Div. II State Tournament Preview

[mfalc04]

The Div. II state tournament will take place this week at Allen Arena (Lipscomb University). Here are the pairings:

 

Baylor (13-13 ) vs. Briarcrest (24-7)

BA (23-3) vs. St. George's (23-5)

MUS (22-9) vs. PJP (16-14)

McCallie (22-9) vs. Ensworth (12-14)

 

This tournament will feature some really good players, here are some to keep an eye on:

 

Leslie McDonald, Soph., 6'4, G/F, Briarcrest- Mr. Basketball finalist, top 25 national soph.

Brandon Brown, Sr., 6'7, F, BA- Mr. basketball finalist, Lipscomb signee

Brian Wright, Sr., 6'5, F, BA- Lipscomb signee

Elliot Williams, Jr., 6'4, G, St. George's- Mr. Basketball finalist, one of the top 25 G's in the country for 2008

Ferrakohn Hall, So., 6'6, F/C, MUS- mid/high major div. I prospect

Tavarrus Jefferson, So., 5'10, PG, Ensworth- high major div. I prospect

 

 

What are your predictions?

[vandyfan67]

The opener between BA and St. George's will be some kind of matchup. I think the championship still has to go through BA, but they're not the lock they were in the past with Brandon Wright, obviously.

 

I'm going to go with BA, but look for Ensworth to make some noise, too. Should be a great tournament.

[shannon]

QUOTE(mfalc04 @ Feb 25 2007 - 04:00 PM) 826388623[/snapback]The Div. II state tournament will take place this week at Allen Arena (Lipscomb University). Here are the pairings:

 

Baylor (13-13 ) vs. Briarcrest (24-7)

BA (23-3) vs. St. George's (23-5)

MUS (22-9) vs. PJP (16-14)

McCallie (22-9) vs. Ensworth (12-14)

 

This tournament will feature some really good players, here are some to keep an eye on:

 

Leslie McDonald, Soph., 6'4, G/F, Briarcrest- Mr. Basketball finalist, top 25 national soph.

Brandon Brown, Sr., 6'7, F, BA- Mr. basketball finalist, Lipscomb signee

Brian Wright, Sr., 6'5, F, BA- Lipscomb signee

Elliot Williams, Jr., 6'4, G, St. George's- Mr. Basketball finalist, one of the top 25 G's in the country for 2008

Ferrakohn Hall, So., 6'6, F/C, MUS- mid/high major div. I prospect

Tavarrus Jefferson, So., 5'10, PG, Ensworth- high major div. I prospect

What are your predictions?

 

 

 

First get your facts correct. McCallie is 23-4.

 

McCallie's quarterfinal opponent is Ensworth; a team they have played and beaten. Of course, Coach Bowers is one heck of a coach.

[Trojan Fan]

6-6 F Laurence Bowers of St. George's is also considered a national top 100 junior along with Elliot Williams though I don't think he's quite the stud that Williams is.

[bcsaints10]

St. George's vs. Brentwood should be an amazing game. Laurence Bowers had a pretty good regional tournament. Elliot Williams had 36 against CBHS. They finished 3rd in the tournament, beating #1 seed ECS in the consolation game.

Briarcrest could be a big sleeper in the tournament. They have 5 legitimate D-1 players on the team. Sophomore Leslie McDonald (6'4" 190) is the #11 player in the nation. He is as good as advertised, but he is a much better all-around player than people give him credit for. He can shoot from the outside. He is almost unstoppable in the lane. He wows you with athletic plays and monster jams. He should go to an elite college. Sophomore PG Gregg Wooten (6'2" 205) is inconsistent, but if he can get into the lane and finish, he is a solid player. He should go to a high-profile school. He is very physical and a great defender. Junior guard Elgin Lee (6'3" 170) is unstoppable offensively. He is more of a street-type player than anyone on the team. He always shoots running jumpers and has a nice array of fancy passing. His athleticism is very underrated. His play this season has been overlooked because of McDonald's success, but very quietly, he averages about 16/17 a game. He can light up the scoreboard, and he is probably the most-willing to shoot the ball in pressure situations. Junior Jake McCrary (6'1" 190) probably won't play college ball, but he could at a smaller school. He is the best defender on the team and is probably the most physical player on the team. He can get into the lane and hit from the outside. Sophomore center Johnny Williams (6'6" 230), a transfer who has played in only 3 games, has shown flashes of how good he can be. He had 11 points, 7 boards, and 3 blocks against Laurence Bowers in the semi-finals against St. George's.

Briarcrest probably won't be expected to win the whole thing this year. I don't know much about Baylor so I'm not sure what kind of game that will be. I see their record is 13-13, but they must be better than that since they are in state. ECS finished 12-14 and they were the #1 seed before the tournament.

 

Here are my predictions..

Briarcrest def. Baylor

Brentwood def. St. George's

MUS def. PJP2

Ensworth def. McCallie

 

Brentwood def. Briarcrest

Ensworth def. MUS

 

Brentwood def. Ensworth

[bcsaints10]

Briarcrest's record is 28-7. The scores for 3 wins in the Ft. Walton Playground Area Shootout and a win against St. Benedict in the second round of the region tournament aren't on this site's schedule.

[Random1]

What about McCallie? They are 23-4. They have only lost to Bradley County twice. They lost by 2 and by 5. They lost to Howard by 3 and to Brentwood by 14 early in the year? Both Bradley and Howard are ranked in the top 5 of their classification.

Let's give them some respect. They beat Ensworth early in the year when they were just learning their new coaches offense and defense. This is just a comment . GO BIG BLUE!!

[nastysquad06]

Can someone give some information on St. George? How did they come in third with two stars on their team? What did they do in the regular season? Fill me in

[PBG030]

QUOTE(Random1 @ Feb 26 2007 - 08:46 AM) 826389685[/snapback]What about McCallie? They are 23-4. They have only lost to Bradley County twice. They lost by 2 and by 5. They lost to Howard by 3 and to Brentwood by 14 early in the year? Both Bradley and Howard are ranked in the top 5 of their classification.

Let's give them some respect. They beat Ensworth early in the year when they were just learning their new coaches offense and defense. This is just a comment . GO BIG BLUE!!

 

 

I'm pullin' for McCallie cause my boy Seth Wadley. I know he doesn't play Varsity but that's his school and we used to go to school together. I hope they do well through the tournament. /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

[BigOwl]

Baylor 56

Briarcrest 54

Final

[HockeyTiger]

QUOTE(BigOwl @ Feb 28 2007 - 02:01 PM) 826393474[/snapback]Baylor 56

Briarcrest 54

Final

 

 

Ouch.

 

And to answer the above poster asking for more info on St. George's, they're a very solid team but when Williams and Bowers are out they're beatable. Bowers is a 6-7 guy who can rebound well, hit turnaround jumpers or drive the lane but the focus is almost always on Williams from the opponent. He lit up CBHS for 36 and 15 and hit three after three with a hand in his face. They also have a very good SR point guard in Steven Leake. He doesn't get much pub but he can shoot the three well and he's a good leader.

 

Grant Jessen (a great running back in the fall) is an aggressive player who can shoot the 3 and won the game against ECS on the other night driving to the rim. I don't know how well they'll match up with BA, but they've got a good team and will be even better next year.

[BARTLETTHSGRAD04]

Anyone got any details from the game that baylor won.