creekercalhoun

North Greene didn't really hit the ball that well for the exception of one big inning. Their ace Bailey went all 6 Innings the other night, but dont be surprised if they roll him back around tomorrow. Good fastball probably tops out in the low 80's with a pretty tough curveball when he controls it.First pitch fastball type of pitcher,tends to get wild at times but for the most part has good control. Catcher has very good pop behind the plate,third base is probably their weakest spot on the field not really consistent.Overall hitting wise they are very diciplined and well coached.Dont be surprised if you see squeeze with runners on 1st and 3rd with one or no outs,and they really do a good job of moving runners over. I think the biggest difference between Unaka and North Greene is Unaka's big sticks just didn't hit the ball last night and it plays a big factor when you have a kid that can go out there and get 9 or 10 k's for you to oppsed to 1 maybe 2 and make your defense have to play alot more in the field. But I think when Unaka is hitting the ball with their big sticks along with the bottom of the order they are tougher than anyone.

I think it is always good to have 1 or 2 starters in with your subs or younger kids just for the fact you get a good mixture of experience to help your younger kids take care of the basketball,create opportunities for other kids to get open shots ETC. I dont think it's right to press when you are up by 30 or 40 points in a basketball game just for the fact as a coach no matter if you hate the opposing team or coach you as a program/coach always want to show class and not embarrass the opposing teams kids.

Is anybody else scratching their heads right now besides me wondering why the #1 prospect in the nation for 2011 did not throw in the 6 oclock game against Mt Juliet and only through 3 innings the whole tournament.. Was it arm issues?

Unaka @ Harriman has been moved to Saturday game time 6:00 I believe. How is the weather looking in the Knoxville area tomorrow? Coach RC

How do you get that Unaka baseball is weak? They have to get there the same way every other team does.Our program just does it on a consistent basis. Sure the conference and region is a little down but you will have that from time to time it's just a cycle. But the main point is we get down there year after year and Coach Ensor's program is by far the most dominant program in the single A class in Upper East Tennessee year in and year out along with Rockwood. Coach RC

They should be pretty solid defensively with whoever they stick on the mound. they have 3 or 4 kids that can play different positions which will help us when those other 3 arent on the bump. I look for Unaka to be strong in the conference and can compete with alot of their teams they have scheduled out of conference. They got a good group of young players that can help out along with 5 or 6 starters returning. But all in all they have a good group of kids that work hard and want to get better everyday. Good luck and have a great season. Coach RC

My philosophy I use which my old High School coach use to say which makes alot of sense is...I will discuss the weather with you anything having to do with the kid in the class room but playing time is a non negotiable.

Melrose may not have played their best offensivley but you gotta look at it this way....Any time you can force a team of Science Hill's callibur to 20 or more turnovers thats a positive. The style of ball both teams play there is going to be quite a few with playing a fast paced style of play... I watched Humboldt and Manassis last year in the first round of the state tournament game and it the type of game if you blinked you would miss something... At the end of the game both teams had close to 25 turnovers a piece just by the style of basketball they were playing... But you can tell Melrose has the tools to be a dominant team not only at the Arby's but at the Boro as well. The posts work hard for the basketball they can explode to the goal and finish well. And it seems like each player takes the ball to the goal with a purpose. I look to see an exciting game against New York and Melrose with the tough defense and fast offensive style of play both teams bring to the table.

The team out of GA ended up winning big over Greeneville by 35 or more. Rochelle NY defeated Sullivan East by about 23 or 25 and Tn High ended up winning by 10 or 11 over the team out of Kentucky. Coach RC

Yea we had both teams on the ropes. Depth just hurt us in pretty crucial parts of the game to go along with foul trouble... Justin and Drew picked up their 4th and 3rd foul at the start of the 3rd qtr and we had to go to young. The Cross kid hurt us from East going to the line way to many times and they hit some pretty clutch 3's down the stretch when we had it cut to about 4 or 5 but thats basketball. For the most part it seems like we are getting better even though we didnt get the the W against East or Tn High there was good signs to each outcome of the game. But the staff is doing a good job kids are working hard and the younger kids are showing some promise for later on down the road. But we got a tough one Friday down at North Greene hopefully we will come prepared to play in a tough enviroment and come out with a win. Coach RC

Out of respect for Coach White I will say that Hampton is a very good ball team with alot of talent. But you must believe not only in the coaching staff but in the kids as well. I am a true ranger fan at heart and believe you me even when we won the state championship we took our beatings early in the season. lost to Science Hill by about 18 lost to a good pickett county team by about 35 but the community and coaches stuck with us through good and the ugly haha. But thats the best part about basketball is seeing how teams can deal with adversity when the going is rough. Even though we won we didnt really start playing our best basketball till the very end of the season and thats when your really tested in my opinion. And its like we tell our kids in our middle school program we can draw up x's and o's offensively and defensively and scouting reports till the sun goes down but until they learn to play the right way and not their way and listen to mother and father and so on they will be just an average ball team it doesnt matter if you have 5 studs who can put up 25 points a game if you dont believe in your coaches and dont have confidence to buy in to what they are trying to do with their program you are probably playing in the wrong place. The ones who want to buy into what coach white is trying to do with the program will be good players the ones who dont will stay at the same level they are performing at. But give them time its very early and that whole staff is a good group of guys its very early so stay positive coach rc

yea I talked to a ref that said they didnt play to well in the 4th quarter and south greene gave them some trouble but everyone knows its tough playing in Greene County thats a given. But its still early you could go 10-22 as long as u win the games that counts when it comes crunch time thats all that matters. But you still want to get better as the season progresses practice by practice and game by game. Coach RC

Alot of teams better not over look University High...Even though they only won 1 game in the Hardees they played Unicoi and Sullivan East down the the wire and they beat Elizabethton pretty bad today. They are very well coached they are patient on offense,they have a very good inside game.The Evans kid has elevated his game big time since last year and they play very hard on the defensive end. But overall I think they are going to give some teams problems T.M.O Coach RC

Potential wise I believe if he keeps playing like he is 6'11 and becomes more physical in the paint then my pick has to be Zach Garland from Crockett. He is a very good shot blocker,Shoots the ball well from the free throw line to be his size and he dont force alot of shots when he gets the ball in the paint. Although he is still a little raw he has the potential once he develops how to be physical in the paint to be a very high D1 recruit if not take over any game he chooses. But that comes with maturity. He is still 16 years old if I am not mistaken and still has alot of time to develope his skills but that will come in time. But like I said once he starts developing a physical type of game on offense and understanding how to score facing up to the basket he will be one tough player to handle for opposing teams. Dont get me wrong Cross from East is a player along with Lyle and Hughes but from a college prospective he has the tools to be special if he keeps developing his game. Coach RC

Unaka is just going to have to come out and play great on the defensive side of the football and control the game offensively.. If we can play mistake free for the most part of the game and slow down the run Unaka will have a good shot at winning.. I dont think Cosby was to strong but penalties killed us I would probably bet the farm we had over 100 yards in penalties if not it was really close... Against a good team like Rockwood we are going to have to cut down on the penalties and just come out and play very tough on both sides of the ball but we shall be tested Friday. Coach RC

I think hes right pujo my dad held me back in th 6th grade pertaining to that same rule once you get held back in the 7th I believe you are inelgible your freshman year of highschool but I believe it is just for varsity sports only. You can still play Junior Varsity if I am not mistaken.

Like I said to have what Hampton has to work with from a baseball standpoint u have they are doing well. Just curious if Unaka was to beat Cosby since we will be the # 2 seed will we play the #1 from region 2 on the road??? I am clueless when it comes to this playoff system???

all 4 very good players and will play at the next level. Each need to improve different aspects of their game to be able to play in college but this is a very good 2011 class of players. Coach RC

Yea I noticed you guys only went about 6 or 7 deep but right now we are about the same way. We didnt really try to show alot yesterday, Just trying to get better each day and see how hard we can play defensively. As for football I think they have a good shot at making the playoffs but deffinitely going to have to play lights out next week against Cosby because you know how it goes down there. You would get bad calls in a horseshoe game as long as the game is down there. But I thought Hampton ran the ball hard the other night and I am glad we came out and competed for the most part of the game much better improvement then over the past few meetings with you guys. Coach RC

ok thanks a buschel...them boys looked good on the court yesterday.

Quick question whats the playoffs matchup looking like so far? Hampton is a shoe in as the #1 seed. Does the winner of Unaka and Cosby advance as the #2 seed just curious of who both teams might have to play any help??? Coach RC

I think alot of these teams just need to worry about keeping these players healthy mainly football players that play basketball. Kevin Harrison prime example! Probably one of the best point guards to ever run the point guard position at Hampton tore his ACL his senior year of football. Coach RC

I agree with king as well however! I think alot of the problem is comparison. I agree by watching Cloudland up at Unaka you can tell they have got some athletic players on the field.But alot of people need to realize for one you will never have a quarterback like a Mark Byrd a running back like a Dakota Benfield strong lineman like John Hicks the big Buchannan kid and Dane Christman,Those kids are irreplacable and alot of their numbers speaks for themselves. That team was probably one of the more tougher and physical team's to ever come through this area. And it all comes down to running in cycles. Athletics in general the programs are delt with having to throw alot of younger kids in the fire early which you are not used to seeing. The speed of the game in general has changed a whole lot and the tougness and size is not like it used to be as well. As a program there is going to be a period of time where every team takes it lumps the question is how do you respond to it. Kids are going to have to make decisions in situations like these and that is either you can fold the deck and accept and stay at the level you are performing at or you can continue to keep working hard and make not only yourself better but the program around you better. And that goes for coaches as well. You will not see any coaches give up on these kids nor will they but how they respond on getting their programs better is going to be the key. Dont rely on what you have accomplished in the past or how well the players you had succeeded in the past take what you got and make it better and do it the right way.

Penalties,Penalties and more Penalties on big plays down the stretch thats all you can say about this game. Well played game though for 4 quarters.

I dont really know to much of Cloudland's personel but u can tell they have some weapons on the offensive side of the ball. I thought the backbreaker in friday nights game was the 2 back to back touchdowns which was a huge momentum change for us. But as for Unaka we have 2 games next week we should win against North Greene and Kings Academy but we are going to have to stay focused. Hampton is going to be tough up there so will Cosby down at their place. Hampton will be a very tough matchup,but I believe if we can cut down on turnovers and make plays on the offensive side of the football we could put ourself in a good position to give ourself a chance to compete. They are a very well coached football team have good speed big on both sides of the ball and will come out and hit you. We are going to just have to come in with a positive attitude and stay confident. It's no secret we will have to play our best football game of the year, And the way you gotta look at it is you take it as a challenge go play hard for 4 quarters and just see what happens. I do think we are getting better game by game and we are improving alot on both sides of the ball which is all you can ask for out of your kids. Coach RC