Flash Gordon

In my opinion, one of the best stories in the Knoxville area has been the play of the resurgent Karns Beavers. They have definitely established themselves as a team that could make some noise in the upcoming district and region tournaments with wins over Fulton, Oak Ridge, and Powell, and close losses to Halls. Jordan Roth and Jesse Booher are playing as well as any guard tandem in East Tennessee. Shane Glasgow is another very good guard on that team. If they can hold their own on the boards and continue to play smart and shoot well on offense, they are definitely capable of knocking off any team in the region on a given night. Lee Henson deserves some credit for his work this year and is a definite candidate for Coach of the Year in the district. I have heard a lot of criticism around town in the past about Henson and I'm sure some of it was deserved. But noone can deny that he is doing a great job this year.

I agree that Farragut isn't overrated. I disagree that their point guard play isn't solid. Phillips/Hunley are very solid. They probably aren't at the level of guys like Stephens, Damron, Hargis, Roth, and Sharp but they really don't have to be with their supporting cast. As long as they take care of the ball and make some open shots, Farragut will be fine.

How can they be overrated when they aren't even rated? I don't recall anyone saying anything about Farragut being as good as the best west Tennessee teams. West Tennessee bball gets plenty of respect already.

Hey Govman or coachinhoops, I know Maryville's varsity boys should have a very strong nucleus coming back next year with Damron, Douglas, Lambert, Reynolds, Click, etc. Do you guys see any of this year's Maryville freshmen being contributors on Maryville's varsity next year?

I heard he has committed to play at Carson Newman. I don't know if he has actually signed yet.

You are correct. It is very hard to narrow down to just five.

I agree with that list except I would move Jenkins to wing and insert either Chase Jones of Austin East or Dustin Craig of Bearden at post. Mcbee of Rutledge is good but I like Jones and Craig better. Just my opinion, though.

Let's see..... Temple won state championships in 2002 and 2003. Refresh my memory on exactly what, if anything, Lake County has ever done in basketball. Temple deserves their ranking.

I would agree that most teams should probably zone Oak Ridge. However, I watched Alcoa hold Oak Ridge to 38 points last night playing strictly man to man. I think a collapsing man to man defense like Alcoa played can also be effective with the right personnel. Of course, to be fair, I have to point out that Oak Ridge held Alcoa to 27 in what may have been the worst offensive game I have ever witnessed between two good teams.It was 13-10 OR at the HALF, 20-17 Alcoa at the end of the 3rd quarter. Give OR credit though. It is much better to win ugly than lose ugly.

What do you all make of Stone beating Oliver Springs 89-56 and then less than a week later Oliver Springs beating Catholic ? Was the Stone/OS score correct? If so, that is pretty wild.

January 5, 2007 Prep Xtra Top Ten: 1. Greeneville 2. Fulton 3. Oak Ridge 4. Halls 5. Maryville 6. Powell 7. Farragut 8. Austin East 9. Pigeon Forge 10. Bearden Comments?

Pigeon Forge is doing a great job this year and they deserve a lot of praise. West Henderson is indeed a very good team and that was a very good victory for the Tigers. However, they were NOT North Carolina state champs last year. I believe they made it to the state tournament but lost in the quarterfinals. Just wanted to clarify that. With that being said, I look for Pigeon Forge to continue to roll because they are playing great basketball.

Friday scores: William Blount 57 Brevard 44 Pigeon Forge 63 Smoky Mountain 50 Austin East 61 AC Reynolds 48 Enka 72 Brainerd 68 Shelby 77 Sullivan Central 71 Maryville 63 Pisgah 51 Chatt Arts & Sciences 67 Tuscola 60 West Henderson 61 Karns 57 Tennessee schools end up with a record of 22-11 for the Challenge.

It is being held at three high schools in western North Carolina: Pisgah HS-Canton,NC Tuscola HS-Waynesville,NC Smoky Mountain HS-Sylva, NC

Thursday Scores: Shelby 83 Brainerd 76 Maryville 69 North Buncombe 62 Austin East 69 Pisgah 65 Chatt Arts & Sciences 77 Enka 64 Sullivan Central 71 Tuscola 54 Asheville 49 South Doyle 39 Smoky Mountain 57 Karns 51 I couldn't find out the Pigeon Forge-Mountain Heritage score. Pending the results of that game, the Challenge currently stands at Tennessee 16, North Carolina 8.

Wednesday Scores: Karns 71 Enka 49 Maryville 66 Asheville 54 Austin East 72 Shelby 67 Pigeon Forge 59 West Henderson 54 Brainerd 67 Smoky Mountain 60 Brevard 74 South Doyle 64 William Blount 57 AC Reynolds 47 North Buncombe 66 Chatt Arts & Sciences 64 Sullivan Central wins over Mountain Heritage ( Don't know score) After two days, Tennessee has a 12-5 record.

Didn't see the game. Heard Asheville wasn't very big but pretty athletic. William Blount was up by 13 in the first half but Asheville came back.

Wednesday's Games: Mountain Heritage vs. Sullivan Central Brevard vs. South Doyle Brainerd vs. Smoky Mountain Asheville vs. Maryville West Henderson vs. Pigeon Forge AC Reynolds vs. William Blount Austin East vs. Shelby Karns vs. Enka North Buncombe vs. Chatt Arts & Sciences

Two more Tuesday scores: Pisgah 54 Knox South Doyle 52 Chatt Arts & Sciences 83 A.C. Reynolds 82

Tuesday Scores: Asheville 59 William Blount 57 Knox Karns 76 North Buncombe 66 West Henderson 62 Chatt. Brainerd 57 Sullivan Central 65 Brevard 58 Knox Austin East 80 Mountain Heritage 61 Pigeon Forge 82 Tuscola 67

I'll take a stab on the final standings: Farragut Maryville Bearden William Blount Lenoir City Heritage Sevier County South Doyle

Absolutely, if PF wins at Alcoa, they will get some respect from me and others. I think it would definitely qualify as their best win this year, even though Alcoa is a little down this year. I think it could go either way. I really do like PF as a team. I think scheduling home and home with Alcoa was a good move. With the team they knew they had this year, if I was Pigeon Forge's coach I would have scheduled some other top teams as well to really test my guys. Why play Cocke County, Cosby and Heritage? That is six non-league games against teams that you are much better than. That would be ok if you played in a tough district but we know that isn't the case. Why not schedule some more tough non-league games against some better competition? Even if you lost some, it would have helped the team be better prepared for regional and possible sectional and state games down the line. Anyway, good luck to Pigeon Forge. I didn't mean to belittle them at all in my previous post. They are going to have a very good year.

You'll get your chance against Alcoa Tuesday night on your home court. This definitely is not one of Alcoa's best teams and it looks like it is one of Pigeon Forge's best teams. Even so, I think Alcoa will give Pigeon Forge everything they want and it wouldn't surprise me to see Alcoa win. I have seen Pigeon Forge play. There is NO WAY you beat Maryvillle by 10 plus points, even if you played your best game. If you were in Maryville's district, I think you would have a minimum of 6 district losses for the season ( two each to Farragut, Maryville, and Bearden) and probably a few more. If you were in Alcoa's district, you would be a 3rd place team at best behind A-E and Fulton and maybe 4th. Let's face it, your district does not compare AT ALL strength wise to Alcoa's district. I like Pigeon Forge's team but you don't need to come on here making statements like this.

James Gallman of Fulton.

Heritage knocked off Lenoir City 71-61 Tuesday. Some might consider this an upset but I really don't because Heritage has been playing very well at home. They barely lost earlier home games to McMinn County and Pigeon Forge, who are both pretty good teams. Although it wasn't a district game, Maryville cruised over Jefferson County 76-43. Friday night will be big night for 4-AAA hoops in Blount County when William Blount hosts Maryville.