Elder statesman

2021 competition in 2A would have been gate city with Sarah Thompson.

Wise wasn’t very good last year. From what I saw this season, Wise improved all season as their chemistry came together while Ridgeview really seemed to struggle after mid season. I did not watch Marion but I would assume those games simply come down to matchups. I just don’t see anyone on Honaker’s team that can slow down McCamis. Dotson really gets the most out of his talent. Even with healthy Vance I still don’t think it’s closer than 20. As for Carroll county, I saw them 4 times this year and they are legit. IMO Ervin is the best individual player in swva. They are also very deep with speed and talent. They will be favorites for 3A for next 2 years.

Wise by 25+. Honaker had too many turnovers in their game and wise is much better with defensive pressure. It’s simply a different game at the 2A level. Just like Carroll county (3A champ) beats wise by 20+. Speed and depth increases with bigger schools.

Ridgeview/Abingdon game last night was a good one. Overtime win for Abingdon.

Ramsey only played 3-4 games. Missed the Arbys and was done before the first Union game. Should not be considered. Carter has really stepped up this year. He’s had some big nights. Bartee is a player as well.

My theory for the mountain 7 drop in attendance is simply the fact that most of the teams are at the stage AFTER their best run. Most teams are rebuilding. You have Gate city post Mcclung/Ervin/Dean era. Wise isn’t close to what they were with McCamis/Hayes. Abingdon team doesn’t have 1 starter from last years state final team. Even district leader Union isn’t the team they were last year. Losing Rasnake and Cusano hurt a lot. Ridgeview started out well against weak competition but not really strong now without Gabe Brown. Battle and Lee are still Battle and Lee. All schools lose the fan following once they drop in talent.

Complaining about teams like John Marshall and LCA being allowed to play true school teams will never get results. If a team wants to make a stand simply refuse to play the game if matched against them in playoffs. If that happens it will embarrass the vhsl. Only way to get a change imagine a scenario where Gate City with McClung refused to play that game against John Marshall. Big news story

Foul total comparisons are not always relevant Take for example a small perimeter based team playing against a larger physical team. Small team will foul more trying to fight on defense against the larger team while they don't put themselves in position to draw fouls on offense. This example would be the extreme variance but most games will have a mixture of this and may not warrant an even foul total. In addition to this, officials are notorious for calling a bunch of quick touch fouls late in each half to close the gap on foul totals on paper. Just my opinions

Make it out of M7 and you still have Graham to contend with.

They could lose to union and abingdon and still get second in M7 for 2A

That was in the McDonald's classic at va high. They have never been in the Arby's tournament

We can't all be as privy to how things work like you. Oh well.

Ultimately it's for more $$$. Two local teams with good following. Friday at 10 am isn't ideal for max crowd potential tho.

I agree stan but this is a premier tournament. The officials should be much better. It's just a well known fact that officials have caused high profile teams to not want to come back in the past. This area doesn't compare to the bigger high profile tournaments they are used to. When you are putting the D1 commits in early foul trouble or trying to change the way they play to suit the area standards you cause them to dislike playing here. Not saying you should give them the calls but don't limit their game either.

Been watching some games both in person and on YouTube. The officiating crews seem to be trying to make every game about them. A few of them ref with a chip on their shoulder. I have seen multiple accounts of them putting ball down on inbounds plays and start counting (quick count too). There have been a few times there were technicals for dunking in warm-ups . Stopping the game to make kids put jerseys in their shirts. I know the rules but come on. Unless the refs have family in attendance I don't think there is a single person buying tickets to see them. People go to the Arby's to see the talent. Relax and enjoy the show.

I am talking youth ball and travel. Sutherland has coached the jv girls and the freshmen girls for a few years now. I think Gulley is the actual jv coach though.

I agree with Frazier being one of the top coaches. I still hold the opinion that nobody in VA matches Robin Dotson in girls basketball. I can’t say for sure about Ridgeview but the rumor is that he’s done once his daughter graduates. Probably succeeded by Sutherland since he’s coached the younger group for some time now.

Gotcha, I wasn't sure the situation. I have heard that Frazier had kinda worn out his welcome lately. It's just a common occurrence when you have a talented group of players coming up for their parents to want immediate playing time. I have seen this happen at multiple schools over the years. It has even cost a couple of coaches their jobs before.

Mountain 7 girls basketball is usually the best district in the state. This year will be almost a rebuilding year for the whole district. A lot of talented youth coming up for the future. Will be exciting over the next 4-5 years. Central has started out well. McCamis is a tough holdback freshman. Probably the most talented player of the family. Dotson is the best girls coach (always gets the most out of what he has) so that probably gives them the district edge. Ridgeview has a good mix of talent with veterans and youth. Not sure what internal problems they have but probably has to do with the talented younger group’s parents entitlement and wanting immediate playing time. Frazier/Sutherland need good seasons for success. If they keep it together they should be second. Hammonds won’t play there. She’s good and a great shooter but doesn’t have a good reputation with past teams because of her dad. She will likely stay in single A for the headlines. 3-5 is a toss up in my opinion. Many variables involved with these teams. Gate City has some talent left but took big loss with Thompson. I heard another girl transferred away but not sure. Ervin is a good player but not enough to carry them to the top. Will depend on a couple players from the supporting cast stepping up. If they struggle this year, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Ervin transfer for next year. Abingdon is very young. No seniors, only real experience coming back is a sophomore. They lack size but have some speed and should play scrappy at times. They do have a really good group of freshmen who have played a lot of travel ball but the season will depend on how they are used and how they can blend with the sophomores and juniors on the team. Union is typical union. They have a few girls with talent that have played some travel ball but usually on different teams. Now they must play together and their season depends on when and if they implode during the season. The parent culture seems to be tough to deal with there if these message boards/rumor mills are any indication. Not sure I would want to coach there. Battle has some talent with senior Anna McKee and a tall transfer from Holston (I think) but not enough help. They could upset the middle teams on a good night but not sure they can be consistent enough to finish higher than 6/7. Lee still struggling to build a competitive program. I think they may struggle for a win in this district.

I have mentioned the specialization issue before. GC is a classic example. With travel ball taking over the youth leagues, in basketball and baseball especially, the kids play year round and football becomes the sport kids leave. Mcclung and Ervin chose to specialize to maximize their potential in basketball. Those 2 athletes alone on the football team would have made a world of difference in GC’s records those years. Their success and hype led other athletes to specialize for the team and the kids that idolize them choose early to play b-ball all year so they can be the next Mac. Mix that with the current overlap of seasons and it becomes even harder. A school that makes playoff runs every year in football hurts the basketball team because the players that do both cannot start workouts until football is over. By the time they acclimate and team chemistry forms, basketball is 5-6 games into the season

I think GC could get back to being a contender with the new coach and atmosphere. It will help with the Mcclung and Ervin era ending as the focus among the youngsters will gradually shift back to football for the school. It will take time for the consistency to come back through the youth programs.

While I have no respect at all for TJ as a coach, I would never wish injury on a kid. They have a limited number of years to have fun and make memories. After that it’s time for the rest of your life to remember and cherish those days. In my opinion, with the loss of Mullins and now McCamis, Wise would be lucky to have a .500 season. Gate city, abingdon, union, and Battle should be too strong for them and Ridgeview has the potential to be in that mix as well.

I guess I did misread that. My mistake.

I don't follow some of those sports but boys and girls basketball beat VA High this past season.

Once again I didn't say they should be 2A in the current system. The older 3A system would have cut off single A at about 500-600.