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Unicoi County won the district tournament at Daniel Boone High School this evening. The scoreboard had South Greene winning. Elizabethton took 3rd place by defeating Happy Valley Valley.

As stated before, it is not really a play-in game. This is the District tournament. All teams in this district get to play in the tournament. With the number of teams this district has the lower seeded teams (4 & 5) must win a game to advance to the Regional tournament. The number 1, 2, and 3 seeds have an automatic bid to the regionals. Other districts with more teams normally have to win a game to advance, weither it be the number 1 seed or the number 8. Some conferences are starting to award their conference champion with a bye in the first round giving them an automatic bid to the regional. This conference just happens to reward their 1st through 3rd. The tough part about this is when you have a tie with 3rd and 4th and you have to flip a coin to determine the automatic bid to the region. That is the hard part. The way a lot of districts are set up now it is not hard to get to the regional. A few years ago you had to have a pretty good team just to make it out of the district. Just like football playoffs the TSSAA want more teams to participate in these tournaments for financial reasons. So there you have it......

There is not a school that hasn't had a problem with the clock operator at one time or another. A lot schools are known for their "homer" operators. If someone wasn't a "homer" bet they wouldn't be running the clock for long. Not saying anyone would do it on purpose but has anyone heard of a "visitor" operator. Not me. People make mistakes. Opertors are people, refs are people (well most of them), coaches are people and the players are people. All of these are important factors that determine the outcome of a game. Not one but all. In the HV game, what about the missed foul shots by Elizabethton, the missed lay-ups, the poor defense. All this comes into play. Not one single event determines the final score but the combination of many. Put the blame on where it belongs, the people.

Not wanting to disagree with you Krich (you know I love to do that) but a lot of teams don't play to their full strength when playing a game at the end of the season that doesn't hold much baring on the seeding of their tournament. Not saying Elizabethton did this but know of many coaches that don't put much stock into the last couple of games when everything is set. Will be interesting to see if Elizabethton has the same philosopy if the two teams meet again. Do agree with you that the minutes of some players are cut way down at the end of the season. Again right about coaches not wanting to be on a downer going into the tournament but they have a way of down playing certain games without coming right and saying we didn't do everything we could have to win. Must agree again, that if one of the top teams don't come to play in the tournament they could very easily be watching from the stands the next night. Believe this to be true in both Double A and Single A. Even though the only team not making it to the regional in single A is the loser of the game between Hampton and UH. Should make for exciting games in both tournaments.

With all the finger pointing at what went wrong nobody has seemed to mention the lack of defensive effort on the Cyclones part. No one was on the ball, matter of fact no one was not even around the ball. The bottom line was the Cyclones thought the game was over and didn't do a very good job at the end. Both teams played extremely hard, motivated basketball. As one person mentioned after the game if both of these teams had worked that hard all year long they would have won a lot more than 5 games. Again someone on the ball, not letting him inbound the ball by bouncing it towards the goal, someone semi-contesting the shot (we do understand about not wanting to foul), would have made the last attempt a little more difficult. So if you are pointing at what went wrong for the Cyclones or what went right for the Warriors the lack of defensive pressure in that situation had a lot to do with the outcome.

All the above posts about the HV/Elizabethton game have had valid points. The only thing not mentioned is what was Elizabethton's main motivation to play? I know it is a heated rival, but and I'm not really talking about the players but more of the coaching staff, their seed in the tournament was already made. Elizabethton never came out of the zone, why? I know Coach Dugger is a great coach and if something wasn't working why not try to change? Maybe they (Elizabethton) really didn't want to show too much. Elizabethton did press and had some success. Bet that was noted. Elizabethton's zone wasn't that effective. Bet that was noted. Coaches always want to win but sometimes don't go out of their way to get one. If all things go as the seeding Elizabethton might meet HV again in the tournament. Coach Dugger has been known in the past not to show everything before tournament time. Do you think this could be the case again? Do not take anything away from HV with this post. They, especially Banks, played insired basketball. If Banks was this motivated all the time they would be a much better team. The others do have to contribute and are capable of making big shots. HV's defense has been one of their weak areas all year but did do a much better job against Elizabethton on Friday. They worked harder on defending the post, as stated by Fan. They had better ball pressure on the perimeter and contested most shots. The two questions I got from Friday were, Can HV play this insired in the tournament and was Elizabethton holding anything back for the tournament?

Happy Valley took down Elizabethton tonight on a last second half court shot. Game was close throughout with Elizabethton thinking they had won on a last shot but the refs determined Happy Valley had called time out with .6 remaining. Then the shot from half court. Great game. Fans were a little out of control but it made for a great atmosphere in the gym.

Must agree more with Krich than a90 this week. Elizabethton moves to the number one (guess coachh is liking that) with their win over Unicoi. Unicoi and Cloudland remain a close second with really now the other four teams (Unaka, Hampton, Happy Valley and Johnson County) remain close for the remaining spots. Would probably rank HV over Hampton. Johnson County is not that distant of a seventh place team now. 1. Elizabethton 2. Unicoi 2. Cloudland 4. Unaka 5. Happy Valley 6. Hampton 7. Johnson County Elizabethton did manage a close win over the Bulldogs tonight and HV advenged a earlier loss by beating West Greene by about 20 or more. So with Unicoi's close win over the Longhorns on Friday just proves the distance from 1st to 7th in our little poll remains a lot closer than it ever has. Probably the better teams aren't as good as they used to be and the lesser teams have shown great improvement.

Got to hear a little of the game on the radio. Elizabethton had a 3 point lead with little time on the clock with South Greene throwing the ball in. South Greene missed the 3 point attempt and got it's own rebound, threw up a shot (which went in) and was fouled. The girl made the free throw which sent the game into over time, where South Greene pulled ahead and won. They said something about 2 South Greene girls fouling out early and 1 getting injuried. Wasn't sure exactly what they said. Didn't say anything about the Elizabethton foul situation. Maybe fan or Krich will let us know. Question is why wasn't Elizabethton running from the ball on the first missed attempt? Bad mistake to make this time of the year. I'm sure Coach Dugger will work on that part of the game. Believe they did say Elizabethton jumped out to a lead and South Greene battled back towards the end. Hopefully someone else will be able to give more details.

Anyone with any thoughts on tonights big matchup? Cyclones and the Devils. Is Fritz playing tonight? The Cyclones should make it more interesting than they did at Unicoi. But if Fritz doesn't play might make it a little hard for the Cyclones to pull this one out. Bet the Cyclones try a little more pressure on the guards this time than they did other there. Barnett seems to be handle the ball more and more for the Devils. If she controls the game then the Devils should pull out the win. Looking for inputs Krich, Coachh, fan or Unicoi person. By the way, has the Highlander disappeared? Haven't heard from him in a while. Krich get busy, find out what has happened.

Krich's ranking seem to be right on target (again). Cloudland has started their climb back towards the top so Highlander can come out of hinding and let us know what is going on. Unaka takes a dip back down after their defeat by Hampton. The Bulldogs seem to be peaking at the right time. The Warriors are fading back and the Longhorns are at least making their games interesting. Unicoi might have a hard time holding on to the top spot. If Fritz is out for the Cyclones they will have a hard time beating the Devils or Rebels.

a90. unfortunately this could happen anywhere in Carter County. A lot of parents can't see the whole picture, only if their little Johnny is getting to play or being treated like they think he deserves. Most of the players understand where they stand but a lot of parents think their child is another Michael Jordan and should get the most minutes, shots and glory. I could see this happening at any county school and yes even in the glorious city. Parents have lost the perspective of what it means to be just a member of a team. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of really good parents that would and should stand up for their child if they thought something was being done unfairly, but they would know where and when to address it. Again I feel for this young man if he did not have any involvement in the incident. But I have also seen young men who play both sides of the fence. Back the coach when he's around and bad mouth him to his family members making it look worse than it really is. I hope he is just a young man just caught in the middle, only he really knows this.

And we wonder why it is hard to find good coaches today. Who in their right mind would subject themselves to this kind of behavior. If the son had nothing to do with the incident I do feel sorry for him. Some of these kids would be really good if their parents would just leave them along. How is this kid supposed to grow into a man with a mom behaving like this? Maybe everything wasn't done exactly right towards her son but to handle it in this manner causes more damage to her son than any coach could. I bet the mom wouldn't know the score if you asked her.....

Sounded like a very exciting game to watch. Looks like once again you know what you are talking about, down playing Unaka's win over the Highlanders, almost sounding like you knew a Hampton win was coming. We should have all known not to doubt the great master. Congrats to Hampton on a big conference win. Know the Highlanders must really be enjoying it also. If I doubt you again ole great master just beat me with your computer.

a90, sometimes when a player has been counted on to do most of the scoring and then their team mates start to contribute a lot more, that players tends to press. Just ask Chris Lofton. Sometimes it takes a player a little time to start to feel comfortable with their new role. With the other players starting to contribute a lot more only makes Cloudland a much better team. If Johnson is the player I think she is I know as the games go on she will become more fimiliar with what her team needs her to do. I have also seen players forget about what an offensive threat they really are and tend to pass up shots they should be taking. Haven't got to see them play lately but maybe this is what she is doing. You or the Highlander can fill us in on more of what is happening. Again with her contributing in many other ways and the other players taking more care of the scoring responsibilities only makes them a more dangerous team. As their continuous winning ways prove. Hopefully she won't forget what an offensive weapon she is and can blend her scoring opportunities into the offense again. Unicoi is a good example of this with Barnett. She has started to accept her role as point guard. At first she tried to force things, then she became passive on offense and now she has started to find her scoring opportunities again within their offense. Johnson and Barnett both are very good players and always seem to find ways to help their teams win.

Thanks for the information, a90. Maybe you are little smarter than everyone thinks. You see them play often and might not look at them through rose colored glasses. The Lady Highlanders have a very talented team and should get back to form soon. One more question for you or the Highlander, Johnson hasn't been scoring as much lately as she was at the first of the season. What would be the reason? Is she still taking as many shots, teams keying on her or something to this effect? I'm not saying this is a bad thing, others have seemed to be stepping up in the offensive department but was just wondering about her scoring. I know she does a lot of other things to help her team win and winning they have been doing. Just a question from someone outside that doesn't get to watch them play that often.

Krich, was really just trying to give you a hard time about the Greeneville thing. I knew you meant Unicoi but couldn't pass up the chance to point it out. I do believe the Highlander is getting to you. He's not one of the ones that has offerred you a little something extra has he? Unaka does deserve to be rated above the Highlanders because bottom line they beat them (can't believe I'm defending Unaka and you're not). Most of the time it's the other way around. Sure Kentucky won't be ranked above Tennessee because that poll takes in all of the teams, games, etc. Our major little poll just takes into our own seven. Now if the championship went out today in the sec Kentucky would get the nod over Tennesse because of the head to head win. Correct? So I'm giving the ranking to Unaka. Like I said before I'm not sure Unicoi is the best team but as of today they are playing the best basketball. Elizabethton is playing it's best of the year with Unaka. Cloudland, with maybe the exception of last night hasn't been. That's why my rankings are the way they are. Based on who's winning and playing their best at the time. And that's the "Bottom Line".... As for the Cloudland record I was more interested in the Highlander or King letting us know if any of the other Cloudland teams have gotten off to as good as a start as this group?

Highlander, nice to have you back. Guess it took a while to recover. Just think of your team like the Tar-heels, they lost and moved from 1st to 4th. Are they the number 4 team in the nation, probably not but they must suffer some (in the polls) for this loss. The Highlanders must pay for a little while for their loss at the creek. If they play well this week, and have started off well with the win against UH, then they will probably move back up in the rankings. At this moment the other teams deserve the higher ranking. Again the big question of the group would be Elizabethton. They need to have a good week to remain at number 2, which the loss to Greeneville will not help. And your argument using the AP rankings and Coacht strength of schedule carries litte weight. Everyone knows Krich, Coachh, Cyclonefan, King (well maybe not him) and myself know a lot more about ranking teams than they do. It's a wonder our polls are not listed weekly in all major area sporting newspapers. It's a known fact Krich has more influence on the newspaper rankings than the writers themselves. I have heard of area coaches calling and offering special treatment if he moves them up in his rankings or at least gives them some props to other writers. Of course this is just a rumor but I wouldn't doubt it. I would guess that the Highlanders will make a move back towards the top in the weeks to follow. We'll just have to wait and see. Do have a question about this being the best record ever at Cloudland? Are you sure? Thought a couple of teams had very similar records at this point and time of the season. What about the Hanson group, the Stocton group or any early group? Know they had some pretty good teams in the 90's also. Just wondering....

The ole saying of "What have you done for me lately" seems to apply here. Unaka did just recently beat the Highlanders so in a head to head match up they must be ranked above them. Unicoi has been playing a lot better over the past 2 weeks so their move up to number one is deserving. Like I said before they might not be the best team but as for now they should be number one. The Cyclones are probably the team hardest to rank because they do not play many common opponents. With their big win against South Greene is enough to keep them at the number 2 spot for now. The bottom 3 teams will remain in those positions for the remainder of the year. Cloudland has the potential to move back up in the rankings with their remaining games with Unaka and Unicoi, which they did defeat at the beginning of the season (they have not beat Greeneville, which I'm sure you meant Unicoi). The top 4 teams are pretty close at this time of the year. But will stand by my rankings of dropping to Cloudland to 4th. ballob, did you watch the game with South Greene? If so any idea what seems to be the problem with the Warriors. Know their weakness is the post game in the past have seemed like they were capable of upsetting one of the top teams. Not sure that is a possibility now.

Rankings for the week: 1. Unicoi County - With their wins can't rank them anywhere but first. Even though they might not be the best team. 2. Elizabethton - Until someone else beats them in the tri-county will be hard to drop them any lower. 3. Unaka - Big win over the Highlanders. Seem to be playing better as the season progresses. 4. Cloudland - With the big loss on the creek the Highlanders will need to regroup and see if they are able to get to the level they were playing at towards the first of the year. 5. Happy Valley - Just hanging around. Better than the bottom two but not as good (now) as the top four. 6. Hampton - will tie them with Johnson County for the week. Even though they seem to be playing a little better. 6. Johnson County - Have spilit with the bulldogs and also seem to be a lot better then everyone expected.

but dominant posts are not very dominant without great handling point guards.......

Krich, did you not let the Highlander off the creek last night or are they still in shock?

I am one that is surprised by the Unaka/Cloudland score. I got to listen to the first quarter on the radio and Cloudland sounded like they were on their way to a comfortable win. What happened? Will be interesting to hear what the Highlander has to say. King or Highlander do let us know what happened after the first quarter.

I know a lot of programs try to make theirs as good as Unicoi. It has set the standard for a long time. But I do believe a lot of programs have caught up. Sorry Coach Phipps (not Phillips) as I had mentioned earlier. Does anyone know who the other assistant is for Coach Fisher or who have been some of his assistants in the past?

I agree Coach Fisher does a great job. Has he talked about retirement? Who are his assistants? I know Coach Phillips (I think that is his name) has been with him a long time. Who else helps him?