Jamestown pair head to Oak Hill
Brown, Egbo set to compete for national power
To have one player attend Oak Hill Academy is special. But what about two? That’s what happened to Jamestown High boys basketball coach Chris Brown when his son, Xavier, and Judah Egbo transferred to Oak Hill Academy, one of the nation’s most successful high school basketball programs
Brown said the decision was a “no-brainer.”
Both athletes play with Team Loaded but didn’t get a chance to compete on the AAU circuit this spring or summer because of COVID-19. It also doesn’t help that the Virginia High School League season is being cut to 14 regularseason games.
He added that both players have an offer from Bryant University and interest from Virginia Commonwealth, Old Dominion, Radford, James Madison and UNC Wilmington, but “it just wasn’t quite where we felt we wanted to be at this point,” he said.
After talking it over and
praying about it, they knew they had to make a decision.
“Lo and behold, we had some communication at Oak Hill,” Brown said. “They initially communicated to me about Xavier and they liked him and what he brought to the table as a point guard.”
Brown then sent Oak Hill coach Steve Smith film of Egbo and he said, “Bring both of them up.”
“It’s kind of unheard to have two ki ds from
Williamsburg, Virginia, from one high school to be going to Oak Hill,” Brown said.
Brown, a 6-foot-2 point guard, averaged 16.3 points, 6.3 assists, six rebounds and four steals last season as a sophomore.
Egbo, a 6-8 power forward/center, nearly averaged a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds. He also averaged three blocks.
Brown and Egbo join a growing list of Hampton Roads players to transfer to Oak Hill. The list includes Williamsburg ’s Keith Hornsby (Hampton Roads Academy), Troy Williams (Phoebus), Matt Coleman (Maury), David McCormack (Norfolk Academy), Keyontae Johnson (Norview) and Cam Thomas (Oscar Smith).
“I am super-proud and I feel blessed,” Brown said about his players going to Oak Hill. “I’m happy for these kids who work hard and have goals. They’re going to a school that’s known as one of the top prep schools in the nation historically.”
Both players have now been placed in Oak Hill’s “bubble.” Both have been tested for COVID-19 and are taking classes remotely. They will go through two more cycles before they are integrated into the student body.
“It’s not normal at all for (Smith) to have any spots on his roster at this time of the year because they started school in August,” Brown said. “But the opportunity was there. … But you can’t ask for any more of a compliment than to have a coach like Steve Smith want your son. He’s in the best hands that I could possibly drop him off to.”