John005

There's no shame in losing to that team from Jackson. They are not only talented, but as you can tell they are well-coached and know what they're going to do before they get the ball. You won't see many teams come out of this state that are as good as this group. Tough draw Dyer Co., but a great run nonetheless.

He/she can answer the question however he/she likes. I think we can disagree with people about basketball games while remaining respectful to them. I understand we all get a little fired up about these games with "our" teams, but come on now. You aren't winning anyone over to your side by calling them stupid.

Liberty Tech is a complete matchup problem for every team they face outside of the elite programs in the nation. They can beat teams so many ways. They can play the half court game, and they can also run you out of the gym. They play the best team defense of any team you will see in the state, they have the best shooting team you will see in the state, they have the best depth of any team you will see in the state, they play with the most poise of any team in the state, not to mention they came into the Boro last year and won it all against some incredibly talented competition. All this to say, it could be a very, very long night for any of these teams playing LT.

Yeah, it's been a rough year when Powell's most memorable moment as a freshman came when he took a cheap shot at a Vandy student rushing the court at Memorial. Donovan won't put up with much of that.

Unless you have seen every team in AA play mulitple times this year you can't possibly answer this with an objective answer. With that in mind, the best sophomore player I have seen from my area this year, without a close second, is Trey Caruthers from Harpeth. He's still a raw talent, like most sophomores, but if you've seen the kid play in person you know he's going to be something special.

I wouldn't hate you at all. I just wouldn't respect you. Let me give you an illustration. Children whose drunk daddy's come home and beat them like a rented mule will get tough and mean, but they get that way for horrible and destructive reasons (hate, revenge, fear, insecurity, etc.). They will be afraid of their fathers, but they will never respect them. What's more tragic, they will likely end up being just like them; a hollow shell of a human being. Getting beat down time and again without being shown love and respect just makes another loser for the rest of society, or law enforcement, to have to put up with. That attitude does not need to be reflected in sports, but it is sometimes, and it is sad to see. That is not what sports, or our lives, are about.

11-AA definitely has a chance against 3 of the 4 teams in 12-AA. In all honesty, I don't see any team from 11-AA staying within 20 points of Liberty Tech though. I know that sounds harsh, but not when considering that Liberty Tech has beaten the #2 team in it's own district (Bolivar Central) 3 times this year by an average of nearly 24 points per contest. They are just a match-up nightmare at every position. That said, every team they play from here on out will be gunning for them. Now no one is talking about the #2 team much out of 12-AA, but they should. Bolivar Central has played an agonizingly tough schedule this year after losing two D1 players from last year's team, and they are still 16-10. For example: 4 of their 10 losses came to Liberty Tech and Brentwood Academy. So they will also be a formidable matchup for 11-AA.

We all fall under your disclaimer justdontno, so no worries here. Harpeth is an excellent defensive team. I can already tell that Trey Caruthers, as a sophomore, will be one of the best players to come out of that school before it's over. He's pretty good now, but he'll grow a couple more inches and you'll be looking at a 6'5" guard who's a real slasher when he's a senior. I watched Harpeth against Creek Wood 2 nights ago. Four of their starting five seem to be pretty good athletes from what I saw, especially Giltner and Caruthers. They tend to go into spells where they seem to lose concentration and play a little out of control. That cannot happen against teams like Liberty Tech or even Bolivar. The big difference Harpeth is going to see when the Region begins is that they cannot rely on their athletic ability alone against teams with equal or better ability. They will have to play more consistently for 4 periods. District 11-AA is not the most athletic district around, so I don't believe Harpeth's game-to-game competition has been consistently as tough as the opposing district's. Their defense is the key though, they can get after you defensively, and if they can just get some outside scoring from Giltner, Caruthers, or anyone else in the tourney, they could very well move on to the sub-state. I don't see any team even hanging with Liberty Tech until we get much deeper in the state tourney.

Congratulations on an impressive win. A word of caution: Stay humble. Pride comes before a fall. "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips." Proverbs 27:2

Point taken. Here's what I go on: #1 Ridgeway defeated Raleigh Egypt a couple weeks after the big jamboree win in a regular season game that counts, which shows anything can happen on a given night, BUT... #2 Liberty not only defeated that same Ridgeway team who upended Raleigh Egypt, they blew them out on their own home court by 23 points. Usually I don't put much stock in comparing scores UNLESS it shows a dramatic difference. #3 Liberty Tech has consistently played at a high level, and the heavy majority of their scores against excellent competition are completely lop-sided. Evidence: Their AVERAGE margin of victory against Ridgeway, Bolivar, Mitchell, Haywood, and Science Hill is 22.8 ppg, and that is solid competition they are blowing out. Their entire "body of work" is what shows me that that 83-80 preseason game back in November is not likely an accurate showing for the Crusaders. Therefore, considering this evidence, although I understand it is not black and white proof, it leads me to think LT is still the team to beat in this state. I think you would get a better idea of how good the teams are if you saw them play today instead of in November, but you're right, we can't, but this is what makes for great message boards.

You can't look back to a "jamboree game" (A.K.A. 'practice') 2 months ago as an honest gague of how good Liberty Tech is right now. That said, I understand any team can be beaten any given night when you've got some playmakers on the court. I think Raleigh Egypt could beat Liberty Tech again on the right night, but only if Liberty Tech played average-to-poor and they played their A-game. However, Tech could beat them by 10-15 on most any other night if you apply that same thinking the other way around. Here's the difference in Tech and other schools in this state right now in my mind: I think Liberty Tech could beat the best teams in the nation on any given night, you would struggle to say the same with a straight face for any other team in this state, and that's the difference. As far as some on here comparing this year's Brentwood Academy to that team they had last year...Here's the comparison: They both wear the same uniforms...and that's about it. They are a very good team this year, they have a great chance to win another title, but they do not hold a candle to that team from last year. To say they somehow DO, well, that is an insult to Brandon Wright and Josh Bone, and I would venture to say their own team would tell you the same thing.

I don't believe ND is in any better position as a football program than UT after a 9th consecutive bowl loss, and it will be hard to keep their head coach there for any extended period of time the way NFL team's drool over him. I agree they have great academic standards and team discipline, but I think the media and "the good ole days memories" keeps the shine a little brighter on those gold helmets than the results do. They are getting a solid recruiting class this year, so we will see. Discipline on the team took a nose dive the last few years under Fulmer(I have seen the discipline decline since the signing of Kelly Washington, who was a good player, but a distraction they never seemed to call out). Increasing recruiting pressure by fans and boosters that must be entertained, are, in my opinion, making Fulmer feel like he has to gamble on questionable character guys with more frequency to get the athletes they're used to, and that's why you're seeing more discipline problems off the field. That said, I really liked what David Cutcliff did this year. The defense does not have the talent or depth that it usually does, but they will reload. Donald is a great addition. I think from a football perspective Donald made a good choice. Notre Dame is not the prime place to go if you're a defensive player these days. That was made manifest against LSU. SEC schools are in a different class defensively right now.

Liberty Tech is a tough matchup for any team anywhere if you've seen them play. I saw them in the state last year, and they are very impressive defensively. If you want to see an example of how they like to play defense, just take a baseball bat to a hornet's nest. They have more speed and quickness as a team than anybody you'll see. They play incredibly hard, they are tough, they have several guys who can light it up so you can't focus on one. They will press from start to finish no matter who they play. They will sacrifice fouls to try to force turnovers, and to beat them you MUST shoot free throws well as a team. They are incredibly fun to watch play, Dexter Williams played at Union under Ralph Turner(former Don Meyer assistant and as good a coach as there is in Tennessee) and you can tell he learned a lot about coaching from the guy, they can go 10 deep and don't lose a whole lot, and they don't care if they foul out. There may be a handful, but I don't see many teams at any high school level beating these guys.

Jeremy Saffore (Hillwood)- Chattanooga Dequan Twilley (Shelbyville)- ETSU That information is from scout.com.

I think it is primarily the school's responsibility to know what is being played over THEIR sound systems at all times, not the kids. These are children, and if you give children responsibility and they misuse or abuse it, you take it away. Anyone with a brain should know you don't just take some random CD a kid hands you and trust it's clean and appropriate without screening it first. That is common sense. If anyone has to stop and wonder about if the song they're playing would be considered "offensive" or "inappropriate" then they just answered their own question: it would be. Also, I wouldn't even allow a "clean version" of a rap song if it needed a clean version. HELLO??? There may be a word partially bleeped, but the overall trashy message is still coming through loud and clear. Rap music has a BAD stereotype that follows it(violence/sexism/immorality/hostility), much like heavy metal(violence/immorality/occultism/anarchy)...and NEWSFLASH!....most Americans hate that stuff because of the terrible stereotypes that follow it. Another note: It's not just a Memphis thing, I was at a football game at a Cheatham County school this year, and the players had some terrible rap song on their pregame warmup music that was offensive. People(with their children) in the stands were looking around wondering who on earth allowed it to be played. Fortunately someone cut it off. I don't care if it's in the hood or in a small town, people, as a rule, white or black, don't like vulgar or violent music.