of the year, he was key as he attacked smaller defenders and got to the line with regularly. His mix of skill, intelligence and size makes him as intriguing of a prospect as any of the three.
Brendan Newton Continues his Progression
While Faith Christian did not have a great showing against Bishop McGuiness of North Carolina, 7’2 junior Brendan Newton finished with a triple-double of 17 points, 10 rebounds and a tournament record 10 blocks. While the numbers are impressive, Newton’s poise was eerily chilling as McGuiness took to the tactic of playing very physical with him. Newton took a beating, but never retaliated and instead continued to play and produce at a high rate. While being doubled and face guarded in the post, he did a good job of keeping the ball high, showing a soft touch around the rim and on his jump hook and knowing when to pass out of the double team and step through it. He still has some work, but he seems to be making leaps and bounds every time that he plays.
Mount Mission Can Compete with Anybody
The small boarding school for international kids continues to play, and beat, some of the best teams up and down the east coast. Mount Mission is deep, talented, well coached and an unselfish team. They lost a tough overtime game to Elev8 Academy Red National, one of the best prep schools in Florida, but followed it up with a blowout of Carlisle School.
While they are a very balanced team, the players who stood out the most this weekend were senior point guard Keshon Montague and senior off guard Diogo Brito. Montague, a 5’8 point guard, played out of his mind in their win over Carlisle, where he set the tone on both ends, shot the ball well off the bounce and changed pace to get in the lane with ease.
Brito was impressive with his great feel of the game and overall play. A 6’3 two guard, Brito can shoot the deep ball, read the defense and consistently makes the right play on both ends of the floor. While he doesn’t have a specified skill that he does great, he’s capable of helping a team win a basketball game in many different ways.
Mount Mission is a complete team with size, athletes, shooters and guards. They are 16-5 on the season, playing a lot of the top competition in the state and surrounding area. It will be interesting to see what happens with their seniors, as they have five or six division one talented players who have yet to be signed.
SWVA Young Prospects Show Their Talent
In the western part of the state, we’re used to seeing high level basketball talent in the Roanoke area. Ranging from JJ Reddick to Troy Daniels, the Star City has produced it’s fair share of basketball products in the past. While there’s plenty of young talent in the Roanoke Valley, we were very happy to find that south of Roanoke there’s plenty of under the radar underclassmen to keep an eye out for moving forward. Mac McClung and Zac Erving from Gate City were mentioned earlier, here are some of the other young prospects south of Roanoke that stood out in the CHC.
- Quentin Morton-Robertson; Fr. PG; Radford
Head Coach Rick Cormany was quick to talk about this freshman, and he showed why throughout the game as he set the tone on both ends of the floor. Morton-Robertson is lightning quick in every way possible; laterally, end-to-end and with his hands. He finished the game against Blacksburg with a game-high six steals, and was impossible to stay in front of when he attacked downhill. He still has to grow, about 5’5 now, but his speed and intelligence makes him for his lack of height.
- Grant Johnston; Fr. F; Blacksburg
He didn’t put up huge numbers or anything, but Johnston showed a lot of potential in the Bruins’ loss to Radford. The 6’5 forward is long and nimble, and he gets up and down the floor well. He’s a great competitor that plays hard on both hands, and is able to play on the wing and in the post. He’ll be one to keep an eye on for sure.
- Noah Atwood; Soph. WG; George Wythe
We saw Atwood at our Vantage Hoops Combine, and we saw more of the same from him at both the Northside Invitational and Chance Harmon. Atwood is a savvy off guard who can shoot it, but isn’t always trigger happy. While he won’t shoot you out of the game, we’d like to see him look for his shot a little more because he can really stroke it. He reads screens well, is always shot ready and has a solid mid range as well. He can score it in bunches when he gets it going.
- Cole Meadows; Soph. WF; Giles County
Meadows had a spurt in their lost to George Wythe that raised the eyebrows of coaches and fans alike. He went on a seven point run himself, getting a basket at each level. He’s got good size at 6’3, and is an above average athlete that can finish in transition at or above the rim. He needs some fine tuning, but with some work he could be a very good player.