victory

No crying. Just trying to make a point about why 2 of the best programs in NET over the last several years would not be playing each other at least once every year. Everyone benefits from two good teams playing on a regular basis but not when there is a 6 year gap between games.

We have heard for years that the reason they did not play was only because of the boys coach but deep down we all know that this is not the only reason. The girls had opportunities to play each other at neutral sites on a couple of occassions and the only reason it didn't happen was due to Elizabethton not wanting to play Science Hill. These situations were girls only Hall of Fame games and Thanksgiving Classic at Happy Valley so the boys not wanting to play was not a factor. As I stated earlier, it is a shame the fans did not get to see these two programs play every year.

Games between these two schools are good for both programs. It is a shame that Elizabethton wouldn't play Science Hill when they were at their best. It would have been great for Northeast TN girls basketball.

I would think DC needs to get better.

It is good for both teams because they are the elite programs of northeast Tennessee.

I agree that this should be an interesting game and Elizabethton being at home will be a factor. I am confused by your statement that Science Hill hasn't wanted to play Elizabethton for the last couple of years. I know that SH has tried for the last several years to schedule games with Elizabethton but someone from Elizabethton would not let it happen even on a neutral floor.

I was at the game last night and you are right about Riverdale having a chance to win the game. The officials did a good job of keeping them in it. Homewood Flossmoor never got into the bonus situation in either half with only 12 total fouls called on Riverdale (6 per half). Riverdale was in the double bonus during both halfs with over 25 fouls called on Homewood Flossmoor. Riverdale is still a very good team and may win another state championship this year but it is important to know why it is so difficult sometimes for teams to beat Riverdale at home. Last night Riverdale just didn't make enough of all those free throws.

Will not disagree with you about Mimi Jackson's basketball ability because she is a great player but Mt. Juliet did not play Riverdale in the state championship game during her freshman year. That was a first round game. Riverdale played Science Hill for the state championship during the last 2 years and Memphis Central the year before that. I also agree with you that Blackman is loaded.

I don't remember everyone making such a big deal out of the score last year when Riverdale beat Lavergne 103 to 10. So why now?

Shy Copney, 5'10" wing, Science Hill; MTSU

Well you may be right GCPioneer but Science Hill did beat Clarksville with Bashaara Graves last year in the state quarter-finals. They also took Memphis Central down to the last minute in the state semi-finals. With 7 of their top 10 returning (and no seniors this year) I believe Science Hill has earned their way into the conversation of top 4 teams in the state this year. Time will tell as each team proceeds through their season. The only negative I can see for Science Hill is the level of competition each night is not as strong as it is in middle Tennessee.

According to the Tricities Sports report on the TN High and Morristown West game, TN High only used 11 players during the game. If that is the case then your argument about TN High using more players than Science Hill against Morristown West does not add up. Also, due to the large lead Science Hill had during the 2nd half they did not play their top 6 as much as they would in a closer game. I believe Science Hill is also working on their chemistry with some new players and trying to figure out what rotations work best for them. It should be interesting to see how each team improves throughout the season.

I don't think anyone is offended except maybe Coach Barnwell (if he reads these posts) and maybe the Hensley family since their name is the one being associated with all these negative comments.

Are you her brother that plays on the boys team?

If you are that close to this team, with friends and a family member on the team, wouldn't you know the names of #11 and #40 instead of referring to them by their numbers. Since you brought it up, which member of the team is a family member. If this is true it would be my guess that it is also one of the girls that does not see the floor very much and therefore is upset about thier lack of playing time.

Very well said Sparky, and I agree with you 100%.

We can continue to debate this topic and go back and forth for a long time. Elizabethton fans believe what they want to believe and Science Hill fans believe what they want to believe. We will probably never know the true answer to all these questions and the two schools may never play a real game. That is what makes this forum so much fun because we can give our opinions and debate some of the unanswerable questions. One final thought, Science Hill and Elizabethton did play a girls only game 4 or 5 years ago so I don't know if your answer to the question is correct either.

I'm not sure if Elizabethton fans don't know the truth or just don't want to know the truth. Your reason about why Elizabethton did not want to play Science Hill was because it was on Friday night and the Elizabethton football team was playing. That would be a great reason except for the fact that Elizabethton did play on Friday night at Happy Valley against Morristown West. Not sure why Elizabethton is concerned about playing Science Hill but there is some concern there or they would have played at some point over the last 3 years. Sparky stated that over the last 2 years it was because the boys did not want to play Science Hill but Science Hill girls have tried to schedule just a girls game for Hall of Champions or regular season and have had no luck. So whatever the reason there is something that keeps Elizabethton from wanting to play Science Hill and we can all only guess what that something may be, but I think we all know.

Not sure where you are getting the Elizabethton 30+ win over Greeneville. According to the scores on CoachT Elizabethton beat Greeneville by 10 and 16. That is not even 30 points if you combine the 2 games. As for the situation at Happy Valley you are right that those games are set by Happy Valley. When the original schedule for the Thanksgiving games at Happy Valley came out it had Science Hill and Elizabethton scheduled to play on Friday night. Only after Elizabethton complained about the schedule did it get changed so that they did not have to play Science Hill, so it is not speculation on who does not want to play.

It is interesting that you reference Science Hill's game with Greeneville as your reason why Science Hill would not give Elizabethton a good game. In Elizabethton's first game with Greeneville they struggled throughout the game, falling behind early and having to win the game in the fourth quarter. This is similar to Science Hill's game with Greeneville on Saturday night. It would also be interesting to get your take as to why Elizabethton will not play Science Hill even though Science Hill has tried to schedule them for the last 3 years, even to the point of Elizabethton refusing to play them on a neutral floor at Happy Valley on 2 different occassions.

There are examples of players that did not play AAU and received college scholarships, including D1. One recent player was Johneshia Good of Science Hill. She never participated on an AAU team but she had a few D1 schools that showed interest in her and eventually earned a D1 scholarship with ETSU. AAU does provide a student athlete opportunities to be seen by more college coaches but if you have the skill level to play at a certain level you will have that opportunity because word will spread about your talent. Sometimes that word has to be spread by the high school coach by making phone calls and sending film to prospective colleges.

Congratulations to all 8 of these girls and their accomplishments. I think one group of individuals that have not been considered as important to these accomplishments are the high school coaches. In my opinion they are more directly responsible for the development of these girls as anyone. In some cases the head coaches have been working with these girls since they were in elementary and middle school, if not directly, then indirectly. I think sometimes AAU coaches are given to much credit for the development of a young athlete and what they accomplish when they are merely taking the more developed players from various schools and playing tournaments. I do believe that AAU has a purpose and that many AAU coaches are excellent coaches but I also believe that the high school coach should be given more credit for thier role in the development of these young girls and their accomplishments.

Must be something about Sevier County. I saw them get held to just 8 points in the first half tonight by Science Hill. Science Hill led by a score of 35 to 8 at halftime. Great team defense by a young Science Hill squad.

Don't be so quick to judge a team from the looks of one game. One bad game does not mean the season is lost and the team should pack it in (if that was the case then I believe Dobyns Bennett would have done that after losses to TN High and Sullivan South). Dobyns Bennett played a near flawless game with great shooting and rebounding last night and yes it seemed like Science Hill was not playing very hard at times, but how many games have you seen Science Hill play. You must not have seen their games against TN High or Sullivan Central and also remember this was a team picked to finish 5th in the conference and yet here they are after 10 games and still the number one team in the conference. Dobyns Bennett has a great team and if they continue to shoot the ball as well as they did last night then it will be hard for anyone in the conference to beat them. Science Hill is a very young team with two freshman starters. I'm sure they will respond positively to this loss and finish the season strong. Science Hill's freshman and JV players are very good as well and they will become valuable additions to the varsity over the next couple of years.

But the point that limestonecove is trying to make is that you should count all of them win or lose. Unicoi County is the same. They are counting the win over Volunteer but not counting the loss to Science Hill. There are some teams that count them all win or lose. The coaches are the ones that make the decision whether to count a Hall of Champions game or not. The newspaper reporters usually ask the coaches what their overall record is before or after a game.