MaxPreps 2014-15 Preseason Top 25 Basketball Countdown: No. 2 Oak Hill Academy

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Entering his 30th year as head coach at Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), nobody will accuse legendary Steve Smith of slowing down or padding the schedule in an effort to add to his gaudy career win total.

Smith's 2014-15 Warriors could play over 50 games in 10 different states, including trips way out west to California and Hawaii. There will be at least nine matchups against MaxPreps preseason Top 50 teams and likely more pending tournament results.

Things are off to a good start. The Warriors are already 10-0 and passed a significant test back on Nov. 4 with a win over Quality Education Academy – a program that spanked Oak Hill Academy early in the 2013-14 season.



Led by Florida State-bound senior Dwayne Bacon, Oak Hill is well-equipped to handle the rigorous schedule. An athletic 6-foot-6 senior guard, Bacon is averaging 19.6 points and nearly four assists per outing thus far.

See the entire preseason national Top 25

"He's as good as we have had here in a while, maybe since Brandon Jennings," Smith said.

Speaking of Jennings, younger brother Terrence Phillips will play a leading role for the Warriors. The 5-10 senior point man is in his third year with the program and led OHA in assists as a junior.

Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) transfer Joshua Reaves and Ensworth (Nashville, Tenn.) transfer Andrew Fleming provide additional firepower in the backcourt.

Smith super-sized his roster over the summer, giving him an impressive array of forwards and centers to work with.



"This is the deepest front line we have had in a long time," Smith said.

Senior Ohio State pledge Daniel Giddens (6-10), juniors Joe Hampton (6-7), Rodney Miller (6-11) and Khadim Sy (6-9) can all do damage in the paint.

View gallery of Oak Hill Academy preseason photo shoot

Oak Hill Academy solidified its loaded roster even further this week with the addition of North Carolina sophomore guard Ty-Shon Alexander, who already holds multiple ACC offers.

Oak Hill Academy's last five years:
2013-14 – 41-4, No. 4 final national ranking
2012-13 – 33-6, No. 8 final national ranking
2011-12 – 44-0, MaxPreps national champions
2010-11 – 29-4, No. 7 final national ranking
2009-10 – 29-4{PAGEBREAK}

State Association:
Independent, Baptist-affiliated boarding school

Enrollment:
150

Head coach:
Steve Smith, 30th year



Career record:
934-90, recognized as national champion by at least one media outlet in 1993, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012

Former Warriors in college/pro basketball:
- Jordan Adams, UCLA junior guard
- Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks forward
- Steve Blake, Portland Trailblazers guard
- Nate Britt, North Carolina sophomore guard
- Quinn Cook, Duke senior guard
- DeSagana Diop, former NBA center
- A.J. Hammons, Purdue junior center
- Ike Iroegbu, Washington State sophomore guard
- Stephen Jackson, NBA free agent swingman
- Brandon Jennings, Detroit Pistons guard
- Doron Lamb, NBA D-League
- Tywon Lawson, Denver Nuggets guard
- Tyler Lewis, Butler junior guard
- Shelton Mitchell, Wake Forest sophomore guard
- Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics guard
- Josh Smith, Detroit Pistons forward
- Nolan Smith, plays professionally in Turkey
- D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Georgetown junior guard
- Sindarius Thornwell, South Carolina sophomore guard
- Caleb Martin, North Carolina State freshman wing
- Cody Martin, North Carolina State freshman wing
- Jeff McInnis, former NBA guard
- Ron Mercer, former NBA guard
- Jerry Stackhouse, former NBA forward
- B.J. Stith, Virginia freshman wing
- Troy Williams, Indiana sophomore guard{PAGEBREAK}

Rodney Miller (7-0, Jr., C)

Terrence Phillips (5-10, Sr., G)
Younger brother of former Warrior Brandon Jennings.

Khadim Sy (6-9, Jr., C)

Impact newcomers:

TyShon Alexander (6-3, So., G)
Highly-touted 2017 guard made move to Oak Hill Academy within last week.



Dwayne Bacon (6-6, Sr., G)
Florida State verbal commit, 247Sports Composite No. 20 overall prospect in 2015 class.

Andrew Fleming (6-5, Sr., G)
Iowa verbal commit

Daniel Giddens (6-10, Sr., C)
Ohio State verbal commit, 247Sports Composite No. 45 overall prospect in 2015 class.

Joe Hampton (6-7, Jr., F)
Burly forward made move from DeMatha over the summer.

Joshua Reaves (6-4, Sr., G)
Penn State verbal commit, 247Sports Composite Top 100 prospect.

Lindell Wigginton (6-1, Jr., G)
{PAGEBREAK}

Circle the date: Oak Hill Academy will play an exhaustive schedule in 2014-15 that could include as many as 48 games. While there are monster matchups on a near-weekly basis for the Warriors, there are a few that stand out.



Our Savior New American (Centereach, N.Y.), ranked No. 16 nationally in the preseason by MaxPreps, will be looking for a statement win against the Warriors in early December at the Marshall County Hoopfest in Kentucky. OSNA narrowly missed a bid to Dick's Nationals last year and knows a win over Oak Hill would help them it the bubble next April.

Then there is a February trip to the Nike Extravaganza in California, where the Warriors got really ambitious with games against No. 5 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) and No. 11 Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) on back-to-back nights.

Tournament time: It's something old, something new for the Warriors on the tournament scene this year. Oak Hill Academy will return to the Iolani Classic in Hawaii, where Smith has brought his team on a regular basis since 1988.

The Virginia dynasty also heads to Missouri to participate in the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions for the first time. The Bass Pro field is a daunting one with Bishop O'Dowd, Chino Hills (Calif.), Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) and Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.) all headed for Springfield.

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