CAH09

yea, the three bottom teams in d4 are miles below the top 4. None of those 4 are elite by any stretch.... But Oneida, OS and SB are especially In a tough spot right now. Amongst the weakest in east TN, I'd say. Small school down cycle strikes hard sometimes...

I've seen them a couple times now. This is a quality single A team. With GCA losing a starter, Harriman ought to at least split with them IF they play well. I think they get out of region play this year... if so, I think they have no trouble with region 1. Just have to avoid an off night in region against a couple of the 4a teams that are fairly decent. They already beat WB by 5 or 6, I think. I think they are showing the right consistency to this point to make me think that won't happen in region play. An off night seems less likely than some years recently.

They're all pretty weak. CF has one good player and 5 or 6 ok ones. They have stretches where if she isn't making shots, they just look lost. I think OS plays the hardest the most consistently...but not a ton of talent. I thought WB was bad and they looked it... but they beat CF easily. OD, Jellico are really bad.It looks like a mishmash of mediocrity in 4a to me.

I think OS is as weak as I've seen them. They may well finish last in the district this year. They might win 3 or 4 district games at most. I can't imagine Friday's game being within 25 or 30 even with the whole roster playing for CF.

That's a good point (Kilby/Carroll), and true to a point... but they've played up tempo in MS as well as summer ball. They don't play together much anyway. Neither has a true post up game. At least not a consistent one.

agreed, they just don't have enough shot makers to be consistent night in night out in the half court. They need transition buckets to score. No miklas isn't playing. He wouldn't be getting many/any minutes anyway. The jones kid is the one who has got to start getting more minutes. He can make plays... Something they need. And he plays very hard... Probably harder than anyone on roster. He's also one of the 2 or 3 best athletes as well.

maybe so, but they'll still have one huge problem... Not a single shooter in the rotation.. Ultimately, that will get them at some point even if they continue to play better. They have the best roster athletically in the district .... But no one who is a serious shooting threat that teams have to guard. If McKinney finds his outside shot, that would help... But that's not really his game.

Good week for WB and CF...both teams 3-0 against solid competition at Harriman.

They (NG) looked like they'd probably be 5th in 4a. Made some threes to keep it within 20, but not much else going on vs CF today.

agreed on Kilby, he makes a difference most games. They still were missing a starter...should I say that's why they lost? Following your logic?

similar to last couple of years. Both are good enough to win district, competitive in region...but a notch below better d3 teams on most nights( Harriman beat WB by 4 this year) OD missed their region chance last year... They're weaker this year. CF has been sketchy... 7 of their top 9 are fball players...and they still look like it... Plus couple of key big kids have missed games. Might be ok later...top 3 or 4 is a toss up in d4.

Now, I doubt that...WB has 2 very good players... After that, it's just filler. Those 2 played most of it I'm betting or WB would've likely lost..maybe more rotations with the next 7 or 8...but they're not good enough to sit fountain and Carroll 3 qtrs against any decent team.

Wartburg by 20 over Cloudland according to coach T. Not a dime's worth of difference in the top 4 in d4. Bottom 3 very weak.

Yep... His absence was biggest factor in jellico and OD losses. Granted, two really bad, unnecessary plays at end of OT flipped the OD game. (Out of position/over the back + tech, both in closing 3 secs by same player) Hopefully, that was a painful (what did you think would happen?!?) sub rotation lesson learned there for the coaches...Likely wouldn't have been that close anyway with Kilby playing. To this point...strangely enough...jellico has looked the best of the four....more shooters and some length. Maybe that was just a good night for them, I don't know.

Yea, having a starter out hurt, no doubt. Kilby back helped though. Competitive game throughout. NIce job by WB. Couple late killer turnovers flipped the game to WB. Head scratcher in the rotation last couple games for CF as well. Sketchy shooting overall, but fairly entertaining game. At this point, none of the four d4 teams are much more than just ok. Each would be fourth, at best, in region.

Agree. Nice job by OD keeping it together late when it appeared they had lost. Hate to see it end like that...but that wasn't OD's fault...or the refs fault. Although they did struggle at times... as did the clock keeper... OD might want to seek out a replacement, that was a mess all night....just a mess.

good effort last night. Good game by OD. Great comeback by CF.... Then had the game won in OT, only to be out of position on defense and foul to cause a tie with 5 secs to go.....and then get a technical with the ball under your own basket with less than a second to go. Same player both times. Ouch.

yep. Kilby. They will struggle without him. No one to fill his size role. It takes a team that lost one senior...and was going to finish 1st or 2nd, that had battled GCA to the wire last year, and turns them into a very average group with one really good player.

Yea, I agree that OD probably wins. The kid quitting just decimated CF. Small schools just don't have the bodies available to lose a kid with that size. OD isn't great, but they likely win this one now. I'm never a fan of quitting in season...once you start, you finish the year.

CF let one they led throughout slip away late at Jellico last nite. Jellico is somewhat improved this yr. Ultimately though, the big kid (CF) quitting makes them 3rd place at best now. Too many turnovers and no shooters....now not enough size and a much weaker rotation. Upper classmen have to stop throwing the ball to the other team, repeatedly... Or they'll be 4th or 5th in d4.

Why do that? Makes you look really bad.

I've seen Harriman mentioned 2 or 3 times. I know they have two quality players, but did they add to them? Because to be honest their MS team has been very sketchy 3 out of the last 4 years and I think they lost 13 or 14 games last year, even with Pace and Johnson (right name?). I'm sure they'll be top 3 in district 3a, is that about it for them? Out 1st or 2nd region game, just like usual...

I still think WB is the district favorite. Two really good players in Carroll and Fountain... how do the next five or six look? Decent supporting cast?

I agree, that will help, but they still won't be able to shoot a lick... and I don't see any shooters in the ten man rotation. I don't see how that improves a lot. A couple of the young ones can shoot, but just aren't big enough to play much. They need to up the defensive pressure and force tempo to get more cheap buckets, because they don't have a "shooter" that is going to play much. Defensively, you also can't sit in a 2-3 against a team that can shoot from the outside....put size in the middle, quickness on wings and go 1-3-1 at least. Trap out of that. They can't play man with the two big kids in the there, so that's not an option most nights.