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Mountain 7 Predictions

swva_havok_fan

By swva_havok_fan,
in SWVA Basketball

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swva_havok_fan    1,261

swva_havok_fan
Posted

I figured I would post my opinion on how the district would finish up in boys and girls this year.  I don't know much about the other schools in the district, so this is more or less a blind look.  Interested in seeing how my predictions look come the end of the regular season.

Girls:

  1. Abingdon
  2. Central
  3. Ridgeview
  4. Union
  5. Gate City
  6. John Battle
  7. Lee High

Notes:  Abingdon has looked dominant so far and with a D1 recruit in Hess, I think their first season in the M7 gets them a district title.  Central won the PVNB tournament, and even though they had some key losses from last season, Dotson just reloads the guns.  Ridgeview has everyone back from last season''s team except two players, only one being a starter.  Union had Central on the ropes in the PVNB tournament only to have another meltdown and getting T'd up.  Also, is Ridgeview in Union's head being 0-8 all time against the Pack?  Gate City squeaked by Rye Cove in a benefit game.  Not sure what Battle has back from last year, but they did upset Gate City in the district tournament one season ago.  Lee High... well someone has to finish at the bottom.

Boys:

  1. Gate City
  2. Abingdon
  3. Union
  4. Lee High
  5. Central
  6. Ridgeview
  7. John Battle

Notes:  No question here who's number 1.  Something is telling me that Abingdon will outlast Union for best of the rest.  The other 4 are more or less just there, I will say that Ridgeview is much improved and I look for them to get out of the cellar this year.  Battle lost their everything guy, Felty who is now at Emory and Henry.

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Girls-Hoops    14

Girls-Hoops
Posted

Girls:

If Abingdon plays to their potential then I would give them the nod for #1. 

I think it will be a tight race for 2nd between Central, Ridgeview and Union. 

Gate City and John Battle are very capable of pulling off some upset games. 

I have no idea about Lee???

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EliteSWVAFan    10

EliteSWVAFan
Posted

I only know about the girls:

I think 1-4 or maybe even 5 are a toss up. These girls are going to come out hard every night and it will be anybody's game. 

Abingdon has a roster of AAU girls. Hess, Taylor Gilbert, Emily Breeding, Sarah Walters, and Peyton Carter have all played on the AAU circuit this summer. They have the experience and potential to really be a great team; Hess seems to always know where the ball needs to be on the floor and as the floor general, she gets it there. 

Central only has one player who has played in the AAU circuit over the summer (Dee Cvetnich), but the team is talented. Cvetnich is averaging a double-double through 4 games and Gracie Mullins has taken on a leadership role. Brook Porter and Olivia Mullins are experienced guards having started in previous seasons and Olivia Mullins is showing more confidence in driving the lane. Watching them at the PVNB tournament, it appears they need to get better control of the ball and limit turnovers. 

Ridgeview has two really talented guards in Bailey Frazier and Nikole Counts; they're capable of getting to the hoop at will. Frazier played the AAU circuit over the summer, but watching her this weekend she seemed to be playing in pain and had both hips on ice following every game. That would be my biggest concern for them. Ridgeview did show great ball movement this weekend and they have 5+ girls who are able to consistently hit the 3. 

Union is just a bunch of athletes. The whole bunch is long and lean. Abigail Webb has stepped up and taken on a scoring role, and Ashley Chester has consistently been a scorer and rebounder for the Bears over the past 3 years and that is holding through their first games of this young season. Jayda Smith has shown improvement and I believe she's only a sophomore. She's going to contribute a lot for them this season. 

Gate City has an experienced senior in Tori Powers and a fresh face in Sarah Thompson. Although Thompson is a freshman this year, she played for an AAU team this year that literally walked all over most anyone that they came up against in their age division (along with Honaker's freshman LeeAnna McNulty). She may not be experienced in Varsity play, but she's played against the best girls her age nationwide over the summer and she will surprise some people. 

John Battle's Callie Haderer is back for her final season with the Trojans and after a successful AAU season this summer, is poised to have a great year. Coming off a season where they showed growth in being able to knock off Gate City at the end of last year, I think they'll be hungry to show that they've improved. To be honest, even though Honaker is a 1A school, I was surprised to see John Battle beat them in the VA High Tournament this weekend so I think they're going to give teams a tougher game this year than in recent years.

I've honestly not heard anything about Lee High this year and I don't think they've played a game yet. I think they do play tonight though. 

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Girls-Hoops    14

Girls-Hoops
Posted
1 hour ago, EliteSWVAFan said:

I think 1-4 or maybe even 5 are a toss up. These girls are going to come out hard every night and it will be anybody's game. 

Abingdon has a roster of AAU girls. Hess, Taylor Gilbert, Emily Breeding, Sarah Walters, and Peyton Carter have all played on the AAU circuit this summer. They have the experience and potential to really be a great team; Hess seems to always know where the ball needs to be on the floor and as the floor general, she gets it there. 

Central only has one player who has played in the AAU circuit over the summer (Dee Cvetnich), but the team is talented. Cvetnich is averaging a double-double through 4 games and Gracie Mullins has taken on a leadership role. Brook Porter and Olivia Mullins are experienced guards having started in previous seasons and Olivia Mullins is showing more confidence in driving the lane. Watching them at the PVNB tournament, it appears they need to get better control of the ball and limit turnovers. 

Ridgeview has two really talented guards in Bailey Frazier and Nikole Counts; they're capable of getting to the hoop at will. Frazier played the AAU circuit over the summer, but watching her this weekend she seemed to be playing in pain and had both hips on ice following every game. That would be my biggest concern for them. Ridgeview did show great ball movement this weekend and they have 5+ girls who are able to consistently hit the 3. 

Union is just a bunch of athletes. The whole bunch is long and lean. Abigail Webb has stepped up and taken on a scoring role, and Ashley Chester has consistently been a scorer and rebounder for the Bears over the past 3 years and that is holding through their first games of this young season. Jayda Smith has shown improvement and I believe she's only a sophomore. She's going to contribute a lot for them this season. 

Gate City has an experienced senior in Tori Powers and a fresh face in Sarah Thompson. Although Thompson is a freshman this year, she played for an AAU team this year that literally walked all over most anyone that they came up against in their age division (along with Honaker's freshman LeeAnna McNulty). She may not be experienced in Varsity play, but she's played against the best girls her age nationwide over the summer and she will surprise some people. 

John Battle's Callie Haderer is back for her final season with the Trojans and after a successful AAU season this summer, is poised to have a great year. Coming off a season where they showed growth in being able to knock off Gate City at the end of last year, I think they'll be hungry to show that they've improved. To be honest, even though Honaker is a 1A school, I was surprised to see John Battle beat them in the VA High Tournament this weekend so I think they're going to give teams a tougher game this year than in recent years.

I've honestly not heard anything about Lee High this year and I don't think they've played a game yet. I think they do play tonight though. 

That was a really good breakdown of the teams/girls. I can only make one correction. All the girls that traveled throughout the summer, played Showcase ball, not AAU.  After about 7th grade AAU ball becomes really weak and most of the better girls moves up to the Showcase circuit. 

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EliteSWVAFan    10

EliteSWVAFan
Posted
5 minutes ago, Girls-Hoops said:

That was a really good breakdown of the teams/girls. I can only make one correction. All the girls that traveled throughout the summer, played Showcase ball, not AAU.  After about 7th grade AAU ball becomes really weak and most of the better girls moves up to the Showcase circuit. 

That's true. Sorry about that. Thanks for the correction. 

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Deleted Account    5,203

Deleted Account
Posted
50 minutes ago, Weatherman said:

Who has a better chance of winning a state title this year?   GC boys or one of the girls teams?

One of the girls’ teams.  SWVA is respectably strong in girls’ athletics.  Both may happen, but I think the history is clear which should be favored.

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BigWinners    1,643

BigWinners
Posted

By the end of the season, the Union boys should be better than Central. Maybe not now since WC has been practicing a while and some Union key players are just now in basketball mode, but by the end I believe Union will be better and finish 2-3, depending on Abingdon, in M7.

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swva_havok_fan    1,261

swva_havok_fan
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Posted
14 hours ago, BigWinners said:

By the end of the season, the Union boys should be better than Central. Maybe not now since WC has been practicing a while and some Union key players are just now in basketball mode, but by the end I believe Union will be better and finish 2-3, depending on Abingdon, in M7.

Here's the coaches poll and the link to the team capsules in today's Herald Courier:

  1. Gate City
  2. Union
  3. Wise Central
  4. Abingdon
  5. Ridgeview
  6. John Battle
  7. Lee High

http://www.heraldcourier.com/sports/mountain-district-boys-basketball-preview-capsules/article_4fa8ef76-e136-11e7-9f13-0b432d801315.html

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Ryan4VT    4,552

Ryan4VT
Posted
On 12/14/2017 at 10:57 AM, LongTimeSWVAFan said:

Looks like Central’s boy’s team may be turning the corner. They’ve blown out their last 2 opponents. Can’t wait for Friday!

Yeah....about that....

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