sixcat

A Grayson parent in my office suggested they will be suffering through the rest of the season. They have several cases of Mono.

The MED, and several other districts, settle potential ties with a pre-season con flip. I'm not sure why but feel certain weather often plays a role as Grayson often struggles to get all weather delayed games made up anyway. I was at the Chance Harmon. If Radford (or anyone else for that matter) base anything on what Gate City showed, they are playing right into the hands of Gate City. GC didn't need to show anything. Floyd is weak at best. Why show your hand in a game that wasn't in doubt before it even began? The other side of that coin, Radford struggled mightily to contain Ayers in the Grayson game and Adam Horton in two games against Carroll. Both Carroll games were very close and should concern anyone viewing Radford without rose-colored glasses. Carroll won 3 games all season and Radford needed late heroics by Morton-Robertson to pull out wins. Carroll actually lead the majority of both games, had the lead at halftime in both games and exposed Radford's weakness for not being able to contain length. Something Gate City has in spades.

To be fair, George Wythe won the MED on a coin flip. But you're right, I don't see Grayson beating either Gate City or Graham. Grayson is very good and would be competitive on a regional and state level in most years but this isn't "most years". Gate City and Graham are exceptionally talented. As I said in another thread, Grayson gave Radford all it wanted and then some. Wes Ayers had 21 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals. If Radford thinks it had a tough night guarding Ayers, wait till they see McClung, Ervin and Dean. In my opinion and from what I've seen, Graham and Gate City both would beat Radford handily.

Fixed the above message for myself!

The conference Wells is going into had 5 of 8 6 of 8 schools reach the state tournament last season in football. Three of those five six schools reached the state final-4. The I-Meck-8 conference is the toughest single conference in all of North Carolina regardless of sport, and that's saying something. Moorseville is the smallest of the 8 schools at nearly 1,800 students. My brothers kids go to one of those schools, Hough. I've been to a lot of athletic events through the years with him. I love high school athletics in SWVA, but there is no comparison to what you see down there.

Not baseball but if anyone gets an opportunity to watch Sydney Nester from Carroll pitch, she is phenomenal. She is 55-2 with an ERA of 0.55, 725 strikeouts and 67 walks through 3 seasons. She committed to NC State following her sophomore season. Carroll won the 4A state title in 2015 behind her pitching. They have lost extra inning games each of the past two seasons to northern Virginia teams in the state tournament.

Ahh, the smurf track! Moorseville has a distinctive field, to say the least. Mooresville is growing like gangbusters. My brother lives in Cornelius. As the areas closer to Charlotte run out of available space, the population keeps spreading further out.

An interesting insight into the Galax girls basketball program. http://www.virginiafirst.com/sports/local-sports/takin-it-courtsidegalax-girls-basketball/968719931

McClung isn’t a top 20 point guard by any recruiting service, much less a top 20 player. Both ESPN and Rivals has him unranked nationally and 49th by position. 24/7 has him 44th by position and 234 nationally. He is ranked #9 in Virginia, a state notoriously weak in producing basketball talent beyond the top 2 or 3 players in the state. Honest opinion and assessment doesn’t mean anyone is taking shots at this kid.

(3) He doesn't fit anything Buzz Williams wants to do on the floor at either guard spot. Buzz needs someone to control the basketball, control tempo, and lock down the opposing PG in order for his teams to play the way he wants to play. I'm not sure McClung can do any of that with an ACC schedule, especially the way Buzz wants it done. (4) Virginia Tech already has commitments from Landers Nolley, Jarren McAllister, and Jon Kabongo. All three fit what Buzz wants to do and are ranked higher than McClung by ever recruiting ranking service. I've seen McAllister and Kabongo play. Buzz is significantly improving PG play with those two commitments. I am not taking shots at McClung before anyone makes an irrational claim. He just doesn't fit anything Virginia Tech wants to do on the basketball court.

Kind of a skewed statistic but very interesting. California had more kids participate in high school baseball than Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina combined, yet all three states have a higher percentage than California being actively recruited.

I have seen Gate City and Radford as well. I watched Radford struggle mightily to contain Wes Ayers from Grayson, who finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds, 6 steals and 5 assists. Wes is long, lean, athletic and aggressive. I would imagine after watching that game, Radford will need to figure something out before trying to defend three players better than Ayers in McClung, Ervin and Dean.

Winchester City ordinance doesn't allow for lighting in most zoning categories. Shopping centers and large parking lots are allowed to have lighting but they can't be over 35 feet tall and must point directly downward with minimal "ray". The city also has a strict 45 foot limit on the height of buildings from grade. The pretentiousness of NOVA never fails to disappoint.

Tanner McPherson is also a very good WR and basketball player. He is the son of the varsity football coach.

Wes Ayers at Grayson County is the best player in the MED. He is averaging 19 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists per game.

Many apologies for resurrecting an old thread. I was searching for something else and stumbled across this gem. A few things come to mind when reading through the original post and responses. Bobby Dodd moved away from the Galax area at a very young age so, I wouldn't expect many to remember his time here. It wouldn't be unrealistic to think something in the line of "birthplace of Bobby Dodd" should be located somewhere in town though. The larger issue for me would be Tim Beamer. He isn't mentioned anywhere around town and doesn't appear on the Galax Wikipedia page. Even Bobby Dodd is listed on the Wikipedia page. Beamer doesn't even have a plaque, picture, trophy or mention in any of the high school trophy cases after playing his entire high school career for Galax. Beamer was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1971 from the University of Illinois and spent nearly a decade between the NFL and CFL. I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Beamer a few years ago. He told me how things were different back then and he isn't surprised at his local anonymity. He went on to tell me Galax held prom and homecoming at the old Galax Country Club, which had a strict "Caucasian only" policy, which forbade Beamer and many others from attending. Seems a bit petty now. You would think, those errors in judgement would have been rectified so many years later.

I didn’t consider that, thanks. Grayson is in a weird place in a district full of Class 1 teams. It hurts them in the end. Playing Bland, Auburn, Rural Retreat and Galax 8 times per year is good for the record but not for preparing to face Graham, Battle or another Class 2 opponent come playoff time. In talking to some friends in Grayson County, if they weren’t so strapped for cash, they would have stayed in the SWD. But the county is broke.

I'm not sure how you can consider Grayson in "no man's land"? Grayson was in Region D when I was in high school from 1988 through 1992. I could easily make the argument, from the mid 90's through a few years ago, Grayson was in the wrong region and should have been in region D all along. Here is a list of travel distances for comparison. Class 2, Region C: Buckingham (215 miles), Appomattox (195 miles), Chatham (126 miles), Dan River (134 miles), Gretna (135 miles), James River (130 miles), Nelson (195 miles), Floyd (55 miles), Fort Chiswell (42 miles), Giles (85 miles), Glenvar (97 miles), Martinsville (91 miles) and Radford (71 miles) for a total of 1,571 miles. Class 2, Region D: Battle (72 miles), Central (116 miles), Gate City (103 miles), Graham (67 miles), Lebanon (86 miles), Lee (140 miles), Marion (42 miles), Richlands (101 miles), Ridgeview (122 miles), Tazewell (72 miles), Union (124 miles), Virginia (77 miles) for a total of 1,122 miles. A 500 mile difference in expected travel between the two regions from Grayson County High School is significant. Grayson County may not have wanted the added travel for district play in the SW District, but they absolutely belong in Region D. Welcome to the board and enjoy the community. But remember, this site is filled with some knowledgeable people who aren't afraid to call bullshit when they see it.

Cost, zoning, regulation, funding, etc. etc. etc.......... The cost per square foot for commercial construction in 1950 was less the one-half-of-one-percent of the average household income. Today, it's closer to 6%! Current Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Codes for new school construction stipulates two distinctive ingresses and egresses. Basically, bus loading zones must be kept completely detached from any other forms of parking and travel through the school property, including travel and parking for athletic fields. School access roads aren't allowed to encircle the school. All roadways and parking areas must have "unobstructed views" from the main school building. The property is also required to meet minimum usable acreage guidelines. This requires a minimum of 10 acres with and additional acre required per 100 students in average daily attendance. So, if a school has an average daily attendance of 1,000 students, the property would be required to be no fewer than 20 acres. However, the key phrase in this requirement is "usable acreage". Stormwater collection areas, athletic fields and any other "waste" areas aren't considered "usable areas".

I met Avery Johnson at my wife's office in Galax a couple of years ago. He got off of Route 58 one entrance too soon for his hotel and came into her office asking how to get over to the Hampton Inn. He was in town recruiting Braxton Key at Oak Hill Academy. He was as nice and personable as he comes off on TV. I've actually met a dozen or so major D1 coaches in town to recruit kids from Oak Hill. Pete Gillen was easily the best, though. Driving his 20 year old Honda Civic with 300k on the odometer. He is a funny guy!

Must not be the same game I watched!

Bliss is certainly an antonym for what's there in reality. Fortunately, I wasn't there long. Those 115 degree days followed by 45 degree nights were more than I cared to endure long enough to get accustomed to. Not to mention, the astroturf lawns!

Since we have gotten outside the area a bit. I attended a few games while stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso Texas way back in he early 90's. Jones Stadium was built in 1916 and is easily, the most interesting stadium of any kind I have ever visited. http://www.texasbob.com/stadium_h/hof_jonesrr.html

Radford and Glenvar don't play until the 26th. http://www.threeriversdistrictva.org/g5-bin/client.cgi?G5genie=308

Georgetown is just a name these days and not a lot more than that. As a result, they hired a "name" to coach a declining program rather than hire a credible coach. As I have said before, I wish McClung and any other kid nothing but the best in whatever life brings them. But it would be incredibly difficult for me to walk away from an Ivy League education if I had that option!