mhalionboy03

I am not "steeped in madness" about tonight's game. I'm not all that upset at all; we showed great resiliancy. I just think that saying "last night, coach froedden lost our semi-final game" comes across a little bit too pointed. I was just pointing out to you that Coach Froeddedn did the best he could under the circumstances with what he had. Gasol was getting the ball way too easily, shown in Overtime. It seemed like you were laying the entire loss at the feet of Coach Froedden, when in fact, he still had us in a position to win the game at the final buzzer. Just as much criticism should be given to the players for missing relatively easy shots. I'm not saying you shouldn't criticize coaching methods, but it's totally unnecessary to lay all of the blame on Coach Froedden like he just handed to the other team, which is how you came across. I'm not rigidly aligned with Coach Froedden. He is a good friend and I will always support his decisions and respect them, but I won't blindly agree with him on everything. I do, however, think that he deserves quite a bit more credit than you were giving him. He had us in a position to win for 3 straight years and led us to 2 district championships. For that, I can proudly stand by him and defend his coaching methods. If you don't think think they work, look at Bartlett's Hubie Smith or Briarcrest's John Harrington. Both have very similar coaching styles and systems and both are having great success. I am a firm believer in Coach Froedden's system. If you will just stick with him, there is no doubt in my mind that he will bring home a championship. It may take a while. It took Hubie Smith 15 years. I have no doubt that it will happen, however. For a championship, though, I'm willing to wait it out and ride the roller coaster.

I have been lucky enough to see both of these players play this season. In the games that I've seen, I concur that Mark Martin of Bartlett is the best at taking the charge. He is not afraid to lay it all on the line every time out, and that is one of the key reason's for Bartlett's success this season. Congrats on the District Championship and good luck in Region, Sub-State, and State.

For the first time since the inception of Division II, a team other than Briarcrest won the West Region Championship. ECS, who had beaten Briarcrest twice in the regular season to claim the district title, beat Briarcrest by one point to dethrone the Saints and win the Region Title. Fittingly, the game was tied at halftime. Briarcrest could have jumped out to a small lead early in the third if they had hit their free-throws, but the hit only 3 of 6 in the 3rd and their only FG was a 3 pointer by Autumn Clark. The Saints were down at the beginning of the 4th, but not out. They fought back and were up one with under a minute to go, but the Eagles had the ball. I believe it was Drace Tashie who hit the basket to put the Eagles up one with 15 seconds to go. Briarcrest passed over to the left elbow, but couldn't find a shot, so the called a timeout with just 5 seconds on the clock. They went to Autumn Clark for 3, but she missed and Jada Mincy was too late with the put-back that didn't hit the rim anyway. SBEC knocked off Hutchison in the girls game, I think it was 43-38. All-Tourney team: Stephanie Williams - ECS Rachel Goodwin - ECS Sarah Hester - Hutchison Brittany Barbee - SBEC Gresh Garman - SBEC Jada Mincy - Briarcrest Autumn Clark - Briarcrest MVP - Julie Martin - ECS Sorry if I missed anyone. Way go! So, the teams advancing to Sectionals are: #1 ECS #2 Briarcrest #3 SBEC Good luck to all of these teams from the West!

Harding again came out the gates slow to start the game. In every game that I have seen this year, Harding has lost every single one in which they had a slow start to the game. They usually come back and have a good chance, i.e. loss to MUS in 3OT, loss to Lausanne in OT, loss to CBHS by 3, loss to Olive Branch, etc. The only game that Harding successfully rallied and won that I remember was the Hendersonville game at Bartlett. Today, Harding struggled shooting in the 1st, but Byrne didn't light it up either. Harding had a very good 4th quarter, rallying from a double-digit deficiet to pull with in 2 pts. with 30 seconds left and the ball. Trey Williams went to the baseline for a wide-open 3 pointer for the lead with about 10 seconds left. It was a little too strong and rimmed out and the put back was missed. Harding immediately fouled and Byrne hit only one FT. Down 3 with 9 seconds on the clock, no one was open so Williams took the 3 pointer with a hand in his face but missed, earning Byrne a trip to sectionals, 46-43. Harding's biggest problem, however, was not shooting, but rebounding. Byrne did a very good job of limiting the Lions to one shot and crashed the offensive glass. In the other game, Lausanne rolled to an easy victory over Briarcrest. Marc Gasol was named to the All-Tournament team. So were Carlos Taylor and Barry Dickens from Lausanne. Trey Williams from Harding and Charles Hampton from Byrne were as well. There was also another player from Byrne and a player from Briarcrest on there too. So, these teams go to Sectionals: #1 Lausanne #2 Briarcrest #3 Bishop Byrne Good luck to all the teams from the West! P.S. Coachtfan, why are you so down on Coach Froedden. This is the first time since the 1970s that Harding has even been somewhat competitive in boys basketball. I'd say that Coach Froedden has done a darn good job building up this program. It stinks that he hasn't gotten a trip to Murfreesboro yet. Let's look back over the past 3 years at the games that have ended Harding's season. 2001 - loss to Father Ryan in Sectionals in overtime by 3 points. 2002 - loss to ECS in Region Quarter-finals in double-overtime by 2 points. 2003 - loss to Bishop Byrne by 3 points. That's a sum total of 8 points. None of those losses are even two possession ball games. Coach Froedden has had the team in a position to win for three years now. But he can't go out and play for them. You can't blame him for Billy May's 3 pointer at the buzzer with a hand in his face. Or for a terrible call at the buzzer. Or a three point shot from his best player that was just ever so slightly too strong. Teams get tough breaks. Harding just gets them more than others. I think that Coach Froedden is a wonderful Coach and I thank him for the three years of great basketball that I have seen from his club. I supported him in his victories and I'm not about to waver in defeat. Like Ego said, hindsight is 20/20. I'm sure Coach Froedden could now think of 10 different plays he could have called at any given moment of the game last night or tonight that could have changed the outcome, but under those circumstances, there isn't, you don't get to sit down and go through the playbook, or consult with the hundreds of coaches sitting in the stands, a.k.a. fans. A coach couldn't ask for better circumstances: you're best sharpshooter wide open on the baseline for three, your best player gets a putback, your Senior forward get one last chance; your best player is wide open for three on the baseline. That's good coaching, but players miss shots. We could very, very, very easily be sitting here calling him Coach of the Year. Instead, your dissing him. Not I. Congratulations, Coach, on a great year and a great job! Better luck next year. GO LIONS!!! [Edited by mhalionboy03 on 3-1-03 10:47P]

I agree with Harding4ever about holding the ball. Harding had all the momentum, but the refs were not calling fouls and Harding appeared a bit tired. As Lausanne showed late in the 4th and in OT, all they have to do is get it too Gasol for an easy basket. I look at like Harding had 3 chances to win the game in the last half of the 4th quarter. #1, MHA hit a 3 pointer to go up 3 and then Harding turned around and fouled Gasol on a made basket and he hit his FT. #2, Trey should have hit his 2 FTs that could have put Harding up by 2. #3, Harding got 3 looks at the basket in the waning seconds; all drew iron but none went in. I think it was excellent that we got that many good looks for a game-winning shot. They just didn't fall. I am very proud of Harding's 2nd half performance, especially in the 4th. We had 3 chances to win the game, and just couldn't pull it off. On the other hand, Harding did terrible in the 1st quarter and in OT. They had no answer for Gasol and played no perimeter defense. Carlos Taylor should have a hand in his face every time he shoots the ball. Lausanne did a good job early in the game blocking Harding's shots, especially the outside shots. The second half performance, was, again, just great. I predict that Harding will demolish Bishop Byrne today and clinch the sectional bid. Hopefully, Lausanne and Harding will win in Sectionals and Briarcrest will lose so that Harding and Lausanne will be able to meet up in the State Championship game. I want to play this team again, because I really believe that we can beat them. If anyone knows what day the West's third seed will play in Sectionals, please post it here or on the Sectional thread, thanks. GO LIONS!!!

One of the three regions tournaments was completed tonight. So help me set up the Sectional Tournament as results come in. It will be held Mar. 7 and 8 at David Lipscomb University in Nashville. Father Ryan will be the #1 seed from the Middle Region, Brentwood Academy will be the #2 seed from the Middle, and BGA will be the #3 seed from the Middle. Notre Dame and McCallie will advance to sectionals from the East. They'll play for seeding tomorrow at Knoxville Catholic. Either Lausanne or Briarcrest will get the #1 seed from the West, with the other getting #2, game tommorow. The winner of the Harding/Bishop Byrne game will secure the final spot in sectionals in tomorrow's game. Please add any results as they come in or make predictions. Does anyone have the Sectionals bracket? Good luck to all these teams. GO LIONS!!! [Edited by mhalionboy03 on 3-1-03 12:42A]

Last year's Region Tournament was a Cinderella year, with sub-500 MUS and the young Lausanne team meeting up for the championships. This year, Lausanne comes in with much more respect, but will have to go through Harding to be able to defend their Championship. On the other side of the bracket, this year's Cinderella team, Briarcrest, knocked off ECS in the Quarter-finals and was pitted against Bishop Byrne, who knocked out MUS, in the Semi-finals. In the early game today, Briarcrest's fairy godmother granted its wish as the Saints pulled out a win over Bishop Byrne and secured a berth in sectionals next weekend. Then they needed an opponent. The Harding Lausanne game was a classic post-season game. Lausanne jumped out early and had a double-digit lead over the Lions throughout most of the second quarter. The Lynx led by 9 at the half. But Harding exploded out of the gates in the third quarter, and by the end of the quarter, they had tied the game. Lausanne got the ball first in the fourth, but Harding stole the ball and Mariun Price layed it in to give Harding their first lead of the second half. With a two point lead, Harding held the ball for about half of the fourth quarter. While many questioned this tactic, it was pretty smart. Harding's Trey Williams was carrying three fouls and Lausanne was having two much success getting the ball to Gasol for easy points. Harding travelled before they scored but forced a Lausanne turnover and went up two. Lausanne's Gasol continued to answer, however. Harding's Trey Williams hit a three-pointer to put the Lions up by 3 late in the game, but Gasol answered by going up strong, getting the basket, and the foul. Tied at 44 with under a minute left, Harding held for the last shot. Adam Rodriguez's shot from the elbow was a little too strong, but Trey Williams got the rebound with 2 seconds left but his put-back rimmed out. John Bradford picked that one up and the short put-back rolled off the back of the rim as time expired, sending the game in to Overtime. Gasol dominated overtime as he led the Lynx to a victory over the Lions. Lausanne clinched a trip to sectionals next weekend and will play Briarcrest for the Region Championship tomorrow night at 7:30 at MUS. Harding will play Bishop Byrne for third place and the final spot in sectionals tomorrow at 4:30 at MUS. GO LIONS!!!

You said they already released the boy's all-district. Would you please post that list on the Boy's board or a link to it.

I've seen ECS play several times this year. Josh Meeks is their best player, but he is NOT the best player in any other category. Not in Memphis, not in DII, not in the state, not in region, or district. He is not bad, but he can't take over a game, if he has, I haven't seen it or heard of it. How 'bout Meeks quote in the CA about beating Harding the second time around. Didn't happen and won't again. I honestly don't know if ECS can make it past a well-coached Briarcrest squad tomorrow, or whenever they decide to play it. If they do, they should be able to beat Bishop Byrne, but will probably lose to MUS. ECS better pull for Byrne, because I don't see that ECS could beat Harding, Lausanne, or CBHS in the consolation game with a trip to Sectionals on the line.

Yeah, itzme, you're right. I only saw them in the Bartlett Hoops Classic vs. Harding. Neither one had an excellent game, but Dunlap looked better than Wright and I heard more about Dunlap. I believe you though.

There is no Division II-AA in Basketball. Are you talking about all Division II schools, or just the 8 schools that are in AA classification for football: Harding, BCS, BGA, Notre Dame, St. Benedict, ECS, Knox. Catholic, Webb

My First Team All-State for DII: 1. Trey Williams, Harding - Mr. Basketball winner 2. Marc Gasol, Lausanne - Mr. Basketball finalist 3. Adarius Bowman, Notre Dame - Mr. Basketball finalist 4. King Dunlap, Brentwood Academy 5. Josh Suddath, McCallie Honorable Mention, no particular order: Everett Bills, Father Ryan John Bradford, Harding Carlos Taylor, Lausanne Charles Hampton, Bishop Byrne Ryan Baum, MUS Matt Lea, ECS Adam Rodriguez, Harding Brandon Wright, Brentwood Academy [Edited by mhalionboy03 on 2-26-03 4:37P]

Just wondering, but couldn't they, if school is in tomorrow, hold boy's and girl's semi-finals on Friday night at MUS and run the quarter-finals schedule? Girls semi at 3 and 6, boys at 4:30 and 7:30. And if they can run tommorrow, they could play boys quarters on Friday, Have the semifinals on Sat. morning, one boys game at Hutch and one at MUS at the same time, and then one girls game at Hutch and one at MUS concurrently, and then consolations/Finals that night. Just thinking about possiblities.

Division 2 has some very good players, especially out of the West. Sr. Marc Gasol, 7 ft, from Lausanne leads Shelby/Metro in scoring, 28ppg. Trey Williams from Harding is not always the lead scorer in a game, but he has extremely good on the court instincts and can take over a game if he needs to. He raises the play of every player on the court. He is a true leader on the floor. Charles Hampton at Bishop Byrne is very good, as is Carlos Taylor from Lausanne. Josh Meeks from ECS puts up good numbers, but I don't think he's really all that great. Same goes for Ryan Baum for MUS, but he plays better team ball than Meeks. Gasol is a player that you can really build a team around, as Lausanne has successfully done and is the Most Valuable player to his team. Williams is a better over-all player, he creates much more than Gasol does and can play better defense and can handle the ball better. He's quicker and smarter. Overall, I think Williams from Harding is the best.

All Division 2 WEST Region Tournament games for today at MUS are cancelled due to snow. This includes ECS/Briarcrest, MUS/Bishop Byrne, CBHS/Lausanne, and Harding/St. Benedict. No word yet about the make-up schedule.

ALL DIVISION 2 WEST REGION GAMES FOR TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25 HAVE BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO SNOW. Stay tuned for a make-up schedule. And, yes, Lausanne can only get 1st or 3rd. I meant to say 3rd but typed 2nd instead. Thanks for catching it. GO LIONS!!!

On Monday, the Harding Lions took on the SBEC Trojans, and it got ugly early. I watched in pre-game shooting, and I didn't see very many balls go in. Things went downhill from there. Harding couldn't buy a basket. They hit one field goal and 1/4 free-throws in the first quarter, down 10-3. Harding really did a pretty good job on defense. And SBEC wasn't all that great on defense, or on offense for that matter, the the Lions couldn't throw the ball in the ocean off a ship. Balls were dancing all over the rim, sailing right over, bouncing off the front, the back. It was very frustrating to watch. The Lions really played well, except for shooting. Final score: SBEC 44, Harding 25. Lions are eliminated, Trojans move on to play the winner of the late game between St. Benedict and the heavily favored Briarcrest Saints. I assume that ECS moved on in the early game over St. Agnes. They will play Hutchison in the Semi-finals. Hutch creamed Bishop Byrne 50-something to 25, avenging a 3 point loss last week. For now, go ECS, my pick to win it all this year and bring the hardware back from Murfreesboro. To the Harding girls, great job on a great season. Especially to Srs. Rachel Black, Katie White, Katherine Frisby, Amanda Singleton, and Blair Jackson. And to the underclassmen, good luck next year. You showed a lot of promise and potential. Remember that TPW. GO LIONS!!!

First off, FYI, the boys games tomorrow in the D2 West Region Tourney at MUS would be cancelled for snow IF the Memphis City School district cancels school tomorrow. Second, good picks. I think that the Briarcrest over ECS pick could be a smart move. Personally, I think it's a toss up. Although Briarcrest has struggled this year, ECS is not very dominant and is susceptible to losing, especially to heated rival Briarcrest. MUS beat Bishop Byrne last Friday, and I think they'll do it again, but I wouldn't bet too much on it. Should be another great game. As for the CBHS/Lausanne game, it would seem like Lausanne would be the easy pick. They certainly have better players in Marc Gasol, Carlos Taylor, and Jonnie West. But CBHS plays better team ball, Justin Mosby, Chris Nicosia, and Chris Haag aren't bad, and CBHS is better coached. A CBHS would surprise me, but it wouldn't be shocking. I don't think that Harding will have any problem with St. Benedict, but I didn't think they would last week either, when the Eagles pulled the upset. I don't think that the Lions will let it happen again. I think Harding will get 1st and Lausanne will get 2nd, but I'm really not sure about the top half of the bracket. GO LIONS!!!

Here are scores from Saturday's first round and games for Monday's Quarter-finals: Tipton-Rosemark Academy 18 *St. Agnes Academy 60 *Hutchison School 42 Lausanne Collegiate School 24 *Bishop Byrne 61 Immaculate Conception 32 *Harding Academy 75 St. Mary's 31 First Assembly Christian School 45 *St. Benedict at Auburndale 64 *Briarcrest Christian School 75 Memphis Catholic School 10 Monday - Quarter-finals at MUS 3:00 ECS vs. St. Agnes 4:30 Hutchison vs. Bishop Byrne 6:00 SBEC vs. Harding 7:30 St. Benedict vs. Briacrest GO LIONS!!!

Here are scores from Saturday's first round and games for Tuesday: Tipton-Rosemark Academy 19 *Briarcrest Christian School 56 *Memphis University School 65 Memphis Catholic School 23 *Christian Brothers High School 82 First Assembly Christian School 33 Southern Baptist Educational Center 34 *St. Benedict at Auburndale 60 *Harding Academy 79 Elliston Baptist Academy 25 Tuesday - Quarter-finals @ MUS 3:00 ECS vs. Briarcrest 4:30 MUS vs. Bishop Byrne 6:00 Lausanne vs. CBHS 7:30 St. Benedict vs. Harding GO LIONS!!!

To close out the first round action today, the Harding Lions defeated Elliston Baptist 79-25. Trey Williams and Adam Rodriguez started the Lions off with a 10-0 run and ended the first quarter up 19-2. Every Lion dressed out saw action tonight, especially those at the end of the bench. Freshmen Tacuma Alexander and Mariun Price both turned in very nice performances in the second half. St. Benedict beat the SBEC Trojans - don't know the score yet - to advance to face the Lions on Tuesday night at 7:00 at MUS. This sets up a very interesting rematch. St. Benedict finished last in the Large District and Harding finished second. The Lions won the first contest between the two, and then played miserably in the second game, giving St. Benedict the victory on Homecoming/Sr. Night and costing the Lions the district championship. Harding definately has something to show on Tuesday. The loser will be eliminated from the post-season, while the winner will be guarenteed two more game, needing to win one to advance to sectionals. The Lions were eliminated last year in the quarter-finals in a double-overtime upset at the hands of ECS. GO LIONS!!! Any other results? [Edited by mhalionboy03 on 2-22-03 10:37P]

I only saw one game in the D2 West Region Tournament today, but it was a great game for Harding fans. The Lions quickly put to rest any notion that Harding alum and former coach Jonathan Mooneyham & Co. had of pulling the upset over Harding. The Lions rolled to a 75-31 victory, using in large part the end of their bench. In St. Mary's defense, the margin was only 30 pts. until the Turkeys pulled their starters halfway through the fourth quarter. Harding Freshman Sha Farmer did very good down the stretch. Senior Blair Jackson did a good job getting the Lions going early. Harding will now advance in the tournament to play SBEC on Monday at 6:00 at MUS in the quarter-finals. SBEC has a very good record and won the DII West Small district title, but played a pretty weak schedule. The Trojans lost to St. Agnes, whom Harding beat twice. They also lost to Hutchison. Harding lost one decisive game to Hutchison and then gave the other game away with a stupid foul at the end of regulation. The Trojans also split 1-1 with Bishop Byrne, who picked up a 10 point win over the Lions in December. This should be a good game. Harding can definately win this game if they play up to their potential. The loser of this game will be eliminated, the loser will be guarenteed 2 more games, needing to win just one for a bid to sectionals. Any other results? GO LIONS!!!

I wasn't speaking specifically about Hutchison, just about teams of Hutchison's caliber, i.e. Bishop Byrne.

First off, here's a link to see/print the brackets - requires Adobe: <http://www.hardingacademymemphis.org/athle...namentgirls.pdf> TrojanMan and Trojanbob, I don't know if you go to Harding or not or if you have any clue what you're talking about. Coach Froedden has stepped in and done an EXCELLENT job as basketball coach. Since Coach Froedden has come, our boy's basketball team has become a perrenial threat and seen great improvements and even a #1 ranking in the state poll. Our football team is much more competitive. Last year's team won more teams than any team in school history. He pulled our volleyball team out of the gutter by hiring Coach Tod Traughber. Harding won the region title last year and the state championship this year and Coach Traughber has been named coach of the year for Memphis both years. He redid both of Harding's gyms and made them some of the nicest in Memphis. He supporte the addition of the Pom Squad. I'd say he's holding his own as Harding's AD. And as for rumors of new jobs: I have no clue whether or not he's leaving. I do believe, however, that he will pray long and hard about and that he will go/stay wherever God wants him to. He is a great basketball coach and AD and he is one of the best things that have ever happened to Harding Academy. I believe that both of you are trying to stir up trouble. Back to basketball, I believe that Harding's girl's team this year is much better than last year's team. I think that they will easily win over St. Mary's. I think that they can beat SBEC. It should be a good game. Harding has to be ready if they're going to beat them. If the Harding team that played against ECS on Tuesday shows up next week, Harding should have no problem beating both SBEC and Hutchison/Bishop Byrne for 3rd place (Byrne beat Hutch by 3 last night and Harding handily beat the Knights in December). That's a big IF. Harding has struggled with inconsistancies all year long. They play good but lose agains the top competition, they beat the bad teams, but for those in between, i.e. Hutch and Byrne, it's a 50/50 chance. Hopefully they do show up and get to sectionals. All season is just preparation for this week and hopefully you get to play in March. [Edited by mhalionboy03 on 2-21-03 3:58P]

First off, here's a link to see/print the brackets, requires Adobe: <http://www.hardingacademymemphis.org/athle...rnamentboys.pdf> Here's my picks, for what it's worth: First Round: S4 Tipton-Rosemark Academy 22 *L5 Briarcrest 54 *L3 MUS 73 S6 Catholic 31 *L4 CBHS 68 S5 FACS 27 S3 SBEC 35 *L6 St. Benedict 48 *L2 Harding 75 S7 Elliston 32 L1 ECS, S1 Lausanne, and S2 Bishop Byrne got 1st round byes. Quarter-Finals: *ECS 43 Briarcrest 37 *MUS 53 Bishop Byrne 41 *Lausanne 80 CBHS 71 St. Benedict 35 *Harding 68 Semi-Finals: ECS 70 *MUS 75 --- OT Lausanne 65 *Harding 77 Third Place: ECS 61 *Lausanne 70 Championship: MUS 56 *Harding 73 Sending 1 Harding, 2 MUS, and 3 Lausanne to Sectionals. [Edited by mhalionboy03 on 2-21-03 3:57P]