What is the SHL looking like this year?

[BALLER1]

It seems that every year North Adams always has a strong team. Whiteoak has been great in the past but seems to be heading down hill. Peebles has a lot of talent coming up as well as Manchester and Fairfield. Will the small school division be tougher than the big? What are everyones thoughts on the upcoming season?

[TAR HEEL FAN44]

It is going to be a fun year in the SHL. Like always it will be tough and you will see some upsets. No doubt North Adams is at the top. Peebles has alot of talent, but are the kids and parents going to butt heads with the new coach. That is Peebles biggest question. Manchester is going to be a really good team. They have almost all of their starters back. I think they will win the small division again. Fairfield was very young last season and still pretty young this upcoming season. They will surprise alot of teams. Eastern lost alot same with Lynchburg. But it is tough to go to their gym and win. Whiteoak was very young last season and with their coach having medical problems. I can see Whiteoak giving Manchester all they want. Ripley will be up and down. They lost some key players. They will be a question mark. But do not count them OUT. Fayetteville was very weak last season and I do see the same thing for them this year. Unless they have had some new kids come in and work hard. West Union well, WE WILL SEE! We will be in alot of games, but we are very young this season. GO WEST UNION DRAGONS!!

[bucknut 23]

Peebles will be fine this year. Quite frankly, Coach Lawhorn won't permit heads to be bumped and he won't tolerate it or really won't care about it. Things will be done his way and his way only.

Peebles has had a great summer by only working on their own. They have gone to no team camps or shoot-outs but have just used their days for practices and open gyms and lifting. They have had great turn-outs all summer especially in the older grades and for open gyms a lot of former players have came out to play against the high school kids. This is the same procedure Coach Lawhorn took when he was the head coach at Peebles several years ago and it worked very well then. This team will will be very good for quite a few years now as the cupboard is stocked all the way down to the 6th grade.

[TAR HEEL FAN44]

I agree, they have some good young kids coming up. They 8th grade team is really good.

[boomer633]

Good pee wee and junior high teams don't always equate to good high school teams. Kids stop growing, have problems adjusting to playing with players they aren't used to playing with, and some have a hard time adjusting to not playing as much as they did.
Talent wise I think Peebles has the potential to be very good. As long as the new coach can blend these players together, get everyone to accept their role, and keep the extraneous stuff in check they have a good chance to be special. My hope is that Bucknut 23 is correct in his assessment of the new coach. Just makes the SHL stronger.
This could be a very good and surprising year in the SHL. There are several young and talented players out there who could make a difference in how the league shakes out.

[tagyourit]

i think when you look at the league this year, north adams is the favorite. in the big school i see ripley following them in the league standings for this year. eastern will always be competitive but rumor has it that they lost a big kid that transfered in a while ago, back to whiteoak. west union will have a new coach and my guess is finish toward to bottom of the standings with lynchburg who also has a new coach.

in the small school, peebles and fairfield will make it an interesting race for who wins that division. manchester is much improved and will take the third spot in my opinion with whiteoak and fayetteville following in that order. peebles and whiteoak both have new coaches and the kids will be adapting to there new surroundings and systems.

[Ironman92]

The Whiteoak coach has long been in the system and all the kids know of him very, very well. I don't see any transition whatsoever.

[trojandave]

I saw North Adams this summer, and they will be a very good basketball team this coming year and probably the favorite to win the SHL. It seems like they are a lock for the Convo every year..........Kraig Unger is a very fine guard who has a good chance to make all-district and all-state.

[boomer633]

The only question with North Adams will be in the post. Both starters who played post last year were juniors but it's uncertain if both will be back. Kraig Unger will definitely be their focal point and he is one of the best if not the best player in the SHL.

[TAR HEEL FAN44]

I think North Adams will be OK inside. All of those kids play together and talk to each other. And they all like to rebound and follow there shots. And I agree North Adams has the best team if they all stay health.

[TAR HEEL FAN44]

Manchester did a big tranfer in this season. Josh Marshall from West Union will be a huge help for the Greyhounds this season. And problaby a starter for the Greyhounds. Coach Palmer must be very happy about that.

[shljunkie]

Peebles boys will be fine, they are transitioning very well from what I've heard. Tar heel, it's never been the boys who "bump heads" with anyone. This is a very respectful, great bunch of kids who are willing to work and play hard, genuinely like each other and will do what you tell them.

[TAR HEEL FAN44]

I agree, that is a good group of kids. They will be fun to watch this season.

[bucknut 23]

shljunkie

Good post. What you said describes the situation pretty accurately in Peebles. The boys all get along well and they have had a very good summer. This team has good height, athleticism, and has three shooters who are pretty good in Justice, Seaman, and Arnold. Those three kids are also capable of beating the defender off the dribble and getting to the FT line a lot. If Meade can become a little more of a presence inside this team will be hard to defend. The Stephens boy who is just a junior was the other starter for Peebles last year at the PG position. Their bench will be deeper this year also.

The big key for this team this year is they are going to have to be much better defensively and also are going to have to be more aggressive going to the boards. Having everybody back will help no doubt, but I think you will see these two areas improve this year.

The Peebles/North Adams games this year will be great games. Unger is a tremendous player and they have some nice bigs also.

[shljunkie]

I agree bucknut. Aggresiveness on defense and the boards will be key. These boys are no doubt more than capable, it's going to be whether or not they will execute and I think they will. Yes, Meade has got to get a lot tougher. The Stephens boy may well be the quickest guard in the league and is perfectly capable of scoring 10 plus a night himself. He has to understand that and step up and do it. Arnold has to make himself way more of a presence as well. Looking forward to the season.

[BALLER1]

From my understanding, Nehus has been playing with North Adams but Rothwell will not be playing this year. Im sure Dave will get it done with whoever he has playing. Peebles should be fun to watch, all the fire power that they have and a coach that is very knowledgable about the game. Fairfield lost a couple key players but return some good scorers. Nobody from Manchester is on here or just over looking them. I only had them with 1 senior starter from last year. I believe they return their leading scorers and when I saw them, their 6th man was a junior. I doubt the Marshall kid from West Union will move in and start unless he is pretty good but its hard to move in and learn a system in a few months. What does Ripley have returning, they seem to always be in the mix?

[sparky]

what happened to rothwell at north adams?

[TAR HEEL FAN44]

From my understanding, just burned OUT.

[tagyourit]

tarheelfan, What grade will you be in this year?

[TAR HEEL FAN44]

I am not in school.