CoachAnderson

1 hour ago, Basketball44Guru said:

He is a great coach, is he going somewhere else?  Hate to see him off the sidelines, I always thought highly of him and his teams.

Agree, I thought Coach Williams did a fantastic job. Unrealistic parent expectations can make some jobs impossible. Hopefully it won’t deter some great candidates from applying. 

from Williamson Herald article:

“It was an emotional time for sure,” he said. “I have to deal with the family aspect of things. I feel like I had a really difficult year and that got to me mentally. It was my most taxing season.

“It’s best right now to just step back and reassess with my family.”

Williams, who has a young son in kindergarten, said the next coach will take over a “battle-tested” team. 

Brentwood girls open.

Coach Marcel Williams was 72-23 inc 1 Region title last year. (Brentwood was 102-49 previous 5 years while he was an assistant). 
I thought highly of Coach Williams and wish him the best.

And so it begins…

Openings as of 26FEB2024

Boys:

• Stewarts Creek

Girls:

• Brentwood

• Davidson Academy

• Mt Juliet

On 10/4/2023 at 10:56 PM, memphisfbguru12 said:

Got a fraternity brother who coaches over there in Williamson County. After reading about this situation I called him and asked him what was up. He said the county AD is the most hated guy in the county by all the coaches. Apparently he does nothing for the coaches but make their lives harder and takes credit for their accomplishments. Said he’s been coaching in the county for 3 years now and never seen him at a school unless it was a PR opportunity. In regards to the Franklin situation he said they have the worst talent in the league and were hands down the most well coached team but they were so overmatched talent wise it didn’t matter. Said that typically when a county job opens there will be tons of coordinators from within the county apply but none are going to apply for this one due to the vast talent gap and the joke of administration at Franklin firing this guy mid year. Seems like the grass ain’t always greener in Williamson County like everyone makes it out to be.

I’d have to disagree w/your fraternity brother about Coach Joines. Full disclosure, I was his assistant at both Beech and Franklin. If he’s hated then I’d question their reasoning / motives. I believe that his decisions (even when unpopular) are legally, ethically and morally based and the discontent he may receive goes with the territory (title) of his job. He attends several HS & MS boys and girls athletic events, including ones that get zero pub (bowling, golf, tennis, etc). For example, he was at yesterdays TMSAA Volleyball State Title game, congratulations Grassland MS girls! (As well he should, one of his job responsibilities is literally to promote WCS athletics). Lastly, Coach Joines has zero to do with his firing. If people believe that to be true they are giving his title way too much credit, HaHa. Another one of his responsibilities is to release announces, even if unpopular.

As for Coach Melton, it’s an unfortunate situation for the student athletes, coaches, school and alumni. I wish him the best going forward. 
 

Sorry so long, thanks for reading. 
Coach Anderson

2 hours ago, OldSportsGuy said:

However, every sport is year around now. Travel baseball, AAU basketball, 7v7 football and camps every weekend. 

add in weekend “elite” camps that parents are setting up and it is extremely tough on the kids to enjoy high school sports and just be a kid. 

But it doesn't need to be year around. I've always encouraged student athletes to play multiple sports. Ultimately, familes need to do what they believe is best for them but travel teams and 7v7 camps aren't required / necessary to play college. I've coached HS basketball in a lot of places (Puerto Rico, WA, HI, NC, AK and TN) and have had plenty of student athletes that continued playing a sport in college. The overwhelming majority of those were multi-sport guys and many didn't do their main sport 24/7/365.

"Elite Camps" aren't necessary either. I think they have their place (campus visit) and can be fun/exciting while providing an opportunity to compete with other talented players. HOWEVER, more often then not they're money grabs that stroke players and parents egos. Big schools know who they're recruiting and rarely do they find a hidden gem at an "elite camp"

Cane Ridge. Coach Marlin Simms is now an assistnat principal at CRHS. heck of a run at CRHS (206-83, 10 years) and McGavock (159-122, 10 years). Congratulations Coach Simms on a fantastic career and best of luck in your new position.

Clarksville NE. I'm sure Kirkwood affects their zoning and talent but it's been open since mid April when Coach Young stepped down.

Others? 

Coach Wild will be the schools full time athletic director while simultaneously coaching GBB. That isn’t likely to happen in WCS, esp if AD’s become permanent, full-time positions (2024-25 school year?)

As for pay, WCS basketball & football HC’s max out after 15 years at $10,498. (AD’s in WCS get a $4,000 supplement).

 https://docs.wcs.edu/pdf/hr/salaries/Athletic-Supplements-2022-2023.pdf

On 5/27/2022 at 11:42 AM, Itsme12 said:

I think a lot of it is the limited pay.  I would think that club volleyball pays more.  Good luck with finding a coach.

Thanks!

Ted Martinez is there new HC at Centennial. My daughter is excited. 
 

https://www.williamsonherald.com/sports/volleyball-centennial-hires-martinez-to-lead-program/article_9314a4ae-db7c-11ec-8d9e-37912570da0d.html

My daughter will be a freshman next year at Centennial HS in Franklin. With summer a week away, they still have not hired anyone.

Question, are HS volleyball coaching positions difficult to fill? I noticed that 10 of the positions listed on the TSSAA website have been open for 3 weeks or longer, w/some over 1.5 months. If finding a volleyball coach is difficult, is it due to better paying opportunities (with less time commitment) at the club and training level? My daughter had a similar situation in middle school and the AD basically told a teacher, "tag your it". Thankfully that individual stepped up and did the best they were capable of (which is much appreciated). I've coached HS basketball since 2001-02 and I know HS athletics can be difficult, esp for those that don't work in building (I know, I've been on active duty since 1998),

Thanks for whatever feedback provided. 

On 4/21/2022 at 9:24 AM, Nightcrawler said:

Anyone know who’s in running for new mens basketball coaching job?

Brentwood Academy hired former Lipscomb player and Madison Academy (Huntsville, AL) HC Andy Blackston. 
I do not know him but I’ve heard nothing but great things about him as a person & coach. Congratulations Coach Blackston.  

4 hours ago, thegame523 said:

What happened to the guy at Brentwood Academy. I feel sure he moved on to another really good situation. I thought he did a very good job, especially following someone as great as Hubie Smith was. 

I don’t know what did / didn’t happen but I thought he did a great job there. 

https://www.mainstreetpreps.com/county/williamson/brentwood-academy-parts-ways-with-boys-basketball-coach-matt-hoppe/article_93ccf168-b123-11ec-9abb-ab3683dc8c94.html

Recent openings:

(1) Brentwood Academy

(2) Northwest (Clarksville)

7 hours ago, BelmontRebel said:

NOLENSVILLE?  Wasn't that Babington?

Coach Babimgton stepped down last month after 2 years. (Including Coach Lambert’s last year they’re on their 4th HC in 5 years). 
 

Nolensville hired Drew Giudice (Brookwood HS, Thomasville, GA) today.  If the name sounds familiar, it’s because he was a Stars AAU Coach, a GA at Belmont as well as an assistant Coach at Lee prior to BHS. 
 

IMO both the District & Region WilCo schools play in just got tougher. Welcome Giudice family. 

Slightly off topic, but curious; what are the top (5-10?) things that you consider when labeling a HS coaching position a good or bad job?

I'm probably missing a few, but here's what immediately comes to mind for me:

(1) Admin support (2) Feeder program (3) Demographics (4) Support from other Coaches (football, baseball, etc). (5) Facilities (6) Parent & Alumni support (7) Tradition (8) Budget (9) Booster Club.

Facilities - I don't need college level facilities but sometimes the basics are a bonus. I've coached at HS's in Puerto Rico and Hawaii that had AMAZING admin support but the facilities and budget were sorely lacking. Neither school had a locker room, practice gear or a laundry room (I did it myself). Players changed in the bathroom or just wore their shorts under their school clothes. On game days we did halftime from the bench (which is what I prefer anyways). In Puerto Rico I had to buy the entire teams game shorts and game shoes for 7-8 kids every year in HI & PR. I will say this about both of those programs, those kids were mentally tougher than most! Some of the players from Puerto Rico I consider my closest adult  friends (I was there 2001-04).

I have coached HS basketball since 2001 in A LOT of places: Puerto Rico, Washington State, Hawaii, North Carolina, Alaska & Tennessee (Beech and Franklin) & in my opinion the state tournament process in North Carolina is the best.

Basketball season in NC looks a lot like the NCAA model and consists of:

1. Non District games (non-conference)

2. District games (conference)

3. District Tournament (conference tourney)

4. 64 Team SINGLE ELIMINATION State Tournament. (Always thought that if you loose in the post season, your season should be over!) Higher seed hosts all the way through the Elite 8. (Region semi’s = Elite 8, Region Finals = Final 4). East Region semi’s & finals played at UNC-Greensboro West Region semi’s & finals played at UNC-Charlotte. State title game is at Dean Dome the following weekend.

**Teams are required to enter schedule & scores into M@x Pr3ps and their algorithm is used for ranking.

**Teams can eliminate 1 non-district loss from algorithm to encourage tough scheduling.

**District Tourney Champ get auto bid, each District gets 3 guaranteed into tournament (makes consolation game VERY important).

**Remaining seeds set via M@x Pr3ps rankings

**Bracket is broken up East & West. Take furtherest East school and move westward until you have 32 schools for the East Bracket and remaining 32 schools are in West Bracket. The following year start furtherest west and move eastward. If one mid-state school has to go East and their in-district rival West, TOO BAD! 
 

There would only be 1 less game.

In Tennessee there’s 10 post season games: District 11AAA Tournament  = 3 games, Region 6AAA = 3 games, SubState = 1 game, State Tournament = 3 games
 

In North Carolina there’s 9 post season games: MEC Conference Tournament = 3 games, Round of 64 = 1 game, 32 = 1 game, 16 = 1 game, 8 = 1 game, 4 = 1 game, ‘Ship = 1 game.

Teams that are in a weak league will only get 3-4 teams in and teams that are in a strong district (Memphis, WilCo, etc) will get multiple teams in the State Tourney. In NC there’s usually 5-7 teams from the top districts in and around the Raleigh-Durham area in the post season, which is how it should be. You finish 5th in a tough district, you’re in but you’re on the road. 

TSSAA still gets all their State Tournament $$$ (home crowds would be big w/o having to pay big bucks to MTSU. 

Region semi’s & finals possibilities: 

West = UT Martin(??) Bethel(??)

East = Tennessee Tech(??) UTC(??)

Title game = Vandy, MTSU, TSU???

Not a perfect plan BUT it’s a potential solution. 

2020-21 season ended with a semifinals loss to Cane Ridge. Who are they bringing back from last years team?

Tough break for the remaining student athletes. 

2 hours ago, captnoname said:

Understand gentlemen, I am not putting down anyone's view on the shot clock and I do understand the hesitancy to take it on as a coach. I used to say that if the shot clock came to high school I would quit coaching high school basketball. I changed my mind after a couple of months of watching and working in a state that was experimenting with the shot clock. 

It was a lot of fun and I learned so much from it. I am on board with it and I hope it comes to Tennessee sooner rather than later. 

What do you as coaches think about the ELAM ending for high school? For basketball in general? 

I said it before I would love to have it in high school.

I love the idea of implementing the ELAM ending, but I think it is way too radical for a lot of coaches.

Coach Troy Allen has used it for years at his summer team camp play days. 

I proposed use of the ELAM ending for boys and girls JV games this year in my league. I think using it on a trial basis (1 year) in JV is an appropriate place. It should also help with keeping JV games on schedule. Too many JV games are forced to play 6-7 min quarters or 16-20 minute running clock halves to stay on schedule. (***Speaking of staying on schedule, I will never understand the girls HC's that want their girls on the floor for 45 mins prior to their game. Trust me, the extra shooting time isn't going to help. LOL). It doesn't cost any extra money or require an extra person (most of the anti shot clockers chief complaint) and it makes the ending a lot more exciting.

On 9/13/2021 at 5:54 PM, threeball said:

I have a question, maybe I'm missing something... but how does a shot clock improve fundamental skills, coaching, team defense, or anything like that?  If I'm not mistaken, the good teams are those proficient in those areas already.  In my observation, the professional and college game have many poor possessions because of the shot clock winding down.  These are guys who are the top players, and coaches, and still they struggle to get better than 50% of quality shots; not make those shots...  most of those shots are not by a set play or some grand design, rather give the ball to your best player and high ball screen.  Let's look at the numbers...

In the NBA, according to nba.com/stats, there were 516 total players who took a shot at the end of the shot clock (4 secs or less).  Of those 516 players (some who only shot 1 time for 100%) only 69 were over 50% makes (that is 13.4% for you math nerds).  Even deeper, the 50 players who took the most shots at the end the shot clock, obviously the best players on the teams, (thus the world) averaged only 36.32% FG shooting (2's and 3's combined).  

I'm not saying I have all the answers, but by the evidence, it doesn't seem like the shot clock helps any player with fundamentals, shooting %, preparation for late game situations, etc... which all of those should be practiced during the actual practice anyway.  Good coaches and teams are practicing those.  What I do see, is the best coaches in the world, resort to giving their best player or playmaker the ball with a high ball screen near the end of the shot clock.  

Also, the average per game scoring has actually been down from the previous averages for the states that have implemented the shot clock.  The reason is that the defense can take advantage of the clock and do some creative things to hinder the offensive flow. Thus, the fact again, at the end of the shot clock, the best players get the ball in a high ball screen and are relied upon to make a play.  If the best players in the world average 36.32%, what do you think an average high school player will shoot? 

While I like the idea of being creative defensively, and causing some havoc that way, I must question whether or not the rules should change to hinder the 97% of players. 

The NBA is an entertainment platform based on basketball. 

You threw out a lot of offensive stats, but one of my previous points was that it should be LOVED by defensive coaches. 

From an offensive POV, I believe there's potential for an increase in fundamentals (inc. cutting hard, reading the defense, decision making), preparation for late game situations, etc. but not necessarily an increase in FG%, just more possessions. With a shot clock, teams will need to be better prepared to break full court pressure and in turn pressure the defense with a quality primary and secondary break before the defense has an opportunity to set up their 1/2 court defense. To be able to do so offensively, fundamentals (and conditioning) will be important to a teams success.

As a coach, I like growth and change and although we disagree I appreciate your thoughts nonetheless.  

21 hours ago, Bkbfan4ever said:

I’m a coach too.  I’m also retired which makes me a fan.  I don’t want to go watch games and witness kids throwing up shots that have no chance of going in.  As three ball stated the NBA players can’t make those shots so what makes anyone think kids can.  This will only hurt the high school game 

Nobody wants to watch bad teams play basketball. Bad teams are simply that, bad teams. If a coach is allowing bad shooters to continually shoot bad shots, I'd venture to say that (a) the team is really bad &/or (b) there are no clearly defined roles within the team. IMO (b) is a major coaching problem. I've always believed that my worst shooters should lead the team in FG%. 

Have you participated (coached or watched) HS games with a shot clock? We used a shot clock in WA and when I was coaching in Hawaii we used a shot clock at our annual holiday tournament. In both instances it was well received by the fans, administrations, clock workers, refs, coaches and most important; the players.

1 hour ago, Bkbfan4ever said:

And it has changed the game.  No post play, 7 footers shooting 3’s and I personally believe fundamentals are terrible.  2 on 1 breaks end up with a bad 3 point shot often.  Not saying it’s been bad but it did bring bad things 

shot clock in high school is a terrible idea. Nothing but bad

Did the above mentioned items exist in the 80's, 90's and 2000's or has it progressively gotten worse over time? 

No post play, 7'ers shooting 3fg's and terrible fundamentals sound more like a byproduct of poor development / coaching and stat nerds falling in love with analytics, not the 3fg line that was implemented over 40 years ago.  

Curious; (1) what is your opinion of a HS shot clock based on? (2) Are you a coach or fan?

8 hours ago, Observation said:

So I am curious as to what solution the shot clock is to what problem? The game is not slowing down in Tennessee it is speeding up. Games are in the 60s and 70's. Shots are being taken well under 30 seconds. Is a shot clock going to create better fundamentals? What positive would a shot clock bring to Tennessee high school basketball where less than 1% of all participants will play college basketball?

Fair enough. Other than money and "just because" (only 1%...which is incorrect, college is closer to 3.5%, LOL) why are you against it? Do you think it'll hurt the game? Not sure if you are / were a coach, will it effect your coaching philosophy? Why are we (US) the only place that doesn't use it? Kids in Europe aren't going pro at a higher percentage than US kids.

Not sure why we (the royal we...USA) are adamant 9 y.o.'s should play on a 10' hoop with a mens ball (size 7)  but varsity HS players can't play with a shot clock. In Europe 13 year olds play with a size 6 ball and a :24 shot clock. IMO men's Olympic basketball was beautiful to watch and an indication of the games worldwide evolution. (part of the beauty is IMO FIBA rules, which we played with when I coached HS in Puerto Rico).

A shot clock should (theoretically) lead to more possessions, allow coaches an opportunity to grow (2 for 1's, EOQ and EOG strategy on both O and D), reward teams for playing team defense,  more excitement for the fans, remain current with an ever revolving game, prevents teams from stalling, gets players better (can't hide with a shot clock), forces players to make decisions vs 10 passes before running a set or looking to score, nearly every player I know prefer it, etc.

If you're a defensive coach, you should LOVE IT! Forcing teams into a bad shot after digging in defensively is what defensive teams should pride themselves on.  

32 minutes ago, 13sports said:

Not sure where you got the numbers for schools etc.  In Tennessee there are 332 Public schools playing basketball and 72 Private schools playing basketball.  Comparison of the two states has no bearing any way.  Coaches will adapt if the shot clock comes about.  

404 school in TN playing basketball and not 703....even better; less schools to worry about when shot clock implementation happens. Numbers came from high-schools.com. (HS's, not number of HS's playing bball). I compared the two states to show that they are similar in size (and population) and that it has been successfully implemented in states of similar size (to avoid comparing TN w/CA).

Change is a good thing! The international game is quickly catching up to the US and the shot clock is used nearly everywhere (at almost every age) except here, in the US; and I don't think it's a coincidence. Too many people are quick to complain but slow to bring solutions. IMO the shot clock IS one of those solutions. I've also noticed that the majority of shot clock complaints come from fans, parents and even a few (old) coaches, but rarely from the actual participants. (Isn't it about the players anyways? It's definitely not about the adults, coaches included). I've given dozens of reasons why a shot clock should be implemented on other threads (on this message board and others) over the last 10+ years yet the only rebuttal is money and "just cause".

Money will always be the main excuse used by anti-shot clock folks.

I was coaching in Washington when the shot clock was implemented and the transition was fine.  Was there a learning curve, YES. Was there some mistakes, YES. But, it'll be okay, I promise. IMO it makes the game, coaches and players better. I don't know any coaches in WA that oppose it (then or now).  

Washington and Tennessee are similar in population and student size.

Washington State: 1,016 HS's (884 public, 132 private), 13th in enrollment & number of schools. 6 classifications (public and private are together) Pop: 7.7m (13th)

Tennessee: 703 HS's (485 public, 218 private), 15th in enrollment & 19th in number of schools. Pop: 6.9m (16th).

If money is a concern, each player in the girls and boys program can fund raise $20 a year for 3 years and it'll get paid for. 

Station Camp’s PG Tyler Moore (2022) and SF Eli Rice (2022) have both transferred to Beech.  With the added guard play, length and skill it’s Beech’s district to loose IMO.