five

Riddle had 13 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks. I hate to think what she would of had if CCHS had not stopped her.

After watching Riddle play in the regionals where she shut down Riverdale, held Shelbyville's Jaryl(?) to six points and completely dominated Cumberland County, I think that she could play for any program anywhere in the US. the ony ones who slowed he down in her last two games were the refs with some really poor calls.

I heard that Providence in talking to Riddle about playing for them next year. This is a team in the same conference as Connecticut and Rutgers, two teams that easily beat UT this year. So someone thinks that Riddle has the makings of a high level division one player even if you don't. Good thing for Riddle that you don't hand out scholarships.

Got some stats that may change your mind. Riddle has averaged 12 points per game for the entire season along with 8 rebounds and 4 blocks while playing an average of 25 minutes per game. Along with this she has an average of 3 steals per game and 2 assists per game. This is for the entire season. In the first half of the season her averages were 8 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks with 23 minutes per game. In the second half of the season she has 14 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks per game with an average of 27 minutes. She is definitely improving as the year goes on. As she did not play any of her junior year, nor half of her sophomore year, I would consider her improvement outstanding. If you factor in the adjustments all of the 7-AAA teams surely made from their first game to their second game against Oakland her improvement is even more outstanding. Finally, if you know anything about Jennifer Grandstaff's style of coaching, when she gets her squad up by twenty points or more the game is no longer a game but a controlled practice. She is rotating in the bench to get them time playing with the starters, and if she leaves the starters in she has them running new or different plays than what they were running in the first 2 quarters. This will reduce the number of touches any of her starters get, lowering their stats, but it sure produces a balanced team. Flem, as far as your comments, the only SEC post player I can think of the Riddle played against was Alex Fuller from Shelbyville who is now with UT. I saw her go up against Riddle in AAU. Fuller played her for a little over three minute, got blocked twice,scored on once, and out rebounded. After three minutes Insell took Fuller out of the game and she never came back in while Riddle was on the floor. Personally I think Riddle would be good off the bench as a freshman for 2 to 4 minutes a game. If she worked hard for her coach by the end of her freshman year she might get up to 8 to 10 minutes. I agree with whoever said it, if she gets into a good programs and gets developed, she could be starting by her Sophomore year. From what I hear and see she has a complete package; good grades, good study habits, good family and no "baggage". Put that together with a 6'5" size and she could definitely play for any SEC team. Even if you think she is a little weak, how many 6'5" girls are there around? If I was getting creamed by the tall girl at LSU. I would be looking for someone to match up with her come next year.

Oakland beat riverdale last night 57 to 44. It could of been a 20 point win but playing a team being coached by Grandstaff means you will not get the score run up on you. She called off the dogs with 3 or 4 minutes to go, and even allow Lanning to get 5 or 6 points at the end of the game just to keep from extending the game with a bunch of meaningless fouls. After getting to see Lanning play, I agree she is a great player. However, I also got to see why she has the nichname of "fish". From what I could see this isn't because she swims through the defense, but because she is a great flopper. She could of gotten some Oscars for the performance she put on last night. It is hard to watch a good player stoop to cheap theatrics to help her team win. Maybe with a little more maturity she will stop the cheap stuff and consentrate on being a team player. I look forward to seeing her play again.

Just to let you know, this is Sarah Riddle, Megan's younger sister. Megan is at Belmont U in Nashville.

In my opinion, the girl's parents are wrong in moving to Shelbyville to let their girl play for Rick Insell. A gold ball is nice, but it really doesn't have a lot to do with getting a college scholarship. Do you really think the Fuller and Newman would NOT of gotten scholarships if they had played for some other high school? If you want to give your girl a real chance to get a scholarship, get her on a good AAU or YBOA team. I have attented many state finals and national finals for AAU and there are ten to twenty times as many college coaches at the AAU and the YBOA games as at any state final game. I have sat in the stands during the FIRST round of games at the AAU nationals and counted over 20 college scouts and coaches in the stands, and they stay for half of the game and then another 20 come in to watch the second half. The gym usually has a section of seats reserved just for the college coaches. Look at it from their point of view, they can attend one final and see hundreds of the best of the state or nation playing the best players available and only have to devote one or two days to do it. In the TSSAA finals, they get to see maybe 10 or 15 good players play and have to spend 3 or 4 days to do it. Last summer I took my daughter around to 7 different colleges for unofficial visits to the campus and to meet the different coaches. At all seven of the colleges the coaches wanted to know who she played for during the summer, not what high school she attended. So, if you have a daughter who is in middle school and you want to get her into a good college on a scholarship, let her stay in her home town, go to school with her friends, but get her onto a good AAU or YBOA team.

I have not seen Sarah Riddle name with any of the reports on Oakland. Is she getting any playing time? Is she still on the team? Is she injured. I would appreceiate any info.

I agree that Riddle is overated, but not for the reason you give. I feel that she needs more experience and confidence on the floor along with work on her foot work and shooting. I think you will agree with me regarding her toughness once you have the following information regarding her injury from last year. I got this directly from her family. After she blocked a shot by Blackman player Nikki Hughes and was then intentionally tripped and pushed down by Hughes, she hit the floor and landed on her elbow. This resulted in her seperating her elbow, which means it came out of it's socket just like a shoulder will when it is seperated. While lying on the floor she reached down and reset her elbow herself by squeezing it back into place. She was then taken off the floor and sat out for approximately 2 minutes. This happened in the third quarter of the game. She got "taped" and came back in to play the rest of the game. She scored a couple of points, got four rebounds and blocked at least two more shots, all the time taking hits on her injured elbow. The next week she practiced with the team, but continued to have pain and "popping" in her elbow whenever she shot the ball. Her parents took her to be examined by a doctor who diagnosed a torn MCL in her right elbow. She was given the choice: continue to play and take the chance of completely tearing the MCL and have to undergo surgery, or sit out the rest of the season and let the injured area strengthen up and avoid surgery. Her parents made the decision for her and benched her the rest of the season. She did play AAU with the Tennessee Elite in the spring and summer wearing a brace on her elbow. She should be good to go this fall. I think she has all the right stuff to give Grandstaff a good post player if she gets some help from the coaches with her footwork and shooting. Hopefully you won't have to "bash" your fellow patriots on her account this year.

Did anyone get to see the games at UTC in Chattanooga this last weekend? I would be interested in how the two Tenn Elite teams performed. Thanks for your input.

The questions on everyone's mind should be: What would district 8AAA be like if Shelbyville played with local talent only? How many of the starting 5 on each of Shelbyville's championship teams actually went to Elementary School in a Shelbyville feeder school? What would 8AAA be like if the players stayed "home" at the high school level?

according to the Murfreesboro morning paper Grandstaff will be the head coach at oakland next year. Missy Blissard will be her assistant coach. Congrats to Grandstaff and a thank you to Blissard for a fine job this last year in spite of many injuries to her players including two knee acls and an elbow mcl. Good luck in the next season.

I hear that Mark Odom is fielding a team called the Lady Players. Does anyone know what the roster will be? Any info appreciated.

I would like to see the shot clock in hs ball. It adds greatly to the excitement in the AAU games and give a better all around game. As for expense, the schools don't seem to have trouble when they host an AAU tournament, so why not during the season.

What is the big surprise. Oakland has been a guard oriented team for the last 8 years. Shelbyville shut down the guards, kept Hayes and Webb to minimal points. And with the help of Nikki Hughes from Blackman, didn't have to defend the inside game of Sarah Riddle because she was on the bench injured. And with Riddle on the bench Oakland had no defensive answer to Fuller in the paint and she scored when and where she wanted with her mid range jumper. If you look at last year's game and this year's game the difference was at the post position. A lessen Oakland needs to remember for next year.