greenevillefan

I will agree there. I was not saying that he did not have any discipline. I do believe that Burkey is an excellent coach. I was just saying that there is a lot more that happened than "The Problem". There was all kind of rumors and you know how rumors are. I think for anyone to coach at greeneville and have a winning record with the parents it says a lot. Greeneville has probably the best kids in any school system. As long as the new coach works hard and keeps learning she will be an excellent head coach anywhere. The two assistants are very excellent people and coaches. They all do an excellent job of leading those young ladies.

There is no doubt that Burkey was a great coach. He has a lot of experience. I am just saying that there is more to learn than winning. I think that Greenevilles new coach has been teaching other things this year. Those lessons are the ones that are going to matter 10 years down the road. From my perspective these kids are great kids and want to be successful, but when you have parents in their ear constantly saying how great they are, then they are going to get frustrated when they are not playing or doing as well. If you look at the statistics they tell the truth. Players make plays and coaches coach. A coach can not get out there and make the shots, make the passes or do the things that players can do. Coaches don't turn the ball over. Coaches don't miss open shots. Coaches don't not play defense. I think that all three of the greeneville lady devils coaches are doing an excellent job of teaching this team some things that they will take and use later in life. The direction from the outside may not look as good as last year, but you have to agree that these girls do handle themselves a lot better than the past. If these three coaches stick together and teach life lessons and coach the best they can then these girls will be successful on and off the court. The right direction is not always the one that fans and parents want. Most fans and parents want their child to be like Meagan Lyons and want to see a team dominate everyone, but for those who really have everything in perspective we can see that the right direction is to teach life lessons and to let eveyone know they have a purpose.

First off I want to say that I follow high school basketball in the northeast and really like greeneville high school lady devils. I am no parent or related to anyone on the team. I am just a fan that knows the facts and heres what is being said from all parties. So take this for what it is worth. I think that the only thing they really miss is Meagan Lyons. Coach Burkey is a great coach, but you can not have a coach that does not have any discipline. When you have girls cussing you during your timeouts in the middle of the game it is not saying much about what you are teaching these girls. Yes winning is always good, but the main goal through sports in high school is to teach these kids lifelong lessons. For the talent end of your statement I don't think greeneville is a real talented team. If you line their roster up against Morristown West you will see that they our outmanned in almost every position. Greeneville has some good kids that play hard for them and hustle, but as far as talent goes they really are not the most talented bunch of kids. Their heart and hustle has got them to were they are right now. It is hard for a current situation to bring out the best in anyone when you have parents that encourage their kids to quit when they do not get much playing time. It is hard when you have parents complaining about how many times their kid touches the ball in an offensive series. It is hard when all you have is a bunch of people comparing this year to last year. This team is totally different than last year. Their record does reflect their team. They are a team that hustles and plays hard. They got a new coach this year and are making adjustments and being successfull. The coach did not get to work with those kids until school started. Both parties are doing a really well job of adjusting through season and becoming a successful TEAM. I put the emphasis on TEAM. It is not about who plays or who scores. This team is about winning ball games. A lot of people look at potential as individual success but potential is what you can get out of everyone on the team. Each player has a purpose and that purpose may not be one that is the star player. It may that purpose of being a great practice player so your teammates can get better. So lets realize that for any team to be 21-4 they have to be good no matter what region they play in.

Well of course Greeneville misses the play of Meagan Lyons this year. Greeneville only has one senior on their team this year with forney. I agree that Greeneville is having a hard time to adjust to the new coaching this year, but I think that probably has a lot to do with the lack of discipline the team had in the previous year. Those negative comments have probably come from parents who are not happy this year. I have seen in the past with Greenevile parents that think that their child is the best thing on the court. If parents would just focus on their kids academics and let them enjoy the extra things that come with it then they would probably be much better. As for the game if you watch morristown west you will see that Lamar is not really a great outside shooter. She gets all of her points from penetrating to the basket and going to the free throw line. they do have a few others that shoot well, but in their past few games they have not shot the ball well from the arc. If Greeneville can play without being selfish and play their ball game they have a better shot of winning. West has to use their key player to win. Phipps is Wests success.