dog4life

Can't and won't blame this on the Ref's. For whatever reason the Dogs are not playing well. I know that the majority just got out of football but I am seeing other issues besides being rusty. They have all the talent in the world but they have had that before and didn't play to their potential. Last night was certainly disheartening to say the least, but give the Cyclones credit because they played well. Maybe the Dogs have been hearing and reading about how good they are.

I don't know if I would say that they are head and shoulders above the Lady Dogs. Granted they did win by 16 last night but Hampton played very bad and the Lady Cyclones shot the ball very well. I still think that if and or when the Lady Dogs get rid of their issues they can be just as good as either of the top 2 teams. Unicoi Co. may beat them by 20 Friday night the way they are playing now. Atleast there is room for improvement, where Elizabethton looks to be in mid-season form. Remember the Lady Dogs were 3-6 at Christmas last year and came on. Hope that is the case this year, but I'm not sure. Also, Cloudland and Unaka have performed better than many expected, so I would put them right there with the Lady Dogs because they probably are playing better right now. Kudo's to Coach Birchfield and Coach Wright.

The Lady Dogs definitely did not show up last night. I hear that they are having some issues. I noticed LT trying to find the right combination, because a couple of players minds are elsewhere. Did anyone else notice what I saw? Elizabethton is up by 15 with 1 minute to go, starters still in the game, Hampton had already cleared the bench 2 minutes earlier, and they call timeout. This reminded me of Urban Meyer doing it to Mark Richt. I thought that Coach Dugger and LT were friends. I could understand it if you put in a whole new 5, but they didn't. Guess they didn't feel safe with that big lead. What goes around comes around.

Hampton "could" get there again if they get their roles defined. North Greene will be the preseason pick in the Watauga Valley Conference. Cloudland lost the farm to graduation but I'm sure they will be much improved by tournament time. As usual will come down to the Region semi's to see who gets the substate at home. Matchups will also play a big part, as long as Hampton and North Greene stay opposite of one another. They met in the District & Region semi's this past season and both games NG led until very late. Hampton has the experience and NG has the talent and both have the coaching. Can't wait until hoops time.

You make it sound as if they were trying to beat them by that much and that is NOT the case. I was there and watched the game. Hampton played everybody that they had and never went outside of the 3pt. line on defense. It is not Coach Wright's fault that his players quit. He is making due with what he has and it takes courage to do that. I did see other teams this past week that pressed the Lady Rangers into oblivion. How is that for class. It isn't pretty right now but hat's off to the players and coaches for trying their best.

coachh17 and deputydog you are wasting your breath. They obviously don't think that anyone from upper east tennessee can play. How they could have left Pietrowski and Oliver off the teams is beyond me. Seems to be a middle tennessee bias here. Good players no doubt but if Pickett Co. had three players on the same team how did they not win the state title. A little funny if you ask me.

Whoa, somebody sure got their toes stepped on. Mom, before you come on here with all this mess be sure and get your facts straight. Pay attention. TAD, Happy Valley Middle, Cloudland Elementary & Hunter ALL do what their high school teams do. SO, why does Hampton Elementary not? Another question: What defense did/does HES predominantly play ? 2-1-2 and 1-3-1- Zone. Why? Don't have to spend much time working on it. What defense does HHS predominantly play? Man to Man. Hmmmmm. Style of play for HES: walk the ball down the floor and set up, while HHS likes to run and gun and pressses most of the game if not all. Did HES ever press? can they? I believe that Coach Tolley even came down there once and put his press in for HES, but to no avail I guess. Even if the coaches are not going to use any of the stuff that the high school is doing they can atleast prepare the kids for what they will be doing in the immediate future, if they cared about the success of the whole program and not just their own, that is. About the three freshman. Good players all, but behind in the aforementioned areas, and one has already QUIT because she was burned out by all the year round practicing that goes on at HES. This is not conjecture, it is fact. By the time the players get to HHS they are tired of basketball because they haven't been allowed to have any down time. Guess who is already practicing now, has been for a while, for next season. Here's a hint. It's not the high school. And one last slap in the face of the HS coaches was when they had their camp last summer and the elementary coaches didn't even allow their players to attend. Would you not want your players to get some recognition and be noticed by the high school coaches, but yet again they were working on what THEY wanted to do. Everybody sees this, exept for you few who either won't accept it or are afraid to say anything about it to the coaching staff. It will be too late when they get slapped with probation for illegal practice, and next season will be all for naught. I guess then that will be someone else's fault.

Don't belittle Hampton and Madison because they made the tournament. If a team was truly a top ten caliber they would have made it to the show. Give these teams credit because they did it the hard way and you still give them no credit. If these other teams were as good as you say they shouldn't have had any trouble getting there. The best teams at the beginning or middle of the season are not necessarily the best ones at the end.

His heart may not be able to because it will be filled with PRIDE. What a wonderful group of young ladies.

Hampton was never mentioned in any state tournament talk either. They came together and played with a lot of heart and determination. Congratulations to Madison and best of luck in the final. To Cornersville, I enjoyed watching you guys play and hope that you do make it back.

I'll second that. INCREDIBLE job Ladies. The best coaching job I have ever seen. I am very proud to be a Bulldog.

Wartburg was never in the game. Hampton jumped on them early and put them away. Unbelievable what these young ladies have done. Winning/sharing the conference, Winning the District & Regional, and now the Sectional, they are the epitome of TEAM. Great Job Ladies and Coaches. Might be the best coaching job I have ever seen. And Wartburg seemed to have a good team but had no chance tonight.

Still dissing the Lady Dogs krich ? You never gave them a chance to win the District and now they have no shot at the Regonal either. Everyone was worried about NG in the region semi's. Are you saying that Cloudland threw the District final so they wouldn't have to play them? If my count is correct the Lady Dogs have won 2 of the 3 games between the two teams. You just keep adding fuel to the no respect fire.

Most likely another North Greene/Hampton showdown. Two good teams and one will have to stay at home. I don't think either is afraid of the other so it should be a dandy, should it come to pass. Also two class coaches in coach Buchanan and coach Tolley.

Congratulations to the Hampton Lady Bulldogs on their District 1A Championship win over the Lady Highlanders tonight. What a game of opposites. Cloudland dominates the first half to lead 21-14 and Hampton storms back to win 46-42. Hampton's girls have overachieved all year and have proven many people wrong. I am very proud of them. Good job Ladies and coaches.

Cloudland beat UH 49-28 and Hampton beat North Greene 46-42 in a thriller. Someone is going to have to get past NG in the Regional Semis.

THey are headed to the District Championship game, that's where. Great job tonight against a good Unaka team. Looks like Hampton vs. Cloudland for the title. Good job guys.

Would you care to elaborate on who is going to make this change. Last I hear the Principal and AD were the ones who did that and I dont see anything happening. A real shame when a person gets their feelings hurt the first thing they want to do is fire the coach(es). Why won't you just let this subject die out. Need the attention or something.

Know for a FACT that the coaches and players talked to Dylan and asked him if he would like to come back and play and he said NO. Can't do anymore than that so the staff and players have gone above and beyond. Can't say that I would have done the same. Also, what team wouldn't want a player with a family that wasn't interested in Team Ball and only their player. I personally would not want to be on that team or be that coach. A no win situation. But that is where we are and can't go back. Where would he play in Cloudland's press of man to man defense or where would he play in Eliz.'s full court man to man defense ? You tell me.

The Lady Dogs took care of business (UH) last night so we now have a 2 way tie and if NG wins tonight, also against UH then we will have a 3 way tie for the Watauga Valley Conference. Coaches meeting will determine who will be the top 3 seeds. Just like the boys side, should be a great tournament. Would also like to commend coach Tolley because he started clearing the bench last night in the second quarter or it could have been 130 to 10. Class act and well deserved share of the conference title. Lady Dogs have overachieved this season against great adversity.

It can be summed up in one word...............JEALOUSY............

I agree there is quite a bit of talent heading to the High School but this was the Sectional Championship not the State Championship. Still quite an accomplishment. Good Job Ladies.

Dominated ? What game were you watching ? Keep thinking that way. The only reason the Lady Landers won last night was because they got a lot of offensive rebounds and Hampton missed a lot of easy shots. Ask them if they are looking forward to playing the Lady Dogs again ?

Sure a coach would love to have a big man in the middle but sometimes a coach also has to go small to match the other team. Once again it goes back to forget about the team just play me the entire game. Pretty sad. Not the coaches fault he cannot guard anyone. Everyone fusses about them running the 1-3-1 all the time, ever think why they did ? Maybe it was so he could STAND in the middle and play.

Sorry you feel that way but you are wrong. I am not singling anyone out. he/they did that last night. Who cares if the team wins or loses just make sure that I play the whole game.