smalltown

Are there any play days November 5 around the Knoxville area?

Morristown West is clearly the favorite. They have a legit shot at going undefeated in the district. 10-4 or 9-5 might get someone second. The fight for 2-6 should be really interesting.

Wasn't talking about W-B, just Heritage. I've been out of the area for a while, but I think W-B has been pretty good for a few years up until this year? Also, weren't they pretty banged up? Had a friend that used to coach at Heritage - tough spot. I'm sure some kids care, just not enough to be good in 5A

Lack of talent and committment on the part of the kids, pure and simple

Two things I would say about the Jody Wright comment: 1. Most coaches get better with experience 2. Talent does make a difference, but you can't measure the success of a high school coach on record alone - many good high school coaches don't have a chance to have a winning record, because of the talent they have to work with and/or have to compete against. On the flip side, there are a lot of coaches out there with good records who have won only because of talent. In Jody's case, I believe it's both - he does have talent to work with and that makes a huge difference, but he is also a heck of a coach.

Todd Day was from Memphis and played at Arkansas, but he wasn't on the team that won the national title in 94. Corey Brewer could be on this list. He would be a senior but left a year early for the NBA.

Coach Decker was named assistant principal at the beginning of the school year. Since there was no time to search for a basketball coach, he agreed to coach for one more year. He will step down at the end of the season.

I'm a coach - have been for a long time. In my opinion, the Tennessee Thunder is a well-run, classy organization. I would feel very good if my son were to play for them.

David Palmer at Seton Hall would make nine. Shane Dansby, who transferred to Belmont and is redshirting, would make 10.

JD is a good coach. Central's talent is way overrated. They have decent talent, not great. They certainly haven't overachieved, but they haven't underachieved either. When I saw them play I thought they were average. They don't have the talent of OR, Clinton, Halls, Powell or West - key district opponents. They aren't far away talent-wise. I think he's done a good job with what he has. When is the last time a Central team was good, anyway? Nobody wins there. As far as the players not being fundamentally sound, a coach can only do so much. Most players that are fundamentally sound are the ones who put in the most time on their own.

I was at the game. There certainly wasn't home cooking, although Cait got the benefit of a block-charge call at the end of the first half that helped turn the game around. One of the other Heritage guards hit some big three-pointers against the AE zone in the second half that got the Lady Mountaineers back in the game. I really haven't seen anybody else in the area, but in my opinion these two teams are the best in East Tennessee. Heritage won the game because they hit free throws and AE did not. That's usually the difference in a close game anyway, and the free throw line is where this one was won and lost. As for Cait's injury, I would pray that she is OK. She is a great kid off the floor as well. Heritage certainly wouldn't be as good without her - nobody would. But they will still have a good team. They are still well-coached, have some other good players, and play good defense. They struggled without her last year, but they really didn't have time to prepare because of the timing of her injury and two of their guards were freshmen. If she's out an extended period of time, they will struggle some, but not nearly as much as last year.

Could someone tell me exactly what happened with Ron Bliss, and who is the Sports Editor there since he is no longer with the paper/

Is this the team sponsored by Mark Komara from Alabama

Although I don't agree with Gomab all the time, I would have to say he's right on this one. Doaks is very good. I didn't see the game in question, but often in high school it's possible to scheme out a player like Doaks and limit him somewhat. I saw it happen with David Harrison and Lorenzen Wright, and both those guys are in the NBA now. In my opinion, it's easier to do this with a post player because he is dependent on others to get the ball in his hands. It's much harder to shut down a great guard.

Chuck Benson wasn't hired in time to effectively recruit Corey Brewer. You can't blame that one on him. This year's senior class is really the first one he's had a chance to recruit.