tigerman

You could probably make an argument for each one of them & I dare say Fussell is probably the front runner for next year already. Don't forget that March has a ring on her finger, was MVP of the state tourney as a junior against the best teams in Class AA, and put up solid numbers all year long as her team was ranked number one all during the regular season this year. I think all those factors worked in her favor with the voters. Especially when you had a very talented player in the running who was last year's winner. I'll say it again, there are no losers at this level. Perhaps some dissappointed fans, but no losers. And I'd almost wager that each of the three young ladies would trade the individual honor for the gold ball that Gibson County is taking home tonight.

Congrats to a classy young lady from Marshall County.

Lauren March is the winner. Congrats to her as well as the other two finalists. No losers at this level.

All are great players on good teams. Lauren March is your winner.

I like the one ticket all day for $7.00. Great deal, although many will come & see only the game they are interested in & maybe a couple of others. I don't like the starting times though. Start at 10:00 & done by 7pm ? Sure isn't a very friendly format for the working man or even a hoops fan without a team in the tourney but who still would like to see a couple of good night games. I bet attendance takes another hit.

I'll take at stab at that & my answer is simple..I don't there's been that much difference. As a rule crowd control is much much better now than it ever was. Much more noticible presence of law enforcement & school SRO's. And no matter how heated games have been and how much yelling there was at the refs, almost all of the crowds I've seen the last few years disperse quietly and orderly. There will always be an isolated incident somewhere of an unruly fan like the head butting incident, but I think those episodes are few and far between. I'm sure some old timers probably have stories of being escorted out of gymnasiums under heavy security and a few probably have had vandilism occur to the vehicles among other things in the previous decades. Believe it or not I think coaches are far more respectful now. They've pretty much been muzzled by the coaches box & the effects a technical foul brings to them. That wasn't the case in the good old days. Coaches had more freedom on the sidelines and didn't hold back their anger at a bad call. Refs definitely have the upper hand now. Players ? A wash there as well. Different generation of players, different generation of officials. I think they "get" each other. Doesn't mean they'll agree on all the calls but how they react I think goes back to their coaches and their parents. That was true 40 years ago as well.

Suggestions ? Here's one for starters..make officials more accountable. Too many bad ones keep showing up at big game after big game. And they aren't getting any better. Grade them fairly and objectively and if they consistently fare poorly make them earn their way back. At the same time, reward the good ones, although I think that is already being done. How about letting coaches have honest & frank dialogue about how refs can do a better job without fear of retaliation in future games. I'm no coach, but I think coaches know the game better than anybody. And how about concentrating on the big picture by calling the game instead of worrying so much about those ever changing " points of emphasis". The five second call is a mystery from crew to crew, palming the ball changes from possession to possesion, hand checks are taboo while muggings in the paint are overlooked and a block charge call is a guess at best. But by golly better have those shirt tails tucked in, be at the scorers table ahead of time one night & somewhere in the vicinity with the next crew, and not be one inch out of the coaches box without risk of a T. Biggest suggestion...be consistent. And quit telling those of us who dare to question officiating to become one ourselves.

In response to the question that started this thread....a resounding YES. And it can be done in a variety of ways, some rather obvious, other ways not so obvious. I've watched Tennessee high school basketball for close to 40 years now and it is as bad as I've ever seen. Too much inconsistency from one call to the next and sadly too much guessing. And this is with 3 of them on the court. Even those you see call state tourney games leave a lot to be desired. They've gotten all wrapped up as to where & how to stand during timeouts, holding up one finger at the first horn, etc.etc. & and forgotten how to call the game. Looking like a referee doesn't make one a referee. It's gut check time for officials and their associations. The quality & pace of the game is picking up. It's time they do the same.

Oh yes they can !

Saying the refs let a lot go would be somewhat of an understatement. And no, you shouldn't have to fight through it just because it's tournament time. Two white refs might do a good job in Junior Pro..that would be more their speed. They're not ready for the big time yet. Please put them in moth balls for the rest of this season. Now, with he whining out of the way,give Lipscomb a lot of credit for winning the game. Down 20 they could have folded, but they refused to give up and made big shot after big shot. Caleb Simpson earned my respect tonight. He hit some mighty big shots down the stretch including the banked in 3 that sent it to overtime. He's a really good ballplayer. It was a great high school basketball game. 99-94 in 2OT. It doesn't get much better than that. Both teams fought hard & it was one of those games where it was a shame someone had to lose. A lot of guys on both sides left it all on the court tonight. Fans that saw it will definitely remember it regardless of who they were rooting for. Probably would have been a lot different outcome if Johnson doesn't foul out with so much time remaining. But that's basketball and tonight the final bounces of the ball went Lipscomb's way. Good luck to both & maybe there will be another matchup, although it's doubtful. But if there is just a couple of suggestions. One, let's play it without any refs and two, let's cut out all the intentional, unintentional fouls. That's not the way this great game was intended to be played

Marshall County defeated Smyrna 47-46

Demario is a really good player. He makes Cully go, although Holt is tough as well. But Demario has a really bad habit of pushing off with his left arm if he comes under pressure handling the basketball. I know a lot of points guards develop that habit to create seperation from the defender, but it's a foul. You get a ref crew that calls its tight, he'll have to adjust, or he'll foul out. I'll say this again, Culleoka was the better team. They deserved to win. But if anyone watching tonight thought that was a well called game, well you must have seen some really bad reffed games this year !! And we were cold from 3 point range, and it didn't have a whole to do with defense. We missed a bunch of wide open looks. Inside was a different story though. The Beaches and Holt made a huge difference in the paint. They're tough.

Culleoka played well, Marshall County was ice cold from 3 point range (their bread & butter) & that was the difference in the ballgame. Demario is a player & as most "players" do, he got away with a lot tonight. He plays that way in a tightly called game & Cully could be in some trouble. Better team won tonight, but here is the obligatory the refs were terrible comment from the losing side. One of them should never be allowed to even step on the court with a whistle in his mouth ! That said, congrats to Culleoka & the best of luck in the tourneys.

Why then don't we put one of the three refs on the top row of the bleachers with a really loud whistle so he can see everything as well as all of us in the bleachers !! /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" /> /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" /> It would be better use of the refs for sure. Some would actually have to RUN up & down the court to get the proper angles. We could let them be on one side of the gym for one half and on the other side in the second half just to be fair. Listen my teams are winning this year, so I can honestly say I'm not whining. All in all officiating is getting worse by the day. Not year, day. I've seen football games that weren't as physical as some BB games I've seen lately. Someone getting hurt pretty bad has to be a concern for many coaches.