smalltown

Jefferson County - Michael Peck, Rusty Bryan, Willie Roach Cherokee - Ryan Lawson Greeneville - Marty Story, Matt Malone, the DeBusk brothers Morristown West - John Caylor, John Seals, Alex Kragel, Johnny Galyon Cocke County - Wade Wester, Richard Carmichael, Mickey Stewart

Couldn't have happened to a better player or a nicer person. Lee has worked hard and is a class act. Our state couldn't have a better representative.

I think he is a high school coach in New Jersey. His dad, of course, is a very successful coach. I know for sure that his brother, Danny, is also a high school coach.

Giles County is very good, certainly the best team in AA and maybe the state - probably a close game with White Station. But to say they are the best ever is going overboard a little bit. It's easy to live in the present and forget the great teams of the past. We all do that - out of sight, out of mind. So many great teams have come out of Memphis - I can't remember who was great in what particular year. The best I have seen are the Science Hill teams in the early and mid 90's, but it isn't really fair to compare teams because the game changes. You have to wonder how some of the great teams of the 70's and 80's would have fared if the three-point line had been in place. Some probably would have suffered and some would have been even better, but it makes for interesting discussion.

Elston Turner played in Knoxville (Austin-East I think) and went on to be All-SEC at Ole Miss. Then he played in the NBA for 10 or 12 years. He has to be on the list.

Has Landon Thomas been kicked off the team at Oak Ridge or is he hurt? I never see his name in the box score.

I know it's easy to identify the "good" coaches because of their records, and certainly many of these coaches are deserving. For the purpose of this discussion, I want to leave out the schools that always have good talent - not to disrespect their coaches because most of them are very good coaches. But what about the coaches at schools who are always fighting an uphill battle because of talent, who don't have or seldom have the players to compete with the elite teams. Anybody have any thoughts?

Jody Wright - one of the best every year Randy Moore - gets more out his players than anybody Ken Wright - Gatlinburg-Pittman (won state championships in Georgia and does a good job at a school that is getting smaller Andy Rines - Heritage (has started turning that program around) Chris Lindsay - nobody cares more about their kids Ricky Norris - always has his teams prepared Mark Blevins - has talent, but changes his schemes well each year to fit his talent Chad Smith - improving at South-Doyle

Florida has good young players - the foreign guy, David Lee. They also signed a really good point guard - can't remember his name - from Seattle. I'd say Florida has a pretty good future, with or without Donovan. As for Lee just being a shooter, you don't sign in the SEC if that's all you can do. Besides, weren't N.C. State, Marquette, Stanford, Georgia Tech, etc. all recruiting him? That's an awful lot of attention just for a shooter. Lee is a player who will have an impact at Florida. It's a shame he isn't as appreciated around here as he is in national circles.

I heard Rhea County and Heritage (believe it or not) were pretty impressive. I was told Rhea County won every game easily, although I don't know for sure. Someone said Heritage beat Walker Valley pretty badly, beat McMinn County and almost beat McMinn Central. I don't know who played with/without their football players, so it's really hard to get a read. Isn't Rhea County a pretty veteran team? I don't know much about the teams in that area.

I'd be real careful before I counted Heritage out. I know Coach Rines worked with the Travelers? After being with them all those years, he sure knows how to win and run a successful program. He put together a competitive team at Knox West with the girls, which I thought would be impossible. Coach Wilson, their assistant coach, has won about 400 games with the girl's program and is a legend. With two coaches who know how to win like that, you can bet they'll be better than everybody thinks. I know they are young and I'm sure that will hurt them early on because there is now substitute for experience. But I'd be careful before I counted them out of anything. I don't think they can win the district championship or anything like that, but winning is an attitude, and I bet they'll have it.

Katy McMahan at Heritage is the real deal. She is super-quick, very competitive, understands the game, distributes the ball, and knocks down perimeter shots. I also hear from people that she is a conditioning freak and a warrior in the weight room. Looks like a prime-time guard already.

Laura Hall is spectacular, as good as I've seen in a long time. Heritage has a freshman named Katie McMahan that is unreal. That program has a great tradition, and they say she will be the best to ever come through there, and they've had several D-1 signees.

I'm not sure how this region will play out, but you can bet on the fact that after the first round of the playoffs, all four (Fulton, AC, A-E, and Kingston) will still be standing. The other region is weak, weak, weak. Gatlinburg-Pittman is the only threat on the other side to win a game. Seymour is down and Sullivan North doesn't look like much of a threat.

I just wanted to see what people thought. I've seen them a few times and I think they've got a shot. Their defense is small but as fast as I've ever seen. Great secondary with Ronnie Collins, Buddy Pannell, and Antonio Minor. Tyrone Cobb is probably the best freshman in the state...a great middle linebacker. I don't know if their defense can carry them, but they are so hard to score on because they can stack the line to stop the run and let the secondary lock on receivers. They also put so much pressure on the QB. The offense is too inconsistent because of QB play and they will probably have to play Anderson County and A-E back-to-back in the playoffs. Any thoughts

Based on what I've seen and heard lately, Corey Brewer and Justin Hare should both be in the top five. The hard workers always seem to rise to the top.

It would be nearly impossible for a Tennessee team to play Poly or Concord. The travel costs would be unreal, and with education being so poorly funded here, who would pay for meals, lodging, plane tickets, etc. It is possible for great programs from various states to play each other as long as they are within driving distance (ex: A-E playing in Charlotte last year). I'd like to see more of that. It's easier to do in basketball with more central locations for tournaments, sponsors for tournaments, etc. It's just not possible from a financial standpoint

Corey Brewer - Portland Shane Dansby - Harpeth David Palmer - Antioch Ronald Taylor & Barry Gardner - Maplewood Jamont Gordon - Glencliff Kenyona Swader & Brett Warner- Smyrna Antjuan Koger - LaVergne Tyler Smith - Giles County

Corey Brewer - Portland Shane Dansby - Harpeth David Palmer - Antioch Ronald Taylor & Barry Gardner - Maplewood Jamont Gordon - Glencliff Kenyona Swader & Brett Warner- Smyrna Antjuan Koger - LaVergne Tyler Smith - Giles County

Landon Thomas from Oak Ridge is potentially a great player, but I think playing football will hurt him. Albert Harris from Austin-East could be very good if he is able to develop a jump shot. He is incredibly quick, a good defender, and an excellent ball-handler. Aaron Eakins at William Blount is solid. Fulton has a guard named Rushawn Reeves that is one of the most underrated players anywhere. He played for the Travelers this summer and turned a lot of heads with his dirty work, rebounding, and defense. I saw him play once at the Travelers' tournament at Carson-Neman and he controlled a game without shooting the ball. I've heard that Aaron White at Oak Ridge is really good but I've never seen him play.

This was one of the best defensive struggles I've seen at the high-school level. Neither team got any offense going. Fulton had one drive that produced a touchdown and ran a kickoff for a touchdown. A-E's defense produced both their touchdowns. Great speed on both teams and both teams hit extremely hard. Fulton has an unreal defense because they can load up to stop the run and all of their defensive backs are aggressive 4.6-under guys who can lock up receivers. It will be hard for anybody to move the ball on them. Freshman linebacker Tyrone Cobb (Reggie Cobb's little brother) is 6-1, 205, has great instincts, hits hard, and plays like a senior. A-E will get better since this was their first game. Lot of great athletes in Class AAA this year

David had a great year at Colorado. He averaged about 14 points and eight rebound per game. That's pretty good for a freshman in the Big 12. He could be a lottery pick. It's too bad Brentwood Academy screwed him into playing football or he would have been a lottery pick coming out of high school.

Randy Moore at Seymour, Todd Wright at Oliver Springs (girls), David Baumann at William Blount, Micah Marsh at Alcoa, Johnny Galyon at Morristown West (girls), Andy Rines at Heritage.

The Austin-East teams with Leroy Thompson and company were as good as anybody. Jeff County in 87 was the best team from a group that lost two games in three years. They were undefeated (nobody even close) and destroyed Gallatin in the state championship game. That team featured Todd Collins (long NFL career) and Taylor Quarles (great career at Furman). Would have beated any of the private school boys.

Geoffrey would be one of the best players in the state if not for all the baggage. The Travelers didn't invite him back because of all the trouble he's been in. He seems like a nice kid. It's a shame he hasn't gotten it together because he is a legitimate D1 prospect in terms of ability.