1 to 8 best chances to win it all

[SWVA-basketball-jones]

Best chance to win the stare title! (just for fun)

1.Madison County - best road to the championship – solid all around team – tough and scrappy! – has the POY from the East … Great and best chance to be in the championship game.

2. Dan River - has an easier first game than their potential opponents and that will benefit the Cats on Saturday – Peaking right now. – Will be the tough team to put out.

3. R.E. Lee -will have to beat GC, DR and revenge loss to MC- long road – best all round athletes – best-looking team in the field.

4. Gate City- has to beat Lee, DR (who beat them) and MC. Long road- has the players to win it all but those players have to play defense and rebound or they are one and done.

5. Amelia – I am thinking they will not have that much trouble with Richlands and get the rematch they want with MC. I think MC wins by more this time. (just a guess)

6. Richlands – has benefitted from easier brackets this tournament- but that may end Friday. Landmark year for the Richlands team! Could get hot and win a game Friday.

7. Bruton - Taking on the a Dan River a team that is peaking. Maybe Dan River looks past them and Bruton gets a win.

8. Chatham – has over achieved at this point. Cannot see a scenario that MC gets beat by Chatham. Great season battling though adversity!

What is your order?

 

[FridayNightLights60]

I'm sure the Mountaineers would love a rematch with Dan River to get sweet revenge! Dan River beat Madison in the finals in 09 after the Mountaineers beat them by 20 a few weeks before that. The Mountaineers would have been back-to-back state champs as they won it the following year in 2010! As for the rankings heres my honest opinion:

Dan River-Front Runner, great resume, use to being here, have what it takes to win it all.
Gate City-May have the best player in the state of VA, have a great resume, have a lost last round to wake them up, know what to expect from Dan River
Madison-Solid players, tough and scrappy, playing their best ball of the season.
RE Lee-Most talent in 2A on one team, coaching and attitude will hold them back.
Amelia-Tough and scrappy, good guard play, good post play with 44, have taken a lump from Madison so they will be hungry.
Richlands-Can beat anyone if they are hitting shots, Tall and Lanky
Chatham-Tough and scrappy, have overcame major adversity in order to get this far!
Bruton-made a great run!

 

[OnceAKnight]

I'm sure the Mountaineers would love a rematch with Dan River to get sweet revenge! Dan River beat Madison in the finals in 09 after the Mountaineers beat them by 20 a few weeks before that. The Mountaineers would have been back-to-back state champs as they won it the following year in 2010! As for the rankings heres my honest opinion:

Dan River-Front Runner, great resume, use to being here, have what it takes to win it all.
Gate City-May have the best player in the state of VA, have a great resume, have a lost last round to wake them up, know what to expect from Dan River
Madison-Solid players, tough and scrappy, playing their best ball of the season.
RE Lee-Most talent in 2A on one team, coaching and attitude will hold them back.
Amelia-Tough and scrappy, good guard play, good post play with 44, have taken a lump from Madison so they will be hungry.
Richlands-Can beat anyone if they are hitting shots, Tall and Lanky
Chatham-Tough and scrappy, have overcame major adversity in order to get this far!
Bruton-made a great run!

In '09 they never met in the final, they lost to Dan River in the semis, JR gave their semi away to Radford who would go on to beat Dan River in the final.

 

[FridayNightLights60]

In '09 they never met in the final, they lost to Dan River in the semis, JR gave their semi away to Radford who would go on to beat Dan River in the final.

My apologies sir I though it was the finals. It was a heck of a game I know that!

 

[lucustookis]

Somebody forgot to tell Richlands that this sport being played deep in the playoffs is not football. It surprises me to see the Blues this far in a non football sport. Credit their coach (Fred Phillips)/who is a stud and they have very scrappy and very tough kids. You haven't seen the last of Richlands making it this far in basketball. Their new coach (2nd yr) is a brilliant dude like their football coach and he was a super hoops player himself back in the day. He was an All American his senior yr at Bluefield College and played semi-pro ball in Europe.. Look for Richlands to be a regular contender and making deep playoff runs over the next decade. Their coach is that good and I would be surprised if their Hoops program doesn't become just like their football program. Fred Philips also played at Richlands. He ain't going anywhere anytime soon.

 

[SWVAObserver]

Somebody forgot to tell Richlands that this sport being played deep in the playoffs is not football. It surprises me to see the Blues this far in a non football sport. Credit their coach (Fred Phillips)/who is a stud and they have very scrappy and very tough kids. You haven't seen the last of Richlands making it this far in basketball. Their new coach (2nd yr) is a brilliant dude like their football coach and he was a super hoops player himself back in the day. He was an All American his senior yr at Bluefield College and played semi-pro ball in Europe.. Look for Richlands to be a regular contender and making deep playoff runs over the next decade. Their coach is that good and I would be surprised if their Hoops program doesn't become just like their football program. Fred Philips also played at Richlands. He ain't going anywhere anytime soon.

Oh geez lol... This sounds like FP himself, or a disciple of him. I have read the articles that reference the basketball program. Most articles are of him gloating/boasting of what he has done. I do NOT care how good you were or what you have done... Most people want a coach that can coach.

FP had a ton of talent and anything short of winning C39 would have been a huge disappointment. C39 was weak, outside of Graham (and they split with Graham!) They knocked off a Union team that apparently played massively mediocre and Richlands played the best game of the year.

All things considered FP will be out after this year. Rumor is already flying... He got the publicity he wanted and will get out. Graham will win C39 for the next 6 years easily. A ton of Frosh/Soph on the team that beat this senior heavy Richlands team.

 

[OnceAKnight]

There are a lot of coaches (or people who think they can coach) who have played the sport at a higher level, that doesn't make them a good coach. Look no further than my alma mater.........................yea he played in college but he is a mediocre coach at best. Show me someone who has avg talent year in and year out yet has a winning record every year and you have found a true coach. Those teams that "reload" every year just need someone to make out the starting lineup and they will be successful. And then there are those who can coach and reload every year, those are the ones in Richmond year after year.

 

[lucustookis]

Hold on. You sound like someone who hates Richlands and obviously you are involved in some Richlands and Graham football rival drama. Why on earth is someone a "disciple" of someone when a simple compliment is given that the man can coach? Dang, I hope you are younger and not a grown man, meaning.......I hope you would teach your kids to simply disagree without attacking someone for having another opinion. Is the "Fred Phillips or one of his disciples" content really necessary? How about just simply.....giving your opinion? I guess you are bitter over the same school in the county now about to one up you in two sports. That's where the real issue rests with your comment.

I played against Fred in college. I know him moderately well, but we aren't close friends. I don't care if he's the devil, the next coming of Jesus, or somewhere in between. He can flat out coach. He took Richlands to 17-5 last year and fact is, Richlands won the Conference in year two, and for the first time ever, they advanced to state. I trust Scotty V at GC more than any message board poster, and when he says the man can coach, then I know the man can coach. Again, don't care how he is personally. One previous poster mentioned that there are some who have played at advanced levels and think they can coach, yet many can't coach. I agree. However, the inverse of that is also true. There are many who played at the next or higher level that can coach. Well, how do we decide if the coach is good or not? Wins and Losses and major changes or firsts in a program. In Phillips case, a complete turn around in year one with wins and losses, and in year two, a major first in advancing to state. By all indicators, he's a good coach, again.....how a Graham fan feels about him personally is not the standard by which he's measured..........newsflash for the previous Graham poster.

I remember talking to Tazewell County and older SWDistrict football fans years ago when I worked in Bishop. I heard the same grumblings when Greg Mance took over at Richlands in that his success would be short term, or that he learned under Dennis Caught so he will always struggle, or he just had a hotbed of temporary talent and anyone could coach them, or whenever Giles came calling, he would leave. Well, here we are today. The same with Phillips, he ain't going anywhere. All he is doing is changing Richlands basketball by increasing wins and making firsts for the program.

I also highly doubt Graham dominates them in the next few years like one poster mentioned (that is apparently a Graham or Tazewell fan). Time will tell, but great coaches get players out of the hallways and onto the court, or onto the field. That will happen with Phillips. It happened with Harry Fry and it happens with all good coaches. What appears to be little talent in junior high somehow looks like great talent at the High School level. I've seen this countless times over the years at GC.

As for Richlands talent, they didn't have Fuller as he transferred to West VA. I understand the kid has done very well. Which is it? Is Fuller surprisingly good and the Tazewell and Graham fans were wrong about him being successful at Bluefield High, or was he not good, and Richlands still had all of the talent? See my point? My point is..... for some Graham and Tazewell fans, any compliment of any kind given to Richlands is taken with bitterness, especially one as crazy sounding as, "you must be FP himself or one if his disciples." What a foolish statement. P.S. Don't piss me off or we will have to beat you 70-0 in football again, or perhaps break our own record for your schools worst loss by putting up 72 points and you can tell us how many "athletes" you have when you make the trip back down here.

 

[SWVAObserver]

Hold on. You sound like someone who hates Richlands and obviously you are involved in some Richlands and Graham football rival drama. Why on earth is someone a "disciple" of someone when a simple compliment is given that the man can coach? Dang, I hope you are younger and not a grown man, meaning.......I hope you would teach your kids to simply disagree without attacking someone for having another opinion. Is the "Fred Phillips or one of his disciples" content really necessary? How about just simply.....giving your opinion? I guess you are bitter over the same school in the county now about to one up you in two sports. That's where the real issue rests with your comment.

I played against Fred in college. I know him moderately well, but we aren't close friends. I don't care if he's the devil, the next coming of Jesus, or somewhere in between. He can flat out coach. He took Richlands to 17-5 last year and fact is, Richlands won the Conference in year two, and for the first time ever, they advanced to state. I trust Scotty V at GC more than any message board poster, and when he says the man can coach, then I know the man can coach. Again, don't care how he is personally. One previous poster mentioned that there are some who have played at advanced levels and think they can coach, yet many can't coach. I agree. However, the inverse of that is also true. There are many who played at the next or higher level that can coach. Well, how do we decide if the coach is good or not? Wins and Losses and major changes or firsts in a program. In Phillips case, a complete turn around in year one with wins and losses, and in year two, a major first in advancing to state. By all indicators, he's a good coach, again.....how a Graham fan feels about him personally is not the standard by which he's measured..........newsflash for the previous Graham poster.

I remember talking to Tazewell County and older SWDistrict football fans years ago when I worked in Bishop. I heard the same grumblings when Greg Mance took over at Richlands in that his success would be short term, or that he learned under Dennis Caught so he will always struggle, or he just had a hotbed of temporary talent and anyone could coach them, or whenever Giles came calling, he would leave. Well, here we are today. The same with Phillips, he ain't going anywhere. All he is doing is changing Richlands basketball by increasing wins and making firsts for the program.

I also highly doubt Graham dominates them in the next few years like one poster mentioned (that is apparently a Graham or Tazewell fan). Time will tell, but great coaches get players out of the hallways and onto the court, or onto the field. That will happen with Phillips. It happened with Harry Fry and it happens with all good coaches. What appears to be little talent in junior high somehow looks like great talent at the High School level. I've seen this countless times over the years at GC.

As for Richlands talent, they didn't have Fuller as he transferred to West VA. I understand the kid has done very well. Which is it? Is Fuller surprisingly good and the Tazewell and Graham fans were wrong about him being successful at Bluefield High, or was he not good, and Richlands still had all of the talent? See my point? My point is..... for some Graham and Tazewell fans, any compliment of any kind given to Richlands is taken with bitterness, especially one as crazy sounding as, "you must be FP himself or one if his disciples." What a foolish statement. P.S. Don't piss me off or we will have to beat you 70-0 in football again, or perhaps break our own record for your schools worst loss by putting up 72 points and you can tell us how many "athletes" you have when you make the trip back down here.

LOL

 

[DanvilleSportsHead]

1. DR
2. Madison
3. Gate City
4. Amelia
5. Lee
6. Richlands
7. Chatham
8. Bruton
Lee reminds me so much of GW Danville in 4a. So much talent but an "ego" meltdown away from disappointment.

 

[lucustookis]

I got Dan River one and GC two. Why? Because I haven't seen any team from the East. I did look at some HUDL clips of Lee, Madison, and Amelia. All 3 of them looked scary good, but that is only a quick 2 minute clip and not an entire game. I'll be pulling for DR if GC can't win it.

 

[OCBoy]

I'm sure the Mountaineers would love a rematch with Dan River to get sweet revenge! Dan River beat Madison in the finals in 09 after the Mountaineers beat them by 20 a few weeks before that. The Mountaineers would have been back-to-back state champs as they won it the following year in 2010! As for the rankings heres my honest opinion:

Dan River-Front Runner, great resume, use to being here, have what it takes to win it all.
Gate City-May have the best player in the state of VA, have a great resume, have a lost last round to wake them up, know what to expect from Dan River
Madison-Solid players, tough and scrappy, playing their best ball of the season.
RE Lee-Most talent in 2A on one team, coaching and attitude will hold them back.
Amelia-Tough and scrappy, good guard play, good post play with 44, have taken a lump from Madison so they will be hungry.
Richlands-Can beat anyone if they are hitting shots, Tall and Lanky
Chatham-Tough and scrappy, have overcame major adversity in order to get this far!
Bruton-made a great run!

Lee has the best team I've seen in 2A even though they lost to Madison. They lost their composure and showed no discipline. Very uncharacteristic of a Hatcher team