burnalittle

8 hours ago, BigEdMo said:

Thanks Peabody. There are a whole lot of hurt kids and parents over here. It is sad when someone from another school understands Grace more than the administration at our Christian school. Christians are not perfect. But when hypocrites walk around thinking people are supposed to be perfect, and 15 to 17 year old makes a mistake they crucify that child and cast them into a desert all alone is wrong. I tell you now. I am not perfect but I am perfect in Gods eye because his son Jesus died for me and rose to wash ALL my sins. He does not cast me out when I fall. He pulls me Closer by placing people in my life to help me and love me. I love these boys on this team and they are not alone. Boys you have people that love you and have your back even when your school doesn’t. And our love goes to all players the ones who played last night and especially the ones who were not allowed to be with their brothers last night. Stay strong!!!!

6 hours ago, Manowar said:

I'm not surprised.  Adamsville is down.  Will lose alot of games this year.

NO

I dont think it was necessarily a weak class.  We sent four teams from the area to state, five if you count DII.  All those teams had some seniors leading the way.  I think one of the major setbacks for girls in this area is exposure OUTSIDE of this area.  I know personally 3 out of the 4 girls that got D1 offers play on travel teams.  I know personally that Crawford and Shutes play travel ball extensively and are recruited heavily.  Travel ball is not cheap and I would love to see a travel team for the West TN area.  I think that maybe the major reason we dont see so many offers.  What do you think? 

 

I think that you are partially right.  There has been travel ball in West TN for at least 10 years.  In fact, the "weak 2017 class" had a team that were AAU state runners up twice between 3rd and 8th grade.  The problem is that after the 8th grade, girls usually make a decision as to whether to continue travel sports or not and teams start to dilute.  West TN can still continue to field teams but they cannot compete with the elite teams from across the country post dilution.  And if you can't compete with the elite teams from across the country and you play second and third tier teams at Exposure tournaments, then noone comes to watch you play much less to recruit you.  The elite players that want to play at the next level then go play with teams out of Memphis and Nashville.

I think a lot of people view high school sports different, especially from the ladies game. 

If my daughter had offers from UAB, South Alabama, Tulane, Arkansas State, and Western Kentucky, then I would strongly consider her going to one of those schools (Not SEC but it is not Ohio Valley)

 

But if my daughter had offers from a UT-Martin, Murray State, Chatt, then I would probably let her consider the D-2 route.

 

At the end of the day, it is her choice. But if my daughter does have offers from the teams I said first, but ended up at Union, then we would probably have to talk.

 

Nothing against the lower-tier D-1 schools and D-2 schools.

 

Pretty much what I'm saying is that there is a line, but it is her choice and at the end of the day, she is going to a University for a discounted price or a full ride, so I'll be happy.

What year is your daughter? I bet you look back on this post when she is a junior and laugh at it.

I'm talking about Hayes (no N in there) from Riverdale. She signed with Tennessee. Regardless of Holly letting the program slip, they're still viewed as an elite program. Thousands don't show up to watch women's college basketball at every home game everywhere. They do in Knoxville. Pat built it. Holly is having a difficult time maintaining it. Hayes is better than Levy. 

 

Now, Haynes-Overton (with a N) plays at East Nashville. She's a ridiculous athlete, super quick and leaps well. If she had size, she'd have gone to a power-five school. But she doesn't.

 

Some of you are getting Hayes and Haynes-Overton confused. Nobody in the state is as good as Hayes right now. Levy and Haynes-Overton are both quality players too though.

Thank you for pointing out the "elephant in the room.'" I was struggling to follow this thread because we kept switching back and forth between hayes and Haynes-Overton. As for WKU, remember Jayce Coe from Jackson County? Straight up Baller! She went to Kentucky then transferred to WKU after one semester. As I stated on another thread, for girls, it is different. They aren't ego maniacal morons like us guys who consider anything less than a football bcs powerhouse school as a failure.

You have to figure Pickett County and Summertown will be 2 that are favorites. I believe that another out of D-12 could be there in Loretto or Perry County.

i will take Huntingdon to accompany Summertown and to make a return appearance and play significantly better. I will also take 2 teams from Region 7 since Memphis has its own Region now. The region will be hotly contested with a lot of good teams, but give me Greenfield and Gleason.

Main thing is, 60 percent are NAIA/D2 players. Nothing wrong with that. Shutes (2018) will play D1 ball, so will Miller from South Side (2019)

Hardaway from Bolivar(2019), Graves from Westview (2018), Moore and Darby from Greenfield (2020) Our talent is in the younger classes.

I cant get over this thread and some of the crazy posts that dmm888 has made. I would agree with you that all of these girls you mentioned will have the "opportunity" to play at a D1 school, but as previous posters have said, many times a D2 school or a highly ranked NAIA school is a better fit. Some of these girls may just snub D1 to playD2. You never know. You are thinking like a guy, just like I used to. You think anything short of D1 is failure. Over the last 10-12 years I have been shocked to see some incredible female "D1" athletes in different sports choose D2 and NAIA schools and have opened my eyes that it is different for girls. Perhaps the most eye opening was Kayla Hudson (Irvin now I think) from Gleason. She was a straight up baller 10 years ago and chose Union (then NAIA) over what i can only assume were several D1 offers. She had a phenominal career and is now an outstanding coach makinging more money than 80% or more of all WNBA players.

Also, make a list of all the 2017 players that are playing at the next level and compare it to the number that play in the next three classes since "all of west tennessee talent is in the younger classes" and I bet you will find that this class has twice as many "next level" players.

2017 was a weak senior class. The local standouts: Pratt(CC), Bromley(LEX), Cunningham(SS), Keith(HUNT), Pearson(BRU) and the others I didn't name are either headed for NAIA schools or Division 2 schools.

Weak compared to what? It is significantly better than 2016 or the 2018 class.

True, but South Greene is a AA team now so I'd say the road to the championship will be much harder playing schools their own size or larger.  They'll be the one at the disadvantage next year but i doubt it will have an effect as far as getting to the state tournament because of the weak AA teams in East Tn.  That is unless they have to travel to McMinn Central for their substate game, then that won't be an easy undertaking for them.  After Lamb leaves they'll struggle to compete at the AA level.

 

i think they would get Mcminn central since Jacobi will be gone. I look to see them back in the Boro in 2018.

As tough and deep as 7A was this year, it will be tougher and deeper next year!

Greenfield will be tough no doubt. Moore is another Heather Butler if not better. I heard Huntingdon will not be in our region next year and moved to Summertown's region. Is that true? GC and Greenfiield will both have tough districts next year and it looks like it did in years past where the winners of 7 A will face Memphis teams in substates.

Huntingdon is moving into District 11. It doesnt look to be super tough, however Summertown and Perry County will both be in their Region. Region 7A will be a tough one, however since Memphis will now comprise its own Region, Region 7A has a great chance to get 2 teams to the Boro every year.

Some kids play DII by choice...Not because they had no DI offers. When it comes to girls basketball, nobody is going to the WNBA and college is normally the stopping point. Last year, only 8 kids in the whole country got on a WNBA roster. Even if you make the team, there is no huge payout unless you are like a Candice Parker. Also, the average attendance unless you are the Lady Vols or UCONN, etc, you will play in front of less than 1,000 people at an average DI game. My kid played in front of 2500+ in high school on any given night of a big game, and some even bigger. I am saying this because no one really cares about women's basketball as a whole. The main thing is to use it to go get educated. Many DII players could play DI, but choose where they are going to school because they have the right mindset. To some, it is a feather in their cap to play DI, but in the end...Who cares. I would rather my kid go get educated at Union University in a great atmosphere than some heck hole, underfunded low DI program any day. For most kids, they have to get a job someday, and basketball comes to an end. I would rather a kid be happy. Again... Just because the kid plays DII doesn't mean they couldn't play DI. They choose the school for a reason. You can get a free ride and full scholarship in DII just like you get in DI. My kid plays DII in a super wealthy, over the top area. She knew where she wanted to go, and committed after her sophomore year. Was recruited very hard as a freshman and sophomore by DI schools. She told me what she wanted in a school, and I left it to her to make a choice. Lots of DI talent kids choose DII bc of choice...Not bc they have to. As a parent, I don't pay a dime of anything for her to go to a $48k a year private school with the values I appreciate as well as she does.

Well said and I agree 100%.  I disagree with dmm88 on 2017 being a weak senior class, however.  There were tons of seniors that will be sorely missed by their programs.  There were very few D1 commits for sure, but there was a large quantity of quality players in the 2017 class.

I am not familiar with AA ball on the East side of the state, but it would not surprise me to see SG playing for a third straight gold ball in the Boro in AA ball next year. They are tough!  Congrats on a great season!

I watched the entire single A state tournament and disagree with west tn not being able to compete at the state tournament. Huntingdon would beat Hampton 9 out of 10 times if they played. The stage proved to be too big for the Fillies and some players on Huntingdon's team missed some early shots and then got in their own heads and did not trust their shot. Neither Hampton, Perry County nor Summertown would have made the finals in Region 7 yet all were competitive in the boro. IMO, with the exception of Westview and maybe Middleton, west tn sends different teams to the boro every year and none seem to be able to get control of their nerves. Pickett and SG are the cream of Single A but SG moves to AA next year and Pickett loses a number of key players. West TN teams are closer to competing than you think.

Was you watching the same game? The CR and Hampton game was awful basketball on both sides.

+1 that was a tremendously slow, action-less game. I am with everyone else when #40 came out, Meadows took over. I will never understand that move! Great run for Hampton though. Congrats on a great season.

Although CR and SG are clearly in the drivers seat.  They would do well to be leery of both Hampton and Summertown.  Anyone can get beat with an unfocused effort at this level.  That being said I think the favorites still win today.

CR by 6

SG by 8

 

Kaz

 

p.s.  Good luck to all four

Kazagogo,

Totally agree with you. I would disagree with a previous post that said the gap was huge after Clarkrange, Pickett and SG. Take nothing away from the three of them but the gap could be as small as a made or missed three pointer.

Clarkrange and SG match up every well and play a similar style. It will be a good game and whomever does the little things right that game is going to win.

. i think it will be a great game and will be tied up at the initial jump ball. (0-0). Then SG will proceed to "Riverdale" them!

Nice win by Hampton! Guess Clarkrange won't struggle with Huntington after all.

Huntingdon struggled with Huntingdon! Three players never shot the ball after the first qtr and played the whole game. You cant win like that, yet they still had a chance to. Pickett and SG by far the best 2 teams i saw in single A.

I have seen SG four times over the past two seasons.. They get after it and are hard to handle.

Welcome to coacht, Jack! They got a tough first tound draw, that is for sure!

The only ways to ensure that no team has a "home field advantage" is to either: select a neutral site AFTER the final eight teams are known; or, play the games outside of the state of Tennessee.

 

No matter where games are played, the court is the same dimensions and the rules are the same.

+1

I believe WV has the team to make it to the finals as well and hope they do, but I believe playing both bigs like they did in the games at S. Gibson (that I got to watch) hurt them especially against faster/quicker teams. If their biggest girl gets in foul trouble, they're not the same team. I've yet to see a shot from the free throw line from either. Nothing against the other inside girl, but a whole lot different type of player. I didn't see a lot of production with the high/low setup, but I haven't seen it but 2 or 3 games so I don't know how it's worked in the other games. It may have worked great against Haywood County..don't know that one.  I don't know all of their girls, but I know several from years of being against them in AAU and by watching them at camps. I'm making my review on what I've seen for years and that's not a knock on any player.  What makes WV dangerous is their ability to bury the 3 pointer. It was absent for the most part in the later games I watched.  At S. Gibson, there are stretches where everything is put on Jones and she is a remarkable player...but speed usually matches speed and against SS keep away didn't work...she looked worn out late in those games. Should be a heck of a AA tourney. On another note, I just had a near heart attack at Humboldt tonight, but they won in OT. I don't know how many more games like that I can take. Help me out West Tennessee teams.....finish them. 

Good news is Middleton and Humboldt will be in the same district starting next year!  Would be neat to see a rematch of the WV v SS in the championship but both have tall tasks to get there.  Especially SS with Upperman in the quarters. Wish I could make it up there to see that matchup.  It may be one of the best in the tourney!

It would be hard for me to believe that there is another point guard in the state as good as Chynia Brooks. That said, Summertown, too, can go through periods of not scoring. I can tell you the substate game with Moore County was not as close as the score would indicate. At one point they led 32-16 late in the 3rd quarter and Moore County closed it to 35-27 with 2 minutes to play. I think Summertown has a really good chance to move on to the final four, but they cant go through a dry spell at this level.

I have seen Dresden play a few times and seen them struggle offensively on occasion.  First time I saw them was at Greenfield and I was left wondering how they scored 20 points on Westview much less beat them by 20 because they could not score against Greenfield.  That being said and hearing that Summertown can go thru periods of not scoring and combining nerves and the depth perception difference in the glass house, this game may be a grind them out 27-26 game going either way. 

Just saying we had major problems with Dresden last year. We were down 8 in regulation with a minute left and come back miraculously to beat them first time last year in OT. In the region championship, we beat them in OT and they had a shot to beat us in regulation and in OT. I agree we had Fields and Lannom and some more major help, but they give us all we wanted and have most back. Just saying these teams are not cakewalks like some think.

They are well coached and get the best out of their girls that is for sure! One of the most physical and defensively sound teams i have seen play. You earn every point with them!

Just saying. I agree the Vegas odds are with South Green, Clarkrange and Pickett County. But it wouldn't surprise me one bit if Huntingdon or Dresden gets hot and wins it. Especially Huntingdon. Very good team. Just saying the Dresden team is about as good as last years GC team. And Huntingdon beat them three out of four and should have probably been four out of four.

Pioneer, I totally respect your opinion, but I just caught what you said about Dresden and comparing them to Gibson County from last year. I would agree they compare to Gibson County without last year's #4. She was a complete difference maker. Could take over a game whenever she wanted and could jump over most teams centers. She was the main reason GC defeated Middleton in the semi's. They could not slow her down. I will be pulling for Dresden, but they don't have a #4.

Just saying. I agree the Vegas odds are with South Green, Clarkrange and Pickett County. But it wouldn't surprise me one bit if Huntingdon or Dresden gets hot and wins it. Especially Huntingdon. Very good team. Just saying the Dresden team is about as good as last years GC team. And Huntingdon beat them three out of four and should have probably been four out of four.

Huntingdon got a good draw in that they did not get South Green, Pickett or Clarkrange in the quarters.  If they beat Hampton in round 1, don't be surprised if they give Clarkrange all they want in the semis.  Would not surprise me at all if Huntingdon is playing for a gold ball on Saturday.  They have the size to match up with Clarkrange.  Too bad South Green and Pickett  drew each other.  That is a HUGE quarters matchup!