pioneer42

41 minutes ago, cbg said:

For a much better walk up crowd the tournament should be moved to Lipscomb University or Belmont University.  Personally I would look into moving the tournament to Municipal Auditorium in Nashville but you always get the “it’s too expensive to park” from some people.  It’s interesting that those same people couldn’t care less about paying to park when they show up to party in downtown Nashville on the weekends.

Be a nightmare for parking. Why would anyone gripe about MTSU?? Perfect venue. Got good parking. Great hotels, restaurants....etc...don't understand it. 

4 minutes ago, attila said:

Which venue would be better as a host? Both good arenas centrally located, Tech’s gym looks better and more updated than MTSU when watching the D-2 tourney a couple weeks ago.

Glass House is a great venue. More centrally located. Already got teams and fans having to drive 4-5 hours to Cookeville for football. Got to make it fair for everyone. Nothing wrong with MTSU. 

7 hours ago, WestTNHoopsFan said:

The question I have is can USJ keep them?  Rumors flying all around West TN about them leaving.

2 hours ago, tennesseeannouncer said:

Technically they left Dyersburg to go to Riverdale.

Ensworth is what I kept hearing last week. Heard they were interested  in possibly making an offer with big money. Yeah he went to Riverdale during the housing boom and I heard he couldn't find a house that wasn't through the roof high. I thought he might have went to Webb School last year because they had a job opening. Definitely a package deal and two jobs would have to come with the daughter you would think. Why would they go anywhere else and not coach?? Yesterday on the Miss Basketball Awards Mike Keith said that she was the number 1 player in the 2027 class in the nation I think is what he said. No telling what kind of money could come their way. 

6 hours ago, tennesseeannouncer said:

Snubbed. She was snubbed.

As far as the injury, she missed one game due to her injury before the finalists were announced. According to a Tennessean article calling out her lack of being named a Finalist she was averaging 20.6 points per game at the time, an increase from the 16.6 she was averaging on the promo getting her name out. At the time, Dburg was 20-3, ranked fifth in the state, and had losses to reigning Ohio champion Princeton and a pair of losses to Huntingdon (2A Quarterfinalist that lost to the champ) and Bartlett (4A Finalist). Their resume also included a win over USJ.  I don’t know what else she could’ve done to be included in the conversation. For what it’s worth, none of the finalists in 3A played in Murfreesboro. When she wasn’t named a finalist I told her to use it as motivation. She went on to overcome an injury, took district MVP, all-region tourney, state tourney MVP, and a gold ball. 

But then again, Dburg had a football player not included in the 2023 Mr. Football finalists despite a pair of head to head wins against a player that was named as a finalist. 

I went and watched y'all in the District Semis and in the District  Finals in Crockett County and she played neither game if I remember correctly. I didn't know how long she had been out. But she is a sure enough player for sure. We have been seeing her a while on the floor at Gibson County. Congratulations on winning the Gold Ball. Coach Strayhorn is a good guy. Think a lot of him. Couldn't happen to a nicer person. 

4 minutes ago, THE KING said:

Lots of deserving players but Reese would've got my vote.  That is one sick player.  I was really impressed the couple times I watched her.

Sick because she didn't win it??  Or sick good player?? We haven't had any luck with Miss Basketball Awatds in the past. Heather Butler went 70-1 with back to back Titles in 2009 and 2010 in AA and got looked over. She is the all time leading scorer in the OVC with 2700 points and didn't win it. Reese is a player. Either won from the East could have won it. About Micah you might not know. She is the all time leading scorer at Gibson County High School, she won all state all four years, her numbers are against really good competition, she just has been a beast for four years, rebounding, steals, 3 point shots, jump shots off of the dribble. Bet you could ask Loretto, Summertown, South Gibson, Westview Peabody.....what player are you ready to graduate?? Micah's name would be in there a bunch. Like Jada Harrison last year. She was very hard to deal with. But anyway, good to meet you at the Glass House. Good luck to your team and your girls. Keep battling and working every day. 

7 hours ago, THE KING said:

Lots of deserving players but Reese would've got my vote.  That is one sick player.  I was really impressed the couple times I watched her.

Sick because she didn't win it??  Or sick good player?? We haven't had any luck with Miss Basketball Awatds in the past. Heather Butler went 70-1 with back to back Titles in 2009 and 2010 in AA and got looked over. She is the all time leading scorer in the OVC with 2700 points and didn't win it. Reese is a player. Either one from the East could have won it. About Micah you might not know. She is the all time leading scorer at Gibson County High School, she won all state all four years, her numbers are against really good competition, she just has been a beast for four years, rebounding, steals, 3 point shots, jump shots off of the dribble. Bet you could ask Loretto, Summertown, South Gibson, Westview Peabody.....what player are you ready to graduate?? Micah's name would be in there a bunch. Like Jada Harrison last year. She was very hard to deal with. But anyway, good to meet you at the Glass House. Good luck to your team and your girls. Keep battling and working every day. 

48 minutes ago, TheTruthHurts22 said:

Congrats Pioneer it’s been a long time coming for GC girls basketball to be back on top! To get a miss basketball as well as another gold ball is a heck of a year, enjoy it and congratulations to Hart she’s got a bright future! 

We are very blessed and thankful. We won it in 2019, we were in Final Four in 2020 and got sent home with Covid, lost on last second shot in 2021 to North Green in Final Eight, lost to York by 4 in 2022 in Final Eight, lost to McMinn Central last year by 8 in Final Four. Won it this year. So I feel like it is a blessing to get to state and see what happens. I knew we had a great defense this year and had a chance but also knew how tough the field was. Very blessed. 

5 minutes ago, VOLnWTN said:

I firmly believe if Savanna didn’t get hurt last year, she would have won it.

Oh I agree with that 100%. She is a beast no doubt. Congratulations on her winning it as well. 

36 minutes ago, crow6424 said:

I have a question. How did the Dyersburg girl not get nominated for Mrs Basketball?

You must be talking about Crawford. She has been hurt a lot this year. Guess  that at is why. She put up 24 against us in our gym as a Freshman. Savannah Davis was hurt first half of the year last year and didn't get nominated either for Mckenzie. Dyersburg has a lot of talent over there and in Junior High. Y'all looked good too. Y'all had a good Tournament. Dyersburg, South Side and Upperman will be the three favorites next year, IMO. I would say either of y'all could win it in AAA. Dyersburg and South Side are very young. 

What a season it has been and Micah Hart just won Miss Basketball. So very thankful and blessed. All 3 are ballers that were nominated. Very thankful. So proud of her and all the team. So thankful and blessed. 

1 hour ago, blitzinbuc said:

I somewhat agree with what you're saying but I also understand that coaches have different mindsets for a reason. It isn't that Coach Morgan can't coach various zones, it's that he believes if each girl is doing their job defensively then man-to-man will work. I don't necessarily agree with that philosophy but he's far more knowledgeable than I am.
Much has been made that he should have won more gold balls with the teams he's taken to state but playing in 7 state championship games is a solid resume by itself. He may have had the best talent or should have won more than 1 gold ball but it's not always the most talented team that wins. He has won some big games and pulled some upsets during his tenure but he seems to be judged by many merely on what he's done in the state tournament.
I haven't heard anything about him retiring but it wouldn't surprise me that he might after 46 years of coaching. He may have dropped a hint in an article in the newspaper when he mentioned next years group, "Good group, great group, and they’re going to continue to work. Whether I’m there or not, they’re going to continue to work. It’s just been a joy, it really has.”

Johnny is a great coach and I know him and he is a good guy. Some times things just don't work out. We had an awesome team in 1989 and got beat on a last second shot. One of the most talented ever. Our 2016 team was 37-0 going into the Finals and lost to South Green in the last minute. Glass House has been a house of horrors for everybody at some point. Gold Balls don't grow on trees. Lots of teams never make the state. Last year McMinn knocked us out and we had a 5 point lead with about 4 to play and it haunted me for a few days but I told coach we had a great year and we did. Johnny is a really good coach and I would bet he will be back. Best way to get over losses like that is to start planning and getting ready to get after it again. That was a loaded State Tournament. We feel very blessed to have won it. 

Clarkrange, Bradford, Gleason and Pickett County had some great teams over the years. 

1 hour ago, crow6424 said:

After every big game someone is going to be mad at the officiating. I don’t think they did a bad job at the tournament. One thing that stood out that I don’t like is when a defender would stay stationary for a second before contact and they would call it a blocking foul. This happened a few of the games I watched. Other than that I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

I watched this game live and on tape. I thought Gatlinburg Pittman threw a big punch and they exchanged punches until Loretto got the last one. I thought the biggest problem in the game was GP got away from Newman in the middle of the 4th and OT. Even on last possesion in regulation play wasn't designed for her after TO. But both teams well coached. Weathers is a player for sure. They couldn't stop her. 

3 hours ago, maddams said:

Wilkins did a fantastic job with this team.  Emphasized their strengths and hid their weaknesses.  Big question: Is Wilkins on the sidelines at GC next year or does he go out on top?  I heard some rumors that this might be it for him.  You think there's any truth to those rumors or people just making assumptions because he's not a young guy?

I will be shocked if he is not on the sidelines next year. He loves what he is doing. He has a great system set up. I think this year he really adapted to his team well. Played more zone this year to stay out of foul trouble and create a different look. All of his Assistant Coaches and  Jr. High Coaches are great coaches. He has a well oiled machine right now and he loves what he is doing. Wife told me the week of snow break he was ready to practice and get back to work.  I hope he stays 10 more years. If he does leave I hope they let him make the next hire. Good guy and runs a good Christian Program. No profanity at all and just a great family. 

34 minutes ago, Charger731 said:

Wrong pick. Gibson County too good. 

I knew we had a great defense and some of the Westview Fans picked us to win it in the hotel and I was cautiously optimistic with all the good teams. Westview's defense has shut folks down as well the last two seasons before. Will be interesting going forward. We had some great offensive plays but our defense won it for us. 

24 minutes ago, maddams said:

Westview will be good next year, but I think people are underestimating how important Alexander has been to this team for the last couple years.  She was Westview's best player this year.  Losing her will have a major impact

Alexander was a great player for sure. She will be missed a bunch but I do think they like Gibson County will regroup by state next year and both be a handful. 

38 minutes ago, sportslover88 said:

I think Gibson Co will miss Micah more than they realize both offensively and defensively. They will also really miss Turner. I'm not sure any from the Jr. High will be ready to contribute any next year except maybe Hart (I feel like her sisters were a little more aggressive/advanced that she is at this point). The game I saw them play against Martin this year at Martin, Martin won by 20+ and that was because subs were put in or it would have been uglier. Maybe they have improved though. Huntingdon will still be good but I think they will really miss Kee and Singleton as well. Westview getting the point guard back and only losing Alexander from state I think will still be good if not even better than this year.

I am basically counting numbers they will have coming up from Jr. High. But you're right. Lot of work to do. We have 5 girls that were on JV to take up 2 spots that were awesome players, but our JV has worked hard and will have to step up now that it is their turn to get going. Silver Lining for Westview with the PG is she will be in the gym on her own time a bunch rehabbing and great opportunity to get others in gym joining her. Night she got hurt Gibson County on three different occasions were leading and looking like before half they could take control and she hit money shots. She is a player for sure. 

38 minutes ago, CoachBsDUI said:

https://www.5starpreps.com/articles/2024-class-2a-semifinals-loretto-denies-gatlinburg-pittmans-bid-to-get-to-title-game-55-52-in-overtime/
 

Problem was she couldn't guard Ally Weathers man to man and she kept trying it. Ally Weathers took the game over, plain and simple. I thought Gatlinburg Pittman should have went to Newman more down the stretch especially on the last possesion in regulation. Refs didn't take the game away. Ally kept taking it to the rim and Gatlinburg got away from Miss Basketball, IMO. 

3 minutes ago, roundhouse said:

This isn't the first time Central coach Morgan has taken a very talented team to state and not come home with the gold ball. In 46 years he's won 1 gold ball and something like 6 silver balls. Being state runnerup last year with all the players returning and adding a great freshman this year, Central shouldn't have lost in the first round to a team with no seniors. He's a good coach no doubt, but..... 

Hindsite is always 20/20. Great man to man coaches believe in their defense but sometimes you may have to mix it up. Thought McMinn couldn't guard Beaty and it cost them. Just think York did a good job of creating Beaty space and 1 on 1 which she will win all day. Just like Micah Hart. You don't want to guard her 1 on 1. Johnny is a good coach. McMinn will be back. Always are. Still got solid players coming back. 

36 minutes ago, LadyCavsFan said:

I think it was said multiple times that this class was wide open and the strongest field of all the classes.  While McMinn and GP were picked as favorites by myself and several others,  I don’t think anyone was betting the house on them.  Nor was anyone saying the west had no chance.   And this class lived up to the hype.  Great games from beginning to end.  There were no easy games or easy path to the Gold ball.  So many great performances and endings of games.  I really enjoyed this years AA tourney.

I had rather be 3-5 in state heading up there. I wouldn't want to be the favorites. York will be the favorite next year with everyone returning.  AA was a great Tournament with all the games single digits but one. 

7 hours ago, wtnbballfan said:

I agree AA is too competitive to call this far away. This state tournament was phenomenal Even though most people didn't like the draws. 

I hope GC is back next year! Not familiar enough with their underclassmen to know if someone can fill Turners spot defensively but I think Riding can pull up offensively big time. 

Westview and Huntingdon should both be in as well. Just an easier route for WV

Dealing with Riding will be tough for anyone. When her and the Loretto player was going after the 50/50 ball with about 2 minutes left, I knew she would win the battle. Gibson County will be good again next year if we all stay healthy. We will have about 3 I think from Jr. High including Jada Hart along with our 5 that didn't start. Losing Turner and Micah will be really hard as both were two of the better one's in the state with Turner on defense and Micah on offense. Turner was another PG too. Micah should win Miss Basketball, IMO. She is the all time leader in points at Gibson County. Her rebounding, steals and assists are off the charts too. Westview and Huntingdon will be good as well. Losing the PG from Westview really hurt them. She is the real deal. Hope she  gets healed up quick. I hear they got some more immediate help on the way. Huntingdon is losing Kee and Singleton I know of but they have a great Jr. High I hear with lots of help on the way. 

21 minutes ago, Khall555 said:

It still blows my mind that Cumberland Co was the only team to beat them this year and one loss was a blowout. 

Pickett County was solid. Very fun team to watch. 

1 hour ago, 1983 said:

Don’t sleep on Huntingdon!  Return 3 starters and a 6’ 2” Center who will be really good next season!

Didn't mean too. Yep Huntingdon will be tough as their Jr. High is loaded I hear. 

4 hours ago, Madddog2020 said:

Gibson Co. will be back too.

Yep you are right. Trenton loses a bunch. Gibson County Westview will be there. Loretto, York, McMinn Central, GP or Alcoa....East Nashville.., Smith County

7 hours ago, westtn12 said:

I thought it was all but set that McMinn and Gatlinburg Pittman were in the championship… I heard that before the tournament even started?? Did I miss something?? Looks like neither of them were.. and looks like the two teams that were in it were counted out. I guess ball don’t lie. 

I think Gibson County and Loretto really proved to the state that they are big time programs and are not going to be intimidated by anyone. York, McMinn Central and Gatlinburg Pittman could have won it as well. Very solid teams. I knew these two being underdogs was not a bad thing.