2005 Mr. Basketball Winners

[gomab2]

I agree btown... as for the stats, at the State and in the program they had Tyler at 31 ppg, but he actually averaged a tad over 26... Not sure why the inflated stats

[Gerry Bertier]

Yeah Tyler averaged a little over 26 pts a game. The Mr Basketball award and every other individual award given out by the TSSAA is always highly discuseed among fans. It always seems like the kid who deserves it never gets it cause someone else is getting all the hype. But the TSSAA doesnt do many things right, so why expect them to get this right as well. I know sportswriters vote but TSSAA helps determine how the voting will be done.

Edited March 23, 2005 by Gerry Bertier

[gomab2]

btown, I say overacheiving for a few reasons...

1) Coman did not play this year like I thought he could. He really struggled to make shots, and does not handle the ball well

2) NS had ZERO depth, often going just 6 deep, tops

3) White Station had a much better supporting cast

4) North Side did not play defense all year, and rebounded poorly as well

5) Especially as the year went on, the Fairley win was an upset.

6) All in all, this North Side team was not as good as last year's, with Ramon and Jerrell, yet still advanced all the way to the State Title game, and posted wins over Bolivar (twice), Fairley, Ridgeway, Haywood Co, Liberty, Cordova (twice), Hillsboro, and Shannon (MS)... I definitely feel they overacheived...

 

And the two deciding factors between Delk and Prince:

1) Reginald's great outside shot (over 43% on the year)

2) Reginald and NS advanced SIX games further than JP and WS

[btowntigers]

btown, I say overacheiving for a few reasons...

1) Coman did not play this year like I thought he could. He really struggled to make shots, and does not handle the ball well

2) NS had ZERO depth, often going just 6 deep, tops

3) White Station had a much better supporting cast

4) North Side did not play defense all year, and rebounded poorly as well

5) Especially as the year went on, the Fairley win was an upset.

6) All in all, this North Side team was not as good as last year's, with Ramon and Jerrell, yet still advanced all the way to the State Title game, and posted wins over Bolivar (twice), Fairley, Ridgeway, Haywood Co, Liberty, Cordova (twice), Hillsboro, and Shannon (MS)... I definitely feel they overacheived...

 

And the two deciding factors between Delk and Prince:

1) Reginald's great outside shot (over 43% on the year)

2) Reginald and NS advanced SIX games further than JP and WS

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ok i followed you up to point #3 and the fact that they overachieved....all year long you(and me 2) thought North Side would win AAA, especially after they got by Fairley, who we both though might be the most talented AAA team in the state. i dont see why you think White Station had a better supporting cast either....are you saying they had a better starting 5 or that they were deeper on the bench. maybe they were deeper on the bench but other than Prince who else did they have? Cunningham is really the only other good starter they had and he is nothing compared to Richard Delk who was by Reginalds side. a team that was most peoples preseason pick to win it all cant overachieve. i agree they werent quite as good as last years team but Bolivar wasnt as good either but i dont think we over achieved by winning state again. they had no depth, neither did we(7 deep all year), but Northsides starting 5 was one of the best in the state and they were good enough to win it all, just picked a bad game to play their worst game of the season.

[Opperman]

Where was JP during State Tourney??? Heck, where was he after the first round of region??? JP couldn't even lead his team to higher than a 4th place district tourney finish with a deep and talented roster around him... JP struggled against Fairley when it counted and lost, while Reginald carried Northisde with a HUGE game against Fairley in a win... One player went home against Fairley, and one marched on to the State tourney...

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I disagree that White Station was deep and talented this year. They only had one other player that looked like a definite future scholarship D-I player, IMO, and he's a sophomore. That team is about an 18-win team without JP, at best.

[ladyk00]

People, people, people... the Mr. Basketball Finalists are chosen. Sorry if you don't like it, but you can't change it. I'm happy with all the Finalists. Great job and keep up the good work. Oh yeah... Doaks haters, let it go! HE WON! GO NICCHEAUS! Well done! thumb

[thagreat1_72]

People, people, people... the Mr. Basketball Finalists are chosen. Sorry if you don't like it, but you can't change it. I'm happy with all the Finalists. Great job and keep up the good work. Oh yeah... Doaks haters, let it go! HE WON! GO NICCHEAUS! Well done!   thumb

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Hmm...isn't this why you have message boards for people to discuss, (and vent), if they want to. I wonder what your take would be if you were not happy with the awards. I posted my comment because I felt Tyler Smith was robbed. That is the only post, until now, I made on this subject. Whether we can change it or not is not the issue...the issue here is everone's opinion. Don't "hate" on those who have an opinion different from yours.

[BlackSunshine]

The only reason anyone is bringing up a temper tantrum is because of the game against us.  Who cares the season is over and Doaks won it.  He is just like every other kid, you don't  get the call you want it upsets you.  That night he made a mistake, but he fixed it.  He came back into the regionals and showed everybody what kind of player he is.  He kept one of his teammates from fighting during a game in regionals.  It seems like  because he got kicked out of the game against us and 2 more games everyone doesn't like him.  Go to any game in TN and you will see the same thing everyone is talking about on here.  Grow up and leave Doaks alone.  Everyone making a fuss about it on here is not going to change the outcome, he had already won it GET OVER IT!!!!!!!!

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Okay, fair enough post. Let me offer a counter-point. I really will try to keep opinion to a minimum and stick with facts, okay.

 

Many people see the Mr. Basketball honor (and that's what it is) as not only an individual honor to the player, but it is also, in many people's views, the best representative of Tennessee's high school basketball (with respect to classification). In a sense, the winners represent "us".

 

You can argue Webb, Doaks, Skogan, etc. all day long with regards to performanc. It's like debating on what the best car is. It's simply opinion on who's the best basketball player. That's all.

 

What people take exception with is the character segment of the award. Let's face it. Doaks has not always portrayed what many consider exceptional sportsmanship, especially in the tournament when most people were watching. He was kicked out of a game for two very selfish acts. He shoved a JCS player out of frustration on a fast break hard enough to knock the player down. This was in the open court and away from the ball i.e. no excuse. In the State Tournament finals, he drew a technical foul for remarks made to the opposing team's crowd. None of these things are opinion. They all happened, and many people saw each thing.

 

I will not comment on this person's playing ability. It speaks for itself. He led his team to the finals of the State Tournament, and he's already been recruited for major college play. People can judge his play all day long, but the performance on the floor has been rewarded where it counts i.e. scoreboard and college opportunities.

 

Regardless of ability, though, being chosen as Mr. Basketball with such events in recent history cheapens the honor in many people's minds. His ability is something to be honored and held up, but his behaviour isn't always as favorable. It comes to the question of is this what we want to reward? It also says that, even with the observed behaviour considered, this player is still better than the other two.

 

From a coach's view, you have to ask yourself is the risk of technical fouls and other discipline issues worth the added benefit of Doaks over the other contenders. As a fan, you have to ask yourself if the image this player portrays is something that's worth his performance.

 

To some, winning is all that matters. To others, rewarding the "complete package" is more important. More than likely, the disparity between these two parties is what's causing the conflict when meaningful debate is carried out.

[btowntigers]

hey sunshine.....since you brought up the character part again...is there anyone in the entire state that can say he knows all 3 of the finalists well enough to know what kind of person they are? i highly doubt it so this is pointless. west tn voters might know doaks but on the other hand they dont know Skogen, east tn voters might know Skogen but have no clue what kind of person Doaks is. the award is based on stats and success PERIOD. i dont see why you say they represent us either this award has nothing to do with me and you, its just merely rewarding the best player for his hard work and effort displayed on the court.

[BlackSunshine]

hey sunshine.....since you brought up the character part again...is there anyone in the entire state that can say he knows all 3 of the finalists well enough to know what kind of person they are? i highly doubt it so this is pointless. west tn voters might know doaks but on the other hand they dont know Skogen, east tn voters might know Skogen but have no clue what kind of person Doaks is. the award is based on stats and success PERIOD. i dont see why you say they represent us either this award has nothing to do with me and you, its just merely rewarding the best player for his hard work and effort displayed on the court.

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I agree completely, except that the charter for the award mentions character. I've already said that I think the award should be for "on floor" performance, only because it's voted on by people who couldn't know character issues.

 

Unfortunately, in it's current incarnation, Mr. Basketball does include character, though.

[sportsradiotn]

The "character" portion of the Mr. Basketball award is mainly directed toward how the nominee conducts themselves in the community and at the school...at least that's how it was described to me by one of the nine people on the panel that ultimately elect the winners.