Have they created a super team for the girls program as well???
12 hours ago, 1inStripes said:
From what I heard this week…that’s the idea they have put in place.
I won't say too much because it's really not my tale to tell. I assume, since the person that told me is the girls father, it's not a secret of some kind. Just in case, I'll leave out names and schools to help protect the innocent.
A friend of mine has a daughter that's 6'-3" tall and signed a full scholarship over a year ago to play D1 basketball in the Atlantic 10 Conference. She started and averaged 15 PPG as a freshman at a high school in this region before transferring to a VISAA member school. At which time, she reclassified and repeated her freshman season because, private schools can play 5 years of varsity basketball. She has averaged better than 16 PPG every season in the VISAA against stiffer competition. For a girl her size, she plays all 5 positions on the floor!!! This season she led her team in assists, rebounds, blocks, steals, FG percentage and was 2nd in scoring and 3 point FG percentage.
Last summer, she was approached about joining Team Loaded and transferring to JM. The family considered it briefly until the fine folks that requested she join TL and JM found out she had already played a year of basketball in VHSL and 3 years in VISAA, making her ineligible for further VHSL competition. Then they wouldn't give her the time of day!!!
Leb is a unique gym with such a large backdrop behind the goals.
Auburn shouldn't be bothered by that. Their home gym has 50 plus feet of space between the wall and baseline. They also grow up playing at Blacksburg, which has 20 or so rows of bleachers behind the basket.
I think Honaker can beat Auburn. I'm picking Auburn, but Honaker won't be intimidated one bit and coming into the game thinking they can win. Auburn by 7 pts.
These two teams are likely as evenly matched player for player as GW and Auburn. I was surprised at how Honaker was able to take it to GW the way they did. The difference in this game is coaching. Auburn has one of the best coaching staffs in Virginia regardless of classification. They wear you down early and pull away late. They don't miss free throws and shoot a ton of them. The coaching staff puts the opposing players in a position to have to make decisions. Over time, they adjust so that the opponent almost always makes the wrong decision. It leaves a lot of opposing players and coaches confused. Auburn always seems to play their game regardless of the opponent. I have never seen an opponent take Millirons out of what he wants to do.
Nothing against the coaching staff at Honaker but Millirons and Company are elite. For Honaker to win, they will have to take Auburn out of what's comfortable for them.
Class 1 Boys - GW and Auburn will roll Honaker and Chilhowie.
Class 2 Boys - VA - Martinsville is a toss-up. Gretna by a dozen over Graham.
Class 1 Girls - Eastside and Honaker in close games.
Class 2 Girls - Central will roll Liberty. Floyd - Ridgeview will be a battle but I'll take RV.
Class 3 Girls - Carroll beat LCA twice by 30+ last season but Carroll doesn't have the pieces they had last season. I still think Carroll wins in a much closer game. Abingdon will roll TA.
Despite winning 6 state championships in the past 10 seasons, Galax is on its 4th head coach in 4 seasons!!!
The talent is there, as always. Galax could legitimately field two state level teams and have some talent to spare. We'll see how the new coach shakes out.
Just briefly glancing through LCA’s roster, Gideon Davidson (Clemson) is from Ghana. Easton Ware (Clemson) is from Norfolk. Jayden Cowert is from Wirtz in Franklin County. Just south of Cave Spring. I’m sure I’m missing a bunch. That’s just a quick glance.
Current NFL players from LCA. Michael Strachan was from the Bahamas. Rashad Jennings transferred from Jefferson Forrest.
I guess if VHS were to partner with Hardrock Casino, they could give players room and board. Then recruit for every sport and build dynasties!
It sounds somewhat facetious but in reality, whats stopping anyone from doing that?
Seriously, go read articles and watch YouTube videos of what schools in inner-city Philadelphia were doing that forced Pennsylvania to make drastic changes. It makes what JM is doing seem tame.
Thanks for the insight. So in reality, population centers basically have free run to draw students/athletes while rural VA is very limited…unless some benefactor makes it worthwhile.
Pretty much, yes. And more will take advantage going forward. It’s essentially a free pass to cheat and VHSL is powerless to stop it under the current rules
So any student can attend and play for LCA regardless of where they reside solely because LCA is a private school?
Correct.
8 minutes ago, Bearcat Bob said:
But I thought public schools were still bound by jurisdictional boundaries. That’s not the case?
By the letter of the law, jurisdictional boundaries still apply to public high schools. However, VHSL fears another lawsuit and will likely not pursue any action against the likes of JM.
How can VHSL enforce jurisdictional boundaries against JM while being court ordered to allow LCA to to do whatever it wants? The court ruling set precedent. JM would simply take VHSL to court and would have a strong argument.
I will add to the above, Virginia is hardly alone in this regard. Go look at what Pennsylvania started doing in 2018 based on private schools moving into public school competition with unfair advantages.
I don’t have your LCA knowledge. What residency requirement do they have to attend? I know that Loudoun County and the City of Richmond allow students residing in their jurisdictions to attend any school in those jurisdictions as long as they provide their own transportation.
LCA has no jurisdictional governance. They are a private school open to anyone they decide to admit.
Those students are guaranteed VHSL eligibility through the court ruling in 2015 so long as they meet all academic requirements. The only real difference between a private school participating in VHSL and a private school participating in the VISAA is the 5th year of eligibility in varsity competition.
Any public high school in Virginia is free and clear to do with their athletics department, exactly what JM is currently doing within its basketball program. VHSL is powerless to stop it based on the court ruling.
Honest question. Do you think the VHSL "likes" what is going on or are they just handcuffed by the lack of finances to fight it?
I don’t think they “like” it. I think they are somewhat handcuffed based on the court ruling. VHSL can no longer reprimand schools for recruiting while being forced to guarantee schools like LCA and JM participation.
VHSL wasn’t proactive during the rise of recruiting with Salem, Hampton, Martinsville, etc. As a result, painted themselves into a corner. LCA’s attorneys took that opportunity to galvanize their ruling in court. Which all but guaranteed JM couldn’t be punished for their actions.
What JM and LCA are doing may not be ethical. But it’s certainly not illegal and well within the current guidelines of VHSL.
To summarize, VHSL most likely doesn’t like what’s happening but they are complicit in letting the situation get to where it’s at now.
If you’re speaking in terms of academics or full athletic department support, JM and LCA aren’t in the same stratosphere. But we’re not are we? The context of this discussion within this thread is solely about the classification they play in. Nothing else!
You even bolster my argument with your last sentence quoted above. JM is allowed to do what they do because VHSL allows it following the LCA court ruling. JM is playing by the rules set forth by the governing body. Based on enrollment, which is the sole criteria VHSL uses for classification, JM and LCA are doing nothing wrong. Furthermore, based on the court ruling in 2015, it’s clear VHSL can’t discriminate based on recruiting profile or footprint. If they could, LCA would still be playing in the private school ranks.
Don’t hate the players, hate the game. VHSL is the game. Their lack of oversight is why we’re in this situation.
There is a helluva difference between what JM is doing and LCA. LCA is a private school and charges tuition for the privilege of going there. (Im not a fan of LCA or other private schools being allowed in the VHSL either.) JM is a public school offering a private school program for no additional cost.
If you believe any of the athletes from all over the country LCA is stacking teams with are paying tuition for the privilege, I’ve got some ocean front property in Fries I’d love to sell you!!!
Each region is responsible for their own tournament. This is two different regions playing in the same venue. Most likely a lack of coordination coupled with the desires of the teams playing telling their respective region their preference.
What if Oak Hill didn't exist and Steve Smith just decided to coach Marion and bring all those guys in and Marion mopped the floor with every team in the state for years and years.
Steve Smith hasn’t coached since Covid. He’s available if Marion wants to shoot their shot and try to draw him out of retirement!!!
The problem isn't with John Marshall playing for a state final every year. It is how they are doing it.
I disagree. JM is playing within the parameters of the VH$L rules. There is no real difference between what JM is doing and what Liberty Christian Academy is doing.
The problem lies solely with VH$L!!!
The lawsuit LCA won against VHSL in 2015 opened the door for what essentially amounts to legalized recruiting. I'm not a lawyer but I would imaging VHSL would have a difficult time from a legal perspective trying to reprimand one school for recruiting while being forced to allow it through the LCA court ruling.
I think Coach Cormany was wrong for having us play JM for the title game last year. We should have set it out.
Cormany was the head basketball coach at Grayson County when I was in high school. The Cormany I remember is far too competitive in nature to quit. He's also perceptive enough to understand how important the experience of playing in a state tournament can be for the future of the kids he coaches and the community in general. Those kids learned a valuable lesson. Life isn't always fair. That doesn't mean you roll over and play dead.
I'm not sure how teaching kids to quit when things get hard is worth an attempt to send a message to VH$L they aren't going to understand anyway.
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john marshall girls team
in SWVA Basketball
Posted
I won't say too much because it's really not my tale to tell. I assume, since the person that told me is the girls father, it's not a secret of some kind. Just in case, I'll leave out names and schools to help protect the innocent.
A friend of mine has a daughter that's 6'-3" tall and signed a full scholarship over a year ago to play D1 basketball in the Atlantic 10 Conference. She started and averaged 15 PPG as a freshman at a high school in this region before transferring to a VISAA member school. At which time, she reclassified and repeated her freshman season because, private schools can play 5 years of varsity basketball. She has averaged better than 16 PPG every season in the VISAA against stiffer competition. For a girl her size, she plays all 5 positions on the floor!!! This season she led her team in assists, rebounds, blocks, steals, FG percentage and was 2nd in scoring and 3 point FG percentage.
Last summer, she was approached about joining Team Loaded and transferring to JM. The family considered it briefly until the fine folks that requested she join TL and JM found out she had already played a year of basketball in VHSL and 3 years in VISAA, making her ineligible for further VHSL competition. Then they wouldn't give her the time of day!!!