Rashad Talley has been a multi-sport athlete for Albemarle for a long time now. During his sophomore year, the Patriots came within a game of making the Northwest Region tournament. In that very same year, Talley was a member of a Patriots baseball squad that advanced all the way to the Group AAA quarterfinals. So it was interesting to hear the veteran’s perspective when he was asked about this team — a squad that caught nearly everyone by surprise this season — and what it feels like for such a relatively young group of players to earn a regional birth.
“I’ll be honest,” Talley said. “This is the most fun I’ve had with a team, and that includes baseball.”
It’s hard to argue with him. Not only are the Patriots a young team, but the manner with which they’ve been piling up the victories has been nothing short of impressive. Mayn Francisco and Daiquan West are a great one-two tandem in the backcourt, but it’s been the balanced frontcourt play of Talley, Jake Hendrix and Andrew Mann that gave their Commonwealth District quarterfinal and semifinal opponents such trouble.
Pepper Andrew Frazier’s feisty play into the mix along with the likes of Dalton Stokes and suddenly, you’ve get an idea of just how deep this team is.
Yes they may have fallen in the CD finals to top-seeded Stafford, and yes they face a monster of a first round opponent in the opening round of regionals in Patrick Henry, but there is no question that the Patriots have been the feel good story of the basketball season, especially considering the level of opponents they faced. Not only did perform outstanding in their district, but they also took down Jefferson District tournament champions Western Albemarle twice in the three meetings between the two, and they also had their way with the JD regular season champs, Charlottesville.
This is the first time that Albemarle has made the Northwest tournament in two years. In the 2006-2007 season, Albemarle went 25-2 and lost to G.W. Danville in the regional semifinals, on what was the winningest team in school history. And that’s a long drought for the Patriots. From 1997-2007, Albemarle made the Northwest Region tournament 10 out of 11 years.
“I’m proud of this group for getting this far,” said Albemarle coach Greg Maynard. “It seems like it’s been a long time since we’ve done this, and we’re real excited that the program is now back and headed in the direction we want it to be.”
There’s reason for excitement. Outside of Talley, Albemarle is going to return a lot of talent to the court next season. But that’s not important now. Because no matter how good Patrick Henry appears — and they currently are ranked 15th in state according to the Massey Ratings — Albemarle has made a living this season on playing the role of the underdog. It’s a battle of the Patriots. But if one sleeps on the other, Maynard and company just might raise some more eyebrows.
Boys Top Five — Playoff Edition
1. Madison County (20-0) — Look, we all would’ve loved to see the Mountaineers face Blue Ridge, so we’ll never settle any head-to-head battle, but as far as dominance at their level of competition nobody is close to Madison County.
2. Blue Ridge (18-5) — The Barons dropped last week’s game to Miller in double overtime, but some quality wins and the emergence of Kameron Latouche make Blue Ridge a formidable postseason opponent. And a monster of a win at home against Benedictine lets them keep the spot just above the Mavericks.
3. Miller (12-6) — Miller slayed Blue Ridge, and to keep moving through the postseason that starts this week, odds are good the Mavericks will have to pull off that feat again.
4. Albemarle (15-6) — Albemarle may have dropped the Commonwealth title game to No. 1 Stafford, but a return trip to Northwest Region tournament after four years off is more than enough to hold onto the No. 4 spot.
5 t. Charlottesville (12-7) — CHS and Western are about as even as it gets, with the Black Knights winning the first two meetings and Western snagging a JD title game win over Charlottesville. With the squads occupying the No. 1 (CHS) and No. 2 spots in the Region II, Division 3 bracket, could we be headed for a fourth clash?
5t. Western Albemarle (17-5) — The Warriors got a critical win over CHS in the JD final, which allowed them to lock up the No. 1 spot in the Region II tourney. Western will get a home game Thursday night in the region semifinals, and they’ll be looking to erase last year’s memory of an early exit at the hands of district rival William Monroe.
Lurking — Buckingham (16-3), Fluvanna (12-8), Covenant (15-4)
Girls Top Five — Playoff Edition
1. Fluvanna County (21-1) — Chad White wanted his team to “make history” and they did that by taking down Western Albemarle for the Jefferson District championship. The Flucos join Charlottesville as the only schools to have won both the regular season title and postseason tournament. And if Fluvanna keeps playing like they have, they’ll likely keep things rolling.
2. St. Anne’s-Belfield (14-5) — The Saints finally dispatched Collegiate and later St. Catherine’s to win yet another LIS Division I title. Now they get a week off to prepare for the VISAA Division I tournament.
3. Miller (13-5) — The Blue Ridge Conference playoffs begin this week and the Mavericks are coming in hot with a five game winning streak with Whitney Martin becoming a double-double machine to go with a pair of other double-double threats in Ashley Bowles and Ruda Lizdenyte.
4. Western Albemarle (17-6) — Tough loss to Fluvanna in the JD title game, but the Warriors have rebounded well from everyone of their losses so far this season. And if Western can take care of business, they might get to see the Flucos for a third round.
5. Covenant (10-7) — The state tournament is just a week away for the Eagles. Not many teams get to play in a postseason tournament and then squeeze in a few regular season games before jumping back into the postseason. Covenant made the most of the repreive by tuning up against Tandem. The VISAA Division 2 tournament kicks off next week.
Edited: 2.23 at 2:48 p.m. for content related to Albemarle’s regional tournament drought
