otis

Stratford has the firepower and experience to win the district tournament and maybe even make a run to M'boro. Henry Harris is a winner. Don't count out Maplewood. One bad night does not a season make.

WesVols, Man I was with you totally until the end. One man will not beat a team! Harris vs. Gordon, I'd take Harris "8 days a week". But this is Stratford vs. Glencliff. The thing is, Henry Harris will utilize his teammates and defeat Glencliff, AGAIN! Jamont will blow up, show his immaturity, and forget he has teammates, AGAIN! My prediction. Excellent synopsis and near perfect predictions WesVols.

Let's see ... Leroy Wright Tournament, Stratford defeats Glencliff in the finals. Overton Tournament, clean sweep by 12-AAA in first round, McGavock beats Pearl-Cohn in the finals. Ryan Tournament, Stratford vs. Glencliff in the finals tomorrow. Seems these teams only lose if they're battling a district foe. *McGavock's only loss was a double OT thriller vs. Stratford. *Glencliff has two losses against Stratford, but has beat up on everybody else. *Stratford has two losses on the books, but those were before the football players joined the squad, and with Henry Harris injured (can you say JV?) *Antioch, Whites Creek and Maplewood have fine teams and can play with anybody *Hunters Lane is having growing pains with young players, but they beat Hendersonville *Pearl-Cohn is the best cellar dwellar in the state. They could win some AAA districts. This district has been a war zone for years! Early All-District 12-AAA Dream Team 1 Henry Harris Stratford best PG in the state 2 Bubba Taylor Maplewood mucho talent, been through the wars 3 Leroy Bluing Whites Creek solid in every phase of the game 4 Jamont Gordon Glencliff as talented as anyone in the state 5 David Palmer Antioch will dominate when healthy I know McGavock kids are worthy, but which one do you pick? They all play so hard. And who would you leave off of the 5 listed above?

Any results?

Coach Gamble brings a new approach to Hillwood, to say the least. Have you seen Hoosiers? I'm sure the guys playing for him have ran more, took more charges, and worked on more team concepts and schemes than ever before. In no way can this be effective and fun. Hard work never is. Coach is accustomed to winning and knows that his system works. He must instill a winner's mentality to his guys, and this is as hard as the physical part. Hillwood is an underdog every time it takes the court, so let up on the talk about their having talent. "hillwoodfan" - be that, a fan. Pay your way into the game, sit in the bleachers, root for your son's team, and give the man a fair chance and some time. Reserve your judgment and criticism a little longer. Hillwood will win. Maybe by tourney time this year, maybe next season. The players are already becoming winners by working as hard as he makes them and sticking with it. It will show on the scoreboard soon.

Anyone have a company they would recommend to make highlight tapes at a reasonable price?

Harris is the epitome of team player and has no weakness on the court. He could easily score 30+ every night if that was his goal. Gordon has basketball skills, but needs to refine them to be used in a SOLO sport (wrestling, tennis, golf, track, ...) because TEAM is a foreign term to him Harris is the total package: super athlete, top student, great person, team leader, basketball smart Gordon is out of control, not a student, not a leader FUTURE: HARRIS-ACC/SEC BASKETBALL PLAYER, WITH DEGREE GORDON-COULDA/SHOULDA/WOULDA PLAYGROUNG LEGEND

I believe that tournaments should be played at a neutral site. Home teams are given too much of an advantage. I realize that there is a rotation in place, but it does not include all schools. If not at neutral sites, then how about rewarding the teams with the best regular season record as host? EXAMPLE: What was Maplewood's reward for being regular season champions of a very tough district 12-AAA? They were forced to play an "away" game at Whites Creek and ended up losing at the buzzer. This was compounded by playing another "away" game vs. Hillsboro at Hillsboro in the regions. The all-mighty dollar rules T$$AA. Maplewood is never allowed to host because their gym is said to be too small. I may be mistaken, but I believe that the last three host teams in 12-AAA have won the tournament. 2 Whites Creeks, and Stratford before that. I guess we can crown Antioch champs next season.

Coach Gamble, they may tell you that your gym is too small to host the 12-AAA tourney, but the real reason the 'wood could never host the tourney is because no other team would have a chance! Maplewood wins the tournament more than all of the other teams combined, and all those championships have been on the road. If it was played at Maplewood, it would truly be "THE WINSTON GAMBLE INVITATIONAL". I wonder what the winning percentage at Maplewood is for the past 25 years combined between coaches Gerald Johnson and Winston Gamble ... 90+% I bet. Good luck getting back to the 'boro Coach G.

Winston Gamble is a credit to the coaching profession. He is an excellent teacher of the game and a great motivator. His teams are perennially disciplined, fundamentally sound, extremely well conditioned, sportsmanlike, and well mannered. Additionally, Coach Gamble is a class act. He rarely argues with officials, he is cordial to opponents, and he demands that his players conform to the ideals that he has proven, year in and year out, to be successful. Coach Gamble does more than prepare his young men for basketball, he prepares them for life. Amazingly, the man gets little credit for his efforts. I guess one would have to be on the inside to appreciate all he has done and is doing for Maplewood High. Too bad we sometimes fail to fully appreciate who we take for granted until they're gone.

HOW LONG BEFORE WE SEE THIS? The Memphis Grizzlies plan to draft a Memphis area 6th grader, 6'7 220lb, 12 years old!

*McGavock is unbeaten and really untested with 7 wins, but they have not played H-Lane yet. These two will play twice in 8 days in a week or two. *Whites Creek has lost to McGavock and Stratford *Stratford has lost to HL twice and McGavock twice *H-Lane has lost to Whites Creek Hunters Lane and McGavock have the best teams hands down, but upsets may occur - like WC beating HL

What schools have been the biggest surprises of the season thus far? Stratford has only one returning starter from last year's 28-4 team, that being Henry Harris. The remaining players seeing significant minutes have virtually no experience. Most people thought that these youthful Spartans would struggle this season in the 12-AAA warzone. However, they are unbeaten in the district so far and have lost only to Oakland and Columbia during the tough Ryan holiday tournament. It's still early, but the Spartans have been a pleasant surprise. Coach James Winrow has been coach of the year twice in the past two years, but this year must be considered his best coaching job yet. Great job head Spartan! What other schools have began the season better than expected?

If a kid passes this semester, isn't he eligible after Christmas (2nd semester)?

Whites Creek looked pretty solid, like normal. They miss Collins, of course, but will be good by tournament time. Pearl-Cohn looked pretty good as well, staying close and playing good ball throughout the game. Stratford vs. Whites Creek tomorrow could be a fun one to watch. Note: why only one twin (Menzies) saw action. Both are super talented and I hope to see them in action together soon.

Perhaps if you played one on one this kid would be worthy of high rankings. However, in the team game, he leaves much to be desired. Let him do something to help his TEAM win games (not AAU center ball crap either) in 12-AAA and then maybe we can talk. Until then, he's overrated by people who don't truly understand TEAM BASKETBALL. Could he even play for any school with DISCIPLINE?

Maplewood's starting 5 is as good or better than any I've seen this season. Size, shooters, defenders, and Bubba Taylor leading ... if they play ball, it could get ugly.

Yeah I was there and the Tennessean should have been!...oh, my bad, it wasn't the Titans or Predators involved...

STRATFORD 69 GLENCLIFF 35 Good to see that teamwork still beats individualism. Stratford's young bucks, lead by the incredible Henry Harris, totally dismantled a talented, yet selfish, Glencliff squad. Watching Jamont Gordon come down time after time and jack 35-foot bricks is disgusting. Did they ever run an offensive play?

Does anyone have any info on the dates, times, and pairings in the Coach Wright Tournament next week at Hunters Lane?

Calvin "Fridge" Bryant Hillsboro Dominates on both sides of the ball at FB and DT If you don't agree, you probably haven't seen him play!

Even though it was only 8 minutes, Maplewood looked awesome. Against a tough East Lit team that will win many games this season, Maplewood looked incredible. 34 - 11 after one quarter, then both coaches subbed to let all their players get some game experience. Maplewood is big, talented, has excellent shooters, and (as always under Coach Gamble) they play defense like crazy. I thought Bubba Taylor was supposed to be hurt. He looked better than ever!Maplewood historically starts slow and finishes fast. If they get any better than they look now, it may be time to make room for the big gold ball on the trophy shelf at Maplewood. In the first boys match-up, Stratford surprisingly whipped Spring Hill as Henry Harris lead his teammates of new faces and no experience to the win. Stratford is so young, Coach Winrow may need to keep diapers on the sideline. They started 3 sophomores and played 6 others. Nashville should appreciate the next two basketball seasons. We have the opportunity to watch Bubba Taylor and Henry Harris battle each other and dominate the rest for the next two years, before we watch them play on TV for major colleges. Both are truly gifted, talented, hard-nosed, and leaders.

Jonathan Hathaway Pearl-Cohn JR 6'0 350 Strong as an ox, great feet, tremendous quickness, and he pancakes opponents at will! Steamrolls anything in front of him. If there's one better, I ain't seen him!

DON HARRIS. Understands that people come to games to see kids play, not him officiate. Good rapport with players and coaches, yet very businesslike and professional. Often you won't even notice he's there.

Let's try and predict some major upset specials for round 1 of the playoffs. MINE: HUNTERS LANE OVER BRENTWOOD