bigbird

I think you are right. They did seem to try harder in the first half. I do not remember them trying as much to feed him in the second half and quite honestly, Patrick may not have called for it as much in the second either. You would think that when you have someone who can just about stand flat footed and dunk that you could find some way of giving it to him. I believe that a few minutes in practice just working on that would be a good investment of time. In all fairness to Temple's play, I believe that Patrick was pretty much no threat at either end. I will have to wait and see the stats but I do not remember one blocked shot and he had very few rebounds. Those stats have little to do with his team mates helping. In spite of the low stats, he still worked very hard all night long and never quit.

Well... I thought Grace tried often to feed him the ball high but Temple did a good job of face guarding with good help on the backside. If the Grace players could get it in his hands tonight he would have scored twenty, I bet. It seemed like they were overthrowing it a lot where he could not get a good handle on it. What did you think?

I thought it was a very good game. Temple came out and scored ten quickly and put Grace in a position of playing catch up for the rest of the game. Temple was in foul trouble early but the bench stepped up and made some big contributions. It seemed to me that Brandon Hermon and Terrell Church were the big players for Grace. Temple did an excellent job defending and shutting down Patrick. I thought the real decision in the outcome was Temple's better defense. Grace did a good job of playing hard for four quarters. It is hard to believe Grace's team has so few seniors on the floor. They should be the dominant team in the region next year.

I just wanted to mention how much I appreciate the respect both teams' fans have shown each other on this thread. In the past there have been unruly posters from both sides. Hopefully, there will be even more respect for both teams after the game for whoever comes back to post again.

I have only seen Harper play once this year and a couple of times last year but I have been watching Kemp play since he was in middle school. Harper is an excellent player. For me personally, I would have to give Kemp more than just an edge over Harper. Church has always been a good player. He was dominant when he was in middle school but as a high school player he has in the past shown a lack of confidence on the court until this year. With his heightened sense of confidence, he is a significant threat now. If Temple comes out hard, fast, and strong, I am afraid that Grace will crumble and begin to lose their confidence. They have sat home the last two years from the state tournament and I think they cannot help but to be affected mentally if they have to start the game off digging themselves out of a hole. Early momentum will make and break the game for Grace, I think.

I will stick with my earlier prediction that Temple will frustrate and confuse Grace early and often and win with a margin of ten or more. Grace is much like Temple in that they return most of their starters from last year. It has to be the best rivalry game in any class in Chattanooga tonight.

Temple's starters the last few games have been Kemp, Sexton, Johnson, Andrews, and Montgomery. Reaves, Pendergrass, and Peterson have seen the most time off the bench the last few games with Armour contributing some minutes. Reaves was actually slotted as a starter but broke his arm in a pre-season scrimmage against Notre Dame. Peterson has started since the beginning because Kemp broke his leg in a car accident and had another injury(?). Temple proved in the game against Walker Valley when Sexton sat down early in the second half that they could compete with anyone with any starter on the bench. Foul trouble may be more of an issue with Grace than Temple. I only saw Grace play Silverdale and that would be a hard game for me to judge the quality of a bench but I did not think that their bench was outstanding. We will definitely get a good picture tomorrow night.

Hmm...

I thought Temple played very well this past Saturday night against a good North Cobb Christian and if they play that way this Friday against Grace, there is no question in my mind that Temple will win. Both teams have a lot of good talent. If I had to guess, I would say that Temple will frustrate Grace early and often and will win by ten points or more.

Weak basketball area? Temple has won the state basketball title three times in the last eight years. You apparently are not familiar with our district or region. Two years ago when Temple won the title, we were playing against another team in our region. Last year, Temple was the only team in any classification returning to the state tournament from the previous year. In fact, it may surprise you to know that in the last nine years, there have only been two years where a Chattanooga team was not playing in the title game. Temple won silver in 1998. Did you know that Franklin has only played in one title game in the last 80+ years? Did you know that Franklin's only state title was in 1989? It may surprise you to know that since you guys won that lone title, no other AAA team in your district or region has won a title since. The only team to even play in a title game since then was John Overton in 1994. Since your lone title, four AAA teams in our region have played seven title games with two state titles. In fact, the year before your lone title, a A and AAA team won the title from our region. So, in all honesty, I am not sure which one of us is from a "weak" basketball area... I choked back a guffaw when you wrote "he doesn't have them playing hard on both ends of the court." The first quarter you guys blistered our tails 26-8. We traded out the next two quarters with each team outscoring the opponent by five and then Temple outscored Franklin in the fourth quarter by two. If you guys were really as good as you think you are and we were as bad as you think we are, then please explain how we win the last three quarters overall? You guys are a very good team and you deserved to win. Congratulations. I have nothing but respect for you all and I hope you go far at the state tournament.

From the Chattanooga Times Free Press: FRANKLIN 84, TENNESSEE TEMPLE 68 Temple 8 17 17 25 ??” 68 Franklin 26 12 23 23 ??” 84 Temple (68) ??” Jeremy Sexton 24, James Kemp 12, Johnson 9, Andrews 9, Peterson 6, Montgomery 4, Pendergrass 4, Armour. Franklin (84) ??” Payton Henry 20, James Haddix 19, Michael Young 17, Starnes 8, McLemore 6, Glover 6, Little 2. 3-point goals: Temple 8 (Sexton 4, Kemp 2, Johnson, Andrews); Franklin 4 (Henry 2, Young 2). Record: Franklin 7-2; Temple 8-1.

I only saw four teams tonight, Temple, Franklin, Ensworth, and Whitehouse but I did not see anyone on the court as good as Sexton. Apparently Franklin's coach disagrees with your perspective on Sexton. He double teamed him a good part of the game. I have not seen any stats from the game but I would not be surprised to discover that Sexton was the high scorer for both teams. That double team held him to only 20+ points. Of the players you named, are any from single a schools?

That is a fair question. I think we fail at times, as a team, to get back on defense. There seems to be a few too many blown assignments and twice now I have seen our failure to adjust early cost us a game. Tongiht, we were blown away in the first quarter 26-8 but played on a very even keel for the next three quarters. Earlier in the season in a HOF game against Walker Valley, we were blistered in the first quarter but came back to out score them in the remaining three quarters to make it a 96-92 game. I do not know if any other team we have faced plays defense as well as we do but we need to play defense one hundred and ten percent of the time. By the way, I am a little biased about the bench... /rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />

Gerry, Do not be so quick to judge Temple fans. We have a long tradition of winning but not whining. /blush.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":blush:" border="0" alt="blush.gif" /> We do not like to lose but we know what it feels like. Tonight was a good loss for us. Franklin was an excellent, top caliber team. They played well and deserved to win. Your coach showed us some things tonight we were not used to seeing. In my opinion, if we were to match up again, Temple would win. Once we adjusted to what you all were doing, we were fine, unfortunately we were too far in the hole after the first quarter to dig ourselves back out. It happens. From my perspective, we were a little off tonight. We normally make a higher perecentage of free throws. Jeremy Sexton is normally a 90% plus shooter from the charity stripe. You do not know Jeremy Sexton, at all, so give him a little grace. He is nothing like what you have described. I think you may be a little hyper-critical. If you had ever really been around him and seen him play, you would not say that the things that you have. Hopefully, you will have the opportunity to see him play again tomorrow or Saturday, and you will change your position after seeing a few more minutes of his play. It is amazing how you saw him push off so many times but did not comment on how many times he was being double and triple teamed and was being held by the defenders. We will have to disagree about the coach. I am not sure what your beef is with him but I challenge you to find many first year coaches who took their team to the state tourney with only one player on the court with any tournament exerience and only one senior on the roster. It looks very much like Temple will make it to the tournament again this year. This is only his second year ever coaching a high school basketball team. I am sure your coach is a very fine man but I would not trade ours for yours.

I have read your post and found myself enjoying the predictions you have made but am somewhat puzzled as to the basis of your prognosticating? Your predictions are enjoyable because I can tell you do not know anything much at all about Temple, so I am assuming your basis is purely on what is known about Franklin. All I know about Franklin is what I have read on these threads. I can tell you, from what I know about Temple, that if Franklin does win, it will not be an easy win and they will walk off the court with a heart full of respect for a little old school from Chattanooga. If Temple wins, it will just be another oversized school that went down... /hungry.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":hungry:" border="0" alt="hungry.gif" />

Legend, I fear that you are headed for a great fall... /popcorneater.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":popcorneater:" border="0" alt="popcorneater.gif" />

I guess it depends on what you mean by "hands down." For me, "hands down" means that Jeremy is the best player in the area, and he is. It does not mean that there are not othere really good players. Ish Sanders, Brandon Herman, and others are good players but they are neither as good nor or they better than Jeremy Sexton, but they are both very good players and worthy of respect.

I know that I am wasting my time replying to your post but I thought I would point out that Temple never was charged with or "caught" recruiting. But if we ever decide to start doing that, I wondered what your secret was to not getting caught?

All of Temple's starters play well. There is not a weak link and the players off the bench do a really good job, also. I cannot really figure out the comments from posters who say that Temple does not have any depth on the bench. There are at least four players off the bench who would be starters on most other teams in our region. Temple's defense is actually very good and tough. They never give up and never slow down on defense or offense. They keep going at it hard every minute of the game.

Thanks for the information! I am a Temple fan and I was curious what classification these teams are, and if any of these teams are legitimate state tournament contenders this season.

I disagree. Two years ago when CSAS won the silver cup, they started out the season slow and continued to improve. At the game Friday, I was very impressed with their quickness and athleticism. I would be careful about writing them off. They have a ton of potential this season.

From what I saw last night, CSAS will be in the region tournament and is a very good contender for a second place spot, just like last year, therefore, they are one of the best in the area. It matters not to me what Jeremy's stats are in any game. He is the best player in the area, hands down, and he proves it over and over and over again. t

It was a very good and exciting game tonight over on 3rd St. CSAS has a very quick and athletic team. Their quickness compensates for a shortage of experience. They did a good job of pressuring Temple. Both teams will continue to get better over the course of the season and I am confident that the next game and any possible game after that will get the same result as tonight's game. Temple showed a lot of character and tougness on the court. If they could tone down the unforced errors and turnovers, they would unquestionably beat any team in Chattanooga (IMHO).

Well, I guess you will have the opportunity Friday evening to see for yourself. It should be an interesting game. The bench is unquestionably better than last year. I would love to hear your thoughts and observations after the game Friday. I was impressed with CSAS at the jamboree at Signal Mountain. #30 is a definite playmaker and you have some other very good players. Your team is young but you guys should expect to do well this season. You were underestimated two years ago and have a silver cup in your trophy case to remind people to be careful about making early season predictions against you. It was very disappointing last year for you guys to get bumped at the sectional at Jackson County.

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_140009.asp