Experienced Saints seek Prep crown

Across Central Virginia, a great number of stars return this year after strong 2007-2008 campaigns.

But few area teams can boast the return of four double-digit scorers in addition to a player who might be one of the area’s most talented athletes.

St. Anne’s-Belfield can.

Under Brian Kent, the Saints return sharpshooter Brett Goodloe and forwards Mark Terrell, Alex Asher and Quincey September as well as guard Bryan Lynch.

That’s a total of 58.2 points per game plugging right back into the Saints’ starting lineup, and five senior leaders, many of whom have started multiple years, taking charge for St. Anne’s.

Goodloe will lead the charge for the Saints. The third-team All-Central Virginia honoree poured in 18.5 points and dished out 5.5 assists per contest.

He’ll have a lot of talent around him including Terrell and Asher up front. Terrell averaged 10.5 ppg and pulled down 7.8 rebounds per game as a junior. Asher put up similar numbers, with 12.2 ppg and 7.8 rpg. September, a two time All-Old Dominion Football Conference defensive player of the year, will also be a force on the boards where he pulled down five per game last year.

Lynch, who averaged 11.5 ppg, could be headed for a breakout season, and he already gives the Saints another option at the guard spot, forcing teams not to zero in on Goodloe.

“There are some expectations, but we still have a long way to go,“ said head coach Brian Kent. “Some of these guys are still getting their basketball legs, but I’ve told them they’ve got to pick it up and they know that.“

Blue Ridge reloads with new group of stars

Goodbye Chris Smith, Ryan Leabough and Andrey Semenov.

Hello Denzel Wilson, Kristijan Krajina and Martins Abele.

Once again, Bill Ramsey has brought in a crop of fascinating and talented players at Blue Ridge, ranging from Albemarle County native Wilson’s 5-foot-9 stature to the hulking 7-foot-1 Abele. The middle member of his new trio may be the key though — Krajina checks in at 6-foot-9, has the ability to move between power forward and forward and can shoot the three. He already hit a big long ball down the stretch in Blue Ridge’s bounce back 65-60 victory over Greenfield.

“He’s still adjusting to the American game, and I’d like to see his intensity improve — the competition level is higher than he’s used to — but he’s a very gifted player who has all the tools,” Ramsey said.

Clearly coaches at the collegiate level think the Croatian has all the tools. He’s drawing interest from Notre Dame, Northwestern and Virginia, while Texas Christian has already offered the forward. He recently defended Duke signee Mason Plumlee well in Blue Ridge’s opener with the Christ School in North Carolina.

Wilson will join 5-foot-10 sophomore Chad Holley, 6-foot senior Luke Boras and

6-foot-4 athlete Scott Williams in the Barons’ backcourt. Wilson, who played at Albemarle before spending a year at Fork Union, will have to trigger the Blue Ridge offense and get the Barons’ host of big men (five players for Blue Ridge are 6-foot-8 or taller) involved. Wilson’s high basketball IQ should ease his transition with a new team.

“He’s doing a great job of playing point guard for us and getting everybody the ball in the offense,” Ramsey said. “A lot of new faces on the team and he’s just one of them, but he’s the kind of guy I’m looking for — it’s nice having a coach on the floor like that.”

Darnell Turner and Isaiah Battle, a pair of 6-foot-8 post players, will also be key for the Barons. Turner is drawing interest from Virginia Tech and Maryland, while Battle, just a sophomore, is receiving high interest from a number of Division I schools.

And then there’s Abele, perhaps the most intriguing player on the roster. Odds are good the huge Latvian will come off the bench at first, dependent largely upon matchups during the Barons’ brutal schedule. If Abele can develop, there aren’t too many high school teams that can match up with a 7-foot-1, 300-pound center.

Miller finding chemistry

Miller already had one of the nation’s best forwards in Marshawn Powell, as well as Hippolyte Tsafack and Brice Kofane underneath. Now they’ve added a fantastic scorer in Mychal Parker to go with guards Preston Terrell and D’Andre Corbin.

With all that talent, what could possibly be the problem for the Mavericks?

Putting things together as a team.

“We’ve got great pieces to the puzzle and it’s just about fitting it together,” Miller coach Fred Wawner said.

Last year that took Miller a little while. The Mavericks won big, but were out of sync early in the season. This year, Powell, in particular, has tried to make sure that isn’t the case. The Arkansas signee has done a lot to make sure that Miller’s players are thinking team first and not getting caught up in individual agendas.

“He’s important to that because I think everybody looks and waits for him,” Wawner said. “I’ve given him a lot of responsibility on that and he’s jumped at that opportunity. I think he wants to start that way.”

Powell is confident that the foundation has already been laid for Miller.

“To me, we’re going to better than we were last year,” Powell said. “Last year we really didn’t play as a team, but if everything jells together, we’re going to be even better.”

If Miller is better than a 27-4 record and runner-up finish in the state’s Division II, opponents had better look out. It won’t be easy. Tevin Swann, Shamarr Bowden and Patrick Liengueu are all gone now, and Corbin and the other guards will try and fill their spots.

Tsafack is still gaining confidence after a tendon injury, but he’s looked awfully impressive in practice according to Wawner, and he should make an impact as long as he continues to progress. Kofane, sometimes the forgotten member of the frontcourt for the Mavericks behind Powell and the dynamic Tsafack, is the most defensive-minded one of the group.

Newcomers Ricardo Rush and Andrew Owusu will factor into the mix at guard and could be impact players too.

But it’s Parker, and the hype that’s been building around the junior that may be the key. As teams collapse on the front line, his ability on the perimeter will come into play more and more. He’ll also have to defend a number of athletic players with the Mavericks’ difficult schedule. Parker’s ability to mesh well will certainly help him learn when to take over games.

“He doesn’t need a lot, he’s a kid that blends in very easily, he kind of naturally fits in,” Wawner said. “But we need to sometimes use his offensive talents on the perimeter and sometimes we need to push him to do a little more.”

Eagles ready to run

One thing opponents learned last year when Covenant’s Ben D’Alessandro took over is that the Eagles weren’t going to be afraid to shoot and shoot often.

This year, with the former ACC assistant back at the helm, a lot of those shooters return and odds are good the Eagles will get the green light to launch again.

Brian Clarry, who averaged 16 points per game en route to earning honorable mention All-Central Virginia honors, returns to lead Covenant as a senior. He’ll be the Eagles’ top deep threat, and with that reputation he’ll likely draw a lot of attention from opposing defenses.

That will open things up for juniors Sam Dale and Kodie Critzer. The tandem averaged 10 and nine points per game as sophomores, and they’ll be a big part of the Eagles’ balanced attack on the wings.

Covenant also returns defensive stopper Maleek Frazier, a scrappy defender who started as a freshman.

With that much experience back, there’s a good chance Covenant will be able to improve on last year’s 15-14 mark.

Lewis will pace Tigers

Landrus Lewis would be wise to absorb everything he can from his new head coach at Woodberry Forest, Joel Justus.

There may be no better tutor for Lewis, a two-time All-Prep League guard, than Justus, a former assistant coach at Elon University and a standout guard on the UNC-Wilmington teams that made the NCAA tournament multiple times during his years as a Seahawk. Wilmington’s scrappy squad upset Southern California in 2002 and came within two points of knocking off Maryland in 2003.

Like the Seahawks’ Jerry Wainwright-era squads, Woodberry will rely on solid guard play. Woodberry will have to do that to make up for a relative lack of height inside, and they’ll lean on the 5-foot-9 Lewis and 5-foot-8 Danny Martinez to get it done. Freshmen Carlson Milikin and C.J. Prosise should give the Tigers’ something to look forward to at the guard sports, and could have an impact this season.

Up front, seniors K.G. Gaskins and Tristan O’Savio will lead the way for Woodberry against its tough Prep League slate.

Fork Union adds Holland

With three strong senior rebounders back up front, Fork Union needed to find someone to distribute the ball.

Enter Xavier Holland.

A first team All-Jefferson District selection at Fluvanna County last season as a sophomore, Holland should give the Blue Devils a reliable presence in the backcourt. He’ll need to get up to speed fast with a Fork Union team that appears to be loaded with potential.

Isiah Davis leads the way for FUMA by filling a number of roles. He scored 11 points per game, pulled down six rebounds per game and dished out three assists per game as a junior. He’ll share the load with Kevin Domingue (12 ppg, 10 rpg) and Akeem Thomas (11 ppg, nine rpg).

The FUMA frontcourt could get a boost from the addition of junior center Mark Shuman, a hulking presence on the football team who checks in at 6-foot-6, 280 pounds. Shuman is particularly athletic for a big guy (he’s been clocked under five seconds in the 40 as just a junior) and will certainly provide a physical presence.

Tandem looks to sophs

Tandem Friends coach Reggie Steppe won’t have the host of seniors he relied on last season this year, but it appears that in Steppe’s second year at the helm a group of young players will give the Badgers a chance to make some noise.

Tandem Friends will rely heavily on a strong sophomore class led by Matt Mahoney. Mahoney, who was an all-state goalie during soccer this fall, should be one of the top scorers in the Delaney Athletic Conference. Mahoney will have to be a leader for the Badgers as well, which will be an adjustment from last year when the seniors carried Tandem.

Tandem will rely heavily on John Marshall, one of the Badgers’ few upperclassmen, in the post, and if he performs as expected should be in the mix for some postseason honors.

Tandem will also work freshman guard Colin Nail into the mix early, and all indications are that he’ll make an impact for the Badgers in the backcourt.