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Vinton Co., The U, Fairland, Fairfield Union,Oak Hill, Waterford ... any others that lost large numbers of quality players off of last seasons teams ? From those "in the know" what is the outlook for these teams going into the 2018-19 campaign? As one who DOES look at the returning roster players I also look at the Courtside folks - Vinton County with Coach Combs & Co. , The U with Coach Hoops, Fairfield Union - Coach Eversole & Coach Goodyear, Oak Hill - Norm Persin (do I need to say more?) , Waterford - has had quality players for the last 3-4 years coming through their system ...

What's the outlook for these competitive teams from last season ?

I think Vc lost 7 seniors off last seasons roster and with Yates moving to Jackson they will almost have a whole new team. They return the big man Eli Griffith and guard, Gavin Arbaugh who I think is a sleeper and will impress a lot of people. I think Vc's biggest problem will be scoring, Griffith will get his but can the role players step up and help with the scoring load. I think people will see this as a down year for the vikes but I think they're going to surprise a lot of people. I would not count them out. Coach Combs will have the boys tuned and ready to go by the time season comes. I'd call it life after Speakman and Yates, it will be tough at first but they will adapt and be a good ball club. I don't know to much when it comes to these other schools but I do know they lost big time players but they are all very well coached and will have no problem finding their way back to the top.

Reds Fan wrote: ↑Mon Oct 01, 2018 11:27 am I think Vc lost 7 seniors off last seasons roster and with Yates moving to Jackson they will almost have a whole new team. They return the big man Eli Griffith and guard, Gavin Arbaugh who I think is a sleeper and will impress a lot of people. I think Vc's biggest problem will be scoring, Griffith will get his but can the role players step up and help with the scoring load. I think people will see this as a down year for the vikes but I think they're going to surprise a lot of people. I would not count them out. Coach Combs will have the boys tuned and ready to go by the time season comes. I'd call it life after Speakman and Yates, it will be tough at first but they will adapt and be a good ball club. I don't know to much when it comes to these other schools but I do know they lost big time players but they are all very well coached and will have no problem finding their way back to the top.

... thanks Reds Fan - IF it were any other team that WASN'T under the watchful eye of Coach Combs, Coach Kight, Coach Carpenter, Coach Albright I would write this off as a definite rebuilding year for VC but when you HAVE one of the best coaching staffs Below the Lancaster-Dixon Line NOTHING gets mailed in ... I look forward to seeing this years VC Team - I think you're right on the money by stating that the Vikes will need to find all of the pieces - everyone will be playing into their ROLES ... who steps up as the scorer(s) , inside?outside? ... lots of questions for US in the cheap seats to find answers for as the season unfolds but more importantly the VC Team will be looking for answers the first part of the season as well ...

The Vikes will STILL start the season in the top 20-25 teams ...

Pfloyd: Your Elite 8 will probably have a very different look this season, with Gallia Academy as my preseason #1 team. I detailed what I know about 15 teams on Truth&Fiction SEO top 10 thread.

These 6 teams have outstanding coaching . I think they will coach their team UP!!!!!

trojandave wrote: ↑Mon Oct 01, 2018 7:00 pm Pfloyd: Your Elite 8 will probably have a very different look this season, with Gallia Academy as my preseason #1 team. I detailed what I know about 15 teams on Truth&Fiction SEO top 10 thread.

... thanks trojandave for the rundowns on those teams ... you know that you are one of the posters I read/trust your input my friend - we usually see eye to eye on our take on the teams Below the Lancaster-Dixon Line ... I'm doing the Pre-Season Elite 8 rankings now - I should have them done by the weekend ... have teams separated in thirds (roughly) ... next the committee of one - me - will nail them down ... the easier rankings are the top 30 after that ???? it's a guessing game - one that will correct itself in the first 2 weeks of the regular season ... it will be one of the most "volatile" Elite 8's that we've had in a long time imo ... lots of movement by the top teams ... probably a lot of "flack" to be thrown at the committee as Logan will be in the top 5 AND may or may not drop a lot of spots with losses (if there are losses) due to the schedule the Purple is playing this season ... it will be fun ! I'm ready to tip it off at the Zane Trace Classic !!!

pfloyd wrote: ↑Mon Oct 01, 2018 8:12 pm

trojandave wrote: ↑Mon Oct 01, 2018 7:00 pm Pfloyd: Your Elite 8 will probably have a very different look this season, with Gallia Academy as my preseason #1 team. I detailed what I know about 15 teams on Truth&Fiction SEO top 10 thread.

... thanks trojandave for the rundowns on those teams ... you know that you are one of the posters I read/trust your input my friend - we usually see eye to eye on our take on the teams Below the Lancaster-Dixon Line ... I'm doing the Pre-Season Elite 8 rankings now - I should have them done by the weekend ... have teams separated in thirds (roughly) ... next the committee of one - me - will nail them down ... the easier rankings are the top 30 after that ???? it's a guessing game - one that will correct itself in the first 2 weeks of the regular season ... it will be one of the most "volatile" Elite 8's that we've had in a long time imo ... lots of movement by the top teams ... probably a lot of "flack" to be thrown at the committee as Logan will be in the top 5 AND may or may not drop a lot of spots with losses (if there are losses) due to the schedule the Purple is playing this season ... it will be fun ! I'm ready to tip it off at the Zane Trace Classic !!!

Nobody will give you slack on your Chieftains . They play a BRUTAL schedule and from what I have seen they can play with most anybody.

I believe what you are going to see from the Vikings this year will be new, and then again, it will be the same old, same old. Let me explain.

This year's Vikings will be less experienced for sure. Despite having several seniors on the team, with the exception of Griffith, none really have any varsity experience. We will also have several juniors, with the exception of Arbaugh, that do not have any varsity experience.

Now, having said that, while people are learning the names of Arbaugh, Arthur, Abele, Body, Dunn, Hitte, Montgomery, and very nice mix of sophomores, the Vikings will be playing their butts off, with their dribble-drive attacking offense and Coach Combs' trademark ball pressure defense and picking up right where we left off last year. Taking it one opponent at a time.

From my personal opinion, this year's edition, is going to be inexperienced, yes, but, they are going to be tougher, unselfish, and fast.

I do not see at all us having a problem scoring this year, in fact, last year, we had two kids averaging 20 points a game, this year, you are going to see four kids averaging 12 a game, with someone different every night flirting with that coveted 20 points mark. And that is going to make them fun to watch.

I think that Fairfield Union will be better than most think after the loss of those Seniors that won the last 3 MSL titles and were in the District title game each year. Woodside(big timber) and company are some big shoes to fill. Back to try and fill those shoes are PG Conley , SF Harrah , and SG Poston who all had big Summer league campaigns in Columbus. There will also be some good help from the reserves . With the coaching from Coach Eversole, this team will be okay.

Fairland will be pressed to replace any of the seniors that left last year. Having said that, I look for Coach Speed to slow it down a bit and get solid defensively. Luke Thomas little brother can shoot and Mondalak and Lambiotte can play. I guarantee they will play hard and a good group of Freshmen will fill out the lineup. Competitive and finish around 500 would be a good season. They will get better as the year goes and I would hate to draw them come tourney time.

The bad news for VC they will have no size--good news if they did have size they would not use it. I see maybe 11-11 record. But next year they will be back at the top of the TVC.

vcgrad wrote: ↑Sat Oct 13, 2018 8:40 am The bad news for VC they will have no size--good news if they did have size they would not use it. I see maybe 11-11 record. But next year they will be back at the top of the TVC.

Good point about the size. Those clowns at VC don’t have a clue as to what to do with size. Combs was absolutely clueless when he had Dustin Guthrie. I’m sure you probably aren’t even familiar with that name since Combs doesn’t know how to use a big guy, but he played at VC about 10 years ago. Maybe this new principal at the high school will give Combs his walking papers and we can finally see VC basketball return to the glory days of years past before Combs messed it all up. TIME FOR A CHANGE!

Sid Farkus wrote: ↑Fri Nov 09, 2018 5:03 pm

vcgrad wrote: ↑Sat Oct 13, 2018 8:40 am The bad news for VC they will have no size--good news if they did have size they would not use it. I see maybe 11-11 record. But next year they will be back at the top of the TVC.

Good point about the size. Those clowns at VC don’t have a clue as to what to do with size. Combs was absolutely clueless when he had Dustin Guthrie. I’m sure you probably aren’t even familiar with that name since Combs doesn’t know how to use a big guy, but he played at VC about 10 years ago. Maybe this new principal at the high school will give Combs his walking papers and we can finally see VC basketball return to the glory days of years past before Combs messed it all up. TIME FOR A CHANGE!