Radar

After watching Oakland they may have an off year or two. There wasn't much on the bench and I think their best young players went to Siegel.

I saw the Riverdale-Oakland game last night and was very disappointed. If these are two of the premier teams in 7AAA, then the district has fallen on hard times. Oakland was undisciplined and had difficulty running a play. They did not look at all like the Coach King teams of old. LeBrian had 8 points, fouled out midway in the fourth quarter and was never much of a threat. Maybe Riverdale will get better when the football players are in the flow of the game.

The crowd was a great disappointment also. What happened to the Oakland - Riverdale rivalry and a full gym?

I saw the Riverdale-Oakland game last night and was very disappointed. If these are two of the premier teams in 7AAA, then the district has fallen on hard times. Oakland was undisciplined and had difficulty running a play. They did not look at all like the Coach King teams of old. LeBrian had 8 points, fouled out midway in the fourth quarter and was never much of a threat. Maybe Riverdale will get better when the football players are in the flow of the game.

The crowd was a great disappointment also. What happened to the Oakland - Riverdale rivalry and a full gym?

The new coach at Columbia is Chris Graves. He was an assistant at TSU last year until that thing blew up.

Who is this Oakland player named Lucas Jones? Is he a transfer student? Does anyone know anything about him?

Oakland was the dominant team in the District last year at 11-1 but I do not see them repeating this year. They lost almost 45 ppg in the three seniors (Barker, Duggin, Harb) and I don't think they can make that up. Watson is not a scorer and Murray and Tate are too unpredictable. Joines will give them some offense on the inside and Neal can shoot the three but I do not think they have enough to compete against Riverdale and Blackman.

Oakland2001: Who are the Oakland players that are now at Siegel? Are they mostly last years freshman or are any of the upper classmen there?

Bradshaw was impressive - he was everywhere on the court. I don't know what position he will play at Tennessee but he sure has the heart to make it in the SEC.

The game was never very close although the East kept cutting it to a single digit lead.

There was some very impressive dunks - especially one by John Ferguson (Portland) off a missed shot and one by Vince Redd (Elizabethton) off a Wadale Williams pass off the glass.

Joe Barker (Oakland) led all scorers with 19, and Jake Skogen (Temple) had 18.

Chase Hardin (Bartlett) led the West with 17.

Does anyone have any thoughts about Friday's TACA All-Star game between the East and West? It looks to me that the East may have the stronger lineup with good outside scoring in Humphrey and Williams and good low post scoring with Ferguson and Malone.

Congratulations to Coach Chris Graves on getting the Columbia Central coaching job. Chris was the former assistant at TSU under Coach Richardson. I am sure Coach Graves will a great job at Columbia.

I am not familiar with Bobo or JCM. Wherre is JCM and what class is it in? If Bobo is 6'6" I don't think he will play the guard position at JSCC (or any Juco in Tennessee).

Can he shoot the 3?

Two of Oakland's three seniors signed with colleges last week: Shane Harb signed with Lambuth and Joe Barker signed with Jackson State.

I definately expect Blackman to defeat Lebanon. Blackman beat them twice during the regular season and they are playing on their home court.

I think Blackman will beat White Co, Lebanon will beat Warren Co and Riverdale will squeak by Cookeville. If that scenario plays out then Oakland will play Riverdale and Lebanon will play Blackman. Those will be hard fought games but I expect Oakland and Blackman to compete in the finals.

Yes it is true. Ro Murray has missed two games already and Joe Barker has missed one. Ro's injury is more severe and there is no estimate of his return although he should be available for the Regionals or maybe the end of Districts. Joe could probably play this week but since the District championship is already secure he will sit till the Districts.

Oakland senior Joe Barker went down last night with a severely sprained ankle. Prognosis is day to day. He should be ready for the District Tournament but if not the tournament could be up for grabs.

It happened two days ago. He has been Oakland's fourth leading scorer and has provided a number of clutch performances. It definately hurts Oakland going into the post-season.

Oakland's shooting guard Ro Murray may be out for the season so that could effect the District Tournament. He injured his ankle so severely in a pick up game the doctors were not able to tell if it is broken or just sprained. At best he will be available for the Regionals and at worst he is gone for the season.

The District Tournament will be held at Blackman this year and I expect that no matter how the regular season ends the title game will be between Oakland and Blackman. That game should be much closer than the last two (19, 43) but I don't think Blackman will be able to pull off a victory.

Lebanon is always a tough game for Oakland - and this year they have a few scorers (Boyce and Dixon) that can make things very unpleasant for Oakland. Also, a win tonight will clinch the District for Oakland so Lebanon is fighting to stay alive. I expect Oakland to win, but after the two losses last week anything can surely happen...

My suggestions for All-District Teams would be:

1st Team:

Mario Burnette, Cookeville

Joe Barker, Oakland

Derrick Duggin, Oakland

Randall Harrell, Warren Co

LaBrian Lyons, Riverdale

2nd Team:

Jon Boyce, Lebanon

Reece Bishop, Warren Co

David Price, Blackman

Jeffery Dixon, Lebanon

Josh England, Riverdale

3rd Team:

Nathan Stephens, Blackman

Will Redding, Blackman

Shane Harb, Oakland

Chris Perkins, Riverdale

Kris Lee, Blackman

I expect a close game - Cookeville is always tough at home. I'm sure Mario will be on but he had 32 their last meeting and Oakland still won by 17. If Cookeville finds some other scoring they could pull off the upset.

Gomab, since you have Oakland rated #2 in AAA, shouldn't their two top players (Duggin and Barker) deserve some consideration for your top 20 list? Your original list had them at 94 and 47 respectively but certainly they have to be higher than that with the way Oakland is playing.

I appreciate your comments Slim589, Duggin, Barker and Murray have very strong offensive games and could shoot every time down the court. They have bought the team concept and when they play at their level, in my opinion, there are only a few teams in the state that can beat them. The Districts will be very competetive and Oakland will probably have to play Columbia in the Regionals, but if they continue like they have been playing I think they can make it to the State tournement. And anything can happen there!

Oakland comes away with a hard fought overtime victory at Riverdale. The final score was 62-57. Lyons was unstoppable for Riverdale with 32 points. Oakland was lead by Duggin with 27 and Barker with 26 including 9 points in the overtime.