WilsonCoFan

A little of both. I don’t believe the older Alexander played at Christiana.  The older Hayes girl played for Hendersonville as a freshman. One family that has multiple players on the team moved in to a rental house owned by a former boys basketball coach 3 years ago. Not suggesting a TSSAA violation, but all the talent is not home grown. Really good coach and they play hard. If they just had the girls from the middle school they would still compete for state championship, just not as dominate.

Would not sleep on Wilson Central....beat Oak Ridge 64-55 tonight. Freshman Sydney Richetto had 35, after 31 in the opening game. Might struggle with MJs size but will create problems for the rest of the district. Lebanon plays Oak Ridge tomorrow which will be telling.

Wilson Central wins 64-55 in OT. Freshman Sydney Richetto had 35 for Central.  If this kid drops 35 against a good Oak Ridge team, she will create problems in District 9AAA.

Anyone know what time the finals start?

In no particular order...Wilson Central, Station Camp, Rossview, Henry Co., Dickson Co., Cane Ridge. Possibly leaving some teams out that might have a shot.

After Dickson Co lost to Franklin 41-18 and Wilson Central lost to Hendersonville 39-25, just makes me believe anything can happen between these two regions.

Hard to disagree. Several teams come tourney time will have a shot to advance.

Last year it was 3 teams playing for 2 spots. Central, Rossview and Dickson County. This year it is probably 6-7.

If no team from district 9 goes to Murfreesboro, who are the two teams that will represent Region 5 & 6? Last year it was Dickson Co. and Wilson Central.

SC won over WC

Wilson Central beat Station Camp 62-26 when they played a week ago.

Anyone know what is going on with Hendersonville? Recent box scores would indicate they are missing a few key starters from earlier in the season. Not surprised they lost to Cheatham Co (CC is a good team) but I did not think it would be by 20. Other recent losses seem odd as well for the team I saw earlier this season.

Anyone have an update?

Was at Central-CC game as well and it was closer than the final score. Central has played 2 really good AA teams in Greeneville and CC. Greeneville has the best individual player, but CC is better defensively. This is only based on these two games, but CC and Greeneville look pretty even to me. Both should have really good years.

Upton toe her ACL. She was the MVP of state tourney last year as a soph. that takes 2 of the top 3 scorers from last year off the floor. (1 graduated)

They still have a chance to improve before tourney, but this is a big loss.

Did not post correctly. This is dm88 top 10 I am responding to.

My state top 10 in AA

1. East Nashville

2. Upperman

3. McMinn Central

4. Fulton

5. Pearl-Cohn

6. Westview

7. Jackson Southside

8. Cheatham County

9. CPA

10. Creek Wood

I don't think East Nashville is #1. 2nd best player on the team tore her ACL and is out for season. I have seen the before/after team and it is not close. Still have a great player in Overton but the girl who tore her ACL was a big, big loss.

Not sure I completely agree with your talent assessment. Watched them play Westmoreland, Rossview and Central. Central shot about 25% from the field and still won by 8. I think we will know more about Hendersonville after next Friday when they play Station Camp. SC will press and Hendersonville has struggled at times to take care of the basketball against pressure.

Not sure how you rate the talent at Central. They have several seniors that have played a lot of basketball over the past 3 years and play really hard. Still early in the season as they try and figure out how to score without Spray. Watched them in a pre-season play day beat Oak Ridge by 20 and they looked pretty talented.

Oak Ridge played Lebanon, MJ and Central. Lebanon lost by 15, MJ won by 2 and Central won by 20. Not sure who Oak Ridge lost from last year's runner-up team.

We get off topic because you continue to speak of RuCo basketball as if all the girls come up through the middle schools programs.  I am pointing out that it is factually incorrect.  Some of the key D1 players that have made 7-AAA the best district in the state over the past several years, came from outside the system. 

Finally - parent to parent and kid to kid recruiting is not illegal.  I have never said it was done by any coaches nor would I suggest that.   There were 4 key players (no names) in RuCo last year that were at their 3rd school in 3 years.  That is not illegal, but it is a factual statement to say that it contributed to the success of the schools involved.

I am out and I completely trust the fact that you think differently than me.

I love it. Anytime someone mentions that the RuCo schools recruit, WarriorFan is there to tell us it is "sour grapes".

It is a fact that Shelby Gibson was recruited by Oakland and several other schools. It is a fact that Abby Wright was recruited by several schools when she left Lancaster. Yes - I mentioned kids from last year to reference the dominance you speak of. Oakland is not in the finals last year without these 2 kids. This is not a complaint. I don't care where someone decides to go play basketball. Shelby and Abby are great kids and I am happy for their success.

In girls basketball, 1 elite player makes the difference between a team making the Region or the State. A D1 player going from siegel to Oakland or MTCS to Blackman can change a team dramatically.

All kids are changing schools legally, all the moves by parents are within the rules. No sour grapes as it is within the rules. You are correct the success is due to the strong AAU program. Flight and Pride bring kids in from all over the mid-state area and some decide to move to Murfreesboro to continue playing with AAU teammates.

You act like their is some system in place in RuCo that creates this dominance. The system results in high quality basketball, the dominance you speak of comes from the additional D1 kids that move in and the subtle movement from 1 zone to another to load up a team.

Let me guess, you believe that Shelbyville's dominance back in the day was because they just grew better basketball players. Parents wanted their kids to play for Insell and they moved and did what was necessary to make it happen. Not illegal but also not due to some "system" in Shelbyville that developed young talent.

Lastly, 100% of current players on Wilson Central and MJ came up through middle school ranks. Last year, MJ had the Degray twins that moved in from Cane Ridge. This is why MJ has dipped because most schools/zones have natural cycles where talent naturally goes up and down.

I am happy the championships stay in middle Tennessee,but this is not the "pure" high school experience of kids growing up in the same community.

Shelby Gibson - Wilson County

Anastasia Hayes - Nashville/Hendersonville

Abby Wright - Wilson County

Alison Mahew - Wilson County

Jazz Bond - Mid Tn Christian, Christiana, Blackman

Paris Lawson - siegel, Lancaster, Oakland

Meme Jackson - Nashville, Mt Juliet, Blackman

Just to name a few. Not stating that anything illegal has occurred, but this is not all home grown talent.

Crystal Dangerfield - home grown

Ansley Eubank - home grown

Twins at Riverdale - home grown

Theses additional kids are what makes the district so strong.

Riverdale is a great team that I believe can win a championship this year, BUT if you take Hayes off that team, that tasks becomes much much harder.

Parents moving to provide there kids a "better" basketball opportunity is not illegal, but that does not create a level playing field. This is not a complaint regarding that but PLEASE stop with the idea that Murfreesboro just "creates" better girls basketball players.

Jealousy is an ugly trait we should all try to avoid. There are alot of deserving players and in the end there are only 3 finalist and 1 winner. To make generalized comments like play in a weak league or beat people by 40-50 points is just sad and inaccurate. For example Crystal Dangerfield and Anastasia Hayes of Blackman and Riverdale play in the strongest district in the state of Tennesee. The top 4 in that district were all ranked in the AAA top ten last week in Blackman, Riverdale, Oakland, Stewart's Creek. They both play on teams that are nationally ranked and play a national schedule. The surprise to me was the girl from.Dickson Co. Who is a McDonald's All-American not being in the final 3. With that said It doesn't mean the others are not deserving. Those that were not it doesn't take away from their accomplishments, they should use it as motivation as they head into tournament season.

The 3rd kid in the final 3 is Kendall Spray. She has hit 144 three's (beating her own record from last year), averaging 27 per game, her team is 26-0, and they beat Dickson Co earlier in the year. Not sure how you take her out of the mix either. If it comes down to absolute numbers, team and individual, Spray is the right choice as a finalist. If it is about who will be the better college player, Lea Lea no doubt gets the spot. Lets don't forget Dickson Co has another great player in Emily Beard. I have seen Dangerfield, Hayes, Spray, and Carter in person this year, but did not see the girl from Memphis. I think they got it right between these 4.

MJ almost got the upset Friday against Central. Triangle and two forced Central to go away from Spray and Byrd, but it put MJ in bad position on the boards. Central won due to rebounding advantage. Bell played solid for MJ with 25 pts. Will be interesting if they meet again in tourney.

Central finishes regular season undefeated for the first time. Congrats to them for a great accomplishment!

On to the tournament. Coach Wild said it best in paper, everyone is back to 0-0.

Central "escaped" the Hendersonville game with a OT win 71-61. Hend up 4 with less than minute to play. Spray had 35. First matchup, Central won by 9 in an ugly game. Hendersonville had them tonight, but let it slip away.

Triple A should include Kendall Spray from Wilson Central. Averaging 27 pts per game. 117 three's for the season, which is on pace to break the season record she set last year. 54 in 1 game with 14 three's. Her team is 21-0. Going to UT Martin.

Kendall Spray from Wilson Central is averaging 26 points per game and is on pace to break her own state record for three's in a season. Had 54 in a game earlier in the season, while only playing 3 quarters. Team is 19-0. She is going to UT Martin. She deserves a spot on the podium for AAA players.

Watched Dangerfield play last night against Riverdale and was amazed. Anyone that enjoys girls basketball needs to see her play. Easily the best high school player I have ever seen. There is a reason she is going to UConn. She deserves to win the AAA award again.

Kendall Spray from Wilson Central should be an AAA nominee. Averaging 27 points per game for 19-0 team. She scored 54 in one game, set the state record for three's in a single game with 14. On pace to break the season record for three's which she set last year.

Dangerfield should and WILL win the award.

I've been following Mt. Juliet girls basketball for many years. I have kept up with records over the years and from 2002-2015 here are the district records for each team.

 

Mt. Juliet. 171-17

Wilson Central 132-56

Station Camp. 50-34

Beech. 100-88

Lebanon. 42-42

Hendersonville. 73-115

Gallatin. 45-143

Portland. 9-75

 

Mt. Juliet has won 11 regular season district championships and have won 9 district championships in those 14 years.

 

That being said I think we can safely say Mt. Juliet has been the dominate team.

 

True enough this is a down year for MtJ. They lost about 90% of their offensive production from last years team.

 

Should come as no surprise Wilson Central is the top team this year. But for MtJ to lose what they did and be the second best team is remarkable and testament to Chris Fryers coaching ability.

 

Mt. Juliet loses only 1 player off this team and there is help on the way from the middle school. So I would say watch out for return of Lady Bears next year. The incoming freshman group is very talented.

Great information. MJ has clearly dominated the district. To stay at this level, they will need more help than what is coming from MS. Good group coming, but the domination at this level has come from outside MS program. Nothing against the rules, but the Degray twins came from Cane Ridge zone and Meme Jackson came from Nashville. Not through MS system.

The best eighth grader in county is at Southside and the best seventh grader is at West Wilson. Both are supposedly going to Central. MJMS has some good players that might end being better in HS. Chris needs numbers! He can make them better, he just needs more players to stick with basketball.

As far as the district being down, it really only applies to MJ. Instead of beating people by 20-40 per game, they are winning by 5-10. MJ has been the only elite team in the district for the last 4-5 years. Without a dominant big, Central might not reach that level. Outside of MJ, the district is pretty similar to the last several years.