District 4A 2014-2015

[TheMan0405]

Big win by Coalfield tonight over Wartburg. Still have to get the football players into shape but looking forward to a good year from them.

[kazam37]

Oneida just got two more additions from the football team and both of them were solid Jr High players.  You can jump to conclusions and say the coaching is suspect but the team has been hamstrung by inconsistent scoring around Sharp.  If they can find offensive support around him that should at least free him up some.  Another thing is the kid is streaky.....he can fill it up and two nights later might score 8.....?  They are all going to have to get it going.

 

Kaz

[ZOA9]

District 4 is going to be very interesting come tournament time. I think there are 5 teams that could win it if they get hot and start playing well. (Oakdale-Coalfield-Jellico-Wartburg-OZ)  Jellico beat OZ last night by 2 on their home floor to remain unbeaten so far in district play. Bowlin dropped in 31 against constant double teams from OZ (game was very physical from what I heard) I still can't believe OZ has only won 1 game. They have a decent team especially with Murray in the post. There is something that's not right with OZ's team (may be team chemistry issues) Their team does play with an edge which is good at times but they seem to question officials decisions too much for my liking. Coalfield travels to Jellico Friday night which is shaping up to being a interesting match-up. It will interesting to see Coalfield's game plan defensively to deal with Bowlin. If you guard him man you better have alot of help waiting because he can get to the rim and if you give him room I heard he has improved his outside shot. If someone on Jellico's team steps up and knocks down shots I think Jellico will pull it out if not Coalfield has a chance to pick up a big road win. Should be a very entertaining game.

[ZOA9]

Jellico defeated Coalfield Friday Night 75-62 to stay unbeaten in district play. (4-0) Both teams played hard which provided for some very entertaining action. Justin Bowlin had 18 points and also broke the state assist record of 787. He is now the all time leader in the state of Tennessee with 790 assists. Quite an accomplishment for this young man! Jellico's half court man defense did a good job of keeping Coalfield from getting to the rim off the bounce and their players were in good help position to whole night. Jellico's #33 did a good job of guarding McKinney in keeping him from getting to the rim for the most part. Number 23 for Jellico hit some big shots for them early to get them to an early lead which they were able to maintain. Coach Hill's move to the zone helped neutralize Bowlin some and kept him from getting in the paint but it wasn't enough for Coalfield to overcome. The emotion of the game seemed to get to Coalfield's players as two received technical fouls and one player got into a shouting match with Jellico's student section. Give credit to Coach Hill as he removed the player from the game and he remained on the bench the rest of the way. Also, give credit to the JHS administration as they immediately put a stop to their student section from taunting Coalfield's players. Overall, a very hard fought game played by both teams and the return match at Coalfield should be entertaining as well. The district tournament is gonna be a good one as the district is very competitive and its played on a neutral floor. (ACHS)

[CAH09]

Jellico defeated Coalfield Friday Night 75-62 to stay unbeaten in district play. (4-0) Both teams played hard which provided for some very entertaining action. Justin Bowlin had 18 points and also broke the state assist record of 787. He is now the all time leader in the state of Tennessee with 790 assists. Quite an accomplishment for this young man! Jellico's half court man defense did a good job of keeping Coalfield from getting to the rim off the bounce and their players were in good help position to whole night. Jellico's #33 did a good job of guarding McKinney in keeping him from getting to the rim for the most part. Number 23 for Jellico hit some big shots for them early to get them to an early lead which they were able to maintain. Coach Hill's move to the zone helped neutralize Bowlin some and kept him from getting in the paint but it wasn't enough for Coalfield to overcome. The emotion of the game seemed to get to Coalfield's players as two received technical fouls and one player got into a shouting match with Jellico's student section. Give credit to Coach Hill as he removed the player from the game and he remained on the bench the rest of the way. Also, give credit to the JHS administration as they immediately put a stop to their student section from taunting Coalfield's players. Overall, a very hard fought game played by both teams and the return match at Coalfield should be entertaining as well. The district tournament is gonna be a good one as the district is very competitive and its played on a neutral floor. (ACHS)

[CAH09]

Looks like Jellico is easily the top team at Christmas. They've won at Oakdale.... And beaten the other three contenders as well. They're easily#1...with Oakdale the best of the rest. Coalfield has a chance, but they need to figure out their top 2 guys should shoot more and the rest should shoot less. Defensively, McKinney needs to be up top for disruption and transition...not on the block....geez. Not sure what to think of oliver springs, at some point, you are what your record says....wburg is competitive but that's about it. None of these look like challengers for the region vs meigs, harriman and grace.

[vol4life134]

I watched Meigs and Jellico last year and it was a awesome game it was a showdown between Levi Woods who had 24 and Justin Bowlin who had 29. I personally think that it would be a down to the wire game between these two teams this year. Do you guys think Jellico has the district or could Oakdale possibly pull a upset? Haven't got to watch many this season but I heard that Bowlin and Steinmetz are the top 2 in district followed by McKinney?

[HHGreggg]

Oakdale and Meigs came down to the wire is what I heard and the score doesn't reflect how the game ended. Oakdale was up late in the 4th and Meigs hit 2 3s to go up 5 then the fouling game began. Oakdale is a team that is very underrated and off the radar. Harriman is a team that is waiting to implode. It's only a matter of time before it happens and they've yet to play Meigs. I'm not sure they can compete with them.

Edited December 24, 2014 by HHGreggg

[TFL]

Oakdale and Meigs came down to the wire is what I heard and the score doesn't reflect how the game ended. Oakdale was up late in the 4th and Meigs hit 2 3s to go up 5 then the fouling game began. Oakdale is a team that is very underrated and off the radar. Harriman is a team that is waiting to implode. It's only a matter of time before it happens and they've yet to play Meigs. I'm not sure they can compete with them.

Oakdale has a good team and had a great gameplan when they played at meigs. On a side note, Meigs was without thier leading scorer (24ppg,8rpg,) which would have probably made a significant impact! Looking forward to playing them at thier place, hoping for a full roster!

[ZOA9]

Looks like Jellico is easily the top team at Christmas. They've won at Oakdale.... And beaten the other three contenders as well. They're easily#1...with Oakdale the best of the rest. Coalfield has a chance, but they need to figure out their top 2 guys should shoot more and the rest should shoot less. Defensively, McKinney needs to be up top for disruption and transition...not on the block....geez. Not sure what to think of oliver springs, at some point, you are what your record says....wburg is competitive but that's about it. None of these look like challengers for the region vs meigs, harriman and grace.

Right now Jellico is the front runner after 4 games but I wouldn't say they are easily #1. The OZ game was a 2 point margin at Jellico. I will say they have the upper hand as they still have Oneida & Sunbright left with a home and home and they seem to be the two lower tier teams in the district right now. With that said, Jellico will probably have 8 wins with a home match-up with Oakdale and road games at OZ, Wartburg, & Coalfield so they could be looking at least 9 wins in district play which will probably secure a 1 or 2 seed. I don't think they will run the table in regular season district play. They have the best player in the district (IMO) in Point Guard Bowlin. If he was around 6'1 or taller he would be really a match-up nightmare, but he still gets it done at 5'10. I think they are playing in the King of the Smokies after Christmas against a strong field. Will be interesting to see how he plays against really strong athletic teams. He will be playing at the college level probably in NAIA or D-3. I think Jellico is a bit stronger than teams in the District thought they would be. There is still plenty of ball left to play so will be interesting to see how the district plays out in regular season. I think the champion of District 4 will have a chance to beat #4 out of District 3 but I dont think District 4 can win any other opening round region match-ups. District 3 has 4 really good teams in Grace, Harriman, Tellico, & Meigs. I thinking an all District 3 match-up in the Regional Championship.

Edited December 26, 2014 by ZOA9

[ZOA9]

Oakdale has a good team and had a great gameplan when they played at meigs. On a side note, Meigs was without thier leading scorer (24ppg,8rpg,) which would have probably made a significant impact! Looking forward to playing them at thier place, hoping for a full roster!

I would say you are right when Meigs missed their leading scorer and would have a huge impact on the outcome of the game. That would be like Oakdale playing without Steinmetz or Smith or Jellico playing without Bowlin or Coalfield playing with McKinney (I still think Lee is their overall best player) or OZ playing without Murray in the post. Oakdale style of play tends to give up alot of points to the opposition. I just don't think they can pull off a big win in tournament play on a neutral floor with their inability to get defensive stops. Their press leads to easy baskets for the opponent. I understand their coach believes in his system but sometimes you have to tweak the system to counter the opponent. Oakdale's coach has did a good job with the team but his lack of in-game adjustments to his defensive game plan may hurt them in tournament play. I personally think his defensive game plan is to press to speed up the game to gain more offensive possessions quicker. If Oakdale makes 3's they are tough to beat but sometimes those shots will not be falling on a neutral floor and at some point you have to dig in defensively and get stops. That's Oakdale weakness IMO. 

Edited December 26, 2014 by ZOA9

[Tiger2]

Its never too early to talk about the upcoming basketball season.  Predictions, best players, etc.  So Coalfield, Jellico, Oakdale, Oliver Springs, Oneida, Sunbright, and Wartburg, lets hear it!  I will start it off so we have something to debate and agree to disagree.  I will base this off what everyone has returning....power rankings/predictions.....

 

Coalfield - Lost a good player in Hill, but returns a good cast of players that were part of last year's championship team. 

 

Jellico - Returns their PG, but lost 2 key players(shooter and post) from last season.  They did play a few young guys last season who will need to step up their play this coming year.

 

Oakdale - All 5 starters return and they are a year older.  Still no seniors in their starting 5.  They need to develop some depth behind a talented starting lineup.

 

Oliver Springs - Returns a lot of players who played last season including 4 starters.  They played with a lot of youth and inexperience last season so this could be the year the get back to the top. 

 

Oneida - They were hit hard with the loss of West as he carried that team.  They return the best shooter in the district but need others to step up to help fill the loss of West.

 

Sunbright - They return a good scorer who came out of nowhere last year, but they also lost their coach.  They have a new guy leading this team who played a lot of underclassmen.

 

Wartburg - Lost a few guys inside and out who provided a lot of points, but played several young players including freshmen.   

 

Like last season, there is enough balance where 5-6 teams can win it.  Its all about getting hot at the right time.

1. Coalfield - They have enough to compete again for the title.

2. Oliver Springs - They have the right mix of talent and experience to be back on top.

3. Oakdale - This year they will build depth and should be top team the next year.

4. Wartburg - Their top guys will still be young but they could easily make a run at season's end.

5. Jellico - They might have the top player in district, just a lot of unknowns after that.

6. Oneida - Will struggle some until a new crop of players step up.

7. Sunbright - They will be better than last year but someone has to be last.

 

It was hard to separate teams 1-5, so should be another fun season in this district.

 

Also, with Grace and Meigs Co losing some good talent, the Region title could go back to 4A.

No way the title will go back to 4A. 3A could sweep the region tournament with Meigs, Grace, Harriman and Tellico