Arby's Classic

[AlumnI01]

Hampton represented very well in the Classic this year. They played very well against two much bigger and deeper teams. They have a quality team and should make some noise in the post season. I listened to the last few minutes of today's game and the radio announcers were commenting on the number of fouls called against SH. I didn't see the game so I can't comment on the officiating, but something must have been a little amiss because the final stats had Hampton with 30 FT attempts to 5 for SH. That's a huge disparity no matter how you look at it...

 

This. Good luck to Hampton the rest of the way though.

[MMcCroskey]

Columbia, GA laid a pretty good beatdown on Gatlinburg-Pittman with a 68-42 win. After a close first half, Colubmia outscored the Highlanders 46-23 in the second half. The first semifinal match is set with Mentor, OH (72-61 winner over Mill Creek, GA) taking on Columbia.

 

Tis more than fairly stated. Don't know what was said at halftime, but Columbia made some nice adjustments. GP has relied a lot on their athleticism, but they ran up on a team that could call that, and raise em a player or 2. Turnovers killed us (20-9), and their guard play kept our assists way down, which is GP's bread and butter.

 

I will go out on a limb and predict GP will be very tough tomorrow, and with a win again on Friday.

 

Look for some fun stuff out of Mo Barber in the slam dunk contest tomorrow.

 

Best of luck to the final four teams as well!

[lutzdenn]

Hampton has an excellent team and represented their school and talent well enough. Well coached and classy team play. Just on different level that the big schools. Wish them well in their division. On the other hand, 30 FT shots to 5 is not a coincidence. That's all folks.

[AlumnI01]

SH goes down to TN High 50-48. I wasn't able to go today since I'm out of town but for those who did, what happened? My brother went but I haven't been able to reach him yet, Any word on whether or not CJ Good played today? I know he didn't play yesterday, but no one seemed to know why. Big win for the Vikings though. What was the final in the Sumter,SC DB game?

[MentorFan]

southwind would kill mentor. i think gat-pitt would handle mentor.

 

I thought I would revisit this statement considering Mentor jumped out to an 18-2 lead, led by as many as 22 in the 4th quarter, and won the game 96-87 despite Southwind coming alive in a big way with 41 points in the 4th quarter.

 

Congrats to Columbia on winning the Classic. Mentor gave them all they could handle in the semifinal, but it appears Columbia is a very strong team. I was hoping Mentor would play Southwind on Dec 31, as that would likely mean it was in the final. The two hooked up in the 3rd/4th place game and Mentor played their best game of the tournament, even with allowing huge 4th quarter scoring by Southwind. Congrats to Mentor on a good showing, beating one of the top teams in NE Tennessee, one of the better teams in Georgia, and knocking off one of the top teams in Memphis.

 

I'm glad I had an avenue to discuss the Arby's Classic with you all. Very informative following and the Arby's Classic sounds like it is a superbly run event. I hope Mentor returns very soon, maybe next year.

[creekerballer]

Mentor is sick! i didnt get to see them play until friday and i thought they might be overrated but they were great and i liked watching them more than anyone i saw. As a former high school player and big fan, i think there the most well coach team ive ever seen period, they were also the best passing team ive seen, they pass better than some college teams everyone was perfect and they hit their teammates right where it needed to be hope they invite them back next year would love to see them again great team to watch!

[uknoit2]

Mentor is sick! i didnt get to see them play until friday and i thought they might be overrated but they were great and i liked watching them more than anyone i saw. As a former high school player and big fan, i think there the most well coach team ive ever seen period, they were also the best passing team ive seen, they pass better than some college teams everyone was perfect and they hit their teammates right where it needed to be hope they invite them back next year would love to see them again great team to watch!

Totally Agree.....a very disciplined team with talent at every position....alot of fun to watch

[TylerDurden]

Hampton has an excellent team and represented their school and talent well enough. Well coached and classy team play. Just on different level that the big schools. Wish them well in their division. On the other hand, 30 FT shots to 5 is not a coincidence. That's all folks.

 

 

Science Hill is a better team than Hampton and they should be. The reason for FT disparity is because there should have been a FT disparity. SH grabbed and pushed the whole game and the correct calls were made. Actually the ref got a little scared of Coach Cutlip there for a while and missed several obvious fouls he should have called on the Hill. #52 Leveau, who I personally think is SH's best player bar none and I really like his game, jumped on Hampton's back obviously twice in the 2nd qter row and refs were too busy kissing up to Cutlip to make sure he wasn't mad at them. If the ref's really had a chip on their shoulders toward them why did they not call a technical on them? I saw them warn the coach at least 5 times that they were going to give him one and never did. Why do you even give warnings that many times? Cutlip was just mad at how his team was playing and wanted to take it out on someone. It really was probably hard for SH to get up to play Hampton after all the emotion of playing Southwind the nite before and Cutlip was obviously frustrated about it. I know SH did not play their best game but man, Hampton really gave it to them by missing 15 FT's. I have never seen them shoot it that bad. Hampton really shot poorly from the field too. They would not beat SH on a lot of nights but they had the one to do it and didn't take advantage of it. Zack Howard hit a couple of big shots for SH that killed Hampton and Hunter and Jaylen both played well too. Good luck to SH the rest of the way. I would like to see them make some noise down the road and I think they could.

[MentorFan]

http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2011/01/07/sports/nh3494458.txt

 

An article from a local paper in Ohio that covers Mentor, the 3rd place team at the Classic.

 

Here is an excerpt:

 

The Cardinals left The Arby's Classic after taking third place on New Year's Eve feeling like celebrities.

 

"In a small way, our players felt like rock stars down there," Mentor coach Bob Krizancic said. "We became sort of a fan favorite. They were getting asked for autographs. I think they earned respect because of how they played.

 

"We were treated unbelievably well by the tournament hosts, and we played in front of an average of 5,000 people. It was a tremendous experience for all of the guys. In my 30 years of coaching, I don't know of any better holiday tournament."

 

Coach Krizancic's Mentor teams have been all over, both locally and across the country for holiday tournaments. Off the top of my head they have gone out to San Diego, Arizona, Utah, and others. A good compliment from Kricancic to the people of Bristol and the sponsors, hosts, and supporters of the Arby's Classic.

[MMcCroskey]

http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2011/01/07/sports/nh3494458.txt

 

An article from a local paper in Ohio that covers Mentor, the 3rd place team at the Classic.

 

Here is an excerpt:

 

 

 

Coach Krizancic's Mentor teams have been all over, both locally and across the country for holiday tournaments. Off the top of my head they have gone out to San Diego, Arizona, Utah, and others. A good compliment from Kricancic to the people of Bristol and the sponsors, hosts, and supporters of the Arby's Classic.

 

It was kind of you to share that info. The Arby's folks did indeed put on a great tournament!