fuzby

The game preety much caught fire when THS was upset in '96, 16-13. They had Cameron Howard & had a pretty season I recall. CHS was 2-1 after that game & went 2-8. Of course they had Riverdale, Oakland, Cookeville, Hendersonville, Gallatin, Mt. Juliet, & a few others. The '97 game was the 25-17 THS win before a huge crowd in Manchester. It was the 1st CHS playoff team. THS blocked a at the 1/2 FG attempt & returned it for 6. I think it was Jermaine Dunlap??? I think he was offside too Binns can verify. I remember Coach Browne telling the chain gang at the '96 game not to cheat them on spots, another things Binns & Joe laugh at still. It is amazing that those staffs were pretty good friends.

Congrats to CC on a huge win. Thanks 5A for letting me know. Best of luck vs T-Town next week.

IHS has to learn how to wrap up. I know they don't face a scales each week but there are athletes abounds on their remaining schedule. I hope I'm wrong but after watching them for 3 weeks it looks like they are still living off of last year & this seasons hype. Prove me wrong & go get winless FHS in 2 weeks.

Go to bed. No wonder why you always slept in class.

I Have to disagree with you, my repeat history student. 1997-98 was arguably the most talented team, 2nd in region to 5A champ Riverdale, finished 7-4. 2000-01 team was not that bad (4-6) Lost to a very good Tullahoma team 9-6 & East Ridge in OT. They were 4A that year in a region w/Hillsboro, Smyrna, Overton etc. CC has been more competitive since then with Coach Price, but I agree that its about time for CC to get their 1st playoff win. Tell the CC folks I said hey.

Man I sure hope that Riverdale beats Soddy...Coach Clifford has been Coach Breeden's nemesis in the sub-states & state tourney since his days at Coffee County. Good luck Jeff

I understand the concern for not playing on Sundays. But what can you do? Society has to stop trying to influence what can & can't take place on Sundays. I myself miss Mass from time to time & yes us Catholics are #1 in the dept. of guilty consciences. It doesn't make me any less than those of perfect attendance. My college friends from KY would tell me how their preachers would blast the notion of work/activities etc. on Sundays & yet be the 1st to expect full restaurant services & other business etc. to be open. My students were complaining that school should be closed down today (I'm typing this during my lunch) because of the lack of attendance. (Good Friday) And get this, when they asked if we'd get out next year b/c not too many are present today, I said no b/c next year it falls on a Saturday & not 1 kid questioned it. Are there events scheduled today? I would say so. Are all those golfers at the Masters, MLB, NBA players heathens for playing on Easter? It doesn't bother me a bit. Like so many have replied before this post, personal preference to participate should be the accepted concept, yet players & their parents know that schedules, especially tourneys might lead to a conflict. I don't think anyone of us is headed "downstairs" for missing on occasion. But thats just my view.

Congrats Jeff. I was proud to be a small part (no pun intended) of the back to back state tourney runs & of your success at Coffee County. Good luck during the rest of this season. Your old assistant, the one who doesn't look like the "film" star.

I agree if the feeder programs produce & the hs doesn't then something is wrong. Westwood Jr High had very good talent but not all of them went out for the team at CCHS. A lot of talented/athletic girls chose softball when they got to CCHS. Also have you given any thought to the schedule WWJH had? They played Lincoln Co divided by @ least 4 feeders (before LC went to NGA) & Franklin Co split in half. I don't remember a very good CCMS team since the mid 90's. A few good players yes, but not any that grew & matured into dominating players. In an earlier post it was stated that a coach can make a decent player better in 2 years (9th-10th grades) I agree to some extent. The 2 years is right but not 2 seasons. If the player doesn't work at it outside of Nov-Feb & 15 days of summer camp they will have a hard time adjusting to the speed & defensive intensity at the HS level. A head coach in AAA has to expect some skills from potential players entering HS. (Left/right hand dribbling, pivots, left/right hand passes) Varsity coaches have to game plan, work on sets, even scout etc. for their varsity season. Unless they have unlimited time (which they don't because they also classroom teach & many have families) maybe they can work with freshmen teams. I've witnessed many MS-JrHS games over 10+ years in CT, KY & TN. Most of it is get the ball to the best dribbler, let them take it down the court & either shoot or pass it to the tallest player who turns & shoots, usually it is against 2-3 zones too. Anybody can stand on the wing & shoot the 3 without pressure. It is nice to win at MS-JrHS levels but if the kids don't work at the skills they are taught from grades 6-8 they will never be an impact player. Its not that different at most any other HS. I did not say all because @ the traditional powers it is ingrained. CCHS is not a traditional power. 1 state championship almost 15 years ago has little meaning to todays players. (Constant coaching changes also doesn't help) Only the special players put in the time & effort to improve their skills on their own. If a player is a very good outside shooter they don't need to be working on that if they can't create off the dribble or get open off screens. How many work on their off hand dribbles or their strength outside of season? If they did you would see a lot more Leslie Henley's (Trussler) & a lot greater success. BTW dontyouseeus91...I came to TN to teach history. Secondly, I came to coach football & after the 96' school year stated was asked to assist with the girls hoops @ CCHS & I enjoyed it. I've never had the ambition to become a head coach in basketball. I've never even applied for any head coaching job in any sport. I enjoy the assistants role. I don't think I would be as an effective classroom techer if I were a head coach, because isn't that what high school is all about, teaching kids so they can become contributing members in society? How many graduated students get jobs only because they won a district when they were in high school?

I can't believe the blinders that ladynred & 8675309 wear. The players have not come in to work on their own except for the following in over 10 years. Individually, Dillon (Bates), Maxwell, Sipe were the hardest workers alone. To just behind them you can add Cotton, C. Carden, Grose, & K. Thompson. The others who have played their hearts out were not blessed with the size & talent that 8-3A throws at a team. And if the girls, no matter how athletic they were, they did not look to go the extra mile that I '93 did. Benjamin was a stud but it was all natural. Throw me in any other player & I will dispute it to the day I die. In no way am I trying to bad mouth any former or current players, they are all great girls who I have been blessed to know. But the desire to improve skills, get stronger etc. without being led by the coach hasn't been there. EVERY ONE of the coaches during the last 10 years has pushed to improve their teams with open gyms, camps, & clinics. Parents were not very receptive if their child was not benefitting (playing time) They look at basketball as more of a chore. Don't tell me its Coach Scroggins either because it was that way from Donaldson through Crabtree, Tipps, & into Scroggins. Cut all of them, you have no program. Keep them and get on & off again results-usually good out of district/region but not too good within the district/region. It is incredible what the community tells these kids & expects of these kids because of they had success from ages 12-14 (in about every sport) Its like Taiwan Little League, most CC players max out by 12-14 years of age. 1 in about every 5 years is a stud, both boys & girls. Most don't aspire to greater athletic feats than just playing in hs. Most don't their improve skills, don't get stronger or much more grow, or don't take in the team concept when they get to hs. Those that due are the one's with the biggest hearts but the least physically blessed. Heart only carries you so far day in & day out against the horses other teams in 8-3A have. Move them to any other district besides 7-AAA, you would see winning records & deeper runs about every year. 5A Football will back me up as should CHS4life & Pedo. Even Pioneer14's reply was pretty good from an outside observer. PLEASE reply back. I still pull for CC, my best friends in TN all live there & I will forever be indebted to CC for giving me my start. If any of you still think you can dispute my knowledge & role with the teams at CC, then look me up at Independence HS. Until then Go Red Raiders!!! Coach J

Not at all sensitive today. I just think that many Coffee County fans don't see the big picture. It is frustrating to play in 8-3A with players, although they play their hearts out & are awesome individuals as role models, they are either physically dominated or haven't developed the needed individual skills before they get to CC. Then if they have always been a decent player well that doesn't cut it in 8-3A. Gone are the days of players coming in to shoot on their own & work outside of school/season on their games. Too many other things to occupy their time. I wrote about that in another post. Until CC players develop early on (& I don't mean winning the Warren Co-Coffee Co. 10 year old tourney and such) & be taught a team concept, not just some kid who can dribble the best gets the ball on every possession, then things might begin to change. Too many in CC are caught up in elementary titles w/out even teaching the game & skills to their players. I am hoping for all sports at CC to develop too. Huge fan I am.

Didn't they beat Franklin County last year on the road at their place to advance into the regions? Yes. Quit trying to stir up some mess (for a more polite term)

Facts (with no disrespect to Mr. Bush, Pedo, & the CC coaches & players) 1) Summer 2000, AAU state champ in 17U - less than 12 teams played in that age group. Still a feat but most juniors play 16U & seniors play 18U. 2) Pedo is about 20 years old, I love his support but he knows no other coach than Scroggins at CC. 3) Tell me when CC had little talent & finished 2nd-3rd in the district & I will name you some players that went on to or at least signed with D-1 SEC schools from the last 10 years. 4) Please reply back & tell me what recent roster had the God given size, athleticism, ball-handling, & off season desire to play in a 1/2 court, set it up offense & an aggressive in your face, quickness & strength to box out & fight through screens defense. Yeah, thats what I thought. Like I replied to 8675309...ask me how I know. Go CC hoops!!!

I understand where you are coming from. It is a lot easier said than done. The desire is not there. You try to get todays high school player into the gym morning , noon, and night & not just CC but just about every high school would have a hard time fielding a team. There are too many other things outside of hoops that the average high school athlete (yes, boys & girls) are too concerned with. many have jobs, transportation issues, classroom issues etc. Old school coaching approaches are going by way of the dinosaur. Parents hardly ever complained to administration about coaching policies in the 70's - 80's. Now every little thing is scrutinized like amount of time practicing, etc. & administrations have been bowing to individual pressures. Coaches don't want to have to be called in to the principal everytime a Momma calls school complaining that daughter is in the gym night & day & still doesn't start. The most successful teams today have God-given talent, size, & a few of those special gym rats. I haven't seen that at CC (any many other Dist. 8-3A schools other than shelbyville) If the players don't enter HS with decent skills & ability, a coach can't use practice time in season working on basic fundamentals (opposite hand, help side, pivots) & still try to put in a game plan in the 1& 1/2 to 2 hour practice time. Oh yeah weights too. Just being a realist. I still support the team 110%.

You amaze me 8675309...I don't think Coach Scroggins has anything to do with what you claim is a mess. Possibly 4 coaches, 4 principals, 4 AD's in the last 11 years has much to do with it. Coffee County girls havent been blessed with the entire combination of basketball talent, athleticism, size, & desire since the '93 state champs. Yes, here & there you had a glimpse but it takes more than 1 player to compete in 8-3A. Crabtree had some hard luck her last season; Benjamin getting hurt & having to face D-1 loaded state champ Shelbyville 4 times. The 5 teams that Scroggins has coached, possibly 3 girls had the desire to play at the next level, & the other ones, all great girls & with fair to decent ability but not enough to break the 3rd-5th place gray zone of the district. The girls don't play AAU, b-ball doesn't rule their lives like it does in more successful programs. Many girls are also multi-sport & play hoops because they like the game. You may not agree at all with this but that is okay. I'm just stating the facts. I would say any of CCHS's past coaches all are teachers of the game & fierce competitors too. Ask me how I know...

I have never heard of any so I guess I can't name any that no one has ever heard of.

Great post WildcatsBasketball3. More of these types are needed on this site instead of negatives. Good luck going into district tourney.

You all talk letters & jackets which are very nice to have. My high school is old school. The lettermans sweater is still rewarded. This spring will mark the 117th graduating class. No its not in Tennessee, its just 20 minutes down the road from Yale. Stratford High North Paraders. I still have mine & usually break it out on Halloween for the kids I teach. (along with the old jersey)

I have to apolgize to my boys on the IHS squad. My dumb*** left during the middle of the 3rd quarter when IHS was down 13 -15 & not making much of a dent at all into the CHS lead. I was livid with several of the referees calls. Had to get out of that gym to save my voice. A previous post mentioned that 2 of the refs also worked both jv games...you are correct. MT B-Ball Officials Association blew an assignment on that. Good job tonight fellas, also the ladies too. Good luck both IHS teams this Friday vs Franklin.

I'd assume safety must not have gotten any PT or his son didn't. All of the coaches there have forgotten more about basketball than you ever knew. A mandatory clinic? Yeah that will work because as you know, 4th-7th graders will retain so much from 1 weekend per year. You are right though about the amount of play-practice they receive. Hard to find gym time when everyone else in the county puts in for it, not only at the HS but also at the MS & Rec center. Its not like baseball, soccer, etc when you have all day & summer when their leagues play.

Well whodathunk it... go get you teaching degree, go into coaching when you are done & seek out the job. Better yet become an assistant, take all the required TSSAA courses & in 5 years you can be a head coach & not have to teach. I'm sure Coach Taylor would hand the reigns over to you since you are probably already enshrined in Springfield. While your at it, you could probably do better than the football, baseball, girls hoops, softball, etc coaches who do what they can with the all that talent & pure athleticism that Manchester youth leagues have continued to put out. (About one every 8-10 years is not to easy to build around - C. Elam '98 & M. Williams '06) Go Coach Taylor & Red Raiders!!! Keep working hard.

Steve Young, Bill Romanowski, Calvin Hill, Tebucky Jones, Dwight Freeney, Mike Rozier...my high school alone has 2 with Super Bowl rings. (Ed Bradley 3 with the Steelers in the 70's & Nick Giaquinto with the Skins in '82 or '83 w/Riggins) There are others like Lions backup QB Dan Orlovsky & former patriot & current Brown O-lineman Joe Andruzzi. Not too bad from a small state with only 180 or so high schools.

Take top two region finishers...then take the next 16 teams as the 3's & 4's at large to fillin the 32 teams from each classification. Who cares about travel distances & gate for 1 week. You would get more competitive match-ups anyway. Their is no charge for my services in case TSSAA is reading this post.

I know what I am getting in to by responding to this...I don't like the rule, I am a Connecticut native who played 20 years ago. A few points though...1) Their is no region large school-small school division. League play is the historic set up. In Fairfield County (yes the wealthiest in the US) the 30-40 football playing high schools, regardless of state classification (# of boys in the school) are often in the same league. Greenwich High (Steve young alma mater) with over 1,100 boys is in the same league as inner city Bassick High of Bridgeport that due to busing, drop out rates may have 350-450 boys. This example is not an isolated incident either. 2) Huge difference with funding of programs. Towns have paid for field turf (think MBA's) for their high schools. Imagine the weight room & facilities of these schools compared to many urban schools that play afternoon games on a shared field. 3) Within the past 5-10 years, a few head coaches must have went to the same clinic and have opened up their offenses & tried to better their rivals by putting up huge numbers for the 1st 3 quarters, then justify "calling off the dogs" by having subs play when the score is 40 to 50+ at the end of three. No room for egos in coaching in any state.

Don't you all see that its cyclical? You all are only looking at the past few years with the new alignment. Like your boys quote above is all wrong, Columbia has been 5A before in the late 90's. They had a very good team with Fla. Marlin Dan Uggula & the 4A that they have been in is no drop off from 5A whatsoever. Teams form both of these classes are the about the same regarding depth & numbers. I agree that 3-5A is not to strong at all, however Cookeville & LC can play in anyones region and not be dominated. Just so happens that they line up with 4-5A & that has always meant Riverdale. Lastly, I hope your right about Indy being a top 10 state team. I think its premature to make that decision seeing they haven't played team that is any good this year. Good luck to them Friday night though vs. Franklin. I'll be there.