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2017 Arby's Classic


swva_havok_fan
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Surprised I haven't seen any Gate City fans weighing in on this yet.  According to many pundits, they got the worst possible draw in the opening round against North Mecklenburg.  If somehow they can get through that one, then a possible second round game with 6A Landstown awaits.  Eastside gets a play-in game with Tabernacle for a chance to play Columbus, Mississippi in the opening round.

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My brother lives in Cornelius and works in the vicinity of North Meck.  I've seen them play several times.  They feature a trio of D1 recruits with names that will be very familiar to most, if not all.

  • Vaud Worthy (6'2" SR - PG) is the nephew of James Worthy.  He is being recruited heavily by Charlotte, UNC Wilmington, Winthrop, College of Charleston and New Orleans.
  • Tristan Maxwell (6'-3" SO - SG) is the son of Vernon Maxwell.  His top three schools are Clemson, Florida and Wake Forest.
  • Jae'Lyn Withers (6'-8" JR - SF) is the son of Curtis Withers.  Withers is being targeted by Charlotte, Clemson, Miami, Wake Forest and UVA.  

Worthy averaged a double-double (points-assists) last season and looks to distribute rather than score, but he can score almost at will.  In my opinion, he has a very high basketball IQ.  Maxwell can shoot it from anywhere on the floor but will slam one off your forehead if the opportunity arises. Withers is probably the most gifted of the three.  He is a 6'-8" wing with handle, a very good jump shot and plenty of power to work in the paint.  He is very difficult to stop or even contain.

 

 

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10 minutes ago, UVAObserver said:

Yep, Withers is one of our priority targets for 2019.  He checks off most of the boxes with his versatility and performance in the paint, and the kid is all effort all the time.  Great “motor”, so they say.

 

TBH, I’d be surprised if Gate City stays within 20.

I would be as well, to be honest.  I'm going down to watch them play Hough on December 15th.  Hough is where my brother's kid go to school and where UNC forward Luke Maye attended high school.

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I'm in the group with those that thinks this game won't be all that close.  GC just doesn't have enough talent across the board or the depth or a big post presence to slow down a team like this.  Sure hope im wrong....but I don't see it happening.  

I'll be there either way.  should be some really good games at the classic this year

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Good test for our team. Highly doubt we are even close. But if we want to make a run at a state title then these types of opponents are going to help us in the long run. We don’t play in the Arby’s for wins (we would like to win though). We play in the Arby’s to get ready for what we could see up the road the in playoffs. North Meck is by far better than anything 2A Virginia has to offer. 

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14 hours ago, Leatherhead Larry said:

Good test for our team. Highly doubt we are even close. But if we want to make a run at a state title then these types of opponents are going to help us in the long run. We don’t play in the Arby’s for wins (we would like to win though). We play in the Arby’s to get ready for what we could see up the road the in playoffs. North Meck is by far better than anything 2A Virginia has to offer. 

Very nice, positive outlook.  You definitely won't face 2A competition like this in Virginia. 

Before Hough High School opened about 5 years ago, North Meck was the largest school in North Carolina.  They split the school boundary to have equal enrollment at both schools.  Hough now has an enrollment of 2,453 while North Meck has 1,881.  While I understand the area around Hough has grown substantially over the past 5 years, imagine what North Meck would have looked like prior to Hough.

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Not much to say. Our draw sucked. 

Would have liked to have seen us get an opening round win, but it is not in the cards. 

Will still be some great experience that will pay off down the road. Will expose our weaknesses, kids will play in front of an amazing crowd in a big arena, and will give us some humility. 

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On 11/22/2017 at 5:46 PM, Dick_Vitale said:

How do they usually run the dunk context/semi final games? Do they clear the arena and then let people come back in or is it a free for all from the beginning of the day?

Dunk Contest is in the evening session of day 4, so after the morning session you have to leave and come back in again.

Funny story, the first time my dad decided to come down and watch a couple of games, he showed up in the third quarter of the final game of the morning session.  He didn't realize that and basically paid $10 to watch less than a half of basketball.  :D

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  • 3 weeks later...
 

The difference in the game will be the depth of North Meck. Vaud, Jae, and Tristan are not the only players that North has. GC has guards that can play too. The issue will be on the block and not letting Tristan get going. Vaud doesn't want to score but Tristan and Jae will score in bunches. They will run about 9-10 deep with not much of a let off.

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  • 2 weeks later...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

To be fair, Gate City has two kids who would see playing time at North Meck.  North Meck has a dozen!

A lot different defending North Meck than defending Lee or Lebanon.  I'm not intending to slight Gate City and I don't believe in moral victories but that's about as impressive an outcome as anyone should have expected.  North Meck has at least three kids heading to major D1 programs and at least three others who will play mid-major D1 basketball.  Gate City has McClung and Ervin who scored 56 of their 64 points.  

It's also worthy of mention, North Meck played without three year starting PG Vaud Worthy and started two sophomores and a freshman.

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I noticed Worthy being absent in the lineup just as when they playing Huntington.  Listening to the broadcast online it the radio crew seemed as impressed with the freshman Ford as much as anyone from North Meck which means they could be super scary next year.  He had 19 points and 12 boards I believe the paper noted.

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15 minutes ago, 1inStripes said:

I noticed Worthy being absent in the lineup just as when they playing Huntington.  Listening to the broadcast online it the radio crew seemed as impressed with the freshman Ford as much as anyone from North Meck which means they could be super scary next year.  He had 19 points and 12 boards I believe the paper noted.

Ford is also 6'-4" tall and close to 200 pounds.  He has potential to grow quite a bit more.  My brother says he is a good kid also.  Went to middle school with my nephew. 

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