ashjan44

In DII, Knox Webb will be the favorite with the best player in any class Glory Johnson leading the way. At 6-3 Faith Dupree gives Webb the best post dou in the state. They don't need much guard play but have enough to repeat. They've knocked us (JPII) out of the state 2 of last 3 years. Glad to see BA's Victoria Dunlap graduate, but will be more glad to see Glory go. She can change a game the way Brendan Wright did for BA for 4 years.

No shot clock!!! The only thing that matters is the W. 20 years from now no one will remember the details, only that you won. I've coached college and serious AAU and love the clock and the pace of the game but not on the high school level. Don't want to get the ball held on you, then get the lead, teach good man to man, have pressing trapping defenses. Don't play 2-3 zone only and then complain that the other team held the ball. The fact is that most high schools don't have more than 1 good ballhandler so you shouldn't have the ball held against you. Some teams are limited offensively but defensively it is mainly teaching, heart and hustle and all teams can be taught this. Plus as much as all you guys complain about refs, home team parents at the table, etc. you can't imagine the training to do this correctly. The expense is only a one time expense and most schools could find budget room.(Do you need uniforms EVERY year?). Just my opinion.

Ashley was a tremendous player and a fine person that accomplished great things but don't make that stretch. Kayla is going to a great program where she'll get an opprotunity to play one day as Union routinely is a top 5 NAIA program. I've seen plenty of A kids that can play with AAA kids. My only response was to the statement that she was the best player in the state. I guarantee she hasn't seen the likes of Glory Johnson in A ball.

Thanks for the correction. We(JPII) have played against Carolyn 5 times the past 2 years and in another situation would've been all state. As for Aldridge, 20 years ago I was coaching juco and watched her play many times and was better than anyone we've mentioned! Obviously she's stuck with me this long.

You must keep everything in proper perspective. Hudson is a very good player.......for single A. She deserves all the attention she receives. However, could she guard Dawn Evans,or Carolyn Aldridge or Tara Davis? Doubt it. Also, they all could easily guard her, as could a 6-2 Glory Johnson. Aldridge is the best player people didn't get a chance to see much of outside of metro and on a good AAA team would be mentioned for Miss Bkbl.

Webb won by 15. It was 10 at the half. JPII shot 30% for the game. Glory and dupree played well inside. Their guards turned it over a lot and could hurt them. We just didn't convert their turnovers into points and didn't hit open looks. Good luck to Ensworth and BA.

The quarter by quarter scoring was basically even in 3 of the 4 quarters but they outscored us 15-2 in the second.

They are the favorite until someone beats them. They've been ranked #1 most of the year and have a lot of state tourney experience.

You're right in that Glory doesn't have to score 30 for them to win, she's just really scary when she has one of those nights. Faith is a very good player and hit big shots when they came to JPII. It was even for 3 quarters but we had a 2 pt second quarter that did us in. My intention was to say that they weren't as strong at the guard as they have been in the past. They are definitely stronger at the post than before. It will be a great challenge for us. Should be a great week of basketball.

I'm sure BA hated to see Briarcrest at # 3 seed. I believe Briarcrest is the best team but this field is the most even that i've seen the past 3 years. In other years you knew that a couple of teams were better than others. You can't say that this year. I think Briarcrest wins by 8-10. Also, Ensworth has a good shot at winning as well as JPII. Webb is good but not as good as the past few years. Depends on if the 14pt Glory shows up or the 30pt Glory. I'm hoping for the 14pt one. As a freshman, she knocked us (JPII) out of the state torney with a 30 point effort in a close game.

Yep,got close. Nothing suprised me about these games.

WC and MJ wins easily. DC-Smyrma a tossup as DC really shoots it well and is at home. NE over Beech by 10.

Semis are wednesday at Ryan. JPII-BA at 6:00, Ensworth-Harpeth Hall at 7:30. Championship and consolation on Saturday with top 3 going to the state tourney.

no contest as JPII was up 33 at half and cruised to an easy 59-36 win. Harpeth Hall squeaks by #6 BGA on last second shot. JPII and BA in one semi, HH and Ensworth in other. Should be good games as all are capable of beating each other.

First to the original post. Anything can happen with these two teams. I would hope that JPII winning the two previous games by a combined 45 points and playing at home would make JPII the favorite. But I don't expect JPII to shoot lights out in the first half like last game when the game was over at halftime. However just look in the paper and see higher seeds getting beat. (White House girls, Gallatin boys both #1) Now to this post. Coach Pack does a tremendous job and Ensworth has played their 2-3 zone to a #2 seed. They overcame a 12 pt deficit at JPII and should've beaten BA at home. I don't expect them to win the tourney as their man to man offense isn't good and they aren't good against pressure. Plus they have no offensive presence inside. It's hard to live on the 3. As far as the kids, allsmiller has the best shot as a d1 player. Bowers possibly NAIA or D2. The other 3 are juco or D2 but are young and could develop more. Hard for a college to see you play only 2-3 zone and no man D. All seem to be nice kids and have good attitudes. Will be a good tournament since all top teams are so equal.

Injuries play a part in any team's success. We lost Chelsea Leavell early last year and it hurt us. She was averaging 15 pts/ 10reb a game at the time. With everyone healthy i'm sure Ryan would be better. I only said that team that they put on the floor wasn't very good. I wish for every kid to be healthy as we did without last year and you always want everyone to be at full strength. Patsy is a super kid that i've coached in AAU and for the school. Her family is fantastic as well. Her first half shooting was the key to a quick start ( 6-6, 14 pts). However Jen Sneed is the most irreplaceable person on our team. We have no other option at point, she's been shooting well, and there's no better defender around. We like to think all our kids are important as we have no superstars. Hope you guys get well for the tournament

Sorry, but I was wrong. It wasn't a tossup. The opening tossup was as close as it would get. JPII raced out to a 20 point lead at half, 30 at end of 3 and won by 32. For it being senior night AT Ryan I don't know what that performance that was by the Lady Irish. The 3 senior starters combined for 0 points before being yanked halfway thru the third quarter. Don't know if not playing the Ensworth game and having time off hurt or not. But if you can't get up for JPII at home on senior night you can't get up. I still stand by my original statement that Ryan isn't one of the top 4 teams. No disrespect, it just is what it is.

Glory Johnson is clearly the best player. Dunlap is a very good all around player and good kid but she doesn't strike fear into you the way Glory can. Glory plays out of control sometimes but is capable of getting 30 on any night and Dunlap's game isn't built that way. I believe Dunlap is getting about 12 a game and has had some games where she hasn't stepped up when keyed on. I've seen Avant and she's good but not in the top 2 yet. The girl from Briarcrest is a solid player but not Miss Basketball material.

Congrats to your kids. They are capable of that effort and result each night and gives them confidence going into the tourney. Anyone can beat anyone on a given night. Good luck.

Tossup. I've got confidence JPII will win but haven't won there last 3 years. With region being there it would be a good boost to win. Ryan has a great home court advantage as we did last week. The winner has momentum as both teams have huge games that "count" next week to decide seedings.

Good job to coach Bradshaw. This isn't a great suprise to me as I told 5stardad earlier in the year that if they played as hard as they did against JPII they could beat some people, especially at home. I don't think anyone figured out Station Camp. All the teams in this district are a few plays from beating each other or an off night from a good player away from losing. No one is that much better than the others. Thats why they roll the balls out. Good job lady cats.

Big DII game last night but didn't see the score on the tennessean website or paper. Brentwood Academy beat JPII by 16 and the Ensworth- Ryan game was important as well. Last 2 weeks will be big as many seeds still up in the air.

As usual, the JPII- Ryan game is one of the best and most exciting atmospheres in HS ball. Great student sections and sportsmanshipfrom a capacity crowd add to this game. Win or lose, it's very exciting. We get to do it all over again next Thursday at Ryan, which holds a lot more people. Should be another great time.

As a JPII fan you are correct. Briarcrest is a better team than JPII and Brentwood Academy. I guess some people vote on record alone because Ensworth is better than GPS and Davidson. Big game at JPII tonight as Father Ryan comes to town. One of the best atmospheres in HS ball.

JPII gives up 35 per game and has been around 35 the last 2 years. don't press much but is good in half court man and zone. Wish our offense was as consistent.