MidstateHoops

Barnes is from NC and he has always recruited the Carolinas well, even at Texas. I believe he had 3 freshman from NC commit after he took the job. The two TN-native freshman Bone & Bowden were committed prior to Barnes accepting the job. Not sure why there were not more colleges visible considering Memphis East is loaded, Southwind had a few, Oakland I think has a few younger guys with looks, OR's athleticism and so on.

They sound fun and entertaining to watch. From what I have gotten to watch of Oakland this year, they have a lot of length. PG is a sophomore and their best scorer - probably 6'2 with good length. few offers including MTSU SG - is roughly 6'1 and is a good catch and shoot guy, least athletic guy on the court at times but does a lot of intangibles on both sides of the court. SF & PF are 6'3/6'4 and have a very long windspans - they both play great D and rebound very well. C - 6'5 with a stocky build. I'd guess that he plays football (DE or TE) - he can score from just about anywhere including the catch and shoot 3. Does a good job a getting to the rim off of the dribble. off the bench they had a pair (or 3) of kids 6'3ish that can really guard and rebound well. One is a better basketball player while the other is a better athlete (believe he's going to UT-Martin for football). They also have a younger guard who played very well in the regular season but he hasn't shot the ball great in the post-season.

The Brentwood/OR and Oakland/Southwind are the most interesting games to me because they are completely different types of teams. Obviously Southwind and OR are the better teams on paper, sometimes these type of odd match ups have a weird way of playing out.

Personally, [and i've been around the Mid-state (this league specifically) for a very long time] - I've always said that Massey was a bottom half coach in this league. Now don't get me wrong, yes he has done well in the post season the past few years, BUT with the talent he has had the past 6 (give or take a year or two) they have had the best team on paper. Yes on paper doesn't mean everything but I think he under performs with what he generally has. He has a group of incoming freshman that will be pretty darn good in a year or two. Allen, Luna, McDowell would be my 1-3; I think Brown @ Beech and Carney @ WC did a heck of a job in their first year with the young kids and below-average talent they were having to coach. Kerry West @ Hendersonville is awful. I don't know enough about the guy at Portland - didn't even watch them this year

Haha enough said

And logistically speaking it is the most practical.. I would definitely agree

How does Southwind play against zones like 3-2 & 1-3-1?

Good luck! Only thing I know about Harriman is they have a solid coach and had a great burger joint about 3-4 years ago

So Massey is likely headed out? I've heard rumors but I didn't think it was likely

Like I said I was going purely off of watching them early in a Thanksgiving Tourney in which they split with two AAA teams who are in the State Tournament - Indy and Oakland

Yes 41 and I believe it was 35 could play. The PG is a great ball handler, but I would guess he is young, maybe a sophomore or freshy just hit maturity with decision-making and shot taking. They played maybe 6-7 guys, so they are not very deep. And like I said the big kid is a non factor - doesn't even look to score when he catches the ball in the post.

I had the chance to watch GCA around Thanksgiving and I said then that they would be in Murfreesboro. The 6'5 and 6'7 kids are by far their best guys but they didn't seem very urgent to get the ball to then. The 6'9 kid is very soft - he was at Bearden and his reason for transferring to TSSAA was "bullying" but after watching him play (I mean this in the nicest way possible and I'm not degrading the kid) I could certainly see why he might've been bullied. The PG is very flashy but can shoot the 3 if open and finishes well at the rim. Took multiple ill-advised shots such as 17 footer floaters rather than a pull up.. Like I said, that was around so they had plenty of time to patch those things up. I know Coach Abernathy who is at Humboldt - he did a great job at TSU in his day so I know this will likely be a shootout

What teams are losing who? I'm curious as to who will be contenders next year and who will be 're-building'

Very possible - I went off the assumption of Haywood not being in the conversation of state the last few years .. Only watched Maplewood twice this year and they are similar to Independence - each have a stud with sub-par surrounding casts

If they went that route - I would love it for the kids to play: @ Memphis (West) @ Vandy, MT, or Municipal Auditorium (Midstate) @ UT (East)