N2DEEP

Here's a little on SC Smith County is improving believe it or not. That may be hard to believe at 3-15 but the Owls schedule has been in Coacht's top ten toughest in AA all season. Coach Melton always has a tough schedule and he's not spared these young guys either. SC starts a senior, two juniors, a sophomore and a freshman and the first three or four subs are sophomores, so they are really young and their JV hasn't lost beating Upperman, Cannon, and Dekalb. As for the wins over Gordonsville and Dekalb, SC didn't seem too surprised. They played some good ball over the summer then played Gordonsville very close the first time, then came some health problems and shooting slumps and honestly just bad play. However they seem to have corrected some of the turnover problems and the post play has been decent all year. And huge for them is the Huff kid has returned from having heart surgery. He missed several games and was obviously sick when he was trying to play before his heart issue was detected. His play was definitely a boost against Gville and DC and when he gets full force the Owls may be able to compete with most in the district. The SC DC game was sloppy at first. Both teams made too many turnovers in the first half but play improved in the second and in OT. Both teams played pretty good D and SC made some big shots late. DC's Bone and Lomas scored pretty well but Roller was held to 1 point which may be attributed to poor shooting and it looked like SC's defense kept DC off balance all night. Huff only had 5 but Hackett shot well and SC's guards played much better against Gville and in the second half of the DC game. Gordonsville and DC are pretty decent teams. If Smith County continues to get it together, things will get really interesting in the next few weeks.

Upperman will be capable of winning the district but will miss Jones and Case. I think people are overlooking Cannon County. Smith County will be the most improved team. Macon will be in the mix. LA and DC both were hit hard by graduation. LA will still be pretty good but no longer a level above. Dekalb will be small. York will have the most size but who knows what they're trying to do.

The days of one team dominating this district are probably over. It's so early but nice to think about. Upperman probably returns the most experience, and LA is used to playing deep into the post season. But LA and DC lost tons no matter how you slice it. Upperman must replace one of the best post players and quickest guards too. Actually, the race for first place may be wide open. Smith County may be the most improved team. Cannon and Macon looked good this summer too.

Not reading too much into summer camps, but I've seen several teams play and followed Smith County all summer. I hate back to back games. That being said, I thought Pickett looked pretty good against Smith who'd just beaten Dekalb County in a close game, then turned right around and played Pickett. Smith really had no gas left when Coach Melton cleared his bench midway through the second half, but only trailed Pickett by 8 or 9. Similarly, Smith County played York earlier in the day when York had just lost to Gordonsville in a close game. Smith County beat York badly, up 40-15 at one point. I know York and Smith had to be tired playing in those back to back games. Smith has really improved, especially since they have one senior, two juniors, and the rest are sophomores and freshmen. I didn't say they are state contenders, but they have improved by leaps and bounds. They're actually competing. They lost a close one to White County and Pickett and beat Cumberland County, Jackson County, Dekalb, York, and Community. Pickett looks good. They have depth and experience. Jackson looks pretty good too for 1A. White County has some good talent, and Cumberland has lots of speed.

And I thought it was a pretty good game the other night. LA led by three at half and 6 at the end of the third. SC trailed by 8 with :48 left and LA made free throws for the final margin of 13.

Commendable post MtDewMan. It's unbelievable how insane a few people got in Overton County about LA boys basketball. I'm so glad Coach Melton is doing well in Carthage. Sometimes people have to move on. For some reason, a few Overton County school board members were very persistent in their efforts to rid OC of the winningest coach at LA. And he's a good man, no matter how those board members and director of schools have tried to slander his name. Did they ever stop to think that they were ridding LA of a good teacher too? There is SOOOOO much more to the story as to why Coach Melton was trying to instill some discipline on the LA team last year when a few parents, apparently even some of his family, decided he no longer wanted to win, didn't love the kids anymore, and was mistreating them, and that it was time for him to go. But even after half this town tried to ruin his career and spread rumors about him having affairs with various people, Coach still left quietly and still tried to protect the reputations of the kids he was trying to protect and discipline. But LA parents lost it. They never tried to do the right thing and help him do what needed to be done. It seemed their only concern was playing time or something else really selfish. It probably wasn't all of them, but there is a time to stand up for what's right instead of going along with a corrupt system. Some day when these kids are out of school and look back on their underachievements, these same parents may have to deal with their own kids resentment for not standing up for what was right. And no matter how any reader here tries to spin this into something horrible he did, that will be a lie and it will always be wrong. I'm not sure if Coach Melton would ever hear it, but there are many more people, Keven, and they know who they are, who should step up and do the right thing about this situation. People get so wrapped up in a stupid sport that they are blinded by the fact that their statements, rumors, and insecurities about people such as Coach Melton, who sacrificed so mucgh to help their kids, affected more than their kids playing time (or whatever stupid reason they thought they had for running him off). Did any of these so-called Christians ever stop and think, even if they were okay with trying to ruin Coach Melton, about how all of this would and did affect his wife and kids? When you think about it in those terms, it kinda makes beating Jackson County not seem like an earth-shattering event, huh? I'm sure Coach Melton made mistakes and isn't perfect, but show me a MAN or WOMAN who is. And then show me another local coach that worked harder or whose players liked them more. LA parents who jumped on the corrupt political machine's bandwagon need to stop and think about whats best for their kids in the long term, not just what seems like it for the next two quarters. Based on how they act at games, they will probably never make the ammends that need to be made. But they should. The MACHINE has NO interest in the betterment of Overton County kids. NONE. Look at the decisions that have been made in the last couple of years. Jealousy is a horrible thing. Let me reiterate the fact that just because you don't agree with what I've written here, you won't change the truth. Lets all think of trying to do the right things. Lets all think about the fact that our kids need discipline and we'll be very lucky to have a teacher and coach work with them who's willing to do the RIGHT thing for them, even if it's not the popular thing. I hope I'm lucky enough for my kids to have a teacher/coach who is willing to sacrifice himself for their well-being. And lets not forget how slander and bandwagoning affects people, in this case Coach Melton and his wife and kids. One last thing............ GOOOOOOOO OOOOOOWWWWWWWLLLLLLLLSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Oh well thanks. It really wasn,t that much P.I. work. Just a couple minutes. I hope Colby,s ankle is okay. Coach Melton congratulated the LA players too including Colby. Based on how difficult it was for LA to beat Smith County last night, I predict Smith County may come out on the winning end before its over. When that happens I,m sure I,ll see you congratulating Smith County,s players as Coach Melton did LA,s last night. I,m sure it,ll be huggs all around. And you didn,t answer my question. You are rid of Coach Melton now. Why is it you continue to run him down on coacht. Your kid seems to respect him. If you think Smith County will eventually see why he,s no longer at LA, why don,t you do the good Christian thing and go tell them? Warn them of whatever it is. Why would you allow so many other good kids to be hurt by him? Nevermind. You won't have to warn them. They already know after seeing people like you with all your basketball experience and knowledge why Coach Melton is no longer at LA.

I heard that your family were some of the ones hugging Coach Melton after the game along with several other former players of his. Sounds like he was pretty well received by most of the LA crowd.

Just curious MtDewman (Kevin Reeder) Why do YOU dislike Coach Melton so much? By the way, you should be careful where you post your cell phone number, which is easily trackable, if you don't want to be called out.

Finally. An honest person.

Both your descriptions are funny. "Find" and "fine". I'll keep my thoughts on the "find" job to myself. And "fine" won't be good enough for Melton.

Rabbitranch and Oldkodger. I for one haven't heard anyone wish Coach Miller ill will or the players for that matter. Nothing I've read on this thread hints at that either. I have to agree to an extent with Bobcats though. Speaking of 'liar'? If anyone in the gym the other night doesn't think that performance was an embarrassment to Livingston Academy, maybe they are lying to themselves. And that has nothing to do with the loss, but everything to do with the players attitudes on the court. As far as Coach Melton in the last two or three weeks of his coaching at Livingston? Everyone knows it wasn't smooth. They were 3-6. Won't mention the stiff competition. Has it ever occurred to anyone that he may have been trying to establish some discipline with this group? . Broke a stereo? Haven't many coaches broken something? We all know he never endangered any kids. I'd say he and the kids know more about that than any of us who see them possibly a couple hours per week. So are you going to ignore the past 5 years and focus on the first 9 games? Seems like you are. Indefinite suspension? What does that even mean? How long is indefinitely? Would you accept suspension if you felt you'd done nothing wrong? I for one admire the fact that he played no attention to the politics that Bobcats mentioned. This group of kids obviously has major problems (how many techicals and intentional fouls have they been called for?) I'm not saying it's Miller's fault either. Melton refused to allow them to underachieve and be disrespectful. Kudos for that. Parents obviously were not going to allow their kids to be disciplined. And now it shows. It would be hard to argue that this team hasn't underachieved. Its a shame that people in Livingston have tried to ruin not only Melton's career but personal life as well. I heard complaints about his sideline antics. Lets pick every coach apart and we'll find something we don't necessarily agree with. All coaches yell at some point. Have you ever been to an LA football game and seen the coaches halfway out on the field berating the officials and players? Those coaches are still in place if I'm not mistaken. And lets compare their records to Melton's. All coaches get mad at some point. Here's the difference. Some are successful. Melton was. Whether or not Miller will be is yet to be seen. Bottom line: some people are never going to give up on arguing that it was time for Melton to go. They won that battle. Now look at this team. Numbers don't lie. I wish Coach Miller luck. He's going to need some. I'm not sure what's wrong with them, but I wish the players good fortune as well. What a mess! I'm afraid Livingston got rid of a very successful coach who could've straightened it out. Look who's coaching and his connections. Explain the politics out of that. Would I be a "liar" if I did? Or maybe that's just coincidental. Who really believes that? Lets grow up and stop slandering Melton. Good luck to what's left of this years team and season.

Yep. I was right. Just so you know, I went into the profile section and learned that putting in your birthday is opitional. By default it puts that date in. I would guess you'll find ALOT of users with that same birthday. Do some homework before assuming everyone who posts have vicious motives.

Not sure where your info comes from but my birthday is not that date. Wasn't at the game and wondered what happened. Thats all. Saw the score here on coacht and thought it might be a typo. Didn't sound like typical LA or what most expected from LA. I guess I'll check the profile section and see what personal info is listed there. Maybe that date is entered automatically for those that don't list one. Don't know but thats for sure not mine.

What happened to Livingston Academy at Upperman Friday night?

In AA, I agree with some of the teams mentioned. Don't leave LA out of the running. They've been knockin on the door for the past three years and this year they may just figure it out. I wouldn't want to draw them in the post season.

Gotta go with LA again. They should be strong once the football guys get into basketball mode. I'll say: 1 LA 2 Cannon County 3 Dekalb County 4 Upperman 5 York 6 Smith County

I think I'm going to agree with both Row8 and gator on the referee thing. Its funny how we all see things differently or the way we want to see things. Gator, there probably were a lot of fouls not called both ways. But Upperman didn't get a foul called on them in the second half until about 4 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Now they either played great defense or no defense at all. Maybe it was that the tall ref actually did get mad at LA's coach in the first quarter when he questioned the foul on Ramsey when he was straight up. That same ref then made 4 straight calls against LA and was obviously ticked. He didn't do a very good job of hiding it. To me that is pretty unprofessional. The other two actually seemed to notice it and try to do the right thing. And the offensive foul on Ramsey? Sticking out an elbow doesn't constitute a foul. If Ramsey got away with it in the first half, he shouldn't have. It should have been called then, not late in the game when the mad ref made it before Ramsey got turned around. I think Coach McWilliams does a great job with his kids. Funny though how officials got mad a LA's coach, who usually doesn't say much of anything, when Coach McWilliams yells at the refs quite alot. Congratulations to both teams for making it. Good luck to both. By the way, I agree that Upperman may be on a down year but LA lost 5 seniors last year as well. Congrats to Brad Jackson. Great ovation from the LA faithful shows how proud everyone is of this kid.

It's already happened and will continue.

I hope TROMO is enjoying this as much as everyone else. /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

Sounds like a really impressive way to say 'that'.

I agree and this has been discussed at length before the tournament started. I think tonight proved though that most were right. This doesn't need to happen in the future. If there had been a medical emergency tonight, where would an ambulance have gone? How could that gym have been evacuated properly? And I really felt sorry for the majority of Station Camp's crowd. They paid just like everyone else, but had to stand at the end of the gym the entire time 6-8 people deep. Didn't people say that when you got LA, Upperman, SC, and Dekalb together there was no way that people were going to be able to get seats. We were in the parking lot for at least 30 minutes after the game, just idling. This tournament should be held somewhere that can accomodate such a crowd. I don't think there's a high school around that could hold it. TSSAA, having been told this would happen beforehand, should be held responsible if, God forbid, something bad happen in a situation like this. Rethink this setup. If there were no alternatives, it would be different. Upperman seemed to be fine hosts, but they, nor is any other school involved, are not equipped to hold this tournament with these kinds of crowds. It's just not safe.

/blink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":blink:" border="0" alt="blink.gif" /> What a stupid thing to say. I don't know anyone who says Dunn is as good as Jenkins. You like the Hogeye cheer from the girls game last night? By the way. Surely you aren't the kid who walked over the car in the parking lot at Upperman last night are you? Lots of people from Livingston saw that. We would hate to see our kids act like that. And what was up with the woman/lady (don't think she was a kid) who kept coming to LA's huddle during timeouts and screaming obscenities at the coach or players. Then she wound up in the line as the two teams shook hands. Is she okay today?

With all this talk about the Supreme Court deciding things like who may pray where and with whom, I wonder how many of us are thinking about the appointment of Supreme Court justices, who does it (president), and what type of justice will President Obama appoint when the time comes. Liberal or conservative? Which would be more likely to support freedom of prayer or do more to supress it? I wonder how many thought of this sort of thing when voting. Is a $ all we should think of when voting? It sure makes me think.