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Camp dates and time confirmed. Applications available by contacting TN Premier Basketball via email at: tnpremierbasketball@yahoo.com 1st Annual TN Premier Basketball Academy When: June 13-15, 2007 Where: Claiborne High School Time: 8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Ages: 8-15 Cost: 70$ (Pre-registration), $80 (Late Registration) For more information, please email tnpremierbasketball@yahoo.com

How did the TN teams fair in the "Real Deal on the Hill" and "Boo Williams Spring Invitational" this weekend? Any information would be appreciated.

Due to unforseen circumstances, the 1st anual TN Premier Basketball Academy has been rescheduled and will be held June 13-15 @ Claiborne High School from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. The academy is geared toward 8-15 and the cost is $50 per person. For more information, please email tnpremierbasketball@yahoo.com Sorry for the inconvenience. Registration forms will be made available later on this week.

The 1st annual TN Premier Basketball Academy will be held @ Claiborne High School on April 14th, 2007 from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. The academy is geared toward ages 8-15 and the cost is $50 per person. For more information, including a registration form, please email tnpremierbasketball@yahoo.com

I apologize, #24 for the Midstate Ballerz 17-U Select currently is Dustin Fathergill, NOT Marq Murden. I was looking at an out-dated roster and not a roster from last weekend's SEAAU State Basketball Tournament. Sorry about the mistake!

#11 is Jordan Dixon, who I consider to be one of the better guards in East Tennessee and #24 is Marq Murden. It seems as if the Ballerz 17-U Select is more focused on playing everyone an equal amount of minutes instead of going out, competing, and trying to win every game. Also, I have heard of players just showing up for the Ballerz 17-U Select who have never practiced or played with the team previously and they have received playing time immediately. It is difficult to build team chemistry when you constantly have new players showing up without practicing with the team. Nonetheless, the 17-U Select team is going to nationals, so they must have some type of team chemistry.

Gomab2, I am relatively new to the AAU/Traveling basketball scene, but it is obvious that your Midstate Ballerz organization is one of the top 4 or 5 programs in the state of TN. I was just curious, how long have you been coaching and how long has your organization been in existence?

Great post! Thank you for mentioning top players from the SEAAU 17-U State Basketball Tournament. The top five (5) teams from the state tournament have qualified for the national tournament in July, correct? Also, is this in addition to the teams that have already received automatic bids elsewhere? Gomab2, Are you sending the 16-U Midstate Ballerz to the national tournament with the automatic bid since both the 17U Elite & Select teams qualified at the state tournament? Also, how is Jonathan Dye playing for you on the 17-U Select team and are there any schools showing interest in him at the current time?

An exciting weekend of basketball ended with the Midstate Ballerz Elite winning the SEAAU State Championship 61-59 over Team Memphis. Please post top players from this weekend's tournament. Also, who qualified for the AAU National Tournament from Tennessee? Once again, congratulations to the Midstate Ballerz Elite!

Karns High School basketball standout Jody Fersner has signed to play collegiate basketball at Tusculum College. Fersner had an outstanding senior year for the Karns Beavers and should have a positive impact for the Pioneer backcourt, if he continues to work hard and develop his game. Congratulations Jody!

Where is former University of Tennessee standout Brandon Wharton? He played during the Kevin O'Neil/Jerry Green era, started every game in his career except for one, and eclipsed the 1,000 point plateau.

Although it is too early to start ranking 14 year olds, please post the top 14 year olds that you have seen in TN this year! Also, where are the Tennessee Flight and Jordan All-Stars based/located?

Oak Ridge High School recently named Jonathan Cox its new golf coach. Jonathan was a standout golfer at Anderson County High School from 1996-2000 and later went on to play collegiate golf at Tennessee Technological University. Jonathan is an excellent addition to the athletic program at Oak Ridge and his collegiate experience should enhance the learning curve and potential for Oak Ridge High School's golf program. Congratulations Jonathan!

Does anyone have the results from Friday night's games at the SEAAU 17-U State Basketball Tournament? Please post if you have any information!

An official schedule of the SEAAU 17-U State Basketball Tournament can be found at the following web address: http://www.unapproved website.com/Stateschedule.htm

It should be an interesting and exciting weekend of basketball at the SEAAU 17-U State Basketball Tournament in Memphis. The tournament includes several stellar programs and others who are in growing into state championship contenders. At first glance, you would have to mention the Midstate Ballerz Elite, Midstate Ballerz Select, YOMCA Team Memphis-Blue, and the TN Thunder (16's). But if you look at the field closely and evaluate the personnel on each team, the only team in my opinion that has a "clear-cut" advantage are the Midstate Ballerz Elite, and they are a very beatable basketball team. I am looking foward to some great competition and watching some of the elite players in the state of Tennessee.

This is a very interesting topic with some really good replies. I believe there are a couple of reasons why the TN Travelers are not as strong as they used to be. With that being said, I believe the TN Travelers can still compete at the national level, especially this year in the 15 & 16 year old divisions. The TN Travelers 17 year old "Orange" team is a solid bunch who lacks the size to be a formidable opponent at the national level, but if they continue to improve throughout the summer, then they should be one the top 25 Nike teams by the Nike Peach Jam. The TN Travelers 17 year old "Navy" team is pretty good in terms of AAU at the state level, but I do not believe they can compete in the national showcase tournaments, AAU nationals, etc. The reasons why I believe the TN Travelers are not as "elite" as they used to be are listed below: Reason 1: The TN Travelers are based primarily out of East TN and I believe the talent level in East TN is lower than that of Middle and West TN. With new organizations forming in Middle and West TN, the TN Travelers are not able to get as much of the talent from these areas and they are being forced to play with more East TN talent. Reason 2: There are more shoe sponsored teams in the state of TN (whether it be Nike, Reebok, Adidas, etc.) that can compete with the TN Travelers in terms of funding, traveling accommodations, etc. Also, if a specific program is not shoe sponsored, then there are plenty of programs in TN that raise money through different activities that can absorb the cost of not having a sponsorship. All in all, the TN Travelers may not be as successful on the national level as in previous years, but I do believe they are one of the top 3 programs in the state of TN and also believe they can hold their own against national competition.

The eight (8) teams that will be participating in the SEAAU TN State Basketball Tournament in Memphis on June 3-5 are listed as follows: TN Zags Midstate Ballerz Elite Midstate Ballerz Select Nashville Stallions TN Travelers-Navy TN Thunder (16s) Team Memphis-Blue Team Memphis-White An official copy of the schedule and other tournament information can be found at the following web address: http://www.unapproved website.com/Stateschedule.htm

I agree! The TN Thunder organization did a nice job with the 15-U State Tournament this past weekend. Everything ran smooth and the TN Thunder organization was very professional. Big YOMCA makes a great point about the state being on an elite level and how other organizations are starting to develop a vision to succeed nationally.

Thank you for the correction!

I agree strongly with bigyomca. It is rather early to rank the class of 2008, but from the action that I have seen this summer, the following players have to be mentioned among the state's elite freshmen: Memphis YOMCA - Ware, Mason, Jones TN Travelers - Dowdell, Caldwell, Damron SE Elite - Henley and Williams TN Thunder - Williams I am sure there are other freshmen worthy of being mentioned, but these are the freshmen that I have seen that standout statewide currently.

Six teams that qualified for the 17-U SEAAU Tennessee State Basketball Tournament in Memphis on June 3 through June 5 are listed as follows: Midstate Ballerz Elite Midstate Ballerz Select TN Thunder (16's) Knoxville Zags TN Travelers-Orange Nashville Stallions I am uncertain about who qualified out of the Memphis substate May 5-8. I have heard that the Memphis Pump 'n Run are not playing for one reason or another, but I am not sure! Some of the top players in the tournament are listed as follows: Wes Adams (TN Travelers) Jonathan Dye (Midstate Select) Barry Stewart (Midstate Elite) Deon Gaines (Midstate Elite) Jeremy Saffore (Midstate Elite)--committed to UT-Chattanooga Mack Gardner (Midstate Elite) Jarvis Varnardo (Midstate Elite) Freeman Pinkney (Midstate Select) Josh Johnson (Midstate Select) Jordan Dixon (Midstate Select) Rusty Dotson (Midstate Select) Jared Laverdiere (Knoxville Zags) This is just a small group of players that I have had the opportunity to see play. I have not had the privilege of watching the TN Thunder (16's) or the Nashville Stallions play, but I am sure they have players that belong on this list. Please post other players that you believe belong on this list and if you know who qualified out of Memphis, please post!

Jordan Damron (Maryville) Quiche Dowdell (Oak Ridge)

Good weekend of basketball at the 15-U AAU State Basketball Tournament in Nashville, TN. The results from this weekend are as follows: 1. Team Memphis-YOMCA 2. Tennessee Travelers 3. SE Elite Royal 4. Memphis Warriors 5. Nashville Stallions 6. SE Elite Silver 7. Tennessee Thunder 8. KAYA There were tons of exciting games and a lot of potential future college prospects. I will leave the recruiting to the specialists/recruiting analysts, but several good players were in action this past weekend. Some names/players that come to mind include: Tyrone Caldwell (TN Travelers) Demario Williams (SE Elite Royal) Quinche Dowdell (TN Travelers) Josh Henley (SE Elite Royal) Robert Ellison (Nashville Stallions) #12 for the TN Thunder Jordan Damron (TN Travelers) The top 9 players from Team Memphis-YOMCA Sorry I do not have names for all of the players, but if you know the names of these players, please post.

The 17-U SEAAU Tennessee State Basketball Tournament will not be played until June 3-5 in Memphis, TN.