Scouting Reports: All Teams

Braves -- your point about Woodard is a good one. I don't want to jinx the green team, but the schedule will allow Coach D to start Woodard on the mound twice against Providence, twice against East, twice against South and once against Butler. That's 7 of the 8 big conference games. Add non-conf starts against Hopewell, Independence and once in the Jack Sink tournament, and he will be challenged every time out. I think he'll be up to it. It will be fun to watch. :aorangeha

 

"NO RESPECT"???

Players are players! Providence is loaded with them... It is unfortunate of the coaching changeover yet I agree! The talent there is immense-perhaps more than any other program in the entire state???... Looking in from the outside it seems reasonably apparent that the kids are up to the challenge as they have always been since the school's inception regardless of who is at the helm. Perhaps what the program is lacking is the right "fit" in terms of its leadership? Look for Providence to be in the mix at the outset if not a runaway... There are just TOO MANY quality/exceptional athletes NOT to be successful. Nevertheless they will fight tooth and nail as they have always done. It seems as thought no one is giving them any credit for ALL this success???...

 

Re: "NO RESPECT"???

You are probably right about this Big O. The Providence supporters haven't reached this forum yet, but they will. The arrogance Providence has displayed in the past, left no room to give them credit... their in your face "we're better than you" attitude was hard to take. They gave no respect to ANY team, other than their own. Larry D, our administrator, had to ban 5 posters in one week, all of them were Providence players and supporters. If you tried to compliment their team, their response was " I know it, so shut up"

So, let me say this; everyone admires the talent at Providence and salutes the success they have achieved. We just wish they would acknowledge that there is talent outside of Hwy 51.

 

Post schools of the Big South

Help me out fellas? Post the schools and tell me how they will do

I know South Point is the favorite.

 

Just to try to keep things in perspective here:

As much as I agree that Providence is a talented team...probably the most talented, overall, in the SW4A...it's very difficult for me to see them holding their own talent-wise against the likes of Fuquay-Varina, Greenville Rose, and, perhaps, Garner. That's not to say that Providence or whichever team comes out on top of the melee that will be the SW4A season couldn't give one of those other teams a run for their money; but, to say that they're at the same level talent-wise seems like a real stretch to me.

 

Meca8 Scouting reports

Ok guys...Lets get started and put it on the line. I know the teams haven't been selected, but we can make some SWAG's at this. Who looks good? Who will be on varsity? What's the outlook for the team?

I'll do North - You guys jump in and follow up.

 

North Meck.

Returning varsity players by class:
Dustin Skidmore, CF, Sr
Matt Nossel, SS/C, Sr
Jett Epps, OF/2B, Sr
Matt Murphy, P, Sr

Tom Porter, P/1B, Soph

New-Comers by Class:
Seniors:
Joel Burris, Sr, Middle IF/3B, Transfer from Watagua
Steve Maddox, Sr, P, Transfer from Hopewell

Juniors:
Ben Sherrill, Jr, C
Dan Portone, Jr, OF
Tristan Hollar, Jr, OF
Benji Sheehan, Jr, P
Craig Williams, Jr, OF
Blake Epps, Jr, 2B
Andy Keith, Jr, 1B

Sophomores:
Sam Pierce, Soph, P/SS
Mike Cavasinni, Soph, CF/2B
John Kellett, Soph, 3B

Freshmen:
Robert Proffitt, C

Scouting Report
With so many underclassmen, North is keeping 18 this season. Some Varsity Level pitching will remain on JV in order to make sure that they are getting the innings for next season.

Some of the pitchers will also have to be position players (but they are capable). A couple more players are on the verge of having break-out seasons. To give some quality underclassmen playing time, a lot of very good players will probably spend most of their time on JV.

Key JV Players
Returning JV Guys:
Zack Rosenbaum, P, Soph (Fantastic up-side - may end up being the best pitcher in history at NM by senior year)
David McAuley,P/IF, Soph
Alan Parks, P/OF, Soph

Two new transfers to North are also Sophs and they hold a lot of promise for the future.
Greg Allen, P-1B, Soph
Daniel Whitmire, IF, Soph
Zack Pou,IF,Freshman (Great potential)

North may have a long season this year, or they may surprise a lot of people. The '04 & '05 teams should be powerful.

Pitching, for the most part is unproven at the varsity level. Murphy & Porter have pitched Varsity level sucessfully, Pierce has outstanding "stuff", Sheehan & Maddox will push everyone for innings and can get outs.

updated after team selected

 

NPC Scouting reports

Same as before:

Ok guys...Lets get started and put it on the line. I know the teams haven't been selected, but we can make some SWAG's at this. Who looks good? Who will be on varsity? What's the outlook for the team?

 

With 15 public 4A high schools (soon to be 16) and a vast array of private schools all in Charlotte/Mecklenburg, the talent level in the county is spread too thin. It will be difficult for a Charlotte-Meck team to make it all the way against the county-wide 4A schools down in the Eastern part of the state. I don't think that most of us are honest with ourselves when we evaluate our players. We don't do critical analysis. That's why you need an outsider coaching in H.S., not someone who is with the same players year around - it provides an honest evaluation of talent level.

There are too many sports options for the young players coming up that aren't available to their brethern in some eastern parts of the state. (i.e. the dreaded S-word (S-O-C-C-E-R) gasp). A lot of Mecklenburg athletes choose other sports, thinning the talent base.

A large number of high schools in Clt/Meck will have JV caliber players starting in varsity-level slots because there just aren't enough players. These "thin" teams with lack of depth can still compete, but it's difficult. I really believe that it is the rare program that can put 9-10 true varsity-level players on the field at once.

Can a Clt/Meck team win it all? It can happen, yes, but it is difficult and will require more than talent alone. To win any championship, you also have to have a little luck.

The question comes down to this: What does it really take to win it all and who has it?

1. Depth & Quality of pitching. At least 3 top-flight arms and 2 decent arms - all who throw strikes and don't walk people.

2. Defense - Infield & Outfield that doesn't make mental mistakes. They don't have to be the fastest, with the strongest arms. They have to be consistent & smart.

3. A great catcher: Receiving, blocking, framing, leading the team, setting the tone.

4. Decent (not great) hitting.

The top three are SO FAR AHEAD of #4 in importance that I usually ignore hitting.

 

Since no one else has attempted to hit this pitch, I'll try, but it'll probably be a bunt.

1. South Point is defending conf. champs and should probably get the nod to repeat. Matt Teague and Joe Springs will be their #1 and #2 pitchers, both LH, with a lot of varsity and legion experience. Mitch Harris is a Jr, RHP, who'll also get a lot of action. Good sticks and good coaching.

2. East Lincoln is returning a senior laden squad that played well last year and developed even more during Denver's legion season. They'll be lead be the Rue twins who can both hit the ball.

3. East Gaston is led by seniors, Jason Cline, LHP and Trey Summerlin, RHP. I'm not sure of EG's offense, but with Coach Van Dyke, their defense should be solid.

4. Ashbrook is a young team led by a host of juniors, some of whom already have three years of varsity experience. The pitching will be anchored by junior Wes McCall, LHP and sophomores Josh Duncan, RHP and Michael Maples, LHP. Duncan and Maples pitched well on the JV squad last year, but we'll have to see how they transition to varsiy. Sophomore Drew Martin will lead the defense at SS.

5. Forestview is another very young team, but they have a ton of returning juniors who saw varsity action last year. Ben Riddle, Jr, RHP and Justin Wykle, Jr, RHP will see most of the action on the mound. With the graduation of Jonathan Hovis (UNC) last year, it will be interesting to see who fills the void at SS and who will lead the team.

6. North Gaston is a mystery to me. Coach Bolton left the school to coach at Highland Tech and then returned when Coach Clark resigned to devout his fulltime attention to football. Coach Bolton has been an assistant at NG and coached the Gastonia legion team for several years, still I don't know what depth NG has in pitching or hitting. Maybe a NG fan can give us more insight.

7. Hunter Huss struggled last year both offensively and defensively. Their better players graduated. This is another school that needs to step up to the board and give us a better idea of their propects for '03.

Well that's my stab at the ball. I probably booted a couple!!