sls

Very deserving. I have been following this also. I noticed on the Silver Stars website she had made the 1st cut to 15 players. Then I noticed they had posted her number 11 y her name and I thought she had a chance. Hope to get down there this summer to watch her play.

To turn this into something positive.... who are the best 8th graders in Tennessee?

1 player that will be a freshman, nothing in the current 7th grade, possibly 1 in the current 6th grade. 5th grade some possibilities, but a long, long way to go. Milan should be better this year, but it may not turn in to any more wins. Milan is several years from being competitive. Right now I do not see a program in place in the really younger grades to get competitive. With the merry-go-round of coaches, nothing can get setup. Better get started soon if they plan on being competitive within the next 10 years.

Here is a thought! 8th graders IF they are in the SAME school building as the high school, have the same right to use the gym as anyone. Many single "A" schools have this situation. Here is a good example, many 8th graders, based on the coaches opinion, play on the high school team, while in the 8th grade.

And GCP, odds are the best 8th graders are the ones working out with the high school!! LOL

Look at the substitutions a different way. With the young talent that is there, no way they could compete for a district, region or state title the last 2 years. So why not get as many kids in the game as you can. that have a chance to play in the future? If kids think they will play in the game, they practice harder. The young kids typically also do not have the endurance seniors do. By subbing on a regular basis, the kids know they can go all out. It teaches them to play hard. Or he can play what the parents want and play his best 6 and the team as a whole does not get the experience they need. Then the know it all parents and fans will be mad because their little pro player is not getting any playing time. Folks need to wake up. His efforts to build a PROGRAM not a team will be rewarded in the coming years. Will it take some time, sure. Does the 1st half of the year really matter? Teams try to get better by the end of the year to peak at tourney time. From all the things I read in this post, SGC has gotten better by the end of the year both years.

Sounds like he is obeying the rules set forth by the school & TSSAA. Sounds like he has made some contacts for the kids and got them hooked up, as is he has done in the past. If you sit back and watch, he is really quiet. He does not get into all of the hoopla & politics that seem to be at every school. He also does not want all of that crap inside of his program. Nor does any coach. It doesn't do anyone any good. If you ever get to know the man you will be very surprised at how much he does for the kids, behind the scenes. Parents don't know it, most of the time the kids just think things happen. Don't believe that, check with Chantel Poston, Tenna Carter, Shaniqua Gray, Dequasha Simpson, K Brooks, S Hamm, J Joyner, P Glenn, etc, etc. Most of these girls think of him as their father figure. Reference Purdue archives for the amazing story C Poston wrote about him. He does not like newspapers, radio, TV, all the hype. Just quietly goes about his business. People especially momas in which very few even know the rules of the game do more harm than good, just stirring the pot. He does his job, just maybe not with a bunch of blinking lights, trying to call attention to him self.

Do you know what his administration is telling he can and can not do? Is coach Greer doing the same for the boys? I do know from past experience, he did encourage his players, contacted AAU, travel team coaches, etc to get them on teams. Ask Heavy D. Kids that want to play will find a place to play. Not all are as dedicated as everyone may want them to be. Not all parents can afford the cost. Believe it or not kids do need a physical and mental break. They are kids. Wonder why TSSAA inserted the dead period.     

In schools today, there are many more issues with spoiled kids and know it all parents, than there are coaches. Again not to say some coaches are more talented than others. SGC coach when hired ask for patience and time for the kids to learn and understand his system. Check out the announcement article in the local archived  newspaper. Obviously SGC agreed to this. He has had a very young team since he has been there, but yet managed a winning season each year. New system, new kids equals time to build a program, not just a team. SGC has as solid of a youth program as anyone. The middle & elementary school have fall and winter programs in place. Check out the 5th and 6th grade schedules on the school website. Just beacause they participate and choose to run these programs in the fall and winter, not in the spring and summer, does not mean they do not have these programs in place. The PAL league for younger kids has been established since the new coach arrived. So do not say the programs are not there, just because of when they choose to offer the programs.      

SL88, I agree with you, UTM got ripped in many ways. If you read the whole thread, I was making a point to p42. My point is it really does not matter, sometimes who is coaching, things happen. I do agree some coaches are better than others. Coaches are no different than players, some are more talented than others. 

I am confused. I got a message across the top of the message board saying I needed to put in my new email address. I have not changed my email address. I prefer not to change anything. What is going on? What caused this? What is the resolution?

I thought the same thing until I watched them three or four times late this year. I would love to see what McMillan or Russell would do with them the next two years. They have better than above average talent. They have very good talent. They just have an average to below average coach. They lose nobody for the next two years and Dyersburg and Westview will. Obion can't beat them now. The next two years on talent alone they will be a good AA team. As for going to AAA, that is my worse fear because my neice is a 6th grade player now and I don't want to travel to Memphis to watch her play in the future. Did u not make the West Carrol game either?

McMillan and Russell just blew an 18 point lead in the 2nd half. I guess the new UTM A.D. will hand them their walking papers. Make sure you apply p42!!  LOL

Dyersburg was still without power yesterday, so not sure what they will do 

Has UC been able to practice this week? Roads are nasty. Also the UC crowd may be affected as the UC boys travel to Memphis wed nite to play in substate and girls play Thursday morning @ mboro.

So if you have been following him that long you must know in 2009 he took that same group of kids to the finals of AA state tourney. If I am not mistaken he defeated the best talent that 13AA has seen in this area in a long time if not ever. Part of that talent was the 3 D1 players that was on the GC team coached by McMillan & Russell. Part of that talent was at least 2 D1 players with OC, Westview and Dyersburg. You would also know he took the Milan program from awful to the state finals. So a question if a coach practices breaking presses, boxing out, practice plays, etc, etc and the kids on the floor do not execute I assume you are saying that is always a coaches fault. Maybe we should get rid of them all in that case!!      

Milan held the ball. score end of 1 was 3-0 SS. Score at half was 10-3 SS. Milan made a slight "run" making the score 10-8 at one point in the 3rd. Turnovers, a few ill advised shots & SS free throws stretch it out later on. 29-13 final. 

GCP since 42 is from your end of the county and seems to be "close to a rookie on this site" give him a history lesson on Volbert before he ends up getting his whole foot in his mouth! LOL!

just a guess. Most middle schools do not want to pay the cost of being a member. The way TSSAA is structured favoring football, which limits what high school coaches can do with their programs, the only way to improve their program is to get into the younger kids. In todays world, if girls do not have the fundamentals under control by the 6th grade, they will never catch up. The coaches and school administrations that do not realize this are getting further behind every day. Being a TSSAA member in middle school comes with all the limitations. Not being a member the sky is the limit. There are not enough benefits for being  member, so why do it....      

Although the guys are working hard, Milan still has a long way to go boys and girls to turn the programs around.  Boys have lost too many players for various reasons. Girls just don't have developed talent. Hopefully the 2 new coaches can remove the middle school roadblock that has existed for years and start the kids early in basketball like ALL of the surrounding communities. the administration at Milan Middle is horrible when it comes to supporting athletics, other than football.      

Should know tomorrow. Although he will possibly be the coach. This move is a strategic move for other reasons. The coaching part will grab the headlines. The other will be the reason for the hire.

Martin experienced, well coached

Covington experienced, total package

Obion Post and point guard, others will need to step up

Dyersburg Will need to find a scorer to replace KK

GC Enough talent to get 4th in the district

SGC lacking experience, well coached

Milan big drop off from here down. Estrada and Fry. must improve D

Haywood always athletic, must get consistent

Crockett Will improve, depth may be a factor

Ripley Loss of best player will hurt for sure

Milan couldn't stop S. Gibson's offense consistently?? Did you watch the game??? S. Gibson's offense had 0 points and 58yds total offense thru the first 4qtrs. They opened the game with a kick off return for a score and didn't put any more points on the board til the 4th. They put together 2 drives in the 4th to win the game. Milan's D was dominant for the first three qtrs. Since that game we have had a 3yr starting D lineman come back after missing the first 5 games. He is about 6'1 270lbs and is a monster. S. Gibson would have continued to have trouble moving the ball in the 4th had he been able to play that game. However, I give them all the credit... they did what they had to do to win the game. Just don't think it is an accurate statement for someone to say we couldn't stop them consistently.

Yes I watched the game. You are correct in your 58 yds, etc. Yes you are correct Milan has a key player back. My point is Milan has not played that well YET consistently. Are they improving, yes. Milan was worn out in the 4th qtr vs SGC and could not stop the long drive when it counted. Milan could not score in the red zone vs SGC. just not sure they are ready for Covington yet. Milan misses the speed and athletisim of Finch & Belew. But are doing a good job with what they have. Just not up to par yet. Typically this is the time of year when they kick it in gear. To handle Covington, they better. Will SGC stand a chance in the playoffs should Milan play them again, NO way.

Milan is not up to usual Milan standards. At least not yet anyway. The QB has been like a sawed off shotgun, spraying passes all over he place. Until last week, he was all over the place. Milan's line could not beat SGC. SGC is much improved, but for Milan to compete with the bigger faster schools, gotta take care of SGC. Milan's D could not stop SGC or Huntingdon consistently. A team with Covington's speed will break a couple. If Milan gets behind and has to throw the ball, Covington will pick off a couple and 1 will probably be a pick 6. If Milan has it this year, they better bring it this week.

If classifying strictly for football, not sure some of the schools mentioned will be considered. Example Carroll Academy does not have a football team.

Someone please explain why the T$$AA is only concerned about football classifications? I listened to B Childresslast week in an interview on classifications. Only football was spoken of. I have never understood why we have at least 50 more basketball teams in the state of TN, than football and 6 football classes and only 3 basketball. The one argument I have heard is travel, which is bull snot, as with smaller districts you could play the poeple you choose to play in your area, as you would have more open dates.

Arkel was @ Bethel game Saturday on crutches. What up with that

As most games have been in west Tn, this game has been re-scheduled and will be played Thursday night instead of Friday