Elizabethton vs South Greene/Happy Valley vs Grainger

[voice]

Gee, you really put a lot of thought into this. At the time of the district and regional tournaments most colleges and university teams are still playing or are in their oun tournaments. Scheduling would be a nightmare and I doubt if any coach would consent to give up his gym during this period.

[crazzyness]

What happened to the TSSAA's rule that Regions were supposed to be played at a "centralized location?" That's why A and AA have been stuck at C-D and CDMS for the past 4 or 5 years??

[WCG]

Unfortunately the TSSAA doesn't care about site locations or advantages they may give a team with site locations. Most players would rather play away because home crowds expect too much of them. They also like quieting the home crowd by winning at their place. Home crowds tend to bark at officials more if game is not going their way, which doesn't help the teams chances with certain calls. Go and watch a game tonight if you can. Lots of great games tonight across the state.

[magicman95]

Many of the local high school gyms are nicer than some of the college gyms, not to mention that they are larger. Milligan, King, and Tusculum have nice gyms but I am not sure that they would be large enough to accomadate the crowds you can end up with. Last week's District 1-AAA tournament championship night was played at Boone and there was barely enough seating to accomodate everyone. Also, since the sites generally rotate, so does the advantage. That's just part of it. Also, I would agree that sometimes playig on the road can be its own advantage and makes those wins especially sweet. So it happens to be Elizabethton's year to host? How long has it been since they got to host? I'd venture to say it has been awhile. I'm sure it will be a great game if they end up meeting Grainger.

[bigorangefan8]

Good points made above by magicman. There is only one problem. According to my sources, district 2 is hosted only by Chucky Doak or Greeneville. So all other teams in the district do not get the rotation advantage during regional games.

[RHS02]

Good points made above by magicman. There is only one problem. According to my sources, district 2 is hosted only by Chucky Doak or Greeneville. So all other teams in the district do not get the rotation advantage during regional games.

Dont be so sure about those being the only 2 sites. Grainger is in the mix and they have the best facility in the region. Best parking, seating, dressing rooms, and restroom facilities. The school is also easily accessible. You may well be traveling to Grainger for the Region next season. Edited February 26, 2013 by RHS02

[etownsparky]

I hate that I missed the semi-final games last night. It's hard to compare scores from common opponents to predict an outcome. However, the way Grainger handled HV indicates it will be a tall order for the Lady Cyclones to beat the Lady Grizzlies. That's why they play the games though. Time will tell. Go Betsy!

[patvols]

Good points made above by magicman. There is only one problem. According to my sources, district 2 is hosted only by Chucky Doak or Greeneville. So all other teams in the district do not get the rotation advantage during regional games.

 

THATS SUCKS !!

[pujo]

Good luck Cyclones,I think you have a better chance than anyone might believe. I think it will take a great preformance,but you guys are capable of just that.

[Cody]

Truth is the Lady Grizzlies do get a lot of grief on this message board about having a great record last year and not getting past substate or losing to a great Betsy team the year before in the Region semis. Which was a team by the way that lost only once in the regular season only to drop the first game of the state tourney, but that doesn't mean they weren't a super team. I think people are way too quick to look at teams with great overall records and sneer or belittle what they've accomplished if they don't win a state championship. What people don't realize is that substate is an accomplishment that only 16 teams from each classification get to claim. That means that 100+ other schools in that classification are on the outside looking in at that accomplishment. Another thing that people don't realize is that this Lady Grizzly program had suffered several losing or around 500 seasons going back to the old Rutledge High until as recently as 4 years ago. Since then, they have won 98 games in the last 4 years against only 26 losses. The last three years are even more impressive, with 85 wins versus only 13 losses. Yes, they haven't been to the state during this run, but to get to the state and win it, lots of things need to fall in line. Avoiding injuries and catching breaks like hosting the region tourney on the same year that you have a team capable of winning it all are crucial to tourney success. Plus, you need to be playing your best basketball at tourney time. Hosting tourneys doesn't guarantee victory, but it doesn't hurt. Last year, the Lady Grizzlies ran into Chuckey-Doak in the Region Championship game on Chuckey-Doaks home floor. CD won fair and square by outplaying Grainger down the stretch, but to say that wasn't an advantage that they didn't earn (considering they had lost the 1st 3 meetings to Grainger) is not being realistic. This year if Grainger is fortunate enough to get by a very good Happy Valley team, they will most likely face Betsy on their home floor in another Region championship game. Advantage Betsy. Again not saying that will determine the outcome, but it can't hurt Betsy. With the current system that TSSAA has in place of selecting certain schools to host Region tourneys and not others, rather than having a set rotation where every school gets a chance to host or using neutral sites, you just have to suck it up and go play. Nothing else you can do about it. I am not making excuses for anyone, just being realistic. It's not Betsy's fault they were selected to host. It is fortunate timing for them however considering the caliber team they have this season. They are a powerhouse team, and will be a tough out for anybody on any floor anywhere, but even better in their home gym. That's not taking anything away from them, because they are super no matter where they play, but it is the truth. Maybe one year Grainger and its state of the art, 2,500 seat gymnasium will get selected to host and that will coincide with them having a team that's good enough to contend for the title. With the current system, that's all you can hope for.

Just a quick comment. I wonder if different Regions have different rules. Here in Region 3, we rotate every year. Odd years are hosted on District 5's side while District 6's side hosts on even years. Games are never, however, played at either team's home court (except for the 1st round in which the top seed had earned that right). I do find it quite odd that some schools get to host their own Region Championship. This year, being an odd year, the Region 3 championship is being held at McMinn County High School, NOT McMinn Central. The venue is officially neutral, but only 20 minutes away from McMinn Central. Last year, it was held at East Ridge High School. Region 3's championships are never held at a team's home court. Anybody know if each region is allowed to make their own regulations for this?

[lawnman]

Good luck Cyclones,I think you have a better chance than anyone might believe. I think it will take a great preformance,but you guys are capable of just that.

pujo I hope your right but I am worried about this game and this team.Good luck to your bulldogs tonight.

[pujo]

pujo I hope your right but I am worried about this game and this team.Good luck to your bulldogs tonight.

Thanks Lawman,I think you have every reason to worry,but I've looked it over and you guys definately have a chance. I'll be pulling for all 3 of our Carter Co teams.All 3 teams has a pretty good chance of making state.

 

It also looks like you guys will be good for the next few years.