gomerpyle

AAU is excited to announce a series of Jam On It events that will be held at the Knoxville Convention Center. All games will be held under one roof, and hotels will be within walking distance of the facility. Entry fees for all events are $350, but multi-team and multi-event discounts are available. All teams/players/coaches must be registered with AAU. For more information, contact Dr. Andy Rines at (865) 591-4868 or Matt Williams at (775) 530-5446. Online registration is available at jamonittournaments.com March 25-26 (Spring Classic) April 14-15 (Rocky Top Challenge) April 22-23 (Spring Fever Jam & Boy's Division 2 Super Qualifier) April 29-30 (Showtime Jam) - Boys & Girls

SEAAU Boy's 14-U State Tournament * May 13-15, 2016 * Sevier County High School & Sevierville Middle School * Information at www.seaau.org * Tournament Director - Andy Rines (865) 591-4868 or matrines@yahoo.com

SEAAU Boy's 11-u State Tournament * April 15-17, 2016 * Sevier County High School and Sevierville Middle School * Information at www.seaau.org * Tournament Director - Andy Rines (865) 591-4868 or matrines@yahoo.com

* April 25-27 * $240/team * 3-game guarantee * Top 4 in each group qualify for AAU Division I State Tournament * Contact Andy Rines at (865) 591-4868

April 25-27 (Sevierville) * 6th, 7th, 8th grades * $240 entry fee * 3-game minimum * Top 4 teams in each grade division qualify for Division I state tournament * Contact Andy Rines (865) 591-4868 or at matrines@yahoo.com * Tournament information can be found at www.seaautnboysbasketball.org May 9-11 (Sevierville) * 9th, 10th, 11th grades * $240 entry fee * 3-game minimum * Top 4 teams in each grade division qualify for Division I state tournament * Contact Andy Rines (865) 591-4868 or at matrines@yahoo.com * Tournament information can be found at www.seaautnboysbasketball.org

There have been many great high school players in Tennessee over the years. David Vaughn belongs in the discussion. However, it's difficult to compare eras because the game has changed so much as time has passed. I agree with most of the names here, but wanted to throw out a couple from way back: 1. Elston Turner - great player at Austin-East in the 70s who went on to a great career at Ole Miss and played in the NBA for a long time. 2. Chris Jones - great player at Cocke County who went on to be an All-American at Carson-Newman in the 1960s and played in the NBA with the Cincinnati Royals. This was much more difficult to do back then because there were only 10-12 NBA franchises. He had the misfortune of playing the same position as Oscar Robertson, who was with the Royals at the time.

There are many advantages to playing AAU sanctioned events. First, it affords team the opportunity to qualify for their resepective state and national tournaments. If a team plays in its age-group substate and qualifies for the state tournament, there is no additional entry fee for the state tournament. Even if a team does not qualify for the Division I national tournament, it is automatically eligible to enter the Division II nationals. As a point of correction, birth certificates are no longer required since AAU has gone to a grade format. The main component of the necessary documentation is simply a grade card or report from each student's respective school veriftying he is the proper grade. This ensures that players are playing in the approprate grade group, as opposed to many tournmenents where age groups will be combined or there are no eligibility requirements. Many teams in Tennessee choose to play in multiple local tournaments that are non-sanctioned while avoiding AAU events completely. This is unfortunate, because I believe we've forgotten the importance of competing. I think the non-sanctioned events can serve many teams well as tune up tournaments and can provide game experience. However, the AAU sanctioned events follow TSSAA rules completely and utilize high school and college officials. This is not always the case with non-sanctioned events, and in those tournaments you may run into running clocks, non-licensed officials, etc. While some of these events are high-quality, not all meet that standard.

Here are the dates for the SEAAU Eastern Substates. This year, the top four teams in each group will advance to the state tournament. All state tournaments this year will follow a 12-team format. The substates will be held at Maryville College. April 12-14 6th grade 7th grade 8th grade May 3-5 9th grade 10th grade 11th grade * For more information, please contact Andy Rines at (865) 591-4868 or at matrines@yahoo.com

Nike EYBL scheduleNike EYBL website

Tennessee TravelersRosters will be up soon on our website.

General Information * Over 200 college signees * Over 100 Division I signees * 22 SEC signees * 5 NBA players * 4 McDonald's All-Americans Division I (In-state schools) * 9 University of Tennessee signees * 6 Vanderbilt signees * 10 Belmont signees * 9 ETSU signees * 6 Chattanooga signees * 5 Tennessee Tech signees * 4 MTSU signees

The Tennessee Travelers will be one of only 40 teams nationally and one of only two in Tennessee (Bluff City Legends) to compete in the 2012 Nike EYBL. The schedule is listed below. 2012 Nike EYBL Schedule April 20-22 (Minneapolis, MN) April 27-29 (Hampton, VA) May 11-13 (Dallas, TX) May 25-28 (Oakland, CA)

The Bluff City Legends is the same organization previously known as the Memphis Y. We are based out of East and Middle Tennessee. We've had several players from Nashville and the Middle Tennessee area over the years. We practice in both Middle and East Tennessee. We often have players from as far East as Johnson City and North Carolina and as far North as Kentucky and Virgina, so we either find a central site and practice there or rotate practices between East and Middle Tennessee.

The Tennessee Travelers will once again be one of only 40 teams in the United States & Canada to participate in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL). League play will be held this year in Minneapolis (MN), Hampton (VA), Dallas (TX), and Oakland (CA). Teams will play 20 regular-season games, with the first two events being held during NCAA live periods. Two Nike tournaments, featuring all 40 teams, will be held in Augusta (SC) July 18-22, also during an NCAA live period. The finals will be televised live on ESPNU. The Travelers are one of only two teams in Tennessee to be invited to participate in the EYBL. The new league website is www.nikeeyb.com

April 27-29 (6th, 7th, 8th grade) May 4-6 (9th, 10th, 11th grade)