USPatriot

All three teams did have a good chance...the two who played just didn't bring their "A" Game. Too bad Sycamore didn't get a chance. All the personal attacks are childish and totally unnecessary. Just takes away from the spirit of the boards. Live and let live. In other words, experess your opinion and allow others to express theirs as well. Just leave out the personal attacks. No nead to knock someone else for having an opposing position.

It is a fact that Sycamore played their worse offensive half of basketball all year. Yes, it did come at the worst possible time. They did not make any of thier first 15 shots. Even connecting on 30% and the outcome is different, even 5%, because the end score was within 2 points until fouling came into play. And, one team beating another has nothing to do with how another team will fare against them. It has to do with many factors, but matchups are different. Waverly certainly wasn't the easiest team for Harpeth to beat this year, were they? Waverly held Giltner to zero...the only team to do so this year. I and many others just so happen to feel Sycamore had the best possibility in our district of beating Boliver...but we'll never know because they faltered before they got there, so this is about differing opinions at this point. We are all just as entitled to have them and express them as you are. Creekwood is still playing, so let's get behind them instead of being naysayers. Any team can beat any other team on any given night. The mere fact that Creekwood is still in it, says they have a possibility of winning the state championship. Why count them out before their chances run out? They have seniors playing and that goes a long way for determination, will and doing whatever it takes to stay alive....so you never know...Go CREEKWOOD!!!!

Actually, Sycamore was the only team that had a chance. Unfortunately, they had a very off game against Creekwood and we didn't get to see it. For whatever reason, they didn't come out ready to play...only played one half of basketball. The players probably had a let down following the expectation of a competitive game against the unknown Chester Co. opponent. Their shots were just off against Creekwood...they could not buy a basket. But, given Sycamore, Harpeth and Creekwood playing their best games, Sycamore is a much more competitive team than the others and would have had a much closer game against Boliver and the ability to upset. However, I didn't see the Creekwood vs Boliver game. They might have had a letdown after Sycamore. Sometimes teams have off nights. Look at Tennessee. They go down to Memphis and beat the #1 team and then turn around and get beat by Vandy. If they repeat the game against Vandy, perhaps they beat them by double digits. If anything was certain in basketball...If the best team always won, you wouldn't have a need to play the game. It is a game....you win some, you lose some...the best teams and the worst. It's nice to see teams overachieve and beat better teams, but when it's tournament time, I prefer to see the best team advance rather than the luckiest, because your more apt to get a true picture of the strenght of a district. Sycamore would have been a better match up and a closer game, but that's old news. I think it would be easier to get behind a team that has a better chance, but let's support and pump up the team that is representing. I think there is nothing wrong with supporting the teams in your district, but there is no reason to knock the ones who aren't or bag on fans who support their district. There's no doubt the top teams in 11AA have the ability to compete with the top teams in 12AA, even though it is difficult to tell with the off games they had down the stretch. Good luck to the teams still playing!

Waverly Tigers...keep your heads up! You are still in it and can still end up doing very well. Everybody has a tough game every now and then. Sycamore came to play tonight, and I hope they keep thier intensity up. If they do, they can go far. But, Tigers, your team is young and you have great things in your future. I really like your team and your fans and the guys who post. You add a lot to these boards. It's hard not to pull for you. Good luck Tuesday night!

It certainly is not for sure that Harpeth will beat Creekwood or Sycamore or who will win between Waverly and SC. One thing is for sure, it will be exciting to see what happens. Good luck to everyone! And, may the best team win.

I agree this will be a good one. Always a good competitive game. I've been looking forward to this game since the beginning of the season. I'm glad it's finally here.

Sycamore doesn't have to worry about stopping any one player. No game comes down to stopping one player unless they are a selfish player. They just need to continue to play good defense and execute their offense unselfishly as they have all year. The big thing is that they don't get complacent with all their winning and having beaten harpeth already.

I hear what you are saying, but they will continue to pick one, so these things have to be measured and debated and they are debated in every district because people are pulling for the guy on their team and ignore all the criteria and try to make the focus what their player is best at. The fact is, All the Stats are important, not just scoring, but shutting down opposing teams best offensive players, and overall good team performance are all key ingredients to the award. Finally, how well would a team do without the player's contribution? People want to pick it based on who they like or who they think is a good kid or a nice kid, etc, but it should not be so subjective.

Since you've mentioned these things, let's discuss them. Some folks have been talking Kevin and Harpeth up since preseason, predicting they would beat everyone and lead the district. Of course everyone is pulling for their team and their players. I like Kevin a lot. but even if I was a Harpeth fan, I would have to give MVP to Pierre and here's why. Sycamore is leading and beat Harpeth and that is a testament to Pierre's leadership with a team of great guys who play together and do what it takes as a team. You say that Kevin is unselfish as if Pierre is not an uselfish player. Pierre is one of the most unselfish players given his tremendous talent and athleticism I've seen. In my opinion he should be taking it to the hoop more. But, he's more excited about an assist than he is a score...and has a ton of assists, blocks and steals...those are the intangibles that are not measured at this level but certainly impact the end result of games. Most players, given his ability would want to show off their ability every play and not be content to be such a team player, but Pierre cares more about his team being a team and winning as a team. It doesn't matter who is the leading scorer. And, there is no question when it comes to defense, he is a much stronger defensive player than Giltner, and many believe him to be the best defender in the district. You say Giltner could easily lead his team in scoring every night if he wanted to...Do you think he wanted to go scoreless against Waverly when he last played them?...I doubt it. Let's face it, all players are trying to perform well for their teams every night. My final comparison comes down to the teams. Harpeth went into the season ranked #1, but Sycamore is #1. Harpeth has underachieved under Giltner's leadership and Pierre's leadership has taken Sycamore further than predicted. MVP is about who is most valuable to their team and how far their contribution is able to get their team...so we'll see in the end. And, I sure wouldn't count Creekwood out. Granted, the first game Sycamore played them at Creekwood, the rest of the Sycamore players had really off nights, which give credit to Creekwood, those Creekwood boys showed what they are capable of. They played tough defense and executed beautifully. They can certainly beat Harpeth if they play like they did against Sycamore the first time they played this season.

When it comes to MVP's you have to look at how much a player does for his particular team. Two of Sycamore's losses came when Pierre did not play. Gilter is a pretty good player too, but when he has been matched up against Pierre, Pierre outplayed him. Because Pierre's defense cancels him out. There is a lot more to the game than scoring and in my opinion if you are going to base it on athletic ability, that would definitely go to Pierre. But, we'll all have opinions based on a lot of different biases for sure. The players are different but both good players. Their styles are going to appeal to different people and going to be dependent on which games you watched. It's going to come down to the season's results, which team wins the district and how the players perform in that game.

AIR PIERRE MITCHELL!

Let's see, why would HHSnumber1fan care so much about which players are suspended, quitting or playing for Sycamore? Because you want the weakest Sycamore team possible to play Harpeth in the end! You would like Harpeth to have a better chance against them. You would like to see Tyler quit so all Sycamore would have is Keenan as the point guard...leaving a freshman with no back up. Sorry, you are exposed. By the way, Keenan did a commendable job stepping up and filling those shoes when he needed to. He's going to be a great player. But anyway, it is important to set the record straight about Coach Froedden. He cares more about the kids and their development into successful young men in life than he does about basketball and he is one of the most demanding of his players. It is awesome the way he displays his caring for his guys by giving them opportunities to improve and make amends. Point blank, he has rules and consequenses. Evidently, Tyler saw the light and paid the price. Good for him and good for Sycamore. So, why don't you worry about your own team and quit trying to start trouble with others. Sycamore fans are supporting our team, coaches and players all the way!!!

Maybe you thought you heard something. If he CLEARLY used profanity, why didn't the refs call anything on it? I have never seen that.

I can agree that there were bad calls made all over the place, but you have to admit some bad calls have a lot more impact than others. Anyway, Pierre did NOT use profanity. He was fouled badly right in front of the one ref and did not get any call and simply stated, perhaps strongly, "Can we get a foul called!" I guarantee you if he had used profanity, these refs would not have held back, he would have been T'd up for sure! You can take that to the bank. Officiating like that is just plain frustrating to players and fans and takes a lot away from the game.

I certainly wouldn't give this post any credibility. The truth is the officials were horrible and one-sided and Coach Froedden probably just took Pierre out to keep him from punching one of them. They were ridiculous and obviously trying to level the playing field by taking out Sycamore's best player. So what happened is Pierre barely played in the first half and very little until the 4th quarter because of very bad calls on Pierre and the whole team. They pretty much let SC foul Pierre badly without calling anything and didn't allow Pierre to get in arm's reach of SC players. If they would have had Pierre playing in the game the majority of the time without the handcuffs, Sycamore would have beat them by much more. I can only say to anybody going to SC, try not to get frustrated by the bad calls! /ohmy.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":o" border="0" alt="ohmy.gif" />

What makes you rank Sycamore ahead of the pack? Everyone has been saying Harpeth is the team to beat all along.

Pierre Mitchell did not play for Sycamore last night due to injury. That is a huge loss for Sycamore. He contributes so much. They missed his defense and ball handling. He will return and their shooters will start to hit shots consistently. Pete Froden is a great coach with a history of his teams peaking at the end of the season. It's still early. I predict Sycamore will finish the season strong.

That's good news. I heard Pierre was going to be out tonite. Have you heard different? Is he going to play? I love to watch him. He can jump out of the gym...I love to see him block shots! Like a fly swatter.

Tough break for Sycamore. Heard Pierre Mitchell sprained his ankle last night in the first half of the UC game and won't be playing tonite. He's their best defender and most athletic player. So, it depends on if the rest of the guys step up and play like they can hitting shots and playing defense and how athletic Independence is. Could still be a good game...hopefully close.

Pierre Mitchell, Sycamore's most athletic player and best defender was injured in the first half before having a chance to get going. Heard he put some hobbling minutes in the second half. Would have been a better game, maybe with a different outcome if he was 100%. Tough break for Sycamore.

Pierre Mitchell from Sycamore throws it down. He will make your eyes pop out. He can freakin' sky!!! /popcorneater.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":popcorneater:" border="0" alt="popcorneater.gif" />

I remember seeing Pierre play for Dyer County a couple of years ago. He seemed shy but you could tell he was going to be good. He was always so athletic. I still don't think he knows how good he can be but it sounds like he's figuring it out. Good kid so it's nice to see.