EastTNFan7

Tracy Cloninger has resigned at Morristown East after 7 seasons. Sounds like she is taking the HC job at Volunteer.

I was there. Mo West didn't shoot it well. Something like 19-54 (31%). It was in the paper. Anyway, Karen Donehew played like the top caliber player she is. Believe she had close to 30 points. Looked like the perfect storm. An inspired effort by South-Doyle and lackluster performance by West High. There were some highly questionable calls that had West fans upset, but isn't that pretty much life on the road in high school hoops? If West had shot it/played better, they might have overcome those whistles. Can't take away from South-Doyle though. They are clearly the No. 2 team in the IMAC right now. I would probably add them to the top 10 East TN teams in AAA. Will be interested to see how they fair against William Blount. I know they lost earlier in the year, but as evidenced by Tuesday, they are a different animal at home.

Hey MagicMan, I stand corrected. The boys AND girls semifinal games will be played on Friday, February 15. The consolation and championship games for the IMAC will be Saturday, February 16. On both days, the first game will be played at 4 pm with the others to follow. All games are at Seymour.

The D2AAA tournament begins today (Monday, February 11). 6) Morristown East vs 7) Cherokee 5) Sevier County vs 8) South-Doyle East/Cherokee winner plays Wednesday, February 13, against 3) Seymour Sevier/SD winner plays Wednesday against 4) Jefferson County Semis are on Friday, February 15. East/Cherokee/Seymour winner gets 2) Morristown West. The Sevier/SD/Jefferson winner gets 1) Cocke County. Championship and consolation are on Monday.

Update on IMAC (D2-AAA)... The top three seeds and eighth for the district tournament are set. 1. Cocke County (can win first outright championship since 1980s with win over South-Doyle) 2. Morristown West 3. Seymour 8. South-Doyle 4-7 go something like this: Jefferson County is 4 seed with...a win over Cherokee Sevier County is 4 seed with... a Jefferson County loss to Cherokee Cherokee is the 6 seed with... a win over Jefferson County Morristown East is the 6 seed with... a win over Morristown West or a Cherokee loss So, the matchups will look something like: First Round... 5. Sevier County/Jefferson County vs. 8. South-Doyle 6. Cherokee/Morristown East vs. 7. Cherokee/Morristown East Quarterfinals... 5/8 Winner vs. 4. Jefferson County/Sevier County 6/7 Winner vs. 3. Seymour Semifinals... 5/8/4 Winner vs. 1. Cocke County 6/7/3 Winner vs. 2. Morristown West Championship... 5/8/4/1 Winner vs. 6/7/3/2 Winner

No need to make excuses for the Sci Hill game. They won. My point was simply that Morristown West put a scare into them. I also think the top half of the Big 8 (overall) is better with SH, TN, DB and possibly Boone compared to an IMAC which is a two-team league at this point. I will add Seymour's downward spiral since Christmas has been a surprise. And why not reward the top two finishers in a district? Nobody says anything when the SEC tournament awards first round byes. High school districts have done it for years as well. Finally, don't be so concerned with what coaches do with their time. I'm pretty sure they have already scouted potential opponents for the Region. ...I actually prefer the format. Not because it's protecting a team...but rather, it limits the 60-30, 50-20 games you have to sit through. It also shortens the amount of time it takes to complete the tournament.

Heh...if you say so, but please use correct facts. Morristown West owns a rather convincing (18 pts) win over Dobyns-Bennett, and is a missed layup at the horn away from upsetting Sci Hill in their barn. As for the tournament...it's really no different than the old days when the 1 and 2 had a first round bye before the big district realignment. And you can bash the format all you want, D4-AAA and other districts have used it for years. The IMAC flipped to it so they could bring all the teams back to a neutral site, and not have a tournament that stretches over a whole week. Last year, with the "everyone plays first round" format, they had to use satellite games in the first round, which didn't draw very well. Call it what you want, but "protecting the top seeds" really wasn't the primary reason for the format change.

Update for IMAC (D2-AAA)... The scenario for the tops seeds... Cocke County wins IMAC with a victory over Seymour, plus one more win (Cherokee or South-Doyle)...regardless of Morristown West's results in final two games Cocke County and Morristown West tie for the top spot (coin flip) if the Lady Trojans win out and Cocke County loses to Seymour, and wins over Cherokee and South-Doyle Morristown West wins the IMAC by winning out, and Cocke County loses to Seymour and Cherokee or South-Doyle Seymour hosts the D2-AAA tournament this year. I believe the format has switched to one similar to D4-AAA, with byes into the semifinals for the 1 and 2 seeds. In the quarterfinals, the 3 seed plays the 6/7 winner of round one, and the 4 seed plays 5/8 winner from round one.

What about Galyon at M-West or Lewis from Jeff County if you look at IMAC schools?

I'm not really sure what your point is here. I don't think I've ever seen a team dominate against equal talent. I've seen teams consistently win against an even playing field, which is what West continues to do. The scary thing is the fact some of the prime contributors this year are freshmen or sophomores, but Jefferson County has that, too. The race for the regular season title is going to come down to the last week. Jury is still out on just how good Cherokee is. Seymour is facing "must win" Monday night at M-West to remain in the race. If M-West sweeps their next three games (Seymour, at East, Cherokee)...and I stress IF...Jefferson County is going to feel the pressure to win out. One more factor in all this...scheduling. Lot of snow has postponed many games. Some teams will find themselves playing four or five games in the span of seven days. Depth will be an issue down the stretch.

I wouldn't get too excited if I'm the rest of the IMAC, and wouldn't get too down if I'm a West fan. M-West's loss to Cherokee is a bit puzzling, but people need to remember this team is still 4-1 in conference, with wins against Jefferson County and Seymour. I tend to believe that M-West fell victim to overlooking a solid opponent, and Cherokee played it's best game of the year. Also, playing so many freshmen...a game like this was bound to happen. But these freshmen have also helped M-West beat some very good teams (Oak Ridge, Campbell County out of conference). They have one of the top post players in the district in junior Allison Jones, several outside scoring threats, and a quick, albeit inexperienced, point guard who can score from anywhere. Plus, they have the best coach in the IMAC. I still believe M-West is the team to beat.

Dude...I don't know if you're just obsessed with this topic or jealous. I've read your previous posts on teams playing out of state, and I'm beginning to wonder... Just let it go man. Teams play out of state. There's nothing wrong with that. Several teams in East TN either play out of state, or host tournaments that bring teams in from outside the borders. Absolutely nothing wrong with it. If Memphis Central wants to travel to Phoenix, great for them...same for Oak Ridge or Morristown West or anyone else who wants to go. The GreenBank Classic in Greeneville, TN, is one of the best holiday girls tournaments in the state. Many great teams have won that, and went on to win state (South Greene, Wilson Central, Oak Ridge). Mount Juliet is defending champion. But oh! They are bringing in teams from Alabama, Florida and Kentucky! What a shame! Teams in Morristown, Jefferson County, Sevier County and others in East Tennessee and across the state are playing in tournaments in Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia and Missouri. Memphis Central isn't the only one doing it, so stop attacking them on their threads. Just take a breath. Accept that teams like to go to new places and reward their student athletes with trips to Hilton Head or Phoenix or wherever. But for the good of everyone on CoachT, stop with your personal crusade against playing out-of-state competition. Let it go!

Nope. Sevier County will have the no. 1 spot coming out the district for playoff purposes for sure. However, it does not determine the quote/unquote "conference champion." If the three teams have the same district record when all is said and done, there will be co-champions. Only way Sevier wins it out-right is with a Jefferson County loss. This is the way the IMAC/Five Rivers has always done it, and, according to the coaches at their weekly meetings, will continue to do so. A three-way co-champion happened as recently as 2004 in district 2.

Should be a great game on the artificial turf in Morristown. If Sevier County downs Morristown East, Morristown West defeats Seymour and Jefferson County beats South-Doyle, then the IMAC will officially declare a three-way tie for the IMAC championship. So, if someone wants to win it out-right...gonna need some help from others. Otherwise, there could be three co-champions. Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe 2004 was the last time the IMAC (then the Five Rivers Conference)had more than two teams share the title. I understand that Ricker will still be tailback for East with his hand still taped up. Thompson has been solid as QB, though.

Solid, young coach for Seymour. She was an assistant coach for Knox Central this past year, and has served on coaching staffs at two schools in Sevier County. Played for Jefferson County High School. Obviously, she knows the area well.

Seymour and Walker Valley are open, though Seymour is presumably close to making a hire. I believe Knox Central High is still looking for a girls coach.

Several of my coaching friends in that district and around Knoxville are watching this one closely. Todd Wright turned down advances from Seymour to take the Lenoir City job after leaving Maryville College. Reportedly...the other finalists are a couple of smaller college coaches wanting to move back to East TN and another successful, long-standing coach in the Knoxville area is interested as well.

I saw the majority of games at the Greene Bank, I've seen all the IMAC teams at least twice and several of the teams in District 1, 3, and 4. I will respectfully disagree with you on all those sentiments. But, we will find out for sure this week barring another pesky snow storm!

I would be careful about putting the cart before the horse. Sevier is not exactly cream of the crop in the conference. And to answer your question, yes I have seen that done. Morristown West led Cherokee 33-7 at halftime in Rogersville. They led Seymour 26-9 at halftime at Seymour. They held a solid Jefferson County team to 17 points in a game! Shut them out 6-0 in the 4th quarter. They have routinely held their opponents below 20 points in the opening 16 minutes all year. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Cocke County's team. Definitely one of the top 5 in Region 1. Depew, Sprouse and Pruitt combine to make a great inside presence. However, they have only seen a team with the speed and athleticism of West once this year, and that didn't turn out well against Mt. Juliet. I will be very interested to see how CCHS' new ball-handlers handle the press that West brings and the constant pressure it comes with. I also think Depew is a great player, but (arguably) there may be one or two better in the same district, speaking of Goins and Hall. Just some food for thought to chew on....

And where was West during the classic? Maybe some of the other schools just came up there to see just how good they were. I didn't imply the schools in the ET area were that bad but a post from up there said West had played just about everyone any good and they had to go out of state. Your coach ducked out on the Classic. "Ducked" on the Classic? Ducked? You think he flew his team across the country to "duck" competition in Greeneville? Yes, Mo West was invited back. Yes, they were invited to the NIKE in the spring. He chose the opportunity to showcase his team on a national stage. Throwing out the records and apparently "suspect" talent of other states' schools...it is still a tournament held on a national stage. The teams involved are invited. They don't just pick random teams. The committee overseeing the tournament looks at team resumes, traditions, players, etc. People from all over come to watch that tournament. It is a once-in-a-lifetime moment for all those kids. Yes, they play AAU and are in similar situations then as well. However, this is a chance to represent not only their program...but their schools, their communities, cities, towns, states...Morristown West is not "ducking" anybody. Do you think what you type as your doing it, or do you just drift in and out?? And for someone who posted earlier..I did not intend for this to become a "Mo West is Great Thred." There are certainly a lot of tremendously talented teams all across the state. I was just helping the Memphis Central people out in defending their school's decisions to play in Phoenix by presenting the Morristown West side. Everybody knows full well with the way the post season TN is setup, any team can make it to Murfreesboro.

I believe you need to re-read my last post. No where in there did I mention that the East TN competition was not up to par. I mentioned that they have played and beaten South Greene, Seymour, Elizabethton and Unicoi. I mentioned that they will face Cocke County, Jefferson County and Cleveland twice in the coming weeks. They probably have a matchup with Dobyns-Bennett looming somewhere in the post season if they take care of business. And FYI, just about every player on the Mo West roster plays in AAU. There are a lot of great, talented girls that play AAU in district 2. I think in the coming years, we need to hold a de facto state championship tournament in Knoxville or Memphis. Invite Riverdale, Blackman, Gibson County, Mo West, Memphis Central et al. Winner of the tournament is number 1 until the state championship tournament in March. That should settle everything.

You do know that Mo West beat Oak Ridge, Hillsboro, Cookeville, Smyrna and Livingston Academy in preseason by very comfortable margins, right? I know it is preseason, but still...no game was closer than 15 points. And the last four I mentioned were all played at Hillsboro's play-day..and they played all four on the same day. And Mo West has done everything they can to schedule good competition in the state. They have already beaten South Greene, Elizabethton, Unicoi County and Seymour. I know they are AA schools, but as GC will atest, AA schools are no pushover. South Greene returned four starters from a team that went to Murfreesboro last year. Elizabethton returned four from a state tournament run. And Seymour made it to substate before losing to South Greene. I have seen all of these teams first hand. Unicoi is a good basketball team. They play at South Greene on Monday. They will play at Cleveland on Saturday. I was also at the Green Bank Classic over the holiday break. Mt. Juliet is a legitimate threat to be in Murfreesboro. Cocke County will make noise in the post season. I think they will also bring the district 2 race to the final week with West. Oak Ridge, Maryville, Cleveland and Livingston Academy are all solid teams that will be tough in the post season. And I still don't know why you continue punishing teams for going out of state. One of Mo West's younger players drew the attention of a D1 school at the tournament in Phoenix. They discovered that they can play with some of the better teams in the country. They were exposed to a big time environment and big venues. I do not see why this is a bad thing.

Cocke County @ Gatlinburg-Pittman has been postponed. As has Science Hill at Jefferson County. No makeup dates have been given.

What do you have against teams going to the Nike Tournament? Jealous that your team has not been invited? Morristown West and Memphis Central are both state title contenders, and they both represented very well in Phoenix. Calling tournaments like this insignificant and belittling the schools who choose to accept the invite is very short-sighted. West has has been 25-30 pts. better than everyone they have played in state. Personally, I think it huge for the players, their program, their school and community that Morristown West went out west (once in a lifetime trip for some of them) and came home 3rd in a national tournament. The trip also included a dominating 59-43 victory over #10 Oak Ridge, CA, without their best player on the floor.