LadyMustangsCoach

Boyd has two strong players. Wright is committed to Belmont, 6 ft post player that is polished, can shoot the three. Great team player. I have seen her play 20 times over the past 6 years. Great kid, coaches dream. Passes more than she should. If used differently and the least bit selfish Maddie would have been a 20 pt / 20 reb average player. Not kidding here (this is based upon the level of competition her school faces somewhat, but she would be a top player on 95% of the teams in the state this season). McCalla is the other leader of Boyd squad. Very athletic. Scores off of drive from wing, and can shoot a high percentage from behind the line. Not a great ball handler, but can use dribble to get the basket. Solid from FT line. She can get you in foul trouble if you don't move your feet on DEF. The remainder of the Boyd squad are role players. They use their two studs to draw attention and shoot 3's with their guards when wide open, who may or may not be on. Pickett Co will have no problem here. PC is too athletic and too deep. Pressure will be too much for Boyd. Sadly this will be the end of the career for Wright and McCalla at Boyd. Two solid classy players.

They are doing great. 5AAA is the weakest it has been in a long time. Not taking away anything from EH. I love how they play fundamental unselfish ball, well coached and very smart. That being said they are not a top team on the State stage by a long shot. They have no post player, just play sound team defense. Too bad there are not many high level coaches in this area that know how to make adjustments, read mismatches and take advantage of size and speed. EH is lucky to have Tony as their coach. Maybe if HH would quit poaching their talent you would see EH in the State Finals one day. People are so sensitive on Coach T. Cracks me up. It would be a lot more enjoyable, and a lot more people would add their thoughts (which is the purpose of the site), if folks did not get their undies in a bundle when they disagree. Must be something in the water up in M County....

Lakelyn Bouldin from Van Buren is one of the most fundamentally sound basketball players I have ever seen. 5 year varsity starter, signed with UTC. She is not the most athletic player, but she can play. And a great team player.

I forgot Clemmons from Baylor, she has already committed to Vandy. Boggess is a good player, good add. Bouldin, Howard, Massengil, Wright and Harris are all D1 players. Bouldin is going to UTC, and rumor is Howard may go to powerhouse South Carolina, Wright has signed with Belmont.

Taking a shot at Best Teams by Classification in Chattanooga Area (not incl. Hamilton Heights) AAA - Bradley, East Hamilton, McMinn County AA - McMinn Central, Signal Mtn, Sequatchie A - Meigs, Van Buren, Silverdale/CSAS Big drop offs after those teams in all classifications. Rhea Co and Boyd would be in conversation. As for best players (obviously I will offend some by leaving names off this list, so relax, don't criticize, just add names to the discussion), listed in no particular order: Howard - Bradley Bouldin - Van Buren Massengil - Hamilton Heights Harris - Hamilton Heights Sanders - Signal Mtn (scorer from McMinn Central) Can't remember her name, but a great player. Wright - Boyd Lewis - SBA Put that group on one team and you would beat some college programs in the area. Please add names to this list as all of these ladies have worked hard at becoming good players and all will continue on in college.

MM you are wrong about the AAU experience, but I guess facts mean little to someone who just can't stand to be wrong. And game results will vary, but if you know what you are watching a "good coach" can tell when there is talent.

You are so right about that. EH now has a dedicated quality coach who will build a real bball program. I would suspect that EH will be one of the top teams in Chattanooga for years to come.

You Meigs parents get so fired up. Love the passion. So only two of the Meigs current HS team played any AAU over the past six years? Sure about that? And yes, EH is a very young team and starts "has started" primarily underclassmen this season, including their 8th grader. Again I like Meigs as a team, better than most, but the facts will prove out over the rest of the season that they are not a top team in the State discussion.

MM - I like Meigs. I know lots of their girls from AAU ball, but not sure if they are a State Title contender. They barely beat an East Hamilton team that starts all underclassmen, including their leading scorer who is an 8th grader. Not sure they can beat a good team that handles their pressure defensive style. Again, a good team, but not a top team.

So far I have heard the following commitments from the class of 2016: Lewis SBA to Union Wright Boyd to Belmont Clemmons Baylor to Vandy Sanders Signal to UAH Anderson Cleveland to ____ Other seniors signed? Also, who are the underclassers we should be watching? Massengil at Hamilton Heights (Sophomore) Whitmire at Signal (Junior) Ghaffari at Soddy (Sophomore) Reed at Dade (Sophomore) Walker at CSAS (Junior)

Mid Season Adjustments to my WAGS 1. Signal Mtn (new coach, playing as a team, should go undefeated in District) 2. Sequatchie (when healthy) 3. ND (need to find an offense to beat teams that can break a press) 4. Bledsoe (lost more in graduation than thought) 5. CCS (one player can not carry a whole team) 6. Grundy 1. CSAS (won the first head to head with SBA by 4 pts at home, rematch in January) 2. SBA 3. Boyd (plays CSAS at home tonight, should be interesting, teams split last year) 4. Grace (oh, not good) 5. Copper Basin (makes Grace look good) 1. Van Buren (blow out by Jackson County confusing? JC has dropped a number of games...) 2. Lookout Valley (plays a good team game, but no where close to VB) 3. Whitwell (no where near the team of past years) 4. Richard Hardy 5. Marion (getting better, very young) 6. Sale Creek (big drop from previous years talent level) 7. So Pitt

Chicken or Egg??? Everyone gets so excited about the recruitment process which is mucked up by over egoed AAU coaches and parents who have big dreams for their child. It is awesome that there are scholarship dollars out there, D1, D2, NAIA, etc. The facts will speak for themselves in the end. Many of the girls that are in the 8th, 9th & 10th grade that are "being recruited" (or more likely paying a lot money to go to "exposure" tournaments and get their head filled with non-sense) will never play at any level of college. Injuries, burn out, boy friends, etc. knock about 30% - 50% of them out of the game. The others will have a chance to play, but in most cases the reality is they will play 1 maybe 2 seasons in college at best. God bless the girls that put in the work and are part of the discussion, but seriously the real value of all of this is the great memories we hope the girls make playing high school ball. Kids need to enjoy this time, enjoy playing ball, "care" about high school and don't miss out on so much, for something that most likely will not happen. Just my opinion having been through it as a player and a parent, and a coach...

Both SM and SD have a number of girls playing travel ball. As anyone that is involved with travel ball can attest, travel ball is a much better game with more talented players. Basically All Star team from various areas. Summer from Soddy is one to watch if she stays focused on Hoops and does not choose soccer. Brooke Whitmire an Mia Rackel from SM are also ones to watch, with a combo of athleticism and fire. SM has about 9 girls playing travel ball, they just need to bring it together under the new coach and they will win their district.

With Clarkrange beating Hamilton Heights, that has to make Jackson Co wonder if they have a shot at all this year. That is big time win for CR. I doubt anyone in Class A would be able to beat HH on their worst day. Not knocking Jackson Co, as they are one of the best programs in the state, but sometimes being number 2 in your district makes you number 2 in the Region and perhaps State.

Hamilton Heights losing to Clarkrange is scary. CR is going to be tougher than previously thought. I would have to say that puts CR up there with the top schools in the State regardless of classification. HH would beat any school within 100 miles of Chattanooga by 20 (I have not seen a lot of the schools out West). But HH is not a high school program in the sense that any other school is private or public. Importing players from overseas puts them in a separate class, and they should not be really in the discussion of high school teams. Not knocking them, but might as well give them due respect which means not lumping them or comparing them to high school teams.

Silverdale had a nice win on the road against a very athletic and deep Signal Mtn squad last night. Could be top five team in the Chatt area returning 4 starters from 24 win team last season. Signal should contend for their district title.

Van Buren should have good shot to win Region. SBA, Boyd and CSAS could stop them as all return most of last years squad. But Region title is probably the peak. Other teams up north are too talented and will again be going to State

How about this? We take all of the schools that are really bad in a given sport and have never won a state championship and put them in their own classification. Of course I am joking, but no matter what scenario you devise to make the competition "fair", it will be your opinion and someone will find a problem with it. Just look at college football. More money than Moses and they can not devise a system that everyone likes or agrees with. Kids that get to play in a State Tournament should consider themselves very fortunate, no matter what the sport. WE should not water down the competition and devalue the accomplishment. Those in favor of splitting need to acknowledge that most Private Schools do not win state championships, and many never even get close. Right? So change the system to address a half dozen schools that happen to be private that win a state title? 1925Kee, you clearly has a specific axe to grind up in Knoxville. Not saying that situation is not a bad one for some of the public schools in that area. But this proposed split affects the ENTIRE state, and every sport. Enough of my thoughts on this subject, good conversation, but its a moot point. TSSAA is not going to change it.

Not a surprise based upon recent rumblings internally at UTC. I hope they make a move to fully fund the program now. Will be interesting.

Actually, my kids go to a small private in Chattanooga. A school that gets their but whipped in nearly every boys sport, but does have some strong girls sports. I guess the travel issue varies greatly by local, and by sport. Right now we travel for soccer on average an hour for games (because of District setup). Other sports are able to play closer just due to the district set up. I just don't think there is a need to split. What does it accomplish? The few powerhouse privates will still win, and the majority of the privates will continue to not win state championships. While I do have issues with TSSAA (horrible job managing officiating standards, relocating every state tournament to one area and the 50/50 rule topping my list), on this issue I think they are at a manageable compromise. And if TSSAA leadership changes and does force a complete private/public split, I do strongly believe the privates will leave TSSAA and start their own association. The reason the allow D2 is they did not want those schools to leave TSSAA. Otherwise they would have said NO SCHOLARSHIPS for anyone. And I guess my perspective on State Championships is different from most here. Growing up in another state where there were 3 state champions and the schools were 1,500 to 3,500 in enrollment, winning a state title was something special. Being the best of 40 teams??? What does that say?

Not sure if it makes sense to include Golf and Tennis in the conversation. I believe that there are equal number of teams from private and public schools in those competitions. And those are money sports. Golf team needs what 2 scores (2 players)? Not really a team game. I think Signal Mtn has won the girls golf championship every year since they opened (they are a public school, but one from a well to do area).

I am glad u brought up football. They have what, 8 classifications. How does that work? Everyone gets a trophy? No, of course not, some schools will never win. That is a reality for which there is no solution. No system is perfect, TSSAA is not going to change it now for the very reasons I have stated in my posts. Just look at what they have discussed in their meetings. It is on the record.

I thought it was pretty clear from my original post, that I do not believe a FULL reclassification is necessary or the right thing to do. And I also think it was pretty clear from my original post that splitting all private schools will HURT most of the private schools. How will it hurt them? Lets see, higher travel costs would be a major problem, and MOST private schools will be the smaller David in the Goliath story. SO yes, they will have to offer money (boosters will make it available) to compete. And what is the real benefit to the public schools? They have a better chance at winning a state girls soccer title in one classification???? That does not justify the impact on all of the other sports. Private schools already are playing up in class in most cases due to the multiplier rule. Truth is that girls soccer is not important to most public schools. That is pretty clear to see in the facilities they use, the quality of coaching, low numbers and the fact that a large number of schools do not even offer soccer. So I turn the question back to you, what is the benefit of reclassifying all private schools?

1925Kee - Private schools are already preparing to leave TSSAA if they are all reclassified. Why stay? They will be the minority player beholden to all of the public school votes. In essence they would have no say in the rules. Trust me this will happen. And are you serious? Do a better job than TSSAA? That will not be hard.

Everyone needs to keep in mind three important FACTS: 1) Most private schools struggle in sports. So while few excel and do win championships, most are small (under 400 kids). So a change is going have a negative impact on a majority of the privates and their teams. 2) You can't just look at one sport. A change in the divisions will affect all sports. While soccer is a glaring example of the problem some see with the current system, check out the other sports. 3) If you form a private only division, then the privates will LEAVE TSSAA! Why participate in a organization that is making you the outcast. Form you own organization and make your own rules. You may think that this is great! But really think about what happens when ALL private schools can offer scholarship money??? What is going to keep the athletes in the public schools? You know with 10 privates in each big City recruiting kids, instead of 3 or 4, more of the top athletes are going bye-bye. Make sure you look at the big picture, not just the small section that affects your school and you kids sport.