Metroman

I believe the question was asked because Williams was/is the athletic director at Ravenwood.

In some sense, no. Everyone wants to teach and coach in an environment where the facilities are good and where money is not an issue. I will say, however, many coaches need more job security than what Williamson County offers. To pick up and move your family only to be let go after two or three years is a chance many coaches can't make.

My understanding is TSSAA is trying to eliminate the mass physicals that some high schools have. For example, in Metro-Davidson County, Vanderbilt will have a day where each Metro school will send any of there kids for a $5 physical. Now, it's a real physical and the doctors do a good job, but I think TSSAA wants the student athlete to have a doctor that they have an ongoing relationship with. I think it is probably a good idea, but for coaches, it's just more paperwork.

I understand that in girls prep basketball, it's really hard to see all of these players, but to not have Lekeisha Crouch or Vacie Perry from Hillsboro or Jaclysa Haislip from Independence is wrong. And to have Patricia Watts (who didn't even make all district) from Hillwood on there is silly. He's also missing two great players from Whites Creek and several other solid midstaters.

I would guess both of those are pretty set on who the next coach will be.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that Haislip was leaving. Independence is a very ordinary team without Hailslip, really indistinguishable from Franklin or Page or most of the other Williamsom County teams. I was trying to say that Riverdale is consistently better than all Williamson County teams including Brentwood. If we were talking about girls soccer, any Rutherford County coach would love to coach a Williamson County team. I hope this clairfies.

Indy has one really good player and a couple of pretty solid younger ones. Without Haislip, they're pretty average. With her they're pretty good. Brentwood is Brentwood, the names change but the results are about the same. Hillsboro is loaded and super good. Three or four big time players. Ravenwood should be good. Hudson is so tall and athletic and their freshman group is really good. Centennial has one good players and nothing else. Franklin and Overton have most everyone back from below average teams. Hillwood is young and below average. Independence is the 4th best team in the district next year, barring something unforeseen like a great freshman or a move in.

I don't really think Coach Maxwell was looking to leave. I think an opportunity came up and she felt like she had to take it. There are only a few programs in the state that rival Riverdale's. They invest a lot of money and resources. They also have a ton of talent always in the building.

Ultimately, the power to hire a coach should rest with the administration. Their job is to develop the big picture and hire who fits into that big picture. Some principals are totally concerned with academics and could care less about athletics. Other prinicipals are more concerned with as many kids as possible participating. Others are worried about winning at all costs. I don't know Dr. Vaden, nor do insight into her decisions. But, from the outside looking in, it appears that she views athletics as a necessary evil. If parents, players, or anyone raises too much of a ruckus, she wants to get rid of the problem and focus on what is important to her. I mean this seriously when I say that that doesn't bother me. It's OK for a principal to have a different focus than athletics. If the community has an issue with that, then they should approach the hire administration. I feel sorry for Coach Williams. He did a good job with the girls he had and I can say honestly that his game coaching and preparation couldn't have had anything to do with his firing. His teams played hard and well. I also feel for the girls. It is never easy to lose a coach and when the coach is let go because of some parents, it makes for a team split in loyalty. I know when this happened a few years ago, the best player on Ravenwood left for Brentwood. I hope that all of the team issues are resolved quickly. Ravenwood could be really good if they are.

Metro has posted it. They just haven't really advertised it. All football and basketball jobs are posted for at least 2 weeks before the process can begin to hire.

I don't think that a "scrimmage" is allowed. However, for years Nashville area boys teams have practiced with other teams outside their classification in order to break up the monotony of practice.

Sevier County won it a few years ago

I would tend to disagree. Besides the obvious (it technically is the championship game), McGavock, Brentwood, and Independence would appear to be the best three teams in the region after Hillsboro. If you look at some common scores, McGavock seems to be at least on par with those two if not better. In fact, MgGavock beat Indy pretty significantly and Independence gave Brentwood two good games. Also, McGavocks 4 losses have come against some pretty good teams-Beech, Mt. Juliet (2), and LaVergne. Regardless, I don't think it is fair to say that McGavock isn't in the same league as Brentwood. They are different type of team, but the two would be fairly equally matched. Hillsboro should win Wednesday, just like they should have won last night. But, it won't be a cakewalk.

As far as teams that have a chance, McGavock has to be put into the equation. Barring a major upset, they'll be in a substate game next weekend. They would have to upset a 9-AAA in the substate, but it is a possibility. With regards to Brentwood and Hillsboro's SOS, they can't help they play in a district with a few poor teams. Brentwood could win tomorrow, but Hillsboro could be the best team in the midstate and maybe the state.

McGavock is pretty good too.

Maybe Haislip or Perry. If Hutson played for Centennial, the high low action with Marable and her would be virtually unstoppable. Yes, you could sag in on them to stop it, but isn't that what everyone already does to Ravenwood. RHS guards are better, but not that much better than CHS. I still think that Centennial would be the 4th best team in the district. If Hutson played for Hillwood, they would finally have a player who could score. Granted, their guard play is still poor, but they would be a tough team to beat. I think, at worst, they finish fifth or sixth. Without Hutson, Ravenwood is a below average team. With her, they are above average with the potential to upset the really good teams. And, yes, she is good enough to warrant discussion.

That's crazy. There are other players who may be better, but I think that the only one who I would take above her is Crouch. You can't teach someone to be 6'4" and to be as athletic as she is. Her size changes the game and would give any team the ability to compete for the district. Think about it. If you put Hutson on Centennial, Overton, or Hillwood, those teams would be playing in the region this week. If you were to put any other player in the district on those three teams (besides Crouch) and they still wouldn't have made the region.

Give Coach King a week and he is hard to bet against. I bet Brentwood keeps it close.

I have to disagree here. Crouch is really good. She was maybe the best point guard in the district last season as a freshman. When another point showed up, she moved to the four. She can play any position 1-5 and will be a great college player. She is a good shooter and wonderful defender. Don't get me wrong, Hutson is very good, but she is still pretty raw. Also, if she is wearing Orange in a few years, it won't be for basketball. She is widely considered the best high school volleyball player in the country.

The disorder you speak of is probably more of an issue in 12AAA than in 11AAA, but does show itself in 11. What is interesting to me is seeing how the school districts around Metro are seeing more of the same types of issues. I hope it doesn't happen, but I feel like there is a pretty good chance the Murfreesboro high schools will deal with these issues over the next 10 years.

I was looking at some stats earlier and noticed that the four teams remaining in 11-AAA all have a pretty good shot at getting to the state tournament. Hillsboro, Independence, and Brentwood all have 20 wins and have beaten some pretty good teams (Mt. Juliet, Dickson County, Clarksville NE, Columbia, Ezell Harding). I am curious what will happen in substate because all 4 of these teams (and McGavock) have a good shot to make a run. I really think 6-AAA gets a bad rap for being a weak region. When, in reality, any region that has to go through region 5-AAA is going to have a hard time advancing to state. That being said, Brentwood (twice I think), Hillsboro, Antioch, Hunters Lane, and Overton have all made the state tournament in the last 8 years. 6-10 vs. 5-AAA in substate games isn't total domination.

The top teams in the region after Hillsboro are Brentwood, Independence, and McGavock. Those three (and maybe Ravenwood) are the only teams with even a chance of beating Hillsboro. Substate will likely be Mt. Juliet, Wilson Central, Smyrna, LaVergne. They can all beat Hillsboro, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Hillsboro win the whole thing.

I wasn't there, but 6'4" and athletic is really hard to guard. Hutson could be a great one before all is said and done.

Centennial wins against Hillwood by a large amount (17 I believe) avenging an earlier loss.

I think if any of us knew the answer to this one, they would make millions selling a book. I'll take a shot. There are several factors that contribute to a winning basketball program and very few of them are constants. First, in order to have a good team, you must have good players. In order to have a good program, you must have good people. Let me elaborate. There are teams across the state that will have a great team one or two years only to never be heard of again. I can think of a few right off the top of my head. The programs that either stay at the top or the ones that make a resurgence every few years are the ones with good people running them. A perfect few examples of this is McGavock, Hunters Lane, Hendersonville, Beech, Oakland. All of those programs have had really good years and some not so good years, but all play with a plan and get better. When players with a lot of talent arrive, they have success. I think another factor is the community support, which can be directly tied to tradition. All schools in Metro areas really struggle in this area. Just looking at Nashville, the only consistent team over the last 15 years is Hillsboro, and that is because they are open zoned. Four metro teams have made it to state in the last ten years and all of them really struggled immediately after except for Hillsboro. Why? No community support/infrastructure to keep it going. In Nashville there are very few leagues for girls and most of the leagues that do exist support private schools. I imagine at a place like a Obion Co. there are youth leagues from 1st grade on. Speaking of infrastructure, the only way for a coach to build consistent talent is to have some control over middle schools and camps. Specifically in Metro, coaches don't know who is coming to their school until the day school begins. If there is a great eighth grade player making her way into high school. You better believe that private schools, magnet schools, and other public schools are moving in and get an angle to get the player. That doesn't happen in places where there are no private schools and few competing schools. A few years ago, do you remember the controversy when Kaycee Ferris switched schools right before 9th grade. It happens all the time in your metro areas. It's hard to build a program with that deck. Every so often you can have a good team, but not a consistent one.