SportsWestTN

Pretty sure all privates have moved to Division II now.

No. But, does highlight that people are upset.

I agree, I'm surprised he left West TN.

In boys, the reclassification benefits Milan, unlike the girls. Milan should be able to compete with the schools in their district. They've got a great middle school coach that has had some great teams in recent memory. The disconnect comes at some point after that, where players either quit, don't develop anymore, or transfer. They need to get the right coach in, but it is a place where someone could win. Yes, it is a football school, but that shouldn't make it impossible for them to be successful in basketball, as well.

Yes and no. I don't think he was unhappy at SGC; His stock was about as high as it would likely get at South Gibson. If he was going to get out, now was the best opportunity.

Also, South Gibson boys job open now. Wilkins headed to Independence.

Hate JMCSS has so many schools/teams. Hard to have them all be competitive. Madison and South Side have been really good. Makes it tough on North Side, Liberty, and (soon) JCM. A city the size of Jackson should have two or three large high schools and that is it. We could discuss the many issues that the district has, but that is a topic for a non-sports forum.

He's been there a few years, but definitely not long. I know there were a number of people in Lexington unhappy about him being let go. There was a petition going around on social media to have him reinstated with over 1,000 signatures. Not sure what happened, as they haven't been bad.

To answer the question that someone is bound to ask, here are the new classifications and alignments for the next few years: https://portal.tssaa.org/common/classification/?schoolYear=2021&sportid=3&type=high I can only speak for rural West TN, but I expect there to be some solid teams coming out of our area in A, AA and AAA. In A, McKenzie, Peabody and Greenfield, should continue to be good. I expect McKenzie to be one of the preseason favorites. Peabody is going to lose some kids, but should be able to still be competitive at the A level. Greenfield will go as far as Darby can carry them. She is an impressive player, and helps open up things for everyone else. Gleason and Bradford are well coached and normally are competitive, as well. AA has the best district matchup in West TN IMO. Anxiously waiting to go see those Gibson Co.-Westview district battles. Those two will be really good as always. Union City will be down a bit after losing Williams. Not really sure what to expect out of Huntingdon, but they are well coached, which goes a long way. Milan is going to be BAD, plus they need to fill their coaching spot. D13 is a big question mark. Riverside and Scotts Hill could always surprise and produce some talent. You'd expect Memphis to produce some teams that could compete at the State level, but we really haven't gotten to see them play since 2019-20. AAA- D11 is a crapshoot. Those schools normally don't stay down for long, I'd expect at least one or two to be competitive enough to worry about in late February. D12 is South Side's to lose. South Gibson could be an interesting wildcard in this Class, if they make the right hire at coach this offseason. Poor Liberty and North Side need South Side to give up some of their talent. D13 is intriguing. Dyersburg should be really pretty good next year. I know they underwhelmed this year and are losing a couple of their key playmakers, but they have good talent coming up, and I think they'll get some of the attitudes straightened out. Dyer Co. should continue to be a contender. Biggest question with them is what happens, if anything, with McCord? Crockett is as well coached as any team, but they are going to struggle next year unless they have some people move in. Losing the few kids that could kind of score this year, and not getting any help from the middle school. Irvin has her work cut out for her. Obion is normally a wild card. Normally not good enough to compete for a top spot, but good enough to spoil one. D14 has the metro Memphis schools (Covington, Brighton, Munford), which normally are pretty good. I know Covington has been great the last few seasons, I'd expect them to continue to be the favorite. Interested to see what the new coach at Haywood will do, if anything, for the program. Lot of capable athletes at Haywood. We've seen teams get competitive there with the right coach. I'll throw DII-A in the mix, as well. I think TCA will be one of the early favorites. Lee and Goehring played really well last year. I think the supporting cast will step up a bit more and will benefit from Williams coming over from South Gibson. Coble will have that group ready. USJ should struggle a bit early, but come tournament time will be dangerous. They lose their core playmakers off this year's team, but still have a lot of talent waiting in the wings. Question is how long will it take them to step up into those star roles. Jackson Christian should be improving over these next few years, but I think are still a decent way behind the other two Jackson privates. TRA is always dangerous, and will pose an issue. Northpoint is another one in the other district that will make life difficult in the playoffs.

They've been a decent team the last couple of years. Going to be stuck in South Side's region, which is always a negative. Normally going to have at least some talent there, but have to be a good culture builder to focus that talent in the right direction. I'd say it'd be an uphill battle, but has a high upside if someone gets it moving in the right direction.

As others said, eligible as long as the parent is moving as a faculty member, no change of address needed. Will be a good move for her. She needed the fresh start. Really good, smart ball player that will thrive under Coble. Pretty sure she has played AAU with Lee and Goehring in the past, too. So they'll already have some chemistry.

I saw they just hired a football coach, so they are definitely working on getting positions filled. I'd assume he'd go coach boys somewhere, as the girls was added on to him after the fact at Milan. Coaching both is tough.

They've had a good crop of young talent come that has performed well early in their high school careers. Now it is focusing that talent in the right direction and making sure you nurture it toward accomplishing something special. They have a long way to go to join the conversation of the teams you mentioned, but it is a place that it can happen with the right person at the helm. No clue what direction their leadership is planning on going there. Middle school program has done really well, would be really interesting to see what could be done with her getting four years of those kids instead of two. But, who knows what other coaches apply. Could have a clear home run coach apply and it'd be impossible to not give them the job. They'll have at least a few interesting options, I'm sure.

We'll see what happens. I assume the job will draw at least some interest. Hopefully they make a good choice with whoever they hire.

Milan Mirror article says he stepped down. Interview with him made it sound as if it was a mutual decision to part ways. He said he hasn't applied anywhere else, but plans to continue coaching.

Agreed. Culture goes a long way. If you have a coach that can get kids to play hard, sacrifice and play selfless, you can compete with just about anyone. Agreed that a lot of development has to happen before kids get to high school too. Have to build a program, not just a team. South Gibson, currently, is better setup for success. They've got a lot of talent there, but they need the culture fixed, too. The right coach could turn them into something special. Milan job would be a more long-term rebuild. They have the athletes that come thru the school, just need to develop them. They aren't getting any help next few years with what they've got at the middle school, unless they really focus on developing that talent. Milan is a good example of what happens when culture goes by the wayside. You can't afford to let culture slip away, because talent won't always be there. Once talent goes away, if you don't have the culture there to develop what you do have, you are sunk. One big reason why South Gibson needs to make the right hire this offseason. They have the talent now and need to capitalize on getting the culture built while they have a chance of success.

I heard some rumblings a month or two ago that he was going to be gone. Not sure if he left on his own accord or was pushed out. Think it is probably better for both parties to go in a different direction, just based on what I've seen the last few seasons.

They've had some talented athletes come thru since then, but have still struggled to develop them. I know in both boys and girls they've lost some kids to West Carroll. Someone will need to come in and change the culture. It will take a specific type of coach to do well there. Finding the right person won't be easy.

Saw on Twitter from one of the radio guys that Milan job is open

Dyer Co.? Or are we talking about the new AAA?

Certainly never understood how they were in the district they were in or even the class they were in. Glad they are in a more reasonable classification now.

Not to discount those programs, but I think their district wasn't quite as good as some people thought it was. South Side is a pretty good time, but they steamrolled the district this year, but still didn't win the region or make it to State. Chester Co. and McNairy (and Scotts Hill) have each had a stud player, but those players had to carry the load for their teams. Not saying Scotts Hill, Riverside or Adamsville, couldn't make a splash. Just don't think it will be for the reasons you've mentioned. I know Riverside has had some good teams in the not so distant past and had some talent coming up the pipe. You are right in saying their region should have an easier path then some others. And if you can make it to the Boro, anybody can have a chance.

Definitely a key for GC will be improving that supporting cast. You could see some flashes from some of the girls you mentioned throughout the season, but there were also a number of issues when they were in the game. A lot of mistakes that can be attributed to youth (turnovers, travels, bad decision making). That will improve with time, but as I mentioned in my previous post, I think next year will be their best crack at the title for a while. If those girls can improve, they'll get lots of opportunities to shine with how much defenses will have to sell out to guard the Harts.

I'd expect Westview to pick up the tempo a bit next year, at least to try and get more in transition. Westview in the past has been pretty methodical in the half court, even when they are more athletic, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Just would to see them push the pace more than they did this year. Losing the twins will definitely free that up. If the CoachT hype is true about the 8th grade wunderkind, that'll help a lot too. Gibson Co.'s best crack at a title will be next year with both Hart's still around. Madison has pretty well peaked at this point, I wouldn't expect a big jump in performance from her. Micah has a very high ceiling. She has showcased, especially late in the year, the type of player she can become, but she has to be more assertive. If Wilkins can get her to unleash her abilities, they could be scary good. Loretto will be really good again. They won the A title, and bring back their best player, so expectations should be high. Important to remember a few weeks ago, a lot of us weren't sure they'd even make it to the Boro. They got hot at the right time, but weren't juggernauts all season. They'll need to continue to push that supporting cast to help elevate them into that favorite role. In a reclassification year, there will probably be a team that comes out of the wood work. Someone that will benefit from a new region landscape and will make a leap with the talent they do have. COVID made it so we didn't see much out of metro Memphis or Nashville. Wouldn't be surprised if a team or two from each city produces a serious contender.

It is easier for people's name to get out there with social media, but I can assure you most voters aren't doing a lot of homework on who they nominate. I know some voters and they aren't spending time going back and watching game film from a bunch of different kids. Just because the resources are out there, doesn't mean they are being utilized.