Hoopscout

104.5 has been adverstising the Tennessee Jr Phenom camp to be held in Nashville for rising 6th to 8th and rising 9th and 10th....one is in April, one in May not sure which. This will be a great chance to see some young players and for some young guys to earn some exposure and their way into the prestigious National Adidas Jr Phenom Camp in San Diego. Hope our young guys get out to represent our state b/c I know kids from Alabama, KY and Miss will be there.

My guess is that Fulton wins a competitive game. Fulton has strong guard play by Gallman and Jalen Steele. Chase Dunn is big time and he is going to have to get it going early and often b/c the team goes as he goes. When he scores, it opens up shots for the other players. If the rest of the LA boys step up and play, they could win. They should have some good experience from the poor effort they put up against Union City earlier this year.

104.5 has been running ads for two April/May Regional Adidas Jr Phenom sto be held in Nashville. Sounds like a great chance for players to get a head start on some exposure.

The site is www.tnphenom.com

Think it is for rising 9th-10th and rising 6th-8th......should be fun to watch and for the kids to get a chance to prove themselves

Benford can flat go. If he gets it going, he is unstoppable and he is one of, if not the, best perimeter defender in the state....McDuffie is also a very good player and they have some good young ones. McDuffie jumps out of the gym and pounds the boards. This should be an entertaining game. White County obviously has some good players as well and the key will be whether they can handle the pressure of Red Bank.

I got word that Nashville Christian Advancement Academy played nationally ranked Oak Hill Academy very close. I hear they were only down by 6 with a minute or so to go. They had to foul down the stretch and Oak Hill extended the lead at the line. I think it was 84-72. After Brandon Jennings dropped 63 points a few games back, he only scored about 12 against NCAA.

Oak Hill didnt exactly play their guys the normal mins either. NCA got nice team but Jennings only played 21mins and Keith Gallon only played 12....whereas when the played Norcoss who is loaded, Jennings played the entire game and Gallon 20+ mins. That being said, Oak Hill's bench is pretty good as always but this also isnt one of the better Oak Hill teams in recent years. The urgency from Oak Hill's side wasnt really there in this one. Good for those guys from NCA to get out and play a top notch team though. Will serve them well long term.

Leslie McDonald very impressive in today's win. Super efficient and had great throwdown on the baseline to boot. Drew Barham is a MM or maybe better D-1 player, 6'6 can shoot lights out and scored off the dribble as well. Not super quick but very long and can really stroke it. Gary Pope battled all night scoring close to 30, mostly on post moves.

CBHS has beaten Briarcrest 2/3....what will happen tomorrow? Briarcrest has pure talent advantage with McDonald, Wooten, Lee and Williams, but CBHS is extremely solid with a lot of solid players. The PG Martin is underrated. Good player.

I would agree on the solid season. The guards struggled at times hurting them in the big ones. Hopefully they can find some kids to step up next season. Kelly is the real deal. Va Tech was down to check him out a week or so ago.

If White House sags in off the ball the prevent penetration, they could have a long night b/c livingston has shooters and Dunn finds them when needed....of course they have to make the shots! Dunn will get his, everything depends on the supporting casts production tonight.

I havent seen the Gaines kid much, but is he cant get back in transition, that will be a big problem. However, if they can get back and he can get touches in the paint, he will score quite a bit.

Should be interesting. The losers odds of moving on at Howard are slim.

Radioguy, as far as your your assessment of both teams, I have to say that that I agree with you on mostly every level, and reading this forum as an unbiased outsider, I am not sure what was said in your post that made it so biased. Though it was a very fair assessment of both teams.

 

I think it is funny how LA fans think that Gaines is WH only major option when Chad Neal was the D8 Tourney MVP after torching SC for 29 points. Sounds like neither team played very well against Upperman in their last meetings so I find it humorous that we are drawing all sorts of conclusions from one game.

 

As far as Gaines goes, obviously he is a large man and does not move overly well and is not a good defender. But he has some of the best hands and footwork of any post player in this area, and that is what makes him a threat. His height allows him to pass out of double teams, and he is not known for forcing bad shots. Also, if LA goes to their "smaller lineup" to take advantage of his inability to guard the perimeter, don't you think that WH will immediately take advantage of LA's inability to guard the post? What may be a good idea on one end of the floor does not mean it will be a good idea going the other way.

 

Defensively I would expect WH to play a shadow defense, much like Kentucky used to beat UT earlier this year. Every time Dunn gets the ball, I would expect the surrounding WH defenders to sag in to the arch and make it as difficult as possible for Dunn to use his quickness in penetration.

 

LA will need to take every advantage of every fast break they can, because as good as WH usually gameplans for teams, beating them down the floor and making easy shots beats any gameplan.

 

WH has the experience, LA has the athletes. If it is a close game late, I give the nod to WH, because, outside of last year's Dyer Co. meltdown, they do not usually beat themselves. LA needs to put this game away early.

 

And, no, there is nothing biased about this post, but I have seen WH play three of four times, and only listened to the radio on the last couple Livingston games. Just saying.

Forget pound for pound, Dunn is one of the best in the state, period. He has put up big numbers all year and the most ridiculous part is that he can score from anywhere. Only had 3 threes the entire game.....much better athletically than people think and can get off a shot on anyone anywhere. Big time effort. It was a game he had to do it in for them to move on and he took over and got the job done (no pun intended)

Just wanted to add, in no way is my wanting to know about the matchup a diss to McClin. Kid is a GOOD ball player. I have heard alot about Prather and just wanted to know!!!

Prather had 28 or 26pts, depending who you ask, 15rebs, 6stls, and 4 asts............Mclin had 10pts.....I dont really like comparing kids, Prather doesnt have much help. Mclin has other players around him...that being said Prather is an elite prospect nationally, Mclin is a low major kid at best (meaning he is still a very good player)

The problem for Centennial has and always will be inconsistent guard play. They struggle mightily against pressure....Drew Kelly is gonna give you 24pts and 14rebs every night but frankly, he should get more points if he got the ball in the right spot at the right time.

 

Franklin's guard play is much better as a whole....Centennial may win, but it will take a great floor game by their guards in terms of decision making and protecting the ball

Pretty much this summed it up. Poor floor game by the guards...bad post feeds, always a second late...didnt do well with the pressure.....Young did a nice job on McClemore...Centennial also doesnt have any shooters, which allows for double teams on the post and over help.

Ugly game overall....neither team looked great but Franklin did what it had to do to win and no one for Centennial stepped up to help Kelly.

The problem for Centennial has and always will be inconsistent guard play. They struggle mightily against pressure....Drew Kelly is gonna give you 24pts and 14rebs every night but frankly, he should get more points if he got the ball in the right spot at the right time.

Franklin's guard play is much better as a whole....Centennial may win, but it will take a great floor game by their guards in terms of decision making and protecting the ball

Will he be back in time for the tournaments? Did he dislocate his shoulder?

Broken wrist...out 4 weeks min

I love Demario Williams but Reginald Buckner out of Manassas is having a huge year and MJ Brown is certainly really good as well and I think a cut above, not by much.

You have from now until February 8th to convince me who the nominees for Mr. Basketball should be. Negative comments are frowned upon in this thread.

Chase Dunn, Livingston Academy....he puts up huge numbers against everyone he plays against...has a D-1 offer already and getting a lot of interest....his team cannot win many games without him although they do play well together.

possibly blowout, LA has scored 80+ in past 4 home games i believe

I think Dunn may put 40 on them this time. Last time he had 39pts

Any thoughts. Sparkman always has some good ones.

Lee HS: Leo Davis (Jr.) is a good one...once he gets consistency on jumper and decision making, no stopping him

Johnson: Josh Langford (So.)...natural ability to be great, needs skill improvement

Several others, just wanted to get it started

CPA will roll. No offense, but that district is extremely weak. CPA clearly has the best talent especially with Mason. Lipscomb will always be well coached but certainly their talent isnt what it has been losing Josh Slater (Lipscomb University). There isnt anyone in that district that can even somewhat compete with Mason so he will always put up huge numbers. Miller who is a nice player becomes even better with Mason on the court. Kennedy at FRA is pretty good, but he wont be enough as he doesnt have any help.

I agree that this isnt even an argument. No one will discount what Morris can do, etc. But Drew Kelly is a HM/MM+ division 1 player. He has offers from Southern Illinois, Notre Dame, George Mason, etc. and getting a lot HM interest as well. FYI...there is an article from this week on rivalshoops.com about Kelly right now. One player can take another on a given night but when you are looking at overall skill set and potential, it is no question Kelly. He proved it all summer playing against elite competition in both 16s and 17s division including 12pts against Greg Monroe (#1 player in 2008) and 18pts and 12 rebs against Keith Gallion (5 star 2009 center) and he has put up huge numbers so far this year even showing the ability to hit the three in a few games which he is very capable of doing but most times doesnt need to.

Again, this is not a slap at Morris at all.

Anyone seen the 6'5/6'6 sophomore at Crockett County...cant remember his name, gibson, giles or something maybe...someone had mentioned he may be a pretty good player but I dont know...any help on this from someone who knows Crockett County

I don't think anybody is saying anything about his record, it is how he might get it done. He was already nailed this year by TSSAA for a violation of coaching an AAU team with CPA members on it during dwad period. He is a snake in the grass and he is being watched closely.

I think this is a valid point. Not as straight and narrow as people seem to think. Coach Cleve Harris is the one responsible for getting most of those kids together and they have good chemistry from several years of AAU which certainly helps with the CPA team. I think the real test of his coaching is going to be after Zeke is gone. Lets face it, Zeke is a quality player and there isnt anyone in that district or region that can compare to his skill set and size. You take him away from that team and that is a whole new ballgame. Miller and Anderson are solid but are big factors when you add Zeke with them. Again, he inherited a skilled bunch of kids who played AAU together for some time, at least the good ones at CPA. He coached that AAU team and then took the CPA job.

I am not saying he is a bad coach, but certainly to label him as great is a little premature. I'd take Ricky Bowers knowledge of hoops and coaching ability over Maddux any day of the week to be honest with you.

There is no question they are a very talented team because it is a "prep" school and they have recruited all these kids to their school from different cities and states. Not that it is good or bad but its a different comparison. Its basically like throwing an AAU team together to play high school teams. From a talent perspective, they should absolutely beat just about anybody in the TSSAA they play against. That being said, they have unlimited freedom rules wise unlike TSSAA teams as to recruiting, when they can practice, eligibility of players, etc. Their best player perhaps is James Harris and he I think is from St Louis before coming to NCA this year. They also have a kid from New York area and everyone knows about Martino Brock moving in from Memphis. Robert Elam was originally from South Carolina I believe. So as you can see this is a different animal all together than a traditional TSSAA team.

I wouldnt go so far to say they are the best team in the state quite yet, but they are certainly up in the top 5. Again, its more of a question as to whether you even consider them in the conversation of best team in the state due to what the school is.

Cut & paste from NACA website:

 

"Every graduate receives a DIPLOMA. However, a student is considered a high school student in a particular subject whenever he begins work in PACE 107 on all subjects. We do NOT accept a student on the basis that graduation is determined by achievement, not chronology. Our program is designed to enable a student to complete his graduation requirements earlier than others. Time is not the factor-learning is. Therefore, students remain in the curriculum until they have completed the prescribed course of study. The parents and staff agrees on a reasonable course of study for each student, determining what minimum requirements are to be met for graduation. Parents and students should understand that procrastination in PACE completion merely adds additional days to the projected graduation date."

This school has been around for a while playing in the independent TVAC league. NCAC was basically from what I understand the governing organization for a group of home schooled kids. They had a team that was decent with a couple good players but this year they turned into this new "prep" school deal.

Incidentally, sophomore Meiko Lyles is the college best prospect on the team in terms of level. T

go

Should be pretty good. Tavares Jefferson is injured and unlikely to play the entire season. That kills any chance they had of making a State Championship run in D-II. Miles is good but not the scorer or distributed that Jefferson is. Trent Wallace is 6-8 and multi-skilled...can handle, shoot the three and score inside...if he keeps his head on straight in terms of focus (not an attitude deal at all, just focus and needs to relax) he could be really good and help this team alot. Gary Pope is a solid player, needs to incorporate perimeter skills into his game...has the skill but hasnt done it in games yet. This team will probably make state tourney but wont go much further than 1st round.