pitbullone

From the Tennessean: Today, March 10, 2008 Antioch looks to end Metro's dry spell at state Antioch can stop the talk. Halt the questions. Erase the memories of so many near misses. The Bears, fresh off a 62-point sectional win over Wilson Central and playing their best ball of the season, are among the favorites to win this week??™s Class AAA boys state tournament at the Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee Basketball Championships in Murfreesboro. It??™s been 27 years since a Metro school has captured the gold trophy in the biggest classification. Pearl High last did it in 1981. ???Beating a team in the (sectional) by 62 should tell the rest of the state something,??? Antioch center Mike McAdoo said. ???It should make a statement.??? Antioch opens its tournament against Murfreesboro neighbor Siegel at 7 p.m. Thursday at Middle Tennessee State??™s Murphy Center. If the Bears win that one, Memphis powers Ridgeway and White Station could be waiting in the next two rounds. This is the opportunity Coach Jim Nollner wanted when he left Whites Creek last August to take over a 29-win Antioch squad that returned all five starters. Nollner had been at Whites Creek for 29 years, 16 as head coach, and led the Cobras to four state tournaments, including 2006 and ??™07. ???I got over there late,??? Nollner said. ???I didn??™t have them in summer league. I didn??™t have them in camp. We barely had three weeks for them to get everything down.??? Putting it together With Nollner at the helm, Antioch has gone 26-2 without a loss to a Tennessee school. What??™s more impressive is how the Bears have hit their stride in the postseason. Their last three victories over Franklin, Hillsboro and Wilson Central have been by a combined 120 points. None of those three opponents scored more than 34 against Antioch??™s swarming 2-3 zone defense. Antioch??™s chances look great on paper. It has balanced scoring ??” Kyle Upton (13.4 ppg), Tahj Wells (12.4), McAdoo (11.7) and Coty Clarke (11.6) all average in double figures and shoot 50 percent or better from the floor. Upton and Michael Williams have made smart decisions on the perimeter, while the tall front line of Wells, McAdoo and Clarke averages 24 rebounds and four blocks a game. If Antioch wins Thursday to advance, sixth man Brian Clarke would be back for the semifinals after serving the second of a two-game suspension vs. Siegel for getting ejected in the Region 6-AAA final. The biggest question is whether Antioch, which hasn??™t been to state since 2000, can keep its focus on this kind of pressure-packed stage. ???We just try to play like family,??? Coty Clarke said. ???These guys are like my brothers. I look up to them. Coach Nollner lets us know what to do, but he is also a father figure. He has been there, done that. And if we take his advice, we can??™t be stopped.??? Reach Jeff Lockridge at (615) 259-8023 or jlockridge@tennessean.com

Are you serious battle down low with just McAdoo (UNC football commit), what about Wells, Clarke, Okefar and Girty???? He's going to have to throw more than his weight around to intimidate the big men of Antioch who all average around 3 to 4 block shots a game. CAN THE BIG MEN RUN? McAdoo was recruited and rated the No. 35 defensive end in the country by ESPN.com because of his speed. Wells set records in the middle school track competition in 100 yard dash and the high jump. So They running, jumping, blocking, shooting, and dunking!!! Better Lace them up and be ready to play.

Metro Ballin I really don't know what game you were watching but definately wasn't the Franklin vs. Antioch game. So now a team is not allowed to celebrate. As for refs judgement it was due to the refs calling the worse lopsided game I have ever seen. Hillsboro played man to man defense and only collected a game total of 6 fouls, the refs allowed the game to get out of hand. Call a fair and close game, and the incidents like last night want occur. As for team discipline, I think you need to check Hillsboro's coach because he had more than one player leave the bench and come out on the floor and taunt other Antioch players. As for Discipline causing this team to falter, don't bet on it. We have a list of HATERS and we are checking them off as we go. Don't HATE JUST CONGRATULATE!

PhillyFan I thought you said you were done with the going back and forth?

Agreed

What is even more interesting is that Memphis Central beat Ridgeway and is ranked last in the AP poll.

Never said that those kids won a State Championship, but the point is they gave 100% of what they had. Hopefully you have no Children trying to accomplish anything. Your support for the youth of Tennessee is outstanding.

Interesting....... I've never seen you post anything about .. Gerald Roberson getting too much playing time, Tyrone Caldwell (Clarksville HS) getting too much playing time.. Tyler Cutter (Siegal HS) getting to much playing time, Don Woods (McGavock HS) getting too much playing time, Jamie Graham (WSHS) too much playing time, Drew Kelly (Centennial) to much playing time, Demario Williams (Culleoka) and this list could go on and on . My point is Kyle is the leader of our team just as Jamie Graham, Caldwell, Roberson and other guards are on their team. Kyle is dependable on both ends of the court offensively and defensively. Besides if your a true Cobra Fan then I know you are familiar with Coach Nollner's system of coaching. He will only normally go 7 players deep. As tournament time looms near he will be relying heavily on his more experienced players. It simply amazes me that when Antioch HS does not blow a team out they are doomed to loose. After you have played a team 3 times they should come up with a better strategy or they need to look for a new coach. We have beat them by 26, 18 and 7. Hunters Lane is not a garbage team, they have some good quality players and Henly is an asset on any team. In regards to the officiating. It was terrible as usual.

What is surprising is that you say you "LOVE" Basketball but care nothing about HIGH SCHOOL basketball /excl.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":excl:" border="0" alt="excl.gif" /> /excl.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":excl:" border="0" alt="excl.gif" /> Either you "DO" or you "DON"T" like Basketball IF you "DON'T' try staying off the board and keep your comments to yourself. If you "DO"what about you try being supportive of all these kids and their schools.

I completely agree.. Almost makes you think some folks are calling in favors.

The Associated Press??™ Top 10 teams in each of Tennessee??™s three Division I non-financial aid classifications and in the combined Division II financial aid classification as selected by Tennessee AP-member sportswriters and broadcasters. With first-place votes in parentheses, records through January 28, total points based on 10 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 10th-place vote: BOYS Class AAA Record Pts Prv 1. Oak Ridge (12) 21-1 164 1 2. Ridgeway (4) 16-1 150 3 3. Kirby (2) 18-2 119 4 4. Maryville 19-3 115 6 5. Bearden 19-2 89 2 6. Kingsport Dobyns Bennett 19-2 86 5 7. Raleigh Egypt 16-3 67 7 8. Antioch 16-2 60 9 9. Oakland 17-3 29 8 10. Franklin 20-4 18 Others receiving 12 or more points: LaVergne 16. Riverdale 13. Class AA Record Pts Prv 1. Booker T. Washington (14) 19-0 166 1 2. Dyer County (3) 21-1 155 2 3. Howard 14-1 123 4 4. Unicoi County 19-2 109 5 5. Bolivar Central 18-4 82 7 6. Austin-East 16-5 70 6 7. Brainerd 17-4 66 3 8. CPA 19-3 55 9 T9. Livingston Academy 18-4 34 T9. Marshall County 18-4 34 8 Others receiving 12 or more points: Anderson County 14. Class A Record Pts Prv 1. Union City (17) 24-0 170 1 2. Humboldt 18-4 133 2 3. Manassas 23-5 115 3 4. Nashville Christian 23-1 114 5 5. Lake County 20-4 73 4 6. Culleoka 17-5 71 6 7. Grace Christian 16-3 57 8 8. Moore County 18-4 55 7 9. University 18-5 37 10 10. Summertown 18-4 33 9 Others receiving 12 or more points: Van Buren County 25. Chatt. Sch. For Arts 21. Class II Record Pts Prv 1. CBHS (11) 21-4 147 3 2. Briarcrest (3) 19-4 135 2 3. St. George?s (2) 16-2 131 1 4. MUS 14-6 105 6 5. Father Ryan 13-7 86 7 6. Ensworth 16-5 71 4 7. Brentwood Academy 12-5 56 5 8. St. Benedict 14-5 47 8 9. Harding Academy 15-9 43 9 10. Baylor 12-7 17 Others receiving 12 or more points: Bell Buckle 14. ADVERTISEMENT GIRLS Class AAA Record Pts Prv 1. Millington (11) 23-0 159 2 2. Hillsboro (3) 21-0 153 3 3. Oak Ridge (2) 21-1 132 5 4. Wilson Central (1) 20-2 95 1 5. Mt. Juliet 19-4 79 6 6. Cleveland 20-2 72 4 7. Smyrna 18-2 62 7 8. Memphis Northside 16-2 49 8 9. Walker Valley 20-2 48 10 10. Greeneville 22-5 43 9 Others receiving 12 or more points: Shelbyville 13. Class AA Record Pts Prv 1. McMinn Central (8) 20-2 141 1 1. Obion County (3) 19-2 141 3 3. Gibson County (2) 19-2 139 2 4. Stone Memorial 21-1 111 5 5. Jackson Northside (3) 19-1 102 7 6. Upperman 20-6 68 8 7. Station Camp 19-3 44 9 8. Milan 15-4 38 10 9. Livingston Academy 19-4 36 6 9. Marshall County 19-4 36 4 Others receiving 12 or more points: Sequatchie County 22. York Institute 14. Unicoi County 12. Class A Record Pts Prv 1. Jackson County (8) 21-3 141 1 2. Middleton (6) 20-1 134 3 3. Clarkrange (1) 23-4 118 2 4. Richland 21-2 112 4 5. Westmoreland (1) 22-1 88 6 6. Forrest 19-3 77 5 7. Wayne County 21-3 71 7 8. Cloudland 18-2 45 9 9. Collinwood 17-5 28 10 10. Bradford 18-4 21 Others receiving 12 or more points: None. Class II Record Pts Prv 1. Knoxville Webb (13) 16-2 146 1 2. Lausanne Collegiate (1) 19-3 120 2 2. Ensworth 18-3 120 3 4. Briarcrest 20-3 119 4 5. St. Benedict (1) 19-2 93 6 6. Pope John Paul II 15-4 69 5 6. SBEC 18-3 69 7 8. Father Ryan 12-10 39 8 9. Harpeth Hall 8-8 30 9 10. Brentwood Academy 9-9 17 10

Decent Guards ?????????????????????? Starnes ?????????????????????????? /blink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":blink:" border="0" alt="blink.gif" />

There are two points you must know about Antioch: 1) Their new coach was not hired until August, therefore the team didn't practice until November 1 according to TSSAA rules. 2) When Antioch played in the Arkansas tournament against Duncanville, Texas (ranked No. 2 in the Nation) and White Station, the football players had only practice twiced before embarking on the trip. McAdoo did not play in the tournament due to a football injury and he currently averages double figures per game. So factor in they lost to Duncanville by 10 but with key players there may have been an upset. As for losing to White Station by 1 a win is a win no matter how many you win by. There are some teams currently ranked very high in the AP poll that have been beaten by teams with less than a .500 record. It doesn't matter where you are ranked but where you finish. No one remebers who was ranked No. 1 last year, but they do remeber who won the State.

Not sure if it was coincidence or not, but once Coach Jim Nollner was announced as head coach, Antioch had 8 teams drop from their 2008 schedule. Lavergne was one of them.

That is not correct. 1 Ridgeway (Memphis) League: AAA District 15 29.9 14.1 13-0 2-0 -- 2 Antioch League: AAA District 12 28.7 16.5 10-3 6-0 +1 3 Union City League: A District 14 27.9 5.6 16-0 9-0 +1 4 Howard Tech (Chattanooga) League: AA District 6 27.9 9.9 7-0 3-0 +4 5 Bearden (Knoxville) League: AAA District 4 27.7 10 14-1 3-1 -3 6 Raleigh-Egypt (Memphis) League: AAA District 14 27 18.1 10-3 0-0 -1 7 Nashville Christian Advancement Acade... League: Freelance 26.1 14.4 7-0 0-0 -1 8 Briarcrest Christian (Eads) League: Division II-AA - West 25.6 13.7 13-2 1-0 +8 9 Oak Ridge League: AAA District 3 25.6 10.4 15-1 4-0 -2 10 LaVergne League: AAA District 9 25.3 14.4 15-2 4-0 -1