ThePiedPiperOfBrentwood

I'm inclined to agree...The Wildcats lost their top 7-8 or so players. That said, Troy Bond is easily the best coach in that district so #NeverSayNever. The only other thing I'd say about the OP's Top Ten is how does he have Blackman@#1?? I mean, as a Brentwood acolyte, I can't really talk mess or anything, but losing Jauan Jennings (as well as the other seniors they lost, which I think included the Hart bros.) is HUGE for their prospects this year...that said, I didn't think they were gonna be great last year, either. Barry Wortman is a great coach/ former head assistant under UT coach Donnie Tyndall. If it were me, I'd have Hamilton as #1 w/ a bullet, provided the Lawson bros. are all returning as rumored. How many starters does White Co. return?

Brentwood returns three of the top six in their rotation, chiefly they return their starting guards/wings: senior PG James McPherson, senior SG/PG Jalen Lawson, and senior wing/forward Grant Teichmann. The Bruins lost star forwards Andy Schumpert (playing football at Furman) and Jacob Adcock to graduation, so those are a couple tough shoes to fill across the frontcourt. Brentwood's strengths this year will be: a) strong senior class (six seniors who all figure into the rotation); strong guard play; and c) excellent shooting once again. Senior reserve guards Ryan Hood and Ian Bennie have both made waves during the offseason for their ability to consistently knock down long shots. Lawson, Teichmann, Benny Bautista, Toe Bautista, McPherson and Tanner Tapp, in generally that order, are all (at least) very good shooters. The frontcourt will be led by Tapp (Samford commit), a senior, who has played on two state Final Four teams and emerged during last year's postseason run. The X-factor on the whole team is junior forward Ahmad Arnold, who physically has the potential to be a bull in a china shop if he puts his mind to it. Junior post Lindee Hardee and sophomore center Christian (can't remember last name) are sure to figure into the forward rotation. So anyways, they have some losses but I'm confident in the ability of this team to compete for a AAA Boro berth again. It will finally be exciting again in our district, since Franklin is likely to give Brentwood a run for its money in District 11-AAA (Franklin has the best returning player in the district: senior swingman/forward Garrison Matthews. Joe Critchlow ain't bad either. Would be interested in hearing who Station Camp has coming back other than Anderton. I agree that Kyle is probably their best player and that they should win that district (not quite as competitive with Wilson Central rebuilding).

You're gonna have to beat Brentwood in your sectional, Kyle's girlfriend!

Nolan Chowbay was kicked off Mt. Juliet's basketball team this summer.

Lawson bros are headed to Jacksonville (FL) Arlington Country Day next year...Keelon Lawson, Sr. has been hired away from his post@Hamilton as an assistant under Pastner at Memphis.

Brentwood went 27-1. Leading scorers included PG James McPherson, SF Grant Teichmann, SG and Jalen Lawson. Seniors PF Tanner Tapp and SG Ryan Hood replace All-Region stalwarts Andy Schumpert and Jacob Adcock in the starting lineup off last season's 32-3 Final Four squad. Best Win: A 5-point win over CPA and Braxton Blackwell in late May. The Bruins get up early for a 13-point halftime lead, but CPA responds in second half and ties game before Brentwood junior SG Toe Bautista's game-clinching trey in the final minute. Lone Loss: Lost to Apollo (KY) by 2 in the quarterfinals of WKU team tournament; Apollo went on to win tournament. Bruins had previously beaten Apollo (in OT) earlier in the camp. Summer Team MVP: senior SG Jalen Lawson has become the heart and soul of Brentwood's competitive edge. In addition to being a competent slasher, Lawson has developed into a lockdown defender and deadeye three-point shooter. (Jalen's nickname is 'Quiet Riot'.) Most Improved: Senior SG Ryan Hood, who has developed into a reliable, clutch three-point shooter and heady teammate a year after finishing second on the JV in scoring. Won summer battle for fifth starting spot. ----------------- Probably more than you wanted to know, but took this opportunity to issue a couple well-deserved shout-outs to our team. Other guys deserve props too but I don't want to bloviate too much here. Our guys work really hard and I'm proud of them.

Brentwood came out firing threes and making them in first quarter; score was 21-8 after one period, but WC cut it to 12 by halftime. WC actually did a good job defensively for awhile, creating turnovers on four straight possessions and Williams corralled several of his famous offensive boards. Rosshirt had a beautiful no-look assist in first quarter. After cutting Brentwood's lead to 8 early in the 3rd, the Bruins put together a run starting with a Jack Bautista three to stretch the lead back out to 13. On three straight possessions, WC turned it over and Brentwood capitalized for easy layups and a dagger three. Game was pretty much over by that point. Rosshirt threw at least 4-5 balls away in second half. Brentwood spent the last part of the 3rd and pretty much the entire 4th draining clock with their lead hovering around 20. Williams was pretty much suffocated for the majority of the game and was not able to get the ball apart from putbacks on offensive boards. Palmer made some pretty plays in the first half but he was also neutralized in the second half.

Arlington-Siegel tied@50 after 3...this is the Brentwood-Blackman (2013 edition) version of this year's best opening-round game.

If a Memphis team's gonna win it this year, it's gonna have to be Arlington!

Don't know why the Station Camp people are still trying to argue for their team (if that is what is happening here). District tourney titles don't mean diddly other than seeding for region.

No doubt. Siegel's gotta be the favorite.

So who's the new favorite to win the AAA state title?!?

I'm in LA on business this week, so unfortunately was unable to catch the game, but Brentwood (31-2) downs Kenwood (26-7) in a 57-41 final to clinch back-to-back state tournament berths. The District 10-AAA champion Knights came storming out of the gates for a 8-0 lead, but the Bruins controlled the game after that. Though he only scored 8 pts, I heard Brentwood senior forward Jacob Adcock played the game of his life with several critical steals, rebounds and blocks.

I'm a Vandy guy, so I'll give SC credit for the wonderful John Jenkins...but that's it.

You are hilarious in that you are too stupid not to realize when to stop! Name me one time that SC has had reason to gloat at all against Brentwood? As far as I can see, we've shown you your (inferior) place every time. In every sport. And where do you LEGITIMATELY have reason to gloat over Wilson Central? As far as I can see, they've owned you in every title that counts for years...

Is Kyle Anderton a senior? I heard Duke, North Carolina and Arizona are falling over each other trying to sign this kid...that is, if they don't open the NBA draft back up to HS seniors before June!

Game again delayed until at least Wednesday night. Bad snow conditions in both Clarksville and Brentwood.

Game reportedly cancelled for tonight due to inclement weather. They are trying to reschedule for Tuesday.

Yeah, heard some players had issues with the coach's style (former UT women's player whose name I can't recall at the moment). Then again, that's a lot of talent for one team.

If you want to see a chess match between two teams with players who excel at off-the-ball movement, come watch "The Woods" put on a clinic. Have watched about three of Kenwood's most recent games over the weekend and they can not only shoot but run some really nice set plays. These teams are actually pretty similar in playing style.

I knew Andy played alongside ex-Summit stud F Makinde London (Xavier signee) on the Nashville Celtics, but didn't know Norl and Rivers were on that team too. Apparently they know each other pretty well.

FYI @lookingFORtalent, I don't know if you're a Kenwood or HL fan, but I watched some film of Kenwood today from regionals and I think they run some pretty legit screens to spring their guys open and get clean shots. Impressed how Rivers leads the 1-3-1 up top. Pretty much all their guys can shoot although Daniel is obviously the guy. #BattleOfTheWoods: Sectional Edition should be fun.

1) I means "smarts" in regards to basketball IQ specifically. Why would you infer anything differently? There are plenty of players with high overall IQs and low basketball IQs (we have at least 3-4 of those at the end of our bench) and also plenty of guys with below-average regular intelligence who just flat-out know how to play basketball. 2) There is a huge difference between "talent" and "athleticism", and I think part of our inability to see eye-to-eye on this is because I understand there is a difference while my understanding from reading your posts is that they're the same(?) "Athleticism" is a sub-category of "talent"; talent includes areas of athleticism (hops, quickness, length, etc.) with the other two-thirds being skills (shooting/passing/ball-handling/press-break offense/defense) and intangibles (basketball IQ, clutch shooting, ability to execute regardless of pressure). Obviously, in the traditional context of how the term is colloquially used by sportswriters and laypersons, "talent" is more about skills and athleticism than the intangibles...but you can't really teach intangibles while you can at least improve athleticism (through physical conditioning) and you can vastly improve different skill sets if you put the time in. Also, the more natural athleticism you have, it is true that some of those physical intangibles like hand-eye coordination, quickness, agility, etc. make it easier for you to develop skills/techniques on the court which prove effective. In some of these regards, while WC is clearly less "athletic" than many of the teams in the field, they're about middle-of-the-pack-to-very-good of the teams still alive if you include skills and more obvious positive intangibles. In the latter regards, in fact, they are among the best of the 16 teams remaining. So no, "talent" is a broader abstract than "athleticism" and WC is fine in that department. 3) In regards to "in-game adjustments," Brentwood hasn't had to make any the past two games or so. Getting ahead 24-4 by the end of the 1st quarter is called executing to virtual perfection, which stems from practice and preparation. ------------------------------------------------------- Not a fan of Paula Deen (though I imagine I'd love her cooking). I'm sorry if my take on "playing style" generalities regarding Metro teams (just like the Big 10 or Big East have their own distinct playing styles in hoops) versus Brentwood/WC's approach sounded racial, because that was absolutely not my intention. Hunters Lane is a legit sub-state team, but both District 11-AAA and 12-AAA have been abysmal this year (meaning Brentwood is probably the worst 30-2 team in the history of the state). I honestly think this argument stems from our differing definitions/perspectives on the term "talent". There are plenty of bigger, faster athletes and otherwise promising basketball specimens who will never possess anything close to the shooting/scoring/rebounding instincts of a Jacob Williams because that kind of vision and hunger to assert yourself can't be taught. And if it can't be taught, I don't know how you can't call it "talent".

If I implied that I didn't think the athleticism-heavy teams had "brains", whether they be Metro teams or elsewhere, then I erred in my writing. Every team that makes it to Region has some brains and basketball IQ or they wouldn't be there in the first place. However, one can compare the preparation and nuances in strategy that a winning team implements versus one that gets defeated and can't adjust accordingly.

That is utter baloney! The only thing I said involving "race" was asking if you thought Brentwood or WC were "less talented" bc they are mostly white. I could just as easily accuse you of racial profiling for insinuating that Brentwood and WC aren't as talented for that reason. That's what you're saying, aren't you? Here's some straight-up facts for you: Brentwood ran far more offensive and defensive sets/schemes than Cane Ridge or Hunters Lane. I don't have to throw race into this at all to say that Brentwood outprepared both of those teams, because the one-dimensional strategy for both of the Metro opponents (who got embarrassed) was to wait for seams to open on the perimeter and penetrate and score. There were no real set plays designed for any of their players. There was very little (relative to Brentwood's game plan) confidence in their shooters to set up and hit outside shots. Their entire game plans were predicated on hoping Brentwood would be a step slow at times so that they could drive and hit layups. Meanwhile, Brentwood back-doored each of those teams to death and passed as many times as they needed to find an open man for either an uncontested three or a relatively uncontested easy two. THAT is called DISCIPLINE. You can talk all you want and get sanctimonious about whatever "overtones" you hear, but the fact is that Brentwood was either more talented than either of those teams (which most fans of either of those teams would be very reluctant to state) or that they were smarter and outworked both of those teams. Which one is it? I've overheard some of Brentwood's opponents' players in the past few games say things out loud that indicate it's basically "unfair" that Brentwood did enough film study to stifle their one or two effective halfcourt sets. Players talking over coaches and each other, panicking like they had no idea what to do. Does this make those teams more "stupid" than the team they lose to? Or does it make them less prepared? It has to be one of the two. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Once again, as Brentwood and Wilson Central are both relieved they don't have to play each other in sub-state for a third-straight year, I will give WC the same credit I'm giving Brentwood: their infamous 1-2-2 zone is the product of years of hard work and attention to details in practice preparation. I'll be the first to say that Norl and Rivers are 2 of the 3 most talented players between those two teams, but if you can't scout your opponent and find a way to win against their system, how can you say the team that lost was just as prepared as the team that won? Kenwood will be a great test for Brentwood because they have some elite players themselves and have had a great season, so I can only really speak for the level of preparation put forth by Hunters Lane and Cane Ridge. That said, while you're whining about "racial overtones", I haven't seen anyone say that Brentwood or WC are either more talented than the teams they've faced; are smarter than the teams they faced; or are harder working than the teams they've faced. Or do you just think the refs were paid off?