Tournament Time

[gameball]

I am back! I have found that my new job requires too much time and travel and I may have to drop off the rankings board, HOWEVER, it is now time to talk Tourney Time in Tennessee. I wish we had these boards when I played to get everyone's engine running and find out the scoop on each team. But 10 years ago, no one had computers like today or much less how to use them and the Internet was just a someday..............Anyway, I have done my homework around the state and while I admit my preseason rankings were a bit off, I still believe my early predictions will play out in the State Tournaments,,,,,,,,,,,

 

Ok, so let's go,

 

 

Some good teams will be shocked during tournament time. But the Horses who year in and year out make it to the state tournament will show up no matter what they have done thru the year.

 

A Few have learned to step up and I believe Cookeville will be a winner in their district and Region, but after that it will be based on whom they play whether they can advance.

 

Catholic in Knoxville It could be their year and while I am on Knoxville, lucky for CAK they will not have to meet them until the State Finals and even as strong as these teams are either could be upset but not until the actual tournament in Murfreesboro,

 

I think Webb has been over looked by the Div II teams as being the real powerhouse but if they can stay healthy, WEBB can win the State Tournament.

 

in AAA Houston will own the West and deservedly so, and in the Center of the State in AAA could have a shocker moving on, Everyone expects Brentwood and Hendersonville to be the two, one will not make it to the State Tourney....East Tenn will still be owned by Farragut and Bearden and this will be Bearden's tournament to lose. They are playing well, but I still feel would struggle if they get behind. They came back on Catholic, but have really not been behind enough to know if they can repeat, but I like their odds alot

.

Alot of key games tonight, so maybe I am ahead of myself, but time will tell........

[turbocab]

A couple of additional pre-tournament observations:

 

In Div II-CBHS is clearly the class of the west while in the Middle, there are three or four very strong teams including Father Ryan, PJP II, MBA and BGA. In the east, at least one very good team (Baylor or McCallie) will be left at home.

 

In AAA, I don't know much about the teams outside of the east but have have seen excellent results for Blackman. Out east, watch for Knox West. They've played a pretty tough schedule and matched up well against everyone. Now that Cody McCoy is healthy again, they are a real threat. In the Northeast, Science Hill who has been very quiet this year compared to previous seasons. Anytime you have a striker like Eddie Yah, you can win any game. DB has also made some noise, but we'll know more about them after they play Science Hill tonight.

 

 

In A/AA the southeast seems to have 3 pretty good teams (CSAS, CCS and Notre Dame), one of which will be left behind.

[gameball]

You are right on CBHS, They will own the West and I should have put that in there. That was a brain fart, Blackman is a very good team in AAA, just not as good as Cookeville to me or a final 4 team in the state. Cookeville's future only goes as far as their matchup in Murfreesboro

 

IN other responses A/AA Catholic and CAK are really in a class by themselves unless they play a really bad game , which can happen to any team........Ask Brentwood, Farragut, and even CBHS. However my outside favorite on this A/AA is CSAS

 

In Div II You are right about MBA and maybe McCallie, Baylor while a good team has really struggled the last 4 games and may not be up to the challenge, Father ryan can play but still WEbb is better than all of them except maybe CBHS

 

AAA I'll stick with Beaden anf Farragut owning the east. Mcclosky has done well with D/B this year but them and Science Hill even with Ediie Yah are no match for those two come tournament time.

[Mueller]

How can you say so much about sure powerhouse teams when this year has been a real testament to the strength of several different teams spread across different districts.

 

AAA-

 

Id say that West Tennessee is just about the only one that has a Sure-fire winner. Houston and Collierville.

East and Middle are a really diverse group this year. To say that Hendersonville is going to make it, is really a leap of faith. Its a strong possibility that they might not even make it out of their district. Same goes for Brentwood, though they have a better chance than hendersonville, they still have a very tough district.

 

List of possible middle tennessee state attending teams: Brentwood, Ravenwood, Indy, Franklin, Centennial, Hendersonville, Lavergne, Gallatin, Wilson Central, Blackman, Cookeville, Siegal, Riverdale, Tullahoma

 

Same goes for East Tennessee. Though Farragut and Bearden are always heavy favorites, they have very serious competition in their own district that could change the outcome of that area.

 

Possible East Tennessee Teams: Bearden, Farragut, Knox west, Oak Ridge, Maryville, South Doyle, Science Hill, Dobyns.

 

All im saying is that its more of a toss-up than years before, its really coming down to who gets the lucky games, and who comes to play Every game. Its gonna be great to follow.

[reaction]

Nice tournament talk gameball. I pretty much agree with you on a lot of what you have said. AAA I think will run through Knoxville. Bearden is clearly the favorite. Farragut, Oak Ridge, and West could all hold there own in the boro as well.

 

A/AA will also run through Knoxville with CAK and Knox Catholic being the favorites for state. CSAS seems to be a threat out of Chattanooga. I have not seen them play, but i will before the boro I'm sure. They have played a pretty good schedule, and have not lost a game yet. Notre Dame and CCS could make some noise too.

 

Div 2 I have no idea, so ill just keep my mouth shut.

 

My assumptions look pretty biased for east tennessee, but why shouldn't I, the history doesn't lie.

Outside Division 2, CAK has 4 (sorry BigG) in a row in A/AA. Only year I remember any other team winning state since I graduated in 2002 in AAA is Brentwood 2 years ago. Instead of saying East Tennessee, I should say Knoxville has dominated those 2 classifications.