lovedahoops

Finally! Someone sees JHall as a great player. He will surpass THood if the naysayers don't break his spirit.

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If you read the thread for Lady Panthers under Girls Basketball, the question will get answered.

Elite players and their parents obviously seek out other teams. Yes the expense is great, time spent traveling tremendous. That is their choice, ti find the team and coach that will benefit their child the most. College coaches will know about players by exposure tournaments where there interest in a player is sparked, then they will come watch high school games. As for the 8th graders "being hungry" to prove themselves, many other 8th grade classes have felt the same, look at them a year from now- the hunger will be gone and confidence will be lost, sans the chosen few. I think "Joe Lee haters" are strong words to use. I don't think any one on this thread truly dislikes this man. It just seems that a fresh beginning are what the community,parents, and basketball fans are desiring at this point. There is outstanding talent on this team, most of it being used for Joe's Elite 5 to practice scrimmage against. Not a way to prove yourself in practice. I would guess only the folks who deal with this coaching/player/team issue know the "real deal" with the relationship that this coach may have with some players and their families and it may come across as playing favorites. Maybe this is the real talent on the team and the others should just walk away. However, this topic seems to bring a lot of emotion to the table. Wonder what the end results will be?

I believe there are 4 girls from the 8th grade team playing on the high school team too. 2 of those girls run track for their middle school. If you needed more high school players, why not post your need for players? Do all the 8th grade girls play on two of your teams? Sure does give them a lot of experience, and the high school aged players less. You have to see why the people posting comments are a little angry. It does not seem like a fair practice.

Just witnessed a Wendy's high school team game in the Wendy's tournament. Good job Ledbetter, Lee and whoever the team coach is, you have pulled 4 girls from your 8th grade team to bench your high school varsity team members. I guess you are trying to get some to quit. I heard talk of a one team rule for all of Wendy's players. I guess there are exceptions to that rule based on who your parents are. I hope the 8th grade players can play hardball against the likes of Farragut, Maryville and Bearden. They are all Coach Lee is going to have left if he doesn't change his current habits. But I learned a long time ago, a leopard doesn't change his spots. I hope someone takes notice of this tragedy before it is too late!

I did not mean to omit LCMS, I realize they have had a great team for the past couple of years who won the state tournament for small schools. When these 2 teams combine at the high school level they should be unbeatable at the freshmen,JV and varsity team levels. It clearly is not lack of player talent, that is obviously there. These girls play basketball 12 months a year, fall league ball, then school season/practice starts, AAU/travel team begins in March. Then spring/summer practice starts. The only 2 weeks these girls have off are the TSSAA dead period in the summer.This a full time job for these athletes plus they attend school full time. So if a coach can;t develop a team from 2 great schools whose players play 12 months a year, the problem is in the coach.

What middle schools "feed" William Blount, Maryville, Heritage,Sevier County, Farragut, Bearden, South Doyle and the rest of the teams on LC's schedule? I doubt that each of the mentioned high schools have 4 middle schools sending students much less 8. What a lame excuse. Last time I checked North Middle, a school of 800 students played and defeated most of the "feeder" middle schools-Heritage Middle, Carpenter's, William Blount (now a new name), Farragut, etc. So...there is talent on this team that is stifled by the coaching staff at LCHS.

I believe that several of the girls are considering transferring to other schools. Parents play a mjor influence on this team Inappropriate language to name one bad behavior. I am not sure the players have a lot of respect left for the entire coaching staff. There is little positive feedback or enthusiasm from this coaching staff. This team obviously needs new life breathed into the program.

Then maybe Coach Lee needs to have 7 girls on the bench. I would think all the girls would be good to deserve to bo on the team. There is a lot of money going into uniforms and shoes if these girls are not "talented" enough to be on the team. Hmmm...when was the last time there was a winning season at LC, long before LC went AAA. Is it not the coaches job to increase the ability and skill of his/her team? How many feeder middle schools are there for the other AAA schools in LC's district?

I think the point trying to be made is that the coaching decisions are not always the best and that all team members should be given a chance to prove themselves. If you play 5 to 7 girls only with a team of 15,that is crazy. All it takes is a couple of injuries and an illness to put your inexperienced, "never played a minute" players on the court. Guess who will be at fault for losing? uh, not the coach. The benchwarmers will, the same girls who sit the sidelines at practice and never even get to learn plays. What is the logic in that?

Like I said I am not sure what logic goes behind some of the coaching decisions

I understand there is some good talent moving up from the middle schools. Hopefully they can help put some more wins on the scoreboard. Sounds like next season could be embarassing for the Lady Panthers and the town of LC too.

Have you seen the upcoming freshmen from NMS? I have seen considerable talent in one player particularly.

Has Coach Wells been named as the new coach?

those idiots don't live by the rules. I completely agree with you.

What are the chances of having an acutal winning season at LC this year? Is there any talent coming from the 8th grade?

I think it is "illegal" for registered AAU teams, however, I do know of a "non registered" team who is coached at times by their high school coach, mainly from the bleachers and practice but what they say overrules what their coach tells them.

I wonder what that means for Lenoir City's coaching future?

The middle schools that send players to LC have gone to the state playoffs for the past 2 years, have had MVP's and all the other accolades. Very large freshmen class with at least 5 guards, 2 of who play great at point. Next year's freshmen class also has at least 3 girls who play point.

Do you have District 4 AAA info?

Ya think? The LC teams can't even think for themselves, they have to wait for the coach to yell at them. Sort of like robots and wind up dolls. There is no disrespect for an upperclassmen who is not performing well, it is not about playing time at the high school level. They get benched if they call plays and if they try to move to the paint without being told to do so. Thank goodness AAU is just around the corner!!!

More losses in the last quarter when LC was keeping in the game. Coaching is the problem not the players. There is no transition game and the offense has to wait on coaches to yell at them from the bench. They are smart girls who can play the game without being screamed at by coaches. There is no intensity, enthusiasm or any other emotion from the bench for that matter. These girls are losing all confidence and self esteem because they have no support from their coaches unless you call pointing out all their faults a morale booster.

I know what you mean. The bad influences were rewarded for their behavior by starting games. That is a sad example of discipline and makes all the girls on the team look bad by simple association.

They can only go forward from this season. The loss to Farragut was embarassing. The entire groups of benchwarmers should have played the last quarter of that game. They can be a success in the next 3 years without some playing time this year. At least the JV and freshmen teams are having a great season! Here's looking to next year!