Gate City vs RE Lee

[RiverRat24 274]

So what do you guys think? I'm not sure what matchup would have favored GC more... Madison or Lee. Obviously a moot point now because it's Lee whether it's the better draw for them or not. Lee is super athletic and has alot of size. I seen tonight where Vaughn was in foul trouble early and George didn't have a great game to make up for Vaughn not playing alot of the 2nd half. It sounded like Madison did a good job of crashing the boards though and play really scrappy similar to what Martinsville did to Lee.

 

I feel maybe McClung can get those big guys in foul trouble if he takes the ball to the rack with authority like he did against DR. GC needs to get some deep shots to fall to open up the paint with those trees in the game. I'll go out on a limb and say GC wins by 3....But I'm really not sure what happens in this one. I know one thing for sure though....It's gonna be a fun game to watch.

 

GC 76

Lee 73

[Dick_Vitale 342]

Isn't Lee a big team? The way GC rebounded against DR is problematic. Regardless it will be a good game. I still think GC is the best team in 2A so im going to pick them to win. Who cares by how much. 

[RiverRat24 274]

Yea....I mentioned that in the first part of my post. They have alot of size and are very talented. One of their players (George) is committed to Marshall. If GC will just be scrappy and don't give up easy points and easy rebounds I think they will do fine. Still see it being a very close game no matter who wins this one.

[Bearcat Bob 491]

Just got home from the Madison County/ RE Lee game.  Me and a group of East Rock folks made the trip.  Glad we did.  Lee has incredible size and talent.  However, they are the most undisciplined, poorly coached team I have seen in a while.  Go at them hard and they wilt.  Madison plays hard on both ends of the court but there is no way they should have been able to overcome the size and athleticism of Lee...except they did.  Lee jumped out to a 16-3 lead and acted like the game was over.  Madison took their best shot and just kept coming at Lee.  Late in the game, with the results in the balance, Lee's big men were more interested in making obscene gestures to the very large Madison crowd than they were on playing defense.

 

I think GC has more ability/athleticism than Madison.  They should be able to irritate and aggravate Lee into making stupid plays/actions.  Lee's coach is a jackass who was applauding one of his players for yelling, 3 times no less, "F#$% You" to the crowd.  Then when they lost, Lee players and coaches left the floor and basically refused to come out to accept the runner up trophy.  Finally, one of the assistants and a bench player came out, took their trophy, flipped off the crowd and left.  I have no respect for the staff at all. ER lost 2 times to Lee and they (Lee) acted even worse when they won! 

 

As a Bearcat, I find this hard to say...I hope Gate City beats the crap out of Lee.    Go get 'em Blue Devils.  Here's hoping the Leemen's season end on a 2 game loosing streak!

[Leatherhead Larry 530]

Lee is big. But by the pictures of Madison with the championship trophy tonight they don't look all that big and beat Lee (see for yourself https://twitter.com/madisonpride/status/835676570543140867 ). If Lee likes the crowd then they'll love us folks from GC, we know how to get under some skin. Thanks for the info.

 

I'm taking my boys in a toughy to set up the rematch with Dan River.

 

GC 71-69

[Bearcat Bob 491]

#2 and #10 just "love" crowd interaction, as does the coach.  Have fun with them!  Lee's attitude started turning sour when Madison's 5'9 guard blocked a dunk attempt by Lee's 6"8 center.  Needless to say, the crowd reminded him of that often. 

 

I would like to see a GC/Madison final.  Madison may be one of the few teams who may travel even better than GC, or at least equal. Would be a great atmosphere. 

[Leatherhead Larry 530]

#2 and #10 just "love" crowd interaction, as does the coach. Have fun with them! Lee's attitude started turning sour when Madison's 5'9 guard blocked a dunk attempt by Lee's 6"8 center. Needless to say, the crowd reminded him of that often.

 

I would like to see a GC/Madison final. Madison may be one of the few teams who may travel even better than GC, or at least equal. Would be a great atmosphere.

For you to want GC to win speaks volumes. Must be some crazy stuff. Hopefully GC comes out rocking and we travel well for this one. Win or go to the house...I ain't ready to go home yet.

[Degenerate 6]

Just got home from the Madison County/ RE Lee game.  Me and a group of East Rock folks made the trip.  Glad we did.  Lee has incredible size and talent.  However, they are the most undisciplined, poorly coached team I have seen in a while.  Go at them hard and they wilt.  Madison plays hard on both ends of the court but there is no way they should have been able to overcome the size and athleticism of Lee...except they did.  Lee jumped out to a 16-3 lead and acted like the game was over.  Madison took their best shot and just kept coming at Lee.  Late in the game, with the results in the balance, Lee's big men were more interested in making obscene gestures to the very large Madison crowd than they were on playing defense.

 

I think GC has more ability/athleticism than Madison.  They should be able to irritate and aggravate Lee into making stupid plays/actions.  Lee's coach is a jackass who was applauding one of his players for yelling, 3 times no less, "F#$% You" to the crowd.  Then when they lost, Lee players and coaches left the floor and basically refused to come out to accept the runner up trophy.  Finally, one of the assistants and a bench player came out, took their trophy, flipped off the crowd and left.  I have no respect for the staff at all. ER lost 2 times to Lee and they (Lee) acted even worse when they won! 

 

As a Bearcat, I find this hard to say...I hope Gate City beats the crap out of Lee.    Go get 'em Blue Devils.  Here's hoping the Leemen's season end on a 2 game loosing streak!

hey, SCREW YOU VIRGINIA HIGH 

 

Just kidding. Just some animosity from the past.. ;) I really do miss our rivalry that spanned every single sport/competition there was. Come back to our conference sometime soon please..

[Milo 39]

No idea about this game I have to see a team to predict a winner and I have never seen Lee.  This I do know, I am so glad the meaningless regional tournament is over.   I am here to say what everyone knows but is too politically correct to say, Gate City is the TRUE 2 seed and region runner up out of the West.  What a flawed system of meaningless tournaments and misleading facts.

[Leatherhead Larry 530]

Flawed or not, it is what it is. To win state you must beat the best teams regardless. I've seen a few clips of RE Lee, and from the highlights of their game last night with Madison they gave up a lot of baskets at the rim. If they do that with Mac and Zac, I like our chances. The key will be making outside shots fall. Dean has 5 days to find his shot, he or Collier will be the difference. One of them needs double digits for GC to advance to the state semis, period. Mac and Zac can't do it all, we'll be going home Friday if we expect those 2 to do everything.

[Blue1915 10]

Just got home from the Madison County/ RE Lee game. Me and a group of East Rock folks made the trip. Glad we did. Lee has incredible size and talent. However, they are the most undisciplined, poorly coached team I have seen in a while. Go at them hard and they wilt. Madison plays hard on both ends of the court but there is no way they should have been able to overcome the size and athleticism of Lee...except they did. Lee jumped out to a 16-3 lead and acted like the game was over. Madison took their best shot and just kept coming at Lee. Late in the game, with the results in the balance, Lee's big men were more interested in making obscene gestures to the very large Madison crowd than they

 

I think GC has more ability/athleticism than Madison. They should be able to irritate and aggravate Lee into making stupid plays/actions. Lee's coach is a jackass who was applauding one of his players for yelling, 3 times no less, "F#$% You" to the crowd. Then when they lost, Lee players and coaches left the floor and basically refused to come out to accept the runner up trophy. Finally, one of the assistants and a bench player came out, took their trophy, flipped off the crowd and left. I have no respect for the staff at all. ER lost 2 times to Lee and they (Lee) acted even worse when they won!

 

As a Bearcat, I find this hard to say...I hope Gate City beats the crap out of Lee. Go get 'em Blue Devils. Here's hoping the Leemen's season end on a 2 game loosing streak!

I can't stand this kind of a program, a bunch of thugs on the basketball court with a coach that supports it. I hope GC pounds them through the hardwood flooring, good luck to all the SWVA teams , lets show what the boys and girls from the mountains can do.

[swva_havok_fan 1,261]

I was debating on what to do if Ridgeview girls lost Thursday.  Come back to Bristol and watch 1A boys Friday and Saturday, or stay up there till Saturday.  This Robert E. Lee bunch may have helped make my decision.  Maybe I'll get to see some hostility.  :D

 

Bearcat Bob, how did Nottoway girls look this year?  We played them in the quarters last year as well and jumped out on them 22-0 I think before they even knew what hit them.  I have a feeling us and them are probably a world different this year though.

 

edit:  Just seen Nottoway was 27-1.  Uh oh.

[RiverRat24 274]

I can't figure out what has happened to Dean. I guess maybe his youth is why he's so timid right now. It's an awfully big stage for such a youngster. He seemed fearless at the beginning of the season though. It's as if he lost all confidence in his ability right at the midpoint of the schedule...Or maybe even before that. I know him spraining his wrist plus being down with the flu and pnuemonia hasn't helped....Just figured he would have already bounced back by now.

 

There's gonna have to be a 3rd person to step up and play well....I agree if the team relies on Mac and Zac to do it all it will be over for the Devils. I feel like it's gonna be the senior Collier that finally finds his groove in the next game. Getting the Leemen in foul trouble will be huge for the Devils if they can manage to do so.

[Ryan4VT 4,552]

I thought Dean played 4x better against Chatham than he did DR. Some of that is the fact that Chatham was not nearly as good as DR, but he seemed to have more confidence. 

[RiverRat24 274]

Well....I wasnt even really thinking about the game against Chatham. I hadn't heard alot about the game....Just seen the final stats in the paper today. Dean obviously did better against them looking at the stats...But they aren't nearly the team that DR is. If he will at least play as good as he did against Chatham against RE Lee and Collier can manage add around 8-12 pts I will feel good about where GC stands against the Leemen.

 

Alot of "IFs".... Hopefully GC will get it together and play some solid defense and scrap some on the boards. If Lee gets as upset as everyone claims they did against Madison last night...Maybe the GC crowd can have them making all sorts of mistakes. I would bet Mac or Zac throwing down a few dunks might get them riled up a bit too. I really don't care how they score or who does it as long as they get the W.

[Leatherhead Larry 530]

Dean played better, but nowhere near the the level he was playing before his wrist injury. It took him 4-5 threes before he hit one. He won't throw up the open look, he keeps second guessing. I want him to throw it up. I personally thought we played like crap after the first quarter. Scotty even pulled Mac in the 3rd and chewed his tail and didn't put him back in for about 3-4 mins. I guess we knew the game was in hand and just kinda cruised on. (Which I hate)

 

And I don't care how we score either, I just want to win.

[RiverRat24 274]

Anyone that didn't get a chance to see Dean play in the first 4-5 games has no clue what the kid looked like starting out. Don't quote me on this...But I think he was averaging between 17-18 ppg at the earlier part of the season and was lights out. Do you really think the wrist injury has hampered him that much?

 

And honest question, I know Macs performance against DR was miraculous....But was there a point where he wasn't giving the ball up to the open man and was selfish with it? Or was he simply just open enough to take that many shots? There had to be other players wide open during such an onslaught of scoring. The game is over and done with....Just wondering if he could have shared the ball more and got everyone else more involved or if he was making the right choices.

[Milo 39]

I've seen very intelligent young people get hurt in sports and after seeing how easy it is to get injured their done.  It's usually the straight A ones that look at sports that way.

[Great City 210]

River...............I agree. Dean is playing nowhere near the level of basketball he played the first few games of the year. Truly seems to be an issue with his confidence. Not sure if it is because of the wrist injury, sickness, personal issues, or a combination. He did play with more confidence against Chatham. Of course we were up big. Is easier to have confidence if your team is up 20 points. 

 

Dan River played lights out against us. Their coach, in an article in their local paper, said it was their best game of the year. They played great defense, seemed like they could not miss, and absolutely wore us out on the boards. Early in the game only Mac and Zac could get shots off. Zac had to really work for his points. It is just my opinion, but I think that at some point Mac realized that if we were going to score, he was going to have to score. Were there times in the game where we had a player open and Mac still drove to the basket and took the shot, without a doubt. I am sure it happened several times. Could he have kicked the ball back out for someone to knock down an open 3? He could have kicked it back out, but with the way we had been playing, not sure anyone could have hit the shot. I think the game he played was the game he had to play to give us the best chance to win. 

 

Even with DR playing what I believe was the best game they could possibly play, the game was tied with 5 minutes to play. If we could have grabbed some rebounds, the game would have ended differently.

[RiverRat24 274]

If DR played their best game of the season against us and we were still that close knowing we didn't play that well collectively....I'm comfortable in playing them again if we get the opportunity.

 

I just really wish the same Brad Dean we watched play at the beginning of the year would show up. He would really be the difference maker right now.