Metroman

They had a couple of decent teams in the mid-90s when Dick Bess was the coach. The last time they made the region was in 1998. The only district wins I remember them having over the last 15 years have been against Glencliff last year and the couple of times they beat Centennial a few years ago. I hope they get better, but they have been one of the worst, if not the worst, teams in the state over the last 10 years.

1. Antioch 2. Brentwood 3. Hillsboro 4. Could be several...Independence, Ravenwood, Overton, Hunters Lane, Cane Ridge, Franklin I would put them in that order.

Did Smyrna pick up new players? They were pretty average last year. Brentwood should be pretty strong, and I think Station Camp and Wilson Central will be tough.

I thought that Riverdale was the only school in Rutherford County that recruited:)

Jamesha Jackson is a 6 footish point guard that may be the best player that Mt. Juliet has had in the last 15 years (including Alysha Clark). She's bigtime. I haven't seen the girl from Columbia Central. I like these lists because it gives a lot of kids exposure, but I don't like that the list is made by a guy in KY that hasn't seen the vast majority of them play. I have seen many of these kids play, and it is sad to see some left off and aggravating to see some of the others ranked highly even though they're are others much more deserving. For example, Jemilah Leonard from Hillsboro is a pretty good player, but she isn't close to Nina Davis or Tyisha Petty (although Jamesha Jackson is). Many of the kids on the list don't even start for their high school teams.

I believe that Overton was in district 11AAA just three years ago, and they handle the grind quite well.

Shocking...

Overton's point guard might be the best point guard I have seen in the state over the last several years. She doesn't shoot the ball great, but she handles the ball and sees the floor unlike any girls in the state. They have a really good junior off guard that is big time. Their post play is big and talented, but when I have seen them, it can be lazy. Just looking at scores from Morristown East's earlier games, I would be stunned if Overton doesn't win big. They have all of the pieces to win it all.

For the entire season, I have thought that there were six teams that were considerably better than everyone else in the state. Moving from East to West, they are Science Hill, Riverdale, Mt. Juliet, Clarksville, Memphis Overton, and Memphis Central. With no offense to Morristown East and Lawrence County, the draw seems to set up in favor of Overton and Science Hill. They will, in theory, only have to play two of the other top six. While the other 4 will have to win three against the best. Here are my picks Overton over Morristown East Riverdale over Mt. Juliet Clarksville over Central Science Hill over Lawrence County Riverdale over Overton Clarksville over Science Hill Riverdale over Clarksville I guess I contradicted the opening paragraph:)

Two close games tonight. Antioch pulls away from Franklin. Brentwood holds off Hunters Lane. Hillsboro vs Brentwood Monday at 6 Overton vs Antioch at 8

Overton over Independence by 4, so I guess it's not a sweep. Hillsboro beat Cane Ridge by four as well. I think the districts are a lot closer than you might think, but we'll see how the rest of the tournament plays out.

The best two teams in the region are probably Brentwood and Hillsboro. But with Franklin upsetting Brentwood in the semis, it is very likely that Hillsboro and Brentwood will end up on the same side of the bracket. If that happens, all four of the teams on the other side have a pretty good chance of advancing. Those teams will be Franklin (if Hillsboro wins), Antioch, Independence, and either Overton or Hunters Lane. It should be interesting to see how it plays out.

I find it really funny that my wife can't go on a field trip with my children in Metro without getting a background check, but they can offer a football coach with a record a head coaching job.

I didn't hear that one. Keith's a good coach who will work the girls hard. I believe Stratford lost most of their main contributors from last year, so it will probably be a tough year, regardless.

I am sure things are a little different now:) BTW, they just built a new gym that was completed last year.

I don't know if I know all of the hires, but I will take a shot. Hillsboro-Cherish Stringfield. Takes over a talented team that is on the decline. Hillsboro probably won't be getting all of the special transfers they've gotten for years, and that will hurt them over the long hall. That being said, they are a good team that is very athletic and will compete for the district title. East Lit-Missy Donelson-Obviously, a coach that has a mixed history. Won a state championship at Coffee County, but didn't win much at Smyrna. The team doens't look to be very good. Pearl-Cohn-Katrina Carter-Had great success at Hillsboro, but there had to be some issues since she was let go. It will interesting to see how she builds a program from scratch as opposed to taking over an established program. Maplewood-Lemore McGill-An experienced coach who has had success just about everywhere he's gone. He's built programs and he's taken good programs to higher levels. That being said, I don't think they'll be very good this year.

It has nothing similar to Independence except that a coach was hired later than typical.

I believe that the old coach, Cherish Stringfield, took the job at Hillsboro after that job opened up late in the summer. It is unusual, but not unprecedented for a job to be open this late. The problem is that now it's difficult to bring in a teacher who can coach. I haven't heard about the boys position.

Blackman has had their fair share. I seem to remember a girl from Hendersonville among others. Smyrna is also into the fray. I don't know how anyone could coach in Rutherford County. First, the district is the best in the state. Second, the players move with no regard for anyone but themselves.

Overton 3 Brentwood 2

Overton wins relatively comfortably. 8-3 I think.

It depends. Some kids go to a different program and flourish. It might have been their fault, their old coaches fault, or any combination of factors. Other kids go and it reeks havoc. I do have a hard time with the coaches who recruit like this. I feel like they view the kids as commodities that are only as valuable as the number of wins they produce. High school coaches/administrators should really view kids first and wins next.

You've got to add Indy to the list

800 wins means your are really a good coach. It also means that you are really old:) Congrats to Coach Smith.

District 12 AAA Girls Thursday 6:00 PM McGavock (6) vs Hillwood (7) Friday 4:00 PM Antioch (4) vs Glencliff (5) 7:00 PM Cane Ridge (3) vs McGavock/Hillwood winner Saturday 4:00 PM Hunters Lane (1) vs Antioch/Glencliff winner 7:00 PM Overton (2) vs Cane Ridge/McGavock or Hillwood Winner Monday 6:00 PM Consolation Tuesday 6:00 PM Championship Boys-Seeding changes depending on the outcome of Glencliff/Hillwood game Monday night. If Hillwood wins, they are the 5 seed. If Hillwood loses, Antioch is the 5 seed. Thursday 7:30 PM Antioch or Hillwood (6) vs Glencliff (7) Friday 5:30 PM Cane Ridge (4) vs Antioch or Hillwood (5) 8:30 PM McGavock (3) vs Thursday winner Saturday 5:30 PM Overton (1) vs Cane Ridge/Ant or Hillwood winner 8:30 PM Hunters Lane (2) vs McGavock/Thursday Winner Monday 7:30 PM Consolation Tuesday 7:30 PM Championship