allnets

The D-IIA Middle/East will be decided between four teams. There are some quality teams in this region. Here is the breakdown as follows. DCA - Very solid team with a veteran coach. This team has experienced players returning. Coach Ramsey has his guys playing very excellent man to man defense on the perimeter with ball pressure. This team is very disciplined, especially on pick n rolls. This team gets the job done by committee with a couple of good guards on the perimeter. On schedule - a tough game at USN. On plus side this team has both FRA and Ezell at home. Ezell- Free Throws, Free Throws, Free Throws - This is a great compliment to this team. Consistently last season, this team hit free throws down the stretch to close games. Free throws are a lost art, but that is a great advantage in close games. This team plays great team ball and scores by committee. New young coach (formerly an assistant)at the helm and it will be interesting to see how the players respond. Also, how will Coach Farmer perform in close games. On schedule this is a major negative. All three games against the top tier teams are away - Tough games at USN, DCA, and FRA. FRABigs, Bigs, Bigs. This team definitely has the best bigs in the east/middle. They are also continuing to improve. This team can drop the ball in the post and rely on their bigs to score. This team will not only be able to score in the post, but rebound the ball as well. Last season, this team crashed the offensive glass allowing for numerous 2nd chance points. Rebounding was a key factor of the team's success last season and will continue to be this season. Obviously, this team has solid defense on the interior, but also on the perimeter as well. Additionally, this team keeps the tempo at an extremely slow pace, which is a style that most teams do not like to play. This is a distinct advantage for FRA. Other teams have a significant adjustment to make when FRA plays this style. Schedule 2/3 at home Host USN and Ezell. Only away is at DCA. USN This team did loose a fiesty/pesty guard and two other seniors, but this team has the talent to take it all the way as this team has the best player in the region returning in Nilan "Silk" Hodge. Two years ago this team was the state-runner up and was put out last season by ECS - the eventual state champs. If this team can play hard on the defensive end and the bigs are able to rebound the basketball consistently, they will be tough to beat. Also, Coach Sonn (played at DCA & Belmont) is a coach who knows the game of basketball. Coach Sonn understands that this is his best year to win that coveted state Title, which is why Sonn put an emphasis on scheduling better competition in out of region. This team will continue to shoot the 3 ball well from the field with the addition of the young man (transfer from DCA; and unable to play last season) by TSSAA rules. Another plus is the team's out of region schedule (Hillsboro - game at Belmont's Curb Event Center, Lipscomb, BA, Overton Christmas Tourney, Columbia Classic Tourney) Hence, this team will improve and be battled tested by the start of region play. USN is outstanding at the guard position. Furthermore, in Hodge, this team has a dynamic player that can carry a team, especially in high school basketball. Additionally, as Hodge faces box in 1's, double teams,etc. this will open up plenty of opportunities for other players. This link has been sent to me by several individuals on Hodge as he is attacking from all over the court. Take a look below:

The D-IIA Middle/East will be decided between four teams. There are some quality teams in this region. Here is the breakdown as follows. DCA - Very solid team with a veteran coach. This team has experienced players returning. Coach Ramsey has his guys playing very excellent man to man defense on the perimeter with ball pressure. This team is very disciplined, especially on pick n rolls. This team gets the job done by committee with a couple of good guards on the perimeter. On schedule - a tough game at USN. On plus side this team has both FRA and Ezell at home. Ezell- Free Throws, Free Throws, Free Throws - This is a great compliment to this team. Consistently last season, this team hit free throws down the stretch to close games. Free throws are a lost art, but that is a great advantage in close games. This team plays great team ball and scores by committee. New young coach (formerly an assistant)at the helm and it will be interesting to see how the players respond. Also, how will Coach Farmer perform in close games. On schedule this is a major negative. All three games against the top tier teams are away - Tough games at USN, DCA, and FRA. FRABigs, Bigs, Bigs. This team definitely has the best bigs in the east/middle. They are also continuing to improve. This team can drop the ball in the post and rely on their bigs to score. This team will not only be able to score in the post, but rebound the ball as well. Last season, this team crashed the offensive glass allowing for numerous 2nd chance points. Rebounding was a key factor of the team's success last season and will continue to be this season. Obviously, this team has solid defense on the interior, but also on the perimeter as well. Additionally, this team keeps the tempo at an extremely slow pace, which is a style that most teams do not like to play. This is a distinct advantage for FRA. Other teams have a significant adjustment to make when FRA plays this style. Schedule 2/3 at home Host USN and Ezell. Only away is at DCA. USN This team did loose a fiesty/pesty guard and two other seniors, but this team has the talent to take it all the way as this team has the best player in the region returning in Nilan "Silk" Hodge. Two years ago this team was the state-runner up and was put out last season by ECS - the eventual state champs. If this team can play hard on the defensive end and the bigs are able to rebound the basketball consistently, they will be tough to beat. Also, Coach Sonn (played at DCA & Belmont) is a coach who knows the game of basketball. Coach Sonn understands that this is his best year to win that coveted state Title, which is why Sonn put an emphasis on scheduling better competition in out of region. This team will continue to shoot the 3 ball well from the field with the addition of the young man (transfer from DCA; and unable to play last season) by TSSAA rules. Another plus is the team's out of region schedule [i](Hillsboro - game at Belmont's Curb Event Center, Lipscomb, BA, Overton Christmas Tourney, Columbia Classic Tourney)[/i] Hence, this team will improve and be battled tested by the start of region play. USN is outstanding at the guard position. Furthermore, in Hodge, this team has a dynamic player that can carry a team, especially in high school basketball. Additionally, as Hodge faces box in 1's, double teams,etc. this will open up plenty of opportunities for other players. This link has been sent to me by several individuals on Hodge as he is attacking from all over the court. Take a look below:

There are some solid point guards in Nashville. Currently, the best point in Nashville has to be Nilan "Silk" Hodge of USN. At the end of this upcoming season, he might just be considered top in the state. Last year he had a great season that included Mr. Basketball Finalist, All Tennessee Team, etc. I have also talked to a few coaches and he has been playing terrific basketball at the AAU Nationals in Orlando against tough competition. This includes the CP3 - All Stars (Chris Paul's Team). I saw this link on youtube. This young man has all the skills. He reminds me of Gerald Robinson(now at Georgia), except with a better jumper. Take a look at this highlight below: