caramelcutiepie

The best freshman in my opinion, hands down, is Lauren Avant from Lausanne in Memphis. She was offered a scholarship and has already committed to play for Pat Summitt and the Tennessee Lady Vols (about a month ago) and was recruited by UConn, Duke and everyone else. She's the top player in the WHOLE COUNTRY in the class of 2010 and was the only 8th grader or freshman to make Street and Smith's All-American team. She's the best by a mile... http://www.memphisladyelite.org/

To whoever wrote the quoted post above-- I'm trying to save you embarassment. People, stop using Craigmont as a measuring stick to gauge how Greenville will compete with Hamilton. Its pointless. I'm surprised no one has stopped you and mentioned this but, Craigmont was no where near being one of the top boys teams in the city. They were mediocre at best, but came along at the end thanks to their weak district. Had they been in 16AAA again this year, they probably would not have won a single district game. Losing to one of the weakest city school teams in the city is not a good indication at all--it actually weakens your theory of why your team should win. I'm sorry, but that's the truth. Anything can happen and that's why the games are played, but simply state this fact and leave it at that. It makes you guys look dumb and clueless to reference your performance against a mediocre team and use it to analyze your predicted performance against an exceptional team. Its really pitiful and embarrassing and you're making fools of yourselves in the honest opinion of someone who usually just browses on the boys' basketball board. Just thought you should know...(whoever wrote the post I quoted)

Stop hating on Whitney Houston. She DOES have a 4.0 GPA and is a sweet, sweet kid. You guys have a great team and are state runner-ups and you should be proud of that...talking bad about Houston is not going to change that. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see anyone on this board insulting your star player, Gwen Delk, and anyone with any class wouldn't do that. Who cares about what you doubt...Whitney doesn't have to prove anything to you...WHO ARE YOU!!? You're not anyone in regards to her future or success. As an English minor with a college degree, I could judge you based on your post and say that you are a moron and are not intelligent since you used clauses in your entire post. However, that would be extremely petty, irrelevant and make it seem as though I'm just looking for something, ANYTHING, to nitpick and hate on you about because you have something that I wish I had or some quality that I desire, but lack. Who cares?! Point is, I'm no better than you are and you are no better than Whitney Houston or anyone else. Get over yourself...

Hey WesCharge!! What's shakin?? I've missed you, too! Glad to see you are still on here. Yes, I'm still in the Memphis area and hopefully I'll get to go to Murfreesboro tomorrow if I get some tires put on my car!! Are you going to state, already there or what? What have you been up to??!! I know its been quite a while since we have chatted on here. Who were you pulling for this year and how did they fare? How does the future look for your team?

Colorado saw both girls play in the summer and there is also a Memphis to Colorado connection up there on the boys' side so I think in Houston's case, an assistant coach to the men's team has some Memphis/Hillcrest connections and told the women's coach and they saw her a lot of times and loved her. I know that both she and Candace Rucker had tons of schools all over the country recruiting them and we have several other kids who are the same way in this area. Schools like UCLA, USC, Washington State (a good friend of mine is an assistant coach there), Rutgers and other far away schools have recruited and offered kids in the Memphis area. I think that since a lot of Memphis clubs have stopped focusing so much on AAU ball and have done more with travel teams and shoe affiliated sponsors, there has been more exposure than ever. AAU is fun, but you only get exposed at the National Tournament and only if you advance to the latter rounds do the top schools watch you. If you are a top player and your team loses in pool play, your chances of playing in front of top coaches is very slim since most of the time they have you playing at some little box gym far away from the main floor where the superstars compete. There is one superstar kid in this area (you guys wouldn't know her) who has Georgia, LSU and Florida at the top of her list. By that I mean that they have all offered already and she's interested. She had everyone but Tennessee and UConn make scholarship offers, but she's still young and there's still a lot of ball for her to play.

I'm glad that we could all reach an understanding. As I mentioned, I was a neutral fan but wanted Northside to win. I know Candace and her father and got tired of reading about her weaknesses. Every basketball player has weaknesses...even the great Candace Parker at Tennessee or Diana Taurasi. Candace is not my daughter (i'm not old enough to have a kid her age). I was just defending her and got tired of people hating on her. That's all. I want all of the teams from West Tennessee and especially Memphis to do an amazing job at state. I'm not going to downgrade or talk bad about any of the players on any of the teams representing our region of the state. Hats off to Ridgeway and Northside and I hope one of you brings home the gold ball (and if its possible, may the other bring home the silver ball, too!!).

BHScoach...you don't have any class. You don't have any right to attack Mr. Rucker and tell him that he, along with the fans, doesn't have any class. You can't accuse him of being a part of what took place after the game. I was at the game and the majority of the fans were just standing around talking to their kids. There were a few fans that were rowdy, but you'll have that almost everywhere in America. I know Mr. Rucker and he is a very classy man. All schools have at least some fans that are not classy. The posts were all pretty positive until you butted in and started exhibiting the same lack of class that you accuse Mr. Rucker and the others of having. Do I agree with the fans laying on the Bartlett "B"? No. However, Candace and her family are very classy people and Nate has done an excellent job with Candace. If you had spoken to her and congratulated her instead of standing around with your mouth poked out after the game, you would have learned that she is a VERY polite and humble young lady. Get over it, no one wants to hear anymore that the fans were not classy (we get your point and if we post or lurk on this board, chances are, we aren't blind and have read all of your posts that say the same thing OVER AND OVER). We also don't want to hear how Candace doesn't have a left hand. She does have one, but that's saying a lot if she doesn't have one and your team tried to make her go left and she still went right successfully. What does that say about your defense?? Candace is a hard worker...she'll improve on whatever she needs to work on this summer and before she goes to Colorado. That "left hand" didn't keep her from getting dozens and dozens of offers from good D-1 programs, some of which are still interested. People like you are so petty. No one said anything negative about any of your players, a few of who I know personally. I am a neutral fan, but it seems as if you have a bad case of "sour grapes". That may not be the case, but I'm letting you know in case you are unaware that this is the impression you are giving off...Be like Pantherbert--you don't have to rag on the other team to cover up your teams flaws or make your team look more deserving. Seems like you are trying to cover up something you said on here or are afraid that you'll be eating some crow for talking some smack. Whatever the case, you're a coach (like me), you should know this. Good luck next year.

Zoo, you're so right...and I apologize...I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I'll be good from now on, I promise...

Yeah...its somewhat biased, I agree. However, my bias is a little bit more justified than yours...they are the defending State runner-ups and didn't lose anyone. Now, a lot can happen between now and March--none of us is Nostradamus and we can't 100% accurately predict who will be there. But, you have to like the chances of a team that made it to the championship game and lost no one. Just like in women's college basketball. The teams that return a lot of their starters and players are often favored. You won't know until the end of the season. As for me being an early nominee for "hypocrite of the year" as you call it, that's cool...I'll settle for that. Goodness knows its much better than being "Dogg of the Year". Let me ask you, do you get that title based upon your looks and/or face???Are you the "Dogg of Wilson Central"? Boy, being "dogg-ugly" has to be a tough in itself but I commend you for having the courage to do it. Bad me...bad, bad me. Until now my mean streak had been tamed and locked away from this board and I had been nice...but you brought it out. I will try to contain myself after this post...

You're right...MtJBears...that puts everything into perspective. You have Craigmont in YOUR top ten. Thanks for doing them a favor...your top ten is about as worthy as stuff that gets flushed down the toilet. I'm glad YOUR top ten isn't indicative of what will happen in March and also glad that its just some biased person's opinion. If I were you, I'd keep an eye on the team I may have to go through to get that state title that you are penciling in already.

Craigmont's 3 losses came in Phoenix. The other only loss came to Briarcrest. They were undefeated before LaToya Bullard went out with a hamstring pull. They will still beat most teams without her but its tough to beat nationally ranked teams and a team the caliber of Briarcrest without your bread and butter player. People can continue to understimate them all they want to...being the defending state runnerups in AAA is not just a coincedence...I have never seen a situation where a team has everyone back after being state runner-up and the team doesn't receive any kind of recognition from most people across the state. I guess they'll just have to prove themselves again this season...

Actually, Lauren is closer to 6'0 or 6'1 and plays point guard and shooting guard in high school and AAU for the Memphis Showboats. She is a senior and signed with Mississippi State back in November.

Guys, I usually don't whine about running up the score because sometimes it cannot be avoided. 30 or 50 points is not that bad. However, we have a coach here in Memphis who is notorious for running it up on purpose...he will press the whole game. The other night, Northside played against a team from a first year school and beat them 119-2. I'm almost certain that he pressed the entire game and tried to pad stats for two of his highly recruited players. That's pitiful...he shouldn't have even scheduled his team to play a team like that when he knows he has one of the top teams in the city...he didn't have to play this team...it wasn't a tournament or a district game...all I could say is "WOW!" 119-2? THAT'S A BIG POINT DIFFERENTIAL...

Candace is a very exciting player to watch...I've heard that she is getting some remarkable looks and offers from several top D-1 schools...is this true? I've had 3 or 4 coaches of high and mid-level D-1 programs ask me about Candace. She is really super...At only 5'8, 5'9 she has major "hops" and can easily grab rim and dunk a volleyball. Congratulations on a good game, Candace!

The rivalry comes about mostly from AAU competition. Some of the girls had played together for the Memphis Waves and then when the team split and the girls went to two different teams, the rivalries started there. Also, it is very untrue that the public schools in Memphis don't want to schedule Briarcrest...believe it or not, its the other way around....

Memphis Area Girls Signees Mary Robinson--East High School--South Alabama Lauren Roberts--Houston High School--Mississippi State Paris Leonard--Wooddale High School--University of Memphis LaToya Bullard--Craigmont High School--Florida Jessica Jackson--Craigmont High School--Florida Congratulations to our Showboat girls on their success!! (There will be more signings soon...some girls will sign in the spring)

Martell, the best advice I can give you is for you to not hold your breath waiting for an answer. Your concern is something that has been expressed and questioned ad nauseum, but with no reply from anyone. The best way I can explain it is that people make up their own little rules to exclude Memphis from West Tennessee which is just plain ridiculous. No other city in the state gets excluded from the section of the state where it is located (e.g. Knoxville is East Tennessee, Nashville is Middle Tennessee and so on and so forth). I guess its easier to eliminate the Memphis teams from consideration if you support "West Tennessee" teams so that the team that you support is looked at a little better--I guess it adds to the status/performance/quality of the team if that team doesn't have to compete with the better teams in that portion of the state. What surprised me, however, is that although people try to classify Memphis as its own section of the state, when the substates/sectionals are played, the very teams that are included in the "West Tennessee" classification have to play the teams from Memphis which is in *gasp* WEST TENNESSEE. I hope that helps explain it a little bit for you

By the way, I think that ALL of the coaches look for that in a point guard...not just Summitt...its pretty much a given...if you can't take care of the basketball and can't defend, then 9 times out of 10, you're not a point guard...and that's just the basics. I understand your curiosity and since I'm a nice person, I took the liberty to find the season stats and some online to make sure the stats were accurate from both the season AND the USA Basketball Development Olympic Festival that invites the nations top 48 seniors to Colorado to compete. Her high school stats from this past season were: 23 points, 10 assists, 6 steals and 5 rebounds per game. Pretty good stat line for someone who has a whole lot of talent around her including another former USA Today All-American in Jessica Jackson. I couldn't get the turnovers from the high school season but I do have turnover and assist stats from the usabasketball.com website and I'm sure the numbers are pretty comparible if not better during the season. She took care of the basketball up there in Colorado and rarely turns it over in high school or summer ball where the competition is not as stiff as when you're facing your peers--the top players in the nation. She had 17 assists to 6 turnovers at the festival in 4 games (everyone else played in 5--she had to sit out a game for unspecified reasons). That ratio was good enough for the second best ratio at the entire festival (out of 48 people) at 2.83 assist to turnover ratio. She had 9 assists in the bronze medal game alone. She also averaged 2 steals per game up there which is not bad considering the playing time is divided pretty evenly. She deserves every accolade that she receives and rightly so...plus, she was one of the most highly recruited kids to ever come out of this state.

I agree with you on one thing...Holifield is amazing!!

Oh don't get me wrong...Cait is more than deserving of the award...my initial post was to reference the fact that LaToya probably won't get a fair deal in the matter...heck, she wasn't even nominated for Miss Basketball last year and was named as one of the top players in her class according to USA Today and Student Sports. I only meant to point out that the hype over Cait will hurt LaToya more than it will help Cait who is a good player in her own right. Also, I wanted to point out that it has been doubly hard for LaToya to get her respect from Tennesseans than it has for Cait. I'm pretty sure you can't disagree with me on this. Not that she cares...nationally, she's a very decorated athlete, no question and as a person, she could care less about any award and comes to expect this type of stuff in-state. I just think its somewhat disrespectful that people are already giving the award to Cait and the fact that their opinions seem to mirror those of the sportwriters is a grim reality...the writing's on the wall. It tests the credibility of girls basketball in our state as to whether politics are involved or not...its not me saying that, but its hard to dispute it with others on a national level when the questions are asked about players who shine and are known nationally, but are shunned by representatives, media or otherwise, within their own state. It's a truth, a sad one at that, and if you open your eyes, you know it as well as I do. This didn't turn into a discussion about LaToya vs. Cait until you stated your opinion (which you are very entitled to) that you felt Cait was better. I responded to that statement on why I thought LaToya was better (my opinion). This is not in intention to down Cait or say that she is not a very good candidate for Ms. Basketball because she is...I just think that no way does LaToya get a fair chance and in accordance to what everyone else is saying, I am prophetically (and sarcastically) stating before the start of the school year, "Congratulations, Cait, on winning Miss Baskeball for 2005." It really is irrelevant to use the fact that the boys winners are from West Tennessee a lot of times...Most of the state championships in both AA and AAA come back to Memphis every year and most of your high profile boys players are out west...that's a given and the whole thing would look like a total farce if they weren't selected...a lot of people's credibility would be in question and since the stakes of boys basketball are a lot higher, I think the picks are fairer in that sense.

TnWarEagle, you are certainly entitled to your opinion but you have no right to assume and make it seem as though the Lady Vols didn't think she was good enough...trust me, she eliminated them waayyy before they eliminated her...she never wanted to play there and let it be known early on. UConn wanted her and so did every other school in the country...we could go on all day about who thinks who is better, but what will we gain from it....NOTHING. Lilhooper is right...the only way we will know is a) if both make it to the state this year and face off, and when LaToya's Gators face Cait's Lady Vols (which is my favorite team) whoever beats who (not whoever's team wins because of course I think UT will) may quiet the argument...their stats are very comparable and both have played against each other (even with each other one year) in AAU for several years. I think that LaToya is better and that's not because I know her or because of any bias...as a former college player, I have seen the best of the best and Cait is good, but she is not better than LaToya...period...they are really two different players...Cait is more of a scoring point guard (which come a dime a dozen), like Iverson while LaToya is more of a pure point guard, but she can play shooting guard as well. She cannot be held one on one PERIOD and is one of the best passers in the country. She doesn't have to score 40 a game to beat you (but she is very capable and could any time she wanted to) and its actually better for the other team if she scoring as opposed to breaking down the defense and making everyone on the team beat you. That's the intangible between the both of them...neither will probably be big scorers in the SEC since the guards are HUGE and strong, and they won't be called upon to be the first option 9 times out of 10. I doubt very seriously that Cait will be able to score at will against the bigger, stronger and quicker guards of the SEC. It will be a challenge but I think she can hold her own. Will she dominate? I doubt it. And if either of them can't score, what else can they do? Who is the better all-around player? Who is the most effective guard at the next level?? Who is better at getting their teammats involved? LaToya, of course. There really is no comparison IN MY HONEST OPINION--LaToya is better. You'll have yours, I'll have mine and that's that in a nutshell.

LaToya Bullard should be Miss Basketball, but since most of the sportswriters are out East, the chances are slim...she'll win Gatorade Player of the Year for Tennessee and a slew of other national awards, though, and probably not Miss Basketball...no wonder basketball in our state looks politcal to those in other parts of the nation.

' How can the defending State Runner-ups (Craigmont) not be at least number 2 when they have everybody back? Just wondering. Plus, I don't think that Shelbyville is going to have a down year at all...until they are dethroned or lose a lot of games early, they should be number 1...Just my honest opinion...I put Powell at at least 3 because they have some good players returning...

Congratulations Shelbyville Sportshop 15U team from your friends on the Western end of the state!!! P.S.--Congrats, Matt!!! (from me )

Hey...I'm getting pretty good at this cut and paste stuff!!! LOL! I meant to attach more stuff this past weekend, but I was VERY busy...if I get some time today, I will. The South team got third and I hate that I forgot to mention that Tennessee's own Jill Prudden from Oak Ridge was teh coach of the South Team. I think she did an excellent job and had the South not had to face the superbly-talented West team twice, they could have gotten the silver medal. The West just dominated and we all felt they would with 5 or 6 out of the top 10 players in the class of 2005 on one team, including the #1 (Erika Arriaran) and #2 (Courtney Paris) player who is 6'3 250 lbs.