Five players to watch this year
Jayden Epps
King’s Fork, 6-2 junior guard Epps is the reigning All-Tidewater Player of the Year, the Class 4 state Player of the Year, the Class 4 Region A Player of the Year and the Southeastern District Player of the Year. He averaged 26 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals to lead the Bulldogs to a share of the Class 4 state title. Epps, a fourstar prospect, is rated the No. 53 junior nationally by Rivals and No. 64 by 247Sports. He recently narrowed his list of schools to Florida, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M, N.C. State, Arkansas and Providence.
Donald Hand Jr.
Landstown, 6-5 junior guard
Hand, who was first-team All-Tidewater, was the Class 6 Region A Player of the Year and first-team all-state. He averaged 19.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, four assists and 1.3 steals. Hand, a fourstar prospect, is rated the No. 89 junior nationally by Rivals and No. 111 by 247Sports. He has numerous offers, including Maryland, Connecticut, Clemson, LSU, Penn State and TCU.
Jacob Cooper
Green Run, 5-10 senior guard
Cooper, who was first-team All-Tidewater, was the Class 5 state Player of the Year and the Beach District Player of the Year. He averaged 20 points and five assists to lead the Stallions to a share of the Class 5 state title and the outright Class 5 Region A championship.
Jaylani Darden
Norview, 6-4 senior guard
Darden, who will play for Longwood University, was first-team All-Tidewater and first-team all-state. He averaged 18.3 points, six rebounds and 5.7 assists, including two triple-doubles to lead the Pilots to a share of the Class 5 state title.
Allen Strothers
Menchville, 6-2 senior guard
Strothers, who will play at East Tennessee State, was secondteam All-Tidewater and first-team All-Peninsula District. He averaged 14 points, six rebounds six assists and three steals to lead the Monarchs to the Peninsula District title.