SB1976

I'll go with Brentwood. They have King as coach and they have been there before.

Not many teams have an answer for Blackwell. I think he's been on cruise control the last couple of months and it sounds like he turned it up a couple of notches. I wouldn't sleep on Creekwood however. They're better than Pearl and I think they'll advance to State. Actually, if they make it, their draw might be better than if they had beaten CPA. Lexington should be in their bracket. On the other hand, the other side of the bracket will probably have Haywood and Fulton.

10AA was down this year. One real good team in East and one decent team in Pearl. Maplewood is down. MLK is average at best (beating another very average Lipscomb team). 10AA is better than 9AA to be sure, but Cheatham has a shot to advance (although they clearly are not as good as last year). I think East is the only team capable of advancing to State and that won't be easy with Creekwood and CPA out there.

Anybody know where Varnado will be playing next year. He really impressed me when I watched Team Thad last year. I thought he played better than his more heralded teammates - like Vick, Fleming, Fisher, Marshall.

It wasn't that long ago that the CPA-Lipscomb game atmospheres were about the best there was in the Nashville area. Some of those atmospheres were absolutely wild. Great experiences for players, coaches and fans. Unfortunately, those days are gone unless there are some big changes.

The football to basketball transition for Ensworth has been happening every year for a number of years. They are always better in the second semester than in the first semester. Regardless, they still aren't a top tier team this year, much like last year. They've also struggled with BA, McCallie and other Div II teams in the last few weeks. I didn't see the game this year, and it's difficult to place too much emphasis on a single game, but CPA blasted Ensworth last year and they did not this year. That tells me that CPA is not quite as good as last year. I guess we'll see soon enough. I think Ensworth's title run will come to an end this year.

"Memphis basketball and why they win". It's not complicated. They have the best talent year in year out.

At this point in the season, Creekwood and CPA look better than their counterparts in 10AA (East Nashville) and 9AA (Cheatham). Of course, East Nashville is always dangerous come tournament time.

Any neutral observer (such as myself) who has seen these two teams play know that Lighthouse is a superior team to Ensworth. I try not to underestimate Ensworth due to their stellar coaching, but I still think they would get handled rather easily by Lighthouse. One of the Lighthouse fans can chime in, but my understanding on the recruiting question is that most of their players (Smith, Nappier twins, et al) have been at Lighthouse for quite some time.

Does sound a little like the CPA/Cheatham threads last year. Some parallels to that matchup last year for sure (both Cheatham and Creekwood cruise through weak districts). But, didn't the 2 schools play last year or am I thinking of a different school? Creekwood returned their entire roster from last year, and as Mr. Payne noted, the Cummings kids are ballers, so they will probably be a tough out.

Agree with this assessment. He also needs to raise his intensity level. But, as they say, you can't coach height.

I didn't see the game but didn't CPA and Creekwood play a close game in the regionals last year? Assume Creekwood, like most teams in the area, would have a tough time matching up with Blackwell (although I thought I read that they added a big guy to an otherwise small roster).

Sure would like to see how Lighthouse would fare in one of the TSSAA classifications this year or last year. Seeing as how they could be considered one of the best teams, if not the best team, in the area, they would probably do well in the AAA or AA divisions.

Why?

I thought Hamilton was going to get blown out after watching the first couple of minutes, but they outplayed Oak Hill the rest of the game. A few observations. Although KJ Lawson still plays out of control too much, Todd Day has them playing more as a team than last year. The Lawsons have terrific basketball IQ and are long, but aren't as elite athletically as some players they'll encounter at the next level. Hamilton is more than just the Lawsons - they have some excellent other players. Dwayne Bacon from Oak Hill was the best player on the floor and will make the biggest impact in college (Florida State). Andrew Fleming was a non-factor - don't see him making much of an impact at Iowa, frankly.

Looked like a great tournament. Would be even better if they invited one of the top AAA teams, like Hamilton or Southwind (or even an area team like Blackman).

Probably so. They played them pretty well last year. Creekwood is probably better than last year and CPA is probably a notch lower than last year.

Too early to say which teams are the best, but Lighthouse has the best body of work so far. They have been very impressive. CPA and Brentwood probably not as good as last year's groups, but will still be formidable teams within their classifications. BA has been pounding teams, but their competition has been very weak. East Nashville is legit as usual - think they'd be the team to beat if they had not lost Isiah Upton. Creekwood looks ready to make some noise in AA.

I don't understand the controversy surrounding the replacement of the NCS coach. He had a great record over many years but so did Joe Paterno, Bobby Bowden, etc. It was time to move on. There are no lifetime contracts in sports competition, nor should there be.

Watched Lighthouse last year and they are legit. Most people tend to ignore them because they are not TSSAA but they were as good as any team in middle Tennessee last year. They would have cruised in the II-A and II-AA divisions last year, and given CPA, Brentwood and East Nashville all they could handle. As far as the topic of best backcourt, I don't think the Nappiers are the best backcourt tandem in terms of college potential (due to their size), but at the high school level they are probably as good as there is in middle Tennessee.

Of course they did. And others as well. Who can blame them?

I have to believe that there are many in the CPA community that are dismayed at the fact that CPA's approach to basketball has destroyed one of the best, if not the best, rivalries in high school athletics in the Nashville area (CPA/Lipscomb). If I were a CPA parent or supporter (which I am not), I would much prefer the traditional rivalries built up in 10AA in all sports as opposed to beating up on 12AA and trying to round out the basketball schedule with out of state travel games. I think in the long run they will decide that the short term gain (a few basketball championships) was not worth the losses (lack of respect from virtually everyone and the loss of their traditional rivalries).

Spot on

Just because he isn't transferring to CPA doesn't mean that CPA didn't recruit him. The list of players who CPA tried to recruit but who spurned CPA is a pretty impressive list.

Oops. Forgot the Lawsons are moving to Florida.