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we shall see about thatTeams not in order but
East Rockingham
Gate City
Graham
Radford
Martinsville
Gretna
George Mason
Dan River
My pick to be in Championship is Rockingham VS Gate City
You remember that John Marshall and TeeJay drop down to 2A next year?
like I said - we will see.And neither would have beaten Radford this year, so.....
Didn't Martinsville, who didn't even make the state final, defeat the 4A champ? Didn't Radford beat the 3A champ?
2A basketball is not just gonna be taken over by someone dropping down. Radford was 1A and came up and won a state title, size isn't always the defining factor.
like I said - we will see.
GC will do good in SWVA as will Union and Wise Central. Graham will be tough again as usual. But saying GC will make it back might be a stretch. I certainly wont count on it.
Never said 2A hoops weren't good. Nor did I say the two Richmond schools would dominate. Not even from Richmond actually. But if you are listing top contenders for next year then JM and TeeJay have to be on that list.
Umm... try Norcom. They won the Class 4 crown in 2014-15, beating King's Fork 52-40 in the title game. The very next year, the Greyhounds edged Hopewell 67-65 in overtime on the buzzer-beater from Travis Fields (who's now playing at Radford University) to claim the Class 3 crown for 2015-16.JM might win it next year. I’m not much on the transitive theory...BUT, they did not win their division this year and the team that did (Northside) lost to the 2A champ.
When was the last time a team dropped divisions and went on to win a title their first year in that division? 2010?
like I said months ago there isn't enough evidence to make hard and fast decisions one way or the other. Both teams are going to play their usual teams next year and the 2A folks probably won't even see them until play off time. They will remain in the Colonial District with 5A schools and will play in tournaments and Invitationals with the Tidewater schools.Never said 2A hoops weren't good. Nor did I say the two Richmond schools would dominate. Not even from Richmond actually. But if you are listing top contenders for next year then JM and TeeJay have to be on that list.
No worries.Ummm...I was referring to dropping to 2A. I should have been more clear... but this is the 2A Board so I just took it for granted. My bad.
Umm... try Norcom. They won the Class 4 crown in 2014-15, beating King's Fork 52-40 in the title game. The very next year, the Greyhounds edged Hopewell 67-65 in overtime on the buzzer-beater from Travis Fields (who's now playing at Radford University) to claim the Class 3 crown for 2015-16.
like I said months ago there isn't enough evidence to make hard and fast decisions one way or the other. Both teams are going to play their usual teams next year and the 2A folks probably won't even see them until play off time. They will remain in the Colonial District with 5A schools and will play in tournaments and Invitationals with the Tidewater schools.
BTW: I love the chatter; the C3 board is dead by comparison. I would love it if the eastern and western teams would play each other more often (maybe during Christmas).
that was last year but your point is well takenThe biggest problem for JM will be their kids leaving for private schools. They lost their best player this year to a private school and could conceivably lose another great one in the next 6 months. I hope it doesn't happen because I am a believer in staying home and playing with your boys, but it's just the reality of scholastic basketball right now. The AAU culture has decimated school basketball in a lot of places. It is even getting bad in girls basketball. That is why a McClung or QMR is refreshing. They chose to bloom where they were planted and had special careers.
guess you are right.the travel makes that very tough, with education budgets being so restricted and the general distance, it's tough to see those games. It would certainly be a great opportunity for both sides to see the competition a little more and be familiar with the sytles, but traveling 10+ hours for an exhibition tourney or an early season tourney can be financially difficult. But I agree in theory it's a great idea.
That doesn't exactly help your claim, if you have a tougher time winning 3A as opposed to 4A, what does that say about 4A? I know teams change and players graduate, but simply dropping a classification in itself doesn't make someone a favorite. Having a legit 6'10 player who can work inside out does, but the kids in 2A aren't exactly scrubs. I know you have to tout the recruiting services, but you have a kid who wasn't a 5*, top 100 recruit who came from a 2A school who is starting on a Big East bubble team as a freshman, one going to Radford and another going to a top 25 ranked Wofford program.
Is it not even remotely possible that to some extent, players at smaller programs aren't placed as highly in the recruiting system because it's often for less exposure, in less populated areas? This isn't about Wheeler in particular at all, just a general statement that often bigger schools seem to get the benefit of the exposure and the recruiting cycle by being closer to the bigger cities and larger schools that get to select from a much larger talent pool? Social media and the proliferation of technology has certainly made the gap smaller and allowed smaller school athletes more exposure and more eyes on their talent, and basketball has the AAU system that allows for exposure (even if it is one of the most corrupt institutions in sports) but it is still an uphill battle for a kid who was simply born in a smaller area to gain exposure compared to a kid who lives 15 minutes from DC or Richmond.
If you're judging the actual teams and saying hey, this team at JM has a lot of talent and with teams like Radford losing elite talent, you should consider this team as one of the handful of favorites, that sounds reasonable and I doubt many people would disagree. But handwaving 2A basketball would be a big mistake for any school dropping down. JM, with a top 200 recruit, didn't win the 3A title but the school that did, Northside, fell to a team that until pretty recently was a 1A school.
Most of us here aren't trying to downplay either program that is moving down, it's simply trying to stick up for a division that in recent years has been very, very good. A school is gonna win 2A because they're extremely talented and can play their best basketball at the right time, not because they are a bigger school.
Your argument is fair. But with Radford and Gate City graduating its best players - along with the track record of John Marshall always being in the state hunt every year - it's hard to imagine them being below anyone with the talent they regularly have. In addition to Wheeler, the Justices bring back one of the top guards in Elijah Seward.
East Rock will be a top contender, provided they bring back Tyler Nickel and Tyce McNair. Radford won't fall off too much with Cam Cormany and P.J. Prioleau back. Likewise for Gate City with Bradley Dean leading the way.
Who's to say thought that John Marshall wouldn't have beaten Northside if they outlast Phoebus in OT in that State Semifinal game? This Radford team obviously was really good in beating Northside, but losing Quinton Morton-Robertson is a huge blow, plus Miles Jones meant an awful heck of a lot too.
Let's not kid ourselves. John Marshall beat Landstown (the Class 6 State Champ) by double-figures in the VaPreps Classic in late January. They could easily win the state title in any division, any year. The fact that they are dropping down to Class 2 is going to make it tough on the traditional powers to beat them, even though it is indeed far from a given.
guess you are right.
We get spoiled in the east with all the schools in RVa area and Tidewater within 100 miles of each other. We sometimes forget how spread out the west is.
well since they are in the same region now - they may play each other and we then will see first hand.Greensville County has as much talent at anyone at the 2A level for the next 2 years and that includes John Marshall. They lost 1 starter and return 7 of it's 8 guys in the rotation and they are super talented and athletic. This team is similar to Gate City during Mac's junior year or Radford during Q's junior year. They were/are one year away.