Preseason All Richmond Dark Horse Candidates (Part 1)

The high school season in Virginia would usually be started by now, however it’s still up in the air in many areas are some school districts have already announced that they will cancel winter sports this year. However, we will remain optimistic that we will have some sports this year, and we will look forward as if we will. We will take a look at our picks for preseason all area teams as if everyone will play, looking now at the 804 area which features some of the top talent in the state. This made it very difficult to pick the teams, but we did our best on what we’ve seen over the past few years and what we saw this summer and fall. Here’s a look at the seven guys that just missed our cut for First or Second Team, but could easily be there by the end of the year. [player_tooltip player_id="957903" first="Garrett" last="Cox"] | 6’5” WF | Glen Allen 2021 <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Cox-Garrett.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1016669" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Cox-Garrett-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> Cox is part of an underrated Glen Allen program that competed with some very good teams last year, and he’s looking at having an even bigger season this year with the departure of two of their top scorers from last year. A highly skilled wing with good size, he’s a knock down shooter from deep that gets hot quickly, he can play inside-out on both ends and he can make contested shots from the midrange as well. [player_tooltip player_id="798748" first="Zach" last="Rosenthal"] | 6’0” WG | Steward School 2021 <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Rosenthal-Zach.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1070324" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Rosenthal-Zach-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> Rosenthal has been a huge part of Steward’s resurrection over the past few years, and the Roanoke commit is a guy who always brings it in big games and has been the x-factor for the group the last few years. The lefty is a blue collar guy who will fight for loose balls and rebounds very well for his size, he can absolutely light it up from deep with efficiency and gets hot quickly and he’s a high IQ kid who makes the right play and competes on both ends of the floor. [player_tooltip player_id="957910" first="Kylon" last="Lewis"] | 6’3” WF | Thomas Dale 2021 One of the breakout players in the Richmond area last year, Lewis was a huge reason that Dale had a big turnaround last year and went to the state tournament for the first time since I’ve been in the area. A long and athletic lefty that thrives in transition, Lewis is a guy who brings energy on both ends of the floor as he can guard multiple positions and jumps passing lanes well, he’s a big time finisher above the rim and moving forward he’s likely going to get a lot better. [player_tooltip player_id="957900" first="Kaleb" last="Bingham"] | 6’5” WF | James River 2021 <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Bingham-Kaleb.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1016670" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Bingham-Kaleb-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> Bingham is one of the most underrated guys in the Richmond area, and he had a big year for James River last year and has continually gotten better with every year. He’s a mismatch problem that uses his size well to score the basketball from multiple levels and is a good rebounder as well. He’s a score it in bunches kind of guy and he’s able to break out at any point to go for 20+ against very good teams. Whitt Williams | 6’7” PF | Benedictine 2021 Williams is another guy that is set up to have a big senior season with the departure of some of Benedictine’s top scorers from last year, and he’s a walking mismatch that is tough to matchup with and game plan for. Williams is a guy who is an inside-out threat that can stretch the floor to the three-point line, he’s mobile and runs the floor well and he can rebound on both ends and man the paint defensively as well. [player_tooltip player_id="962788" first="Christian" last="Carden"] | 6’5” F | Varina 2022 <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/12/Carden-Christian.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1094460" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/12/Carden-Christian-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> Carden was part of a trio of sophomores last year that took an entirely new Varina team to the state tournament, and he was the x-factor for them and one of the toughest matchups in the entire Richmond area. Carden’s a guy who plays and guards multiple positions for his group, he’s a guy who can handle it or play off the ball and he’s very versatile as he can score it in multiple wells, passes well for his size and position and he rebounds on both ends as well. He has somewhat of a different style to his game but he’s very productive across the board. Amari Baylor | 6’4” PF | Varina 2022 <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Baylor-Amari.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1072306" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Baylor-Amari-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> Baylor is another part of that trio, and he’s the brute and blue collar type of guy in the group who holds down the paint and can matchup with and often get the best of much bigger guys in the paint. He’s a physical and high motor guy who rebounds and gets lots of second chance opportunities, he’s crafty around the basket and can step out and knock down the midrange and he’s a good rim protector and can switch on guards on the defensive end as well.