SportsWestTN

Westview- Should be good chances. The will have to battle Gibson Co. but shouldnt have any issue getting to State. Covington- Should be top team in district. Will have to contend with Dyer Co. in region. If they have years like the last couple I think theyll be back at State. South Side- Not a lot changes for them. South Gibson is only team in district to worry about and theyve been 20-30 pts better then them the last few seasons. Region is teams they used to play in district and handled pretty well. Not sure what Middle TN looks like but I think theyll continue to be a favorite to go to State. Gibson Co.- Will be really good next year. Will battle with Westview. Should make State. McKenzie- My understanding is they should be really good next season. None of the names in their region or substate seem like big problems. Think theyll be a frontrunner to go to State. Not sure if they have a dip in talent after this group graduates. Should benefit from some good schools leaving SingleA. Dyer Co.- Normally solid but will have to contend with Covington in region. Idk if they have what it takes to get to State. But they will be best team in district for sure. Dyersburg- Heard they are struggling with numbers. A lot will depend on coach. Longterm I think theyll be best team in district if they make right hire. But next year dont expect much out of them.

And parents are more willing to uproot their lives to try and give their kid a chance in sports. It isnt always the school recruiting a player but parents moving their kids to a place with a good program. But there are definitely places out there actually recruiting.

It is happening all over the place. I can rattle off a number of successful programs that "recruit". There isn't really a way to stop it from happening.

I agree but you also cant wait around for the perfect person to come along. At some point you have to take the best available option. Get too picky and you end up with no one and then have to make a panic hire.

Think you might be overstating SG talent a bit. USJ and Dyersburg could be just as easily fixed as SG. Both of those schools have better cultures in place too. Will SG middle school program continue to be the great if they pass over that coach for high school job? AAA is not going to be an easy place to win. It isnt a bad job but its not perfect

Not sure what they are looking for specifically. But like you said there are lots of good coaches that applied and still no hire.

That would be an odd move for her

Any hints?

It will be tough for the Lady Bruins to win a state title against the programs you mentioned. But they should have a shot to make state most years. None of the other open jobs can say that. SG has been open since March. What is more embarrassing being turned down by multiple people or having had the job open this long and not felt comfortable enough with the candidates to hire one. Either way it is taking too long. @pioneer42 made the point a few weeks ago that they are losing time in the gym. Pick someone and move on. I dont know what Dyersburg team looks like moving forward. There are always good athletes in the system though. Pay is good. Make the right hire and they will be successful. I know they werent good last year but sometimes you just have down years.

Good point. Their region isn't that tough either and there is talent there.

If I had to rank it'd be 1- USJ 2-Dyersburg 3-South Gibson. But not a big gap between each. USJ has most resources and is easier place to win Dyersburg has talent potential long term but need someone to build the program back SG has some talent now. This hiring process makes me think something is wrong there that we dont realize. They dont seem invested in basketball especially girls. Their hire will say a lot

No they hired Jason James for boys job. Former UTM head coach and was at Kenwood in Clarksville last year.

Milan hired someone last week. Fred Morris out of Mississippi. Evidently Ripley, Bolivar, USJ, South Gibson and Dyersburg are all open.

Glad someone could provide more insight on Morris. He will have some work to do to get the program back but there is potential there. Interested to see how it goes for him.

Milan hires Fred Morris for girls position. Comes from Louisville High School in Mississippi.

@pioneer42 is probably a better person to ask though. He is more familiar with that area and those coaches.

USJ has been dominant for so long. Handed my daughters team a number of losses when she played. Wonder if they will find someone that can keep that machine going.

Really haven't heard many names attached to the South Gibson job. People here have mentioned Kayla Irvin, Jana Kahler, and Rob Parson but I dont know if any of those people actually applied. The longer that job stays open the more it seems like it won't be any of those tho. If Irvin does not take the job she probably will stay at Crockett. Rumor is that she turned down Greenfield job last year too. If she does not want SG job she probably does not want to move anywhere. Kahler by all accounts has done really well with the SG middle school. Seems like the type that will end up in high school soon. Not sure why SG wouldnt hire her but she could be an option for Milan or USJ if they go another direction. Parson evidently is well thought of with good recommendation from McCord. Would assume he has applied at other places besides SG. Milan is less desirable job but could be a good stepping stone for a young coach looking for their first head coach job. Have not heard any names rumored, but I'd think Parson or Kahler might have applied there too if they are looking to move to head coach. USJ is going to be an interesting one. They have gone off the grid for the last few boys hires- new boys coach was UTM assistant. They might try to pull a college assistant for this one too. You might see some big names show some interest too from established high school jobs. They had Natalie Martin assist this past year and she was interim coach a few times when Shutes was out sick. She might be too young to get a fair shake though. Not sure if their middle school coach would be in the mix or not but she has done well from what I have heard. Like I said the other day this will be the top job in the area available. It would not shock me if they pulled someone that you did not think was going to move. USJ has the money to make someone move.

If that is true there are going to be some ANGRY coaches in the rest of the district. South Side especially

They have more depth then I think it seemed. They just need to get those girls more minutes and have them find their new roles. They have some underclassmen that can play. It is a school/program that should always be good. Shutes definitely got the most out of them, but another really good coach could be just as successful there especially with the solid foundation that is already established.

Bolivar's coach left to take same position on boy's side too. Seems like they must have made a pretty sweet deal to get two tenured coaches to leave successful programs.

Well that is now the best open job in West TN. South Gibson and Milan better not drag on much longer if they want to get someone good. You would assume there is going to be a lot of interest in the USJ job.

I've seen him coach a few times and he seemed to do a good job. Don't know him personally but everything I have heard has been positive.

Yeah but you can't control what other sports kids want to play. But I do agree they have taken too long to make a hire. If this hire is not a home run candidate it is going to bring up a lot of questions.

Not sure. I do know some of their main kids play other sports too. So they'd probably take a skeleton crew if they did do something.