MarkWerner

Overheard at the ER home game last night, "Oh we're so much better this year". Only to go on and lose at home vs a weak CA team. Let's be honest 10A fans, this is the weakest the district has been in many years so you can understand why some uninformed fans think they might be better. As far as ER goes, their coach has a habit of turning good squads into average teams. A cheerleader from the visiting team can outcoach that guy. They have some decent size and talent this year, but too many guys that aren't interested in playing as a team. WHH coach is better, but I feel he's vastly over-rated. The guy writing for the Rob County Times loves him for some reason, but just don't see it. Yes McEwen had a great year, but last year's WHH team had the talent to go deep into state and they couldn't even win the district. Once I witnessed Petrone and his ego allow ER to hold the ball the entire 3rd Qtr at home last season, only to go on and lose to a clearly inferior team by one....any respect for his as a coach was gone. It was stupid and he would never admit it. Plus he was a jerk and didn't shake hands with any ER kids. We all know NCA is well coached and can take a mediocre team and win it this year. There's really not a deep team at all and open for at least 4 or 5 teams to win it. When it's a wide open race coaching will normally make the difference, therefore I'll take a stab for NCA.

Good for them and couldn't have happened to a nicer guy at Heritage. Have seen him walk right past a team without shaking their hands as a sore loser. Now that's an example of some poor sportsmanship. Was going to write their A.D., only to find out he's their A.D. Isn't that lovely? I have a nephew that searching for a new school and he's a fine player at the middle school level. This coach is the reason why it won't be there.

Indeed it does. Was I rambling....yes. Did I feel better?? Not really. Have a nephew coming up in this program and his parents are considering changing schools so we're all watching this team closely. From the past few years it leaves a lot to be desired. Team plays out of control far too often.

East up by 6 late in the game vs Heritage and they lost their way. One player shot 6 for 15 and another was 3 for 11....started playing well beyond their means and next thing you know Heritage is up by 5. Both took several very low percentage shots late in the game. When just 2 guys have 26 shots between them, there's not many shots left over. 2 players just can't be allowed to account for nearly 25 wasted possessions. This includes 17 missed shots, turnovers and charges. This recipe won't win many games. ER point guard is athletic, but needs to watch some serious game tapes of teams with strong point guards to understand the position. To shoot 15 times in any one game is like a QB in football calling his own number every third play. And the amount of games he's lead the team in shots taken is staggering. Good PG's create for their teammates and don't care how many points they get. He rarely kicks the ball out to an open guy when he drives and defenders come to him. A team like East can't beat Heritage on the inside with a 6'7" and 6'4" guys in there. And they drove down the lane all night long, many ending up with goofy shots that have no chance. They make 9 three's vs NC the other night and only had 3 tonight. And it wasn't like they were missing, just not that many attempts. You have to play Heritage from the outside and they played right into WHH strengths. He could even learn from the little PG from Heritage. He understands his role and shoots little, despite being a better shooter from the outside than ER's PG. When he brings the ball down it's so obvious he's usually looking where he can drive, instead of starting the offense. Guys open up the court don't get the ball often either, same for guys open cutting through the lane. It's like a few years back all over again and it's bad for team morale. Guys just end up standing around becoming spectators knowing they're not likely to get the ball. Then they become undisciplined as well when they finally get to touch the ball because they're so anxious to do something after 4 or 5 possessions without a touch. This was a huge game at home they could have easily won. But at crunch time late they folded with silly shots, far too much dribbling, and just very bad play overall. WHH just isn't that great and will likely go down once again to McEwen. If they don't, can't see this team doing much beyond that.

I'd be hesitant to lable Hillwood as "playing up" much. I've seen them play and they're no CPA or Ensworth. WHH is a nice team, but their guard play isn't enough to avoid teams from packing the paint to stop the big guys. It's too easy, and has been done many times this year, to keep Bedwell in single digits. Overall they're a slow team and quick/athletic teams will always beat a big slower team. I'd rank McEwen slightly better than anyone in this district, but unlike the past few years with CA, when it gets down to 4 teams I wouldn't be all that shocked if WHH or McEwen lost.

Not so sure about that now that they've lost to WHH, but they might be....barely. They had to sneak past East twice, especially the 2nd game and they're not much to talk about. If not for a generous gift by WHH losing to East at home it would be a much different outcome. Don't get me wrong, McEwen is a nice squad and I personally like the Mullinicks boys. But in the district tourney it's a toss up between them and WHH, and there's a couple other teams that if they get hot could actually win. It's a far cry from when CA was dominate without question. If East kids play as a team, which isn't often, they could be tough at home. Houston Cty and JB could be competitive. NC isn't great, but they're coached well and play as a team more than most. The schedule favors McEwen the rest of the way, but don't count out JB upsetting them at home.

After watching a couple games at Nashville Christian I have to say that place is the worst. Too many of their fans are far from "Christian" for one thing, but beyond that the gym itself is ridiculous beyond imagination. I wish the TSSAA would do an inspection as there's no way it's within regulations. The front row of bleachers is absurdly close to the court and can't possibly be within the rules. Then they allow students to stand on the court which is right on the sidelines. Players can't even throw a ball inbounds without a big ordeal. It's an accident waiting to happen. Basketball is played at a fast pace, especially boys obviously. And some day a kid is going to fly into the bleacher and get seriously hurt. If they keep playing there it's bound to happen. The gym was outdated about 15 years ago and needs to be replaced immediately. Beyond that, the seating is horrid, with very little overall and you can't sit without someone's knee in your back. Even for a smaller person. Each row of the bleachers is so close together it just doesn't leave room for the average person. Maybe a small middle school kid, but not much beyond that. Come on NCS, do something about the embarrassment that is your gym. For a private school to have what's the worst facility in the District by a longshot is crazy. Have pride in your institution and replace that piece of junk.

I just looked at McEwens schedule and even you acknowledge it's not the toughest. And you're right. They're not playing any tough teams out of Nashville that's for sure. Likely the toughest team is WHH and they lost at home to East. Again, a decent team for sure. 10A isn't a strong, deep district by any means with more sub-pars team than not. You knew it wouldn't take much to win this district before the season even started. No one associated with McEwen should take offense to this. It's just the reality of the district this year.

Why would anyone truly be scared of McEwen? Seriously? I'm talking scary like CA was the past few years with the twins. McEwen is FAR from that type of team. I saw them ahead of ER at home only by 4 pts in the 4th qtr when ER was throwing the ball all over the place with turnovers. I'm not saying McEwen isn't a solid team. Just not one to leave you shaking in your knees. I can assure you that no team from this district is going to challenge to a state title.

Alot of shoulda, woulda, coulda in this goofy statement. ER does that BS? Nonsense comment as I've seen most of their games and don't recall ever seeing this. What games or examples can you give? Why would you think WHH "should" beat East by handfuls? And at home no less? They're just not a great squad and quality coaching is lacking. THEY let East hold the ball. They didn't hold the ball at all in the first half at Heritage, and yet it was a 2 point game. Their coach could have easily sent them out in a man defense to stop it, yet for some unexplained reason they played back in a zone and just stood there. WHH guard play isn't bad, but it's far from good enough to keep double teams off Bedwell. He's certainly got size and decent talent, but he should still handle two sub-par, much smaller post players. He had 4 points....FOUR...vs East and really didn't sit out much. The ER coach going into "scared mode" is pretty silly also. Again the game was 2 pts at half without a stall. And to shorten the game is far from scared, it's awfully smart. And for WHH coach to allow it just played right into their hands. Frankly there's no team in 10A that should make anyone scared.

As a big WH Heritage follower it boggles my mind how they're so inconsistent. Coach is a good one, and they certainly have some nice talent and size. But they're up and down more than the stock market. I didn't make it to the District game with ER, but was surprised to find out later just how much they seemed to struggle. They keep a strong unit for next year, but losing Ethan will hurt some. Having said all this, the season isn't over yet and if they play up to their potential it won't be after Sat either.

Not sure either where to find this, but I have a nephew that attends ER and heard they picked Woodard -of course- and another Sr. Some were surprised of the Sr. as there's a Soph there that has roughly 50 more points and top 10 in District. Think he only had Hon Men before. I've seen 3-4 of their games and you wonder if Woodard would even have 200 pts if he didn't shoot 25-30 times a game, not including he must have 150 FT's this year. Sorry, wish I knew more for you.

Any scores from last night yet?

So what was the score? I'd have to agree there was their fair share of "tards" at McEwen. It's a shame since they have some good kids and decent team. You'd think if anyone was going to speak up it would be their coach and implore them to be somewhat more classy. I've talked to a couple of their kids before and they aren't punks like those standing over on the sidelines. Would be nice to see things cleaned up a bit at NCS and McEwen. Everywhere else I've been seems fairly mild compared to them.