Although we are still heavily wrapped up in football, why not get a head start on basketball? I see that someone else has already started on Conference 35/36, but I will instead focus on the eight-team Shenandoah District and how they might stack up against each other. This will not necessarily be predictions but rather just general observations.
Remembering back to last year, it would seem to me that Luray should be the top threat this year. If I am not mistaken, Leo Yates is a senior this year, as is another top one (Good maybe??) Help me out, Dogs fans.
To possibly challenge them, I would put either Page or East Rock next. I am sure Purdham is back at Page and let's face it, he gets them to play. As for the Eagles, I think Logan Comer is still around, isn't he?
Wilson and Stuarts Draft have each flirted with the top of the standings in recent years, but it would appear that both might be on a downward spiral this year. Wilson must have had the most athletic senior class last year that any school could have ever wished for, and with so many losses, my guess is that all their sports will be impacted this year. As for SD, you just don't lose a player the caliber of Jamal Simpson without feeling the hurt. I presume they will still use their Grinnell offense.
That would then seem to leave Stonewall, Riverheads and Buffalo Gap as the bigger question marks but don't be surprised if some combination of that trio over-achieves and rises up in the rankings. Stonewall's biggest attribute, from what I noticed last year, is their newer and more energetic coach. He got more spark out of the Generals last year than we have seen in a while and that should pay off somewhere along the line. Riverheads' coach Chad Coffey has also gotten great effort out of the Big Red since he has been around, but on paper they would appear to be vertically-challenged this year and you can't compete in the Shenandoah without at least some degree of size. Buffalo Gap has a brand new coach, coming from Altavista, so you would assume he knows his stuff. But with any coaching change, you never know how quickly it will generate results or how good the fit will be.
Feel free to add any comments, further details or corrections you might have. All of this is just coming from my memory banks from last year and the word on the street.
Remembering back to last year, it would seem to me that Luray should be the top threat this year. If I am not mistaken, Leo Yates is a senior this year, as is another top one (Good maybe??) Help me out, Dogs fans.
To possibly challenge them, I would put either Page or East Rock next. I am sure Purdham is back at Page and let's face it, he gets them to play. As for the Eagles, I think Logan Comer is still around, isn't he?
Wilson and Stuarts Draft have each flirted with the top of the standings in recent years, but it would appear that both might be on a downward spiral this year. Wilson must have had the most athletic senior class last year that any school could have ever wished for, and with so many losses, my guess is that all their sports will be impacted this year. As for SD, you just don't lose a player the caliber of Jamal Simpson without feeling the hurt. I presume they will still use their Grinnell offense.
That would then seem to leave Stonewall, Riverheads and Buffalo Gap as the bigger question marks but don't be surprised if some combination of that trio over-achieves and rises up in the rankings. Stonewall's biggest attribute, from what I noticed last year, is their newer and more energetic coach. He got more spark out of the Generals last year than we have seen in a while and that should pay off somewhere along the line. Riverheads' coach Chad Coffey has also gotten great effort out of the Big Red since he has been around, but on paper they would appear to be vertically-challenged this year and you can't compete in the Shenandoah without at least some degree of size. Buffalo Gap has a brand new coach, coming from Altavista, so you would assume he knows his stuff. But with any coaching change, you never know how quickly it will generate results or how good the fit will be.
Feel free to add any comments, further details or corrections you might have. All of this is just coming from my memory banks from last year and the word on the street.
