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Final 2016-2017 Boys Rankings

The Nova Nineteen–Final rankings for 2016-2017

  1. Loudoun Valley (30-1) (last ranking, #4)–You can say the Vikings didn’t play a hard enough schedule to merit this ranking, and you’d have a point. Still, Valley dismantled Jamestown in the 4A State Championship game by 32 points and won their three state games by a total of 87 points. It’s not like Jamestown hadn’t proved its mettle–one of its only two previous losses came to Bethel by a single point (Bethel defeated Wakefield in the 5A state tourney). We’re confident listing the Vikings in the top spot as they were a team to remember. Four Vikings averaged in double figures, with Jordan Miller leading the way at 22 points a game. The scary part is Loudoun Valley will retain his services next year, plus a few other key pieces.
  2. Paul VI (28-6) (last ranking, #1)–Considering their monster schedule and WCAC regular season co- championship, the Panthers could make a case for the top spot. Certainly you can’t fault them for falling to Gonzaga in the WCAC Tourney or Trinity Episcopal in the VISAA Final. Don’t feel too bad for Paul VI. The Panthers get eight of their nine leading scorers back next year and are the odds-on favorite to end the season as our #1 next year.
  3. Potomac's Nana Opoku stops cold the drive of a Freedom-Woodbridge player.
    Potomac’s Nana Opoku was a offensive and defensive force for the Panthers.

    Potomac (23-3) (last ranking, #2)–Didn’t end the season the way they wanted, falling to Hampton in the 5A state quarters and failing to defend their state title. But it was another amazing season for Keith Honore’s team. With seniors Nana Opoku, Jamal Washington and Ely Camp leading the way, the Panthers won their third straight 5A North regional championship.

  4. O’Connell (20-11) (last ranking, #3)–Rode the inside-outside duo of seniors Matt Lewis and Nate Watson to a successful 20-win season. Fell to DeMatha in the WCAC quarters and Trinity in the VISAA semis. Although the Knights lose Lewis and Watson, they have a lot of young talent that will no doubt step up in their absence next year.
  5. W.T. Woodson (26-6) (last ranking, #7)–The 6A state champions, the Cavaliers have enough talent returning next year to make a go of it next year. Going to be tough to replace the contributions of people like Jason Aigner, Simon Mulaa and Brian Peirce, though. The 2016-2017 edition delivered Woodson its first basketball state championship and will be remembered as a squad that embodied resiliency.
  6. Wakefield (22-6) (last ranking, #6)–Fell at Albemarle in the 5A North regional semis and Bethel in the state quarters but no shame in either loss. Still had a typically excellent season behind the 1-2 punch of Halil Parks and Alan Treakle. There’s a decent amount of talent returning despite those two leaving, and it will be interesting to see how Wakefield adjusts to having a more frontcourt-oriented attack next year. Tony Bentley’s system isn’t changing, though, the Warriors will continue to run, run, run.
  7. Hylton (21-9) (last ranking, #10)–We said after Hylton fell in an early season loss at Herndon how the Bulldogs would be dangerous by the end of the year, but we had no idea they would be this dangerous. The Bulldogs lost their entire rotation except for Dwayne Hill off last year’s team that fell to eventual champion Westfield at 6A states, but still almost won it all this year. The loss to Woodson in the title game was bitter, but the Bulldogs will get another crack most likely sooner than later.
  8. Madison (23-7) (last ranking, #11)–A shocking loss to Hylton in the state quarterfinals in which the Warhawks led by double digits late can’t erase the memory of an incredible season. Madison first won the Liberty District tourney as the #3 seed and then won regionals, defeating Woodson in a memorable title game. The Warhawks have promising talent returning, but senior classes like theirs (Corish, Gerke, Jorgenson, Conforti) don’t come around often.
  9. Wolverines senior Khalil Williams-Diggins (19 points) calls for the screen on Woodson's David Promisel.
    Wolverines senior Khalil Williams-Diggins and his fellow seniors had a great regular season.

    West Potomac (25-5) (last ranking, #5)–A team built to win it all at states and regionals fell short in both of those endeavors. The Wolverines lost to Madison in the regional semis and then fell to Western Branch in the state quarters. While it was a disappointing end to the season, the Wolverines beat just about everyone of note in 6A at some point during the season, including two wins over the eventual state champion Cavaliers. An unbelievable senior class graduates, but Daryl Mackey Jr. returns next year. He might score 25 a game.

  10. Hayfield (20-6) (last ranking, #8)–Suffered a bitter upset at home to Lake Braddock in the first round of the regional tournament after outlasting Madison and South Lakes to win the Liberty regular season. It will be hard for the Hawks to replace Langston Gaither, one of the best players in the region, but the Hawks do return underrated Brian Cobbs next year. He’s a great building block for coach Carlos Poindexter to develop talent around.
  11. Centreville (17-8) (last ranking, #9)–Stunned by Patriot in the first round of the 6A North regional tournament, the Wildcats nevertheless had a season to remember. They won both the regular season and tournament title for the Concorde and will be a factor next year with sophomore guard Bryce Douglas and others returning. The Wildcats hadn’t won a district championship in well over a decade, so coach Kevin Harris has to be a candidate for coach of the year for the entire region.
  12. St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (16-10) (last ranking, #13)–Here was an interesting team that had a good year but perhaps should have done even better. Highlights included winning Herndon Holiday Hoops and wins over solid teams like Georgetown Prep and Episcopal (twice), but the Saints under-achieved in their conference tourney and only reached the quarters of the VISAA. Denmark Slay is a huge loss but the Saints do retain four of their top five scorers, so improvement next year is very possible.
  13. Potomac Falls (19-9) (last ranking, #12)–Had a great year but lost three in a row to end the season, albeit to powerful teams Potomac, Wakefield and LC Bird. Still, the Potomac and Wakefield losses stung a great deal since they were at home. Lose a ton of senior talent, but the Falls has a great building block in all-NOVA first team sophomore Ian Anderson.
  14. Heritage (20-6) (last ranking, #14)–Drew a tough opening round “regional” opponent and a long road trip to GW Danville and fell. Lose Zach Garrett, Garrett Ganley and Chris Chapman but do have enough young talent to be a factor again soon. Like Loudoun Valley and other 4A teams we like to see Heritage schedule some tough teams out of conference so we can gauge them better. The early season Pride win over Marshall this year on the road gave us a good hint how good Heritage could be, and they lived up to the promise.
  15. Freedom South-Riding (19-6) (last ranking, #15)–Fell to William Fleming at regionals, but that didn’t diminish a fantastic season for the Eagles. They earned one of their few winning seasons in the young school’s history and won their first regular season conference title to boot. The fun continues next year for the Eagles’ fantastic junior class of Zyan Collins, Hunter Oakford and Cleo Green.
  16. Osbourn's Anthony Pearson is averaging 23 ppg this season.
    Osbourn’s Anthony Pearson helped propel his team to impressive heights this season.

    Osbourn (18-8) (last ranking, #16)–Lost to Herndon at home in the first round of regionals, kind of weird because Osbourn’s fantastic season started with a big win over the Hornets. A sensational season for Rocky Carter and his team. The Eagles bested a talented Battlefield team to rule the old Cedar Run. Anthony Pearson is a tremendous loss, but Carter is definitely capable of installing a winning culture at Osbourn.

  17. South Lakes (15-8) (last ranking, #18)–Still stinging from getting upset in the first round of their conference tourney by Fairfax, but the Seahawks took some solace after the Rebels almost upset West Potomac in the first round of regionals as well. Still a very good season for Coach Duggan’s squad. Marcus Cherry is a big loss, but the Seahawks return almost everyone else and have a good chance to make a deep postseason run next year.
  18. Battlefield (15-12) (last ranking, lurking)–An up-and-down season came to an end with a loss on the road to Madison in the second round of regionals. The Bobcats lose Shonari Street and Joe Davis, but a talented junior class led by Brayden Gault means Battlefield will be a factor again next year.
  19. Herndon (12-16) (last ranking, not ranked)–Yeah, we see the record, and several teams listed below (Chantilly, especially) can argue they deserved to make the final list more than Herndon. But opening round regional tournament victories at Osbourn and Lake Braddock lands this spot. The Hornets had an up and down season to say the least. But they also beat four final Nova Nineteen teams (Hylton, Potomac Falls, Centreville, Osbourn). Liam Harrington and Michael Griffin were about as fun a duo to watch as anyone around the region this year.

Right there–Chantilly (15-10), Stonewall Jackson (11-12), Patriot (11-15), Marshall (19-8), Lake Braddock (13-12), The Potomac School (15-14), Episcopal (13-14), Robinson (14-11), Bishop Ireton (13-18)

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