Who’s Built for a State Title Run in Each NOVA District (4-1)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the district tournaments kicking off, I want to focus on the team from each NOVA district that has the best shot to win states. This is ranked in order of who I think has the best chance to win in their class, not the best teams in order.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Other teams with a chance at states&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Liberty District- Yorktown</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Patriot District- South County</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Patriot District- Lake Braddock</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Potomac District- Potomac Falls</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dulles District- Tuscarora&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>4. Cardinal District: Gar-Field&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gar-Field has been outstanding this year, only losing 1 one game. They don't have a great strength of schedule, but they cruised to a number 1 seed in the district, then won their district tournament this past Friday in a hard-fought win over Potomac. Gar-Field can score with anyone, and Junior Guard JJ Bell is one of the most slept-on players in the state. Gar-Field hasn't had this type of success in a long time, and it has been fun to see them exceed expectations this year. There are a handful of other really productive players Gar-Field has, especially in its backcourt. The lack of a good strength of schedule makes this team somewhat of a question mark, but I trust in the talent, and after watching them a few times, I think they could contend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>3. Cedar Run District: Patriot&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The reason I have Patriot in front of some of the teams that may have looked a little better in the regular season is because of the experience and offensive firepower this team has. Patriot averages the most points of any team in NOVA, and it's all about how they are built around star guard [player_tooltip player_id='2148734' first='Elijah' last='Gaskins']. Elijah is one of the best players in Class 6 and has been a catalyst for this offensive juggernaut. Elijah's ability to get downhill whenever is paramount to his teams success. This team has a lot of shooting that thrives off his penetration. [player_tooltip player_id='2868297' first='Sean' last='Madrigal'] is one of the best shooters in the state with nice size and deserves a lot more recognition for his level of efficiency shooting the rock. [player_tooltip player_id='2868797' first='Noah' last='Conrad'] and Jeremiah Parrish have been good for this team as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2. Dulles District: Heritage&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the most eye-opening games from this season was what Heritage did at Broad Run. Beating Broad Run on their home court is hard to begin with, and doing so in a way where the game is never even competitive is another. This Dulles District is very good, and Tuscarora is a team that could make a state run, and Heritage beat them twice. Heritage has a great balance on offense led by Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2548309' first='Masyn' last='Miller']. [player_tooltip player_id='3071136' first='Becks' last='Hetzel'] and [player_tooltip player_id='3275779' first='Jordan' last='Garland'] are right behind him in production. Heritage does an awesome job of dictating pace, and they have no problem consistently keeping games in the 40s and 50s. This is an outstanding defensive team with some terrific wins this year. Heritage's only loss is to the only team ranked ahead of them in Class 4 in E.C. Glass. This is a legit state title contender with the type of experience and style of play that usually makes deep runs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>1. Concorde District: Westfield&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Westfield was a pretty easy team to put here. They are as complete as any public school in the state. They have experience, depth, and immense talent at all positions. Their senior backcourt trio of [player_tooltip player_id='1963548' first='Colin' last='Stemberger'], [player_tooltip player_id='1782684' first='Isaiah' last='Brown'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2252294' first='Jemon' last='Price'] is great. Price specifically is one of the best 1v1 scorers in NOVA and has been super productive. Senior Forward [player_tooltip player_id='2252302' first='William' last='Robinson'] is a matchup nightmare, and [player_tooltip player_id='2918960' first='Malachi' last='Lee'] has come into his own in his sophomore year. Westfields only loss this season is to quite literally the best team in the country in PVI, and I have a hard time seeing more than a few teams having a chance to beat this Westfield team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->