2017-18 Boys Season

[Weatherman 135]

Let's get some discussion going.

Who looks to be the best in each district in 2A?   What about 1A?

Gate City has a legitimate shot at a state title this season.  What about Graham, can they challenge as well.

Rank the teams in each district.

Who are the top players to look for, outside of McClung and Ervin that we all hear about so much?

[RiverRat24 274]

not sure about all the district's but I feel safe in saying that Graham and Union will be very tough again this year.  Unions Slagle and Mitchell will be a tough duo to stop as usual and i know they have some pieces around those guys as well.  Not sure the names of the Graham players right off hand but I think they was a fairly young team last year and they were very talented and gritty as always and had some pretty good depth as well.  

 

I'm not dismissing all the other teams from around the area, these are just the ones that stick out in my head that I know will give GC a battle.   

[GMan 3,569]

Gate City

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A few others

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Everybody else

[Ryan4VT 4,554]

4 hours ago, GMan said:

Gate City

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A few others

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Everybody else

This. GC will roll all the way to the regional finals before they truly hit a real test. 

[GoBearsGo 142]

I agree that GC will be the leader of the pack but I think Union will be as competitive, if not more than last season. I'm not saying they'll beat GC but they'll be competitive. I see Union being the #2 from the region. Of course a late start will give them a slow start because 3 probable starters are on the football team but the makings are there for as good of a team as the Bears have put on the floor.

[Ryan4VT 4,554]

36 minutes ago, GoBearsGo said:

I agree that GC will be the leader of the pack but I think Union will be as competitive, if not more than last season. I'm not saying they'll beat GC but they'll be competitive. I see Union being the #2 from the region. Of course a late start will give them a slow start because 3 probable starters are on the football team but the makings are there for as good of a team as the Bears have put on the floor.

Union may have a slower start, but then again they may not. Richlands went to a state title last year and then lost their true C when he quit playing after the 2nd game he played and they still had the best season in school history. So it's no guarantee either way. 

I do think Union will be the 2nd best team in the District (not sure what Abingdon brings this year), but there's just too much of a gap from GC to the pack. 

[sixcat 2,919]

Grayson County should be very good. They are excellently coached and have an awful lot of returning talent with excellent size. 

They wont compete with Gate City in Region D but they will be very competitive with everyone else. 

[Ryan4VT 4,554]

2D top 4 could be GC, Graham, Union and Grayson. Not sure what Battle, Central, Richlands, Virginia and the rest have yet to be able to fill out the rest of the bracket. 

[Deleted Account 5,203]

2 hours ago, Ryan4VT said:

This. GC will roll all the way to the regional finals before they truly hit a real test. 

They’ll hit far more than a “real test” at the Arby’s Classic.  They’ll drop 2 there in lopsided fashion.

 

I’m also not going to anoint this team yet.  A solid defensive team that can make a respectable effort of containing McClung and Ervin are going to be in it.  Granted, it’s an awfully tall task, but I could see this team getting stymied in the state tournament by such a team.  Virginia is an extremely poor basketball state at the public school level, and the talent that does exist is historically concentrated in areas that aren’t SWVA.  McClung and Ervin are exceptions to that general rule, but the point still stands.

[Ryan4VT 4,554]

11 minutes ago, UVAObserver said:

They’ll hit far more than a “real test” at the Arby’s Classic.  They’ll drop 2 there in lopsided fashion.

 

I’m also not going to anoint this team yet.  A solid defensive team that can make a respectable effort of containing McClung and Ervin are going to be in it.  Granted, it’s an awfully tall task, but I could see this team getting stymied in the state tournament by such a team.  Virginia is an extremely poor basketball state at the public school level, and the talent that does exist is historically concentrated in areas that aren’t SWVA.  McClung and Ervin are exceptions to that general rule, but the point still stands.

The Arby's doesn't count in my prediction. Of course they will have real competition there. But outside of that, with the regular VA games they will play, they won't be tested until the state quarters or semis, and that will be at home vs. Radford most likely in the semi. 

[Dick_Vitale 342]

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[sixcat 2,919]

1 hour ago, Dick_Vitale said:

excellently coached? Eh we all have opinions. 

Yes we do and what a surprise, yours must differ from mine! 

I’ve known John and his family for more than 30 years. One doesn’t typically coach and direct the athletics department at the junior college level for a dozen years without having talent for the craft. 

Grayson will be a solid 2D basketball team this season.

 

[Dick_Vitale 342]

26 minutes ago, sixcat said:

Yes we do and what a surprise, yours must differ from mine! 

I’ve known John and his family for more than 30 years. One doesn’t typically coach and direct the athletics department at the junior college level for a dozen years without having talent for the craft. 

Grayson will be a solid 2D basketball team this season.

 

Dewey Lusk... Just because you coach in college does not mean you are a good coach. 

I will agree, Grayson has been better than they have in years past but I also witnessed your coach literally lose his mind in a few games/stop coaching. He might be a good coach at times but a great coach does not have the temper tantrums this guy did. Like I literally watched him go bonkers in the first half at his players and refs. He got T'd up and literally sat down and did not say a work for a quarter and a half. Wild!

[Ryan4VT 4,554]

1 hour ago, Dick_Vitale said:

Dewey Lusk... Just because you coach in college does not mean you are a good coach. 

Lusk won more games at Bluefield this year than the previous 5 years combined......

[futbolking 766]

Graham will be very good.  They lost only 2 seniors.  Darrin Martin, Emil Curto, Garrett Dalton will be seniors with a lot of game experience.  Martin is a very talented young man who lives in the gym.  Dalton should be a force to reckon with underneath the basket this season.  They have a big body that transferred from Philadelphia who may be able to clear the boards effectively.  Devin Lester and Chance Dawson ate sophimires who will see significant playing time and are both very good ball players.  Junior guard Drew Baker will run the point in his 2nd season starting at that position.  Cam Allen will return at Guard.  I'd say Graham should be pretty stout.  They added Martinsville to the regular season with a home and away game with them early in the season.  I think they will compete very well in the region.  

[Dick_Vitale 342]

43 minutes ago, Ryan4VT said:

Lusk won more games at Bluefield this year than the previous 5 years combined......

I'll give credit where credit is due. He did have a successful stint at Bluefield this past year but his tenure at UVAW was disastrous. He had the talent too. 

[Dick_Vitale 342]

2A teams in each region.

Region D: Battle, Central, Gate City, Graham, Grayson, Lebanon, Lee, Marion, Richlands, Ridgeview, Tazewell, Union, Virginia High

Region C:Appo, Buckingham, Chatham, Dan River, Floyd, Fort Chiswell, Giles, Glenvar, Gretna, James River, Martinsville, Nelson, Radford.

 

 

[1inStripes 932]

18 hours ago, UVAObserver said:

They’ll hit far more than a “real test” at the Arby’s Classic.  They’ll drop 2 there in lopsided fashion.

 

I’m also not going to anoint this team yet.  A solid defensive team that can make a respectable effort of containing McClung and Ervin are going to be in it.  Granted, it’s an awfully tall task, but I could see this team getting stymied in the state tournament by such a team.  Virginia is an extremely poor basketball state at the public school level, and the talent that does exist is historically concentrated in areas that aren’t SWVA.  McClung and Ervin are exceptions to that general rule, but the point still stands.

I dont see them dropping two in the Arbys by lopsided fashion.  Great chance it happens with North Meck to start but after that most likely it will be local teams they face.  GC will probably be the most talented local team in the Arbys.

[Deleted Account 5,203]

1 hour ago, 1inStripes said:

I dont see them dropping two in the Arbys by lopsided fashion.  Great chance it happens with North Meck to start but after that most likely it will be local teams they face.  GC will probably be the most talented local team in the Arbys.

I thought the draw had Gate City playing two non-local and far superior teams?  My apologies if that’s incorrect.   Gate City is certainly the best local team around.

[swva_havok_fan 1,261]

1 hour ago, 1inStripes said:

I dont see them dropping two in the Arbys by lopsided fashion.  Great chance it happens with North Meck to start but after that most likely it will be local teams they face.  GC will probably be the most talented local team in the Arbys.

 

24 minutes ago, UVAObserver said:

I thought the draw had Gate City playing two non-local and far superior teams?  My apologies if that’s incorrect.   Gate City is certainly the best local team around.

Unless Tennessee High upsets Landstown in round 1, Gate City most likely has a loser's bracket with nothing but local teams with the exception of Webb.  Gate City plays the winner/loser of Tennessee High and Landstown in their second game.

[HowTheWestWasWon2017 24]

In my opinion Radford should be invited to this tournament instead of a team like Eastside. We should have been invited many times over if you look at our past record of success.

Top 4 in Region C should be:

1. Radford

2. Dan River

3. Glenvar

4. Martinsville

4. Chatham

 

Glenvar defeated Martinsville last year and they have nearly everyone back. Region C will still be the region to defeat for a state title. Chatham was also young and has some experience returning 

From what I have been told, Region D will go like this:

1. Graham

2. Gate City

3. Union 

4. John Battle

4. Grayson County

Everyone I have asked when it comes to Region D basketball tells me that besides the first three teams everyone else is trash. 

People familiar with Region D say teams like Lee and John Battle have talent but they are young. The other teams like Central-Wise, Ridgeview, and Marion are mostly nobody's.

Top to bottom Region C is the best in basketball in Virginia in Class 2A. Especially since we came back to this region.

I have seen all the hype on Twitter about Gate City and that is all they are is hype. We were supposed to get beat by them a few years ago as well in the state finals but we know how that worked out.  The two Gate City studs are good. They are going to get what they want no matter what and that's a D1 ride. A state championship I'm not sure. If they want to improve their resume for college with a championship would be nice for them. They will not be seeing that though. Too many good teams in their way. After seeing their schedule as well, they do not or will not play any competition after that Arbys Classic tournament seeing as how weak the region is. 

Good luck to everyone in Region D but Region C is taking this one for sure this year. 

[Ryan4VT 4,554]

2 minutes ago, HowTheWestWasWon2017 said:

In my opinion Radford should be invited to this tournament instead of a team like Eastside. We should have been invited many times over if you look at our past record of success.

Top 4 in Region C should be:

1. Radford

2. Dan River

3. Glenvar

4. Martinsville

4. Chatham

 

Glenvar defeated Martinsville last year and they have nearly everyone back. Region C will still be the region to defeat for a state title. Chatham was also young and has some experience returning 

From what I have been told, Region D will go like this:

1. Graham

2. Gate City

3. Union 

4. John Battle

4. Grayson County

Everyone I have asked when it comes to Region D basketball tells me that besides the first three teams everyone else is trash. 

People familiar with Region D say teams like Lee and John Battle have talent but they are young. The other teams like Central-Wise, Ridgeview, and Marion are mostly nobody's.

Top to bottom Region C is the best in basketball in Virginia in Class 2A. Especially since we came back to this region.

I have seen all the hype on Twitter about Gate City and that is all they are is hype. We were supposed to get beat by them a few years ago as well in the state finals but we know how that worked out.  The two Gate City studs are good. They are going to get what they want no matter what and that's a D1 ride. A state championship I'm not sure. If they want to improve their resume for college with a championship would be nice for them. They will not be seeing that though. Too many good teams in their way. After seeing their schedule as well, they do not or will not play any competition after that Arbys Classic tournament seeing as how weak the region is. 

Good luck to everyone in Region D but Region C is taking this one for sure this year. 

Several things here. 

1. Graham will NOT be the 1 seed in the region. That will be Gate City. Graham and Union will fight for the 2 seed, and I'll give the slight edge to Graham, although Union will have Mitchell. 

2. Region C may be the best top to bottom region, but GC has the best player in 2A and a couple of other pieces that will make it hard to beat them. You wanna beat GC, you're gonna have to go score probably 75-85 a night. Good luck with that. 

3. GC is more than hype. This is a team with a Georgetown commit, a D1 caliber junior and a now-sophomore that can light it up. Add in a few role players, and they have what they need. They are not hype. 

4. They can't control their competition on their schedule. They have to play the M7 teams, and only Union is really capable of putting up a fight. And with their location in the state, heading up to Roanoke or wherever on a Tuesday night in January just isn't feasible. 

 

I also have Radford coming out of C, but they won't beat GC if they play. Book it now. 

[Dick_Vitale 342]

Radford lost some big pieces last year (two starters if not three right?)

[EH31 2,518]

6 hours ago, HowTheWestWasWon2017 said:

In my opinion Radford should be invited to this tournament instead of a team like Eastside. We should have been invited many times over if you look at our past record of success.

Top 4 in Region C should be:

1. Radford

2. Dan River

3. Glenvar

4. Martinsville

4. Chatham

 

Glenvar defeated Martinsville last year and they have nearly everyone back. Region C will still be the region to defeat for a state title. Chatham was also young and has some experience returning 

From what I have been told, Region D will go like this:

1. Graham

2. Gate City

3. Union 

4. John Battle

4. Grayson County

Everyone I have asked when it comes to Region D basketball tells me that besides the first three teams everyone else is trash. 

People familiar with Region D say teams like Lee and John Battle have talent but they are young. The other teams like Central-Wise, Ridgeview, and Marion are mostly nobody's.

Top to bottom Region C is the best in basketball in Virginia in Class 2A. Especially since we came back to this region.

I have seen all the hype on Twitter about Gate City and that is all they are is hype. We were supposed to get beat by them a few years ago as well in the state finals but we know how that worked out.  The two Gate City studs are good. They are going to get what they want no matter what and that's a D1 ride. A state championship I'm not sure. If they want to improve their resume for college with a championship would be nice for them. They will not be seeing that though. Too many good teams in their way. After seeing their schedule as well, they do not or will not play any competition after that Arbys Classic tournament seeing as how weak the region is. 

Good luck to everyone in Region D but Region C is taking this one for sure this year. 

10 bucks if you go to VAPreps and tell them that Martinsville will be 4th in region C

[swva_havok_fan 1,261]

17 hours ago, HowTheWestWasWon2017 said:

In my opinion Radford should be invited to this tournament instead of a team like Eastside. We should have been invited many times over if you look at our past record of success.

I don't think Eastside should be there either, but at least they were gifted Tabernacle in their first game, which is a play in to the main draw.  Perhaps they could win that one.