oldcoacht1950

Ryan has looked strong up to this point. One big thing they will have to overcome is they may want to beat MBA too badly. In the past this has caused Ryan to not play their best against MBA

Harding people have bad-mouthed Ryan for two years and what has it gotten them?-no championship, no ring, no trophy. Notre Dame is doing the same thing now. Man, they got a big win with our MVP not playing. Man, they sure looked like they were impressed when they ran on the court and cheered their team when they came out of the locker room after a mid-season game. Man, I was impressed. BA looked real good when Joe Thompson was hurt. They didn't look quite so good when he was healthy and named MVP of the region. Sometime a month from now I get the feeling that people in Chattanooga will still be saying, "Well, we had a more athletic team." Talk is cheap. Play the game.

It was very impressive for ND to come back and beat Father Ryan at Ryan with Joe Thompson, The region MVP, not playing. I am sure that the Ryan people remember the big celebration on their home court. D2 baqsketball is as good as AAA anytime of the week and there are very good teams heading into the sectionals. I don't think it is a good time for anybody to overlook anybody right now. I, particularly, don't think ND ought to look toward the state championship game.

If you had ever seen Ryan play, you would see Jeff Degrauw who has to be the absolute best at taking a charge. The Ryan crowd ought to hang C's up like K's for a strikeout. It never fails that he gets at least three a game. He sees the court and seems to know where people are going and beats them there.

There are a lot of excellent senior players in Middle Tennessee that should be looked at. Dylan Lynch at Father Ryan Ryan Nichting at Ryan Will Myers at Ryan Michael Richardson at Oakland Robby Howard--Oakland Zach Stewart-Overton

Brentwood beat Ryan twice. Nobody is going to dispute that. They did it with Joe Thompson playing at less than 50%. Joe is one of the top players in the state when he's healthy and I believe it is time to find out if he makes a three point difference to the Ryan team. I trust senior leadership when it gets to tournament time. Ryan has been there and done that. I see Ryan and BA ending up with a 2-2 record.

Jonathan Miller from Centennial and Dylan Lynch from Father Ryan can play this position as good as anyone mentioned. Miller is the smoothest fielder of all and Lynch's range is phenomenal. Lynch is probably a better hitter, but both have "star" potential.

If you haven't seen Zach Stewart from Overton, then you haven't seen the best catcher in Middle Tennessee. Foot speed, arm speed and bat speed make a great combination that's hard to beat. The plus side to him is that he is a "smart" player.

I have to believe that Father Ryan seniors Will Myers who pitched a complete game one hitter in the NABF World Series will be strong for Father Ryan. Dylan Lynch who made all-state tournament last year and all GNABA and led the Franklin Flames in hitting the entire season plus led them in the World Series will come up big. Ryan Nichting is ready to show his hitting and his pitching is as good as anybody in the state. Ben Petsch is one of the top two catchers in the state. Ryan will be just as tough as last year, if not better.

Joe Thompson's X-rays were negative. He appears to be just bruised, but is questionable for friday. It was a great game, and as it appears to be Ryan's fate, they usually win the close ones. Ryan is going to need more scoring from their guards by driving to the basket. So far Bills is the only person who penetrates much. Thompson is starting to do that and sometimes you risk the type of collision that knocked him down, but that is what Ryan needs more of. If Lynch will drive more, he can also take advantage of his ability to see the court and pass off more as well as getting to the free throw line more often. This game showed how much Jeff Degrauw means to Ryan, but it gave Bryan Griffith some valuable playing time and he looked good in the process.

seems like I must have seen a different game. ND has 5 good players. When they have to stay on the court the whole time and Ryan can run in 8 --10 good players it seemed that ND ran out of gas. They didn't have the legs to finish the game. I'm not real sure that Ryan played very good either. Everett Bills only hit one shot and he is one of the usual high scorers for the team. There is always next time. ND also doesn't have anybody that can guard Degrauw inside the paint.

Jeff is one of the two unsung heroes with this Father Ryan team. He has skill that is magnified by his determination and hustle. If you want to have a good team, you will always need a player of Jeff's tenacity. Kudo's to Jeff for proving how valuable he is to this team.

Ryan is not particularly tall, doesn't have any big-time talent, and most people think they are overrated since they lost their star player from last year, Billy May. I watched their games last year, and have seen them play this year. Every team they have played looks better than Ryan when they come out to warm up, but all that changes when they start the game. You cannot practice against the type of defense you see in the game. Nobody plays defense like Ryan does, and that will help them defeat you. They may not be as good as the team from last year, but they may be good enough. They have a high power Christmas tournament that includes Columbia and Stratford, and they play Oakland this Friday. You may know more about them by the first of the year.

The best hitters are Dylan Lynch, Zach Stewart, and Ben Petsch