Great City

As a Radford guy, I know in my sports experience the only school anyone up in the New River Valley talked about from far Southwest Virginia was Gate City in football and basketball.  
We had some rivalries with Virginia High in soccer but how many schools play soccer?  
Football and basketball are the main cash cows for a small school like us and I would guess Gate City.  
Hearing you talk on here it sounds like this may be a year where the basketball team may bring in more money than football. Maybe, maybe not. 
Gate City has been the one team I have always heard of from people living up this way. 
Like Radford our goals in basketball are not to win the district/conference title. Our goal is the state tournament yet some schools celebrate like they won a state championship when they defeat us. 
It's all about your reality and your culture. You either have a championship culture established where your players are focused on the end of the road in March or they just have a date circled to beat somebody local.  
I'm sure for some of Gate City opponents beating them is the best thing in the world and the only thing that matters. Yet for people like us up here all we are concerned about is meeting schools like Gate City at the end because then we know it takes the best to beat the best 
It's all about perspective. 

UVAO.........I can assure you the vast majority of GC fans are not "patently delusional" about the upcoming basketball season. Believe most of us are saying that we COULD win a state championship this season.........a point that you seem to agree with. Looks like we are all on the same delusional page. :)
I will agree that there is a lot of closed-mindedness in SWVA. Just like in all parts of the state, and our great nation. Is really just a matter of what that particular region's minds are closed toward.
I'm curious. How many times did you see GC play last year?

UVAO.........I can assure you the vast majority of GC fans are not "patently delusional" about the upcoming basketball season. Believe most of us are saying that we COULD win a state championship this season.........a point that you seem to agree with. Looks like we are all on the same delusional page. :)
I will agree that there is a lot of closed-mindedness in SWVA. Just like in all parts of the state, and our great nation. Is really just a matter of what that particular region's minds are closed toward.
I'm curious. How many times did you see GC play last year?

UVAO, I think your perception of the number of delusional fans in GC is skewed a bit.  Yes, there are some, but on the whole, most of us know how hard it is to win the top prize, because after all, we have never done it in boys.

Rebounding was what I saw that killed GC last year. In that regional semi game, I saw Dan River get 7 consecutive offensive rebounds before a DR player finally scored a 3. Can't win like that.

We are not going to be "back" in football until we get more kids out of the halls and on the team. Way too many kids having to play both ways. We also have a lot of kids who only play one sport. This did not used to be the case. How many kids on the basketball team last year played football?
Success on the field leads to more kids wanting to be on the team. The reverse is also true. Hard to stop a train once it is moving. Much harder to get it moving initially. (train = cannonball reference)
Speaking of basketball..........not sure what % chance we have of winning a state title, and that should be the farthest thing on the players'/coaches' minds.......but barring injuries, we should have the best chance we have ever had. Don't think we embarrassed ourselves last year. (Even with Dean's injury causing his game to greatly suffer the second half of the year, and Zac battling an illness that I believe caused him to lose several pounds.)  Didn't we take a fairly decent team from the East into OT last year? Should have a stronger team this year.
Based on the many, many GC games I watched last year, not sure defense was our main issue. I would argue that lack of an inside presence....and the subsequent lack of rebounding was a much bigger issue. We gave up way too many second chance points. Unfortunately it was fairly routine for a team to get 3, 4, 5 consecutive offensive rebounds against us.
I did a quick scan of the VHSL Record Book. I THINK GC has been in 4 state finals. We lost by 3, 5, 14, and 3 points in those games. We have never played above AA.
 

................and if the kid from Honaker can shoot from the perimeter like we have been told, the opportunities for Zac to drive to the rim will increase.
................and if the kid from Honaker can shoot from the perimeter like we have been told..........Mac drives.......defense collapses on him...........we should have two great shooters wide open on the perimeter.
Really hope the rumor I heard yesterday is true. Not sure it will happen, but if it does, GC will be getting another addition to the basketball team....a high-caliber additions.
 

An athlete of this caliber comes around SWVA every once in a decade or more. Get out and see this young man while you still can. Should be Calvin Talford type crowds wherever Gate City plays this year. 

The main concern about Redwine is his size, college scouts told a coaching friend of mine he needs to put on about twenty pounds just to take the pounding of game play, he can make all the throws and is a decent runner. 

I feel like you're more educated on this subject than the rest of us 

Sigh. He is a GC kid who decided to go to DB. Would like to have him back in the fold.

he gets a little more brass about him each time he's in the open court. hadn't ever seen him do a 360 even in warmups....i keep waiting for a between the legs slam from him in a game.  

Better gate at the dances after the games?
 
Wait, is that even still a thing?

hahahahahahahaha   Pretty funny.
Yeah..........GC has not played pretty decent basketball for a number of years now. I expect a total collapse in two years. May not win a game.

Kyrin will be a senior. He tried to transfer last season but wasn't able. And like mentioned above, we also got a kid back who left GC after 8th grade to go to DB, he's now 6'3 and weighs about 227lbs as a rising Redshirt Senior. He'll be a good addition in the backfield to Calhoun who is probably 6'1 and 250+Lbs. 
 
and to answer your question, Sallee QB'd in the 7 on 7 at VHS. I reckon he was slinging it, but some inexperience on reading the defense costed us a couple INTs. But the kid ain't afraid to sling it. We just need to get him quicker, or be sure we give him plenty of time to get rid of the ball inside the pocket. 
 
Vermillion didnt recieve any reps at QB because he was at Georgia for a kicking camp. I think Culbertson worked with the 2nd team offense. My opinion is that the job for QB will remain open between those 3 for awhile. They all have their own upsides. 
Vermillion: probably the best at reading the defense and making changes at the LOS
Culbertson: probably the quickest and fits into the style of offense Akers runs. (Gotta be quick to get the ball to the right back and be able to take some hits when your # is called)
Sallee: no doubt he is the better gun slinger of the bunch and would sling it every play if they let him. His size slows him down but then again that size is hard to bring down. And right now, I think Sallee is one they are going with, he'll be the future QB of GC so go ahead and let him start the next 3 seasons. 

I saw where Dean won the 3-point shooting contest at a recent camp. That is encouraging.

I said it several pages back, it would be hard for me to pass up an opportunity at any Ivy League school.  It's instant credibility regardless of field or profession.  Not to mention the networking that comes from being a member of the Ivy fraternity. 

He's a senior and was on 2nd or 3rd string at DB. He's been at most of GC's basketball games the past 2 years and has a lot of friends there. I think we might have another one coming also, but he was a GC boy to begin with.

Good, Good. It is about time some of the lost sheep come home!

I think defense is outlawed at AAU events.