Loose End

Wow, what an upset. What a way to go, making both FT's with 1 second left, and hitting them both, kid must have ice water in his veins. Poor Cleveland.

Let's see if sir Charles can pull this one out.

wow, sounds exciting, thanks for the updates.

Talley was ejected? I hope that doesn't mean he will get suspended for more games, that will be even worse for Brainerd. Or maybe that only applies if he gets two T's, I don't know. GoldenFlake- not being able to beat a good team three times applies just as much to Ooltewah vs. Brainerd as it does Soddy vs. Ooltewah, maybe moreso given the margins of their wins (4 total vs. 29 total). While it sounds like SD was treated unfairly by the refs (I have no idea, I wasn't there), Brainerd deserves to be in the championship round for going undefeated in the district all season. And while it is disappointing that Sanders won't be there, Brainerd still has plenty of talent to make this an exciting game. And I'll agree with Fanatic that it would be a better atmosphere if Soddy were playing, I hope that plenty of Ooltewah and Brainerd fans show up to give their teams support. I was disappointed by the fan turnout for the Red Bank game, hopefully the later start time will allow more people to come.

That's too bad. An Ooltewah-Soddy championship would be interesting, but I'm glad Ooltewah has to go through Brainerd, it's the only way to avenge their previous losses (note: If Sanders was playing, I might not be so sure about wanting to play Brainerd) Also, did anyone else see my boy Brandon Brown on the cover of the Times Free-Press? Also, why aren't more people posting? This is the postseason, the time to get pumped up for every game.

I concur about Ooltewah playing sloppily last night in the 2nd half. Red Bank pressed well, but there were still so many turnovers that shouldn't have happened. Why can't we develop a game plan to just dump the ball down in the post to Curtis or Courtney and either get the high pct shot or a trip to the FT line? They are both good shooters and if we could take that strategy, we could end up winning the games we should. What did Sanders do to be suspended? Can anyone say? It is sad that something like that happened that will effect the outcome of the game. I think it does certainly help Ooltewah's chances. Sanders was Brainerd's leading scorer both games, the last one he had 24. Brainerd has a lot of talent, but taking Sanders out definitely changes things. I imagine Baker will use a box and one on Talley and not give him any wide open looks all night. Regardless, it will be an exciting finish to an exciting season for this District, plan on getting there early to get a seat.

Can we get a score for the Brainerd-Soddy game?

Good showing by both Ooltewah and Red Bank. Red Bank pressed well, forcing some pretty stupid turnovers (note: if you are inbounding they hit the ball back out of bounds and it is still in the air, don't catch it), and they kept the game close down the stretch. Ooltewah finally won a close game, but in all honestly they shouldn't have let it get down that close. Especially during the 2nd quarter, Ooltewah and especially Courtney was getting everything they wanted. A pretty strong showing by Porter too who played well around the basket. Red Bank seemed to have the Owls defense pretty figured out, getting plenty of backdoor layups and wide open 3's, which let them get back into the game in the 4th. Let's hope Baker can get the boys ready for thursday. And a congratulations to Red Bank for a good season. You play good team ball and should be back for some more next season.

I don't see any upsets happening, Ooltewah and Brainerd advance. Though as much as I'd like the Owls to get sweet revenge by beating Brainerd, I'd rather have them play Soddy. Brainerd plays good small ball and Soddy doesn't have anyone to break them down, but if Soddy gets hot down the stretch, it could happen. Although they got the win on the road, I don't see Red Bank having what it takes to beat a motivated Ooltewah team in the postseason. They just don't have to size for Courtney or Curt or a good answer for Brandon Brown. All I have to say is, let us all hope against hope for some decent refs.

I really hope it didn't seem like I was trying to bash Little, I wasn't. I think he's a good player with a lot of upside going to the next level, and I hope he does succeed because he's from Chattanooga. I just think he needs to realize some things about how far his talent alone will take him, and am not quite as optimistic of his chances as others.

If Soddy gets hot and shoots well, they have a pretty decent chance for the upset. Despite their perfect District record, Brainerd isn't unbeatable, and if Soddy can bring their A game it will be interesting. I'd like to see the upset, it will make Districts that much more interesting.

Yea, if you don't have intimate knowledge of anything, you can't comment on it. Well guess what, smart guy, you don't know me, maybe I have played against him, and yet you sit behind your computer and bash me without knowing the first thing about me. I can't comment on a basketball player's skills who I've seen in several games? I guess since I didn't live and grow up in the same house as him, I can't even pretend to know how well he plays basketball. That's ridiculous. I'm not jealous, I'm not a basketball player and don't pretend to be, but that doesn't mean I don't know how the game works and can't offer my honest opinion on it. And I wonder what's more pathetic, sitting on an internet messageboard "trashing" a high school player, or some other anonymous user getting offended and trashing them?

I think it should be noted you can't coach or teach competitive drive or heart either, and I think it's been shown that Charles doesn't have that edge to make him a truly great player. I don't take anything away from Cleveland, they have a good team and are serious contenders, nor do I want to disrespect Charles because he is an incredible athlete and is and imposing figure on the court. In high school. I just question what's going to happen when he's out there with a bunch of people as big or bigger than him and he has to start playing smart and hard to make an impact. I'm not saying it won't happen, and he has a lot of upside going into D1, but the past couple of years watching him he has never taken over a game like someone his size could, he's had a solid team around him that have helped to get a lot of wins. As an Ooltewah fan, I think it's exciting to watch him play. If I was there yesterday, I probably would have been one of the fans ragging him, but that's all just a part of the game, if he can't take some verbal abuse from the fans he won't make it too far.

Wow, it's good to see Courtney go off like that. Was that mostly inside or was he shooting a lot? Hopefully he's hitting his stride now, going into the postseason. I'm sure not having to play around Little helped his game this time around, but when he wants to, he can play with anyone anywhere on the floor.

I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the game, sounds exciting. Everyone wants to disrespect Ooltewah and say they can't play, and while they aren't very consistent, I bet a lot of teams don't want to be the ones to play them in the postseason. Also, I find it pretty interesting people keep up bringing Temple. I don't think there's much shame in losing to state champions, especially after leading for much of the game and playing them evenly. I know they're only 1A, but it's not hard to find 6-7 players, especially when you attract talent like Temple seems to.

Again, he plays a good game, and was the best player on the court, and I realize he had 21 points and 9 assists. I think my main reason is just I don't think he 'took over' the way some people talked and won them the game, it was the rebounding and scoring inside by the other Skogen and the other post players. Especially rebounding, Ooltewah gave up way too much inside and it got worse as the game went on. Again, I don't mean any disrespect, and maybe I shouldn't listen to the hype so much, but either Ooltewah played him pretty well or he just didn't blow me away like I thought.

Was I the only one who was just a little bit underwhelmed by Caleb's performance? He is good, don't get me wrong, and was probably the best player on the court, and his dunking is impressive, but I was shocked at his missed free throws and he missed quite a few open outside shots as well. He seemed to try to force things too much inside as well, going for the circus layup when he didn't have to, and ended up missing a few. Granted, he did have 9 assists and played a good game, but he wasn't the offensive juggernaut I was expecting.

Cleveland never really let the game get close last time at Ooltewah, but Ooltewah has a knack for playing games close (even if it sometimes get out of hand in the 4th). I hope I can make it, it should be a pretty good game. Anyone remember last years game at Cleveland where I believe Foster hit a last second 3 that sent it into OT, but the Blue Raiders won in OT, that was pretty exciting. It will be an uphill battle for the Owls to play against a strong Cleveland team, especially for Porter down low with Little, but I can't pick my team to lose and see the Owls win in an upset by 2.

It calls to light bad practices by referees, and their impact on games and players. It's not that hard. I'm with you Owlsfan10, the refs have been scaring me lately in light of the District tournament. I hope TSSAA only uses the highest quality refs, I know I've seen my share of bad ones this season.

You said exactly what he said, idiot.

Ooltewah definitely solidified their place as a strong second in the District. I forgot how much Red Band likes to run, and it was a fun game. Ooltewah wasn't hitting their shots well and didn't rebound like they should have, but still had their way with a pretty small Red Bank team. Their was some stupid away from the ball fouls called (all seemingly from the same ref) and many times I felt that Ooltewah was outplaying Red Bank but for some reason couldn't get a big lead on them. They'll need Curtis to play better for them to do well against Temple, but other than that I was pretty pleased.

Ooltewah will come out swinging in this one, Red Bank will give them some good competition, but it will end up 60-55 in Ooltewah's favor after a strong finish.

Am I right when I remember Courtney going off pretty hard on Temple last year? I don't remember exactly, I remember Augustino hurting his ankle and our "you're not Jake" chant, but do you remember Mike? Or anyone?

Lionheart, Ooltewah and Red Bank still have a regular season game on the 11th at RB. The Temple game is at Ooltewah on the 15th. Both games should be good. I have a feeling Ooltewah is going to put it all together now that we're down the stretch.

Yea, it's always hard to say with Ooltewah. They seem to match up so differently with different teams. I'll hazard a guess and say Ooltewah comes out and takes the underdog title to heart and come out with a chip on their shoulder, ready to take some names. I imagine Baker will run a gimmick defense on Skogen to try and deny him the ball. All that said, I can't pick my team to lose, and have the Owls by 4. I'm really surprised to hear that Baker was late to this last game, his dedication is usually unparalleled, I can only guess it was something outside of his control.