big 9 basketball

[crawdad]

I think the jury is still out on that. Two years ago, with Josef Throp and Cody Sensabaugh (and Sylvester and Edwards as sophomores) the Indians lost three conference games before the Arby's Classic and all had wrote them off. They found their stride in the Arby's and finished 13-3 in conference play and went on to the State Sectional, losing in a close game at Knox Powell. This is still a pretty good team, and as they say, all good teams have an off night. Hopefully it will open their eyes. We'll see how they bounce back against Tennessee High next Monday and again in how they perform in the Arby's.

 

On another note, it appears the match ups between the top four will be entertaining to watch in the coming weeks.

 

I agree on the top four being matchups worthy of some hype TCSF. The other five look like they will slug it out to see who is worst. South claimed that spot last year losing the last two to Crockett . This year Boone, South, and Crockett, appear to be the bottom dwellers with Volunteer and East making a push to hang in the middle. The hierachy doesn't change much in the Big 9 from year to year. Good luck to all.

[tricitiessportsfan]

i have seen several big 9 games this year and this is the worst i have seen for officating. they are watch the ball instead of the shooters and jerseys being held and players dribble by and then they make a hand check call. i think if they make and call a good game for both teams their are a lot of teams that could make a difference at the end of the game by freethrows. but you have to also look at what teams get the calls because of tourn. jmo

 

I agree that this was the worst officiating I have seen in the many Big 9 Conference games I have attended to date. I also agree that good officiating can have an influence at the end of a game, especially with fouls that lead to free throw opportunities. However, I still believe the officials did not make the difference in this game. They were consistently bad throughout the game and did not seem to discriminate. The Cougars whipped the Indians last night. Both will benefit from the outcome. Sullivan Central will gain confidence from the victory. Dobyns Bennett will refocus and learn from the loss. I would say if you asked any of the players on the floor, from either team, they all would admit the officiating was bad, but I also believe they would tell you the officiating wasn't the difference in the game.

[crawdad]

I agree that this was the worst officiating I have seen in the many Big 9 Conference games I have attended to date. I also agree that good officiating can have an influence at the end of a game, especially with fouls that lead to free throw opportunities. However, I still believe the officials did not make the difference in this game. They were consistently bad throughout the game and did not seem to discriminate. The Cougars whipped the Indians last night. Both will benefit from the outcome. Sullivan Central will gain confidence from the victory. Dobyns Bennett will refocus and learn from the loss. I would say if you asked any of the players on the floor, from either team, they all would admit the officiating was bad, but I also believe they would tell you the officiating wasn't the difference in the game.

 

I had predicted a closer game than most, but believed DB would prevail. I was surprised DB did not put up more points especially in light of Sylvester getting untracked. Was Centrals D stifling,poor rebounding by DB, or unforced turnovers ? I can't figure out how Edwards and Adams did'nt take over. Any thoughts? /blink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":blink:" border="0" alt="blink.gif" />

[PlayFearless101]

I had predicted a closer game than most, but believed DB would prevail. I was surprised DB did not put up more points especially in light of Sylvester getting untracked. Was Centrals D stifling,poor rebounding by DB, or unforced turnovers ? I can't figure out how Edwards and Adams did'nt take over. Any thoughts? /blink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":blink:" border="0" alt="blink.gif" />

 

The way I saw it was Edwards came out strong, so Central realized they needed to focus on DB's post players. When they were able to double down and Halverson and Mcconnel were having trouble hitting jumpers they basically did all they could to make the outside shooters for DB beat them. Last night, the shots weren't falling, and DB was hurting. Coach Vaughn had a great gameplan for the Cougars last night.

[tricitiessportsfan]

I had predicted a closer game than most, but believed DB would prevail. I was surprised DB did not put up more points especially in light of Sylvester getting untracked. Was Centrals D stifling,poor rebounding by DB, or unforced turnovers ? I can't figure out how Edwards and Adams did'nt take over. Any thoughts? /blink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":blink:" border="0" alt="blink.gif" />

 

In all honesty, Sullivan Central just out hustled, out played, and out shot Dobyns Bennett. If the old saying 'the harder you try the worse it gets' still applies today, it would apply to this game. The Indians were horrific from the field, missing lay ups on dribble drives and put backs, jump shots were not finding the bottom of the net, the three ball was clanking off the rim, they did not convert on free throws, and once they were down for a significant period of time in the first half, the inside game dried up. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

 

Edwards came out doing what he does, scoring six points and adding a free throw in the first two minutes of the game. As a result, the Cougars switched to a 2-3 defense. As I said earlier Halverson played the worst game of his career and became hesitant on the entry pass, further nullifying the inside game. Adams did not seem to be as aggressive in the paint, spending a lot of time on or around the free throw line and beyond. When they (Edwards and Adams) were able to get the ball in the post, they faced double teams from the 2-3 to get to the basket. The step through was not working, the drop step was not affective. The Cougar defense was efficient, I would not say stifling. Rebounding was somewhat of an issue, more so on the offensive side than the defensive side. Halverson, McConnell, and Adams all shot poorly from outside the paint, thus, put backs were few and far between for the Indians, as the ball bounced further out due to this increase in jump shots. This left Edwards at a disadvantage. The other three non-shooters seemed out of position, not boxing out, further compounding the problem. Coach Morgan was ticked, but what could he do?

 

On defense, I though the Indians played rather well. Sullivan Central did a good job being patient. As with most high octane in your face man to man defenses, playing fifteen seconds of constant up tempo defense usually will lead to a pass to a cutting guard for an open lay in, and so it was for Dobyns Bennett, just when it looked like the Indians were going to get a stop, boom an outlet pass to a slashing Vannoy for two. Also, in the first, before switching Halverson to guard Roberts, Davis was a step slow on getting back out to the perimeter, allowing Roberts the chance to knock down a few three balls. Again, it was just one of those nights for the Indians, the harder they tried the worse it seemed to get.

[tricitiessportsfan]

The way I saw it was Edwards came out strong, so Central realized they needed to focus on DB's post players. When they were able to double down and Halverson and McConnell were having trouble hitting jumpers they basically did all they could to make the outside shooters for DB beat them. Last night, the shots weren't falling, and DB was hurting. Coach Vaughn had a great gameplan for the Cougars last night.

 

I completely agree with that assessment.

[tricitiessportsfan]

I agree on the top four being matchups worthy of some hype TCSF.

 

crawdad, I put the schedule below together for you.

 

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[crawdad]

In all honesty, Sullivan Central just out hustled, out played, and out shot Dobyns Bennett. If the old saying 'the harder you try the worse it gets' still applies today, it would apply to this game. The Indians were horrific from the field, missing lay ups on dribble drives and put backs, jump shots were not finding the bottom of the net, the three ball was clanking off the rim, they did not convert on free throws, and once they were down for a significant period of time in the first half, the inside game dried up. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

 

Edwards came out doing what he does, scoring six points and adding a free throw in the first two minutes of the game. As a result, the Cougars switched to a 2-3 defense. As I said earlier Halverson played the worst game of his career and became hesitant on the entry pass, further nullifying the inside game. Adams did not seem to be as aggressive in the paint, spending a lot of time on or around the free throw line and beyond. When they (Edwards and Adams) were able to get the ball in the post, they faced double teams from the 2-3 to get to the basket. The step through was not working, the drop step was not affective. The Cougar defense was efficient, I would not say stifling. Rebounding was somewhat of an issue, more so on the offensive side than the defensive side. Halverson, McConnell, and Adams all shot poorly from outside the paint, thus, put backs were few and far between for the Indians, as the ball bounced further out due to this increase in jump shots. This left Edwards at a disadvantage. The other three non-shooters seemed out of position, not boxing out, further compounding the problem. Coach Morgan was ticked, but what could he do?

 

On defense, I though the Indians played rather well. Sullivan Central did a good job being patient. As with most high octane in your face man to man defenses, playing fifteen seconds of constant up tempo defense usually will lead to a pass to a cutting guard for an open lay in, and so it was for Dobyns Bennett, just when it looked like the Indians were going to get a stop, boom an outlet pass to a slashing Vannoy for two. Also, in the first, before switching Halverson to guard Roberts, Davis was a step slow on getting back out to the perimeter, allowing Roberts the chance to knock down a few three balls. Again, it was just one of those nights for the Indians, the harder they tried the worse it seemed to get.

 

Great description and analysis of play TCSF. Shocking no, surprising certainly.Should make the season more interesting to see who moves forward from here. /popcorneater.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":popcorneater:" border="0" alt="popcorneater.gif" />

[tricitiessportsfan]

Big 9 Conference ??“ Remaining Pre-Christmas Schedule

Friday, December 12

Sullivan South @ Science Hill

Sullivan Central @ Sullivan East

David Crockett @ Daniel Boone

 

Saturday, December 13

Cherokee @ Science Hill

 

Monday, December 15

Tennessee High @ Dobyns Bennett

Sullivan South @ Sullivan Central

Sullivan East @ David Crockett

University High @ Volunteer

 

Tuesday, December 16

Daniel Boone @ Science Hill

 

Friday, December 19

Sullivan East @ Dobyns Bennett

Tennessee High @ Science Hill ??“ Freedom Hall

 

Monday, December 22

Cherokee @ Dobyns Bennett

Volunteer @ Tennessee High

Sullivan North @ Sullivan South

John Battle, VA @ Sullivan Central

[unc1]

Big 9 Conference ??“ Remaining Pre-Christmas Schedule

Friday, December 12

Sullivan South @ Science Hill

Sullivan Central @ Sullivan East

David Crockett @ Daniel Boone

 

Saturday, December 13

Cherokee @ Science Hill

 

Monday, December 15

Tennessee High @ Dobyns Bennett

Sullivan South @ Sullivan Central

Sullivan East @ David Crockett

University High @ Volunteer

 

Tuesday, December 16

Daniel Boone @ Science Hill

 

Friday, December 19

Sullivan East @ Dobyns Bennett

Tennessee High @ Science Hill ??“ Freedom Hall

 

Monday, December 22

Cherokee @ Dobyns Bennett

Volunteer @ Tennessee High

Sullivan North @ Sullivan South

John Battle, VA @ Sullivan Central

i didn't mean central would have lost or db would have won if the officiating would have been better but i agree it is terrible on both sides i hope their boss has a meeting with them and puts his foot down on the way it is going now. also you have been pretty good on prediction so far what about friday night game?

[WaCoJaCo]

I think the jury is still out on that. Two years ago, with Josef Throp and Cody Sensabaugh (and Sylvester and Edwards as sophomores) the Indians lost three conference games before the Arby's Classic and all had wrote them off. They found their stride in the Arby's and finished 13-3 in conference play and went on to the State Sectional, losing in a close game at Knox Powell. This is still a pretty good team, and as they say, all good teams have an off night. Hopefully it will open their eyes. We'll see how they bounce back against Tennessee High next Monday and again in how they perform in the Arby's.

 

On another note, it appears the match ups between the top four will be entertaining to watch in the coming weeks.

 

 

Maybe so, but it looks scarry. I don't see a leader on this team or anyone that can step in the tough games like Odem at Science Hill does. The Toppers are the team to beat in the Big 9 this year. I don't see DB beating them.

[PlayFearless101]

Maybe so, but it looks scarry. I don't see a leader on this team or anyone that can step in the tough games like Odem at Science Hill does. The Toppers are the team to beat in the Big 9 this year. I don't see DB beating them.

 

I dunno, Sylvester last night put the team on his back, and single handedly gave them a lead with his steals and hustle. I think if anyone else would have had a good night with him DB coulda pulled last night out. However, give credit to Central for not letting the Indians get on track.