DunkerDon

Hello OaklandGrad, I am very nervous about Clarksville's game with Ridgeway not really knowing what to expect from this team out of Memphis so I do not wish to put the proverbial cart before the horse and speak prematurely to any depth on a possible second round matchup. However, I think CHS and Oakland are mirror images insofar as being disciplined and well rounded enough to play either uptempo or half court with proficiency and both are outstanding defensively. CHS has played many games of both variety scoring a season high 93 in an uptempo game and a season low 43 against a Springfield team who deliberately slowed the tempo since the first meeting was an uptempo game which was not close. Clarksville was quite content to play that way and has done so several times this year. Hence, both teams share the same beauty. My question then is if Oakland plays uptempo with such proficiency then why would there need to be a lineup change to play Red Bank? Why not stay with the regular lineup if that lineup was adept and "proficient" at playing uptempo? Also, why would the Oakland fans on this board speak so much after that game about playing uptempo saying things like, "who said we can't play uptempo?" That just sounded quite curious, that's all. I really do not know the height of Clarksville's players down low but I wonder what Oakland gives up in order to be a little quicker and faster running the floor. If you forfeit height for speed by benching a 6'8" Center then would Clarksville be able to take advantage of that down low in the halfcourt since my presumption is that Clarksville's players are both rather tall and fast (Many fast breaks are finished by block players like Henderson and Merriwether who can run the floor with speed)? Clarksville might present Oakland with some of its biggest matchup problems to date but Ridgeway is the team I am worried about at the moment.

Hello Icy, I think it might be more of a case of being ignorant of Craigmont. The vast majority of posters to this site seem to be from Middle Tennessee such as myself and I think we've heard nothing about this team so, you know, it is kind of 'out of sight out of mind' but I think most of us are just completely ignorant of the Craigmont team. I also think just about everyone on this board is a 'homer' anyway and since there aren't that many posters here from Memphis or Knoxville then teams like Craigmont and Powell are not going to get much love. Perhaps that is a good position to be in; being overlooked. I'm a new poster here but one thing which immediately caught my attention was the amount of fan support and dialogue from Class to Class and small town schools as opposed to large town schools. The Class A and AA teams, and especially those teams from smaller hamlets, seem to be in force on this board talking about their teams and the big game. The AAA schools seem less so especially from the larger cities like Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Clarksville. Murfreesboro seems to be an exception as Oakland has a tremendous amount of support on this board or so it seems (which makes the whole Polling thing rather bogus). We are more familiar with the Ridgeway program because of their past ventures to the State. Craigmont? I'm not sure most of us have even heard of the school.

Thank you but as I have stated before; Memphis teams are scary and often difficult to gauge how a non-Memphis team will match up with them. Memphis is such a breeding ground and hotbed of talent that they endure a season of beating up on one another. Hence, a Memphis team with 8 or 9 losses and considered the underdog at State is often better than a 1 or 2 loss team they face. There are years where Clarksville schools can field a few really good teams but CHS really did not have much this year by way of intra-city competition (Northwest, Northeast, Kenwood, Rossview, Montgomery Central). Ridgeway did have a more difficult schedule. Still, that being said, many teams which were supposed to be a real test for Clarksville wound up getting beat and some rather badly. Some teams the Cats played twice were beaten so soundly the first time that they came into the second game with entirely new strategies abandoning their usual style of play. If ex-Ridgeway players like Fields and Channels is a good indication of the athleticism that Ridgeway brings then I think they can hang with the Cats athletically. I think Oakland would have a much more difficult time in this area against Clarksville should the two face one another insofar as running the floor.

Well, hehe, I haven't even seen this team with my own eyes this year but have kept up with them and read the press about them. I'm from Murfreesboro. However, I'll take a stab. First, I think they have better athletes than their opponents from a team standpoint. Secondly, they play very solid defense creating turnovers or missed shots. That is when the transition game comes into play and that is where the Cats have really exploded for points over a great many of their opponents this year. The Wildcats are excellent in transition and can really push it up the court off turnovers and rebounds. If an opponent has slower athletes on the court (and most teams do) then they get burned in transition. Third, they have a big time player in Tyrone Caldwell whom very few have been able to stop. As one opposing Coach said, "When he gets in the lane there is nothing you can do." He has already been offered a scholarship by Austin Peay and many SEC and ACC teams have shown great interest. Merriwether down in the blocks is not too shabby either and the "role players" can hurt you as well such as Dowlin/Henderson down low and Harper/Baggett outside. Very balanced. Fourth, while they love the fast, helter skelter transition game, they are still a very disciplined team and play excellent team ball. They are adept at playing uptempo or slow tempo. Can be very patient when they need to be. Play the game with intelligence and are well coached. You said, "I think Clarksville has a tougher road than the Creek. Both teams drew Memphis teams in the opening round. But Clarksville has strong Oakland team waiting in the Semi's." This is certainly true and I agree with that but it is equally true that Oakland has a tough road to the Finals if they have to face Clarksville. I hope teams facing Clarksville like to run because I think they will get a good workout and will be severely tested in that area and I especially have Oakland in mind when I say that. Then again, Coach Young might want to slow it down a bit - you never know with Coach Young who surprised everyone against Gallatin by dusting off a zone defense (very rarely used by this team) for the 4th quarter which allowed the Cats to EXPLODE on the Green Wave.

Clarksville is an extremely athletic and solid team. As one said, "They are the total package." Clarksville has a very stingy defense that capitalizes on turnovers with an outstanding transition game either off turnovers or rebounds. If Ridgeway is prone to turnovers then they will probably be turned into points on the other end. While the Cats have been explosive offensively in a great many games, their bread and butter is a hard nosed defense. Seeing as how it is said that Ridgeway is a poor perimeter shooting team then Clarksville might concentrate defensively on the interior forcing Ridgeway to beat them with the outside shot. I think for a team to have a chance against Clarksville that they need both a strong inside and outside game. The Cats I believe are a good rebounding team and I am not sure but think they usually dominate the boards as well although Ridgeway may have the slight edge. I do not think Ridgeway is going to totally dominate Clarksville on the boards but that is pure conjecture. Merriwether down low is an outstanding baller and Dowlin adds a big body with a lot of muscle. The Cats can score inside or outside. It's all good. They prefer to let Caldwell beat his man off the dribble and penetrate for easy inside baskets but Caldwell and Harper can both stroke it from outside as well. Merriwether down low can also score a lot of points. Others chip in from their role positions. Clarksville loves to get the ball out in transition but are also very comfortable in slower tempo games and adept at running the half court motion offense. They can play fast (they have the horses to do that) but they also play very smart basketball. Clarksville will be a tough out. Hearing that Ridgeway is prone to turnovers and shoots the ball poorly from the perimeter does not seem to bode well for Ridgeway because I do think Clarksville will be able to hang with them on the boards. I think if Ridgeway does not have a solid defense then Caldwell will have a field day (he usually does anyway) but as I look at Ridgeway's schedule results I see that many teams have hung a lot of points on them which is not a good sign for Ridgeway. Caldwell should be at least a finalist for Mr. Basketball this year (if eligible) and certainly next year when he will be a Senior. Defense wins championships. I like the Cats "D." Then again, Memphis teams are always scary! Below is a link to the CHS Basketball website which includes some video footage from a few games some of which are good and some rather ordinary. CHS Basketball

"Thanks," Say the Cats For All the Congrats.

The city of Clarksville is actually the proud recipient of two of those Ridgeway graduates who now play for Austin Peay; Wes Channels and Ernest Fields. Both saw playing time off the bench this year and Channels has been the starting #2 Guard the last two games after the starting #2 Guard went down with a torn ACL. They have both really come along nicely although both still have much to learn and have found that playing in college is quite a bit harder than playing in High School. Gov fans think they are both going to be really spectacular in the coming years and we have seen flashes of brilliant play from both during the course of the season. Channels, especially, has come on strong but needs to work on his defense a little. Put a few more pounds on Field's frame and he'll be really good - he certainly has some nice hops! Fields nickname at Austin Peay is "Apollo."

To the State of Washington I say, "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO." I think Washingtonians will simply start hissing or whistling like they do in Europe.

I think Clarksville vs. Oakland would have the potential to be a truly great game with a final score of either 85-84 or 30-29. Hehe. I don't know about Oakland but Clarksville needs to first focus all their attention on Ridgeway at this point in time.

Oh no! The Cats are doomed! Just kidding, Cobrafan90.

Yeah, that was a spanking. Chattanooga Red Bank is now Chattanooga Red Hiney.

Playing Memphis teams is always scary given that Memphis has always been such a hotbed of basketball talent. Teams can come in with 8 or 9 losses against a team with only 1 or 2 yet can prove to be the superior team. There's so much talent in Memphis that teams beat up on one another so a team's record can be deceiving. Someone correct me if I am mistaken but I'm not sure Clarksville teams have done too well against teams from Memphis. Jimmy_just_doesn't_miss, in what areas do you think Ridgeway will be overmatched against Clarksville? I know nothing about Ridgeway's current team except they just defeated an outstanding Raleigh Egypt team. One poster in this thread mentioned that Ridgeway likes to play a slow tempo game. They sure have posted some high scoring games if that is true. I would have guessed they were more an uptempo/transitional style team. Either way, I do think Clarksville is quite adept at playing at any tempo as they have had to do this year. I know the Cats love to get the ball out in transition but they have also exhibited games which took a great deal more patience.

I think everyone should schedule AA Montgomery Central if you want to see a cool looking HS gym or school (Plus, heck, your team will probably win the game to boot!). CHS was built in 1967 but has seen some pretty drastic modifications including a large addition which completely thumbed its nose to the existing structure architecturally. 44 points? Turnovers leading to easy baskets? Sounds like the Cats were playing some defense. Defense wins championships. My confidence in a Cats victory was strengthened when not one single Franklin poster mentioned anything with respect to a good inside game. All we heard was Franklin shooting the three ball. A good defensive team can usually stop a team which is one dimensional especially if their primary weapon is the lowest percentage shot in basketball. The outside shooting is not always going to be there which is why teams need to have a good inside game. The Wildcats can certainly shoot the three ball but they can go inside too. If a team can man-up on an opponent's post players then there is no need for weak side help or doubles down low and every shooter can be accounted on the outside. Then again, I neither saw the game or heard it on radio so the Cats might have used a zone for all I know. Great season for Franklin and one for which they should be very proud.

Hey TeRrAnCe_Ja21, Assuming that Oakland wins their game and is in the State Tournament; Which teams do you think match up well with the Pats? In other words, which teams do you think would make for a really good basketball game?

Yes, a new post came up on that board stating that no tickets have yet been sold and will not be sold to the students until lunch times. Now, Jim Harrick, please do not insinuate that I am starting rumours on this board. I did no such thing but merely relayed what I had read on another board and clearly stated that I was unsure as to the veracity of the source. Here is a link to the board where I read it and the thread in question is titled *Tyrone Caldwell - Clarksville Play Tonight @ CHS.* It is a site called "Peaymania." Peaymania More specifically, "PeayVoice," who is the play-by-play announcer for Austin Peay and works for WJZM said, "Turnipgreens......BigButch said the game is a sellout!?? Where do I get in???" I do not know who is BigButch but Greg Walker (PeayVoice) was told by him that the game was sold out. Since I have no idea who is BigButch then I added that I was unsure as to the reliability of the source. Subsequent to my relaying what was being said on Peaymania, another poster who is a former Governor basketball player posted the following: "No tickets have been sold yet. They are selling tickets in lunch (11-12:25) today at CHS. And they might have them at the front office after that. I can't image that it will be a sell-out. You should be fine just coming to the game and buying a ticket." Unrelated but also, for any Franklin fans unfamiliar with Clarksville and are going there but would like to eat prior to the game; The school is not too far from the first exit you come upon along I-24 (Exit 11 - Clarksville/Adams) but insofar as I am aware the only good restaurant that is not a fast food chain in that vicinity is Ruby Tuesdays. Exit 4 - Clarksville/Guthrie - which is two exits past Exit 11 has every restaurant imaginable.

Yeah, I agree about the team with Hassel and Marion. It was a tight game in the State semi's going into the 4th quarter then Tony Harris of Memphis East (?) took over the game. Clarksville Northwest with Marques Maybin (U of Louisvile) lost in the other semi-final.

I don't even know if that is true, Jim Harrick. That is just what I read on an Austin Peay basketball board and the Austin Peay play-by-play announcer asked the poster the same question; "How do I get in?"

I just got word that tonight's game at CHS is a sellout but not sure about the reliability of the source. Here is the Wildcat's basketball website. There is some video footage from various games - some quite good and some not so spectacular. I do like the alley oop dunk on the fast break. I hope the link works. Wildcat Basketball

Lost one to Gallatin and one to Independence so the current record is 30-2. CHS played Gallatin 3 times this year. The loss was the second game between the two which was at Clarksville. Coach Young is reported to have told his team in the lockerroom prior to the contest that the game meant nothing and the team came out and played as if it didn't. Coach Young said he learned his lesson about making such statements prior to games. BTW, these comments were reported in the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle the day after the game. The loss to Independence was really inexplicable. Just a horrible game which was played two days after Christmas. I do think the embarrassment of that loss helped ignite the team into playing some of their best ball and they have not lost since reeling off 20 straight thus far including a 19 point defeat of Gallatin in a "revenge game" in the Regional semi-final. Franklin certainly has had the tougher schedule insofar as the CoachT schedule rank is an accurate assessment. I still like the Cats by around 10 points. It is quite obvious from looking at Franlin's scores that teams can score on them so their defense looks suspect. CHS has not been as offensively explosive as they were in January but the Cats do possess the ability to explode offensively and put up a lot of points in the matter of minutes. Later in the season, some teams attempted to defeat Clarksville by slowing the tempo and using most of the clock since they learned that the uptempo game did not favor them athletically against the Cats. The defense of CHS has pretty much been their constant so I fully expect them to limit FHS' output below their average. Defense wins championships. So, I think this could be a very close game but I expect Clarksville to have at least one spurt where they score a lot of points then let the defense simply keep the lead. If Clarksvilles offense AND defense shows up and is clicking on all cylinders then Franklin could be in for a very long night. Franklin will need to bring some modicum of a defense in order to win this game, IMHO.

Yes, we will just have to wait and see what happens which is why they play the games. FHS played CHS in mid-November (Nov.17 in the Hall of Fame game) and not December but that is a minor point. Franklin did indeed score over 50 in the first meeting. Franklin scored 51. Looking at the last 10 games, Merriwether of Clarksville was a double digit scorer in 7 of them (MJ, 13; Gallatin, 12; Springfield, 10; Clarksville Kenwood, 15; Clarksville NE, 13; Dickson County, 14; Clarksville NW, 17). His high game has been over 20. Caldwell was the fourth leading scorer for the Wildcats against Springfield although it is true that he is normally the leading scorer. Still, Merriwhether has been a consistent double digit scorer and others have had very productive games and stepped up when needed (Harper, Henderson and Dowlin have all had big scoring games). The big problem for any team against Clarksville on the defensive end is Tyrone Caldwell as very few seem to be able to stop him. I look at Franklin's opponent's scores and it certainly looks as if Franklin is not a defensive oriented team so why should anyone think Franklin is going to stop Caldwell? I would add that if the assertion is being made that Clarksville is lacking in offense then that is erroneous. FHS highest point total on the season was 81 points against Hillsboro and there was another contest where the Rebels scored 80. CHS has scored over 81 points in seven of their contests with the highest total being 93 against Clarksville Kenwood. I do think CHS has lost some of its offensive prowess over the last several weeks but the Cats are a very explosive offensive team. Clarksville's defense is, I think, the deciding factor and possibly why 77% of the voters on Coach T's "pick em" are going with the Cats. But, you are absolutely right about having to wait to see what happens.

I don't know if CHS will win the State especially if they were to match up with some of the Memphis teams. I do think they defeat Franklin and think they will defeat Franklin with defense. Defense wins championships is a general truism. If you look at Clarksville's schedule and especially since early January, the Cats defense has allowed more than 50 points in only four of those games with the highest opponent's score being 54. Looking at Franklin's schedule it certainly looks as if scoring on Franklin is not that big a problem for teams; Franklin has simply outscored them. Given that Clarksville's defense has been very consistent at holding opponents to low scores and given that we know that Clarksville does possess the ability to explode on offense from either the inside or outside then Clarksville should be the hands on favorite in this game. Can Franklin win this game? Absolutely. Bigger upsets have occurred and Franklin has an outstanding team. However, it certainly looks as if the Cats have the defensive edge as well as the home court and if Franklin cannot find a defensive answer to Caldwell then it could turn into a long night for the Rebels. Caldwell and Harper on the outside and Merriwether (another Cat getting some college looks), Henderson and big boy Dowlin on the inside? I like the Cats. This game could be very close but I think the Wildcats go on one of their patented runs and hold on for a double digit victory. Of course, I've been wrong many, many times before - hehe.

Yes, Clarksville won by 3 over Franklin at Franklin on November 17, 2006 - first game of the season.

Drake "The Enforcer" Reed has doubled his production as a Sophomore from his Freshman season. His work ethic and attitude both on and off the court are exemplary. Reed, at 6'5", is usually faced with opponents who have an advantage in height but he betters them time after time (has scored in double figures 22 straight games) and Drake has what is now a rarity (it seems) for guys who play down low - a pure mid-range jumper which is automatic. He has earned his OVC Honors and both Austin Peay and Clarksville Northeast High School should be extremely proud of this outstanding baller and young man. Drake had a somewhat quiet afternoon in the OVC semi-final as Dez "The Rocket" Lockett took the spotlight and Freshman Guard Wes Channels (Memphis Ridgeway) stuck the final dagger in the Bulldogs of Samford. GO GOVS!

Purely stab in the dark predictions......... but.......... White Co at Bradley Bradley Craigmont at White Station White Station Mt Juliet at Whites Creek Whites Creek Ridgeway at Raleigh Egypt Raleigh Egypt (but this could be a real barn burner!) Franklin at Clarksville Clarksville (by double digits) Dobyns Bennett at Powell Dobyns Bennett Red Bank at Oakland Oakland

Caldwell is just a Junior but I know a number of Universities have been looking at him including some associated with the ACC and SEC. Of course, Austin Peay would love to keep him close to home and may have already offered. The Governors already have a full stable of good young Guards though. It should be noted, however, that I have heard this Wildcat team has several that can hurt an opponent (I haven't seen them play, BTW). Sometimes Caldwell scores only 8 - 10 pts. whereas Merriwether, Dowlin or Harper have the hot hand. Best of luck to Mt. Juliet in their game at Whites Creek. I hope this Region can send two teams to the State. Best of luck to the Cats as they will host Franklin. A Franklin player is quoted in Friday's Tennessean as saying he would rather play Clarksville than Mt. Juliet. Uhm, that quote will probably find its way onto the Cats lockers.