kbrks

For those who didn’t see Maplewood/CPA game, CPA came into game a key player short as Zelenik was not dressed out. From the beginning CPA attempted to control the tempo by starting with zone on defense and tried to spread the floor on offense looking for backdoors and curl cuts to basket. Maplewood hit its first two three point attempts to take a 6-0 lead and never lost the lead the entire game. Maplewood did not begin in the press, but turned to the press to attempt to create some tempo for themselves which worked as they built a 23-11 lead. CPA scored the last two baskets to make it 23-15 at half. CPA had the ball to start the 2nd half but turned it over, Maplewood came down and decided to hold the ball until CPA came out of its zone defense. CPA stayed in zone the entire quarter, Maplewood made the attempt to get the last shot but, had a 3 second call in the lane. CPA’s desperation shot to end the quarter did not go so it was a 0-0 quarter. CPA did come out of the zone during the 4th so play actually resumed. Maplewood standing around the entire 3rd affected them in getting back into a flow. CPA cut the lead to 4 with the ball, but could get no closer. Too many turnovers over the course of the game as Maplewood’s pressure bothered them. Maplewood did a nice job down the stretch hitting free throws. Final was 34-24.

Actually CPA has been in this situation 3 other times in fairly recent school history, two ended in region championships. A lot of great kids, a lot of great memories. I always felt it was done with character and class, but maybe I can't be objective. You want to talk about single A? The first region championship game was against Ezell-Harding. Anyone remember the talent on that team? Terrell (Vanderbilt basketball), Davis (Vanderbilt football) Owens (MTSU football) and another good, athletic swing player whose name escapes me at the present.

Congratulations to Coach Anderson and his players. Competing against his teams was a fun, competitive environment. He always handled himself with such class and humility. What an incredible accomplishment and another great year for a Charlie Anderson coached team!

Shot clock not only about tradition, but about cost, maintenance, standardized placement and expertise in keeping the shot clock. Talking more expense and more personnel. Many schools see budgets too tight as it is, don't want to mess with shot clocks.

In a basketball technical sense, there is a difference between stalling and holding the ball. Stalling is more along the old North Carolina four corner offense where you basically refuse to take any shot unless maybe (and I do say maybe), you get a wide open lay-up. Some stalls make the attempt to hold the ball, refusing to take the shot, in order to not let the other team have the ball. Holding the ball is an attempt to dictate what type of defense you want the other team to play. In the above mentioned post, CPA, who had a slight lead, made the attempt to pull FRA out of the zone, since the thought was there would be a higher chance, percentage wise, of scoring. At least that was the thought process. FRA wouldn't come out, so CPA continued to hold the ball since CPA had the lead. It was also the good ol' days when tournaments were primarily played in consecutive days, which I personally happen to like better since it maintains the momentum of tournament atmosphere. This was CPA's third game in three days, and since CPA was a press and run team that year, gave the opportunity to rest for the final minutes of the game. Which if memory serves me correctly, was much needed since FRA did take a lead in the 4th quarter before CPA prevailed in a tough, hard fought game.

Yes, I did see it. CPA had the lead, FRA was playing zone and CPA was trying to force FRA to play man to man since the feeling was that is where CPA had the advantage, but FRA did not budge. This was the final of the region tournament which meant a busy week, third game in 3 days for CPA. CPA's was doing a lot of pressing and running that year, and since FRA didn't come out, CPA used it to get a breather. CPA went on to win and secure the team's first region championship in school history. It was quite a game. Both teams ended up making it to state that year.

When I read/hear the phrase Tackett style, I interpret that as the highest form of compliment a coach can receive. For me it is about a coach who understands his personnel and knows how to manage a game, particularly the high school game that does not have a shot clock. It speaks to many of the pure values of the game; discipline, team work, fundamentals, skills and player development. It is about a system that was so much more than depending only on the physical, natural abilities of players. I saw Coach Tackett get more out of his team than at times I thought was possible. And maybe most important in a day that many players want to play ???all-star??? basketball (focus on shoot it quick, interest in making the highlight reel), his players seemed to truly enjoy working their system and developed a pleasure in frustrating and out-executing the other team. Winning consistently will do that for a team. They ran offense until the defense made a mistake and then took advantage. They were always a strong help and defensive rebounding team, consistently limiting teams to one shot. I view "Tackett style" as a term of the highest respect to a well-deserving coach. He was the type of coach, who not only made his players better, but made the coaches he opposed better as well. For me, Coach Tackett made the CPA-FRA rivalry the way high school basketball should be. Prepare your team, compete well, leave it on the court and enjoy a relationship after. By all accounts, Coach Pierce is doing the same. Regardless of the outcome, tonight??™s CPA-FRA rivalry game will be in a great atmosphere due to the contributions of both sides, one to enjoy and appreciate.

Wow, one never knows what may appear on CoachT. Certainly I have debated as to whether or not to enter this arena, but there comes a time when certain statements should not continue to go unchallenged. If nothing more then for the sake of truth, accuracy and context. Hopefully there is not a limit on the length of a post. In the five seasons between 2000-05, CPA boys basketball averaged 20 wins a year made it to the sweet 16 three times (hosting two games), won back to back district regular season championships (9-1 each year), and back to back region tournament championships. We fortunately had enough talent, but it was never because we were the most talented. Time and time again we faced opponents who were bigger and stronger since we did not possess the advantage of having a true, big post presence. The highlight for many was the 03-04 year that resulted in a sectional championship, making it to the state final four - winning the first game before losing in the semis on a last second putback. That team won 30 games and broke Temple??™s 55 game home winning streak (who was also a state semifinalist that season), to add to the many highlights. The fan base was terrific. There were packed gyms, with students dressing up and storming the court after big wins. Part of the fun was to see what they would wear to the games. These fans chanted my nickname after the 04 district tournament and sang happy birthday to me during the region tournament of 05. Does this sound like a program that went from ???discouraged fans to an overpacked gym??? as described in a past divepix post? Granted, he was making reference to the 05-06 season, just one year removed, but I would like to think that the majority of CPA fans are not that fickle and understood what happened in 05-06 which in reality was a tremendous accomplishment for that team, CPA entered the 05-06 season having lost 8 seniors from a 23-11 year and returned only one player with any varsity experience along with being bumped up to 2A due to the multiplier. In my view, the first year that CPA was in this new district has been the toughest this district has been in CPA??™s three years at 2A. Not only did this team lack experience, but due to the planned, intentional youth movement, this team lacked a physical maturity which was only going to be solved with time. The plan was to jump start the experience factor by affording our freshmen and sophomores a chance to play right away. This team also lost Z Mason (who was actually the one young player who possessed the physical maturity to go along with his talent) for the entire season only a few weeks before the season began. This greatly affected the planning that had taken place since the previous spring. The fact is the 05-06 team won 8 total games (not 7), but the difference in the margin of victory was slightly over 5 points per game which was the same when one looks at the district games. Anyone think that Z might have been able to make up that 5 point difference? I certainly think so. Put all those factors together and those who understand basketball could see what the 05-06 team was up against. Even though we had to throw a physically immature and inexperienced group into the fire that first year, take some lumps and go through some growing pains, the future was very bright. We knew we had given our talented young players valuable game experience and of Z??™s desire to return to CPA. Was their a significant personnel difference between the 05-06 team and the 06-07 team? Absolutely! It is not true that the 06-07 success was based on insignificant personnel changes. Z??™s return was significant beyond measure; he is a special talent that was the missing piece to those returning. Outside of Z??™s return, this team had a chance to physically mature between these two seasons as well as added experience. 06-07 was not a team that returned only one varsity player with experience as was the case in 05-06. The 06-07 team added Z, returned players who had added inches to their height and weight to their frame and at least six other players with varsity experience. Any coach would tell you this does play a part in a team??™s substantial improvement from one year to the next, particularly a young team that was close and competitive the previous year. I don??™t think my believing this basketball truth in any way takes away from what the current coaching staff is accomplishing. On the other side of that coin it is not necessary to elevate Coach Maddux and staff at the expense of the previous. Each staff and team should be allowed to stand on its own, without comparisons. In spite of all of that was stacked against the 05-06 team, this team grew during the course of the year and was the beginning to play well at the end. Unfortunately after Hunter??™s 44 point performance in a solid win over Ezell, he missed the last regular season game due to sickness and was not nearly at full strength for the first round tournament game against a very good, talented, experienced, tournament tested Lipscomb team on their home floor. Entering the tournament, we had also lost one starter to injury. Two other key players, one starter and one off the bench, were sick as well. David had to leave that game when he fell hard on his head. Too many factors for this team??™s first district tournament experience. Yes, I consider those legitimate factors and not some coach looking for excuses. Regardless of the outcome, I could not have been prouder of that team. Against all odds, they competed well throughout the year and learned what it took to compete. I believe that group laid a strong foundation for the future success of CPA basketball at the 2A level. I also believe going with a youth movement helped speed the process along. I was totally optimistic about the future, we happened to hit a predictable speed bump along the way. It was no different than what I felt in the development of the program prior to the 03-04 season. I had no doubt that what happened with CPA basketball at the 1A level was going to happen at the 2A level. In my experience from observing and experiencing mid-state basketball, the good 1A teams have always been able to consistently compete with the good 2A teams. In my view, this would be true of this upcoming CPA group. They were a talented group and had every piece necessary in place. Not disrespecting AA, I have great respect for those teams, I am only touting the strength of district 9A during those years and the known abilities and work ethic of the players at CPA. This year??™s CPA team and coaching staff are obviously having an excellent year. Congratulations to all. Support them fully since the fans are an important part of the success and add so much to the fun a year like this can bring. But does it have to be done at the expense of previous teams or the previous coach, particularly if you are not going to accurately describe the scenario which affects what people think? Past posts of those like divepix and sportsfreak became too personal and never showed any real sensitivity to me, my family or even the successes of the 05-06 team or previous teams. Once again, in our culture, too much emphasis on winning. Yet what some viewed as a down year was in reality not a down year at all, only part of the process. Unfortunately, what has been stated and what has been left unstated easily allows people??™s minds to draw the wrong conclusions. Yet those thoughts continue to permeate people??™s minds and continue to show up on public postings. I offer this in the hope that it helps people develop opinions and a better perspective by adding a context that I have yet to see.

People not used to CPA being good at basketball haven't been paying very close attention. Between 2000-2005 there were 101 wins (20 per year), 3 sweet sixteens, 2 regular season district championships, 2 region tournament championships, and 1 state tournament final four. Last year there were 27 wins (maybe 28) and this current team has the benefit of having its three best players together last year, this year and next year. That is a luxury few teams ever have. Consistently CPA will have the best interior player on the floor that few teams on their schedule, if any, will be able to match up with (a real difference maker both offensively and defensively) and a perimeter that will be as good if not better than any other perimeter on the floor. Certainly there will not be a better outside shooter or ball quick handler. (And at times they will have the two best perimeter players on the floor.) In basketball, particularly high school, when you can take the floor night in and night out with the best interior and best perimeter, you have a great chance of being successful. Plus, there are others that make good, positive contributions as well. When all said and done the 2000 decade should be a very good one for CPA basketball.