TheLastWord

pujo, I've seen both Hampton AND Grace play twice, in my opinion Hampton is the better team at least (2) td's. Tougher kids, better coached, longer tradition. As for the cheating, if the players did not move they supposedly should sit out a year. Who is the QB for Hampton, didn't see him play last year?

I'll go along with that until proven otherwise.

I can't help but wonder what kind of leadership the afore mentioned are providing. Judging by the fight in this team ,or lack there of, I'm quite certain we all know the answer.

All of this is true with maby the exception of the "playing hard" part. I to think they will have a good program in a year or so. But for now at least, show some fight. For the first time the field looked like a high school football field . Someone told me it was the QB club that did it. To who ever it was GREAT JOB!!!!!!!! and KEEP IT UP!!!!!!!! The improvements to the fence and the field look really good, what about bleachers for the visitors side? I think it would be a nice touch. Again back to the topic, and again I question the fight in this team. Who are the seniors on this years team?

JP didn't want to do the off season work(SUMMER LIFTING) with his EX teammates, and didn't play. This was ALL of his OWN choosing. HE walked out on the team and his coaches. Unaka is better off playing the young players who will be there a while. Maby one of the young players will turn out to be the kind of leader they have been missing. Back to the topic, I just don't see much fight in these boys! Maby the young players will take it to heart, I say play them!!!!

Toss up, the Rangers don't seem to have very much fight in them.

Ok big guy/gal, put your money where your mouth is! Let us have it.......give us your starting line up. Names please not class or numbers, real names. Here is your chance, but remember you are the minority on this topic. And to Dr.j , keep posting your last one was great, i'm still laughing!!!!!!

You're right on one thing, bizzle. It won't last much longer. As a matter of fact, isn't graduation in May? I'd say you're right too, because a coaching change may be made from what I hear. The only problem is that you're looking at the wrong team. This team plays their games at 6:30. You do realize that you're putting yourself in a class with 3D by the way you're speaking. That should say enough, but I'll keep going. People like you and the parents that either A) keep a constant conflict between their son and the coach or /cool.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="B)" border="0" alt="cool.gif" /> try their hardest to get a coach in place that they can coach vicariously through with the sole interest in their son(s) in mind. There's been a long standing tradition in the way that Unaka high school plays basketball, and the afore mentioned have really put a dent in it. So if that was your goal, congratulations. If not, I apoogize. Striclty opinion, I say to you the same thing I told Wyatt (Earp). It's a PLAYERS game. Snavely can't pass it, catch it, shoot it, rebound it, or defend for them. If your response is going to be is that he's not teaching these things, you might want to step back and take a look, this is basketball 101 you are speaking of. Maybe these board members you so fondly speak of are looking in the wrong direction. These kids should know these things before they get there. Or better yet, just look at Unaka and Hunter Elementary.... just leaving those stones unturned. Exactly how many championships have they won in their entire basketball careers (senior class)? Are we going to point to coaches for that too? Again, since slander keeps popping up on some posts here and there, this is simply a question. In closing, what Unaka basketball is suffering through right now is nothing more than a virus. It will kill itself just like the body does and become less prone to these types of things happening in years to come.

Slander.....this is when one is directly and falsely accused of doing something and is spread to the public ear (or eyes in this case). It is not slander when someone refers to hearsay (like what the community hears or says). Again... this is not slander. Gossip, maybe, but not slander. There are no accusations in what is said in any post except for the ones that people are posting about Snavely. That, my friend, is slander (oops, you're not my friend.... I'm sorry about that). First of all, don't act so guilty. I mean, really, it only took you a few hours to respond. Relationships with underage girls was never mentioned, except when you mentioned it. If you're referring to the Mclain quote, didn't texting start the whole thing? Not accusing, just asking a question. From all the chatter from one end of the creek to the other I believe you have your "coach replacement" mixed up.... and again, no slander here... just chatter. It's no secret on which coach your "board" is wanting to replace. Just an opinion, but if I were coach Collins, I would lay very low. He's got enough on his plate at Hunter, which brings me to another question.... where have all of the assistants that have been hired for coach Chambers dissapeared to? Or better yet, will coach Chambers take his assistants with him to Erwin (if the people of Erwin even allow it). By the way, it was 3DGymnasium that brought Kenneth and his assistants into the equation to start with... there's always two sides to every story. Why coach Collins has moved twice? I'm sure if you ask, he will tell. Now, back to basketball. That is where we want this thing to go, right? I'll stick with my latter post because ultimately players are responsible, but to enlighten you a little further, remember you were the one that wanted to talk basketball. How can a kid function in a world where his (or her) coaches are trying to direct them in one way and parents are directing them in another? What a sad situation for the kid. But what must be realized is that this is not the parents team. Mommy and daddy ball stops at the youth club level for the most part and is completely cut out at the high school level. The real tragedy of it all is that the players under these circumstances never function in a team atmosphere. Teams are very fragile, take for example the Unaka girls. Kayla Winters, arguably one of the best players they have, didn't practice all summer, participated in no camps, was let back on the team and in a very short time moved back in a starting role over a girl that had done just the opposite. Who's rules were broken, his or theirs? Again, not slander, just asking a question. I'll guess (again, just a guess) Ronnie Snavely stays as long as Ronnie Snavely wants to stay. Don't be shocked if he sees this freshman class through. What Unaka basketball is going through right now is nothing but a bad virus. It will run it's course and things will be better in a matter of time. Like a body does to a virus, it will become more immune to this type of thing happening again.

Obviously, but not surprisingly, you're wrong again. First of all, I've seen my fair share of the Rangers play. Not just this year, but in years past and if you think they're playing hard, then obviously you haven't seen as much Ranger basketball as you have claimed to have seen. "55" has it right. It lies in the young men's hands that take the court. Anybody with half a brain (maybe a quarter) knows the modern day kid, even Ronnie Snavely. They try to obtain something with little effort and very little direction (from home) and when they fail, the first place they go running is to mommy and daddy so they can obtain it for them.... something that makes high school sports so great. Because at this level, that can't happen. This is something the folks at home can't obtain for them, and then it causes frustration at home. In reality, it all falls back in juniors lap. I'll spell it all out really clear and maybe you'll get it this time. Please don't bother with changing user names (be alittle more grown up about it this time). The "good cop" "bad cop" ploy don't work. We have no post game because we have an inadequate senior post player, and we have no guard play because we have inadequate guards. And, our offense is inadequate because of unwillingness between all of the above. ANd what compounds the problem makes it stick out like a sore thumb is the unwillingness that is trademarked Unaka basketball for more than 25 years. This very same thing that all the fans you spoke of that payed five dollars have payed to see..... something called playing hard... playing Unaka Basketball. Couple that with my reference to the way "modern day kids" are and mommy and daddy not being able to get this for them equals the disgusting product that you see on the floor. And I will give you this, I don't see a change until people like you place the responsibility back where it truly lies... back on the players shoulders. If your goal is to slow down progress of Unaka basketball (even though you're not going to stop it) you're doing a fine job. However, keep in mind that through the history of the program there have been groups of parents, players.... people just like you and it has survived this long, just like it will again. "55".... keep speaking the truth. We need more of it all the way around. And trust me, I'm pretty sure that my opinion is of the majority. And Vader, keep typing whatever makes you sleep at night. If you've kept up with the programs, you know what I'm saying is true, and Cloudland IS 13-12, not 20-2. Hampton DID loose to UH, Cloudland, and took a lucky overtime draw to get by the local tribe from HV. Sleep tight and enjoy your rest because I forsee some sleepless nights in your future. This IS the Last Word.

It appears through your post (weed), you must have been smoking something before you typed! Your facts are completely wrong. Chambers is a good coach BUT he has ran off 12 to 18 girls over the last several years thus keeping the pressure off himself(your theory). As for his asst. coaches, one was fired for... well....(lack of loyalty from what I gather), the other has been moved twice from previous jobs for reasons I'd rather not mention(McClain ring any bells)? If the girls love coach Chambers so much, why are there only 9 girls in the program(lack of discipline, maybe)? I wonder why you are the only one who seems to think he's the answer.... you ever considered getting back into coaching? Ever consider the pressure that Ronnie Snavely is under? I think you have. And as for subbing, last night was senior night and they showed what kind of seniors they really are. It didn't take much to figure that out by watching (or watching the whole season for that matter), and the "subs" will get their chance. With or without Snavley, they WILL leave a legacy too.

BINGO!!!!!!!!! maxalt.

JUST ONE QUESTION Dawgfan88, And all the folks in Hampton, What championships has J.R. ever won? This is not ment as a cut down,but you don't need someone to just babysit the boys do you? You folks have a rare opportunity, mate sure you get it right! It's my guess the new coach better preform small miricals, after all ,who still has the power and all the pull THINK ABOUT IT !!!!!!

To Ex-Players, Your blood, sweat and hard work is at stake. Please explain the tradition to those who are obviously unaware of what it really is. Thanks for your time.

Superman.. what game was you watchin? Roper may have had 30 but every true Ranger fan in the gym knows that he had to step outside of Unaka Basketball to get it. It looked to me like a little daddy ball was going on instead of Ranger basketball.... shoot at all cost. Don't get me wrong... it was a good win, but remember he's a senior and it's his responsibility to lead in the right direction (BY EXAMPLE). If everyone followed his example he would never get a shot off because everyone else would be doing what he does. He's not a complete ball player unless he does the "example part" by playing defense, boxing out, hustling up and down the floor, and the ultimate... getting on the floor for loose balls... something Unaka has always been known for. But Superman, I'm sure that Roper knows this because he's been in the program for four years.

I'm not too sure where to start.... Let's start with tradition. It's simply amazing that someone like you, RANGER87, could make some of the excuses that you have made about the Unaka High School basketball program. You should know what tradition is and always has been.... you've seen it from the outside. Your son wears a silver ring and that must be what has you so upset. Maybe denouncing tradition is the simple fact that you realize you may have a bigger stake in it than what you thought you had (i.e. junior). I will agree that tradition is more than t-shirts, turkey sandwiches and conference titles. It's a RESPONSIBILITY left solely in the hands of the seniors to carry on. Not by wins and losses, but by actions on and off the court. But fear not, it will be once again, because that's the great thing about high school sports.... problems do tend to leave (or graduate). The underclassmen will learn a lesson, beit good or bad, that they will have a choice to right the ship and it has been done in the past. According to the history (i.e. tradition) of Unaka Basketball, it will happen. There's no doubt about it, these are good boys. Are they going to burn the school down... no. Are they doing drugs... no. Are they going to make the grades... of course. However, basketball is four months and life is year-round. Will these young men find places of employment with no expectations, no pressure to produce, and no tradition to compete to be the best? Sounds like a cozy little job to me (trust me, it doesn't exist, but if it does I would like to know where). Might want to be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it. As for the two seniors, you're in a tough spot, but no tougher than any senior(s) before you. This team will go as you decide, good or bad. This is the fourth year in the program for both of you, and it's nothing suprising or new. The pecking order doesn't fall your way because somebody decided it should be that way... it is the way it is because life is no different. The responsibility you have is a result of staying in the program. Deal with it. This is my first and last response to this thread, and I know the Ranger faithful who have been part of the tradition will speak their minds..... if it is even needed now.

It looks as though someone is "PADDING THE STATS".I personally think the other three LB's are just as good as Estep. A good LB is measured by tackles for losses,not tackles 8 to 10 yds down field. Estep may be a little overated.

pujo, keep posting seems as though you have a handle on things in Carter Co. As for you fan07, it seems as though a moral victory would satisfy ,you particularly aginst Hampton. There is no such thing as a "moral victory".

WOW!!!! You talt about quiet!!!!! This one is really going to leave a mark. Is this a bit over the top? I can never tell.

Oooouuchhh!!!!!!!!!!!, But HoHo's CORRECT,with the exception of Clinch.

There is a lot of talk we will see who can walk the walk!

And the truth shall set you free !!!!!! GREAT POST LOGIC !!!!!

CUCRY just how well did the host team do ? Will Elizabethton be back in ? I think they are 2A now and I don't think they will be very good . So explain how a 2 and 1 showing from Unaka was not good enough for a return to the ARBY'S ? PLEASE!!!