Seeding the upcoming Pizza Hut Basketball Tournament

The Pizza Hut Basketball Tournament is coming to the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center at the end of this year, right around late December/early January and it’s not to soon to be thinking about getting your tickets and if you are going to get your tickets, then you have to wonder who the top seeds will be and how all the teams will stack up……

The official seedings and pairings will come out on Tuesday November 10 and until then, we need to speculate and sort out the obvious and see who might be set to win this tournament this year and if an upset is in the makings.

Can anyone climb and cross over the “Great Wall/Fence of GDS”? The Greensboro Day School boys have put a Smackdown/Lockdown on this tournament and they have to be the odds-on favorites to win it again.

Can anyone upset the Bengal boys????? Who will be the #2 seed and have their map drawn up for a road that would send them to the finals versus the Bengals? Northern returns Frye, Berry and McBeth and there’s talk that Maurice Harris and Keenan Allen have an interest in joining the team this year. I’m no genius, but I can take that five and beat your five, four-out-of-five times, I don’t care who you are, or who you have………

This season could get interesting……How do you see these teams stacking up for the tournament? Let’s look at the boys from last year, and then this year, and do the same for the girls…..Just some thoughts!

Boy’s Pizza Hut Tournament 2008/2009 Seeds:
1) Greensboro Day School
2) Ragsdale
3) Northern Guilford
4) Page
5) Grimsley
6) Northeast Guilford
7) Northwest Guilford
8 Smith

2009/2010 Boys:
1) Greensboro Day School(Sponsored by the Target Stores, they’ve got one on the front and back of their uniforms.)

2) Northwest Guilford(This is what I am hearing with Vebber and Coble and company….)

3) Grimsley(Whirlies have PG Burle Brown, SG Carter Gourley, SF Lee Sweeny and supporting cast returning. Big loss in Keith Manley.)

4) Northern Guilford(With Frye many think this team can still contend.)

5) Ragsdale(With Tyquan Roberts coming back they will have a force that can play and with Benija Wise at point, there’s your quickness.)

6) Northeast Guilford(Don’t know anything about this team except Antwan Wilkerson left for Western Guilford and if Bryce Benjamin is still a Ram, he is among the best players in the state.)

7)Page(Lost Brooks, Weethe, Finney, Oates, Knight and other key guards. Will have Kent, Eaves and Spain coming back in from last year.)

8 Smith(Don’t know much at all about these guys, but the football team showed much improvement and maybe Eric Ebron can do it over here too.)

Any word from the Jury?????

Girl’s Pizza Hut Tournament 2008/2009 Seeds:
1) Northwest Guilford
2) Page
3) Ragsdale
4) Grimsley
5) Northeast Guilford
6) Northern Guilford
7) Smith
8 Greensboro Day School

2009/2010 Girls:
1) Northwest Guilford(Bennett, Floures, McIntosh)

2) Smith(Very athletic, physical and quick. Watch Wilkerson.)

3) Northern Guilford(Coffer and Tessitore, guard play will be crucial.)

4) Page(Solid returning cast with Pickard, Drew and Oakley.)

5) Grimsley(Whole new scenario for the Whirlies, with new coach and Lanham went to Western we hear….)

6) Ragsdale(Lost McInnis, Arrington and Archie, but still have a steady core unit with a veteran coach.)

7) Northeast Guilford(Unknown commodity, but if the young coach Brandon Apple is still there, they always have a chance…)

8 Greensboro Day School(Are getting better, but how much polish is on the apple here. Is it team improvement or individual improvement?)

Let’s hear it from the Jury????????

25 thoughts on “Seeding the upcoming Pizza Hut Basketball Tournament

  1. I hear NW has a couple of players that don’t give up the ball too well. If they can get control of that and play like a Team then they should be pretty good. Remember boys there is no “I” in Team. Play together and you should have a good year.

    Coble is looking pretty good.

    Vebber has been lifting and getting stronger and has developed well. Is driving to the basket more. He should be a big factor this year again, if he can keep the ankle well.

  2. The girls seeding, I believe, is identical to last yrs seeding. I’m shocked that Page is #2. It will get interesting
    for the girls. I expect GD boys to take it all.

  3. Where are the Dudley boys playing during this tournament? Why is Dudley still ducking the opportunity to play Greensboro Day? This is the 2nd year in a row that I have heard that Dudley does not want to play Greensboro Day from some sources that have knowledge of the programs. The other teams are interesting but the Dudley vs GDS game could likely sale 1/2 or more of the seat on the main coliseum floor. Also it would be great to have the Dudley girls in this tournament because they are loaded.

  4. This is an invitation only tournament. Dudley was not invited.

    Both the girls and boys team took the opportunity of a life time and played in Puerto Rico last Christmas and therefore the “invitational committee” feels obligated not to invite them this year. Which is just as well..that would mean they would have to uninvite a team.

    Not sure where the teams are playing for the holidays

  5. No one can fault the Dudley team for taken the Puerto Rico trip last year because they deserved that invitation. However if you are telling me that Dudley is not playing in the Pizza Hut tournament because they were not invited, then I need to know who I should be sending my “nasty” disagreement with such a decision. GDS will beat all of the other teams by 20+ points and win the tournament again, again and again with no issues if programs such the Dudley boys are not playing. The coliseum management should approach GDS and Dudley about playing a single game (girls and boys) against each other on the main floor and promote it on the radio and tv. That game would draw more than any normal UNCG game and help each school’s budget significantly.

  6. Dudley was not invited to this tourney and Panther Nation has no beefs about this. Like I said last year, we are getting invites to bigger and better tournaments than the PHI so not being included in the Greensboro Coliseum “invitational” is not much of a concern for us. Our success over the years is not based on participating in the PHI. That said, we wish all of the participants much success in this tourney.

  7. Dudley would rather go to PR and lose to some unknown team than lose to anyone in the PHI. It makes them look bad when a local team beats them. When they lose to a “national” team it doesn’t look as bad as when they lose to someone from Greensboro. They go elsewhere because they don’t want to be exposed by the local teams.

  8. Dudley has also ducked playing Oak Ridge Military as well this year. No desire to get their tails kicked AGAIN!

  9. Listen Joe…..
    How many of us will get to experience visiting another country..yes I know PR is an american territory?

    So you actually believe they went all the way to PR to avoid GDay…lol you are probably funnier in person. What about the opportunity of a lifetime for many of the girls and boys??? Bet ya didn’t think about that. You would’ve made your child stay home while his team was seeing, learning history, and playing baskeball. Wouldn’t ya?

    As a matter of fact Dudley boys were trying to participate in other tournaments before Gday showed promise…but they had to participate in the PHI before the new sponsors took over because of some contract.

    Have a good day Joe and know that you have done just what you set out to do. Irritate some one. Must be hard getting up everyday so angry.

    I don’t usually display harness when commenting on the site…but you

  10. know this

    I hope Oak Ridge stays open; then where would the kids go. Oh I know Oregon. lol

    I’m just kidding. I hope Gabe is doing well.

    Michael Neal and those kids are great. I do hope Oak Ridge stays open though. ORMA was so smart in getting Stan. They get money, marketing, and a basketball team all in one signature.

  11. Are you people kidding me y’all. Lets focus on the teams and players that are going to be playing in the tournament. No amount of negativeness is going to change anything. Come December the teams listed above will be the teams that we see play.

  12. Laugh,
    No I don’t think they went to another country to avoid GDS, but now that you mention it…..maybe. I didn’t even mention GDS in my post. I think they avoid county schools all the time without going to other countries. Now that they are in the Metro they will have to play everyone. They may do well.
    They might be surprised by Grimsley and some others that they don’t normally play.

    I don’t blame them for not playing GDS. GDS is not a normal high school. Give all the public schools their kids for five years and the GDS domination would go away. Reclassing kids give GDS a major advantage. If they don’t win the PHI every year they should be ashamed. Playing college freshmen againt high school kids is huge. Do you think Grimsley might be better this year if Manley was back for a fifth year? What about Page with Brooks? Dudley with whoever?

  13. That is a good point, but I am sure the kids at Dudley would love to play GDS. You always want to play the best competition around. It doesn’t affect their conference record and the competition is fun. I have heard this before and I think this is the adults view, not the kids.

  14. I have the utmost respect fof the dudley program. That trip last year was the right decision. However, people who think they are going to run through the metro are completely wrong. Western will be very strong this year, and Grimsley will surprise alot because i believe Gourley is the only senior on that team? Darren corbett has gone 24-5 and 18-8 the last two years and the whirlies still get no respect from anyone in basketball. Art Wade also has something brewing over there at western

  15. I don’t think we are blind (dudley that is) Girls or Guys. The conference is diffrent the teams are different.

    We want to play the best win or lose. Those are the kind of games that get you ready for the playoffs.

    You lose in reg season you get a chance to review and re-focus. Lose in the playoffs and you are done.

  16. Just putting this out there, but the last two times GDS has played Dudley in the PHI championship game, GDS has won by considerable margins. FWIW

  17. Reggie Dillard, PJ Harriston, Brendan Wyatt, Sam Hunt and others are the best in he area. Coach Price teams always dominate and will do it again. Are there any takers out there that want some?

  18. To James,
    Your statement that the Northern Guilford “boys & girls” will both win the Pizza Hut Invitational tournament could be half true, however the girls team, eventough they have great talent, won’t win it.

  19. Brandon Dorsett, Christian Pulliam, Jaleel Roberts, Jordan Robertson, Lucas Weavil and co. are pretty good ballplayers themselves. they have dominated the PHI (Little 4) for several years now, dominating Dudley, Ragsdale and anyone else in their way. im 100% positive they “want some” from dudley. now if only the panthers would play GDS……

  20. I think I will wait until the seeding comes out to determine who has a chance on winning the girls PHI. But dont count out NG, NW, and Smith as they have really good teams. Ragsdale came out of nowhere to claim the title last year. They dont have the Arrington’s or Archer’s but will have some talent coming back. I eagerly await the seedings.

  21. Dudley
    has a new crop of highly skilled and experienced players that have been playing
    D1 AAU(Warriors) ball for the past 5 to 6 years. On top of this DJ Altson who played with
    CP3 15 U transferred from Ragsdale to Dudley will be added to the lineup. This team will be young
    but anchored by P.J. Hairston(Jr), Reggie Dillard(Soph) and DJ Alston(Soph) all who are high profile players on the AAU Travel team circuit.

    But we do not have to worry about Dudley if they will not be in the tournament.

    Northeast Guilford
    This team continues to loose players to tranfers.
    (Sr.) Antwan Wilkerson transferred to Western Guilford
    (Jr.) Michael McCleese transferred to Western Guilford
    (Jr.) Montay Brandon transferred to Kestrel Heights in Durham ,NC (Reclassed to Sophmore )

    Here is a list of players that I know about that are still registered at Northeast.
    —————————————-
    Michael “Donavan” Griffith (Sr)
    Darrius White (Sr)
    Abdul Tijani(Jr)
    Paris Scales(Jr)
    Tevin Hamilton(Jr) ( Probably has the most upside potential to be a impact player)
    C.L Mitchell (Jr)

    Bryce Benjamin(Soph) ( Consider to be good for a sophmore )
    Trey Williamson(Soph) ( Consider to be good for a sophmore)
    Devon Fairley (Soph) ( Consider to be good for a sophmore)
    Jalen Hairston(Soph) ( Consider to be good for a sophmore)

    Greensboro Day

  22. I also have heard Vebber has gotten a lot stronger and has bulked up, has gained about 20 pounds since july. If he can keep healthy NW is going to be a very good team this year. His shot is better since last year and has become a lot more aggressive, dont under estimate them in the little four

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