HonkyNinja12

Those are fair points they are definitely leaning young and it probably wont be their last rodeo in the Bluecross bowl if all goes as it should.

In TN hes got the 2nd ranked player in the 24’ class 15th in 25’ and top 5 in 26’. All with SEC offers another that will get SEC offers and several more with FCS offers. Disregarding my argument of the validity of their actual talent its really almost unheard of in public school ball much less 2A. You have to win it all or you failed as a coach imo. Talent isn't everything but its always the driving factor. Going to be a great game. Riverside is tough and experienced with good talent and ER is ultra athletic with good line play. Going to be a great 2A matchup

Exactly how this plays out. When the major talent and son go through the program in 2-3 years and possibly gets offered a would be sought after job be dumb not to take it.

Hope alot of ppl make the trip to chatt to watch Riverside vs East Robertson. Ill be there all day Saturday hope to see some good ball.

Who are you referring to Byrns beating?

No doubt ER 80’s,90’s basketball was insane and of course last couple years has been great too

Well my reply was for football as you saw but Basketball 05’ Greenbrier and Springfield both beat that team head to head and local White House not Robertson but 7 miles away traded 1-1. All what ifs as they didnt play but GB smacked that WH team by 20 both times I was there.

Every one talks about that team like they were so great lol they were 3rd best in a 5 team county and got thumped 1st round in 2A.

Dont let my post sway anything or others and make a bold claim about a whole town lol. Im not an East fan just a regular robertson/sumner county sports fan who keeps up and watches alot of ball. Most CP loves the job hes doing and not even the somewhat critics like myself can argue about the results on paper so far

I agree but half of em were 15 and the size of a pool noodle.

All I say is this because I dont want to bash players or change this thread too bad. But none of those guys have ever got any playing time (maybe a scrap time play) and half of em are on practice squads at FCS. Compared to 5 kids with actual SEC offers who will probably get serious reps at FCS schools or higher. And for Prince he got better no doubt lots of ppl do when you grow 3 inches and put on 15 lbs of muscle as a senior.

What 5+ players were D1 that played at the same time under Pond? Are you counting Taylor Groves and couple of these kids as freshman?

I agree really. Im just saying its more of the players and 2A situation than his coaching genius but you’re absolutely right

Theyve never had this much talent and when they came somewhat close to this much several times it was hard to get past the private school and really good TC type teams that have been down for several years. 09’ for example. Add that to many good lower classification players transfer private or higher class at a higher rate now has helped and all the Groves boys thus far have stayed put.

No doubt on his success but great coaches are judged in games where you’re not favored by 35 lol if he wins this one he’ll have nudged me a good bit. Having watched him many times like you his schemes and team discipline are terrible. There are not many public schools in any class with this much talent so just winning games is not good enough its gold ball or nothing in a perfect storm like this.

ER is very undisciplined anybody who watched them this year knows that. Brooks I personally don’t think is a great coach. He just happens to have 5 kids or so that have D1 offers on a 2A team. (Almost unheard of) Most coaches in his position and roster wouldn't have lost a game this year and wouldn't have let York creep back. These ER boys looked real great last year too until they ran into some real athletes in Tyner and they turned into turtles. So will see what happens when they face some actual speed and athleticism again. History says they usually underperform. Isaiah Groves (RB) is a great back tho and as a team they have 4-5A speed. Going to be a great game hope both teams show their best.

Curious to see ppl's thoughts. Some of the top guys Ive seen play in middle Tn: - Jayden Jones (Goodpasture) -Cade Bennerman (Father Ryan) -Elijah Groves (East Robertson)

Sorry some of us see BS. Kid from Greenbrier at UT and Taylor groves from ER at Ole miss I said the same thing that they weren't SEC material either and look both looking to transfer down sooner or later. But keep trusting their judgment they don't care if they miss they just get a transfer or another recruit and keep it moving. Btw I hope I'm wrong when I dont think a kid can cut it. I love seeing local guys do well at the next level but I also dont fluff a kid up just because hes got some stars and performs well in a t shirt when I’ve watched him play 20 times and think differently.

Bingo none of them will ever be contributing members of an SEC team. Its all just hype. Just above average football players nothing great in the bunch just some pretty good athletes you can almost find almost anywhere in a metro environment all get told how great they are 24/7 and their attitude and discipline seemed to reflect it. Almost half of a starting lineup have multiple power 5 offers but they lose and seem like the lesser team against a bunch of average athletes all be it tough and disciplined from Smith Co. Get real. Coaching is also terrible because even if half these kids were as good as they say he’d still have the most talented team in 2A by a mile and underachieves constantly. Shoutout to both teams for battling regardless and Smith County with the upset.

If anybody thinks ER should be at #6 below some of those teams yall need to study up. Good lord terrible list.

Thats understood health is everything. Not sure I understand the easiest schedule in the state thing. New region that doesn’t look like it gonna be its best but what other 2A team has this super tough schedule that I’m missing? East plays district games, a couple not so good 3A teams and old tradition rival game in Jo byrns. Pretty standard stuff.

Good info ill check that out and Id have to agree with you and them. Most talented team in 2A no doubt doesnt give you the championship but it sure as heck don’t hurt.

ER has very good chance of making the 2A championship game. 2A too slow for these boys their team speed is more on par with a solid 5A school. If the QB from Smith county didn't transfer to Beech (the groves boys are good but he would have been the best player on the field) and they didnt lose a few others that would have been an awesome game and great region showdown. Now not so much.

Idk alot more Mitchell players continued to play at the next level. That GP was darn solid though. Loved when GP got to play Gordonsville and Red boiling Springs every other week. Lol Just imagine if that was still the case the last 3 years you'd have your answer for best A team ever

Hence why Euro players are at the top of the NBA right now. Different system bringing them up that values true team oriented skill and they are more advanced basketball players. But you’re just being a hater if you say anything besides sunshine and rainbows.