cradle2thegravelakersfan

Greenfield 2020s Chloe Moore and Tess Darby each picked up an offer from UT-Martin recently. Looks like the Yellowjackets are in very good shape for the next 3 years.

I was at Westview, where the chargers already look to be in midseason form. Greenfield hammered Dyer County, Covington, Mckenzie, and Marshall county (ky).

Someone has been doing it......Congratulations to the Lady Silver Foxes (Greenfield) on winning the 2017 AAU D1 Tn State Championship. Putting West Tn on the map ! This team IS becoming elite. The group was put together in 2012 and has since played for 3 titles in 5 years. They won the 2013 D2 state title in only their second year, were 2015 D3 National runner-up, and now 2017 D1 state champs. They're made up of all local kids; Chloe Moore (Greenfield), Yasmine Pankey (Crockett Co.), Tristen Trevathan (Dresden), Mikayla Peterson (Clarksburg), Shyon Stephens (Union City), Caroline Crouse (Greenfield), Kyndall Davis (Union City), Kyla Taylor (Lexington), and Madison Johnson (Milan). Several of these freshman started on their HS varsity teams this season. I would like to see this program add other age groups to keep all the local talent home. Alot of good players join squads based in middle Tn (Flight) and Kentucky (Ky Premier, Slink) and this just pushes their brands and raises their profiles with our talent. IMO, other people should step up and help do a better job of keeping the girls here and lets make West Tn basketball stand on its own. We definitely have the homegrown talent.

I don't know much about the Flight West team travel schedule, but The Lady Silver Foxes travel plenty. I know most of those parents and they're on the road for each viewing period (2-April, 2-July). This summer they're doing Murfreesboro (1), Louisville (2), and Indianapolis (1). Some of the girls are getting looks from 4-year schools and others JUCO. They also do events where small schools and/or media are present. The Dyer County Suns are the 3rd area travel team, but they've only did AAU if they had a really strong group of players. The big schools can only watch the kids for 2 weeks in April and 2 weeks in July. September has a viewing period, but most of the girls are back in school with their teams. Several kids from these programs will get offered. West Tn girls basketball is getting stronger every day.

Anyone have a clue when the All-State teams will be announced ? I'm not referring to the NEB selections.

There are several factors that determine what level a kid plays at. 1) Location is very important to alot of the ladies. Union, Bethel, and Freed Hardeman are all nationally ranked programs that are close to home for kids in rural West Tn. 2) Playing time is also important. Why wait 2-4 years for the opportunity for major minutes when you can come in and make an immediate impact at the smaller schools? SIZE - lots of D1 teams have guards that are 5'9 and up. Around here, if you're that size there's a chance you'll be in the post...lol. I know for a fact that UTM is getting a point guard next season that's an honor student that had multiple high D1s interested, but wanted to stay close to home. Our area has plenty of potential D1 talent, but the smaller schools here are strong and offer good educations and playing time. Those options sound awfully good to most players.

Just curious as to what you've seen and heard to make you select Dresden & Peabody ? Greenfield/Dresden split their season series and Huntingdon only has 3 losses on the year compared to Peabody's 10 losses. Just asking, no drama intended.

Lots of kids go on to play at the next level. You sound as if it's unheard of for a kid to go play college ball. Not very many get to play big time (Uconn, Duke, UT, Baylor) basketball, but there are plenty of opportunities to suit up for lower level teams. You'd be surprised.

Union City definitely has the advantage when it comes to guard play, but their posts are freshmen. I don't know if the youngsters can deal with Keith. Now,if UC can push Huntingdon's guards left all night,especially when pressing, then the upset becomes reality ! I don't think any other single A regional tournament can honestly say that every game is pretty much 50/50.

I could be wrong, just looking for someone with first hand knowledge on if this is true or not. Anyone out there with some info ?

Almost forgot, my sources tell me that Memphis Mitchell has added 6'6 twins to their roster just in time for the post season. Coincidence or not ? Could this spell trouble for Humboldt ? What do ya'll think? And all Memphis Mitchell fans relax, i'm NOT calling you guys cheats, just kick starting the little conversation so feel free to hop in.

I think what people are saying is that while Humboldt is a great team, Parker Stewart is a great player. Stewart knows how to use his body to draw contact like all big time scorers do. He'll use screens and anything else to get open and push off a little (remember that Jordan guy), all true scorers know how to squeeze off a maximum number of shots per contest. With all that being said, most of the time great teams (like Humboldt) beat great players (Stewart).

Doesn't matter what you think high school sports were meant for, the fact is THEY ARE entertainment, right down to the price of admission and concessions like a movie. I've coached title winning teams at the middle school, varsity, and travel ball levels so I know the pros & cons of playing with and without a shot clock first hand. He**, I've probably forgotten more over the years about basketball then you'll ever learn...lol. just so you know, coaches don't disclose their game plan to fans as they enter the gym, OK. Fans expect to see a good game but end up watching one team only take two or three shots per quarter while sitting on the ball, hence my "torture" comment. And just so you know I already attend NBA games, especially when the Lakers are near. I don't understand why this is such a touchy subject for some fans. It's just a forum asking for opinions and I gave mine. So now please some of you, stop all the "crazzyness".

I would be all for a shot clock (40 sec). This is the time of year when you start to see games with scores like 21-16 because coaches try sitting on the ball as a strategy. Nobody wants to pay their hard earned money to sit for an entire game and be tortured like that ! Halftime scores of 4-7.....get real !

Greenfield Gibson County Gleason - the bulldogs have more shooters Huntingdon

Two very good games that played out exactly the same. The more fundamental teams withstood the challenges of the more athletic teams. Over the course of 4 quarters fundamentals won out. The Greenfield point guard Moore took over the game in the fourth. Without her Trenton would have ran away with the game! Can't wait for Regionals this year. There aren't any guaranteed victories.

What are the thoughts and opinions on the upcoming Region 7A tournament ? There are literally 7 teams that can win the title, Gibson County, Dresden, Greenfield, Trenton, Huntingdon, Gleason, and Union City.

Two very well played games tonight in the district semis. The title will be up for grabs Friday night as Trenton tries to knock off Greenfield while Union City and Gibson County try to decide who's gonna be third. Greenfield's freshman dynamic duo of Tess Darby and Chloe Moore almost outscored the entire UC team (54pts) by themselves. Darby (30pts) and Moore (22pts) are definitely living up to the hype. Trenton knocked off Gibson County in the other big game. GC led 19-18 at the half, but Trenton just out hustled them in the second half. Stacie Mayberry had a big game for Trenton. Friday's district championship will probably go down to the wire. Both regular season match ups were single digit contests.

This may not be an all out complaint, but you gotta admit it is a little whiny....lol. My statement about the move being made to accommodate the crowd sizes from UC and Humboldt is 100% ACCURATE !! Think about it, you are driving all the way down from Nashville to see the game. Imagine all the fans locally that plan on attending. The UC followers are just as passionate and travel just as well as Humboldt fans. UC vs Humboldt would overflow most high school gyms, now try adding the fans from six other schools. This was a smart move on Greenfield's part to keep everyone happy. The atmosphere will be electric with everybody comfortably seated in one facility. GC and Trenton couldn't hold everyone at once ! Now, problem solved.

A very nicely worded retort...bravo !!

I agree 100%.....I'm a little more than just plugged in, I'm at a lot of gyms and socialize with lots of coaches and parents. Sometimes, you just want to stare with your mouth open after listening to some parents.

Fans will always feel this way. If there were 10 finalists chosen then someone would complain about that 11th player left off the list. I'm sure Vick has a case, but so did several other players not selected. Maybe Camden can make a deep postseason and Vick/fans will feel vindicated.

The district tournament rotates each year and this is Greenfield's year to host, if some fans don't like it...don't attend ! I heard the move was made to accommodate the Humboldt and Union City crowds. Those two always bring a packed house plus you've got the other six teams' fans to think about. UTM is a neutral site that can seat everyone simultaneously, so no one has an advantage, may the best team win ! Sure, Parker works out there, but not his teammates and it is a team game, so that won't be a big deal. This year's tournament will have a college feel to it, so it'll be more exciting when the crowds get rockin' !! P.S. - The driving distance shouldn't make a difference for Humboldt. Sounds like some of their fans are already looking for an excuse, should they lose. Is that what they're gonna say IF the team loses at state ? That it was caused by the long drive to Murfreesboro...lol.

Not every kid is blessed to play in an area that a local NAIA or other institution can come watch them play. Freed, Bethel, and Union coaches do an excellent job of getting out to the local games and building relationships with area players, but what about kids out in the middle of rural Timbucktoo ? Getting on a local travel team is probably those kids best options. You're also right, good basketball IS played at the lower levels and these coaches also attend exposure events. Some of you keep implying that it's all a waste of time because most kids can't play D1 ball, but everyone already knows those chances are slim. They're just hoping to be seen by a coach, any coach. Parents have to be realistic about their kids abilities too. The kid might be a dominant 20ppg HS post player in her area but only about 5'7. At an event, a coach from a small, non-descript college might see this and offer. You never know.

All of you have valid points on this topic. My 2 cents is that more kids than some of you think are getting noticed at these exposure events. A lot of people keep talking about major college exposure, but there's a little bit of something for everyone at these tournaments. Only a few kids are considered " ELITE ". Recruiting services usually do a list of the top 150 or so players in the country. Do you guys realize there are 351 D1 colleges and universities in the U.S. that play women's basketball ? There's also D1-AA, D2, D3, NAIA-D1, NAIA-D2, JUCO-D1, JUCO-D2 and JUCO-D3. Almost ALL of these schools attend these exposure events during the summer. You'd be surprised at the number of kids that get noticed, but often parents or the kids themselves feel disrespected if they only receive attention from some small school that they've never heard of. Sometimes it's best to put your pride aside if the goal is to gain a basketball scholarship. Hopefully this helps clear things up for some of you. Not everyone can afford to have their kids play travel ball, but if you can it helps her chances to play collegiately. Just be selective when placing your child with a travel program and make sure they have the child's best interest at heart and carefully inspect the summer team schedule.