WHO ARE THE BEST STRIKERS, MIDFIELDERS, DEFENDERS IN THE STATE?

The reason i did'nt include goalies, because they fall in the same categories as defenders and we already know who the best is.

Swali,

I would put Lee JOhnson as one of the best strikers. He may not be the best, but he has to be considered. Tim Strickland is probably the most underrated goalie in the entire state, because of who he plays for. He keeps Wilson in every game.

Coach what happened against Governor's school? After a big win against SF you guys may have overlooked the Governor's school

we choked against wilson and in no way is lee johnson one of the best strikers...although he is good...he is the cheapest player i have ever played and i've played with and against him. He dives constantly. Cris Averette on the other hand for wilson is insanely good...

Huff and Sean from Eastside completely control the midfield. Huff is always someone to reckon with. Padgett from Greenville is a stud when he is on his game and can really finish, playing from the wing or up top. Drew Fuzy is a great back from Daniel, fast and strong.

Cris Harness and Bret Carter from Airport bever let anything get behind them. They are always there.

Cris Harness and Bret Carter from Airport never let anything get behind them. They are always there.

Lee and Chris are solid players. I dont know if i would call either one of them "insanely good" but then again I haven't seen many players THAT good. Do they deserve to be mentioned with the BEST in the state? No. That is a pretty high mark because there are a lot of great players in South Carolina, but dont get me wrong, those guys are good.

Lee is a good player. Yeah, he does dive sometimes, yeah he argues with the reff, but he uses things like that to his advantage usually by getting in people's heads and throwing them off of their game or setting up scoring opportunities for his team so if i were playing against him i would definatly keep my eye on him the entire game. As far as scoring Chris is a great player off of the dribble and him and Lee work together pretty well... and they have to because they dont get that much help from the rest of their teamates. When one of the players for Wilson other than them score it is usually because Lee or Chris put them in a great position to score. I would have them on my team any day.

to wfc, yes we had a big let down after a big win, but in no way was it because of lack of respect for the Gov.'s School.

SFsoccer,
You may believe Lee is cheap and yes he does take a dive , alot, but with that being said he gets the job done. 60 goals last year can't be because he's lucky. Cris is good , but needs to improve his speed and learn to pass earlier. He tries to take on too much. He has had to in years past but if he wants to play college soccer he has to learn to pass the ball.

Green And White,

Coming from a West player, we take that as a compliment. But they do have help in the Midfield and at striker. Tim Saleeby has 4 goals in 4 games and Nelson Ruiz has the best speed and defensive skills on the team. They are not as skilled as Lee or Cris , you're right but have complemented them well....to only be Sophmores.

i'm not denying that he is a good player but after years of playing with and against him i have found no one who dives as much or complains as much....he is a very good player but he'd be so much better if he would clean up that area of his game.

What's the deal with the Eastside players getting suspended?

Pablo from Hartsville is amazing. I would put him up against any player in the state with footwork and ability.

josh and brian from sumter and the sweeper from south aiken are three of the best backs i think

i concur with cornerkicked, brian and josh from sumter are very good.

I think an interesting way to look at the best players in the state in any position would be to base it on a game-by-game basis. Which players stepped up in big games? If you look at it that way, then you have to look at the scores from matches where top teams play each other. The most recent match that comes to mind is Irmo's loss to Aiken, 4-2, at Irmo. I am not sure exactly, but I think this is the first time Irmo has lost on their home field by more than one goal (discounting OT and PKs) in a few years. Irmo was the number #1 AAAA school in the state at the time, and arguably the state's strongest squad. I do not know any Aiken High players personally, though I do know they have a few that travel with Fire. But the 2 or 3 players that were the difference makers in that match would have to be considered the strongest players in the state right now. There are flaws in looking at it this, but ultimately all athletes are remembered for how they performed in big games.

i disagree backwoods willy 94, good athletes are remembered for how they perform not just in big games but in the smaller games as well

Why so much talk about pablo from Hartsville?.. I've seen him play and I wasn't impressed. He would cut the ball in a circle half a dozen times and then pass it off. You can't include someone like him in this thread. He looked half descent, but def not best in the state. If you're going to recognize a striker, recognize Eric from North Augusta.. he's a baller.

those guys from sumter are good, but you shouldn't mention there names in best in state

theres no doubt that the boys from sumter can be said to be two of the best players in the state...they are two dominate players

my picks are from Riverside:

michael simmons as defender
jake mitchell up front

One pretty good Forward in 2A is Shay Barnes from Batesburg-Leesville. He has great ball handling skills and overall is a great player. In 10 games so far, he has had probably around 22 goals and around 9 assists. He's a great player. One great defender in 2A is Allen Larriat. He is from Batesburg-Leesville and was chosen last year for all-area. He's a great defender and has had some great saves.

shay isn't that good i've seen him play club and you put a decent defender on him he's got nothing. Besides B-L needs to play someone decent for those 22 goals to mean a whole lot.

after playing against sumter tonight...i still think brian is damn good but josh dissapointed me. i expected him to be much better than what he was tonight....he also argued with the ref a good bit and threw quite a few elbows

was a good played match though

Aynor isn't very good but have two good forwards. Michael Barnhill #13 and Buddy Martin #4. I wouldn't say they are the best in the state but deffinetly need some recognition.