Cody

Keep the Covington, VA team in your prayers. Some members of the team and parents were in a terrible wreck today. 2 players and a parent all in ICU at UT. I believe the parent is on life support at the moment, and another victim of the wreck not associated with the team has died I believe.

Haha I'll accept that! I wonder when the last time both Livingston and Central weren't in substate... I fully expect them to both be there however.

Kelsey Myers tore her ACL and everything else in practice the other day. She's done for the season again.

Coach was making a statement. Kept all freshman in the 4th quarter. No big deal. They'll figure it out.

I'm starting to become more and more concerned about Livingston...

That makes a lot of sense so far. I'm interested to see how the LA/SC game goes tomorrow night.

Central struggled early on with the fouls. Just couldn't ever get a rhythm. They've started to adjust and have won two big games against Meigs and CAK since. They play Webb tomorrow night in Knoxville. We'll see how far they've come after that. They're going to be dangerous either way. Sooooo much young talent on that team.

Oh no, I definitely wouldn't ever underestimate them; I was just wondering if anything was specifically wrong. They rarely go into district play with more than 1 loss, and district 8 this year is going to be BRUTAL.

Ok, so most people who frequent the message boards know that I'm a Central guy, so please don't think this is a joke to rub in their recent struggles. I am just genuinely interested in what's happening with LA this season. I've been keeping up with them, and it just seems like they are REALLY struggling this year after so many predictions that they would come in and take state with all of their returners. I know it's early in the season, but they are 2-5 now losing to Jefferson County last night. Some losses to really good teams but a few to mediocre at best teams. Once again, no disrespect to LA fans; I'm just really interested in what is happening. Is a player hurt? Have they just not hit their stride? MC usually starts out slow (started 1-2 this year) but they've figured it out and are getting better. What's up with LA?

From a Central perspective: Divide and conquer (though conquer is a very strong word; contain may be better). Points and possession were spread out well. Kelsey Myers with 17, Jacobi Lynn 15, Bailey Grey 11. 5 more between 5 and 10 points each. Central spread the ball around a lot and took what was given to them. They are very deep and becoming deeper each game. They are much better now than they looked at the beginning of the season (perhaps where you thought CAK may win by 15+). They are only getting better and will continue to. Jacobi is on fire and Kelsey is really hitting her stride after missing all of last season. Peyton Williams, Elizabeth Trentham, Allie Coleman, Hannah Cherry, Bailey Martin are all contributing well and are dangerous. Central is much better spread out this year than in the past few seasons. I won't pretend to think that CAK is playing their best either. They are very talented and scary. I was worried whether we could win last night, but it's been a VERY long time since any team beat Central by 15+. As they continue to adjust to a new post game, they will be much, much better. They should be back at state this year.

McMinn Central beats CAK tonight 64-52. It was a fun game to watch. Both teams looked really good. I'd never seen CAK play before. Anna Hammaker is a heck of a player.

A shot clock has been in place since 1985 in NCAA though. I doubt it's the reason for scoring to go down in the past 3-5 years. A shot clock in high school would force teams to, at a minimum, shoot every 35 seconds. It really would change the pace of most good teams until the 4th quarter, but it would still make scores go up and make the game more pure. This is obviously just my opinion. Every other level has a shot clock above high school. I just think it's time for it to be in high school now.

They play McMinn Central tomorrow night at CAK. Should be a good game.

Emileigh Swafford is the girl from Meigs. She's an outstanding player. Just signed with Lee University.

My fault. I was assuming Meigs was still in District 5 1-A when they dropped down. They're in District 3. You're right. They will stay in the East. Which means, in my opinion, Meigs will be in state this year for the first time since 95 I believe?

You're exactly right. Hannah Cherry, Bailey Martin, Emily Plaster, et al will be unbelievable in the next few years. My prediction still stands: Jacobi Lynn will be Miss Basketball AT LEAST once before she's done. Nobody is stopping Jackson County this year.

I was there last night. She had a slow first half. The above poster was right. 4 points. Central was down 1 at halftime. It was back and forth most of the second half...then Jacobi took over. At one point, scored 10 straight points in about 30 seconds. 3's. Driving the lane. Getting fouled and sinking foul shots. She did it all. Ended up scoring 25 in the second half for a total of 29 points for the second time in 4 games. Kelsey Myers played great. Talked to one of the coaches after the game and there was a lot of praise for freshman Hannah Cherry as well. She played outstanding defense really rose up. Coach said they wouldn't have won if not for Cherry. It was the best game the girls have this season. Meigs is a good team. They should make it to state from this end as long as they win region. If they lose, they're heading to Jackson County. Where their season will end.

I agree. That's what I was attempting to say in my post. Central must adjust to the rules changes this year because they have traditionally played a man pressure defense. I also don't agree with it. From what I have observed, it's a ploy to get scores up. In my opinion, a high school shot clock would fix that problem. It would increase the speed of the game, and keep teams from winning state championships by 3 points every year because they held the ball for the last 4 minutes forcing the other team to foul them. That's not basketball. I won't disagree with the comments about playing at the Round House. However, it's just the same at any other aggressive home court (Livingston and Meigs County comes to mind from those that I have been to).

Central fans are quite passionate. I am one. I would say that officiating was very tough to watch last Saturday, but it was mostly fans not being used to touch fouls being called so easily. The Blount County game did have a large majority of fouls called against Central. A noticeable amount more than WB. Not saying any foul play was going on at all, but it was tough to watch. Both halves started with 7-1 and 8-0 in fouls called against Central. Mostly, I think Central will just have to adjust from such a high pressure man defense. On the home cooking comment, I honestly believe that every good basketball program gets the benefit of the doubt most of the time at home. Local refs are used to the way those home teams play. I don't believe it's home cooking in the sense that the refs are cheating for the home team. Central is a very difficult place to play and especially pull out a win. Teams often get very flustered playing in that environment. I think any true fans of a team will complain about non calls no matter who you are. No game is ever won or lost by the refs. On the Cannon game last year though, it was definitely a mistake that cost the game. And that's all I have to say about that

I've heard from several that Blackman is better than Riverdale this year, and will not just end the streak, but are the favorites to win state. Granted, I've never seen either team play. I would love to see Jackson County play sometime this year though. I've never gotten to see Jaycee Coe play at all.

Who are you referring to with MC and JC?

Watched both games yesterday. Both teams were solid. Fulton is VERY talented. That #2 freshman is going places. She's unbelievable. Lost by 6 to WB and 10 to Fulton. That being said, Central isn't playing their best ball right now. Having to adjust a lot to new players on the court. They are very far away from where they could be. The talent is there in droves. Historically, Central starts off rusty and improves more and more as the season progresses. I expect the same this year. They're only halfway through a gauntlet to start the season. Still have Meigs, CAK, and Webb in the next 2 weeks.

If you're asking if McMinn Central plays Bradley, no. We haven't played Bradley in a few years. Not sure why. They were always great games. Bradley is unreal this year and about the only school from the East that might challenge Riverdale or Blackman in AAA. That would be a great home and home for M Central. I'd love to see how we would pair against them. We won by 3 and 30 against them in 2010/2011 and lost both against them by 6 and 12 in 2011/2012. That's the last time we played them. I saw both of those games. Very good competitive, learning games that year. McMinn Central's bigger games this year are: 2 against: Alcoa Meigs Knox Webb Sequoyah McMinn County 1 against: CAK Grainger This is not including Christmas tournament games and any that are added later. Also, those are based on recent success.

It is tough being the dominate team in the area. This is coming from a McMinn Central person. Lately, Sequoyah and Meigs County have been really good teams just lacking experience of ever going deep into tournament time. Meigs just dropped to single-A this year. Coach Morgan always makes sure to schedule very tough out of district/region games, including the best private schools and AAA teams in the area. MC routinely has top 25 strength of schedule every year. It doesn't get much harder than 8-AA. That district is a gauntlet. Throw in Macon, and it's just unfair to have that many juggernauts together. A chunk of LA's success in the past (Jackson County's too) is the caliber of teams in that area. I've been a proponent for a home and home with Livingston for a few years now. It's a long way to travel, but it would definitely bring in the money and help both teams out. I'm just so happy that ball-season has finally started. My favorite time of the school year.

No offense meant. Just having some fun with last years pickings. McMinn Central plays you guys in February. It's one of my most looked forward to games. Especially since by that time, both teams will be running full steam. And don't misunderstand me, I try my best not to let LA's head get any bigger than it ever is (or at least as big as mine I was really just wanting to hear what some people thought about LA losing their first game. Especially from a Stone team that only won ~10 games last year. I just mentioned it in the nicest way possible...