Oak Ridge @ Powell 1/11

[Bigboi20]

Anybody has any insight to this game.

Will it be a packed house, good game, etc?

[mocs30]

Anybody has any insight to this game.

Will it be a packed house, good game, etc?

 

 

Should be a packed house at Powell. Oak Ridge will bring a bunch of fans. Oak Ridge has controlled this rivalry in the regular season the past few years. If Powell is to win the regular season district race, tomorrow is a must-win game.

 

Oak Ridge will present Powell with a difficult challenge because of their athleticism. Powell shoots the ball very well at times from the perimeter. It will be interesting to see what Oak Ridge does with Seymore, who is a tough match up. I doubt that they use Dowdell on him, but I could be wrong.

 

Powell might play zone against Oak Ridge. The key for Powell will be Andrew Hansen. He can't let Stephens dominate the basketball game. It's a big challenge for Andrew and one he's been looking forward to for a long time.

[IrishBBall]

Should be a packed house at Powell. Oak Ridge will bring a bunch of fans. Oak Ridge has controlled this rivalry in the regular season the past few years. If Powell is to win the regular season district race, tomorrow is a must-win game.

 

Oak Ridge will present Powell with a difficult challenge because of their athleticism. Powell shoots the ball very well at times from the perimeter. It will be interesting to see what Oak Ridge does with Seymore, who is a tough match up. I doubt that they use Dowdell on him, but I could be wrong.

 

Powell might play zone against Oak Ridge. The key for Powell will be Andrew Hansen. He can't let Stephens dominate the basketball game. It's a big challenge for Andrew and one he's been looking forward to for a long time.

 

Hansen may want to be careful what he wishes for......I would play OR a zone and make them prove they can consistently hit from outside. Defensively, I don't see them matching up very well in a man defense. Seymore is capable of giving Dowdell problems as he has with several other people. IF he's hitting from outside, he can use his head fake and dribble pentration to his advantage. Dowdell matches up with him very well but can be foul prone especially to some one who plays as smart as Seymore. This game will test the mental toughness of the Panthers as this will be the first time 3-4 of these guys will feel the pressure/heat from OR. Good to get the first one at home for the Panthers.

 

Good luck to both teams. I see OR coming out on top and I wouldn't be surprised either way if it's close or a blow out.

[mocs30]

All valid points, Irish. As far as Hansen goes, any good player wants the challenge of playing the best players. I think Stephens, with all respect to Jordan Damron, is best point guard I have seen in East Tennessee this year -- Bar None.

 

Andrew knows how good Stephens is and is excited about the opportunity. The whole team is as well. It's not every day that you get a chance to knock off the #2 team in the state on your home floor. Hoping for a big win tonight!!

[mocs30]

Oak Ridge won tonight 80-63 at Powell in a very competitive game. Oak Ridge had control most of the way, but Powell cut the lead down to ten and had some real momentum with three minutes left. Oak Ridge was able to turn it back in their favor though.

 

I have a few observations to make since I have now seen all of the "good" AAA teams in this area.

 

First: Oak Ridge is the best team in the Region. They are better than Maryville and I think that they are significantly better than Bearden as well. Ricky is doing a phenomenal job with this team and it is probably the best Oak Ridge team I have seen in ten years, and that is saying something. Their guard play is intense and physical and they have several good shooters to go along with an athletic inside presence with Dowdell and Gregory. The achilles heel might be a poor shooting night in March, but I see this team winning the Region and getting to state. The guard play is there. They struggled a little with full court man press against Powell, and I question whether they could win the state against a team that presses them possessing equal athletes, but this is a really nice team. It seems like everyone on their team is 6'2" +

 

Second: Maryville, Bearden, Farragut or Powell could all make it to the other substate if the cards fell exactly right. Maryville is defending state champs, but I think they are vulnerable to smaller running teams, same with Bearden. Farragut is pretty solid, but their issue is guard play at tournament time. Powell has Jason Seymore, who might be the best all-around player in the Region, but Powell is at a significant size disadvantage against these other teams. Powell has to shoot the ball well to win and the last couple of years, they have during the tournaments. My guess (early) is that the Region Semifinals will look like this:

 

Oak Ridge (D3AAA Tournament Champ) v. Bearden (D4AAA Runner-Up)

Maryville (D4AAA Tournament Champ) v. Powell (D3AAA Tournament Runner-up)

 

Two other teams to watch out as Region spoilers are William Blount (well coached and disciplined) and Karns (too many good shooters to count).

[DCCATVOICE]

I haven't seen Bearden play so I am interested in how you think that Oak Ridge is better. I know they are huge. I know Maryville is better than when Oak Ridge played them with Douglas back. I am interested in your thoughts why you feel Oak Ridge is the better team.

[dontknowmuch]

I have also seen all of the Region's AAA teams. Unfortunately, we all only see a few games, so it is hard to make good comparisions. Oak Ridge is a very good team. They have a good mix of size and speed, and they have one of the best point guards in Tennessee. Frankly, I think that Bearden is coming on very strong and is the best team in the area. Oak Ridge is next, however, they are vulnerable inside. Their real strength is in their perimeter defense. Maryville and Farragut are probably next in that order with Powell fifth. William Blount took a real blow when Ballard broke his ankle, and it will be hard to replace him. Of all of the other teams, Lenior City is improving and could make noise. Karns, with their style of play, also could do damage.

 

It will be an interesting next few weeks in 4AAA. Maryville, Farragut and Bearden all play their second games against each other during th enext 10 days. We'll see which group rises to the top.

[mocs30]

I haven't seen Bearden play so I am interested in how you think that Oak Ridge is better. I know they are huge. I know Maryville is better than when Oak Ridge played them with Douglas back. I am interested in your thoughts why you feel Oak Ridge is the better team.

 

 

DC --

 

I'm not knocking Bearden, but their guard play is not really close to Oak Ridge's in terms of speed, athleticism or talent. Bearden lost at home to Maryville BEFORE Douglas came back. Their guards could not keep Damron from scoring 42 points. He is a nice player, but could you ever see Damron scoring 42 against Oak Ridge? Nope. Bearden's guards cannot stay in front your guards. And I think that Dowdell matches up favorably with Simpson or Jenkins.

 

Don't get me wrong, either, I'm not down on Bearden. They are really good and Blevins is an awesome coach. But, it's a game of match-ups, and Bearden would have to take the air out of the ball to beat Oak Ridge. I also don't think that you guys played particularly well over at Maryville and still won. The strength of Oak Ridge is they swarm to the ball and stay in the other team's face all night. This is just my opinion, I could be completely wrong. But I doubt it. lol.

[Panthers08]

Just want to add my thoughts on this game. I thought that Oak Ridge did a nice job of attacking what I perceive to be Powell's biggest weakness as a team this year. They just aren't that tough. As a whole the team generally plays soft. The refs were letting both teams play and it wasn't until late that the Panthers matched Oak Ridges physical style of play. Not coincidently, when Powell finally started played tougher they made a run to cut the lead to ten but it was too little too late. Oak Ridge is a scary team this year. They have long athletic post guys and really really good guard play. I thought the MO on them last year was to take away the inside and make them shoot over over the top of you....that didn't seem to be the way to go last Friday. Powell played a little box and one with Andrew on Stephens and when Oak Ridge had perimeter guys pop open they were knocking down open looks from the outside. Mocs, I'm interested to get your opinion. I just feel like that Powell didn't respond well to the physical tone that OR set. I thought that Jordan Allen would have helped out considerably in this game. Is he no longer with the team? And also I don't think that OR would have been able to set that physical tone against players like Lee Smith and Matt Hargis....just my two cents.

[mocs30]

Just want to add my thoughts on this game. I thought that Oak Ridge did a nice job of attacking what I perceive to be Powell's biggest weakness as a team this year. They just aren't that tough. As a whole the team generally plays soft. The refs were letting both teams play and it wasn't until late that the Panthers matched Oak Ridges physical style of play. Not coincidently, when Powell finally started played tougher they made a run to cut the lead to ten but it was too little too late. Oak Ridge is a scary team this year. They have long athletic post guys and really really good guard play. I thought the MO on them last year was to take away the inside and make them shoot over over the top of you....that didn't seem to be the way to go last Friday. Powell played a little box and one with Andrew on Stephens and when Oak Ridge had perimeter guys pop open they were knocking down open looks from the outside. Mocs, I'm interested to get your opinion. I just feel like that Powell didn't respond well to the physical tone that OR set. I thought that Jordan Allen would have helped out considerably in this game. Is he no longer with the team? And also I don't think that OR would have been able to set that physical tone against players like Lee Smith and Matt Hargis....just my two cents.

 

 

That is an interesting point about being physical. I don't think that Powell's team is particularly soft. I think they are not yet conditioned to be physical like Oak Ridge. Oak Ridge has dominated us in the regular season for several years playing exactly the same way as they did the other night. However, during the tournaments we have done much better because in the do or die situation, Powell has always come out and played with great physicality. I personally think that this team needed the butt-kicking that they got and will be better off down the road because of it.

 

I am not saying that Powell will beat Oak Ridge in the tournament, but seeing that level of physicality can only help. And you are right, Powell finally did show some backbone in the fourth quarter. Jordan Allen missed the game because he was playing in a football all-star game. He should be back tonight. He could have helped, but I don't think he would have made a difference in the outcome.

[mocs30]

There is also no doubt that Matt Hargis and Lee Smith were gamers, especially in the playoffs. Hargis was one of the grittiest points guards I ever saw in high school. He was dirty too, and I say that without insult. Hargis cared more about winning than any player I ever coached. He was a tough s.o.b. and was the catalyst for much of what went right for us the past few years. He was always willing to put Conner, Smith and Seymore before himself in terms of the glory.

 

Hansen is finding out right now how big Hargis' shoes are to fill.

[Panthers08]

fair point about Powell showing up in the tournament, and your right in recent years OR has kind of wilted when the heat comes on. Although, they have more talent this year then they have had before and that says a lot. Also, I didn't mean to imply that JA would have made a difference in the outcome, Powell got outplayed for the majority of that game. I just would have liked to have seen him be able to come in and make a few good box outs and maybe check a couple of cutters just to see how OR would have responded to that. I thought the game was very poorly officiated for both teams with fouls being ignored on both ends....something jordan probably wouldn't have minded too much knowing him. Either way I didn't mean to imply that he would have changed the outcome just maybe changed the tone a little big, glad to hear he's getting recognition for the monster year he had on the grid iron.

I totally agree with everything that you said about Matt. From the first day that kid stepped on campus he was impressive. I remember practicing against him his freshman year (my sophomore year) and being so impressed simply with the way he carried himself and how he always seemed in control on the floor. That being said Andrew is going to be just fine, you and I both know that...he'll put the work in to get the most out of his ability...and ability is something he's not short on.