eagle79

With Coach King being the best coach in Dist 7, he knows what all Dist 7 coaches know: you don't go play at a Dist 8 gym unless you have to or you just want to get screwed by the refs. I usually am not a ref-ripper, but no teams get fair shakes while playing in a Dist 8 gym.

Who's the best player in this district. I know Ledbetter is the highest ranked. Can anyone hang with him?

Congratulations Coach Does that make 4 Div. I commitments from this year's Ballerz or more?

With all due respect to Twilley, I really think the best player in this district is Micah Williams of Coffee County. He is one of the most mature and composed players I have seen. This kid can play and doesn't have to be loud about it. If he had the athletes around him that Twilley does he would be more renowned. Oh by the way, he's only a junior.

Here's the way I see it. All three are responsible, but at different levels. Parents should help players organize and make the final decision about a college. However, they should not be calling the colleges and trying to help get the player noticed, unless no one else will step up. Sorry, moms and dads, but usually if no one else is stepping up there is a reason. HS Coaches are necessary because it is through them that initial contact is usually made by colleges and their questionaires. I truly believe that the #1 job for a high school coach is to win games. A very close #2 is to do everything in their power to help their players move on to the next level. A high school coach should never, NEVER tell a player that it is not their job to get scholarships. These players need assistance and cooperation from their HS coach. AAU Coaches help in any number of ways. The problem here is there is very little regulation done about who can coach. A good AAU coach will help a player more than either of the other two. A bad one will hurt them that much. It is important for parents to know who their child's AAU coach is and to know about the program they run. For instance, Memphis Pump'n'Run boys AAU team went to Vegas this summer and got split up and some kids took two days on layovers and everything else to get home. This is not what I would want for my kid. However, the exposure that players get at these elite tournaments cannot be overstated. My little brother-in-law went to the Westwood Classic in Houston this summer. At the main gym, one WHOLE side of the bleachers was full of college coaches and scouts from every Division I school you can name. This exposure cannot be matched while playing for the high school team. In closing, all 3 must play integral parts to a player's future. All 3 must be responsible for their own areas. If they are not, then it is up to the other two to compensate where they can.

All of you saying Siegel has the best gym are kidding yourselves. Their gym is simply a replica of Blackman's just as Oakland and Riverdale are replicas. Sure you guys have a large crowd, but all of the four or five different colors painted everywhere and a mascot of a star, it all looks like a Trading Spaces episode gone even worse than usual.

Nope. He played for Warren County Middle School last year at about 6'6". Been growing all year. No end in sight. By the way, his name is Chris Weitzel.

He's actually about 6'8" and won't play up with varsity as of right now.

I hate to admit it, but Cookeville does have one of the best. Whoever suggested Watertown must be out of their mind. Grundy County has one of the best at a small school I've seen. So does Friendship Christian, their parquet floor and glass on the entrance are nice, especially for a A school.

Congratulations to the Delks and to X and all of the other Ballerz who will commit this year. Congratulations to Coach Shul for the program he's got going.

We're all just waiting on basketball season.

I know you're already there, but others might not have noticed www.unapproved website.com This is a very good site. Year round hoops. It doesn't get much better.

This is not the first time this has been brought up. When will all of you figure it out? This is not like picking which softball league you and your buddies want to play in. The classification is determined by enrollment. Unless Warren County builds another high school (good idea, won't happen), they are stuck at the 5A level. This is not determined by team strength or any other subjective method, only enrollment. By the way, I think your number might be a little low.

Anyone who doesn't understand why AAU is so expensive has not been involved with bigtime AAU. Until this year I had not been involved and would have said that $400-600 was outrageous to pay for a basketball tournament. However, after traveling with a team to Houston for the Kingwood Classic, I realize how important AAU is for exposure. The 17u gym was absolutely covered with scouts from every DI program I could think of, many were the head coaches. Even small tournaments around Tennessee are covered by recruiting services and DII and NAIA coaches. There is NO way a player's high school could get this much exposure for them. Not even making it to the state tournament. There is also no way a player can play against the kind of competition there is in these tournaments. Just last weekend at the Ballerz Challenge of Champions, I watched 2 of the top 4 juniors, the top sophomore, and one of the top 3 freshmen all play. That could not happen at a high school game. That is why the recruiters and scouts are there and that is why kids almost have to play AAU to get noticed.

results, etc??

The Traverlers would probably drop out of the top 5 without Jamont. I wish they were playing in the Ballerz tournament so they could be compared.

1. YOMCA 2. Midstate Ballerz Elite 3. Tennessee Traverers 4. Tennessee Dreams 5. Murfreesboro Stars

In the east, Charles Davis made it. The other team depended on the Zags-Lakers game. If the Zags won, they go. If the Lakers won, Midstate Ballerz 16's go. Does anyone know the outcome of yesterday's game between the Zags and Lakers?

These are just some observations from looking at the results from Houston. Any teams left out, that is the reason why. Four teams stand out because they all ended up in the Gold Division: YOMCA, Ballerz, Travelers, and Dreams. Obviously YOMCA stands out from all of the other ones because they did make it all the way to the semi's. The other three are amazingly equal. I know the Ballerz beat the Travelers, but no Jamont. Don't get that argument started again. Others participating in Houston and not very impressive (all ended up in Bronze division losing in the first round) BAM, Team Tennessee, Nashville Stallions. There are some other standouts that did not participate in Houston, namely Charles Davis, and all of the Knoxville teams. I haven't seen them, so I can't rank them. If anyone knows anything about them, please post. What would a true top 10 look like? My top 8: 1. YOMCA 2. Ballerz 3. Travelers 4. Dreams 5. Charles Davis 6. BAM 7. Nashville Stallions 8. Team Tennessee (would be lower if I knew more teams, not very impressed) It was mentioned earlier that the Ballerz 16's are playing in the 17u state. Are there any other teams doing so? Where would they fit into these rankings? If the Murfreesboro Stars were playing 17u they would fall somewhere in the 3-5 range.

Who is playing in this substate? Does anyone know???

I just want to say congratulations to Oakland and Coach King. He is a class guy and his team reflects that for the most part. Good job, guys, and once again congratulations on your season. Is Neal playing anywhere next year?

What time tonight? Go Oakland!!! Represent District 7!!!

Where was Ro Murray?

First off, just some observations... WC_Pioneer and wchspioneer... very similar screen names, very similar topics, both trying to call out someone who they think they know, my guess--daddy's boy went and got himself his very own screen name so daddy won't get mad at him anymore... if I am wrong I am sorry, just an observation. As far as WC_Pioneer's son, wchspioneer, and thevoiceof saying coaches should be fired or have already been, you obviously do not understand the motivations or concerns of coaches. This job is each coach's livelihood and their career. To fire them is an extreme decision that should only be used in the most extreme cases. This is not one of those. Also, to say that coaches have their own personal concerns that they chase instead of the team ones is certainly wrong. I feel I speak for all coaches when I say I am in this job for the love of the kids and the game. There is no other reason to coach. The money does not make up for the time. Only the enjoyment of seeing kids play a game they love makes up for it. By the way, this is to the real WC_Pioneer, I haven't heard an apology, did you really think I would? As far as other ALIASES, there are none. If I have something I want to say, I will stand behind my opinion, not a phony screen name.