BoDawgs

This is one of the most laughable,thinly veiled posts I have ever seen on these boards. You have been to several DCA games this year? Why have you been to four DCA games since you are obviously partial to Ezell? This is your first post on these boards and it is over a region quarterfinal game you just "happened" to come upon? I doubt this is your first post since you knew exactly where to go to express your "unbiased" outrage. Old ball coach? What is this 1953? Are we to believe you are just an old cager looking for some good clean competition on a boring Tuesday night? Old official with bad knees? More like a sour parent with hurt pride. I am sure that 21 point play the officials called in the fourth quarter really turned the game. Please. Blaming officials in a close game can be understood if not condoned, to pretend you are some random visitor to these boards when in fact you are a disgruntled Ezell parent or coach who wants unabashedly blame officials in a 20 point loss is embarrassing and ridiculous. Come on, give the DCA boys their due and leave the officials out of this one. On another note - FRA boys will play Knoxville Webb in the early game on Friday. I expect this one to be closer than the 26 point win FRA had in Knoxville a few weeks ago. DCA will play tonight's USN/Davidson winner. With Hodge back (right or wrong?) USN should handle Davidson. I doubt they will have an easy time with DCA though. DCA has a ton of leadership and poise and with the young guys filling in place of the tragic Joy injury they could really do some damage this weekend. Should be fun. Great season to all. Sad to see a good Ezell team out of it, and Zach's career come to an end. He, and Corey, have been great players.

I think you misunderstood my post. I do not presume to know what CPA administration thinks or says, if my post came across that way I apologize. I was saying that it must be frustrating to have the school name defamed because of questions surrounding the methods used to procure some student athletes. It is a discussion that happens well outside these boards, walk into any 10AA gym on a Friday night and you are likely to hear it. So be careful not to shoot the messenger here. As far as decisions being made in the "best interest of the student", I am referring to arguments made by CPA fans on these boards and other venues. For example I had a CPA supporter tell me that the decision to ask for eligibility of the 8th grader in question was in his best interest. I do not understand that logic as it would seem to me that if he is repeating 8th grade it is probably in his best interest to forgo basketball and focus on his studies and prepare himself for the rigors of high school. I never said that this is a direct quote from a CPA Administrator. I know several administrators at CPA and they are excellent and thoughtful leaders, I also have said on these boards and I will say again that the young men and women in the CPA halls are consistently among the most respectful and intelligent students I have met. My criticism of CPA (and other private schools) on these boards is singularly focused on the emphasis on athletics and winning over equality and sportsmanship, this area is outside the control of the students (mostly), and largely in the hands of the administrators and parents who enable it. The feeling that CPA is operating in the grey areas of the rules has been stated by posters much more intelligent than I, and incidents like this last one do nothing to alleviate these opinions.

Good post. Strong points all around. I will restate my thoughts from earlier, shouldn't someone in admissions at CPA done a more thorough job in understanding the transfer rule and explaining, very clearly, the situation to the TSSAA? In fairness to the TSSAA they handle dozens of eligibility questions a season and do not have the resources to investigate every one of them. They take it on faith that the school and family submitting the request are providing all the information. In this case it seems that either 1) the information they received was incomplete (intentionally or otherwise) or 2) that this situation was so unique that the TSSAA had no precedent for a ruling, and because of the grey area involved in the case had cause to go back and redact their initial ruling. Option 2 is the most likely circumstance, and the fact that CPA would present a case that is so clearly in the "grey" should not be surprising to anyone. The other question - as talented as this 8th grader is, why do you really need him or want to play him? This team is very strong and he doesn't fill an obvious need. The Middle School team on the other hand struggles to score and could very much use his talents (if that was even a possibility with transfer rules for middle school). It is also important to note that by playing this 8th grader in a varsity game they immediately prevent him from transferring to another school without losing a year of eligibility. Got to protect your assets I guess. In addition, if I were a parent whose son worked hard to find time on this talented team, and then have an 8th grader (with questionable eligibility) come in and take minutes from my child I would be very upset. You would think administration would be tired of seeing CPA's name dragged through the mud in forums like this or out in the public and put their foot down on questionable decisions being made for the sake of athletics and winning; and it is even worse when the claims are falsely stated to be in the "best interest" of the student.

\ I am shocked CPA would break the rules in regards to eligibility. As talented as they are this year what is the point? Do they really need an 8th grader to win? If I were CPA's administration I'd take a close look at my Admissions Dept, oh wait...

This is an extremely irresponsible thing to say unless you can substantiate it, and even then family issues (real or imagined) about kids should stay off these boards. No one has been more critical of CPA on these boards than me, but comments like this cross the line and are potentially damaging. No child needs gossip and rumors about their family spread in a public forum like this. We can be judge and jury here, but not executioner.

I was at this game. FRA by 32 or so. USN never had a chance. FRA was excellent on both sides of the ball. Everything clicking. USN is obviously struggling without Hodge, but I am not sure he would have made that big a difference tonight. Judging by tonight and the quality of their other wins FRA is the top team in the region and one of the better teams in the area. I'm curious how they stack up against the West.

Make that 3 tournaments within 2 miles. FRA,right next to Overton, is hosting an 18 team boys and girls tournament. The boys event features Brentwood Academy,FRA,Sycamore, Hillwood,Harding in Memphis,and a team from Georgia. I know this is a boys board, but the girls event is maybe the best mid-state tournament of the year. Some teams - FRA, CPA, Lipscomb, Ensworth, Franklin, Rossview, Sycamore, Tullahoma, Gallatin. Lots of good basketball on Franklin Road this week.

Please go back and read my entire post. Certainly the boys in question do not need to be blamed. They play hard and care for each other, just as the kids at Ohio St. or UT do. The failure is at the administrative level, both at the school and the state athletic association, and without integrity from the top down we will continue to see schools use students as props to magnify their own image and validate their own existence instead of the other way around.

Congrats to CPA. They are a very strong team and deserve to be acknowledged. As far as recruiting it is time to call a spade a spade. CPA fans are constantly forced to defend the integrity of their team and school on these boards and in other public forums. Anyone can understand their protectiveness. However the facts speak for themselves. Much of the basketball roster at CPA is made up of students who have played AAU together for many years. Some of these students were not always enrolled at CPA. In addition CPA has had a couple players, former and current, who are at the school because of their relationship with Coach Maddux. It is hard to believe that a student from Greenbriar would transfer to south Nashville for any other reason. According to the TSSAA handbook (available online for anyone to see) - Recruiting includes - 3. Inducing or attempting to induce or encourage any prospective student-athlete to attend any member school for the purpose of participating in athletics even when the special remuneration or inducement is not given. 4. Any initial contact or prearranged contact by a member of a coaching staff or representative of the school and a prospective student-athlete in the seventh grade and above. In addition - 2. To avoid the appearance of impropriety, a coach who is contacted by any student or family or individual about attending a school where he or she is the coach should inform that person that he or she needs to contact the administrative official or officials of the school who normally deal with the admission process. 3. To avoid the appearance of impropriety, any meeting with coaches regarding athletes or prospective athletes should be a part of the admissions process at the school and should take place at the school As many of you probably know Coach Maddux is the Director of Enrollment (verifiable on CPA's website)for his school. This is, at best, a conflict of interest and most likely a clear attempt to circumnavigate the rules #2 and #3 listed above. The argument is as simple as the evidence and rules. No deeper philosophical debate is needed. CPA has maneuvered itself within the grey areas of the TSSAA rule book to give themselves an advantage in obtaining students and student athletes. As they are a business it is understandable they would do whatever it takes to gain an advantage on their competition, whether through enrollment numbers, or the publicity garnered by consistently presenting outstanding athletic teams. These "reinterpretations" of the rules are common at all levels of business. From Enron to Lehman Brothers to Wal-mart. Our culture is survival of the fittest. CPA fits the bill. Congrats to their success in Kentucky. While interestingly this is the first significant tournament victory for CPA in the Coach Maddux era, I can see this team making a deep run in March.

"A for FRA their name sais (learn to spell) it all they're just not that good at winning" Huh? Not sure what this post means? FRA is not good at winning? They were 27-7 this year. Won the Region Tournament and made it to the state championship game. Beat Ezell and DCA twice. Beat USN. Beat Lipscomb. Beat BGA. They have won 44 games the past 2 seasons. You are very confused.

Check your facts 9aa. FRA did play MBA, the also played Father Ryan, BGA, JPII and scrimmaged BA. Not to mention games against Lipscomb and CPA. By any measure their schedule was much harder than Ezell. Also, from my understanding the FRA boys and girls had scheduled Nashville Central Christian (very strong boys team) this season then NCC's girls backed out. Ensworth filled that spot, not the other way around. By the way I don't see Ensworth on Ezell's schedule either. I do see Pleasant View and Aaron Academy though.

While I'm not sure FRA will roll through the tournament I am certain DCA did not "dominate FRA in their own gym". That was a close game all the way. DCA played well, made their FT's and FRA struggled to score in the half court. I would say FRA was MUCH more dominant in DCA's gym when they held them to 28 points and beat them by 14 earlier in the season. Regardless, this should be a good tournament and a rubber-match between DCA and FRA would be exciting. Also gman Kings Academy is the 12th team. The 1-4 seeds will get byes in rd1 and play the winners of the 5-12 games. I think the winners of the rd2 games all go to Knoxville for the tourney and reach sub-state. Not sure though.

I am a parent of a FRA alum and I have been to some FRA games this year. I have been following this board on and off as well. The FRA-DCA game last night was great. DCA played very well. The game was much closer than the score as DCA made their FT's down the stretch. I was really impressed with DCA's guards and the shot Kennedy threw in from half court at the end of the 1st quarter had to be seen to be believed. I was surprised how well the big guy for DCA played. He decided the game in my opinion. FRA had many chances to take control of this game, but the lay-ups and FT's they have been making lately did not fall last night, and they had foul trouble in the second half. I think these are the two best teams in the league and would not be surprised to see them meet again in the tournament. Great job by DCA to have a game plan and execute it. This has been a fun region to follow this season. By the way, I would not want to play Davidson or Knox Webb in the 2nd round of the tournament.

Big Chief, you mean Lovedeball was wrong when they said "It's not enough that Marshall County shot better than any high school team could ever hope to shoot. It's not enough that everyone of your starters had the game of their careers." Marshall County is actually a good team? Who would have thought! I thought it had to be an act of God to beat CPA. Okay, that was sarcasm I can admit it. I wish though that CPA fans could give a compliment without qualifying it by how lucky, or out their mind, their opponent was. Lovedeball maybe you're right, maybe I am pathetic, but at least I am not you. Stop with the back-handed compliments, the righteousness and condescension. It makes your whole school look bad, and they don't deserve it. I have seen MC play several times, each time they made over 10 3's. They are fast and can shoot. CPA wasn't quite ready for it was all. Good job MC and good luck against Lipscomb.

Now that, Matt610, is how you do condescending. From the very first sentence. And righteousness to boot with the first sentence of the second paragraph. This is exactly what I was talki....never mind, it's pointless. Great job to Marshall County. Sad to see the end of a era at CPA. I have watched those seniors since their freshman year. What a special group. To wear the target every game, deal with injuries and tragedy, and have the record they did these past few years is outstanding. Good luck to those boy in whatever comes next, although they are well prepared for the world luck or not. As a parent at a rival school I am speaking honestly when I say that it is sad to see it end.

Bobcat, I don't know a thing about the circumstances around changing the game time or date, there are many legitimate reasons CPA may not have been able to accomodate an earlier time. That said, trying to argue with righteous and holier-than-thou CPA fans is a pointless and frustrating excercise. CPA fans who post on this site think themselves to be the watchdogs of their schools good name. Their fans, some of whom often form prayer circles before games to pray for victory (among other more worthy things), have been blinded by the hubris of a religious dogma run amok. Some of them think their faith and the blessings of their school justify and actually legitimize their righteousness. While there are many, many wonderful people associated with CPA, most of them rarely visit these pages or call in to question the condescending behavior of their fellow Lions. Although, to his/her credit Lovedeball comes as close as a CPA fan can to apologizing above. To beat a couple of cliches to death, what goes up must come down, and pride cometh before the fall. These vocal CPA fans need to realize how they sound to others because the black hat they feel they have been unfairly given is starting to fit rather comfortably. I am sorry for your ordeal, and I am glad your kids got home safely.

This is exactly my point. Can't compliment anyone else without a "but" or "however". DL and FRA evenly matched? Really? DL has 300+ more students. A much larger roster. FRA had to practice everyday against freshmen because thay only had 9 boys from grade 10-12. They are the smallest AA school and made the final 32 in the state. I believe it was DL who could not win the crunch time game (loss at Pearl - FRA beat Pearl at Pear by-the-way) not FRA who beat a good Hume Fogg team on the last night of the season to give them a chance at second. This is no Knock on Coach Macpherson because he had his boys push CPA to the limit twice this season, but to question the legitmacy of the award is trite. There were three coaches in 9AA who could claim a right to this award. Well, we at FRA our proud our our coach and our boys. We think he deserved this award. And I am sure Coach Pierce would love to be playing right now over some stupid award. I hate to be so impartial, but this is getting ridiculous.

TNT this is what he is probably refering to. It seems that CPA fans on this thread, and others, cannot offer a compliment with out including a "but.." statement to follow it. I have read a number of posts that compliment CPA and the coaching staff without a "but..." after it. Why can't CPA do the same? Coach Maddux has done an excellent job. His team has put forth a ton of effort night in and night out. His kids work hard and carry thmeselves well. They prepare well for their opponents and seem to really enjoy playing together. Mason and Miller are talented, but ask most coaches and they'd say talent can be tough to coach. In all respects he has done a great job. No "but" about anything. Not too many CPA fans on this thread are prepared to compliment anyone without putting their team. or themelves, over whoever they are recognizing. Humility is one of the hardest strengths to possess when things are going well, and grace is tough to come by when you are extolling your own virtues. Like I said in an earlier post - good luck these next couple of weeks.

I agree. CPA looked like a championship team last night. Hunter Miller controlled the game. FRA made him take tough shot after shot and he kept draining them. Congrats to CPA, they played a great game against a pretty good FRA team. As the parent of an FRA alum I want to say congrats to those boys and Coach Pierce. They had an excellent season. For being one of the smallest AA schools they sure played big. 22 wins, 10 in 9AA, and 2nd place in the district is something to be proud of. Good luck to CPA, or should I say good luck to their opponets in the next couple of weeks - they are going to need it.

You are correct. I was stunned that CPA let them hold it. They are the more talented and athletic team, it was their job to force the tempo. I don't know if it was a pride thing, but Coach Maddux made a tactical error by not unleashing the hounds. If you're the superior team talent-wise it is in your best interest to get as many possessions as possible. I don't know the stats, but judging by the Tennessean "points for" and "points against" numbers CPA is far and away the best points per possession team in the district. Those of you knocking DL for not "playing" have no clue about basketball. I understand it must have been frustrating, but the DL coaches looked like they had a good plan and CPA changed their game to accomodate an inferior (no disrespect) opponent. While the critisism about DL finishing the game is valid, the criticism of their strategy is not. CPA finally turned it up and, surprise, won the game by 10. I am no coach, and I am sure the CPA coaches had their reasons, but I am sure they learned something valuable last night, something that will undoubtedly help them on their way to state. You critics out there should thank DL not belittle them. Great atmosphere. A bit over the top at times, but what do you expect. It was a night everyone will remember fondly years from now. By the way - some of the best athletes weren't playing, but were the fans doing the gymnastics. As far as Coach of Year, I'm not sure but I am guessing Pierce would trade it in a heartbeat for a district title. 9AA is loaded with good coaches, Maddux was excellent but seems to suffer from "too much talent" disease. He'll get his. Let's go easy on the kids. The pettiness is something we should rise above. Great job to both schools and good luck in the region.

I was fortunate to have the pleasure to see most of all four games last night. A few quick thoughts on a great evening. What a pleasure to see the balanced mixed of public schools and private schools competing. The fans and atmosphere at the old Pearl High was awesome. Despite the parking issue, MLK did a great job hosting this event. I think 9AA is a great example of why it is important to keep private schools and public schools together. The diviersity and respect the fans, coaches, and players showed last night should be an example to all. We need a world where people from different ethnic and economic backgrounds come together in fellowship, not isolate themselves and create division and suspicion. On to the games - East Lit def CPA - What a ride East Lit is on. They are getting better every play. This game was close early, but CPA found scoring hard to come by in the fourth. #00 for East Lit has excellent shot blocking instincts and really controlled the inside. The administration at East High must be thrilled with their new coach and all she has done with these girls. This is a program that was in disarray in 10A, now they are competing for a AA district title. Great Job. I don't think we've heard the last from the CPA girls either. Hardeman can really shoot it and Coach Ellson is doing a great job. Lipscomb def FRA - The administrators and coaches in 9AA dropped the ball. Having quarterfinal and semifinal games on back-to-back nights is ridiculous. I sat and spoke with the FRA fans during this game and they said their boys were coming off a grueling Qtr game with MLK on Thursday. MLK had been hot, winnning three of four and beating Pearl on the road. FRA, who finished with the same win/loss and common opponent totals as Lipscomb, lost a coin flip. This is all well and good and coin flips have generally been accepted as the best way to break these ties. However, there was a huge difference between hosting an East Lit team that is very young and has been struggling, and having to play a MLK team on a roll with a good coach and the added motivation that the tournament was at their gym. From what I hear the MLK/FRA game was intense and physical, while Lipscomb didn't face much of a challenge and was able to rest many of their regulars in the second half against East Lit (DL had 11 players score!). The FRA fans are warranted in their complaint that to have to face Lipscomb on less than 24 hours rest was a tough and unfair task. Why not play Thurs/Sat giving all teams rest and a chance to prepare? Lipscomb showed their fresh legs by shooting the lights out in the first half (I heard the FRA scorekeeper mention that DL was 8-10 from three in the first half). The interesting thing is FRA should have won this game. They took DL's best shot and still cut the lead to 1 with around 6 min. to play (and they had the ball). But they could never take the lead and Lipscomb controlled the clock forcing FRA to foul. Lipscomb sealed the game at the line. The Simpson boys were great for Lipscomb. Kennedy was awesome for FRA. Just a fun game to watch, I just wish both teams were playing with a little more rest. These teams will be a tough match-up at region that's for sure, really well coached and they both play as hard as any teams you'll see. Ezell def Hume-Fogg - Ezell is good. Really good. They handled a strong and athletic HF team. The HF girls are coming off a huge win over FRA and seemed like a sleeper. However after a close first quarter Ezell tightened up on 'D' and poured it on. Davis was really good and McAlister showed why she is an MVP. But she is not a one girl show. I was impressed with Ezell's depth and skill. They obviously have been great for years, but this years group could do something special. Hume Fogg has had a great year, but the will need to handle pressure better to beat CPA and advance in Region. CPA def Pearl - The score is a bit deceiving. Pearl played hard, if not well, most of the game. As always Z Mason was tough to handle and the shooters got hot early, but Pearl hung around. Pesky defense, Carter and McLaurin were really active, and calm leadership from football sensation D Mason gave Pearl a real shot towards the end of the third. They had a chance to cut the CPA lead to three or four several times, but couldn't convert. The CPA zone gave them fits and Z was too much to handle inside. One strange note - the officials seemed to call loose games all night. Not many fouls and teams were allowed to be physical. However, there was a three or four minute stretch in the second quarter where every call seemed to go against Pearl - touch fouls that hadn't been called all-night and some questionable rebounding calls. Anyway it was enough to keep them a bit off balance. By the end of the half things had become more balanced. Was this because of the loud Pearl fans sitting courtside? Whatever it was Coach Wharton seemed a bit confused and preturbed by it. It certainly didn't make the difference in the game, but it was odd none-the-less. Anyway, CPA seems to live on their ability to score in bunches, as they did at the end of the third and into the fourth, but the question has to be asked - What happens when that spurt never comes and the rim gets a bit smaller? Despite their greatness, and they are great, they are vunerable because of their inconsistency. At the district and region level this might not be a problem. At sub-state and state???? Either way they have had a great season. The kids genuinely seem to like eachother and play hard for eachother. Despite the fact that they have several great players (Mason and Miller for sure) they don't carry a lot of ego. I look forward to seein how they handle a hot shootin Lipscomb team tuesday. All-in-all a great night. My son was there, not playing unfortunately, but he got to see a great night of basketball. He saw great coaching, great players, great sportsmanship, and experienced a great atmosphere. It is good to see that high school basketball is alive and flourishing in 9AA. By the way - cheers to Doc Shelton. He made many new fans by putting on sweats and using a broom and dust pan to keep the court clean between games. He is one in a million and has my respect.

Thank you. Well said. God bless all these kids and I pray that we as parents (and coaches) have not screwed them up too much.

Your're right my mistake. NCS probably has three of the top shooters in single A. It looks like CSAS has some good ones and Williams at Culleoka is very good. I never heard about Kennedy playing NCS, but it was probably raining in the gym regardless of who won.

Should have seen that coming. Just remember that smuggness when the worm turns in a few years and Pearl, MLK, Lipscomb. et al. return to their usual selves, and CPA is recovering from the loss of those seniors who have dominated the roster for 4 years. Not gonna be a lot of experience when that happens. Lots of talent by the way. Lipscomb has beaten some good teams (station camp?) and I do recall they pushed CPA to OT earlier this season. PC has beaten several Metro AAA teams. The Williamson kid might be proving he is a better prospect than, gulp, Z Mason. Sure CPA is the class of the league, and who wouldn't be with some one as dominant at Mason guarding the basket, but don't sell these other kids short. Stuff like that can come back to bite you (or your team) hard. Thanks for showing your true colors though.

Is this the CPA web-site now? Good to know senior night is going to be Thursday. And the lunchroom will be serving meatloaf and scalloped potatoes on Monday, Mr. Logan's 5th period class needs to report to the auditorium after school for library clean-up, and the CPA choir will peform at the West Nashville Boys and Girls club next Wednesday at 6:00p.m. Go lions! Oops, forgot to mention Drew Maddux ($10 please). Jeez. I respect CPA and their program as much as the next guy, but this a 9-AA thread, not the CPA basketball web-page. If we could have a little less "CPA is great" talk and a little more rounded discussion on the league and all it's teams and players that would be great. Just not so sure any of the CPA fans on this thread can even rationally discuss their team anymore. It seems they have just turned to fighting each other on inane things like will Will Chapman be a Lion next year or go on tour as the lead bassist for Brooks and Dunn. Whatever.