Stories

The Private Ranks

The Girls

The Basics: A lot of familiar faces are back this season in private school girls hoops, and that should lead to yet another successful season on the hardwood for programs like the Miller School’s and St. Anne’s-Belfield’s.

Miller brings back a solid one-two punch in Whitney Martin and Taylor Sandidge. Both seniors earned All-VISAA Division 2 honors as juniors and Martin recently committed to Radford University. If Martin can stay healthy — and she’s had a rough time with injuries occasionally during her career—she’ll benefit greatly, as she has in the past, from Sandidge’s ability to get to the hoop. Sandidge, the reigning Scrimmage Play player of the year and the 2011 SP Newcomer of the year, averaged 12.9 points, 5.7 assists and 3.5 steals per game as a junior while running the offense. With Sandidge attacking and Martin (13.0 points per game last year) lighting it up, backcourt and the wing are in good hands. Replacing post player Ashleigh Claybrooks won’t be easy, but Charlottesville transfer Sydney Calloway and junior returner Rachel Odumu should help shore up the rest of the supporting cast. Calloway has been injured during the preseason, but a 6-foot-2 junior, Anyah Bryan can give the Mavericks big minutes in the post. Look for Kristin Histand to also have an impact as a 3-point shooter.

Over at STAB, the Saints rebuilt last year during season one of the post-Sarah Imovbioh era (15.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game for UVa in her first five collegiate games this season). But STAB still advanced to the state quarterfinals behind a young nucleus of All-VISAA Division 1 first team honorees — Nkechi Ilang in the post and Haley Kent running the point. The two combined for a solid inside-outside game that came together particularly well as the season went on. Kent averaged 9.8 points per game while Ilang checked in with 10.2, giving STAB the bulk of its 2011-2012 scoring back this year. Still, the graduation of Sarah Tolliver won’t make things easy as the versatile forward led the area with 5.6 steals per game.

Tandem Friends and Covenant both lost key parts of the puzzle, with Abby Tinsley, who headed to Florida to enroll at the IMG Academy. The loss of the 6-foot standout who can put the ball on the floor leaves a big hole, but leading scorer Kate Moody, who doubles as a soccer standout, gives the Badgers something to build around. Lizzie Stewart’s graduation will also be felt, but Sydney Hockett could thrive in an expanded role as a senior. The Badgers lost in the second round of the Division III tournament to eventual champion Williamsburg Christian last season and reaching those heights again won’t be easy, but look for another solid effort with Moody as the centerpiece.

Covenant has to re-tool without solid post player Taylor Peed, but Margot Leibl, a second team All-VISAA Division II player last year returns. Leibl averaged 10.2 points per game last year to lead the Eagles, and pulled down more than four boards per game. The rest of the lineup also returns, with McKinley Clore, Ellie McKay and Alicia Fox providing senior leadership. Sadie Bryant got a baptism by fire as a freshmen, and should be able to contribute even more as a sophomore after seeing big minutes last year.

What to watch: Watch the teams with multiple options trying to find third wheels to make the offense click. Sandidge and Martin will be big-time factors over at Miller, but look for Odumu to come on strong this year and emerge as the third threat. STAB will lean on Kent and Ilang for a big chunk of the offense, but Lexi Mallory has a chance as just a sophomore to become that crucial third scoring threat. Even Emily Battle, Ashley Taylor or Maddie Hunter could be in the mix for the Saints by the end of the year.

How it can turn out: Miller fell just short last year in the Division 2 title game — look for the Mavericks, loaded with much of the same cast of characters, to try and take care of unfinished business. If STAB can find some depth, they’ve got the firepower in their top tier athletes to put together a strong season and a potential run in Division 1. The Eagles can build around Liebl, and the younger players should be much improved with a year of experience under their belts. Tandem has a lot of questions to answer, but with the right pieces around Moody, won’t be an easy out.

The Boys

The basics: There was an awful lot of turnover for the private schools, and particularly at the top for the premiere programs. On the guys side, year-in and year-out it’s always about the two big dogs, Blue Ridge and Miller because its usually those two still playing in March.

The Barons lost four of their five starters last year but have arguably the most experienced and most complete guard in the area with Darryl Smith. The senior guard has been a distributor his first two years at Blue Ridge and will now get a chance to run the show. Miller is playing without its two best with Andrew White now at Kansas and Chase Cannon at NC State. The Mavericks return Travis Hester and Grayson Gunner and will get a huge boost from transfer Isaac Copeland who is making waves among major colleges. The other two VISAA Division 1 schools, Woodberry Forest and Fork Union will be looking to take steps forward. The Tigers pretty much graduated the farm, but first year coach Craig Dawson will get the chance to coach a healthy Doug Randolph who missed almost all of last year and Josh Stuart should make impact this year too. For the Blue Devils, losing Ameer Jackson is a bug hurdle for a team looking to get back into the playoff conversation. But if Malcolm Cook and Chrystian Brown have the same impact on the court as they did on the football field this fall, the Blue Devils will be ready to move ahead. Depth will be a concern though. Over in Division 2, Covenant will look to build upon a strong first year from Travis Johnson. A team still on the rise, the Eagles return a lot of talent in Jeremiah Morris, David Rogers, Bo Agee and Hernon Henderson and should be a factor to go deep into the postseason. St. Anne’s-Belfield had its stuggles last year, and losing Brett Johnson doesn’t help. However, the Saints have a strong post presence back to build around with Jeff Jones and Aaron Stinnie in addition to Justin Paton on the wing. The lone Division 3 school, Tandem lost a trio of seniors but should be just fine as they return four upperclassmen starters including Josh Connelly, a four-year starter. Peter Cathcart also figures to play a big role for the Badgers after making the most of the minutes he earned last year.

Who to watch: There’s always elite talent at the private level and if you’re looking to see future college products, look no further than at Miller with Copeland and Blue Ridge with Smith. And when these two schools meet (and they’ve been doing it four times a year lately) it is must watch basketball where usually at least overtime is required. The Barons have dominated this rivalry the last three years in terms of wins and losses, but there could be a changing of the guard this year with all that Blue Ridge lost and with what Miller has added. In Copeland, the Mavericks have picked up 6-foot-9 presence to go along with their other bigs in Tony Washington and Aram Martin. Miller’s size will be truly impressive this year

How it can turn out: Don’t expect things to change much between the Division 1 schools as the two most prolific programs will likely stay that way. Down in Division 2, Covenant might be one the best kept secrets in Central Virginia. The Eagles’ experience and balance around the court should make them a problem for a lot of teams. Tandem’s senior laden group should help Reggie Steppe’s squad push further along into the post season too. While a lot can change in a short amount of time on the basketball court, Miller, Blue Ridge, Covenant and Tandem look like the safest bets to make it the VISAA tournament in their divisions.

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