LesterJWayne

Congratulations to both York and UHS making the State Tournament! 2 ladies teams and 2 guys teams from 8aa is a tremendous accomplishment for the district.

There's certainly some validity to what you've stated, but typically an official might make a statement call or 2 during the course of a game in reaction to complaining or what have you. With the discrepancy as wide as I've explained that occured in the game last night, there certainly seems to be much more intention there and ultimately it did decide the game. There were certainly plenty of bumps by York that went uncalled. In fact, I'm not sure the one official that made so many touch fouls against UHS and gave the coach's box warning ever made a call against York. The few calls that went in favor of UHS were made by 1 of the other 2 officials, but they didn't make a fraction of the calls the one official made overall. There's just simply no way to justify a total foul count discrepancy that wide (24-11). York simply did not play that much cleaner than UHS. The officials created an insurmountable advantage in favor of York with such a wide discrepancy in the sheer number of fouls called and FTA allowed.

I completely agree that good teams should be able to overcome poor officiating, but this wasn't just poor officiating. Poor officiating misses calls both ways, but at the end of the game the total foul count and FTA for each team is relatively close. This was blatantly obvious biased officiating. We're talking about a +13 advantage in overall foul calls (24-11) in favor of York for the game, which resulted in probably a +20 in FTA for York for the game. If they shoot 70%, that's basically spotting them 14 points. They won by 5! Also, York was in the bonus with about 6 minutes to go in the first half. They got to the double bonus both halves and UHS never even got the bonus either half. End of game situation when UHS was fouling, York is getting 2 shots every time and they missed the first at least 3 times and then made the second. Rush fouled out at the end, but the bigger issue in that regard was the few players that got into foul trouble in the 1st half that limited the rotation and created some bad defensive matchups for UHS and somewhat negated the UHS depth, which as you've said is a strength for them. And again, the coach's box warning against the UHS coach was blatant. I'm not sure if the UHS bench insulted the officials or the crowd complaining affected them or like I said they have some desire to help region 3 get the perceived better matchup. I have no idea the reason, but this game was ultimately decided by the officiating crew and not the kids playing the game.

Complete fabrication but a popular one none the less most likely due to the continued success of both UHS teams. The reality is that the foul count is typically relatively even in most UHS games I've seen. There's no way to justify a foul count discrepancy of 24-11 in any single game. That's not a few missed calls my man. And York was not any more aggressive or downhill than UHS tonight. In fact, they went to stall ball most of the 4th quarter and TOs almost bit them, but the officials squelched every run UHS made with foul calls and FTs for York. I'm for both 8aa teams going to the Boro, but I don't think York has enough depth and they don't win tonight without a tremendous amount of help. Honestly they don't even have 5 players. Nick folds under pressure and the 5th starter is basically non-existent. Rog, Noah, and the other kid are all solid, but 3 guys won't beat Tyner.

Nope, York definitely didn't play a cleaner game. I can think of at least 6 no calls that should have went in favor of UHS. Allen and Gore were both hit hard multiple times going to the basket and didn't get the call. Allen had an obvious And 1 in the 2nd half that went uncalled right in front of an official. Gore was knocked to the floor on an illegal screen in the first half right in front of an official and when the UHS coach complained the official told him he didn't see a foul there? I personally saw all of it from the stands. It was obvious. Babic and Rush both got bodied inside all night and I think they went to the line maybe once apiece. Meanwhile York shot 30 FT to UHS maybe 10. This is the 4th time these teams have played this year. York didn't miraculously become the cleaner team in a week. If all of that wasn't obvious enough, the lead official calling an official TO to give the UHS coach a coach's box warning when he was literally kneeling on the hash mark with the ball at the opposite end of the court was over the top arrogant and obvious. I'm not sure the officials are necessarily in bed with York, but they were obviously against UHS. Maybe their from the Chattanooga region and want to help provide the best path for those teams. UHS has the best shot of any region 4 team to get to the Boro and they still do, but going to Howard will be incredibly tough. I don't think York has any chance even playing at home. Literally ZERO depth and those 5 guys are going to get ran off the court.

Tyner should wipe the floor with York. They only play 5 kids. Bring the pressure and run them up and down the floor and Tyner wins going away in the second half just like UHS did the first 3 times they played this year. UHS wasn't allowed to do that tonight because they got a foul called every time they blinked. Foul count was 24-11 in York's favor. York was in the double bonus both halves and UHS never even got to 1 and 1 either half. Tell me that didn't make a difference in a 5 point game. If the game was even close to evenly officiated, UHS wins going away for the 4th time. Unfortunate that such a big game had to be decided by such biased officiating. As bad as I've ever seen. I've not seen the official numbers but I would guess that York shot 30 FT to less than 10 for UHS. That's nearly impossible to overcome. Amazing that UHS was within 5.

Upperman battles Watertown tomorrow night at Watertown to hold on to the top spot. Watertown is well coached and always tough at home, but I think the Bees will be able to pull away in the end. What do you guys think?

Lebanon is 7-1 and their only loss is to Mt Juliet, arguably one of the top AAA teams in the state, by 6 points. They also won at Cookeville. Anything is possible, but I would say it's far more likely Lebanon wins fairly easily. You're probably setting yourself up for disappointment if you expect Dekalb to win that game.

Upperman York Cannon

Upperman and York have to be the favorites with the Bees having a slight edge. Livingston with Sells will obviously be competitive. Watertown will be in the conversation. Cannon Co is my sleeper pick and I honestly think they and Watertown can compete with LA. Put Dekalb, Macon, and Smith in a hat and draw for 6-8.

Looking forward to it!

It is basketball without a shot clock, which IMHO is not very good basketball and definitely isn't fun to watch. Hence the introduction of the shot clock in the first place. Also, there are states that use a shot clock for high school games (ie. CA for one). Again, just my personal opinion and I don't fault Macon for doing it. I also do not fault coach McWilliams for the decision she made down 17 with 1.5 minutes to go.

This was the final 1:30 of the game. Macon has basically dribbled out the clock the entire 4th quarter of the last two games against UHS. I'm not saying I blame them, but just saying this is what they are going to do if they take a decent lead into the 4th quarter against any competitive team. Down 17 with 1.5 minutes to play last night, coach McWilliams just told her players to stop chasing them and fouling, which resulted in what you see in the video. It is a prime example of why we desperately need a shot clock rule for TN high school basketball. Again, I'm not faulting Macon because I'm not sure I wouldn't do the same thing, but it's incredibly boring and kind of a bad look.

York is a very talented, well balanced team that can compete with about anyone. Watertown starts 4 seniors. They're scrappy and tough to put away. They defend well and just keep coming at you. York swept them relatively easily. They played LA within single digits all 3 games, but lost each time. They split with UHS winning by 10 in Watertown. What happened with Cumberland Co during that 8 game losing stretch in the middle of the season? All of their game scores look close except for those 2 blowout losses to Stone, but they're overall record is obviously less than stellar.

Anyone have results from the 7AA district tournament? Both 8AA games Tue night should be great. I think 8AA has a legitimate shot at sweeping the opening round of the region tournament. Going to Cumberland Co and Grundy will be difficult, but not impossible for York or Watertown.