Metroman

Centennial will be better, Independence is still a few years away.

Here's why Madu is the best player in the district. Every team must have a gameplan for her. That opens up everyone else on the team. Taylor, Johns, and Mills are all really good players, but every team has a defender who they think can slow them down. Let me give you an example. Hillsboro is the class of 11-AAA. They won't change anything they do when they play Antioch, Maplewood, or Glencliff. They'll just put Mooney on those girls. Same with Brentwood. Brentwood will have one lockdown defender who will defend those three players. Now, I am not saying that they will totally shut them down, but they will make it hard. And more importantly, teams won't have to change how they play. With Madu, Hillsboro and Brentwood will have to change how they play in order to stop her. They'll have to over help which will open up McGavocks other threats. McGavock is beatable, but once they get out of 12-AAA, teams won't know how to stop them.

Now for some additional points. Whites Creek and McGavock are the class of 12-AAA. But each of them will lose a couple of games to either Glencliff, Hunters Lane, or Antioch. If Whites Creek isn't scoring from the outside, HL will give them fits. If Antioch or Glencliff get hot, they can beat anyone. But as far as game in and game out WC and McGavock are the best. Madu is the best player in the district. No question. I know that will tick people off, but you can't teach size. It's like people who say that Shaq isn't the most dominating player in the NBA. Ask any coach who would they build a team around, and they would pick Shaq because of his size. Madu is a bigtime SEC recruit who is impossible for an individual to guard. Don't get me wrong, Taylor and Mills are great players, but they aren't 6'2". (As for Taylor's knee, I haven't heard anything nor seen her, but Maplewood will struggle without Pendergrast in the paint.) As for the comparison between Mills and Mooney, I really like Mills. She can score and see the floor well. However, she is not Mooney. Jessica does so many other things well. She's the best defensive player in the district. She can guard the best post or the quickest point. She can throw any pass with either hand from anywhere on the court. She doesn't make any mental mistakes. Mills does do some silly things sometimes. Mills may score more, but Mooney is the better player. As for some of the other players in the region, Johns is totally one-dimensional. Don't get me wrong, its the best dimension to have. But being able to shoot isn't the total package. I have a feeling Antioch is going to learn how much they miss Blakely pretty early. She took a lot of pressure off Johns. Now, Shakeya is going to see the best defender with a lot of help. The guard from WC, Fuqua I think, is a nice player. She is not as good as Mills, but could be when all is said and done. She also has a better supporting cast. There are a couple of other good players out there that should be mentioned, but there isn't enough time.

Cobrafan90, I am going to paste some thoughts at from a previous thread and then repost to make some other points. This will be the first year since I can remember that 12-AAA will be better than 11-AAA. In 11-AAA, Hillsboro will still be the class of the league, but won't be nearly as dominant. I expect them to win the district, but lose a game or two along the way. The loss of Bognar will hurt. Brentwood will be much better. They could challenge for the championship. Franklin would appear to be the third best team, but the coaching change could reek some havoc. The next tier will include Centennial, Overton, Ravenwood, and Hickman County in no particular order. Overton could be better but is young. Ravenwood looked great at the end of the season last year, but lost a coach and most of their experienced players. Both Hickman County and Centennial should be more experienced and better, but not to the level that will get them into the top three. Hillwood will be last. In 12-AAA, the torch will be passed from Antioch to either McGavock or Whites Creek. For the last three years, Antioch has been the team to beat. With the graduation of Blakely, the Lady Bears aren't going to be nearly as good. McGavock is loaded. Ndidi may be the best junior prospect in the state and there are two other posts to compliment her. Whites Creek is really solid and could challenge McGavock. Glencliff has some great players and might compete in 11-AAA, but isn't good enough to win the district. Hunters Lane is much improved, but doesn't have the outside attack to compete every night. Antioch is good but will struggle against teams with a post presence. Maplewood has Taylor, but not much beyond her and Stratford should round out the Region. In summary 11-AAA 1. Hillsboro 2. Brentwood 3. Franklin 4. Overton 4B. Centennial 10-8 4C Hickman County 12-AAA 1. McGavock 2. Whites Creek 3. Glencliff 4. Hunters Lane Region 1-McGavock 2-Hillsboro A bold prediction-McGavock becomes the first Metro team since Hunters Lane in 01 to go to state.

This will be the first year since I can remember that 12-AAA will be better than 11-AAA. In 11-AAA, Hillsboro will still be the class of the league, but won't be nearly as dominant. I expect them to win the district, but lose a game or two along the way. The loss of Bognar will hurt. Brentwood will be much better. They could challenge for the championship. Franklin would appear to be the third best team, but the coaching change could reek some havoc. The next tier will include Centennial, Overton, Ravenwood, and Hickman County in no particular order. Overton could be better but is young. Ravenwood looked great at the end of the season last year, but lost a coach and most of their experienced players. Both Hickman County and Centennial should be more experienced and better, but not to the level that will get them into the top three. Hillwood will be last. In 12-AAA, the torch will be passed from Antioch to either McGavock or Whites Creek. For the last three years, Antioch has been the team to beat. With the graduation of Blakely, the Lady Bears aren't going to be nearly as good. McGavock is loaded. Ndidi may be the best junior prospect in the state and there are two other posts to compliment her. Whites Creek is really solid and could challenge McGavock. Glencliff has some great players and might compete in 11-AAA, but isn't good enough to win the district. Hunters Lane is much improved, but doesn't have the outside attack to compete every night. Antioch is good but will struggle against teams with a post presence. Maplewood has Taylor, but not much beyond her and Stratford should round out the Region. In summary 11-AAA 1. Hillsboro 2. Brentwood 3. Franklin 4. Overton 4B. Centennial 10-8 4C Hickman County 12-AAA 1. McGavock 2. Whites Creek 3. Glencliff 4. Hunters Lane Region 1-McGavock 2-Hillsboro A bold prediction-McGavock becomes the first Metro team since Hunters Lane in 01 to go to state.

Hillsboro is in a tough position. They have no where to go this year but down. With Coach Allen leaving when he did, it created an impossible situation. Honestly, Mr. Lawson made a tough decision that will ultimately result in a good coach with a good track record, but he's not going to make any fans from this years senior class. (I don't blame Coach Allen, he couldn't determine how and when things would work out at Mt. Juliet.) As for the rest of the district, Franklin will still be the class of the league. My sleeper this year will be Centennial. Ravenwood should finish in the top 4. Then it could be Hillsboro, Overton, or Hillwood. I don't see Brentwood, Hickman County or Independence competing for a top four position this year, but we'll see.

sorry, you're right.

First of all, Miss Basketball is an inexact science. Most people in the state who vote haven't seen all the players in the state play. For example, in 2001 Abi Ramsey won AAA Miss Basketball. Now, granted, she was a great player on a great team. However, Tiana Burns (Pearl-Cohn) was an amazing player on a horrible team and she didn't get any recognition. That being said, Cait is obviously an amazing player and the fact she is going to UT will certainly help. As for her being the best player, we could debate that for hours. My vote, if I had one, would go to Jessica Mooney at Hillsboro, but I'm biased toward the midstate, especially Metro.

This opens a whole can of worms that we probably shouldn't go too far into. But, if there were no private schools, Metro would be very different. If all the kids from Belle Meade, Brentwood, Oak Hill, Forest Hills, and West Meade went to Hillsboro, Overton, and Hillwood, those schools' demographic would change completely. The same could be said in Antioch, Donelson, Hermitage, etc. The private schools take a lot of your middle/upper socioeconomic kids away. Those are the kids that the counties have a higher percentage of. What is the greatest indicator on a schools test scores? The number of kids on free lunch. That also has an impact on athletics and other extracurricular activities.

It's obvious the administration has changed, but the biggest difference is the kids. 33 years ago, very few kids went to private or magnet schools. Now, 35% of Metro's potential students go to private schools. This is an issue of poverty. I can see a difference just over the last 10 years. We have a lot more kids from poor homes than we used to.

I understand that I need to enter this thread with caution, since I don't know everyone and everyone doesn't know me. But I think there are two ways to look at it, and we have look at both. Some people can't teach and coach in Metro. Period. There is a certain type of student that will always be present in the inner city environment that will never change and there are some teachers who have a hard time dealing with that student athlete. It is always amazing to me to hear people from outside the system say things like "If I had that much talent, we'd never lose". Those people don't get it. It's not that easy. These kids want everything now. They have a difficult time with delaying gratification and working hard to a future goal. (For all people who didn't go to the Rudy Payne workshop, her book is dead on. For those of you who did go and did nothing but complain, get the book out and read it. It will help you understand all of the issues these poverty kids come to school with) Some people can't coach in the suburbs, either. There is a lot of politicing that goes on and some people struggle with the bs. The kids are great, but the adminstration and parents can be a handfull. The athletes are willing to work for a common goal and sacrifice their individual wants, but often their parents can't. It's a different problem that has to be dealt with in an entirely different manner. In the 10 years I've been in Metro, the teams I've been associated with have dealt with exactly 3 problem parents. Each one was easily handled and didn't affect the team. I imagine that number is much higher in the surrounding counties. There are always some coaches who get wooed to Metro by the money and the talent and then can't handle the classroom or the coaching. I am really interested to see how Antioch's new basketball coach deals with his new team. I am sure he is a good coach, as he appeared to show in Rhea County. But, as all of us know, Antioch isn't Rhea County.

Overton wins big, 30-13. Game was basically over at the end of three. Gallatin turned the ball over five times and Overton took advantage.

13-3, Overton is still batting in the 7th

Overton 8-Halls 3 Top of the seventh

6-4 Overton in the Bottom of the fifth

Bottom of 4, Overton 5-Collierville 3 Overton had the bases loaded with one out in the top of the fourth and grounded into a 3-2 double play. Collierville has made one pitching change.

They're throwing Goodenow. I just heard the update from someone who was talking to a person in Memphis, so this is fourth hand, but the score is tied 2-2 in the 3rd.

In the 2nd, 2-2

I don't have any stats, but I'll tell you what I remember. Overton got on the board in the second inning. They scored their first run on a throwing error and then picked up two more by the end of the inning. Goodenow got into trouble in the fourth. Clarksville scored two and was threatening until he struck out a couple. In the bottom of the fourth, Tommy Moore hit a solo home run. They finished off the inning with another home run by Zach Hudson. The inning ended with Overton ahead 9-2. Goodenow pretty much cruised from that point on. Clarksville put a couple of runners on but Overton never made any mistakes to open the door. In the top of the sixth was an unbelievable play by second baseman Ross Muirhead. Clarksville led off with a single. The next batter hit a flair into right field. Muirhead laid out running backwards (Willie Mays style) and made a great catch, got up, and doubled the runner off at first. That basically was the ballgame. It was just Overton's night.

Congrats to Coach Morrison and the rest of the Bobcats.

Franklin 8-Hunters Lane 2

Bolivar wins

A couple of things. First, congrats to Mt. Juliet. I still think they may be the best team I have seen in the midstate over the last ten years. Coach Fryer has done a superb job and I continue to be more and more impressed with the way he runs his program. Second, Hillsboro is a very good team. They were dismantled just like Oakland, Wilson Central (2 times), Smyrna, Shelbyville, and just about every other team on the Lady Bears schedule. I thought the game would end up being around 20 points or so, and I was a little off. Third, Jessica Mooney is a tremendous player who will excel at every level. She doesn't have the team or the coaching that Mt. Juliet has, but she is excellent. Can you imagine her as the point for Mt. Juliet? She would fit right in with her tough defense and unselfish play. Fourth, the reason why Hillsboro doesn't play any midstate teams has nothing to do with fan support. The county schools around Nashville always have better fan support than the metro teams and teams like Antioch play Smyrna and Shelbyville. The reason they can't play other schools is the 10 team district they play in. That is 18 games off the schedule right there. Then they are limited to playing only metro schools after that (that's mandated from the board). I know they wanted to play a tougher schedule, but couldn't. Good luck to the Lady Bears, I hope they finally get over the first round hump they've struggle with over the last several trips.

Let's be a little realistic. I would be shocked if Mt. Juliet beats Hillsboro by 45. I know they did that to both Wilson Central and to Oakland, but neither of those teams has a point guard that can handle the pressure like Jessica Mooney. Almander is a nice player and WC has some great guard play, but Mooney is in a different league. I think Mt. Juliet wins, and they may win comfortably, but not by 45. Hillsboro actually matches up pretty well in the paint size-wise and athletically, and their outside players are solid. The question will be how many offensive rebounds does Clark get. If they keep her off the glass, it could be close. Also, Hillsboro is a difficult gym to play in. It is big and the kids can't hear the coach at all.

You are allowed to play one year from the date of your last game. My guess the last game she played was one year ago from that date.