CBG Fall Finale: Notable VA Upperclassmen

CBG hosted its fall finale over the weekend down in Richmond, VA at Henrico Sports & Events Center where a loaded slate of games unfolded on Saturday. I was court side for many of the best matchups and will have content flowing through the MD/DC and Virginia site in the next few days.   I already broke down the <a href="https://prephoops.com/2026/10/cbg-fall-finale-md-dc-upperclassmen-notables/">notable upperclassmen in the MD/DC area</a> before<a href="https://prephoops.com/2026/10/cbg-fall-finale-md-dc-underclassmen-notables/"> moving onto the underclassmen</a>.   Now, I'll highlight the upperclassmen from VA who brought signficant impact.    Some of the best basketball I've seen out of Carpenter took place this weekend. In the marquee matchup of the day on Saturday, St. James won a thriller against Petersburg and the 6-foot-5 wing was a major reason why. He was teeing off from beyond the arc and converting with precision as guys like Kye Gray, [player_tooltip player_id='2353574' first='Christian' last='Proctor'] and others penetrated the paint with intentions of finding the hot-handed senior wing. When he wasn't knocking down shots, Carpenter was defending at a high level, pursuing 50/50s with urgency and helping close down the glass to limit Petersburg to one-shot possessions. Carpenter has been on a steady upward trajectory over the last 8-to-9 months and I expect him to turn a corner and be a foundational piece for Book Richardson and St. James (VA) this season.     The growth that Bryant has shown with his floor game has been impressive dating back to his freshman season at PVI where it looked as if he would carve out a reputation as an off-ball guard with sniping ability from range. Instead, he made the move to Gillion and the ball was put in his hands to initiate offense in the half court, which has now evolved into reading layers of the defense and delivering zip passes off the live dribble on target to spot up guys in the weak side corners. Bryant has also tightened his handle a great deal, which allows him to be a tough guard in high ball screens where he can still kill his defender for going under screens, split the guard and big if they try and trap or use his burst to gain an advantage on the big's outside hip before turning the corner and processing the backline of the defense.     It had been a while since I last saw Stinney before Saturday, but there's clearly improvements within his game and seems to be playing with a heightened sense of confidence on both ends dictating energy around the rim. Stinney is an idea play finishing style forward who gets off his feet quickly before rocking the rim with two hands. On several occasions Saturday, he awaiting dump-offs in the dunker's spot, made timely dives from the top of the key and converted on rolls following ball screens where he showed dependable hands and ill intentions when he rose up to the rim. He snags rebounds with ferocity and does a nice job of challenging shots around the basket while avoiding body contact that could bait a ref's whistle.     Another guard/wing on this St. James team who really impressed me was Proctor. Not because he went off for 20 points or made a defender touch Earth with a nasty crossover, but simply because he thrived in his role and made high IQ plays in the definition of crunch time that allowed his team to escape with the win. Proctor had my attention early with the way he was attacking in straight-line drives where he either drew fouls or finishing through contact in the air. You could just tell he was playing with a different intention and with a little edge. He blended in from there on out until the last five minutes where the 6-foot-6 senior made some of the best basketball decisions that I've seen out of him.   I mentioned above that Carpenter was the hot hand throughout for this squad. As St. James trailed by two with a minute left, Proctor received a swing pass as he stood in the right corner where he absolutely could've let it fly. His defender closed out uncontrollably and went for a slight shot fake as Proctor took 1-2 dribbles up toward the right wing. He knew exactly what he was doing as he saw Carpenter running baseline and on his way to fill the corner that Proctor just dribbled out of. Instead of forcing a tough mid range, Proctor drew Carpenter's defender to halt penetration, turned and hit Carpenter with a scoop pass that he drilled to give St. James the lead. The patience and maturity spoke volumes to me. Petersburg was able to answer the Carpenter three with a bucket of their own to retake the lead and once again, it was Proctor who came through as this time he drove and converted an and-1 opportunity.   Big time stuff from Proctor.     Palmer seems to be settling in quickly with his new team in Fairfax Christian. Coming off a spring/summer where he generated buzz with his fluid playmaking and smooth long range shotmaking, Palmer looks to be a primary offensive piece for head coach Phil Ogene. It seemed like whenever I checked in on a Cardinals game, Palmer was raining in a triple with supreme confidence. They have a few prospects who can generate offense from the point of attack or within the offensive flow, but the threat and gravity that Palmer provides is what will open up the floor for others to take advantage of.     Nix has always prided himself as a polished, three-level scorer as a guard with good positional size. He's shown improvement in initiating and playing through contact whether it's during his process of attacking the rim or creating the separation for his pull up. This Gillion squad has a plethora of guys who can damage the defense from various positions, but the backcourt of Nix and Bryant keeps opposing backcourts on their toes at all times. As I mentioned with Bryant's growth as a distributor, it has a direct correlation with Nix's ability to let it fly from three. Bryant regularly found his backcourt mate for drive-and-kicks or playing off two in the paint as Nix's defender played with fire attempting to dig from the strong side only to watch his main drain a triple before he could get any sort of respectable contest.     Anytime I get to see Walker in an intense matchup, I get my popcorn ready. He's the definition of a tough-nosed, dogged defender who plays with an intense edge that only a few can match. He made his impact in the scoring column in spurts with a mixture of tough layups and a couple of spot-up three's but his presence was more prevalent with his pressure defending the ball. He's a pest that keeps coming back no matter if the ball handler is able to shake him or the ref gets him for being more handsy than he should. Nevertheless, his physicality, lateral foot speed and active hands generate more good things for his team than they do bad and it was a key component in Petersburg establishing early breathing room before losing at the last second against St. James on Saturday.     Gray is in a great situation at St. James as he is the no-brainer floor general for a talented group who brings a blend of athleticism, shooting and role guys. Gray made his presence felt early as he knifed into the defense and bounced defenders off of their spots before finishing at the rim. He did a nice job of controlling tempo that played to his team's advantage and continues to grow as a processor getting off the ball quickly whenever there is a mismatch or numbers advantage in front of him.

CBG hosted its fall finale over the weekend down in Richmond, VA at Henrico Sports & Events Center where a loaded slate of games unfolded on Saturday. I was court side for many of the best matchups and will have content flowing through the MD/DC and Virginia site in the next few days.

I already broke down the notable upperclassmen in the MD/DC area before moving onto the underclassmen.

Now, I'll highlight the upperclassmen from VA who brought signficant impact.