“It feels pretty good because I feel like I put a lot of hard work in this season, and the hard work is paying off,” Fragala said.
Fragala is not only the leading scorer in Loudoun County, but is the top scorer in the entire Washington Metropolitan region. At his current mark of 36.4 points per game, he is nearly six points ahead of the next highest scorer in the region and over 12 points ahead of the next highest scorer in Loudoun County.
At 36.4 points per game, Dom Fragala is the leading scorer in the Washington Metropolitan region. (Photo © Chas Sumser/Viva Loudoun)
His incredible December was highlighted by back-to-back games of 63 and 52 points. His 63-point outburst came on Dec. 12 against Freedom-South Riding, which was the most points scored in a VHSL game since 1984. He followed that epic performance with 52 points on Dec. 19 against Briar Woods, as he was able to knock down seven three-pointers.
“I had two big games that really boosted my confidence, scoring 63 points, I didn’t realize how big that was going to be, but I just work hard and try to achieve more,” Fragala said.
The 63-point performance helped bring Champe back from a large fourth quarter deficit against the Eagles to force overtime and ultimately go on to win. The 52-point game against the Falcons was capped off by knocking down the two game-winning free throws to win by a single point.
“My teammates told me to keep putting pressure on the defense and to keep attacking, and my coaches kept telling me to keep attacking and keep getting to my spots where I know I can make it. I have a lot of trust in my teammates and that’s helps a lot,” he said.
As Champe’s leading returning scorer, Fragala has doubled his scoring average from last year. (Photo © Aaron Wyche/Viva Loudoun)
The 5-foot-11, 150-pound guard is in his second season with the Knights after transferring from Bishop O’Connell, a school that battles in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC), one of the best prep basketball conferences in the nation.
He scored just over 300 points in two seasons with O’Connell, highlighted by a 21-point outing against basketball superpower St. John’s as a freshman.
“At O’Connell I learned a lot about the game, they really grew my knowledge,” Fragala said.
In his first season with Champe as a junior, the versatile scoring threat averaged 18.3 points per game, good for second on the team behind Kuony Deng, who averaged 19.4 points per game.
After losing seven players to graduation, including Deng, Fragala knew he needed to step up as the team’s leading returning scorer this season. Clearly, that mission has been accomplished as he has doubled his output from one year ago. The second leading scorer on this year’s team is Tyler Savage with 10.6 points per contest.
“Our whole last year was basically all seniors, now being one out of three seniors I’ve had to be more vocal and lead by action too.”
Fragala scored his 1,000th high school career point from the free throw line. (Photo © Aaron Wyche/Viva Loudoun)
Fragala eclipsed the 1,000-point threshold for his high school career the day after his 52-point showing in a 38-point performance on Dec. 20 in a win against Manassas Park.
He credits his jump in productivity with the hard work he put in during the offseason. It wasn’t just the time on the court, however, but more the time spent in the gym that has propelled him to success.
“I was in the weight room a lot trying to get stronger and working on my stamina because I knew I would be in the game most of the time,” he said.
Though he still needs to continue getting stronger in order to successfully compete at the collegiate level next year, he has received one Division I offer so far from Mississippi Valley State in Itta Bena, Miss. They compete in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). He still hopes to get more offers before the end of the season.
Before he can worry about college basketball, he wants to finish his Champe career on a high note. As far as personal accolades go, he wants to be named all-conference, all-region, and all-state. As for the team, he wants to surpass the success of last year’s squad and make a run at a state championship.
“I just need to keep doing everything I was doing in December and keep the gas pedal down to help the team win games,” Fragala said.
Viva Loudoun: We Live For Loudoun™
Written by Josh Apple
Special to Viva Loudoun
Copyright © Viva Loudoun Media Communications LLC.
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@JoshApple1
Viva Loudoun has teamed up with Performance Edge to recognize an outstanding Loudoun County student-athlete, and their exceptional achievements for a given month by naming a Viva Loudoun Athlete of the Month throughout the 2016-17 academic school year!
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The Performance Edge Mission is to prevent injury, optimize strength and power, and instill confidence and self-discipline.