snowbird

I hope you guys have more "fire in your bellies", come game time than you seem to have now. I guess it is best to save it for the floor. Sleeper...17 of 18 from the foul line, 14 of 14 in the last quarter. That's what was reported. Pretty impressive! No need to respond to my remarks...you might jinx yourelf. Leffew...what happened? Was the LA game just an aberation, or are they that good. You may respond, because you can't jinx size like yours. Good luck to both of you until you play Cannon again. We need to work out some kinks, but I have already seen major improvements in our bench, so our rotation will not be a problem before long.

Ben did not get a lot of playing time last year as a sophmore, but has already turned his game up several notches. He plays the two spot mostly but is naturally suited as a point guard, where he plays on occasion. Most all of Cannon's players are way above average in smartness(basketball sense & otherwise), but he may be the sharpest. He sees the floor exceptionally well & may be the best passer in the district. To answer your question; he has been turning in solid performances except at the foul line, where he refuses to FOCUS on the front of the rim, take & HOLD a breath as he shoots, then FOLLOW-THRU and NOT take his eyes off the front of the rim until it goes thru the net. As far as the Smith games is concerned...in my opinion Cannon over achieved by beating a bigger, better & more rounded DeKalb team, but then "over achieving" is often a part of Cannon's game plan. From what I've heard Smith should be favored, but Cannon may be more battle hardend after three tough AAA games with Warren Co., Smyrna & Coffee Co.

Kell44, Friday night Willson Central had no trouble with the DC girls. Dekalb easily dismantled a very weak Grundy Co. boys, but looked pretty good doing it.(outside shooting & smooth transition game missing from last year may mean we will soon be dealing with a confidant DC team) Cannon girls beat Marion Co. by 30. Should be a real good matchup between them & Wilson Central at 5:30. Marion Co. boys looked pretty good early & then just quit as Cannon ran away by 30. The 7:00 Dekalb/Marion Co. game should be pretty good. I predict a hard fougth DC win. The 8:00 Cannon/Grundy game will hardly be worth watching.(Cannon by 30)

They host Grundy Co., DeKalb, & ??? in a "turkey" classic(ha,ha) Nov. 29-30 & then host Coffee Co. Dec. 3rd. Anybody know how Cofffee is doing this year?

Idunk2, thanks for your comments. You saw things about as I did, so will probably be equally surprsed by the stats I saw in the Daily News Journal this a.m.. Warner had 4 rebounds, only 4(20 points I think), while Swader had 12 pts. & 12 rebounds(12 rebounds). I think these numbers fly in the face of my "wasn't really a factor" comment above. My oppologies to Gomab & good game Swader.

Woodbury TN: AAA Smryna, perhaps weary from a close win over M'boro Oakland, over came foul trouble to edge a scrappy Cannon Co. team 57-51 in the Lions den. Cannon anxious to prove that their lopsided loss to Warren Co. was a fluke ignored "the papers", "signed letters of intent" & "rumors of giants" and came out fighting, but fell behind early before Coach Knox was able to make adjustments to compensate for Smyrna's height advantage. Cannon took lead early in the 2nd quarter on the strength of post Jessie Owens 4 treys. Cannon's quickness got Smyrna's Swader & Warner in foul trouble, but did not take advantage of their bench time to pull away, instead making "strategic" substitutions of their own. Ultimately, missed foul shots by Cannon(4 in a row, last 2 min./more than the margin of defeat)gave Smryna the hard fought victory. Congratulations Bulldogs & pardon me for allowing my Cannon biases to show in this post. COMMENTS/MY OPINION ETC.: Smyrna's Warner is a fine ballplayer/Swader really wasn't that much of a factor tonight.(Gomab. Eyyyyyyye dunno...)/Jessie Owens is without a doubt the most underated player in 7AA./Most h.s. have a "natural born" point guard come thru about every 5-6 years(so seldom, that most coaches don't even recognize them). Cannon's junior Ben Taylor is 99.99% pure point. He's a natural. He mostly plays two spot./Cannon played a great game without Brian Jones & Pedro Lara really getting into the flow offensively. If those two ever click on the same night...woe,woe unto the wicked./Comments welcome.

Zeus, You may be right. You said injuries...are there any others besides Tate's toes. Eagle, you make some good observations but seem bogged down with the past(Gaw,Officer,Asbery,Hearald, Rowland & Mahon) Let's talk about the future. Who's back, not who is gone & forgotten. YORK is returning five( yes I said five) district honorable mention or better; Tate, Leffew, Ledbetter, Stephens & Cravens. Question: How did York turn last season around to finish the way they did. Well yes the freshman Ledbetter did develope much quicker than anyone could have imagened, but the correct answer is Josh Stephens & Robt Cravens. That's right good guard play. They matured quickly, got the ball where it needed to go & knocked down the shots when needed. QUESTION: Last year coaches had to alter defensive schemes because of Tate, with the Tater out early on, will the two Big L's make up for the loss of Tate & Brady(oops). UPPERMAN: Not to be out done the Beeeez also return five district HM or better; Mathis, Case, Shanks, Clinton, & Adam Asberry's little brother. How many guards are you allowed to have on one team? Mathis is fine ballplayer, he may even grow up to be Joseph Meadows, but besides him...where's the heigth. Strange things have been known to happen over the summer, maybe somebody grew. Anyway opponents better come ready to play. JACKSON CO: Riddle: Why is the Jackson Co. boys team always so good. ANSWER: Because they have to practice against their sisters. Joseph Meadows(1st team) & Joel Gaw(HM) return. I have know doubt that Meadows is the best "all round" basketball player/athlete in the district. He will be a heck of a "church league" player some day, unless he decides to pick up his team & carry it on his shoulders this season.( in that case were talking NAIA 2 & 3 spot potential) Carpe dium, Joseph, Carpe dium. Two fine ballplayers, but I don't know who else they've got. JC is one of the smallest AA teams in the state, but they never re-build, just re-load. Maybe those kids that get cut in Byrdstown tranfer over.SMITH CO.: The 'Sandman'(see Eagle above) Ryan Sleeper is back. Wish I knew more. I heard the Owlgores played Lebanon tough & that's not bad if they did. LIVINGSTON: You've heard the admonition that we should "invest in growth stocks", well no doubt Coach McCoin has because last year he had seven freshmen on the team. The Coacht buzz early on last year was that this group had real potential. Jamie Gurley returns to provide some senior leadership. Gurley had some good moments last year. Look for some surprises. DEKALB CO.: District HM Destin Farr is back. Dekalb scared some people last year, usually for about a half, then they would sit out the 3rd quarter & play catch up in the 4th. Dekalb is not that tall but are "big boned" boys & play tough inside. They need more 3 pt. shooting & a natural born point to contend. That leaves CANNON: I hesitate to say much for fear that I might jinx my Lions. It's not unusual in Woodbury to play point one season & post the next. Whatever it takes. There have been some shake-ups; We lost Coach Bush, but Coach Knox is very familar with the players & vice versa. District HM Dustin Jones starter Jessie Owens along with 3 more from our 8 man rotation. I'm cautiously optimistic, & will be surprised & disapointed with any finish lower than third. GOOD LUCK to all teams & players. I just hope you realize some day how much your hard work is appreciated & how much enjoyment the communities get from watching you demonstrate you're skills.

Travis, Sorry to hear about your foot. I was looking forward to seeing you play at Cannon Co., but you should be ready by Feb. 7th. Just a suggestion for you to try...have your parents get some Comfry root at the health food store. Boil it, soak a rag in it, apply it to your foot for about an hour. Do this as often as you can. This will really speed up your recovery significantly. But always check with your lawyer, doctor, minister or legal guardian before you try anything that you hear about on the Internet. Good luck, this season.