THE NOVA NINETEEN (final rankings)
- Paul VI (33-4)–The Panthers’ season couldn’t have gone much better than it did, barring the injury to Brandon Slater. Stunning undefeated record in WCAC play and VISAA Champs. Did lose in the WCAC Tourney semis, but still a wildly successful year in which PVI had new talent emerge alongside its already potent lineup.
- O’Connell (28-9)–Under-reported success story right here. Knights went 13-5 in the WCAC and were extremely successful when they didn’t play PVI. Juniors Ayan Teel and Charlie Weber and soph Jahmal Banks are a great nucleus for next year.
- South County (27-3)–Don’t think Quentin Millora-Brown has any regrets about leaving O’Connell. The Stallions had an incredible ride to the Class Six title, with QMB impressing us as much as any player around with his court savvy. Stallions have some nice talent coming back, too.
- Marshall (23-3)–An amazing season for the Statesmen with a regular season and National District tourney title and a 19-game regular season win streak. Lose a very talented senior class but the Statesmen ran their offense through junior center Daniel Deaver, and they’ll do so again next year.
- Loudoun Valley (25-3)–John Handley ended the Vikings’ dream of a second straight state title, and accounted for two of Loudoun Valley’s three losses on the season. Maybe the best class in the school’s history departs, but the program still has much talent waiting in the wings.
- Wakefield (24-7)–If you had asked Tony Bentley after the Wakefield tourney, or the Warriors’ second, or third, loss to Marshall what his team’s prospects were for postseason success, he might have given you a pessimistic answer. But, the Warriors came within a few points of a state title, falling to Varina by just four.
- St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (17-10)–Had some tough losses, notably once to Potomac School and twice to Episcopal, but rebounded to defeat Flint Hill in the quarters of the VISAA. Dom Bailey is a huge loss, but almost everyone else back next year.
- Flint Hill (22-9)–MAC regular season champions, the Huskies were led by the play of coveted DI prospect Qudus Wahab in the middle. When they were going good, they were going really good. Lose eight seniors, including clutch shooter Isaiah Moore, but they’re in good shape next year with Wahab, Jioklaw, and others.
- The Potomac School (21-9)–Had a hard time with Flint Hill this year, but also had a great season with a bunch of notable victories, including one apiece over SSSA and Episcopal. Preston Bacon will get a chance to really score some points next year with Flowers and Grimes gone.
- Battlefield (21-10)–An up-and-down season against a murderous schedule. After losing a decent amount of games toward the end of the tough Cedar Run slate, the Bobcats went out and won their region, mostly through very impressive road victories. Defeated Hayfield at states before falling to South County in the state semis.
- Episcopal (18-9)–Cooled off after a red-hot start but ended the season with about as an encouraging a loss as possible, a one-point one to O’Connell which was a much better showing than an earlier blowout loss to the Knights. Return a lot next year including impressive guard Xavier Johnson.
- Oakton (18-6)–Ran into the Battlefield buzz saw at regionals but a fantastic season for the Cougars, who won the district tournament and regular season crowns. That is impressive as the other Concorde teams showed their mettle at regionals.
- Madison (17-11)–Madison made a nice run at regionals, almost duplicating last year’s magic. The Warhawks fell to Battlefield for the region title and gave South County its biggest scare of the postseason, only losing by a point in the first round of states. Lots of quality wins for Kevin Roller’s team despite some inconsistency.
- Patriot (15-8)–Had a great year, winning the regular season in the very tough Cedar Run over the likes of Battlefield, Osbourn, and Stonewall Jackson. Fell in the district tourney and to Madison in regionals, but that doesn’t tarnish a program clearly on the rise much.
- Freedom-South Riding (22-4)–Had the best year in school history led by the amazing senior class of Collins, Oakford, Green, Cofield, etc. Got screwed worse than anyone save Potomac at regionals when they were paired with Stone Bridge in the first round. That loss doesn’t diminish a great regular season and district tourney title.
- Osbourn (17-9)–Won the Cedar Run tournament crown and packed its resume with quality wins all year before falling to Marshall at regionals. Lose two huge pieces in Donovan Breeding and Connor Withers but return everybody else. Another program clearly on the rise.
- Edison (21-9)–The Eagles finished 21-4 if you don’t count the five losses to #6 Wakefield, which…we unfortunately have to. In the postseason scored impressive wins over Stone Bridge and 26-2 Albemarle, and in the regular season nice wins over Potomac and Marshall.
- Stone Bridge (16-9)–Very inconsistent but very dangerous, scoring two wins over Freedom, one over Battlefield and one over Osbourn. It will be interesting to see how much point guard Evan Buckley looks to score next year with talented scorers James DiLuigi and Ben Kling gone.
- Westfield (15-10)–Two nail-biters over Stonewall and South Lakes at regionals plus the Concorde’s strength earn the Bulldogs the final spot in the Nova Nineteen. Lose some key pieces but they’ll be really good next year with Marshall Reed and Jordan Hairston plus others.
Don’t forget–Christ Chapel (23-9), South Lakes (19-6), Stonewall Jackson (16-8), Potomac (18-8), Hayfield (18-10), Potomac Falls (20-7)