CLEVELAND

[anspa]

CLEVELAND WILL BE EXTREMELY TOUGH WITH ALL 5 STARTERS RETURNING FROM A 20+ WIN SQUAD LAST YEAR. SR.JAMES COGDILL, JR.TIM COOPER, JR.JAY DAVIS, SO.CHARLES LITTLE AND THAT SR. SHARPE. NOT TO MENTION THE PG TRANSFER FROM GA.

[sportsphan]

It will be a very tough district this year. Maybe the toughest in the state.But I know that people in Memphis are going to say that there district is better. Who knows! Cleveland will be hard to beat but can they beat Bradley. Bradley has all there players back too excpet for Pugh and his brother is sposed to be better than him. McMinn can be tough to beat to if Smith gets hot. When he is hot nobody can beat him and if Sewell is rebounding inside and Ray on defense I see them beating Cleveland and maybe even Bradley. They almost beat Bradley last year. Rhea County says they are going to be good again. They have everybody back and went to the substate next year. I pick Bradley to win the district adn Cleveland to be second but in the region I think McMinn or Rhea will upset one of those teams. I can't wait.

[chsmotion11]

IT IS GOIN TO BE BANANAZZ!!!

I WOULD FLIP A COIN TO PICK THE WINNER OF THE REGION!!!

[cbr]

Just my opinion! I believe that this is going to be a HUGE year for the Blue Raiders. For two years they have played with youth and inexperience. Finally they return every starter and key players off the bench. With the transfer of a senior point guard, that only solidifies the team even more. It is an exciting time because we are about to see what Coach Green has been building in his first two years. Just like they say, the third time (in this case, year) is a charm! On the other side of the county, you have Bradley. Over the past couple of years they have traditionally been the strongest team in everyone's eyes and have had some great talent. Yes, they return Hare and Pickel, but I have doubts about their inside game. Losing Pugh and Jones is a hard blow for them. One reason being that the guys that will replace them have a tremendous lack of experience. It wasn't two often Pugh or Jones were out of the game. As far as Corey Pugh, I hope he develops but as far as comparing him to his brother (which isn't always fair), right now there is NO comparison! Unless he took a huge leap over the summer. Hare and Pickel are strong but the challenge for them will be how they can handle pressure. The inside game last year took pressure of them because that spread the defense out. With a weak inside game not drawing that much attention, the defense will be heavier on those two. I am not taking anything away from them but there isn't much help this year. Bradley will win a lot of games this year but winning the district and region will be a challenge for them. Juan Smith is good, but one man shows don't go far. He doesn't have the support of other strong team mates. And the coaching isn't the strongest either. McMinn plays WELL at home, but take them out of their comfort zone and not much happens. As for Rhea County, they lost Aaron Breeden (sp ?) who had a big role on the team. They do return the post player (Zack) and Garmony. Garmony handled Brainerd on his own last year in the region. He is a tremendous athlete. I think Rhea will be tough, but I do not see them winning the district or region. I really do not know that much about Cumberland this year. I know their best player from last year (#5) graduated so I don't know what they have returning. I believe this is Cleveland's year. This district will be tough, probably one of the toughest in the state. No doubt, people will get their money's worth throughout the year! There is some good basketball only weeks away!

[coachro]

I think that this district has to rank among the state's best with so many quality teams. Cleveland has to be the favorite with everyone back, but i think that bradley and rhea are up to the challenge. i also think that mcminn will be a good team. true that rhea co. lost aaron breeden (who is now playing for carson newman) but i think that they will step up and be heard from again this season. they return three all district players in james garmany, zach hyatte and josh smith, with garmany and hyatte also being all region. they also have back justin harris from 2 years ago. he sat out his jr. season (who knows why) after seeing plenty of time as a sophomore guard. he is bigger and stronger and a definite three point threat. they also have three good jrs. in josh owensby, rob house, and corey gillespie. also remember this name, freshman andrew slikker will make a contribution to the golden eagles. good luck to all the teams in our district. i know they will make us all proud.

[ritz22]

Yes, Cleveland is returning every starter, key players off the bench, and have a transfer point guard. BUT, there is another key component to this team that will return this year. Lavonte Barber is going to play. He played as a freshman but sat out last year to concentrate on baseball. Cleveland already gets after it defensively but by having Barber back into the mix takes it to the next level! If you look at every position for Cleveland, there isn't much that they are lacking. I don't think another team in the district matches up position for position.

[youngblood]

All I hae to say is that Bradley is going to shock all those who dont thin that they can get the job done with out "Big Pugh and Jones" . Just come and watch them play!