Boy's Hoops: Midseason Assessment

The dudes have been playing basketball for a couple of months now. It's time we talk about the good and bad, and coulds and shoulds for each team. Ready!?? BREAK!

#16 NORTHWOOD (4-10, 0-4)

BAD: Northwood is winless in the district. In fact they have lost eight straight since winning both games at the Greever Crouse tournament back in mid-December.
GOOD: Their losses have been within reach. The Panthers suffered a close one-point loss to Chilhowie at home back on January 9th. Senior guard Jeremiah Thompson leads the district in scoring.
COULDS: Avenge all of their losses as they repeat games against Holston, Chilhowie, PH, and GW. Should they turn it around and beat any team remaining on their schedule that they lost to by less than ten points the first time as well as take two over RR, the Panthers could win five of their next 8 and be no lower than fourth come tournament time.
SHOULDS: Get on the ball. The season is much shorter now which leaves very little wiggle room for errors. Should the Panthers play to their potential, their season could get much brighter.

#20 RURAL RETREAT (2-10, 1-3)

BAD: The Indians have only won two games and lost nine straight before upsetting Chilhowie at home on Jan 16.
GOOD: The Indians upset Chilhowie at home on Jan 16. They have won 2 more games this season than all of last season.
COULDS: They could break out and redeem their early season struggles and make last season all but a distant memory by beating any of the teams remaining on their schedule. You can’t really call it an upset now since they beat Chilhowie, now everyone knows their potential and will be ready and waiting.
SHOULDS: Win one more. With NW struggling and RR having to play NW two times still yet, the Indians need every win they can get to secure a fifth place spot in the tournament. Which helps them avoid potentially playing GW in the semi-finals should they get that far.


#11 CHILHOWIE (6-7, 2-2)

BAD: The Warriors lost to RR, a team they haven’t lost to in several years. A team few Hogo teams have lost to in several years. The Warriors are also hampered by several injuries which may mean things get worse before they get better.
GOOD: A few roster switches got Chilhowie rolling on a four game winning streak which included avenging losses over Marion and Grayson County.
COULDS: Chilhowie could win five of their last 6 games, including avenging the upset loss to RR, going 7-3 and be second place in the tournament, in line for a first round bye.
SHOULDS: Get healthy. Stop twisting ankles and knees. Stop doing back-flips off the monkey bars. Losses to PH and NW in the coming days could really damage a season that isn’t far from redemption.

#10 HOLSTON (6-6, 2-2)

BAD: Losing to John Battle after beating them twice.
GOOD: Getting must wins over NW and RR. These wins, including a close loss to PH, mean that Holston is a three-pointer away from being second place in the district for the first time since… well for the first time in a while. I’ll get back to you on that once I complete my microfilm research on boys basketball.
COULDS: If Holston beats who they have already, learn a few things from playing high-caliber teams like Galax and George Wythe, and finish out the season by topping Chilhowie twice…AND avenge a close loss by beating PH at home, Holston could be 2nd place entering the district tournament. Which also includes a hefty seed in the Region C D1 playoffs too.
SHOULDS: Keep playing like they are… excluding the loss to JSB. Don’t play like that.

#14 PATRICK HENRY (6-8, 3-2)

BAD: Talk to Holston. STOP LOSING TO JOHN BATTLE. Stop losing close games period. (i.e. Virginia, Oak Hill (Red), Saint Paul, and Chilhowie) all by 5 or less.
GOOD: Defense baby. Keeping teams in the 40's and low 50's will get you W's. Thompson has really solidified himself as a true paint man and with Ronnie Groves running around outside the paint with reckless abandon, good things will happen for the O too.
COULD: Win their next 6. Including avenging a loss to Chilhowie and then taking on RR, Holston, and NW (teams they have already beaten). Just have to beat the county rivals, and PH sets up a good showdown at the end of the year against GW and quite possibly have a first round bye in the district tournament or a coin flip for it nonetheless.
SHOULD: Take it one game at a time. Now is no time to get big-eyed at some fine print written on some loser's sports blog. The games are won on the court.

#6 GEORGE WYTHE (10-5, 5-0)

BAD: Losing five games this season. You should be ashamed! In all seriousness, GW’s defense is of some concern. They are having very little trouble scoring points but when it comes to stopping the other team, well that’s a different story. PH scored a season high 76 points against them, in a loss, mind you. The Maroons have allowed 74 and 82 against Giles, 89 against Radford, 76 against Fort Chiswell, 87 and 82 against Pulaski.
GOOD: Winning five straight district games. And the offense. Need I say it? They have scored tons of these "point" things. It’s almost as if they’re trying to score points or something. 89, 84, 78, 96, 78, 81, 86, 83, 79, 80, 93… the LA Clippers can’t even do that. When scoring more than 70 points, GW is 10-1.
COULDS: Win out, go 17-5, undefeated in the district, and host a first round Region C game.
SHOULDS: Keep scoring points and keep the other teams from scoring points. The current game plan has worked thus far, but further down the road, the tides may change.