FirestoneTigers

I'll admit I expected White Station to blow out Liberty as well, by 15. After I saw them against Ridgeway at the Larry Finch Classic, they didn't impress me other than that point guard. He is a true leader and sets everybody up. Then the next day, they lost to Siegel of Mufreesboro who had just lost to Carver? I think Liberty also lost at home to Briarcrest. So with all that, I didn't give them too much of a chance. But, when you've got to win to stay alive, you usually step up more than you usually would.

Obviously Egypt fans were excited(Why not?). I'm a Northside fan(not the Cougars, but the Northside of town). I like to see all of the Frayser, Raleigh, North Memphis teams do well. Melrose didn't come to play at all. That White STation game must've took a toll on their attitudes. They weren't aggressive as they usually are. They both disappointed me. Hines needs to be the point guard. Holmes isn't gonna get it done. He is TOO shaky with the ball, and Brady shouldn't touch the floor anymore. You're obviously a Raleigh-Egypt fan. Don't act like they are that much better than any of the top teams. If Chris Mason could hold his water, Melrose would be City Champs. I've been a little guilty of "hating" on Melrose this year but I'm man enough to admit that, you should be too. You know that wasn't the same team that played for the City title. I'm pulling for Raleigh-Egypt, and if Bearden beats them and/or White Station and wins it all, I'm going to be EXTREMELY upset. If Bearden has some type of fullcourt pressure, Holmes is gonna cost em. Hopefully, he'll prove me wrong.

Well I most certainly appreciate that. And I agree

Middleton also got blown out in their own gym. Manassas and Craigmont looked like they played poorly because they both make their opponents look ugly. Shaq was off that game, and neither shot was a hailmary. Buckner's 3 to tie was barely a 3(I even question if it was), and Shaq's three was right in his range. When the OT started, Manassas came alive and opened it. They looked like a superior team. Then a couple dribbles out of bounds while they still had the lead(one by Carroll) gave Craigmont a chance. As for Craigmont, you can't be serious. They lost to Liberty by 2 in the MLK finals, which Melrose failed to reach. White Station just edged by Liberty(who beat Ridgeway), and Craigmont beat Ridgeway and White Station. They didn't "luck up" and beat Egypt. They did what they've done all year, clutch. The second game was at Egypt and they allowed Craigmont to cut a 16 point lead down to 5, at home. Craigmont then turned over the ball after they picked it up right underneath the basket and Egypt put it up and scored. No telling what would've happened. As for the District finals, Tank Brown was hanging on Zach Jones all night, nothing was called. Craigmont missed a ton of free throws and fast break lay-ups, with Richardson in questionable foul trouble and Durham(their obvious most important piece) straining his groin in the 3rd quarter on the comedown from a dunk. If I'm not mistaken, the second Liberty loss(62-46), as well as the Cordova loss(65-58) were played without Durham. And when he DID play against Cordova, they annihilated Cordova 95-49. Try to include all the facts next time /biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" />

I'm realistic, and I've seen Manassas surely a lot more times than you. They can shoot it. They'd shoot it better consistently if they wouldn't rush it. Sometimes they get trigger happy. From what I've seen, they shoot well more often than they shoot poorly. I'll agree that they aren't as good as last year, no question. They were lights out last year. But they're on more than once in a blue moon. It's by no means a liability this year. Not as prolific, but solid. Walker is borderline pure-shooter. I'd say he needs to be in a rhythm. I question his release point(as others do), but Ridgeway's length in their zone didn't bother him(he had the game high 21 points against them). I don't exaggerate. Seriously, on paper, you wouldn't think Manassas would do well against their schedule. They lack height, quality depth, athletes, standout players. Craigmont and Ridgeway have all that. Manassas beat Craigmont and could've beaten Ridgeway, but decided not to play too hard, LOL(you should've seen it, so funny you couldn't even get mad), only lost by 8 though. They could PROBABLY compete in AAA, not sure if they could play them EVERY SINGLE night. But they did well with whom they did play. Again, I don't exaggerate anything they do. Realistically, there's nothing spectacular about Manassas, they just get it done.

Widely accepted by whom? And from what evidence? I've seen them shoot average, below average, and I've seen them light it up. I don't know how you can gauge them against Scotts Hill or Middleton. Was Lake County within single digits at any point in the second half? You wanna know how good they are, ask Craigmont. When I saw that game, I was convinced I had to be watching the 2 best teams in the City and the A and AAA State Champions. Craigmont had beaten White Station and Ridgeway at that point and beat Raleigh-Egypt shortly after. If they're point guard hadn't got hurt against Raleigh-Egypt, I don't think anyone could stop them from winning it all(maybe Melrose). They were DEEP, with size, shooters, athletes, defenders, rebounders, shot-blockers. And they were a AAA team that, unlike Humboldt, was tested against some of the best, and passed. Manassas was the only team this year that out-toughed and out-lasted Craigmont, which is something that I can still hardly believe they did, because Craigmont plays the best clutch ball I've seen this year.

No doubt about that, it's not easy to turn it up after two months, but they have actually had a few good ones during that stretch. Just not every single night. Remember, Middleton is a district opponent that's pretty used to em. It's hard to blow out a team like that. And Middleton's played some solid competition. They're district won 3 of the four region games. Honestly, I've already told people that Humboldt's competition was weak but they do to that competition what they are supposed to do, which is what you said: They play weaker teams, but they blow those weak teams out as they should. But what I'm saying is this: I think that when you play Memphis competition every year, it's alot harder to get motivated for the lower level 1A teams Manassas has been playing than it would be for a team like Humboldt who plays these teams all year. What I mean is, Manassas has to prove they're good by beating Craigmont, Carver, Ridgeway, Oxford, Mitchell, and other State contenders night after night. That's the bar for them. On the other hand, Humboldt doesn't play that type of competition, so their bar or standard is defined by blowing out the teams that they do play. Probably just as good a team, and might be able to compete against that same schedule(though I think I can safely say wouldn't be 33-0). But just different bars/standards that they have to meet. I see flaws in both. Manassas may have to suddenly play a good team after so many average/below teams. That's what makes you think that a 17-point halftime lead will hold up just because you show up in the second half. You feel like, "Another 1A team we're blowing out". So they might lack motivation and quality play. And Humboldt hasn't experienced this level of competition yet. Now what would REALLY stink for us all, is if they both lost in the first round and somebody else won State anyway

Again, you wanna know how good Manassas is, don't watch them play Scotts Hill. Try watching film from the games against Oxford, Ridgeway, or Craigmont. Then get back to me, seriously. I saw Manassas at the district tournament against City University. THey won by about 30 but didn't look to hot. I also saw them against Northside, Hamilton, Ridgeway, and Craigmont. In those games, they looked like they could win State in AAA. That's a sincerely honest observation. Whether I like em or not, I'll tell it how it is. When the bright lights are shining their hottest, those guys come to play. On paper, they don't look like an elite team, but they play with more intensity and can turn it up better than any other team from Memphis or Mississippi I've seen, including White Station, Ridgeway, Craigmont, Provine, Olive Branch, Raleigh-Egypt, Southwind, Melrose, Liberty Tech, Memphis-Central. Well, Greenville-Weston from Mississippi plays alittle harder(and believe me when i say their effort is UNREAL). But other than that, I haven't seen a team that can outwork Manassas. They can get it done. They may be let down by their competition, but if they can get focused with that State Tournament atmosphere, it's a whole nother level. Honestly, of all the teams I've seen this season, I wouldn't bet on any of them against Manassas. They just make it ugly, and pretty at the same time /cool.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="B)" border="0" alt="cool.gif" />

Per capita, Memphis is the best

I'm sure Humboldt has a lot to worry about to. This is the State tournament. Teams should be good enough to worry about. I would have to ask though(since you think Humboldt is THAT good), would you say they are better than or as good as Ridgeway and/or Craigmont?

I just said that Melrose didn't show up. But in reality, the game was still in doubt until about halfway through the 4th quarter. There was no State contender on the floor in that game on either side. Both teams have played MUCH better this season. But, honestly, other than 3 spectacular dunks by Anthony Jones, I could've taken a nap and seen more excitement. I assume Egypt will surely play better and more focused next week, but in this particular game, they were average at best. That point guard(Holmes) has nerves of noodles. I've seen him multiple times this year. He and Brady might cost them a State title. Hines needs to be handling the ball. I say feed Jones until he's full. He'll carry em to the top.

I didn't see the pressure defense having too much to do with it. #25 for Bartlett just ran crazy. Central didn't make her do that. She was just out of control. Central couldn't stop Walker or the James sisters. They beat themselves. Destiny James looked pretty comfortable out there(but she's always cool and calm). Other than a game against East and a couple others, Central hasn't been a great offensive team, no spectacular offensive nights. As I said about the bench, they don't have one. You just said the 2 I mention are there to rest the starters, and you didn't name any other players. Point proven. They don't have one. I know one of the players' father and he says they're not a good half-court team. So it must happen often. They gotta push it, but they really don't have the depth to push and press for extended periods, so I understand that. Maybe the quality of precision on the high school level has just fallen off a bit and my mind has yet to adjust to it. So that causes me to see all of the errors that are actually pretty common place. Yeah that's it.

If Humboldt was playing Oxford, Craigmont, Ridgeway, Carver, and ECS, they wouldn't be 33-0

Pretty much what TraderB said would happen. Melrose came out with NO fire. It looked like two middle school teams playing. Other than Chris Jones and #23, they showed no effort at all. They were sleep-walking, and Raleigh-Egypt could still barely put them away. I couldn't believe those were the two teams from the AAA City Championship. Anthony Jones played with fire. Chris Jones showed heart. Other than that, it was pitiful, on both sides.

Central plays great defense, have a remarkable point guard, unselfish on offense, great in an up-tempo game, and have a versatile frontcourt. Not too deep(contrary to what others have said). I saw them a couple times and can't remember more than 2 players coming off the bench(Finesse James and #3), and those 2 are pretty much non-factors. Their half-court offense leaves a little to be desired. Still, I think they'll run through this tournament. Tennessee has no chance. /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

I don't know what game you guys were watching, but Bartlett did more to themselves than Central did. Other than the first 6 minutes of early game hype in which Central jumped out to a 30-11 lead(something like that), they looked pretty average: sloppy play, missed lay-ups, and unforced turnovers, by both teams. Central showed me for the second time this season that they have ZERO half-court offense. If they don't push it, they don't score. With all those D1 players, when's the last time they broke 70 points? After being up 20 they let Bartlett cut it to 7? And it wasn't much more space after that until Walker and Destiny James fouled out. The second quarter was all Bartlett, the third quarter was basically even, and the fourth quarter was Central holding the ball. James takes alot of questionable shots(gotta love her though, she's spectacular). But she makes things happen, and Bartlett went away from her early in the 3rd instead of getting her to set the tone. In those first 6 minutes, Central looked like dynamite, after that, they just looked like a decent team. Oh yeah, and they have no bench, they go about 7 deep, and those 2 hardly stay on the floor for more than 2 possessions.