John Marshall’s Damon Thompson selected Class 2 Boys Player of the Year; John Marshall’s Ty White named Class 2 Boys Coach of the Year
~ PVN staff report
LURAY, March 12 — The Virginia High School League announced the members of the 2024 Class 2 all-state boys basketball team on Tuesday. Among the best players in the commonwealth were Luray High School’s senior forward Christian Lentz and sophomore shooting guard Matthew Owens.
Both Bulldogs earned second team All-State honors. Lentz and Owens lead Luray to an 18-8 season that ended with the program’s first state tournament appearance in several years. The Bulldogs suffered a narrow loss to Bruton, 54-50, in a state quarterfinal that went down to the final seconds.
The only other player from Region 2B included among the all-state selections was Madison County’s Bryce Breeden, who earned first team All-State honors almost three weeks after being named the Region 2B Player of the Year.
The VHSL Class 2 first team, All-State boys basketball selections were dominated by the best recruiting high school program in Virginia — John Marshall. The Justices’ filled four of the eight first team slots, and had one second team selection as well. John Marshall’s senior guard Damon “Redd” Thompson is the Class 2 Player of the Year. John Marshall’s head coach, Tytrail (Ty) White, is the Class 2 Coach of the Year.
A three-time all-state first-teamer, the 6’1″ Thompson averaged 18.0 points, 4.1 assists, 2.1 rebounds, 1.4 steals per game, and shot 41 percent from the 3-point line this season, leading the Justices to a third-straight state title. 247Sports ranked the James Madison signee the No.22 point guard nationally and the No.9 overall player in Virginia for the Class of 2024. In the state finals against Virginia High, Thompson scored 12 points, six assists, four rebounds, and two steals.
John Marshall head coach Ty White led the Justices to a 25-3 record and a third-straight state championship with an 89-32 win over Virginia High. It’s his fifth VHSL Coach of the Year award and his team’s fifth state title since 2018. John Marshall won the Class 3 state title in 2018, along with six state titles for the program since 2014. It’s the Justices’ 12th state title overall.
Eight players make up the first and second teams, regardless of position. Only those players selected to all-region first teams are eligible for selection to the All-State team. Each All-State selection committee comprises eight basketball coaches (two from each Region).
Click the link below for a full list of All-State selections
2024 Class 2 Boys All-State Team.
For more on the VHSL, visit https://www.vhsl.org/
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