coachingisteaching

Agree on top 10 ranking for East Tennessee with wins against Mo. West and William Blount. I did not make it down to see this game, but heard the same things. South Doyle could very well be the number #2 seed from this region playing in the AAA sectional round. Hoping to see the Donehew girl play soon. She doesn't seem to have the supporting cast that other top teams do. That might make for a disappointingly short post season run.

Bradley Central might be better, but I've not seen them play in over a month. I would put Cumberland County in the Middle Tennessee division which is loaded again this year.

My new East Tennessee top 10 regardless of classification 1. Elizebethton 2. Morristown West 3. Bearden 4. William Blount 5. Maryville 6. Upperman 7. South Greene 8. McMinn Central 9. Bradley Central 10. Hardin Valley

I've seen South Greene play once and McMinn Central twice. I'm willing to admit, South Greene could be somewhere closer to the bottom 5 of those 10 teams, but I'm still picking them over McMinn Central. Classifications do make a difference in quantity of players, but not quality. A single A team will play weaker competition, but as stated earlier, South Greene has quality wins against larger schools. Classifications are much more relevant in football and boys varsity sports when the discrepancy in the average size of players is also much more apparent and relevant. McMinn Central is really good, especially in their own gym. No one has a better home court advantage. Didn't intend to offend you and I won't question your sanity, but I've probably watched over 400 games in the last 15 years. Feel free to create your own top 10. A lot of good female basketball players and teams to watch over the next month.

Judging only the East Tennessee teams I've seen in person during the season and preseason scrimmages in November, here is where I rank them as of today. Injuries, coaching and my personal judgment of how they are playing. A lot could change next week. Upper East Tennessee has three of the strongest teams, but the Knox/Blount County AAA district is one of the most balanced in the state. I think their top 4 will all advance into the second round of their region. 1. Elizebethton (Can't see this group losing a game all year.) 2. Morristown West (Well coached veterans, only real in-state tests have been Daniel Boone and Maryville.) 3. Maryville (Pounded Bearden in re-match, becoming very balanced on offense) 4. South Greene (Grity and good team ball as always.) 5. Bearden (Most talented, chemistry questionable, injury holding them back) 6. William Blount (Fun and Gun offense, Live by the three, die by it.) 7. Hardin Valley (Peaking at the right time, district MVP in Cornelius) 8. Bradley Central (Best player in East Tennessee when she wants to be) 9. McMinn Central (Another MVP candidate in Lynn, strong team defense) 10. Greeneville (Inconsistent, but talented enough to put together state run in 2AA) Outside looking in... Jefferson County Grainger County Union County Gatlinburg Pittman Daniel Boone Best teams in Middle Tennessee 1. Riverdale 2. Blackman 3. Oakland 4. Cumberland County 5. Stewarts Creek

I have been following the soap opera that is Knox County schools. I can say that after KCS administration decided they would not allow their teams to play during the district tournament, pride convinced them to stick by their guns... to the fault of their own student athletes AND every student athlete NOT in their schools. Even though district 4-AAA played their games at Maryville, KCS sabotaged the tournament and three other school districts were not able to play championship and consolation games. Bearden and Farragut are fortunate the district did not force them to forfeit. I am sure all the players and coaches wanted to play. Ask any Knoxville high school basketball coach that has been around a few years and they will tell you that they have played games when schools were closed before. There is a difference between a regular season game and tournament games. No one honestly deserves to be more upset than the William Blount girls team, who were denied a chance at a 3 seed in the district tournament, and tonight were 1 of only 4 teams in Tennessee (Weather prevented Knox South Doyle from traveling all the way to Science Hill tonight, but that game should have been played Monday. Way to go KCS.) to be denied a chance to play a region quarterfinal game because Knox Halls couldn't make it to their own gym. Never mind that Maryville played 10 minutes down the road from Halls tonight at Powell High School. Maybe Halls thinks they can force someone to advance them to the next round since they are a one seed. News flash, even though William Blount is a 4 seed, I would pick them in an upset. District 4-AAA has swept district 3-AAA in the region tourney for the last four years. I think if Halls doesn't play Friday, that region should grant WB a win by forfeit. And one more thing... KCS can quit talking about student safety. I know for a fact that these Knox county teams have been in the gym practicing while school has been out. If they can get there to practice, they can play the games. Politics and public appearances have been more important than the student athlete.

I've seen a lot of games this summer and no one can convince me that Blackman is not the best team in the state. Here is a list of teams that can make it to the state tournament. I have no idea about teams west of Nashville. Oakland Jefferson County Maryville Farragut Riverdale Mt. Juliet Morristown West Science Hill Brentwood Notables: Cumberland County White County Heritage Smyrna Bradley Central

Everyone knows AAA girls basketball goes through the MidState. I will be very surprised if the gold ball does not go to either Riverdale or Blackman. I've been fortunate to watch a lot of basketball this summer and I would never be willing to say who is going to win it all so early. I can safely say that East Tennessee is seemingly closing in on the powerhouses farther west. Rest assured my conclusions on these particular teams comes after personally seeing ALL of them play within the last few weeks. In my mind there are a handful of teams in the East you should count on playing late into the post season. In upper East Tennessee, Science Hill and Morristown West are loaded and head and shoulders ahead of their local competition. Both may likely make it to the state tournament. Be glad you don't play in district 4-AAA. This district is as competitve as any you will find in the MidState. Bearden, Farragut and Maryville can't all make it to the final 8 this year. These programs have been traditional regional powers, but I've noticed a trend of more depth developing here over the years with young and energetic coaches. Bearden has seemingly drawn interest from girls at other schools. They have added a few transfers to a lineup poised to make it back to back trips to the 'Borro. In the Southeast I really like what Bradley Central has done over the years and I think they are a team that could win it all as well. They have a pretty poor conference schedule and won't be well tested in the regular season. I am not overly familiar with any one program, but there is one team that really intrigued me this summer. We know that football is king in Blount County, but I want to be one of the first people outside of that community to recognize something special that may be developing with the girls basketball program. This summer they added a large freshmen class. A fan at one game told me they NEVER lost a game in their middle school career and they won the TSSAA middle school tournament. I don't know how accurate that is, but with wins against Wilson Central, Oakland, Science Hill (minus pg) and loses in the final minute to Jackson County and Brentwood, I was really surprised given this group had essentially been playing together since school ended. They were playing 10+ girls and they were loose offensively (maybe too much) and defensively tenacious. I overheard one head coach fresh off of a state tournament appereance refer to them as a pack of bulldogs. Blackman finished them off nicely, but with everyone there it was under 12 points at the beginning of the 4th period. If they are infusing a young group of girls with returning starters, the development of that team may be fun... or bad depending on your point of view. Good luck to all teams during the offseason and have fun conditioning!