Boys’ Basketball Preview

Posted: December 4, 2014
By KEVIN TRUDGEON
The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — A 7-16 finish to the previous season may not seem like the kind of resume a presumptive favorite would have heading into the following year, but when you graduate or lose 11 of the top 14 scorers in the area, there’s room for a shakeup at the top of the area standings.

While Handley is coming off a state runner-up finish, Sherando finished second in the district and Clarke County reached the region quarterfinals, most of the local coaches feel Millbrook may be the team to beat in the area in boys’ basketball action this season.

“I think the front-runner now in the area is probably Millbrook,” said Sherando coach Garland Williams. “They have quite a few of their guys back, guys who have been playing since they were freshmen or sophomores, and a lot of the rest of us are having to replace a lot.”

The Pioneers lost 12 of their first 14 under first-year coach Derek Butler, but rebounded to win five of their last eight — including an upset of a Judges team that went 21-3 — and return the majority of their contributors this season.

Seniors Zach Harrell (17.3 points per game) and Chris Oates (10.1 ppg) provide a potent 1-2 scoring punch and juniors Taryk Baylor and Donte Weaver, along with sophomore Anthony Simonelli, all got valuable varsity experience last season.

“I think we have the potential to be good, but we’ve got a lot of little things we’re trying to correct to put us where we want to be,” Butler said. “We’ve got some guys who can score the ball and some guys who can defend. We just need to get them all playing in unison.”

While Millbrook’s roster is relatively unchanged from last year, that’s not the case for pretty much every other area team.

Gone are top scorers like Handley’s Cameron Jackson (the reigning VHSCA 4A State Player of the Year, who now plays at Wofford University, averaged 18.4 points per game), Sherando’s Grant Golden (transferred to Saint James High School in Hagerstown, Md., after averaging 18.1 ppg), Clarke County’s Morgan Warfield (14.9 ppg) and James Wood’s Ryland Williams (11.8 ppg).

In their place will be a mixture of varsity role players from last season, and call-ups from the JV team and fresh-faced freshmen.

The Judges lost four of their top six players in Jackson, Solomon Finley, Tre’ Brown and Jason Morgan, and second-year coach Jason Toton has just four returners with varsity experience.

Seniors KeSean Robinson and Will Dearing will be asked to provide both scoring and senior leadership for a Handley team that watched I.C. Norcom erase a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter of the state championship game last year.

“If we’re going to have any type of success this year our upperclassmen have to show the three sophomores and three freshmen the way,” Toton said. “We’ve got some pretty talented kids coming up, but we’ve got to get them to mesh with the older kids. If we can do that, I think we have the potential to surprise a lot of people.”

Sherando must find a way to replace not just Golden, but also fellow 6-foot-7 post player Jeremiah Curtis and starting guards Isaiah Williams and Dilan Heskett.

The Warriors do return junior guard A.J. Outlier, along with a number of other players who saw the floor last season, and Williams is hoping to play a little more uptempo with his smaller lineup this year.

“We’re going to try to push it a little more, try to bring a little more pressure,” Williams said. “Losing the size does change us, but this group has been working hard. We want to play good, solid defense and have our defense create offensive opportunities.”

James Wood graduated eight seniors from a team that finished 11-11 and 4-4 in the Northwestern District under first-year coach Tim Wygant, but the Colonels aren’t expecting to take a step back.

Despite having to replace his top three scorers in Williams, Cam Butler and Peyton Crickman, Wygant is looking to returning seniors Branson Ratlief and Brady Hepner, along with freshmen guards Chandler Brooks and Kobe Grimes, to help lead the Colonels.

“We were very inexperienced in the post last season, but the experience of Brady and Branson will help us a lot down low,” Wygant said. “And we graduated four or five guards, so guys like Chandler and Kobe, and sophomore Vincent Lew, are going to play substantial minutes and be asked to fill those roles.”

Clarke County finished just 8-8 in the Bull Run District last season, but got hot during the postseason and long-time coach Brent Emmart is hoping for a similar path this year.

Another playoff run by the football team has limited the amount of practice the Eagles have had, but Emmart likes the pieces he has around returning leading-scorer Sean McDonald (15.6 ppg) and hopes the team can grow as the season goes along.

“We’ve got a lot of new guys with Sean being the only one back who played significant minutes last year,” Emmart said. “Brett McDonald will be our point with Marc Damiano and Hunter Rogers also back there and we have to have our seniors like Justin Dulaney and Dakota Crim play big in the post. We’re going to run our offense through Sean, but early in the year we need our defense to keep us in games until the offense catches up.”

SVCA lost Evan Hotek and his 18.7 ppg to graduation and had a handful of transfers, but first-year coach Phil Combs, who is taking over for his father Ron Combs, sees plenty of positives in his young roster.

“Most of the kids I’ve got this year don’t have too much varsity experience, so our offense is going to be a team effort,” said Combs, who will rely on returners Madison Brewer and Tanner Foster. “We don’t have that superstar kid who can take over a game, but if we can work as a team, stay focused and keep our fundamentals, that’s how we can beat people.

The following is a glance at the area teams:

Millbrook

Coach: Derek Butler, 2nd year

Last year: 7-16 (4-4 Northwestern District, Conference 21 semifinalist)

Key losses: Pioneers graduated four seniors, including Tyler Anderson, Taylor James and Dillon Rice

Key returnees: Zach Harrell, Sr. G; Chris Oates, Jr. G/F; Donte Weaver, Jr. G; Anthony Simonelli, So. F; Taryk Baylor, Jr. F; Alex Amos, Jr. G.

Top newcomers: Trey Braithwaite, Jr. F; Jordan Funk, Fr. G.

Butler’s outlook: “I think we’ll be able to rely on our defense a little bit more, we’re putting in more traps and there will be more pressure defense. Our goals are pretty high, but we have to make them a reality. We certainly would like to win the district and challenge in the conference tournament and get back to the region tournament.”

Next game: Saturday, at Handley, 7:45 p.m.

Handley

Coach: Jason Toton, 2nd year

Last year: 21-3 (7-1 Northwestern District, 4A North Region, Conference 23 and Northwestern District champions)

Key losses: Graduated three starters in Cameron Jackson (team leading 18.4 ppg), Solomon Finley and Tre’ Brown, and Jason Morgan

Key returnees: KeSean Robinson, Sr. F; Will Dearing, Sr. F; Cullan Kerner, Sr. G; Noah Sirbaugh, Sr. F.

Top newcomers: Nine newcomers, including three freshmen; Shyheim Gilkerson, So. G (transfer from SVCA).

Toton’s outlook: “We’re a probably deeper this year than last year. I’m hoping to play 10 to 12 guys this year, and we have 13 on the team. We really only played six guys last year, but we’ll try to keep fresher legs on the floor and use our quickness and athleticism. And we may have a little better shooting this year.”

Next game: Saturday, vs. Millbrook, 7:45 p.m.

Sherando

Coach: Garland Williams, 18th year

Last year: 8-13 (5-3 Northwestern District, Conference 21 semifinalist)

Key losses: Warriors graduated four seniors in Isaiah Williams, Dilan Heskett, Thomas Perry and Jeremiah Curtis, Grant Golden (leading scorer 18.1 ppg transferred to Saint James High School in Hagerstown, Md.)

Key returnees: Jordan Henry, Jr. G; Kyle Tusing, Sr. F; Josh Dolsen, Sr. F; Rhett Morris, Sr. F; Andrew Loudan, Sr. G; A.J. Outlier, Jr. G; Trey Brisco, Sr. G.

Top newcomers: Isaiah Armstead, Jr. F; Alex Morefield, So. G; Jared Miller, So. G; Ashraf Alim, Jr. G; Noah Ford, Jr. C; Joey Edward, Jr. G.

Williams outlook: “Our main goal is just to really be a better defensive team, communicate more and I think that will help us hopefully be a little more spirited. Jordan Henry, Trey Brisco, Kyle Tusin and Josh Doleson can provide some scoring for us, but we want to really focus on our defense.”

Next game: Friday, Broadway Tournament

James Wood

Coach: Tim Wygant, 2nd year

Last year: 11-11 (4-4 Northwestern District, Conference 21 quarterfinalist)

Key losses: Graduated eight seniors in Ryland Williams (leading scorer 11.8 ppg), Peyton Crickman, Cam Butler, Nick Goode, Dakota Orndorff, Josh Akeley, Jake Akeley and Brant Bell

Key returnees: Branson Ratlief, Sr. C; McCall Toler, Sr. F; Andrew Hinebaugh, Jr. F; Brady Hepner, Sr. F; Tanner Lippold, Sr. F.

Top newcomers: Chandler Brooks, Fr. G; Kobe Grimes, Fr. G; Vincent Lew, So. G; Colin Watts, Jr. G; Jacob Potter, Jr. G.

Wygant’s outlook: “What we’ve really illustrated so far is the ability to score. Last year it was isolated to our top scorers, but this year the scrimmages have illustrated we’re able to get a lot of points from a lot of individuals. We’re looking to have multiple weapons on offense.”

Next game: Monday, at Dominion, 7:15 p.m.

Clarke County

Coach: Brent Emmart, 18th year

Last year: 15-12 (8-8 Bull Run District, 2A East Region quarterfinalist)

Key losses: Morgan Warfield (14.9 ppg), Josh Dulaney, Josh Gray, Colton Chrane.

Key returnees: Sean McDonald, Sr. G; Justin Dulaney, Sr. C; Carson Perkins, Sr. G; Dakota Crim, Sr. C; Vince Zdouba, Sr. F.

Top newcomers: Brett McDonald, So. G.; Hunter Rogers, So. G; Josh Wallace, So. F; Marc Damiano, Jr. F; Michael Dietz, Jr. G.

Emmart’s outlook: “Sean [McDonald] has to carry the team on and off the floor. He has to get us in good situations, demand the ball and the offense has to run through him to try and let the other guys have the game slow down for them. He’s so physical and experienced, he can play all five positions on the court, and he can overpower most guys he plays against.”

Next game: Tonight, at Madison County, 7:45 p.m.

SVCA

Coach: Phil Combs, 1st year

Last year: 14-11 (VACA state quarterfinalist)

Key losses: Evan Hotek (leading scorer 18.7 ppg), Patrick McGrath, Devin McDonagh, Shyheim Gilkerson (transferred to Handley), Tyler Fincham (transferred to Strasburg), Aaron Sutton

Key returnee: Tanner Foster, Sr. F; Madison Brewer, Sr. G.

Top newcomers: Abel Green, Jr. G; Steven Bell, Jr. G; Simon Cornwell, Fr. G;

Combs’ outlook: “Our theme on defense this year is fundamental chaos. We want to push teams out of their comfort zone, because if you can do that and keep your fundamentals, you can beat a lot of teams even if you don’t have the best talent. We want to make teams uncomfortable when they play us.”

Next game: Tonight, vs. Highland View Academy, 7:30 p.m.

— Contact Kevin Trudgeon at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. on Twitter @WinStarSports1