AlumnI01

I saw the Reppart kid last week vs SH. He's good. Nothing against Boone but he's really the only good player they've got. He really carries their team.

From what I was told last week, the Love kid has to keep his grades up in order to play. Heard the jury is still out on whether or not he can do that. This is what an Indians fan told me. This is the year to "get" SH because next year they'll be back to their typical selves with a lot of talent back and a lot of up and coming talent added. All the teams in the Big 7 know that if you're going to "get" any payback against the Toppers this is the year to do it. Also, hearing the Toppers got some good news recently. Sounds like Sophomore Xavier Driver will be back before the season is over. For those who don't know, he tore his ACL back in August and has been rehabing since. Apparently there's a good chance he will be back in time for the DB game in January.

I said starter returning not Senior. However, I was told by a parent of one of the players that SH actually has no starters returning this year. Anyways, good night tonight in the Big 7. SH bested Daniel Boone, 63-46. It was fun watching the two Hensley brothers go against each other. For those who don't know, Hunter plays for SH and his younger brother, Holden, plays for Boone. DB whipped Morristown East, 90-37. I'm not sure how much we can tell about the Indians at this point though as it seems Morristown East is pretty bad. Crockett beat Volunteer. Another good win for the Pioneers and first year head coach, John Good.

The best player in Northeast TN this year just may be a kid that isn't even playing right now. Tyleke Love from DB isn't eligible to play until January but when he does finally hit the court, you'll have a hard time saying he's not the best player in Northeast TN. I've seen Zeke Clark and Calvin Songster play and I'm telling you, Love is better then both of them. And this is coming from a Science Hill fan. Just wait until this kid is eligible after the New Year and you'll see what I'm talking about. The best underclassmen in Northeast TN is Patrick Good at Crockett and it's not even close in my opinion. He's the leader of that team and is just a Sophomore. He has almost single-handedly turned that team from an easy win to one you can no longer overlook. Great ball-handling skills, excellent shooter, great defender, great leader and a player you simply cannot intimidate. The kid plays with the poise of a Senior.

Elizabethton has a solid team this year. They've got themselves a good coach too. I doubt you'll find many SH fans that are too surprised by last night's loss. This is a "down year" so to speak for The Hill. Without question, it is the least talented/least experienced Toppers team in the last 10-15 years, maybe longer. I believe they have 1 starter that returned from last year. They have 4-5 other kids on the team that were on the Varsity team last year but have virtually no Varsity experience. It's going to be a rollercoaster for SH basketball fans this year. Just look at the talent/experience they lost from last year's team: CJ Good-Graduated Will Adams-Graduated Reed Hayes-Graduated Patrick Good-Transferred(Would have started this year) Brendan Coleman-Transferred(Would have started this year) Xavier Driver-Out for the Season with a torn ACL(Would have started this year) I'm not trying to take away anything from the Cyclones win but this is not the typical SH team this year.

It's really not all that shocking. Not taking anything away from the Cyclones win last night but this is easily the least talented and least experienced team SH has had in 10-15 years, maybe longer. I think they might have 1 starter back from last years team but that's it.

Someone posted in the Big 7 thread that the reason he can't play until January is a grades issue. Hopefully he gets that taken care of and is able to play as soon as possible. He definitely has all the potential in the world to be a very good player for the Indians. I wish the kid the best.

Final. SH-60 Elizabethton-37. Lady Toppers only led by 4 at the half, 26-22 but pulled away in the second half. Actually, I guess I should say they pulled away in the 4th quarter. Score was 39-28 heading in the 4th quarter.

That's a shame because the kid can flat out play. Had he actually played 3-4 full seasons for DB I believe he would have received multiple D-1 offers. 2-2 1/2 months of playing just isn't going to cut it though.

Y Yes, we do! Speaking of DB, what's the deal with the Love kid? Someone started a topic last night. He can't play until January? He should be the Indians best player. Too bad it appears he's only going to get to play for 2 1/2 months.

I'm going with DB as Big 7 Champs for now. Toppers, while down, should still give them a run for their money though. SH lost a lot of talent and experience from last year and I wasn't expecting much from them this year. However, I saw them play last week and they look better than I thought would. This may be the best 3 point shooting Topper team I've seen a while and their defense appears better this year as well. I don't know much about Boone, TN High, Volunteer, Sullivan Central etc. but I do know that Crockett should be significantly improved. They won't win the conference but they won't be an easy win anymore either. Their new coach from SH is a good one, and the two transfers he took with him will really help the Pioneers out.

I've talked to a few DB fans about this kid and they've all said the same thing; he's a very good player, tons of potential but has a hard time staying on the team. They all said that the past 2 years he was good to go and then ended up being kicked off the team either just before or just after the season started. They didn't give any real details as to why this happened. This is all that I know about the kid.

Another classy post, my friend. Thank you.

I don't see any Topper fans calling for their coaches head. We leave that up to you Indian fans. I simply stated the truth. Toppers played terribly from start to finish and faced a very tough opponent. An opponent that was clearly the better team tonight. You can't play that bad against a very good team and expect to win. No shame in losing though. Our boys had one heckuva season. The streak was ended and we made it to the second round of the playoffs. We've got plenty to be proud of. Already looking forward to next season!

My point was we played pretty similar schedules. I know it. You know it. The Toppers didn't play well at all tonight and the better team won. End of story.

Sevier County burned my Toppers tonight by their season ends next week. Maryville by at least 3 TDs.

The same can be said for you guys. Both teams played 3-4 good teams this season and the rest was against pretty weak competition. Strong competition SH played: Brentwood Academy Siegel DB Farragut Strong Competition Sevier County played: Maryville DB Cookeville South Doyle

SH has been putting on an offensive clinic against the majority of their opponents this year. You guys held them to 20 pts and those 20 pts weren't easy to get. So yes, they came up against a very, very good defense tonight.

You've got to be kidding in regards to McGue not being a passer at all. The kid has close to 1,500 passing yards on the season going into tonight's game. Yeah, he's not a passer at all, alright(insert sarcasm). He had an "off" night and faced a very, very good defense tonight. That's it. It has nothing to do with him not being a good passer. His stats prove otherwise. As for the defense. It's very simple. When they're playing well, they're playing real well. But when they're playing bad, it's not just bad. It's atrocious. Tonight was the latter.

This.

Hey, at least we made it past the first round! As for what happened tonight. Clearly, SH just got beat by a better team. Plain and simple. Yes, the Toppers were missing some key players but regardless, I don't think it would've made much of a difference. Congratulations to the team on one heckuva season. A lot to look forward to next year as well with so many players returning. Congratulations to the Smokey Bears on the W tonight.

Just spoke to someone close to the team who said Gad is being sworn in as a US citizen today and is in Memphis. Congratulations to the young man.

Thanks for the update. That's good to hear. If he's as good on the basketball court as he is on the football field, he'll be fun to watch.

Have heard a rumor that the SH defense may be without star player Gad Nagba for tonight's game. If true, his absence will really hurt.

That's a great win for SH, especially considering they were missing several key players. Calvin Songster is really impressive. He had 28 pts tonight and 27 in an exhibition last week. He's really stepped his game up. This Topper team is a lot better than I thought they'd be. They are deadly from 3 pt range and you're right, their defense is excellent. I was ready to hand over the conference championship to DB a week ago but after seeing this SH team tonight, I'm not so sure. By the way, does anyone know if Mikey White has decided to play this year? There were some reports he was thinking about it. Just wondering if anyone had heard anything. He'd be a nice addition with his height and athleticism.