Walsingham veteran boys basketball coach Billy Barnes said he is encouraged by his team’s performances three games into the current season.
Ditto for Neil Bailey, the Trojans first-year athletic director and girls basketball coach.
Both squads are 3-0 and have beaten each opponent by 20 points or more – but both coaches also agree they will learn much about their teams this weekend as they compete in the Trinity Episcopal Travis Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
Both teams will face the likes of former AAA power Huguenot High School, now in Class 5A of the Virginia High School League’s newly formed realignment, as well as host Trinity Episcopal, an annual contender in the Virginia Independent Schools Division I state tournament.
The challenges will be mightier than any either Trojans team has faced thus far, but not insurmountable.
Barnes, entering his 21st season at the helm of Walsingham’s boys basketball program, says this year’s group is talented with as much internal leadership and cohesiveness as any he’s coached in recent years. He added, though, that without would-be senior center Charles Blaha, who is no longer enrolled at Walsingham, the Trojans could struggle matching the size of many top-tier opponents.
Senior Braden Sutton, who through three games leads Walsingham in scoring at just under 15 points per contest, is an undersized forward standing at 6-foot-4 but can hold his own because he is as scrappy as any post player in the state. He’s good for 5 to 10 rebounds on a given night, but others such as Thomas Chisam will have to step up along with 6-foot-5 senior Blake Krass off the bench.
The back court, on the other hand, is talented and experienced as point guard Miguel Kissoon and Billy Barnes – Coach Barnes’ son – are four-year members of the varsity squad. Senior Kai Brown, a three-year varsity player, is perhaps the Trojans’ most athletic player and will provide a key scoring punch, although it should be expected all five of Walsingham’s starters will be averaging 10 to 15 points by mid-season.
“Five guys are harder to guard than one,” Coach Barnes said. “I’m excited about this team. We have a lot of good pieces and the guys all really get along well on and off the court — but our Achilles heel will be rebounding. If that’s not an issue we could be really good.”
Bailey faces a similar challenge with his girls’ team as center Lacy Gero, a solid defender and rebounder, and freshman forward Caroline Boyd, who can play inside and out, are the only two post players with varsity experience.
But, also like the boys, there are no questions at guard play.
The Trojans will rely heavily on sharp-shooting sophomore Ashley Barnes, a starter since her eighth-grade season who scored a career-high 30 points in Walsingham’s 57-25 victory over St. Margaret’s on Tuesday, as well as newcomer Hannah Parchment. Parchment joins Walsingham as a senior transfer from the Cayman Islands where she was the point guard of country’s National Team and is already drawing looks from Division I schools.
The College of William and Mary came to watch her on Monday when she posted a stat line of 14 points, nine steals, nine assists and four rebounds in a 47-15 win over Summit Christian. She followed that up with an 18-point, nine-assist, seven-steal performance against St. Margaret’s on Tuesday.
“Hannah and Ashley are both very talented, unselfish players who complement each other very well,” Bailey said. “But our biggest weaknesses are size and depth. When we run into some of the quality teams in the TCIS and hopefully the state tournament, that’s where we could run into trouble. But when we get Caroline, [sophomore guard Emily] Mauk and Lacy [Gero] going and they gain some confidence and find some offensive rhythm, that’s when we’ll be formidable.”
