VISAA Semifinals: Division 2 Standouts

<p>The <strong>VISAA</strong> semifinals were yesterday and the action did not disappoint in Petersburg as we saw 12 talented teams from all across the state. Below are the two scores from the division 2 semifinals and five standout players.</p> <p><strong>Blue Ridge 62 Middleburg 43</strong></p> <p><strong>Norfolk Collegiate 75 Highland 71</strong></p> <p><strong>2021 6’2 Michael Gray | Blue Ridge</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Michael always seems to play great in front of me and this was again the case on Saturday. Gray is a tough minded guard that is wired to score whenever he has the ability to. He runs the show for Blue Ridge and has the ability to break defenders down because of the dribble. He is one of the toughest playing guards in the state that does not shy away from contact or anyone bigger than him.</span></p> <p><strong>2022 6’8 <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/maliq-brown/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/maliq-brown/">Maliq Brown</a></a> | Blue Ridge</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brown is on pace to become the next star out of the Blue Ridge program that has produced a handful of division 1 prospects over the past few years. Maliq impacts the game on both ends because of his size, length and mobility. He finished with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks. Look for Brown to be a heavily pursued prospect on the national level. </span></p> <p><strong>2021 6’4 <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/angelo-brizzi/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/angelo-brizzi/">Angelo Brizzi</a></a> | Highland School</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Point guard or shooting guard, it does not matter for the fast paced 2021 guard prospect. Brizzi scored at all three levels as he can shoot off the catch/shoot but also can create his own shot. He also does a great job of getting to the free throw line by drawing contact. When he was not scoring he was also getting his teammates involved where he dished out 9 assists.</span></p> <p><strong>2020 6’1 <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jordan-battle/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jordan-battle/">Jordan Battle</a></a> | Norfolk Collegiate</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I know we have all mentioned this countless times but it is absolutely stunning the lack of college involvement for Battle. The schools all time leading scorer and most recently announced TCIS Player Of The Year took over late in the game for Norfolk Collegiate to send them to the state championship. His jump shot is deadly and can finish well at the rim. One of the more underrated parts of his game is his passing. Battle has grown into a vocal leader and is a mid major prospect that certainly should see his recruitment pick up in the coming weeks because of his play this year. In a win against Highland he finished with 34 points including 18 from three.</span></p> <p><strong>2020 6’6 <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/tristan-how/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/tristan-how/">Tristan How</a></a> | Norfolk Collegiate</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">How continues to be a huge part of Norfolk Collegiate’s season. Last night he showed how bouncy he is, shot it well from midrange, used his length to be a factor on defense and was a beast on the boards and can finish well above the rim. He tallied 13 points, 11 rebounds and 4 steals for Norfolk Collegiate last night. The local division three schools should all be pursuing Tristan.</span></p>