Virginia Challenge Standouts (Part 1)
This past weekend was the second annual Virginia Challenge, a wonderful idea that brings together private school programs from the Northern Virginia area and the rest of the state (this year was all Richmond) giving each other opportunities to play…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThis past weekend was the second annual Virginia Challenge, a wonderful idea that brings together private school programs from the Northern Virginia area and the rest of the state (this year was all Richmond) giving each other opportunities to play different programs and let guys like us see teams compete that usually don’t meet. This year the event was held at Trinity Episcopal in Richmond, and featured four good matchups. Unfortunately, I was unable to get there in time for the first matchup (sorry St. Chris and Potomac School, I owe you one), but I did get to see plenty of big time performers in the event. Here’s a look at part one of my three part standouts series from the Virginia Challenge.
Potomac School 57 St. Chris 48
Episcopal 73 Benedictine 65
St. Stephen’s St. Agnes 62 Collegiate 27
Flint Hill 88 Trinity Episcopal 85 (OT)
Asa Shannon | 6’4” WF | Episcopal 2019
All of Episcopal’s starting five was impressive in their win over Benedictine, and the available Shannon showed why he’s definitely a scholarship level kid. He has great size on the wing, he’s a good athlete who plays hard on both ends and he makes the right play and isn’t selfish. He has a high ceiling if he improves as a shot maker, which he has shown some improvement in over the past couple of years. He finished with 10 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and two steals.
Xavier Johnson | 6’0” PG | Episcopal 2019
The George Mason commit isn’t even 100%, but he showed in spurts that he’s still capable of being the best player on the floor at times. He has a mix of quickness and tough shotmaking ability off the bounce, he’s a playmaker on both ends and he has a high IQ and toughness about him as well. Down the stretch he really showed his ability to take over, scoring 8 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter. He also pitched in three rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Noah Lindsey | 6’4” PF | Benedictine 2019
If I’m a small school in need of an old school, tough paint presence, Lindsey is absolutely worth a look. He has good fundamentals in the paint, he has a relentless motor on both ends of the floor and he works on the glass to dominate it. He isn’t the biggest or most athletic guy in the paint, but he has a number of moves, he’s a good face up guy and he works to keep plays alive and get to the line. He finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds in the loss.
Charles Thompson | 6’8” PF | St. Stephen’s St. Agnes 2019
The Saints ran rampant over a Collegiate team who just didn’t bring their A game, and the size of SSSAS was a big reason for it. Thompson didn’t play a ton in the 62-27 blowout, but his presence in the post was a big reason for their tremendous defensive outing. He’s able to play straight up in post situations, can wall up and moves his feet well in face up situations, and he has great instincts in the press as well as he had three steals. He finished with 9 points and five rebounds in limited minutes, including a couple big time slams.
Christian DePollar | 6’4” WG/WF | St. Stephen’s St. Agnes 2019
Another guy who played well in the limited minutes, the Air Force commit was solid on both ends and showed a mix of skill and IQ that should make him very good at the next level. He has good length that he uses on the defensive end for deflections and steals, and he’s a good help side defender who isn’t afraid to give up his body as he took two charges. The lefty can shoot it off the catch and a couple of dribbles, and he’s a solid rebounding wing as well. His two-way production was solid even without making shots, as he finished with 5 points, 5 rebounds and three steals in limited time as well.
Ephraim Reed | 5’10” PG | St. Stephen’s St. Agnes 2019
While some of the starters weren’t able to put up big time numbers due to the blowout win for the Saints, it allowed some of the bench guys to show what they can do. Now let’s get one thing straight, the Saints are a super deep group who played just about everyone in the first half, and one of the guys who made an impact in his time was Reed. He’s a water-bug of a PG who’s a pest on the defensive end and a quick playmaker on the offensive end. He played hard regardless of the score, and was aggressive on both ends finishing with 4 points and 4 steals in his limited role off the bench.