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The Rotunda
Friday, July 25, 2025

Welcome to Farmvegas

There’s something about the spring season that renews people. With any luck, the nice weather is here to stay for what’s left of the semester, and it’s hard to believe that this school year is almost behind

usI.t’s also a refreshing time of year for the flagship LU team, men’s basketball. There’s a new coach in town, as Jayson Gee is the program’s eighth leader. Suffice to say, Gee’s predecessor, Mike Gillian, was a fixture around this town. I’ve likened the team to the Permian High School football team from “Friday Night Lights,” in that in a town this small, they are the talk of the town whether they’re winning or losing. The players and coaches are public faces from Green Front to Lowe’s.

Having said that, with one coach leaving and one arriving, connections are going to have to be established in order to make the transition from Cleveland to Farmville as smooth as possible. With said, here’s a guide to Farmville for Jayson Gee.

First off, I’d like to extend Gee a personal welcome to Farmville. Don’t let the nickname fool you — it’s not a very flashy town by any stretch of the imagination. So, for starters, I’d encourage Gee to continue what Gillian started; that is, to continue the “Coffee with the Coach” promotion on Wednesday mornings during the season.

Over the program’s first two seasons, attendance increased from just a couple to sometimes over a dozen. Free Starbucks on a chilly morning — what’s better than that? Students, faculty and fans alike enjoyed the promotion because it made for an opportunity to talk one-on-one with one of the most prominent faces of the university in an informal setting. Did I mention the free coffee?

In a slightly more Longwood-centered environment, Tuesday afternoon’s “Lunch with the Lunatics” was another promotion that Coach Gillian was involved in, and it began to pick up some steam in terms of attendance toward the end of the season. It’s an even better way to connect with the students and faculty, seeing as the venue is in the heart of campus and it happens in a high- traffic time of day, 12 p.m.

The opportunity to connect one-on-one with the students and professors in this venue is second to none, and I don’t think I’m the only one excited for the program to continue, especially if more athletes and people that work in athletics get involved.

Again, when it comes to being the leader of Longwood basketball, it’s all about connecting with the people that live in this small town — a town that probably seems like the antithesis of Cleveland. One of the best ways to connect with people is to unprotect your Tweets (if your Twitter handle is indeed @CoachJaysonGee).

Students and faculty alike use Twitter to connect with the most prominent faces on campus, and certainly the men’s basketball coach is such a prominent face. Going back to the previous examples, people want to know what the team is up to, and social media is a perfect way to let the people know what’s going on. Mike Gillian used it very well and the fans of this team would certainly appreciate the same.

Well, enough with the semi-serious stuff. At first glance, Farmville isn’t a glorious town, and after living here for almost two years, I can agree that it is not the most glorious town out there. But having experienced the town first-hand, I can say that there is a lot of room for activities around Farmville.

There are a few good food spots that I’d gladly recommend. Macado’s was the first place I ever ate in town, and the Yankee Doodle is the best sandwich on the menu. I haven’t been to Charley’s yet, but the last time I checked, they still had a good deal on all-you-can-eat pasta on Wednesdays. Cookout, of course, has the best burgers in town and Buffalo Wild Wings is a must. The one place I wouldn’t recommend, though, is the Subway at the Landings. They go heavy on the lettuce and light on the meat.

Aside from that, it’s not like this is a completely boring, dead town. There’s High Bridge Trail, the Moton Museum, Main Street and plenty of other Longwood sports to enjoy, like baseball, soccer, softball and lacrosse.

It will take a little bit of time to build — and maybe even repair — trust and a solid relationship between coach and town, as well as coach and player. Having said that, though, I’m not the only one happy to have Coach Gee in Farmville. Welcome aboard, and here’s to plenty of winning seasons from here on.

*** This editorial is an opinion stated by the writer and does not represent the views of The Rotunda or Longwood University.