This year’s Concorde is going to be a dogfight, where the last-place team likely won’t be far removed from the first-place team and anybody can beat anybody.
Kind of like last year, when the Oakton Cougars finished last in the district after jumping out to a fast start non-conference. Three seniors graduate off last year’s team and while the Cougars will miss the rugged Jacob Posz and savvy Joe Briggs, most everyone else is back. We’re betting that continuity lands Oakton closer to the top than the bottom this year.
Tall senior guard Braeden Johnson (Johns Hopkins) is as solid a place to start as any. Once primarily an outside shooter he’s become simply a very good all-around basketball player who can do it all. He’ll score 20 a game this year but he’ll also take a few charges a game–in short, doing what it takes for his team to win. He’s one of our favorite players around the region and many local talent evaluators agree.
“It’s hard not to be extremely excited for Braeden this year,” Alex Harris of Evolution basketball told us. “He’s been training extremely hard with Evolution to prepare for this season since he was in the sixth grade. Braeden has clearly made himself into one of the top players in the area and should have an extremely successful senior campaign.“
Oakton has a underrated guard in junior Micah Johnson-Parrotte (8.1 ppg) to pair with Johnson. Johnson-Parrotte can handle point duties but it also capable of scoring in bunches and playing excellent defense. He’ll have to step up and provide key baskets this year when defenses show Johnson extra attention. Senior forward Jake Digby will have to do that as well. While the Cougars have lots of returnees that may up their scoring output this year, Digby simply cannot disappear for sustained stretches on offenses if Oakton is to be successful.
Oakton has imposing height across its frontline and if guys like 6’8” Jonah Schultz can make even a decent impact on the boards and altering shots, the Cougars will be that much better.
The district may be wide open, but until somebody informs us otherwise the Centreville Wildcats are still the favorite to repeat. Coach Kevin Harris’ team did lose five seniors to include Marcus Mack and Tyler Lohman. But he didn’t lose junior Bryce Douglas, the team’s leading scorer last year and one of the most clutch players in the region. Douglas scored 15 a game last year and should improve on that this year as the Wildcats figure to play a tad bit more up-tempo this season.
Junior forward Nate Goldammer also returns. He’s a good bet to score in double figures a decent amount this year. Coach Harris says senior guard Chris Martin, who served primarily as the team’s sixth man last year, has had a great offseason and is ready to become an even more productive starter. Junior guard Jordan Porter comes over from Westfield after playing on the Bulldogs’ varsity last year to provide more depth in the backcourt.
That’s not all. 6’8″ senior and football player Jackson Skule decided to give it a go on the hardwood this winter and has looked promising in two scrimmages. He’ll pair with 6’6″ senior and relentless rebounder Ahmad Ghousheh to give the WIldcats some toughness inside. As if that wasn’t enough, 6’6″ freshman Eric Evers will be a rotation player and Bryce’s younger but taller brother Lance is around as well. Good luck stopping all that.
The Chantilly Chargers had a very nice season last year that ended in heartbreak at regionals with a close loss to Stonewall Jackson. They lose a fantastic senior class, but it would be a mistake to under-estimate the Chargers this year.
Junior guard Kendall McHugh (10.4 ppg) is still around at the point, which means Chantilly is as stable at the position as just about anyone. Now he’ll be asked to increase his production scoring-wise and he has the talent to do it. Steady senior Christian Parana is back as well, so Chantilly has a pair of guards that can win games when it counts down the stretch and play solid defense.
There’s depth and young talent behind them. The question is in the frontcourt, where the loss of the highly underrated Elijah Ford and backup Boti Nas will be felt. Returning 6’5″ junior Avery Hinz has to step up his game. He will get help from Boti’s younger brother Hunor, 6’7″ sophomore James Pogoreic and 6’5″ senior David Brient.
As long as the Chargers can get some production down low and rebound effectively there’s no reason to think coach Jim Smith won’t be able to grind out wins.
Right now the Westfield Bulldogs are still grinding out wins on the gridiron, so coach Doug Ewell may not have the depth and talent he needs right away to be extremely successful. But there’s still a nice amount of talent on-hand even without the 3-5 guys still going for a state title in football.
Junior Jordan Hairston is one of the most fun to watch guards in the area. He and guard DJ Gregory both return off of last year’s squad after averaging about 20 a game combined. They can get out in transition, handle the ball expertly, and both are adept at moving without the ball to make themselves a threat. As good as some of the backcourts in the Concorde are, the Bulldogs’ guards might be just as good as any of them.
Other holdovers include 6’4″ seniors Cris Scruggs and Aaron Opoku. They’ll eventually team with defensive lineman Chris Weaver to hold down the five and occasionally four spots. Ewell also gets a nice transfer catch as forward Marshall Reed arrives from Gonzaga. Reid played on the private school’s JV last year and should make an immediate impact.
It might take a while for Ewell to integrate the pieces. But we agree with him when he tells us his team is capable of winning the district. There’s certainly a nice foundation of athleticism.
“It’s going to be an interesting fun season with the district,” he tells us. It’ll be a nightmare in a way as there will be no nights off, almost the SEC for football or the ACC for basketball. Our key will be developing consistency and staying away from injuries. As always we’ll try and dictate the tempo and let our defense trigger our offense.”
Now that the Madison Warhawks have got the taste of winning (their first regional title) in their mouth it might be a while before Kevin Roller’s team has a down year. Even with one of the memorable basketball classes in Warhawks history leaving, Madison has considerable enough young talent where we wouldn’t be surprised at all if they won the district.
Johnny Corish, Riley Jorgenson, and Daniel Gerke averaged over 30 points per game last year combined. The loss of Corish as a ball-handler and clutch scorer will be especially hard to overcome. Athletic junior guard/forward John Finney (7.2 ppg) will likely now get the ball in close games down the stretch. He saved his best games for Madison’s postseason run last year and should be ready to break out.
A rotation player last year, guard Aaron Darab is going to have to handle the ball even more this season. Senior forward Nicholas Hugie is a three-point threat and has to pick up some of the scoring slack. Those two don’t have to score a ton but they do need to score more consistently after scoring around 11 a game combined last year.
The Warhawks are pretty set down low with Damon Koskovich (Hampden-Sydney) and Jonathan Hecht. That’s five solid players to start with but guys have to step up behind them to provide scoring punch and depth. Five others return from last year’s roster, though, and the JV team went 13-3 last year. So it’s a good bet some of those guys will.
–Chris Jollay