maddams

McNairy would have to lose a LOT of kids to drop to AA. They were well over 800 at last count 2 years ago; bigger than Chester, South Gibson, Obion, Covington and Ripley. I can’t imagine they lost 120+ kids in 2 years

This is a hard discussion to have on message boards because most people view the classification system through the lens of what benefits their school the most. Gibson County would benefit from going back to three classes - they would get away from Westview. Lawrence County is better off with a four class system because they no longer have Murfreesboro teams in their region. You make some good points as to why the three class system was better but it’s possible to make equally valid points about the benefit of four classes.

I could be wrong I have a buddy up there who says they are losing a lot of students to Dyer County - not necessarily losing athletes but losing enrollment. Dyersburg was the smallest AAA school two years ago. They’re probably right around that cutoff line again.

I heard Dyersburg may be dropping to AA as well. They’re about a year away from being REALLY good

Per Kreager’s Twitter, classification plan will stay the same for the next two years. They will reassess at that time with two more years of data. Only changes this year will be based on enrollment changes up or down. I’m surprised but at least they didn’t make anything worse.

Going back to three classes is not the answer. This proposal makes sure no team has to compete with a school more than double their enrollment (with the exception of the very smallest schools in the state). I was shocked after watching the video because the proposal was actually logical. AA will still be stout, but it won’t be significantly tougher than it is now. Based on 2020 enrollments, the only big school of any significance to girls basketball coming down to AA will be Dyersburg (they’re gonna be real good soon). You’ll add some small schools from the top end of A. Overall, the AA powerhouses right now will still be the powerhouses with the new proposal. Of course, if they give Memphis three districts, there will probably be a bad girls team at the state tournament. Hopefully TSSAA recognizes that mistake when they draw the new districts and regions

I watched the video on this link. It may be the most common sense approach to classification that I’ve seen. It’s not perfect but I think I like it

Does Dyersburg have enough to compete with Crockett County in that district? Crockett should be good. If Dyersburg can’t play with them, Crockett will walk through that district. Dyer Co looked down this summer.

TN Report “Way Too Early” Rankings A 1. McKenzie 2. Wayne Co 3. Cloudland 4. Moore Co 5. Huntland 6. Clarkrange 7. Pickett Co AA 1. Westview 2. York 3. Gatlinburg Pittman 4. Alcoa 5. McMinn Central 6. East Nashville 7. Gibson Co AAA 1. Jackson South Side 2. Upperman 3. South Gibson 4. Elizabethton 5. Livingston Academy 6. White Co 7. Creek Wood AAAA 1. Blackman 2. Bartlett 3. Bradley Central 4. Bearden 5. Cookeville 6. Warren Co 7. Sevier Co Thoughts?

According to Twitter, TN Report is releasing their “Way Too Early” 22-23 rankings today. I realize rankings don’t mean much in the summer, but it does make for interesting conversation. I’ll update when I see the release

I know GC usually plays South Side in the summer. Have you guys seen them yet?

Coffman was hired at Page a couple weeks ago

Went back on Tuesday and watched some more games. Creek Wood and South Gibson played again with South Gibson winning by 6. If those two played 10 times, I think they’d split 5-5. Creek Wood’s best two players are really good but there’s not much after that. I don’t know if they were missing players, but they only played 6 girls in both games I watched. And number 6 only played about 2 minutes. @pioneer42 is right about South Gibson lacking post play but they got in the paint a lot with their guards, especially #2. She was really athletic. USJ has a chance to be solid. They played hard, crashed the boards and shot the 3 pretty well. Ayers definitely drives the train but there are pieces that could help her.

I rode over to Wayne County to watch some basketball today. Got a look at several different teams. Gonna go back tomorrow and watch some more hopefully. Summertown struggled at times today but they were missing their PG. Heard she was gone for a golf match. Hard to tell much about them with her missing. Bolivar was awful and I’ve never seen a coach complain about officiating that much during a summer camp. It was ridiculous. Summer officiating is always questionable. USJ has some good pieces. Ayers is legit. They could be a pretty good team by the time season gets here. Scotts Hill and Decatur Riverside are very average. Gleason is way down. Looks like a rebuild for them. Creek Wood is good. They’ve two really good players and the others just play their roles. Their game with South Gibson tonight was fun to watch. Creek Wood led by 7 with 5:00 to play. South Gibson took the lead with 2:00 to play before Creek Wood got a couple big buckets to win by 4. South Gibson is going to be tough. They gave Creek Wood a heck of a game despite shooting the ball pretty poorly from the outside. If South Gibson can shoot it better, they could be a handful. They defend well and play hard. Briarcrest was good as well. Couple of good post players and a quick PG.

RUMORS I've heard: One of the assistants applied and is being considered. The other did not apply. One of the local middle school coaches applied and is being considered. Heard one name with Lawrence County connections that surprised me. Current high school head coach with a record of success. Again, just rumors I've heard. I don't have an inside source

I don’t believe Coffman was ever going to Green Hill. I wouldn’t be shocked if he eventually moves back this direction, but it won’t be for a rebuilding situation.

I don't know Buchanan at all, but I've watched his teams play at the state tournament the last couple years. I don't think it is an accurate or fair statement to say there's no reason they shouldn't have won a state championship. In 2020, they lost to an absolutely loaded Greenfield team (3 D1 players). In 2021, NG was beaten by a Summertown team that was just flat better than NG. This year they lost to McKenzie, who went on to win the state championship. NG should not have won any of those games. I thought they were the preseason favorite this year but the post player was never the same after coming back from the medical issue - that's certainly not Buchanan's fault

South Gibson will be good. Embrey does a good job developing players. BUT South Side has to be the favorite. They didn't graduate much either if I remember right from watching the state tournament. I think their three best scorers are all back and you know McNeal will convince all those kids to play defense. Creek Wood brings their best players back and will be really tough. The Burgess kid can flat play. They're a substate matchup for South Gibson or South Side. Whoever wins that game will have earned it. Crocket County will be good in West TN as well. They have a really good shot to get to the state tournament next year

I don't expect Summertown or Loretto to be challenged by anyone in their district. The other three girls programs are dumpster fires at this point. Summertown and Loretto will both still be favored to come out of region, but Cheatham County could provide some resistance. They gave Summertown all they wanted this year and have a long history of success.

I think Summertown takes a step back next year. Guard play will keep them competitive in every game they play, but Burdette covered a lot of mistakes for them with her presence, rebounding and shot blocking. They were not deep this year, so will need some major development from bench players. The upside for Summertown is Loretto and GC also take a step back next year. All three will be good, but none of the three will be as good as they were this year.

Page will take a pretty big step back next year. Dyer County will take a big step back as well. The other 6 AAA teams from this year’s tourney will be really good again.

Teams from the East are underrated most years, at least on the boards and the media polls. Got good chances to win in all 4 classes this year, assuming Cookeville area is considered East. Bearden, Upperman, York, Alcoa, Gatlinburg, North Greene all with legitimate shots to win a gold ball

I’ve seen most of the teams in the UC play this year. Phenomenal girls basketball there. Got a legitimate chance to win AA, AAA and AAAA. I’m just not sure why you being a douchebag about South Side furthers that point.

I don’t think it’s fair to call South Side’s schedule weak. South Side’s schedule included GIbson Co, Fayette Ware (twice), Loretto, Covington (twice), South Gibson (three times), and Trinity Christian. Those all very good teams. They had a few weak opponents in Haywood, Ripley, Bolivar, North Side. Those games were great for their boys team. High school schedules are not completely determined by one coach.

AA state tournament got the raw end from TSSAA's redistricting. The decision to give Memphis 3 AA districts made it possible for a couple of solid (not great) teams to play in Murfreesboro this week. I still like the decision to go to 4 classes and the kids/coaches/fans from Riverside and Scotts Hill will love this experience. The 4 classes will end with 4 excellent teams winning state championships. GP over Scotts Hill by double digits GC over York in a really good game Westmoreland over Alcoa in the closest game of the first round. This one could go the other way as Alcoa's size could be a lot for Westmoreland to handle Westview over Riverside by 20+