PHargis

This is a good post especially if you are a fan of a school who is agressive enough to find ways to do it. Lets admit some things and they are not just in Girls Basketball but in most all High School Sports. What happened earlier in the year with those who in the know, realize is one of the best players or will be in a short very great player, really has nothing to do with this situation. It was done legally with some thought and has been done one way or another for a while. All schools have done it. This was a chance to make it harder to make the change thru the summer program with all of the connections there. And yes it is true that some schools do take advantage of the situations to get great players in summer programs selected together even in the summer. Thats just the way it is and for some who investigate it, the smart play. This was a chance, if there was enough support, to slow this down. Communication as to the reason this did not pass even with the support it had, would be interesting to hear. I can hear those reasons now. Its done and the reasons it was done and who voted for it and the schools who participated in the vote are well known for some reason. I outlined the schools this school year that seemed very good and it was opbvious that within 40-50 miles of Nashville there were a lot of very good players and teams. Right now, the chances of great players taking the same options that are being taken right now is pretty high. The rules are bent to assure that so why not and as far as I am concerned so what. The same thing happened with AAU a few years back and the teams got fewer and fewer when it was decided to try to get all of these super players on one team or fewer teams. You wind up at that time with schools like Shelbyville, Riverdale, jackson County, Clarksville, Memphis Central, Gibson County, Overton of memphis Morristown West, Science hill, Tennesee, Mt Juliet, Wilson County, and for that matter, many of the D2AA schools. I could name more but its of no use. It has nothing to do with hard working coaches but placement of players and this looked as if to slow down the flow and give players not in areas of AAU involement the same chance as those who were in it. Just look at the posts of some of the players thinking of moving to these areas and the schools there. These questions will continue to come up along with sudden transfers and likely even more. With a area will as many high level players it will be even more. Five DI players on a team in Clarksville and Memphis????? and 5 in other places. This may not be the rule but High School play needs something to keep from packing players on one school and try bringing up talent naturally. Is AAU that??????I would say so. Should AAU condone packing and placing everyone on one team. thats the AAU way and certainly does not fit in with High School. You will just wind up with fewer players with fewer fans and fewer schools competing for championships and wondering why atendance is down and you can't pay for programs. And fans and parents are paying the bill, just maybe a few of them. Greatness has a price and to press getting the best of the best might be hard.

While I am not sure exactly why the NCAA ruling exists, I know some tournaments have been held at State Universities this year, likely not knowing the rule. If the rule exists I would like to read exactly what it says because many high schools send their schools in to the State from other States which I am sure may not comply with TSSAA rules and maybe not even NCAA rules and consequently not TSSAA eligibility rules and compete under a socalled national championship. One has a tournament in Atlanta this month with State high Schools under the auspices of ESPN, if I'm not mistaken. For some reason this is a mistake fixing to happen and maybe not. National High School Association, whatever it is, has likely got everything converend with the myrid of regulations played. Certainly Privates travel everywhere to play football and as I remember two schools played this fall at the University of Louisville in Louisville. The other questions may deal with other sports in which sports dealing with Volleyball preseason may deal with playdays in which TSSAA officials may not be used but Schools would be involved. So that everything would be clear, the TSSAA might likely send something to schools defining those things that need to be cleared concerning the rules.

I'm not going to pick a fight with anyone on the matter but Riverdale is a great team but missing something right now and I'm not sure what it is. The very first of the season, Barbee seemed to not know her role although her play was not her style. Now she is more so playing her style but the rest of the team may be feeling out their style. This team has more talent than it can field. They can score a lot of points in a short period of time and are overwhelming at 5+ positions. It seems that there are so many leaders that at the leadership moments, its difficult to point out which one is the one to fill that roll. They will all finally work out the situation but it will have to be against some very good teams and it will just happen. And, yes, someone is going to have to cover if Barbee, the athlete, starts making her total presence felt and the rebounders are going to have to fill their roll.Oakland will be a serious challenge along with the Blaze and with a little time the Stars. there are going to be some of the best strategic coaching done in the next few weeks that has been seen in 7AAA in a few years, and thats saying something becasue 4-5 of these coaches are exceptional tacticians. It will be worth watching and Riverdale is great but nobody is giving anyone anything. If the district can get so that they can slow down the first rush in the first half, this is going to be terrific. And the talent in Middle Tennesee is so good that even 44 is on here, fired up, realizing the possibility of 4 teams up there just waiting to play someone else down in the Valley and the Battles between Cannon and that group will be games to go see. Even District 6 is making some strong noise right now and when Mt. Juliet, Wilson and Lebanon start their challanges in District 9, there will be some fireworks. Clarksville is good but there are at least 2 other schools and maybe three that are going to give them a run for that title. All of that and a stronger Private School race means that Girls Basketball within 60 miles of Nashville is going to be high quality with Lawrence, Columbia and maybe Shelbyville and Franklin County. But Tennessee is known for Girls Basketball so why shouldn't it be like that. Just too many great schools in a very small area this year that makes you want to see them all: Eagleville, Moore county, Forest, Lipscomb, Goodpasture, Macon County, Red Boiling and you can just go on and on and on. Have a great season.

the NASHVILE Tennessean ranked Clarksville, unbeaten, into first place in the Mid State for Girls Basketball. Riverdale placed 3rd after losing to an out of state team and once to Memphis Central in overtime. Clarksville is playing very good basketball but their schedule is not as difficult as others. To give them much credit, Clarksville is not the team Riverdale beat 28-6 in the preseason playday at Riverdale nor is Riverdale hitting on all 8 cylinders however Riverdale is close. Clarksville is showing a lot of determination but time will tell. Good luck to both schools.

Over the last few years, how many times has this happened? LHS is a thorn in Cookeville's side no matter where the game is played. but thats generally the first game of the season. The last game is much more of a match.LHS is a team that is capable of stepping up just about any time they want to. The LHS/Cookeville matchup is one everyone wants to see. Good Luck.

Looking at the writeup concerning the loss to MC, Coach Wild figured out what has happened to the Warriors during this last perio.d of time with the losses to two really good Schools. Its really not unexpected and fixable. Barbee is a great player even though a little undersized at post for the Warriors. Her size is made up for by her great agressiveness and quickness. She is a tremendous mismatch for most post players who play her. Riverdale does not match up well with MC defensively. There is too much size underneath. That likely has been noticed by wild for some time. Ninety percent of the time RD will outquick all of the teams it plays except for 2 or three noticeable teams in the area, not in 7AAA. But if Barbee leads the fast break and loses the momentum, RD has no answer. If RD guards lose the momentum, there will be some difficulty with size also. RD is a great school with possibly three to four D1 players. Their speed is exceptional. Their reaction time is their own worst enemy. Players out of position likely will work against them. They could lose a couple of more games but not likely much more. The success this year will go thru Barbee and keeping this player involved. To do anything else will keep games closer. Schools will try to take advantage of any undersizing RD has in their lineup. this is a great team.

Blackman beat Lawerance by 4, Oakland beat Centennil by a lot and now is 5-0. Siegel lost to Franklin by 8.

To some degree, you might be right. High School ball has changed quite a bit though since that was the fact and criteria and the goals. Many times it has goals a little deeper and depends on the players and the goals they signed up with and the expertise they expected to be taught by a very fine coach. It may have been what they expected to do further in their career. It may be to compete for a District title. Expectations just mean a lot and peaking with the right tools means a lot.

You know, most think a couple of schools will come to the State not only this year but just about every year. it would be surprising if there were not.

Since there are a lot of players that could have moved from MTCS last year that played with Pride, sensitivity is the issue and if you are wanting to move to Rutherford a suggestion might be to see where you would have to live to attend the high school you want to go to and go to the District Office in Murfreesboro to find that out. Pride players could live anywhere in a wide range of Counties and likely do. Playing with pride tells me she is a serious player and I would not steer you wrong with this meaning you renting or buying a house.

What we are both not communicating could be this. MTCS is a K-12 Private school and Rutherford Central is a Magnet School,6-12, my understanding. My bad. I now see what you were discussing but I don't know the player you are talking about but I can see the sensitivity now that it came up. Any one transferring in to Rutherford and are trying to go to a specific school should check with the District Office to see which zone you should live in to make the move. It is and has been a sensitive matter and has caused some to move to get in the school that they want in.

Photo by Nikki Boertman // Buy this photo Niki Bray GIRLS BASKETBALL With 16.4 seconds remaining and Central trailing Incarnate Word Academy of St. Louis by nine points, Lady Warriors coach Niki Bray called for a full timeout. Once the officials signaled for both teams to return to the court, Bray called for another full timeout. Even with the reigning Class AAA champs on the brink of their second loss in as many nights in the third annual Turkey Jamm Classic at Central, Bray wanted to make sure her players understood the importance of finishing strong, particularly against championship-caliber foes. "I'm going to let you rest," Bray told her players in the second timeout. "But you better give me 16 seconds of basketball. You fight to the very end! Don't you ever give up!" It's safe to assume that senior standout Danielle Ballard got the message, as she sprinted toward the basket and tipped in a miss by Aaliyah Whiteside. But although time ran out on the Lady Warriors in a 65-54 loss, Bray was seemingly more concerned about how well Central (1-2), ranked No. 11 in the latest ESPN FAB 50 poll, would respond if faced with a similar situation come the postseason. "It became more of a teaching moment," said Bray, explaining the consecutive timeouts. "We knew the game was not winnable at that point. But you may be in that same situation down the road." Less than 24 hours after dropping a 64-61 setback to McEachern of Power Springs, Ga., the Lady Warriors' latest defeat came largely because of mostly fatigued players. Central, which opened Turkey Jamm play with an overtime win Friday over Twinsburg, Ohio, appeared stagnant defensively for most of Sunday's game against No. 39 Incarnate Word Academy (1-1), the two-time defending Missouri Class 5A champion. It also didn't help that Whiteside (12 points on 4-of-13 shooting), a Georgia Tech signee, was scoreless in the second half after going 0-for-6 from the field for the Lady Warriors, who were led by junior Nina Davis' 19 points. Ballard, an LSU signee, had 14 on 5-of-15 shooting.

To the players at Liberty: I along with others in the State read with sorrow what had happened to your good friend and teammate. One never knows when unexpected things like this will happen. Your reaction over something like this can effect you many ways. One thing for sure there are many students each year, for one reason or another, lose friends they have had for too short a time and can only wonder why something would happen. There is really not an answer but if you look around you, you can see the impact of a good friend on so many people that knew her. Each of your reaction will mean a lot to others who knew her. You are sad and it is expected you be so. After some time your thoughts of "what would I have done in the same situation she was in" will come to your mind. You might find its difficult to know in the same circumstances. After thinking about seat belts and other things to protect ones self you might come to a realization that no one is without being in danger and life unexpectedly can be short. It is best to be of strength to each other. Friends need friends. Remember the good things about your friend. Remember your God took her for a reason. Keep your life, so if anything were to happen to you, you will be ready to meet your maker. We are very sorry.

it will show up on the Blackman Schedule on this site and needs to be corrected there if you like?

Hoop, great post. Scoring down a little but competition is better. Look forward to seeing scoring stats.

Indian, I've seen the technique before used by the coach of the WC coach in College. While I did not see the game, let me draw it out for you. A school has a dominent player or two, finds the other team has no one to guard them and just goes to them and goes to them until fouling is the only option. Usually its a post player. Maybe the Sequatchie got out coached, maybe not. Warren likely played ball control and did not play a great game but was disciplined in play. They did have a game plan for the game and executed it. This was a good teaching moment for someone. Likely Seq did not know what was happening until late in the third and ball control won the game. One thing is for sure, if WC is going to win, they will have to work on their foul shots because 16-29 will not win many contests playing that way.

There is certainly no disagreement with Lavergne players going to Oakland. That explains Oakland's sudden rise in record along with the addition of players coming out of the Middle School just built across the street but was the move from L to O a physical move or was a waiver given for them to do that. Word from Middle School Coaches was their players transferred to the Magnet School at Murfreesboro Central. Was the transfer from Lavergne to Central and a special waiver to Oakland for special classes for the Lavergne players and Oakland also got the advantage of players from their own zoned Middle School and also got Middle School players from the same special waiver for special classes at Oakland. The devil is in the details and is legitimate but this seems not be be anything the TSSAA did but if true, had the the blessing of the District Office. If it did happen simular to this, transfers for good reason have gotten out of hand and its all right as long as their is an understanding why everything is going on as it is and credit is or is not being given to those who deserve it. The clear loser here is laVergne in Girls Basketball it seems who not only lost players, potential players but maybe got a coaching staff that is having some difficulty in the transition and losing students in the meaantime. The clear winners are Oakland and Central which is all right but mostly Oakland on the athletic end. This will not be superior development and coaching skills but moves from the District Office that complicates transferring students around and puts them where they want to go. To recap, zoning is not as important as it used to be but what has taken over are waivers because of special situations that continue to show up and its all right, its the rules. Someone had to make the decision. Its not more or less complicated than any where else. A High School coach just has to deal with what they have or what they thought they had. This post had to do with Girls basketball. Wonder what happened to football in all of this situation. Someone else can tackle that one. I've confused you enough. Only when a District has a major number of its students transferring for the reason of athletics and it begins to cause major imbalances in schools populations will anything be changed. Special waivers are just reasons, maybe not good reasons. They meet someones needs.

After watching and keeping up with the scores for 7AAA its becoming obvious that while many had hopes that Lavergne would continue to improve and be better during the District competition, they are doing some better but will not be close to where they were three years ago when it was decided the then coach would not be able to lead the Girls Play to where they wanted to go. Two years in to trying to provide an answer to their play are not providing many answers yet. Talent at the school for many years has been very good but for some reason, right now, girls basketball is trending down and a sport which has had a great deal of respect has either selected the wrong leader or needs to have a look at the program to see what is wrong. The same thing happened with another sport, volleyball, and inatention to the sport for about 3-4 years did the same thing. This year, finding a coach which knew something about the game and had some interest in the team to succeed, the team improved substantially and from the beginning of the season till the end the report card had an A in about every area. This didn't mean they were world beaters but skills were taught and future prospects could be seen. It was an exceptional job of coaching by someone who obviously knew what they were doing. I would hesitate to grade the school and the team so far in girls basketball because after a year and the beginning of the season is likely not enough time. But there will be a time tward the end of the season and right now Lavergne's Girls Basketball is not the proud group that the players, parents and fans expect. They can be better but right now they are not 7AAA caliber and need to improve their play. Things sometimes don't work out with teams but this is not the case here. its time , in a short time, that the program needs to analyze what it is doing and find ways to make the program successful again and if the current staff was not there to realize how much the skill level has dropped, it might help just to remind them. This is a proud school and has proud parents and players and High School is just 4 years or less. Expectations should be high and it is not. Something is wrong and the parents, players, coaches and adminsitration need to put their heads together and find out what it is. Trends happen and there are other schools that seem to be trending dowsn also in the sport. Now is the time to look at this to see the reason. Motivation to offer and play has never been a problem in 7AAA. it is strong in every sport. Surely this is not a motivation problem. And surely its not an inattention problem.

What are the scores of the Westview Thanksgiving Tournament or maybe it was the martin Tournament.

IKNOWNOTHING sent the score in for Riverdale results. Riverdale last 72-68.

Has Riverdale and memphis Central played their games

Also the scores of any other games if you haave them.

77, I was hoping they had won 4 out of 4 .

With All of these Tournaments in Memphis, the Ridgeway Gym is where the crowd is. Show your schools some LOVE and post your scores for the day. No hype there, just great Basketball. Need those scores.

If you happen to know which classification in Mississippi they were State Championship in, it would be of help. Jim Brown and jackson County are extremely sharp and they just don't travel for the trip. Within this trip, within this state, they have discovered part of their worth. To be very careful, they do not have anything made. And for any of those Turkey Jamm Schools to think Tennessee stacked the best players amd Schools in the state in that event is very misleading. There are at least 6 schools in each Classification that will give the schools there very hard competition and some may not even make their way out of their own District and Region. So is Womens Basketball in the State of Tennessee and no one has hung up the State Banner yet in their gym. Most will be happey to work their way thru the system unscathed. I would say that these jammers from out of State are getting more out of it than the Tennessee Schools. They are the ones that have to prove their worth and they haven't even seen the rest of the competition. But some of the Schools in the State are in the same position. Who, right now, knows what their own value is to finish the journey thru the State. The games are played on the floor, KEEP ALL OF THOSE SCORES COMING IN>