Unbalanced Tournament

[big_mike0307]

There are circumstances other than "taking care of business" that sometimes affect who's in and who's out.Fact is Bolivar lost their #1 option with a knee injury in the game in which they were eliminated. Bolivar was the class of 14AA this season,and 14AA was again the class of AA ball in Tennessee.CPA,or anyone else still in it might win the ball,all it takes is one bad game and your done.I'll give credit where it's due...there are some very good teams statewide this season,but until some of the other districts or even regions step it up as a whole the 14AA teams will be favored.

 

Bolivar might have been the class of AA but the region game with Jackson Southside was not lost because of the young man getting hurt it was a blow out until the one ref called a charge every time Southside made a shot in the 3rd quarter I think the score was 40-22 at half with him playing also Southside best player the freshman big man got hurt in same game and did not play vs liberty are Mitchell Otherwise no doubt they would have been playing in the glass house this week

[BTWSheriff]

then your opening statement should have been that instead of putting down the Stone/LA game. You named this unbalanced! Who is to say CPA wouldn't have beaten Mitchel or Liberty by 20 or Stone win by 15. Give all teams credit for getting there. LA beat Tyner to get here who beat Stone/Howard/ootlewah so they deserved to be there. No one here says the West hasnt had more success. Memphis is a national hotspot for talent we all know that & ive never seen anyone on here disputing that.

So you agree that west teams are more dominant and there should be seeds. With west tn getting more than 2 teams in the tourney. By the way, each team that u just named that had to play a west team got dominated today. True or false? Exactly

[rachelwright14]

I don't get why people are disbuting which part of Tennessee is better. We are all from Tennessee, are we not? There are teams from all 3 parts of Tennessee in the tournament, are there not? Did all 8 teams in each division place top two in their region and win a substate game or didn't they? If you really want to argue with Memphis talent being the best, why don't you argue them against every city/town in every other state in the nation. Nobody cares where the talent comes from, they just want to see the games. Several people on here make it very hard to even try to like memphis teams because they degrade every team not from Memphis. There is a difference from supporting your city and just flat out being obnoxious. There is talent all across the state and that is that. As for the tournament arrangments, not everybody in the state is going to agree so why complain. Drawing randomly isn't terrible and just because two teams are from west TN doesn't mean they shouldn't play in the 1st or 2nd round. There is no logic in having them in seperate brackets, only a personal opinion. I am not trying to be rude, but I don't like that middle and east TN don't get the recognition and respect that they deserve. West TN does supply many talented players and I'm not denying that. However, the rest of TN is not talentless!

Edited March 15, 2012 by rachelwright14

[BTWSheriff]

I don't get why people are disbuting which part of Tennessee is better. We are all from Tennessee, are we not? There are teams from all 3 parts of Tennessee in the tournament, are there not? Did all 8 teams in each division place top two in their region and win a substate game or didn't they? If you really want to argue with Memphis talent being the best, why don't you argue them against every city/town in every other state in the nation. Nobody cares where the talent comes from, they just want to see the games. Several people on here make it very hard to even try to like memphis teams because they degrade every team not from Memphis. There is a difference from supporting your city and just flat out being obnoxious. There is talent all across the state and that is that. As for the tournament arrangments, not everybody in the state is going to agree so why complain. Drawing randomly isn't terrible and just because two teams are from west TN doesn't mean they shouldn't play in the 1st or 2nd round. There is no logic in having them in seperate brackets, only a personal opinion. I am not trying to be rude, but I don't like that middle and east TN don't get the recognition and respect that they deserve. West TN does supply many talented players and I'm not denying that. However, the rest of TN is not talentless!

Please dont be so sensitive sir. You were on a team that wasnt much good. you have to be able have conversations about certain topics. We know it is what it is but this is a message board and we like to talk about these situations. If you do not, disney.com is open. Sir this is not about talented players. Its about the best teams. The areas who have the best teams, in my opinion, should get more bids to state.

[nebuntyn]

I don't get why people are disbuting which part of Tennessee is better. We are all from Tennessee, are we not? There are teams from all 3 parts of Tennessee in the tournament, are there not? Did all 8 teams in each division place top two in their region and win a substate game or didn't they? If you really want to argue with Memphis talent being the best, why don't you argue them against every city/town in every other state in the nation. Nobody cares where the talent comes from, they just want to see the games. Several people on here make it very hard to even try to like memphis teams because they degrade every team not from Memphis. There is a difference from supporting your city and just flat out being obnoxious. There is talent all across the state and that is that. As for the tournament arrangments, not everybody in the state is going to agree so why complain. Drawing randomly isn't terrible and just because two teams are from west TN doesn't mean they shouldn't play in the 1st or 2nd round. There is no logic in having them in seperate brackets, only a personal opinion. I am not trying to be rude, but I don't like that middle and east TN don't get the recognition and respect that they deserve. West TN does supply many talented players and I'm not denying that. However, the rest of TN is not talentless!

I have a solution for you. Put on a cheerleading uniform,with 24 colors, that would represent all teams that made it to the Boro. That has just as much logic as the above statement you made.

[tradertwo]

Bolivar might have been the class of AA but the region game with Jackson Southside was not lost because of the young man getting hurt it was a blow out until the one ref called a charge every time Southside made a shot in the 3rd quarter I think the score was 40-22 at half with him playing also Southside best player the freshman big man got hurt in same game and did not play vs liberty are Mitchell Otherwise no doubt they would have been playing in the glass house this week

Please read the whole post.The fact that Southside is a 14AA team escape you?This year there were 3 elite eight quality teams in 14AA(with McNairy awfully close),last year there were 5.I was "defending" Bolivar because it was a five point game with five minutes to go when Polk went out,and had he not I'll still say they would've won(but that's just my opinion).The whole jist of the post was to illustrate the differance between teams playing competition at that high level all season,and the very good teams that win without being pushed to the limit almost every game of the season.For your perception that I was somehow disrespecting Southside,I actually picked them to win the district before season began,so I'm well aware of how good they were this year.

[blueangel51]

There are many valid points on this thread, but there are a few points of my own that I would like to state.

1. This is a tournament. In all tournaments there are paths that are more difficult than others. Look at the NCAA tourney. Even though the teams are placed according to expert rankings, all 3 seeds or 2 seeds or whatever do not have equal paths according to difficulty.

2. This is a geographic based tournament where the best teams of each section of the state come together to play it off to see who is the winner of the tournament championship not see who the best team is over the course of an entire season. The gold ball is given out to the tourney winner as the state champion, but it really is just the tourney champion. If there was an AP vote or coaches vote for the regular season champion, which would be formally recognized, I think it would be a good thing, but remember this: The best teams often do not win tournaments, because tournaments depend on teams playing their best game every time. Even in a team could only beat a team one time out of 100, if that one time is in a tourney, that is all that matters. Such as was the case with Bolivar and Dyer Co. They both slipped up and lost a game they shouldn't have. That is tourney basketball. It does seem unfair that there are teams from the same part of the state matched up so early, but it was that way because there were multiple teams from the same district that got through. Stone got paired up with LA who they had already played twice and are located within an hour away. I do like BTW's idea of ranking the general areas though. You could do it two ways: east vs west quarters or east vs west finals. With only one east tennessee team in this year's bracket that would be tough though.

3. Memphis area basketball is known for extreme physical talent. We in rural Middle Tennessee simply do not have to ponies to run the West Tennessee type of race. That is why teams like Stone Memorial play a different brand of basketball. Stone is extremely disciplined and they focus on taking high percentage shots (layups and open jumpers) and emphasize effeciency on both ends of the floor. These are the tools that those teams have to rely on. Stone does not have the athletes that a lot of big schools have, but they spend hours in the gym shooting with some of the best fundamental coaches in high school basketball. They consistantly shoot close to 40% from 3, 75-80% from the FT line, they play tough disciplined defense where they put themselves in the best positions to make the other team take contested shots, they box out and rebound (efficiency), and they believe in their system. They have to play that way in order to win and they know it. They cannot afford to gamble or try to out-athlete you; they will lose if they do so. To outsiders who are used to seeing big teams with great athletes, they might not look like much, but when they put up 80 points in a 32 minute game that says something.

4. Just because an area generally does not have good teams does not mean that those teams in those areas do not play anybody. Stone played 21 teams this year that were ranked in the top25 of their class according to CoachT. AA teams, DII teams, AAA teams, they do not care. Coach Buck put them through the paces early in order to prepare them for this part of the season. Of those games, they lost 7. That puts their winning percentage at 66% over ranked teams. Four of those losses were by less than 5 points.

5. Don't assume because of Alcoa's blowout loss that the whole area's basketball is bad. They barely shot 20% from the floor. Making the state tournament was something that this group had never done before, and the wheels fell off. It happens. Many teams get hot and cold and today they were ice cold. They forced 26 turnovers, which is their game, but they could not capitolize. They would have lost to virutally every team they played this year shooting this poorly. If they had shot even 40% from the floor they would have probably won the game. The way that both of those teams played today would have gotten them beat by every other team in the field.

 

What I am trying to say is this is a tournament. All things are not equal. Some roads are tougher than others, and from time to time a favorite falls before the big dance. But do not disrespect teams because of the brand of basketball that they play. Butler made two NCAA championship games with athletes that were not in the same class as the players of Duke or Uconn. Their system worked for them. The teams that are still in the tourney have worked to hard to be disrespedted and cast aside because of where they are from or how they play. The state tournament is our showcase of different styles and philisophies in competition with one another. Let the players play, respect their games, and let the chips fall where they may.

Edited March 15, 2012 by blueangel51

[rachelwright14]

Please dont be so sensitive sir. You were on a team that wasnt much good. you have to be able have conversations about certain topics. We know it is what it is but this is a message board and we like to talk about these situations. If you do not, disney.com is open. Sir this is not about talented players. Its about the best teams. The areas who have the best teams, in my opinion, should get more bids to state.

 

I am not a sir, I am a she and I am proud of my team and our accomplishments this year. Just to start about the things you were wrong on. I don't know who you thought said this, but it wasn't a sir. NOW, if this isn't about talented players, then how come one of your comments stated how you felt that it didn't matter if there was a couple talented players elsewhere because Memphis teams had their benches go deep with talented players. EXACTLY, so "sir" please don't try to get smart because I actually know how to back my statement up. These may be message boards here, but keep in mind it is a message board for discussion on high school teams and games. Notice I said DISCUSSION. Debates also, but NOT trash talking and downing of the other teams, which I have seen you do so for the past couple months. Of course you know that, because people have continuously told you that what you say goes to far. So, sir, you need to learn how to use the message boards before trying to explain it to someone else. Thanks.

[rachelwright14]

I have a solution for you. Put on a cheerleading uniform,with 24 colors, that would represent all teams that made it to the Boro. That has just as much logic as the above statement you made.

 

Aw, did I hurt your feelings? Sorry that I can actually make a statement that doesn't trash teams. I know you and your Memphis buddies can't stand acknowledging that a team from middle or east TN CAN beat you.

 

P.S. I never said not to cheer for your own team. I myself will be there tomorrow cheering on my McEwen Warriors, and hope to make it to the BTW game to see what all this talk is about. That doesn't require you bashing every team in the tournament.

Edited March 15, 2012 by rachelwright14

[tcaee]

"If you really want to argue with Memphis talent being the best, why don't you argue them against every city/town in every other state in the nation"

 

Memphis is a top 3-5 city in the nation in terms of HS Basketball talent top to bottom, period. That was easy.

[buc1973]

There are many valid points on this thread, but there are a few points of my own that I would like to state.

1. This is a tournament. In all tournaments there are paths that are more difficult than others. Look at the NCAA tourney. Even though the teams are placed according to expert rankings, all 3 seeds or 2 seeds or whatever do not have equal paths according to difficulty.

2. This is a geographic based tournament where the best teams of each section of the state come together to play it off to see who is the winner of the tournament championship not see who the best team is over the course of an entire season. The gold ball is given out to the tourney winner as the state champion, but it really is just the tourney champion. If there was an AP vote or coaches vote for the regular season champion, which would be formally recognized, I think it would be a good thing, but remember this: The best teams often do not win tournaments, because tournaments depend on teams playing their best game every time. Even in a team could only beat a team one time out of 100, if that one time is in a tourney, that is all that matters. Such as was the case with Bolivar and Dyer Co. They both slipped up and lost a game they shouldn't have. That is tourney basketball. It does seem unfair that there are teams from the same part of the state matched up so early, but it was that way because there were multiple teams from the same district that got through. Stone got paired up with LA who they had already played twice and are located within an hour away. I do like BTW's idea of ranking the general areas though. You could do it two ways: east vs west quarters or east vs west finals. With only one east tennessee team in this year's bracket that would be tough though.

3. Memphis area basketball is known for extreme physical talent. We in rural Middle Tennessee simply do not have to ponies to run the West Tennessee type of race. That is why teams like Stone Memorial play a different brand of basketball. Stone is extremely disciplined and they focus on taking high percentage shots (layups and open jumpers) and emphasize effeciency on both ends of the floor. These are the tools that those teams have to rely on. Stone does not have the athletes that a lot of big schools have, but they spend hours in the gym shooting with some of the best fundamental coaches in high school basketball. They consistantly shoot close to 40% from 3, 75-80% from the FT line, they play tough disciplined defense where they put themselves in the best positions to make the other team take contested shots, they box out and rebound (efficiency), and they believe in their system. They have to play that way in order to win and they know it. They cannot afford to gamble or try to out-athlete you; they will lose if they do so. To outsiders who are used to seeing big teams with great athletes, they might not look like much, but when they put up 80 points in a 32 minute game that says something.

4. Just because an area generally does not have good teams does not mean that those teams in those areas do not play anybody. Stone played 21 teams this year that were ranked in the top25 of their class according to CoachT. AA teams, DII teams, AAA teams, they do not care. Coach Buck put them through the paces early in order to prepare them for this part of the season. Of those games, they lost 7. That puts their winning percentage at 66% over ranked teams. Four of those losses were by less than 5 points.

5. Don't assume because of Alcoa's blowout loss that the whole area's basketball is bad. They barely shot 20% from the floor. Making the state tournament was something that this group had never done before, and the wheels fell off. It happens. Many teams get hot and cold and today they were ice cold. They forced 26 turnovers, which is their game, but they could not capitolize. They would have lost to virutally every team they played this year shooting this poorly. If they had shot even 40% from the floor they would have probably won the game. The way that both of those teams played today would have gotten them beat by every other team in the field.

 

What I am trying to say is this is a tournament. All things are not equal. Some roads are tougher than others, and from time to time a favorite falls before the big dance. But do not disrespect teams because of the brand of basketball that they play. Butler made two NCAA championship games with athletes that were not in the same class as the players of Duke or Uconn. Their system worked for them. The teams that are still in the tourney have worked to hard to be disrespedted and cast aside because of where they are from or how they play. The state tournament is our showcase of different styles and philisophies in competition with one another. Let the players play, respect their games, and let the chips fall where they may.

Bingo! Excellent post!

[nebuntyn]

Aw, did I hurt your feelings? Sorry that I can actually make a statement that doesn't trash teams. I know you and your Memphis buddies can't stand acknowledging that a team from middle or east TN CAN beat you.

 

P.S. I never said not to cheer for your own team. I myself will be there tomorrow cheering on my McEwen Warriors, and hope to make it to the BTW game to see what all this talk is about. That doesn't require you bashing every team in the tournament.

Hurt my feelings,never. I don't take these posts personal. But you do. I don't have a problem with people talking trash. But you do. Mc who? what is that, is that a new entree at Mcdonalds?