Metroman

Could it happen? Yes. Will it happen? I doubt it. Hillsboro is so much more athletic and so much bigger. They can have trouble scoring from the outside, but they do a good job of scoring in transition. Yes, Brentwood will be prepared and have a good game plan, but the way that Brentwood wins games is to press them and make the other teams make mistakes. Mooney doesn't make those mistakes (although the other girls do). So if you take away Brenwoods press, they will have to pack it in and hope Hillsboro gets impatient and shoots poorly. I say Hillsboro by 20.

Probably going to Hillsboro, too. They seem to continue to reload.

I know the tournament starts this week. Are there any good middle school girls teams in Metro this year? Who are the best players?

Every district has there own sets of rules, but typically the tie-breakers work like this. 1. Head to head 2. Record against 1st seed, 2nd seed, 3rd seed, etc. So, for example, Collinwood and Wayne County have the same record and are tied for 2nd. If one of them beat Summertown, they are the #2 seed. 3. Coin flip

Thanks. That's it.

I'd be very cautious about saying things like that on a message board, just in case she does transfer next year. Coach Fryar is a good man and coach and I would hate for him to get lumped into the category of recruiter because of a joke on coacht. As for Madu, she is an animal when she wants to be. I know that there is at least one SEC school very interested in her and wouldn't be surprised if several more jump in. There aren't many girls so tall with so much athletism. McGavock is struggling and I don't know why. Coach May does a great job, but this team has underachieved. They have average guard play but there post players are among the top in the state. They have beaten some good teams in Antioch, Mt. Juliet, and I believe they beat Siegal as well. What's funny is they could win the region and then go to state, or lose in the first round of the district. One other thing, Madu spent her freshman year at Antioch and then got rezoned. Coach Coombs tried to get her a special transfer, but it wasn't allowed, despite the fact that Madu's brother was senior who was allowed to stay and play at Antioch. Can you imagine how good that team might be with her at the post.

Here's a question. What happened to the girl who started at point last year for Brentwood? Has she been hurt or is she not playing? I believe she is #4 but can't remember her name.

Ravenwood swept Overton, Overton swept Hickman County, Hickman County beat both Ravenwood and Centennial in there first meetings. Centennial beat Ravenwood in there first two meetings, but then lost to Hillwood, then beat Franklin. So its a mess. If there are no more surprises (Centennial gets beat by Franklin, Overton gets beat by both Brentwood and Hillsboro, Hickman County loses to Hillsboro, Ravenwood loses to Franklin), it makes a bit more sense, but not much. That would put Overton at 9 losses, Centennial, Ravenwood, and Hickman County at 8 losses. Now if Hickman County beats Centennial and Ravenwood, they are the four seed. Then if Centennial beats Ravenwood and Overton, they'll be the fifth seed and Ravenwood will be the sixth seed and Overton seventh. However, if Centennial beats Ravenwood and loses to Overton, Ravenwood is fifth, Overton 6th, and Centennial 7th. If Hickman County wins out and Ravenwood beats Centennial, HC is fourth, Ravenwood fifth, and the winner of Overton and Centennial is sixth. And this is only if Hickman County wins out. If Hickman County loses to both Centennial and Ravenwood, it creates a totally different scenario. If, after that Ravenwood beats Centennial. Ravenwood is fourth and the winner of Centennial Overton would be fifth. If Centennial beats Ravenwood, then Centennial is fourth, Ravenwood if fourth, Overton is fifth. If Ravenwood beats Centennial and Hickman Co, then they are fourth. Then if Hickman Co beats Centennial and Overton beats Centennial, then Overton is fifth, Hickman co is sixth and Centennial is seventh. However, if Hickman County beats Centennial and Overon loses to Centennial, Hickman co is fifth, Centennial is sixth, Overton seventh. If Centennial beats Ravenwood and Hickman county, Hickman beats to Ravenwood, and Overton beats Centennial, I believe Centennial is fourth, Overton is fifth, Hickman county is sixth and Ravenwood is seventh. But if Centennial beats Overton, Centennial is fourth, Hickman County is fifth, Ravenwood sixth and Overton is seventh. This may not be accurate, but be thankful I wasted twenty minutes to get this close. It will be much clearer tonight after the Ravenwood Centennial matchup. Also, if there is some upset along the way, either these teams beating Brentwood, Franklin, or Hillsboro or these teams losing to Independence or Hillwood, it all goes to pot. Here is my one prediction. Independence will beat someone they shouldn't and screw it all up.

Just to set things straight, as far as district tournament championships go, Brentwood has won 2 in the last 6 years. (I think they did win the two previos to that, but I don't remember so I didn't want to state something wrong.) They have been at the top of the district during those years, but not always on top. (Franklin won once, Hillsboro once, Overton twice) I think that is probably why people want to beat them. The same reason everyone hates (or loves) Duke. We all want to beat the best. Brentwood has made two tate tournaments in the last 8 years, losing in the first round both times. 11-AAA is weak this year, but has been pretty solid in previous years. Hillsboro is always good and has been for the last ten years. Overton had a run of good teams and Franklin was pretty good last year. Now 12-AAA has been down, but they are very good this year. Antioch, Hunters Lane, McGavock, Whites Creek, and Glencliff have all beaten or almost beaten some really good midstate teams this year. It will be tough for them to beat a team like Smyrna oWilson Central, Mt. Juliet, or Dickson County in a substate game, but so would just about everyone else in the state.

I can't remember Brentwood "surprising" anyone last year, or this year for that matter. Brentwood is an average team in a bad district. To there credit, they have won every game they were supposed to. They are always well coached and keep some games close that they shouldn't (at least on paper). That being said, when it comes to the region, don't be surprised to see Brentwood pull an upset if they draw someone other than Antioch and Hunters Lane. As for Franklin, they are up and down. They could play well and win handily or they could play poorly and lose by 30. One other thing about Brentwood, it is amazing how much everyone in the district wants to beat them. I don't really understand it. I think many teams have a mental block because they want to beat them so badly they can't perform. I think this is the case for Franklin.

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Metro teams are very different than the rest of the midstate. There are several reasons for this. 1. There is no youth league for most of these girls. The good players in Metro are good for one of two reasons. They have played with boys there entire life or there parents signed them up for a league when they were young. I can say from experience that many, if not most, of the players who are playing on a public school team in Metro have NEVER run a set offense before they got to high school. I watched a middle school game last year and the coach never said a word. Whoever got the rebound got to dribble up and shoot. And that was a team which had a winning record! You can only imagine how many fundamentals are taught. There are some great coaches in Metro, but they have to coach kids who have never been coached. That isn't always easy. Some of these kids have had success without ever being coached, why start now. 2. There are some great athletes in Metro. With a higher population density, you have more good players. There is always good talent. If you haven't seen Carolyn Mills, Jessica Mooney, Shakeya Johns, Ndidi Madu, etc, you're missing out. Those girls can play. But talent only gets you so far. When you play teams in the midstate with equal talent (Wilson Central, Shelbyville, Mt. Juliet) there discipline causes lots of problems. For example, 12-AAA is much better than 11-AAA. Glencliff, Whites Creek, McGavock, Hunters Lane, and Antioch are better than every team in 11-AAA except for Hillsboro. But look who made it to the region semis last year. Hillsboro, Brentwood, Franklin, and Ravenwood.

Actually, I believe it will go like this: Wednesday February 15, boys and girls playin game at number 8 seed. Thursday, girls first round with 1-4 seeds hosting. Friday, boys first round with 1-4 seeds hosting. Saturday, all semifinals at Overton Monday, Consolations Tuesday, Finals I believe the region starts on Thursday, February 23rd.

First Round Games Antioch vs Father Ryan Glencliff vs Warren County Overton vs Watertown Maplewood vs Oakland The winner should be either Glencliff or Antioch, who will play in the second round if they win on Monday.

11-AAA is definitely weak, but Hillsboro has handled two pretty good teams in McGavock and Antioch.

One of the interesting issues with 12-AAA is their inability to beat 11-AAA in the Region. I really thought last year was the year where they would break through and win two or three first round games and 11-AAA swept. That has been the case for the last several years. 11-AAA has won at least 3 out of 4 almost every year for the last eight or so years.

I am surprised that Hillsboro has been as dominant as they have been. I really thought the loss of Bognar would really hurt them, but they don't seem to have missed a beat. They should roll through 11-AAA with few close games.

I could be wrong, but I don't think there is an actual Confederate flag in the gym, but there is a picture of a rebel with a Confederate flag. I believe the picture is near where the flag is (or was), so everyone may have been turning out of habit. Regardless, Franklin needs to put up the flag to avoid any bad publicity or potential bad blood.

flngrvy-I think you need to reread who called Gibson dirty. It wasn't givbakr2. He made a joke about her dad being named Rocky, but he said that she wasn't dirty. Over the last several seasons, givbakr2 has said nothing negative about any player.

Whites Creek doesn't always play hard and physical teams are going to give them trouble. They have tons of talent and can beat anyone if they are hitting shots, but disciplined they are not. Glencliff has one outstanding player with some pretty good talent to back her up. If Mills gets in foul trouble or gets shut down, Glencliff will struggle. They'll upset some people, but won't finish higher than third or fourth. Hunters Lane is interesting. They have very little perimeter game and their guards are barely adequate. But they can break a press and they are soooo physical. Obviously, they'll win some games. I still think McGavock is the class of the league. Antioch will win some games, but has very little scoring outside of Johns. 1. McGavock 2. WC 3. HL/Glencliff 4. Glencliff/HL 5. Antioch

Congrats to McGavock. I think they will roll tonight, but we'll see. Plenty of good teams have won a big game and then laid an egg. I must admit I am a bit surprised that McGavock won. I know they have the talent, but I didn't think it would come together so quickly. Coach May has always been a very good, hard working coach. I am glad to see that her hard work is paying off. There are only a few teams in Metro that spend much of the summer going to team camps and getting better (Antioch, Hunters Lane, Hillsboro, Overton, McGavock), and it shows. It is very easy for a coach like Coach May to give up and stop working, but she never has.

I'd be surprised if MJ doesn't when the tournament. WC and McGavock are good, but their guards will struggle with the pressure the Lady Bears give. This will be a good test to show the Raiders and Cobras what it takes to be great at the state level.

First off, good for Candace. She was and probably still is a great player. There definitely are some players that slip through the cracks, but most of the coaches in Metro really work to get there kids seen.

A couple of things. First, Metro has a disadvantage because, as fas as I know, there is no youth league for girls. You have to go outside the county in order to find a league. The kind of kids that go outside teh county are teh kind of kids who typically go to private schools. Second, Metro coaches are not allowed to run summer youth camps at there school and charge money. For example, if Coach McGill wanted to run a camp at Hillsboro for all the kids in his area, he wouldn't be allowed to charge any money to run the camp or he wouldn't be able to use the facility. Now if he goes to another site and runs a camp, he runs the risk of violating a recruiting rule. That is a serious issue. Most of the players that play as freshman have never been taught any fundamentals. They don't know how team defense works and have many bad habits. That takes a couple of years to teach. As for Metro coaches working together, there is a lot of distrust out there. Several years ago, two Metro schools got together and played AAU in the spring. All of the rising 8th graders and current team members were on the teams they set up. It worked out fine until one coach began to recruit players to their school. Granted, that was a long time ago, but if your going to work together, there has to be a lot of trust. Last, a college coach wants told me, if your good enough, they'll find you. And that has been the truth. There haven't been many girls in Metro who deserved scholarships that didn't get them. And one thing we often forget is the academic part of it. There are a few great players that we have discussed in the past who struggled academically.

I know your right. There are a couple of things I read on message boards like this that have always bothered me. First, when someones says that the only reason a player is good is because they are tall. It makes me wonder. Of course that's what makes them different. If your post is 5'8" and mine is 6'2", the taller girl will be more effective in the paint. The other one that bothers me is when someone says, "That player isn't any good. They can only shoot". Now I love tough kids who play great defense, but if they can't score, you can't win. The best type of one-dimensional player is the player who can shoot.