The VISAA’s Division 1 is a tough, tough place to survive. But Blue Ridge has maintained the top spot for a while now, which begs a question.
How?
It certainly isn’t a weak schedule, the Barons have played pretty much anyone who was willing to take the court with them. It’s all about depth up in St. George, where Bill Ramsey has what amounts to an embarrassment of riches on his roster.
With a number of key guys nicked up and out of the rotation for short stretches like Isaiah Battle and Robin Moore, the Barons have had to lean on that depth, getting clutch shooting from Andre Roberts against Fishburne or key minutes in a number of games from Mohammed Camara out of New York. Camara had a big-time game against Covenant too.
When Battle made his official visit to Clemson last week, the Barons managed. When Moore went out because of an ankle injury, they survived. And a lot of that has to do with the bench and players Camera.
Camara is one of several reasons why the graduation of Darnell Turner hasn’t been quite as noticeable with the Barons still running things from the inside out. The increasingly physical play of Cameron Anderson has had a major impact and Battle has been tough to contain as well. If you collapse one of those two, the other is wideopen, and if you try and collapse on both, the Barons have to turn to their long range game, a tactic sharpshooters Malick Kone, Chad Holley and Darryl Smith are more than okay with.
The wealth of scoring options, with Holly setting the table with an area-leading 6.4 assists per game, gives Blue Ridge opponents a lot — sometimes way too much — to think about. As the Barons get healthier, they should only get stronger, which could make it even tougher for the rest of Division I to knock Blue Ridge out of first. Malick Kone was hardly 100 percent last week against Fishburne’s post graduate team. But that didn’t stop him from having a big game against the level of talent he’ll see next year at Rutgers.
The Barons had the weekend off to recover. They’re back with Liberty Christian on the plate. When banged up, short handed or just plain having an off day, the Blue Ridge still manages to find a way to win. Coming off of a break, this team could truly flex some muscle, which isn’t what the rest of Division 1 wants to hear.
Boys Top Five
1. Blue Ridge (14-0) — Blue Ridge hasn’t played much over the last week, and the time off should be a blessing for a banged up Barons squad that still managed to beat Fishburne Military’s postgraduate team. That break ends Tuesday night at home against Liberty Christian.
2. Fluvanna County (17-1) — YaYa Anderson is this week’s athlete of the week, he’s on our new issue’s cover and he’s the number one reason the Flucos just spent the last week separating themselves from the rest of the Jefferson District. He’s getting teammates involved too though, as he ranks second in the area in assists per game.
3. Albemarle (12-6)—The Patriots got a pair of Commonwealth wins last week, which could be the start of a strong final push up the Commonwealth District standings. Greg Maynard’s teams are usually starting to peak right about now. With thee CD games left, there’s work to be done.
4. Miller (10-7)—Five wins in a row, including a couple of big-time victories against National Christian Academy and Benedictine, vault the Mavericks into the top five for the first time in awhile. This week won’t be an easy one either though as a pair of trips to Roanoke loom. The Mavericks take on Roanoke Catholic and Oak Hill Academy in the Salem Civic Center.
5. Charlottesville (10-5) — The Black Knights bounced back from a heartbreaker against Fluvanna county to edge out William Monroe and maintain a hold on second place in the Jefferson District. It’d be a treat for fans if the Flucos and Knights met once more this season…in the JD tournament title game.
Lurking —Fork Union (5-3), Orange County (13-5), William Monroe (11-7), Miller (10-7), Buckingham (10-4)
Girls Top Five
1. St. Anne’s-Belfield (14-1) — STAB put itself in control of its VISAA Division by beating second-ranked Cape Henry narrowly 78-72. The best news for the Saints, who might just face the Dolphins again in the state tournament? Sarah Imovbioh wasn’t pleased with her performance. She scored 48 points and hauled in 33 rebounds.
2. Western Albemarle (15-3) — Western is still unbeaten in Jefferson District play, and after playing Orange Tuesday, the Warriors will step out of the JD to take on another area top five squad — No. 3 Miller — in an interesting test.
3. Miller (10-4) — The Mavericks got a chance to show they were a rock solid team in the Holiday tournament, but they left some questions unanswered by not getting to face Western Albemarle. If the weather allows it, they’ll get a chance to settle those questions Wednesday night.
4. William Monroe (16-3) — Monroe escaped CHS and with Louisa, Goochland and Fluvanna left on the schedule appear set to hold onto second place in JD race. With Western (twice) and Page County the lone overall blemishes.
5. Charlottesville (12-5) — The Black Knights had a chance to vault ahead of William Monroe in a close ball game at home Friday, but an Ellie Von Storch injury had a big impact and prevented CHS from getting a monster win.
Lurking — Covenant (7-8)
