NW4A

[mtnman]

Guys,

Basketball season is less than a month away. I know Mcdowell is returning everyone and will be the favorites to win the conference. How do you think the rest of the conference will pan out? Here are my thoughts:

Alexander: Will be a little better than last year. Last year's JV team was competitive. Still think they are the bottom of the list.

AC Reynolds: Looks like they will be 2nd this year. Several returners and a good JV group coming up.

East Burke: Should finish about the same as last year. They will depend tremendously on Ashley. If teams can hold down Helton they should beat EB.

Freedom: New coach. Who knows. Lost alot of offense from last season. They will be hard to replace. See this as a rebuilding year.

South Caldwell: Depends on how well Hali Barrett is. If Halie is 100%, then South could be a force. If she is not healthy, then SC will have a long year. Hobbs will have to carry the load.

Watauga: Returns several key players including six seniors from last year. Will depend on them to replace Jessie Hodge's scoring. Look for Watauga to keep improving. They could be the dark horse this season.

I am not listing these in order. I will wait a while on that.

What does everyone else think. It is not too early to start talking hoops. Let's get this board going.

Mtn Man

[reynoldsrocks23]

Personally I have to think barring some MAJOR collapse, or the earth stops spinning or something like that. McDowell will be your champs, and it shouldn't be close. Reynolds will still be a very good team, but just not up there with McDowell. We return Alex Thompson, Katie Rybacki, and Brianna Worley, but lost Sydney Alexander, and Katie McGalliard. I think the loss of Alexander will hurt more than McGalliard because Alexander produced points, and rebounding. Look for Michelle Bennett to take Alexander's place as she played well last year in a back up roll. ACR will still be able to shoot the three and will still be able to handle the ball with everyone on the floor, so don't look for any change in style of play. They will get the rebound and go with it. I don't know much about the other teams, I know Freedom lost ALOT, but they also had a fairly good JV program, and I think they will be right there battling ACR for second.

[mtnman]

I agree with you about Mcdowell winning and probably Reynolds finishing second. However, I think the rest of the league will be up for grabs. I don't think that Freedom will be as strong as in the past. Should be interesting this year.

[jvcoach]

dont let past seasons let you think that you will have a easy win when you play acsh this season. they have the best team that they have had in a long time. they went 13-0 in a summer leauge and are bigger stronger and faster this year! coach whittington is a great coach. coach bolick is a real plus for the team ! good luck to all the nw4a teams this season!!

[mtnman]

Who all did ACHS play this summer?

[mtnman]

I have been looking for schedules for the NW4A teams and dont seem to be having much luck. I have found Watauga's and East Burke's on their web page. Does anyone know where you can find the others?

[sportislife81]

AC played the school of the blind 13 times. :xyzthumbs

(edit)...No need for comments directed toward Alex. Central coach.

[jvcoach]

they went to 2 camps at uncc .i dont know how they played there. they played lake norman, davie county, north wilkes.

[reynoldsrocks23]

I have been looking for schedules for the NW4A teams and dont seem to be having much luck. I have found Watauga's and East Burke's on their web page. Does anyone know where you can find the others?
I am working on getting a schedule from our coach, and it should be on our website soon, ( www.biggreencountry.com ) Hopefully sometime in the coming days.

[bigdan]

oh boy it's that time of the year...the sound of sneakers squeaking on the floor, the ball swooshing through the hoop and the warm stuffy gymnasiums packed full of loud people. It must mean one thing, NW4A Basketball. :xyzthumbs

Here is my breakdown of how I think the NW4A will play out.

First, if the earth dosen't spin off its axis, the McDowell Lady Titans will have their 3rd consectuive NW4A Championship. Expectations are for another trip to the State Championship and hopefully bringing home the hardware. Obviously McDowell is the pick of everybody to win the conference but I feel spots 2-5 may be a dogfight. AC Reynolds has lost a very good post player in Sydney Alexander and a good point guard in Katie McGalliard, but they do return a core group that should make them favorites for 2nd in the conference. Alex Thompson, Katie Rybacki and Brianna Worley all return from the West Regional runner-up team from last year. Reynolds may live and die more by the 3 point shot comapred to last season. The post presence just is not as strong as last season. Anyways, I think they're good enough to finish in the top 3, most likely 2nd a couple games behind McDowell.

I'm picking Freedom to finish 3rd in the conference. I think the Lady Patriots are gonna be flying under the radar a bit this season. Their are quite a few changes in Morganton, first they have a new coach Amber Fox. She was a very good coach for the JV's and this is what she has been wanting for a long time, a chance to coach her alma mater. I think there is a refreshing feeling in the air at Freedom. The last couple seasons has been kinda tough on the Freedom faithful, not a lot of confidence in the coach, and at times a lack of team unity. I think you'll see a distinct change in how the team plays and the overall attitude. The Lady Patriots lost quite a few players to graduation so a lot of the success will be on the shoulders of their returning players. Kristen Kidd is the only starter back from last season so it's gonna be a new look Lady Patriot team. Early season non-conference games are gonna tell how Freedom may fare in the NW4A. If they win most of their early games they should grow the confidence going into the heart of the season.

I have East Burke finishing 4th in conference. The Lady Cavaliers have two main players, point guard Brittney West and small forward Ashlei Helton. I don't think they'll touch McDowell, or Reynolds but I think they will beat the bottom half of the conference and you can never count them out against county rival Freedom.

I have South Caldwell finishing 5th. This team has really been the recepient of really bad luck since rejoining the NW4A. It all starts with their guard Hailey Barrett, who has been granted a 5th year of eligabilty by the NCHSAA because of medical hardship. I've had people to tell me that this girl, her freshmen year, was as good as anybody in the conference. Hailey has gone through multiple knee operations over the last few years and has slowed her to a fraction of what she was in 9th grade. Tragically, she's a case of what could have been. South Caldwell had their best season in the NW4A last year finishing in a tie for 3rd last year and a playoff appearance including a first round win. That team featured a lot of senior, now those girls are gone. Hopefully Barrett will have a good season and can make them competitive in the conference.

Both Alex. Central and Watauga dosen't have much talent to compete in the top half of the conference, but they are talentedn enough to give most everybody good competition. It's almost a coin flip between 6th and 7th place between those two.

Well, that's my take on how things may or may not go down in the NW4A. Let the fun and games begin... :banana:

[reporter]

Only two weeks to go can't wait.This is my favorite time of year.

First off till some one can prove other wise Mcdowell will have to be the favorite. Still I don't think they will be as far from some of the other teams as they were last year. The only thing I see with them this year is if you shut down one player they will be only average

Big dan hit the nail on the head with Renyolds ( Live and die by the 3 pointer.)
One or two cold nights from behind the arc and they will fall. with that in mind best I could see the doing is third or fourth.

I don't think Freedom will be able to compete for the conference title this year but you never know. They have a great tradition and confidence is a big factor. I'm sure they think they can beat anybody so that will help them alot still just don't think they will finish in the top two probablly 4th.

I also agree with bigdan on South Caldwell having been struck with a long string of bad luck since joining the nw4a. I used to go watch this team when they were very good and could compete with anyone. Watch out for SC this year if Barrett can stay healthy. I talked to some people who have seen her this year and the report I get is she is not nearly as fast or as explosive as she was but can still play with anyone in the state. I did see her play as a freshman and she was at that time one of the best I have ever seen. This team also has more talent than a lot of people know of. I'm picking them to be the team to battle with Mcdowell for the title this year.

East Burke is the 5th place team without a doubt. Can't beat the top 4 and shouldn't lose to the bottom 2

Alexander and Watagua will be a great battle here to see who don't finish last

[The Warden]

First off till some one can prove other wise Mcdowell will have to be the favorite. Still I don't think they will be as far from some of the other teams as they were last year. The only thing I see with them this year is if you shut down one player they will be only average



That is a very inaccurate statement. There are more weapons that McDowell has than just Anna Atkinson. Its something that folks here in McDowell County like the outsiders to believe. Even if Anna is shut down, you still have to worry about Lovik, Brown, Kiser, and what Mike Silver is thinking. Ive seen the best players from MHS go down and they still find a way to win.

[FHS BBALL]

With the start of the season only a few days away I would like to chime in on the possible outcome of the season. As you can see I'm biased toward Freedom but here goes.

1- McDowell- Could go 29-0(12-0) this season. But.... Could loose a couple on the way. I think they'll be fine in the conference but they will loose atleast one game.

2- Freedom- May loose a few due to inexperience but will compete every night. The tradition may be back. Coach Fox will have the kids ready to go. A great jv team the last two years. Can they take it to the next level?

3- AC Reynolds- Great team- Great coach. Alot of weapons. Rybacki is my favorite player in the leauge. Can they upset McDowell and keep from getting beat by FHS,SC,EB?

4- South Caldwell- Great coach- plays hard every night. Barrett? Will she be healthy? Can they be the underdog?

5- East Burke- I wouldn't mind if they finished 7th- The kids are great,Jay is a nice man, but some of the other people at that school ruin it. Anyway- How far can Helton and West take the team? They could finish 2nd but will probably loose a lot of close games.

6- Alexander Central- Things are working well in T-Town/ Can they upset anyone? They could battle for a playoff spot. I hope they get it.

7-Watauga- Just not enough weapons to compete. Great coach

[fhspatriot]

I think coach fox will do a great job with these girls and i believe they will surprise alot of people this year.The Girls really enjoy playing for coach fox and most of them have played for her on the jv level and they know what she expects out of them.Coach Fox and her husband Thad have done a great job putting in the time to get these girls ready since the day she was named the head coach,Amber knows alot about the lady patriot tradition having played for Freedom on a state championship team and been an assistant on as well,she knows what it takes and will have these girls prepared for every game.

[homerun]

Game change

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The ACHS vs Wilkes Central game scheduled for Friday the 19th had been moved up to Thurday the 18th. Just for information.