QuiKTiLDeF

People put way too much emphasis on height. If he's 6'10" and can't play a solid post game then he is a disappointment in my eyes. Like t-mac says, the most important thing is heart. Even if the coaching staff does nothing, if the guy has enough heart and dedication to practice his game and take it to that next level then he will get there. All high school coaches can really do is make an attempt to put the right pieces in the right spot, but it's up to the kids to determine their own level of ability.

I'm a completely neutral party in this and my prayers go out to Merrisa Williams, but there are many lessons to be learned from this. I personally have conflicting viewpoints about this. First off you really aren't supposed to bring personal battles onto the court, but I do realize that these girls are young and probably aren't mentally prepared to do that. For many of them it's probably their first experience with the 'pain of loss' but it's a fact of life we all have to face. Secondly basketball is a competition. Whether you win by 40 or 1, it's just an 'L'. Honestly if I was a freshman looking to improve my position on a team, I would have played to the best of my ability. Their are no friends or enemies on the court, all that exists is the game. I really can't say you should shave points for any reason, but I know everyone doesn't feel the way I do.

Mental toughness is one thing that you can't really 'teach'. It has everything to do with a person's surroundings and upbringing, but you can't really make a person be mentally strong it's something they have to do for themselves. If you put a person through enough situations though it's one of those things that just gets developed over time. Parents can definitely hurt it though by spoiling kids, and coaches can hurt players by giving them too many breaks. I think that the best way to develop it would be to treat everyone as equals and go from there. The Star player and the Bench player get punished equally for doing the same mistakes.

Oakland was aided by a soft schedule early on, but their breakdown late in the season was due to most of the team's inexperience and lack of determination. Every game each team played their toughest defense on TD, and left the majority of everyone else with many offensive opportunities. Throughout the season they never really developed or adjusted to any defensive situation that was thrown at them. I was amazed that TD was able to score every night like she was, because it was evident as the season dragged on that she was just dog tired. I know for a fact that she never really ran full speed for a majority of the game. Then they also let games go in the fourth quarter. I didn't think that Oakland was going to go far, but always hoped that they'd pull it out. Hopefully, the youth that they had this year will PRACTICE outside of what is required by the coach and develop their skills, because next year they will be needing it.

I wasn't surprised.

I'm proud of what Oakland has done this year, and I hope they win this game. I also hope that Oakland is able to find a win to play well through all 4 qtrs. Oakland is always able to play a great 3 qtrs. but always has a few keys mistakes in the 4th to give the other team an opportunity to win. If they keep down on the 4th quarter mistakes and sloppiness I take them for the win in this one.

Maybe it's just my opinion, but it seemed like tonight was a poorly played game by both teams. Each team only had 17 at halftime. Neither team seemed to play as well as they had the previous time at Cookeville. Kudos to Cookeville since they come out with the W.

Sometimes people get way too caught up with giving respect based on age more so than hard work and dedication. You should respect your upperclassmen, but you can't ignore hard work and talent. If a freshman or sophomore is better than a junior or senior, what is wrong with giving them substantial playtime? It doesn't make sense that they should have to sit because of a mere 1 year difference in age, or merely grade classification in some cases. Just to add an extension, the best players should play. Though if you have an abundance of talent then give the heads up to the "upperclassmen." Like STL said, whoever said older meant better? To answer the original question. It all depends on if you want a dynasty or a winning season. If you want to continue to have multiple years of success then you must use your bench. Some of the things people learn in sports only come from experience. If you ignore the younger players, then eventually you will have to make it up later down the road, but by then it could be too late.

Cookeville doesn't look too bad right now. They had the roads salted down days ago and most of the city streets are still drivable (by me at least) and shouldn't pose too many problems. Though I don't know about the condition of the back roads. The roads in the Boro were much worse.

I really don't think I FORGOT anything, nor was I COMPLAINING. I simply made a STATEMENT about TD playing the defense that she that was necessary to stay out of foul trouble. I remember AML getting into foul trouble on a BAD DECISION on HER part. You play against the refs EVERYTIME you hit the hardwood and it's a VARIABLE you have no control over. KUDOS to AML for not having another foul, that was a dumb move on Oakland's part. The POINT that soph is trying to make is that the MVP doesn't necessarily go to the BEST player on the BEST team. Oakland completely DOMINATED the district that year having only a few close games, but AML won the MVP that season. If you even compare the two teams and two seasons Oakland and Riverdale have just switched positions. So if the coaches use the same LOGIC they did that season then why is it so hard to believe that SOMEONE BESIDES AML is even CAPABLE of winning the MVP. Though like every other award in existence, it is all about a NAME and AML has the NAME. I am not even trying to take anything away from her, because she has talent. Though sometimes people can't see the forest for the trees.

I don't agree that she was beating TD's defense every time down the court. The refs stopped both teams from playing any really aggressive or consistent defense. AML beat TD's defense when TD was trying to stay out of foul trouble, I'll give you that. The fact that AML had more points is no surprise, because the girl is a scorer. I haven't studied her career thoroughly, but I know personally that TD has held back from scoring in recent years to get her team involved. If TD had to sacrifice half her points to win the game she'd do just that. This is the first season TD has had to force herself to score big points just for her team to stay in contention of winning the game. The fact that Oakland was horrible last year also has a lot to say about the matter. Oakland won five games without TD, but with the addition of her has been able to pull off a winning season despite being the underdog. Without AML Riverdale is still a winning team. The point here is Riverdale has consistent help each night, but with Oakland you never know who is going to show up or to what extent. When you only have to defend against 1 offensive threat it makes it easy to defend against a team.

I don't feel that losing a number of games had any effect. After last season, they should be used to losing a number of games. Now that they've had a number of victories this season they should be playing their heart out to win. Every team will focus on Oakland's scorers because they know who they have to stop each game, that comes as no surprise to any of Oakland's opponents. I really don't think that Oakland's scoring is the problem though. Their defense has holes and turnovers at inappropriate times kills them. All good posts and I agree with Grad. Oakland can play a good 2 or 3 Quarters of basketball every night, but that really isn't always going to get you a win. Early in the year it looked like Oakland was hungry and willing to fight for a win and now at times it seems like they just give up by settling for jump shots and trying to force things. After the Mt. Juliet game I haven't seen Oakland play a consistent set of games yet, and it seems like each night there is a new team on the court. I think there has been a lot of shuffling in the line up to try and find that other player that they need. The biggest thing that aggrivates me is that Oakland's defense has too many wholes. At some points in the game they allow three pointers and defend the post well, but then some points defend the perimeter well and allow post players to dominate. It just seems to me that they drag their feet on defense too much. Most of their players have been playing long enough to recognize what kind of threat each player poses, but I don't think that they are able to put it all together. If Oakland finds the heart that they had earlier this season, then they should be a formidable team. At this point however, they are in need of some soul searching.

I probably am a little tough when it comes to my critiques of Oakland. It's just that I can't stand to see poor defense being played. In the two games Oakland lost, they were beat the same way both times, with little to no defense on drives and back door cuts. Plus I must vent my frustrations somewhere, and to critique my own is always better than demeaning another teams victory in a well played game. I wasn't able to see a lot of Oakland's earlier games, so I really can't say it's been happening all season, but maybe they have just been too relaxed lately.

Thanks. Your compliment is appreciated. I really think that Oakland beat themselves tonight. TD took a trip to Alaska in the first quarter, and it was obvious she was going to have an off night. Sara King was slowed down by her defender and was not able to have her way tonight. Lavergne got the jump on Oakland early and never let down. Though Lavergne is a good team, they can not shoot from beyond 15 ft. Most if not all of Lavergne's points were scored within a 15 ft. radius of the basket. Oakland has good perimeter defense, but they struggle to defend in the post and against backdoor cuts. At times it seemed that players would just stand around or were just too slow to react to what was happening. Grad is also correct in stating that penetration killed them. It seems that when people drive to the basket all they have to do is get by their defender, since people down low can't or won't react to the ball carrier. I said before that Oakland needed to have a consistent 3rd offensive option, but it looks like they have to tighten up on their defensive awareness side of the ball first.

I was really expecting Oakland to pull an upset and it did look that way for almost 3 quarters. When I give my opinion of a game I try to give an unbiased look from all angles if I can, but I'm not perfect and may miss a lot of things behind the scenes. The only thing that had me concerned before the game was maybe Oakland might come out nervous or too excited , and make a couple of little mistakes that could have killed them early. Some of their players probably haven't been in a real pressured situation and might not understand how to handle losing a lead late in the game. They never gave up though and I was very happy to see that. I thought it was a great defensive effort. In my opinion though, it is better to give up a contested 3 than an uncontested layup, just because the 3 pointer is a lot more difficult to shoot and nobody at this level is perfect. MJ probably had missed a couple of opportunities close, but I just thought they had too many. I just know instinctively I wouldn't be able to let someone drive through the lane without me stepping out on them. It would drive me crazy.

I think it was just TD and KM. With both of those players in foul trouble it makes it very hard to have a quick perimeter defense and keep people from driving to the basket. KM also takes charges very well and makes other players think twice about driving to the basket. I forgot to mention that MJ had a great press defense, and if you have people that aren't used to dribbling around pressure or that just dribble when they have to it makes it very difficult to beat a well executed press. I was just happy to see a competitive game that kept me interested. Both teams played aggresive and the refs let them play for the most part which is what I like to see. I wouldn't say that Riverdale and Cookeville have the only chance of advancing. A couple of well placed shots and breaks in the game could have lead to an Oakland victory. Also if Oakland can develop a third scorer between now and the region they have a legitimate chance. They have a couple of young girls that don't look to shoot, but as the season progresses and they become more comfortable and accustomed to playing on the high school level that could change. And I wouldn't worry too much about a lack of size being a problem. I hate it when people assume just because you are playing against someone who is taller that they have the advantage. Height is only a factor if tall people can utilize their height and size, but I've seen many tall players that aren't able to do that. Plus if a short player is able to utilize their speed and body control then most of the time you can avoid getting blocked. The only other thing about taller players is post presence. If a tall person can't dribble then all you have to do is keep them out of the paint and away from the basket and throw a double team at them from time to time. If they can dribble then it makes them just a little bit more difficult to deal with.

I know it took too long to reply, but I think that Oakland's biggest problem in the MJ game was the mental mistakes made on defense. They gave MJ too many open shots around the basket and allowed them to drive to the hole uncontested many times. A team like MJ will capitalize on those mistakes everytime. When you have players in foul trouble, the players with no fouls must realize that they have to not allow the people driving to the basket to have an open layup. Oakland dominated the first half, but made way too many mistakes in the second that they weren't able to bounce back from. It's true that Oakland only has two consistent offensive threats in, TD and SK, but if they plan on going farther they have to have some role players step up and chip in about 4-5 points (if they can).

I just comment on the recent posts, I just noticed that yours said 20 points and that is where I got my number. I just hate to see people try to demean the success of Oakland to this point (not that you tried to demean or anything). I respect all teams and just want to see great basketball being played. If ANYONE goes undefeated they deserved to be respected no matter who it is. A PHargis post is always appreciated in my book. I apologize if what I said felt directed at you eh.

The way I see it, Oakland can only prove to be better than people thought they were in this game. If Oakland gets killed by 20+ points then that is what everybody is expecting (or hoping for). I don't know about Oakland's TD and King not being able to score big numbers, because each player is too versatile. The problem I see Oakland having is defense. They have too many missed defensive opportunites that often leave a man wide open because someone wasn't paying attention. I don't care if MJ wins, I just want to see a competitive game and Oakland not give up because everyone is already expecting a loss.

I'm still waiting to see if they can bounce back or hold on to a lead night after night against tougher opponents. Since they were up by so much it really should not have been a contest Friday but Oakland made it a contest. That is only true if everyone on Oakland comes to play. When TD is being over pursued during portions of the game, her teammates have to make some quick and easy points. I want to see some double digit assists games, which should be possible if the team brings a bunch of double teams.

Didn't have the opportunity to see much of last year's season, but I don't think King saw too much play time the season before last. So I did not expect her to do too much at the beginning of last season until she got accustomed to playing big minutes. Last year was a learning experience for her, now this year she has the opportunity to display what she learned. Things are definitely looking up for the team as a whole, but the real test will come after their first loss. Right now things are easy for them, but it's always interesting to see how a team bounces back after they lose. (Just remembering the lost they suffered to Riverdale in the District 2 years ago, and how they bounced back big in the Region.)

I've seen too many games where one team was playing very aggressive while the other team was not. Even though both teams were playing pretty clean, the refs always tend to pick a side. The only call that I have a problem with on the high school level is the block/charge. This call seems to fluctuate by the minute, and what was a charge 2 minutes ago is now a blocking foul and vice versa. Coaches should realize by now that you are not just playing against the other team you are also playing against the ref. No game is called perfectly by the refs (or the fans either), but it's just something that has to be overcome. Like Blink said, you might just have to change your game strategy, or have a very deep bench.

Sara King has improved significantly. Hopefully others will continue to improve and find their niche in the team's offensive scheme. If that happens, then Oakland will definitely become a force to be reckoned with in the district.

The high school girls' game is one of defensive match ups and inconsistency. Rarely do all of the good players play well throughout an entire season, and some of those good players crumble completely under pressure. To say that Oakland will not be able to hang with Riverdale or Siegel is yet to be seen. I haven't seen Riverdale play this season, but it would be hard for me to believe that they have the speed to keep up with Oakland. Plus Grandstaff is a good coach and is sure to have something up her sleeve for both of these games. I can't wait to see either one of these games.

TD probably wouldn't have went to MTSU anyway. She wants to play and contribute to her team's winning. Then again the greatest thing about college is getting away from home and getting out on your own while becoming a more responsible adult. It kinda defeats that purpose if you just walk down the street to go to college.