Grainger’s Combs earns second top boys coaching honor

Combs was quick to heap praise on his team for allowing him to receive the special award. “I’m honored, but things like this are team awards because you don’t get things like this unless you have good players and we certainly had that this year. I will give all the credit to those guys. They are the ones who do the work.”

The Grizzlies went 28-6, won the conference regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the Class AA Sectional round for the first time. Anytime a team can win 28 games in a season, it’s a big deal but the wins the Grizzlies put up were all the more impressive considering who they played.

Grainger faced five teams who eventually made the Sectional round which included AAA schools Science Hill and David Crockett. The Grizzlies played Sullivan East, had four wins over Sectional participants Cosby and Hampton and defeated a powerful Coffee County team as well as Inter Mountain Conference tournament champion Cocke County twice. That is one reason the Tennessee hoops website CoachT.com rated Grainger as having the 11th toughest schedule in the state last season.

“That says a lot,” Combs said of the strength of schedule his team recorded. “To have 28 wins against that schedule is pretty impressive. This was the most wins since 1961 when the old Rutledge High School won over 30 games. Our guys have a lot to be proud of.”

Combs said this year’s Grainger squad was a blast to coach because of their work ethic, depth and laser focus on improving each day. “The guys were attentive and they listened and tried to do what we asked of them, and you can’t ask for any more than that as a coach. The depth was important and it allowed us to do a lot of things like keeping the tempo up, which is the way those guys liked to play. We were able to stay fresh and a lot of times, we were able to wear the other team down.”

Grainger’s senior class will always have a unique place in the history of Grizzlies hoops, and Combs said they laid the foundation for the huge expectations which are now a part of his program.

“This year was historic; it was a great season and a great run,” he said. “Most of all, this was a great group of kids, and I hate to see this group of seniors leave. The expectations are high here, and these seniors have begun a great foundation. We have a great group coming back. In a lot of ways, we had eight starters last year, and we have a lot of those guys returning next year. There is a lot to look forward to,” Combs said.