10 Best: Jack’s Holiday Tour of VA

Every year after Christmas, I travel from the 757 to the 540, stopping at many places in between to take in Holiday Tournaments across the state. Since I live in Richmond, I decided to stop at four cities other than that see as many teams as I could. My schedule looked like this: December 26th: Scope Holiday Basketball Classic in Norfolk, VA December 27th: James Monroe Holiday Basketball Festival in Fredericksburg, VA December 28th: Daily Progress Holiday Classic in Charlottesville, VA December 29th: Northside Invitational Tournament in Roanoke, VA I did standouts from each of the three events, and now that it's all done it's time for my 10 Best from the four tournaments. Stay tuned for a "Next 10" for even more superlatives from my tour across VA. Best Game: STAB vs. Western Albemarle The semifinals of the Daily Progress Holiday Tournament between STAB and Western Albemarle was a great game, and while it was outdone by the buzzer beater win for Albemarle over STAB in the championship game, I wasn't there for that one so the semifinal wins this one. It had all of the things you love about high school basketball. The atmosphere was intense, competitive and loud; the ebb and flow of the game was great with over 15 lead changes; and all of the kids left it all on the floor with a chance to play in the championship on the line. You had the public school vs. the private school. Western came out to a quick lead and were up as much as 15 in the first quarter. STAB showed great grit as they clawed their way back, with everyone contributing and when things got serious in the fourth quarter, they shined. The Saints were able to hold on and beat Western 57-50, advancing to the championship that they'd eventually lose on a buzzer beater to public power Albemarle. Best Play | Javon Swinton | North Stafford 2020 The sophomore point guard stepped up big in the final quarter of their win over North Stafford in the Daily Progress consolation round, and nothing was bigger than Swinton's floater to put them ahead for good with 5 seconds left in the game. Take a look at the shot, which was the biggest bucket for Swinton who finished with 25 points and 7 assists in the win. [playlist type="video" ids="281426"] Best Offensive Performer | Bryan Phillips | Maury 2019 There were a couple performances I saw that ended with more points than Phillips, but no-one was more efficient than Phillips who finished with 32 points on 16-for-19 shooting in Maury's 111-31 routing of Ocean Lakes on the first day of my tour in Norfolk. Phillips, who's a 6'1” guard that's built like a running back, got things going early by forcing some turnovers and getting some easy layups in transition. From there, he used his big frame and attacked downhill all game, and Ocean Lakes wanting nothing to do with him. He sat out the entire fourth quarter as well, or he likely would have finished with 40 points. Best Defensive Performer | Nathan Waddy | Stonewall Jackson 2018 Waddy, the Raiders biggest player at 6'6”, did a little bit of everything against a guard oriented Lancaster group who pushed Stonewall to the limit before falling 64-55. The 6A power Stonewall got a big lift from Waddy, who posted a double-double of 10 points and 15 rebounds. However, Waddy also was the big man in the middle defensively. The Mary Washington commit protected the rim as he swatted away 5 shots, and he was big in their entire defensive scheme as he had two steals and took two charges as well. He made big plays on both ends to help the Raiders get and maintain the lead late. Best Recognized Moment | Nick Price | Northside 2018 I've watched this kid grow for four years, and it's still amazing to me that division one schools aren't offering this kid. He's won 85 games in the past four years at the top school in the Roanoke area, and was phenomenal last year in the postseason helping lead Northside to the state championship game before falling to four time state champs Norcom. Friday night, after Northside won the championship of their own Northside Invitational Tournament for the fourth straight year, Head Coach Bill Pope announced that Price had scored his 1,000 points, and was also named to the All Tournament Team. Having seen this kid grow over time, and knowing how much more he cares about winning than getting personal awards like this, I had no problem telling him how proud I was to see him being recognized for everything he has done over the last four years. Congrats again, Nick! Best Underclassman | Garrett Payne | Western Albemarle 2020 Payne had me raving in the Daily Progress Semifinals against STAB, and although they lost he was the best player on the floor as just a sophomore. A long 6'6” wing that is already seeing high major interest for baseball, he'll be in talks of division one basketball coaches too as soon as they see this kid. He finished with 20 points, going 8-for-11 from the field and 4-for-4 from deep, and showed a toughness and composure about himself even when things unfolded for Western late. He brought the house down a two handed throw down in transition, and did a little bit of everything finishing with 8 rebounds, 5 blocks and two steals as well. I'm not sure what he's going to do between the two sports moving forward, but I know he has a very bright future if he chooses basketball. Best Takeover Performance | Brandon Burton | Fredericksburg Christian 2018 Burton was phenomenal for Fredericksburg Christian on Wednesday December 27th, when they came from down 12 points in the third quarter to beat Essex 60-52 in the first round of the James Monroe Holiday Basketball Festival. The 6'2” guard didn't get off to the best start, as he was 3-for-14 from the field in the first half for 13 points. In the second half however, after they got down 12, Burton went into attack mode, getting to the line 19 times in the second half and getting hot just when they needed him to. In the second half, Burton scored 29 points, with 16 of them coming from the free throw line. Despite a rough start to the game, Burton put his team on his back and found a way to takeover and will his team to a gutsy come from behind victory. Best Breakout Performance | Kasey Draper | Northside 2019 With the Northside leaders Nick Price and Julien Wooden the focus of the North Cross defense in the championship game of the Northside Invitational Tournament in Roanoke, junior wing Kasey Draper stepped up in a big way for the Vikings, who won 68-56 over crosstown private school North Cross. It was the Vikings biggest test of the year so far, and while Price and Wooden started well, it was Draper who stepped up throughout the game with a career high 28 points. He scored twelve points in the first half, with 11 of them coming in the second quarter, and he continued to take advantage of the defense and show them they should have game-planned for him as well. Draper shot 9-for-10 from the field and 9-for-11 from the line, and also pitched in 9 rebounds and four assists. What a big time performance in the championship game, which led to him being named to the NIT All Tournament team. Best Passer | Chase Coleman | Maury 2019 In their 111-31 route of Ocean Lakes, star point guard Chase Coleman only scored two points for Maury, but that's because he helped get five other Commodores in double digits. Coleman finished with 10 assists in around 22 minutes, and he showed that he has terrific feel and vision both in the half court and in transition. The 5'9” Coleman got after it defensively too, starting breaks with four steals and he showed he can really thread the needle on the break to get others easy shots. Best Aspect of Environments | Hospitality Rooms We all love free food and drinks, and the hospitality rooms at James Monroe, Charlottesville for the Daily Progress and especially Northside, which had a number of the parents volunteer their efforts and put together a wonderful spread, were all phenomenal. It always feels nice having your efforts recognized, and I just want to thank everyone for all their efforts and treating me with such wonderful hospitality. Thank you to everyone who made my travels great the past week!