area1guy

North should get the Arnold kid as a 9th grader, but I don't know if he will get any varisty time. He is a great player (and a great shot), but not very physical. I heard that Jake Weaver (Holtson standout) is transferring to South instead of going to Central, and he is concentrating on football first, then basketball. Mary Hughes had a big kid, atleast 6-2 or 6-3, but I don't remember his name. Someone from Elizabethton said they saw him play at the sports complex against a team from Atlanta and put on a clinic. Does anyone know who this kid is? I am assuming he will go to East?

I can't believe nobody had an opinion on this.

So who is on the 14U Travlers Team?

Who are the rising freshmen to watch in Northeast Tenn area? The kids from Science Hill's eighth grade team got alot of press winning the East Sectional Championship, but are their any other kids to be on the lookout. I am especially interested in the new conference alignment which includes some of the smaller schools besides DB, Science Hill and Tennessee High...

So does it apply to spring or not? Prior to the next school season is now....

Does anyone have the roster and school for the Tenn Travelers 14U?

What does TSSAA 50% rule really mean. I see more and more full school squads in these weekend tournaments that are not AAU sanctioned, but run under AAU age rules. Even if they are coached by a parent, does the rule apply? Does the rule apply to rising 8th graders who will be on freshmen and JV squads next year?

Mr. King, thank you for the reply. I do beleive TMSAA should look at ways to increase parity, especially for the smaller schools. There is no solution for competing against the largest of large schools, but that is not a good reason for a more competitive situation to be installed at the lower enrollment levels.

Teams are playing in tournaments every weekend. Just go to Science Hill Gym or Smoky Mtn Sports Complex in Elizabethton each weekend. Typically their school coaches sit in the stands and coaches while a parent sits on the bench.

Is it true that on of Science Hill's tallest and most athletic kids transferred from Vance due to academic or dicipline issues? I bet they missed him this year at Vance.

tssaa website, tmsaa section has a listing of schools by area, by section, but East Section does not break down by large and small school. Area 1 is mainly made up of small schools, except for city middle schools in tri cities plus blountville and north. city schools include science hill, vance, 2 kingsport schools, plus colonial heights and elizabethton, and unicoi. Other than elizabethton and hampton, most carter county schools arent' members so they play alot of games, and practice all the time. Cloudland usually dominates the county division. Alot of the schools in Washington County don't participate, other than university high. I think the season game limits and season starting and ending times are one of the big detractors for membership. There are so many opportunities for tournament and offseason play in East TN. If you are preparing for high school ball, you want to play as many games as you can.

Here are some of Blountville's Girls scores.... 12/15 Blountville 46 Home Holston Valley 4 1/24 Blountville 43 Conf. Tourn. Rogersville 6 Seems like one of the "best" coaches should be able to manage a game better than this. I think Blountville got what they deserve. How can you beat someone that bad?

Back to the original topic.....a more reasonable cutoff for 3 divisions would be 125 or less as small, 126 to 300 as medium, and 300+ as large. If you have a limited number of large schools, then they should combine sections to have more of a consolidated super large championship. Who at TMSSAA needs to hear these suggestions?

Area 1 boys teams dominated East Section in small schools. I just don't know many of the kids on the Holston, MHS, or Rogersville teams. Who are their best players? Betweent the 3 of them, they had 8 all tournament, including MVP. Are any of them pure basketball players, or multisport? Will any of them see any action as freshmen like Jordan Cross did for Sullivan East?

Congratulations to the Holston boys for a game well played!

The largest of the Small Schools won the boys Championship (Holston). The largest of the Large Schools won the boys Championship (Science Hill). Now tell me numbers in enrollment doesn't matter.

Mary Hughes has beat Holston 3 times in the regular season and Area tournament combined. How have they been playing in the sectional and who is the favorite?

I will confess to supporting Newport in Area 1. We are only in the 60-70 range for 8th graders (I think.) I do hope that TMSAA would consider moving to 3 groups in East Section. Mary Hughes does have that one big kid that plays inside, but Rogersville has a great point guard.

Points well said. Obviously if your winning against a larger school its not an issue, but when you loose in your Area it stings (and we did). I have totally lost track with the progress of the East Sectional Small Schools boys. Who is the favorite? Who are the go to players for the teams left?

So maybe that's a problem also that TMSAA should address. Just because its may be unfair on the large end does not make it ok on the other side. Maybe there should be 3 different groups. TSSAA recognized the issue at the high school groupings and tried to level the playing field with the new classifications. Whining or not, its not fair, especially to the small schools with an 8th grade enrollment of 30-40 students. Assuming 50% are boys, you have a pool of 15-20 to get a team.

Most small schools in East Section should be enraged by the current enrollment cutoff for small schools. Holston out of Area 1 is the largest school in East Section with a 8th grade enrollment of 140+. Whoever made this decision did the schools with 8th grade enrollment between 30 and 50 a disservice. Real small schools in East Section should let TMSAA have an earful.

Looks like Area 1 is dominating East Section. Who are the best players for both large and small schools out of Area 1?