MMcCroskey

My son has had the opportunity to play quite a bit of ball lately with Alan (AAU this summer and Rocky Top team currently), and I can say he is a class act all the way around. Bryan has picked up a great player.

They pulled the whole thread?!? The whole thread?!? (I feel like Bluto when they pulled the bar in "Animal House" lol)

After watching him at Carson Newman Showcase, he sure looks like the "real deal" - ETSU picked up a solid player. Good to see them recruiting locally as well. Best of luck to Lester and ETSU!

I was at the recent Carson Newman Showcase and can say this about Lester Wilson: when Lester decided to score, Lester scored - it didn't seem to matter who was guarding him. His athleticism is amazing.

Nothing but thank you's all the way around for what they are doing to get these kid's added exposure! It is just a fact of life that "scoring" will always lead the headlines - when's the last time a headline read "Smith wins the game with smart play" or the article reported that "Smith led all players with 4 charges". lol That said, I know first hand that not all college coaches are looking for top scorers; some need defenders, rebounders, "head for the game" players, etc. Rocky Top and AAU are just GREAT additional outlets for that exposure, especially for those players that aren't top scorers, because players like that are only noticed over time (ya can't miss the guy scoring 30 points lol). Things have a habit of working out as they should, and RTL is a BIG part of helping that happen for alot of kids. They should be very proud of what they are accomplishing.

Depends on how you measure "head and shoulders" - in the 2 dates I have watched so far, there have been alot of "me first" play, especially from those same Knoxville teams. It is a showcase though, so some of that is to be expected as players look to impress visiting coaches. Problem is, alot of those same coaches value "team" ball as much (and in many cases more) as pure athletic talent. BTW, Fulton led team lost to Anderson Co led team and Sevier Co team took their game against the West/Bearden led team . . . things might be a little more even than first thought.

Let me clarify . . . going back the last 10 years in AA bball in TN, out of the 20 teams that have played for the championship 17 (yep 17) have been from the western part of TN (using Nashville as the center line). If you want to use the 3 grand divisions, it is literally 15. If that ain't dominate, I'm not sure what is. We are talking Bolivar, Liberty Tech, B.T. Washington, Mitchell, Raleigh-Egypt, Ridgeway - my point was and is that they have talent spread over quite a few schools; in the east we had a loaded Fulton team for 2 years, and an AE runner up team in 2001. This year we see talent spread across 4-6 teams in East TN in AA with a legit shot at a championship, and that was my simple point.

Key phrase you must have missed . . . "across so many different teams". And that would be what I'm talking about, Willis!

Western TN has certainly dominated the AA championships recently, but I will go out on a limb and say East TN has its best shot in a loooooong time to bring home the trophy, across so many different teams, to this end of the state. We will definately have the most competitive district in the state in AA during the season imo. Carter, Fulton, GP and AE will all be possibilities to extend their season to the final 4. Carter returns just about everybody , Fulton has help now for Galen (like he needed much lol), I have the feeling Lopez won't be the only terror on the court for AE, and GP has talent and solid team chemistry (but unfortunately not the tradition - can they overcome that?). Looking forward to Rocky Top play to get a feel for what we have upcoming this winter!

Team rosters were just posted up on Andre's site for the Knoxville fall league. http://www.unapproved website/content/view/1530/48/ w w w . t n p r e p h o o p s . c o m

CNEagle13: GP played 6 games up at LMU camp, won all 6. They played 11 games, I believe, in total in just 4 days time at MC camp, and after going 6-0 on the first 2 days, started running out of gas on Friday (2-1) and Saturday (0-2), losing to Central (although later beating an Atlanta team on Friday by near 20 that played Central to a last second shot loss). 11 Games in less than 96 hours - Raul was pushing them hard and, all things considered, I thought they responded well. One of their biggest team strengths is they play very unselfish ball - they care little about personal achievement at the team's expense. These guys genuinely like each other, and play hard for one another. Nix has it right, and I agree totally myself . . . my son Jon, who has really developed into a 2 guard, will be the key at point. He has played point his whole career, but is just not the quick slashing point guard that is usual in most state championship teams. He has other strengths, and we shall see if he can find the right tools to get the job done as the GP leader.

TNHSBBallFan: Barber was cleared directly by TSSAA to play, pure and simple - and considering how this young man is living up to his responsibilities, rightly so. Please contrast this to the "moving" that goes on constantly in Knoxville. Again, Mo is a stand-up guy in a sit-down world.

Gatlinburg-Pittman went 6-0 for the camp. None of the games was too close. That campus is REALLY coming along nicely! I understand they will be DI next year.

I have nothing wrong with GP, but what they have done the past 2 off-seasons with transfers is a little more out there then just transferring from one school to the other. I'm glad to see GP, and their massive team, all they need is a TRUE point guard and they will have a great shot at state. Their addition to that district has made it the most competitive basketball district I can remember having around here. Appreciate the words about their team, but my point is Jose Agosto is the only true transfer to the program, and his family knew Raul and wanted him to play here, simple as that. As mentioned before, Morrease Barber transfered here for VERY real and personal reasons that in no way had anything to do with basketball (the kid is a stand-up guy in a sit-down world if you ask me). We have his brother Walt (who is primarily a football player) as a result of him seeing how things have been for Morrease here. Contrast that to the literally dozens of "transfers" within Knox County, and well . . . we are hardly running a basketball mill up here in Gatlinburg. You hit the nail on the head on the point guard (my son). He would love nothing more than to move to 2 guard, and has been shooting well enough to fill the spot left by McKinley Maples - but he is doing his best to fill the 1 spot, and is working hard in this off season to play the role his team currently needs. We shall see how it goes.

Players move around in Knoxville like its musical chairs, and y'all take swipes at GP?!?

Simple . . . transfers inside Knox County dont count as transfers . . . even I understand that one by now . Bottom line is still the same, kids should play and attend w/e they feel is best for them. This just confirms District 3AA as the place to be in TN in 2010!

With Fulton's coach, I would never count them out of any basketball season, no doubt on that one. It is very early in the process, but simply based on who is returning, Carter and GP have to be considered early "favorites" is my only point - and based on what little team camp activity that has taken place so far. Carter returns the likes of Wilson, Bennett, and Ballinger (in fact, didn't they only lose one senior off last years team?) - GP returns Agosto, Barber, McCroskey and Buckner and has 9-10 players in the AAU system atm (but they did lose 2 starting seniors). It would be GREAT to get some updates on the Fulton players - Galen Campbell is certainly a known factor, but what about Queener, Cason and Jackson. Is size not going to be a challenge for Fulton as well? As of last years listings, don't believe any of these players were listed over 6'2" - but high school players have been known to grow !

Well, MC team camp wound up, with GP going 6-0, including a 15 point win over a West team that only had 6 players (JuJuan Williams was one of the 6 I know, not sure on others though). I was told West lost on Monday to Carter by a similar margin, but no idea if it was the same 6 man squad for West. It's team camp, but it seems the early battle lines are being drawn between Carter and GP for domination in East TN AA ball; but then again I can't imagine Lopez and AE will not make a run at both before it is all over.

Team camp is going on at Maryville College atm, with a multitude of teams in attendence. Of note in Tuesday's games, West played AE with AE taking it on a last second drive and score by Brandon Lopez (who understandably celebrated with an outburst of "I'm Back!!"). Its team camp, but I'm sure AE is happy to have Lopez back (I'm assuming for the upcoming season as well??) Sets up an interesting matchup between Gatlinburg Pittman and West on Wednesday. GP played 6 games this past weekend at team camp at LMU University (boy they are growing that school like a weed - I understand LMU goes DI next year) and GP dominated all 6. They handled all 3 games at MC with ease on Tuesday as well. West-GP matchup should be very interesting indeed.

Please do a search for my name - MMcCroskey. I started an entire thread for the Union County-GP game this year that GP WON, but the officiating was so bad that I posted because I knew if anyone from Union County did, it would be seen as "sour grapes". This thread has merit.

Sevier County's team deserves alot of credit for the steady and obvious improvement they have made throughout the season - and they play well as a team. Wish ya alot of success in the region and beyond.

I am very glad others "get" this situation - thank you. I can say to those that doubt what has happened here, there was clear and VERY recent activities that brought this all to a head, and it may or may not be over - its up to these young men to respond. Are we supposed to wait until something REALLY stupid happens (think UT) until actions are taken? I'm personally very glad this coach is trying his best to instill some sense of responsibility in these kids. Drew Barton is the senior captain that has shown a tremendous amount of class over his 4 years, I'm a big fan of his. He is an excellent athlete, who will be playing college baseball without a doubt. Davis Soehn is the freshman that is showing great promise. Trust me when I tell you not all the parents are happy about what the coach is doing - but I am here, publicly, to state my appreciation to Raul Placeres for continuing to do his best to truly teach these players about much more than basketball.