Mid-Piedmont (3A) and Central Carolina (1A/2A) boys basketball prediction!

[Spw2020]

Okay, so these are the two conference I’m near and concerned with (apologies for leaving other ones out).

What are your predictions for final standings in these two conferences? Here’s mine with thoughts:

CC conference:
Salisbury
Lexington
North Rowan
Thomasvile
East or West Davidson

Logic: Salisbury is almost always going to be at the top. With Ferguson gone from Tville, there’s no one who can coach their team through Salisbury’s athleticism. Though, I think Lexington could hold up. they’ve been poorly coached for a few years now; but just learning there’s been a transition in coaching, so who knows? I think Tville takes a huge step back that is unnecessary. They lost their star player (McCoy? McBride? Can’t remember), but they have enormous size on the inside with a PG who was once their QB and is fast (though unskilled compared to their last PGs). They just need the ball in the paint to their monsters. I’m not buying the hire of the HC as being that great yet. I put no stock in being a legendary player and he comes from a private school with loads of talent. I see no reason to assume success like they’ve seen the last three years. But I’m open to being wrong. Salisbury is too athletic (I’m rooting for Lexington though!)

Mid-Piedmont (3A)
This one is difficult. Asheboro and Central loose talent and size in droves, Montgomery will be awful, and I just am not sold on Oak Grove being that well coached yet (not enough exposure to it to make the call honestly). I think the addition of Grier to Ledford disrupts this conference significantly. I speculate that teams try to pack in a zone so that there are as many bodies and hands between him and the basket as possible. I think this is what will determine the success of Ledford season: can they shoot and rebound? A zone is always going to lead to the defense getting fewer rebounds. It’s also going to lead to wide open threes. If Ledford rebounds well or shoots well, that’s gonna be a big problem m. If they do both well, they may go through this conference like a hot knife through butter.

I hate to say this. It makes me groan to say this, but I think Ledford may handle this conference and potentially runs through it. I think it’s an undeniable fact that, with a future hall of famer like Don Cory and someone as extraordinarily accomplished and skilled in game planning as Ferguson is (I’ve never seen a HS team more well prepared for the specific things another team does as Thomasville was. Their playoff prep was was another dimension), that they’re not going to be out coached (that’s very much what it felt like happened to Ledford every time I saw them last year).

I think it’s possible that learning system that doesn’t seem like it could be any different than the one they had before, and even with the previous head coach that had been there for a long time, and adjusting to what it looks like to have success, could be somewhat derailing. So here’s my prediction:

Central or Ledford
Asheboro
North
Oak grove
Montgomery central

Sorry to the Ledford fans, but I hate to make this prediction! Hahaha, I’d rather see the orange and black on top; but I don’t think we have the horses or the coaching chops to take out central and now Ledford.

Don’t shoot the messenger! My old skin is paper thin!

 

[NCprepbball]

The MPC will be weak compared to other 3A conferences.
It will def help Ledford to have Grier, but LHS doesn’t have much of a supporting cast. I can see Ledford, North or Central winning the conference.
I don’t see any teams making noise come playoff time.

 

[Spw2020]

The MPC will be weak compared to other 3A conferences.
It will def help Ledford to have Grier, but LHS doesn’t have much of a supporting cast. I can see Ledford, North or Central winning the conference.
I don’t see any teams making noise come playoff time.

Makes sense. I think Ledford’s talent was hidden by bad coaching. It is a weak conference that is for sure.

 

[BusterBrown1980]

Central Carolina for Boys:
Salisbury
N Rowan
Lexington/Thomasville
W/E Davidson
S Davidson

Mid-Piedmont:
C Davidson/O Grove
N Davidson
Asheboro/Ledford
Montgomery Central

Some bottom dwellers are bad, but could be better but some do nothing in summers or have delusions of grandeur. E Davidson never does anything. M Central is bad and undisciplined.

 

[Spw2020]

Central Carolina for Boys:
Salisbury
N Rowan
Lexington/Thomasville
W/E Davidson
S Davidson

Mid-Piedmont:
C Davidson/O Grove
N Davidson
Asheboro/Ledford
Montgomery Central

Some bottom dwellers are bad, but could be better but some do nothing in summers or have delusions of grandeur. E Davidson never does anything. M Central is bad and undisciplined.

After watching a few games, I think you’re not far off, but I think it’s going to be:

C davidson/ledford
N Davidson
Oak grove/Asheboro
Montgomery central

Ledford went into page’s house and beat a good and likely playoff capable 4A team. That’s worrisome to me as a N. Davidson fan. I don’t see us with anyone who can stand in front of ledford’s PG, and the way they shoot is really pretty outrageous. I doubted weather their new coach could turn that slow playing team into an up-tempo team; but the way they plan now is nothing short of a magical shift in style. It’s really amazing.

I’ve also been underwhelmed with north’s play.

Central is always a powerhouse.

 

[BusterBrown1980]

Ann will get Ledford in a good spot and having Adam Grier helps the equation for success.

Central will always be well coached by Tysinger and having balance with basketball classes helps. Hardest working group in games overall.

North Davidson appears to not have any of 4 freshman who were on varsity three seasons back. Similar to East Davidson on not doing anything in summer months from what people state. If that group stayed together with other pieces they would have kept growing and done well. Principal and AD seem to have run critcher drive into a catastrophic mess.

Oak Grove has three solid seniors who could cause them to make noise. Appears apathy to building with young head coach leading apathy charge does not aid in growing program.

Asheboro should be solid but losing some key pieces will hurt as JV was not that good. Nance is a solid coach who gets best of his teams.

Montgomery Central is abysmal.

 

[Spw2020]

North Davidson appears to not have any of 4 freshman who were on varsity three seasons back. Similar to East Davidson on not doing anything in summer months from what people state. If that group stayed together with other pieces they would have kept growing and done well. Principal and AD seem to have run critcher drive into a catastrophic mess.

Yeah, I’ve heard there’s going to be a bit of a drop off. I cannot speak to it with authority but the rumor mill is that there’s a lot of angst between coach and others and kids don’t want to play for him.

It should be interesting to see how Ledford handles east a second time so quickly. I genuinely think they’ll go through most of the teams with relative ease, with the exception of central. The rumor is that Ferguson does an outrageously good job with scouting. I have to believe the wisdom of mr Corry contributes to that too. Not sure any of the rest of us in this conference have coaching that, all things equal, can consistently out coach those two.

I agree about Tysinger, however. Good coach, solid man, has his kids playing hard.

Did I also hear oak grove lost their 5 spot player? Big kid, to a private school?

 

[GSO-Triple5]

Ms. Ferguson appears to be doing a great job at Ledford so far, currently sitting at 6-0, which includes a win over a 4-4 Greensboro Page squad . Page is a little down this year with only two seniors, but still a good win for Ledford.,
North Davidson is 4-0 , with three of the four wins against winless East Davidson and winless West Davidson. The Black Knights other win was against the Thomasville Bulldogs.
Oak Grove is 3-0 , with two of their wins coming against winless Forbush. Could Oak Grove possibly be the " surprise " team in the Mid State this year ?
Central Davidson's record is 1-3, but supposedly they have the potential to compete for the title, but a dude that had been 'adranken told me such.
Asheboro is sittin' at 4-1 , with wins against 1-4 Providence Grove , Uwharrie Charter ( 1-A school ) , and two wins against their little brother, winless Southwestern Randolph. Asheboro's big man for the last three years, Stanback, is on Alabama State's roster, but it appears he hasn't seen the court this year. Asheboro lost to 2-A Randleman tonight, but their next two games are against a winless Southern Alamance squad.
Montgomery Central , bless their hearts, is winless and probably won't win four or five games, if that.. If they can't compete in this conference, they're up Shat Creek, sans paddle.
P.S. Good luck to Coach Ferguson at Ledford.
P.S.S. Greensboro Smith beat Winston-Salem Atkins tonight, 98-19......

 

[Chute Boxe Hero]

Ms. Ferguson appears to be doing a great job at Ledford so far, currently sitting at 6-0, which includes a win over a 4-4 Greensboro Page squad . Page is a little down this year with only two seniors, but still a good win for Ledford.,
North Davidson is 4-0 , with three of the four wins against winless East Davidson and winless West Davidson. The Black Knights other win was against the Thomasville Bulldogs.
Oak Grove is 3-0 , with two of their wins coming against winless Forbush. Could Oak Grove possibly be the " surprise " team in the Mid State this year ?
Central Davidson's record is 1-3, but supposedly they have the potential to compete for the title, but a dude that had been 'adranken told me such.
Asheboro is sittin' at 4-1 , with wins against 1-4 Providence Grove , Uwharrie Charter ( 1-A school ) , and two wins against their little brother, winless Southwestern Randolph. Asheboro's big man for the last three years, Stanback, is on Alabama State's roster, but it appears he hasn't seen the court this year. Asheboro lost to 2-A Randleman tonight, but their next two games are against a winless Southern Alamance squad.
Montgomery Central , bless their hearts, is winless and probably won't win four or five games, if that.. If they can't compete in this conference, they're up Shat Creek, sans paddle.
P.S. Good luck to Coach Ferguson at Ledford.
P.S.S. Greensboro Smith beat Winston-Salem Atkins tonight, 98-19......

Well GSO, it looks like you're finally going to get your wish. Asheboro plays Northwest Guilford on Jan 21.

 

[NCprepbball]

Congrats to Coach Ferguson and LHS boys at 6-0. I saw where there will be a few different teams at the Christmas Tournament this year at Ledford, but not sure who all is attending. Maybe there will be an interesting matchup.
Looks like Ledford girls are 6-0, as well with their top 4 scorers being sophomores.

I would say Ledford guys are still the favorite in the conference without much competition in the MPC. However, I’m still not sure they can make much noise come playoff time, but it’s still early.

 

[Spw2020]

I agree with the sentiments here. While I root for coach Ferguson and thought they might be good, I wasn’t convinced of it given how truly and shockingly bad they were last year. I’d prefer ND be this good but I don’t believe they are. As was observed, they’ve essentially played no one. More importantly I think we rely on the three too much and that’s not going to work against a defensive team like Ledford. We don’t have a good alternative if we go cold or can’t get the shots off that well.

I do believe Ledford will burn through the MPC with relative ease. With the exception of maybe Parkland tonight or a team in the Christmas tournament, I don’t see them coming into conference play with a loss. That’s an amazing feat with how pedestrian they were last year.

Indeed congrats to Coach Ferguson.

 

[BusterBrown1980]

I agree with the sentiments here. While I root for coach Ferguson and thought they might be good, I wasn’t convinced of it given how truly and shockingly bad they were last year. I’d prefer ND be this good but I don’t believe they are. As was observed, they’ve essentially played no one. More importantly I think we rely on the three too much and that’s not going to work against a defensive team like Ledford. We don’t have a good alternative if we go cold or can’t get the shots off that well.

I do believe Ledford will burn through the MPC with relative ease. With the exception of maybe Parkland tonight or a team in the Christmas tournament, I don’t see them coming into conference play with a loss. That’s an amazing feat with how pedestrian they were last year.

Indeed congrats to Coach Ferguson.

I am perplexed with how some schedule. Cupcake wins must not taste good. C Davidson and Ledford challenge themselves.

 

[Spw2020]

I am perplexed with how some schedule. Cupcake wins must not taste good. C Davidson and Ledford challenge themselves.

I agree. I was looking back at tville’s stuff and they seemed to always have several games where they play big talent. It feels like that’s been taken to Ledford, which I would imagine we’ll have a pretty significant effect on the metric to determine playoff seeding. Wins like page and if they best parkland tonight should carry a some weight.

 

[GSO-Triple5]

Well GSO, it looks like you're finally going to get your wish. Asheboro plays Northwest Guilford on Jan 21.

lol

 

[GSO-Triple5]

My " beef " really isn't with Asheboro, Mister Juke Box, but more with the RPI thang. Last year Asheboro played their usual non conference schedule with Southwestern Randolph, Uwharrie Charter, Providence Grove, etc. , while Dudley and Smith played a mucho tough non conference schedule, and yet Asheboro was " awarded " a higher ranking than either of the Greensboro schools. So, Asheboro got a first round home game and then got blasted by Asheville Reynolds in the second round.. Its the same deal every year with them- play a pansy non conference schedule and get smoked the second round. Different philosophies, I guess.
P.S. Year before last, Asheboro's RPI ranking was higher than Dudley's and Smith's, and in the second round Smith won over Asheboro by twenty eight. You have to have some system ranking the teams, but the RPI deal seems flawed, to say the least.

 

[NCprepbball]

I would assume it would have to do with scheduling. I’m sure AD’s are scheduling months in advance and I think the issue for teams such as Ledford and Central would be that they’re too inconsistent year-to-year.
In the past, when Ledford girls were good for years it was mentioned they couldn’t schedule against larger schools because it wasn’t fair to the guys team.
The majority of Ledford and Centrals non conference games have always been other DC schools and Randolph Co schools, which is not always challenging on the guys side.

 

[NCprepbball]

My " beef " really isn't with Asheboro, Mister Juke Box, but more with the RPI thang. Last year Asheboro played their usual non conference schedule with Southwestern Randolph, Uwharrie Charter, Providence Grove, etc. , while Dudley and Smith played a mucho tough non conference schedule, and yet Asheboro was " awarded " a higher ranking than either of the Greensboro schools. So, Asheboro got a first round home game and then got blasted by Asheville Reynolds in the second round.. Its the same deal every year with them- play a pansy non conference schedule and get smoked the second round. Different philosophies, I guess.
P.S. Year before last, Asheboro's RPI ranking was higher than Dudley's and Smith's, and in the second round Smith won over Asheboro by twenty eight. You have to have some system ranking the teams, but the RPI deal seems flawed, to say the least.

I still like using RPI better than the old pre-determined seedings. That being said, I don’t think just because you won your conference that you should be seeded higher than a team that finished second or third in their conference and has a higher RPI rating. I think it should be strictly based on RPI and not placing all first place conference finishers, than the rest.

 

[BusterBrown1980]

I would assume it would have to do with scheduling. I’m sure AD’s are scheduling months in advance and I think the issue for teams such as Ledford and Central would be that they’re too inconsistent year-to-year.
In the past, when Ledford girls were good for years it was mentioned they couldn’t schedule against larger schools because it wasn’t fair to the guys team.
The majority of Ledford and Centrals non conference games have always been other DC schools and Randolph Co schools, which is not always challenging on the guys side.

I think most basketball coaches do schedules at least they should.

 

[Spw2020]

My goodness gracious. It is hard to imagine that Ledford just tore through their entire non conference schedule like they did. Some of um it was weak like ours at north along side oak grove’s, which has already been noted in thread. I am not sure who is in the Christmas tournament this year, I’ve heard that Lexington is and one of the teams in our conference. I’m not sure who that is, but what in the world with a team going from laughable to good enough to beat a good mount airy team and a very athletic parkland team?

I’ve never seen such a turn around. I think my ND guys can put up a fight but again congratulations to Ferguson. What a shocking bit of coaching. Now I see why so many tville people loved having her there. Which begs the question how they could let her leave like that? Was it for family or something of the sort?

Anyway, I was shocked to see that they beat parkland. I didn’t have that in my bingo card this basketball season!

 

[NCprepbball]

I’m a little shocked, but they play hard for her.
I’m not sure if the guys will have the same teams in the Xmas Tournament, but on the girls side it’s Bethany, Ledford, East, West, Madison County, Robinson, Wheatmore and W Forsyth.

 

[Spw2020]

I’m a little shocked, but they play hard for her.
I’m not sure if the guys will have the same teams in the Xmas Tournament, but on the girls side it’s Bethany, Ledford, East, West, Madison County, Robinson, Wheatmore and W Forsyth.

I agree they do, but they’re not out hustling people all the time either. They’re beating people, shooting well, playing defense well and the only difference in the team is the transfer kid. It’s just really surprising the difference coaching makes I guess. I’ve always understood that but I’ve never seen it so clearly obvious. I thought they’d be like us at north, live and die by the three, but they’re scoring at all three levels. It’s just incredible

 

[NCprepbball]

They seem a little more athletic than usual, which suites her style of play. They also have some decent outside shooters. Grier has def. made a difference but even if he was on last years team, they wouldn’t be doing as well as they are now. As a junior right now, I see Grier as probably a D2 prospect.

 

[Spw2020]

I agree entirely. Should be interesting to see. I just found out oak grove and Lexington are in the Christmas tourny. That should be interesting

 

[bigtime_87]

Salisbury kills the CCC with NR/Lexington fighting for second. The rest including Tville are bad!

 

[BusterBrown1980]

I agree they do, but they’re not out hustling people all the time either. They’re beating people, shooting well, playing defense well and the only difference in the team is the transfer kid. It’s just really surprising the difference coaching makes I guess. I’ve always understood that but I’ve never seen it so clearly obvious. I thought they’d be like us at north, live and die by the three, but they’re scoring at all three levels. It’s just incredible

North should be way more than live by three die by three. Based on roster makeup

 

[Spw2020]

North should be way more than live by three die by three. Based on roster makeup

Roster makeup cannot trump coaching. 😬

 

[NCprepbball]

The Christmas Tournament at Ledford has the following guy teams: Ledford, Lexington, Oak Grove, Madison County, Robinson, W Davidson, Wheatmore and ED.
Robinson might be a tough one for Ledford.

 

[Spw2020]

The Christmas Tournament at Ledford has the following guy teams: Ledford, Lexington, Oak Grove, Madison County, Robinson, W Davidson, Wheatmore and ED.
Robinson might be a tough one for Ledford.

That’s a solid field. I’m willing to bet my lunch money they’re not on the same side as oak grove or Robinson in the bracket: Ledford and Lexington, however, looks like an interesting match up. That being said, I cannot imagine that Lexington would present more of a challenge than Parkland did to them. It’s probably an unpopular opinion, but I think Ledford would run out, drove out of the gym. I think the Robbins game is probably a good barometer for how Ledford might fair in a playoff run.

 

[NCprepbball]

Robinson should give a decent idea of where Ledford stands.
I think they’re much improved compared to last year but I can’t see them winning more than one playoff game this year, however, it’s still early in the season.

 

[Spw2020]

Robinson should give a decent idea of where Ledford stands.
I think they’re much improved compared to last year but I can’t see them winning more than one playoff game this year, however, it’s still early in the season.

I think playoff wins have much to do with seeding as well. I think that goes to the point that was made above about having a stronger nonconference schedule. Not that this matters in at all right now, but Ledford is currently a top 10 team in the west. Who knows if that remains, but if they also win their conference, they would be a pretty high seed, which would lend itself to a deeper playoff run because they wouldn’t run into the stronger Charlotte teams in the first round or two.

I think the other thing that strikes me about them is that playoffs are also very much about coaching. I was always completely shocked by how deep Thomasville went under Ferguson with the exception of the year they lost to Bishop McGinnis at the end of the game. Those teams always seemed to get much much better throughout the year. I agree with you that it is way too early to really think much about it, but if this team has the same trajectory as Ferguson’s previous teams, and all they do is get better, that’s going to be turn around that is going to earn her some sort of award.

If you had told me at the beginning of the year that they would eclipse last year‘s total wins in the first eight games of this year I would’ve told you you’re crazy. Hell, if you had told me that they would be above .500 seven games into the season this year. I would’ve told you that you were crazy. I may have to drag my old retired rear end off the couch and to the Christmas tournament to see them play Robinson, Oak Grove, or Lexington. They are going to have to run into one of them or two of them.

 

[NCprepbball]

Right and it may hurt Ledford that their non conference schedule is weak, as well as their conference, which they have no control over.
They haven’t played a team with a current winning record.
I still think they should win their conference and Ferguson will have them in the best situation possible come post season.