CUMAN13

I think this could be good or bad depending on the situation of the teams. Here is what I see. In the 14u State this year the Flight played and looked good along with the Pride. Some of the parents had kids who play for both and played their child with the Pride in AAU which allows them to play with the group they have been with the longest. 1. If a girl is talented enough to get an invitation from an exposure organization and goes, it will help them with the college coaches. (Flight locked in with certain coaches) 2. Playing AAU will give them some of the same exposure just not with the stronger D-1 schools and coaches. 3. Playing for both teams might cause burn out or health issues with not enough time to rest. 4. Some parents are not looking to travel 4 hours one way for what they are getting in return but some think this is their only choice because of what they are told by those running the exposure organization, event cordinators of exposure and some high school coaches who these kids play for. 5. In 14u the AAU future is bright with strong teams playing both AAU and Exposure which can be done and should be done as the AAU National Office is also hosting exposure events. As for the merger, if the Flight did not learn from the disaster with Memphis Elite and plans to tell the Team Pride who to play, when and where, then this won't last. The Pride should take a look at their web-site and realize they don't need the Flight, the Flight needs them. (At least their talented players who they have worked with since 8u)

After a 3 hour journey to Memphis I found the 14u State to be alot of fun to watch. The tournament started out slow with the first games being the strong against the weak. Saturday nights game between the Flight Freshman and the Xtreme turned up the tempo and filled the gym and was one of the best games of the year with each team having a NO QUIT attitude. The Flight won this one 74 - 70 but both teams fought hard. The Hustle Elite had a great weekend losing 2 games but made the 3rd time a charm over the Xtreme 91 - 83 Sunday afternoon to claim 3rd place. The Championship game could have went either way but a 2 point win gives the Memphis Elite another State Title. Coach Little did an excellent job and his team played hard proving my quote " The Memphis Elite will also have the talent and with the old FCA Coach Little and staff don't be suprised if they pull the upset of the Flight Freshman". The Flight Freshman are a very strong team in AAU and with the extra players Coach Insell get for exposure tournaments from other AAU teams I can see now why they dominate exposure weekends. If you missed this one, you missed about 25 of the best players in the State with the 4 top teams and many other good players with the other 4 teams. Good luck at the Nationals ladies, coaches and parents, you will make Tennessee proud. It was good to see the boss man "PEANUT" taking care of Tennessee AAU in Memphis. Watch out AAU Nationals, Tennessee may have the 14u National Champion!!!

I believe this may be the best AAU State Tournament of all ages. The Flight Freshman are the team to beat with alot of talent size and speed. The Memphis Elite will also have the talent and with the old FCA Coach Little and staff don't be suprised if they pull the upset of the Flight Freshman. The Team Pride play together as a team real well and don't make alot of mistakes so they could slide in at the 3 spot. The Xtreme have some new players who I think are going to make them better if they can put it together but I don't see that happening before the State tournament starts. However the last 2 years they have won it all by playing hard and the coaches getting the players to believe in the game plan. This year could be 3 teams playing for 2nd place but no one beats the Flight Freshman.

I think there is good in both AAU and Exposure events. Teams can help players of all talent levels by playing both. The teams that are strickly AAU are missing out on the college coaches seeing their better players because even though the AAU National Tournaments are NCAA Sanctioned in the 14u - 16u ages there are very few scouts that attend. The teams who just play Exposure events are missing out on their younger players getting to play in the team concept of AAU National competition and getting better for the Exposure later. Unless you are recruting the best 10 kids from a 100 mile radius of where your team is based than the fast pace one on one games that the Exposure tournaments end up turning into will not help your team as a whole. Put your players in the best situation. PLAY BOTH !!! (It can be done)

Does anyone have updates on the sub-states from this past weekend? Does the south middle have a 14u division I or II and if so who is in it and when will it be played? Would love to watch some good games this weekend if anyone has schedules because some are missing from the TN AAU site. Thanks for the help.

TN. Xtreme out of Chattanooga / Cleveland has pretty good teams in 13u and 14u for AAU at a State and National Level. They also have some Division II teams in AAU who stay within the State to play and are competitive. As for the high schools in that area Loudon seems to be getting better but the last post is on the money about Oak Ridge and McMinn Central being tops. As for Wendy's Elite, they host alot of tournaments but have never played at a AAU State or National event that I know of just tournament in their area. If your from Alabama did you play for the Twisters, Southern Starz or Alabama Elite??? There the only groups from that area who play at a State and National Level. Good Luck on your search. You can find information on most of the tennessee AAU teams @ http://www.tngirlsbasketball.net/

First of all CONGRATULATIONS to the Lady Panthers on a good National Tournament run. Maybe the reason the Lady Panthers and the Xtreme hooked up on this is because the the two guys involved know and respect each other and understand this is for the girls and not about using the National Tournament to try and pull kids from the other organization like most groups do. There also maybe a 15u building for next year. (Xtreme Lady Panthers). I hear changes with the Xtreme and Lady Panthers groups are coming. Could be fun for 2009!!!

I hear there were quite a few Tennessee teams at this event and there was a couple of teams in the final four on Monday. Who all went? How did the teams finish?

I am looking for (2) boys teams either 13u or 14u for a playday this Saturday in Chattanooga Tennessee. NO ENTRY FEE and 3 games guaranteed. Gate admission only for non-players of $6.00 all day. If interested please call Roger @ 423-715-6407 or e-mail me @ gymrats@charter.net First 2 team to call or e-mail.

This may not be right but I will try to help you out on the National Tournament Teams Southeastern TN. # 1 TN. XTREME (with a # 5 seed from Flights finish last year) # 2 MEMPHIS FLIGHT # 3 TN. EXPRESS # 4 TN. LADY TROTTERS These team qualify through the state tournament. # 5 TN. TEAM PRIDE (at large w/SRT they won) # 6 TEAM TENNESSEE (at large w/SRT passed down from Xtreme) # 7 TN. ELITE (at large w/SRT passed down from Flight) The number 7 team may not be right because it would be based on points from state and I'm not sure who had the better points between Elite and CDF. # 8 TN. STORM (with their SRT win a few weeks ago) Tennessee will be well represented at the Nationals if all teams go. GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!!

After watching the games this weekend the Xtreme looked strong even without (2) of their players who were still hurt. In the Championship game their bench stepped up with big shots and strong boards from #21, #24 and #15 with the starters playing hard in all the games I watched. The Trotters looked strong through pool play but got into foul trouble on Sunday and seem to get lazy at times. The Memphis Flight looked good at times with a big time player in #13 who nobody could stop including the Xtreme with her 21 points in the championship game. The Express looked ready to make a run on Sunday but the Memphis Flight had more depth off the bench than they could stop. If you add in the Team Pride's hard fought games with every team they played, then the top five teams from Tennessee should make us proud at the Nationals. Good Luck to all in Oklahoma.

The 13u State tournament is only a few hours away and this year should be a real strong tournament. If you have any guess of the outcome or just want to support your team let's hear it. My guess after watching all but (2) teams is this but GOOD LUCK TO ALL!! 1. Tn. Lady Trotters 2. Tn. Team Pride 3. Memphis Flight 4. Tn. Xtreme 5. Tn. Express 6. Tn. Elite 7. Team Tennessee (which took the Bobcats place) 8. CDF Fever

According to some coaches out of Georgia the Xtreme 13u looked very strong. The Phoneix game was the only close game they had winning by +13 61-48 after leading by 21 late in the game. All players seem to be healthy and up to speed. Coach said they will be playing in the Miracle tournament next in May. Which teams will be there?

If all the teams are healthy and come to play the Refs will have alot of fun getting to do their job and it will be well worth the price of admission to watch. I'll be there and GOOD LUCK TO ALL. Inside favorite, Lady Trotters.

Any information on the 14u and 15u in the East?