Favorites in Class A

[pioneer42]

6 minutes ago, Croppygenius said:

No disrespect to the Jackets, those were some great teams. I saw them play a bunch. But this McKenzie team is quicker. They can beat you to the basket and shoot the three!

I hope Gibson County and McKenzie play a couple of times as well as Gibson County and Greenfield. 

[Theodore]

How good is Van Buren? No one has mentioned them, they are a top ten team.

[Greenfieldfan]

I said best Class A team ever and I stand by that. 
 

You are  right Heather had offers all over the country but no power 5 Division 1 schools.  Greenfield will have 3 girls to power 5 schools. I’m not sure that’s ever happened in Tennessee of all classes.  You put those two teams together and out of the 10 players. Greenfield had 3 or the top 4 players. Now it’s hard to win when the the opponent has 3 of the top 4 players on the floor. 

Edited July 5, 2021 by Greenfieldfan

[pioneer42]

1 hour ago, Greenfieldfan said:

I said best Class A team ever and I stand by that. 
 

You are  right Heather had offers all over the country but no power 5 Division 1 schools.  Greenfield will have 3 girls to power 5 schools. I’m not sure that’s ever happened in Tennessee of all classes.  You put those two teams together and out of the 10 players. Greenfield had 3 or the top 4 players. Now it’s hard to win when the the opponent has 3 of the top 4 players on the floor. 

Heather Butler had offers all over the country in the SEC and all over. She wanted to stay home close to her family. She played in the WNBA. You don’t need to go there. Greenfield is going to be good this year and Edie will be favored to win Miss Basketball. If they get their post game going with Alford, they will give McKenzie all they want and will have a decent shot at the Gold Ball. I agree with Croppie though. McKenzie is loaded and will play fast and hit you in the mouth for four quarters. He stated his opinion and he watches a ton of basketball and I respect that. 

Edited July 5, 2021 by pioneer42

[Croppygenius]

2 hours ago, pioneer42 said:

Heather Butler had offers all over the country in the SEC and all over. She wanted to stay home close to her family. She played in the WNBA. You don’t need to go there. Greenfield is going to be good this year and Edie will be favored to win Miss Basketball. If they get their post game going with Alford, they will give McKenzie all they want and will have a decent shot at the Gold Ball. I agree with Croppie though. McKenzie is loaded and will play fast and hit you in the mouth for four quarters. He stated his opinion and he watches a ton of basketball and I respect that. 

My nephews daughter plays for Heather at I think Rock Hill middle school in Smyrna. Loves her.

[Greenfieldfan]

There’s None finer than Heather Butler. She has been my friend throughout the years.  We played her at Medina middle school and she was blessed to have Kevin McMillan as a coach. She was not only a great player but a better person.  Don’t tell me she could have been this or that because I know who recruited her. She was a perfect fit at UTM. 

Mckenzie is much better than Greenfield this year and should win state. Don’t compare this Greenfield team and start putting pressure on them, if we make state this year it will be an amazing accomplishment. 
 

All I’m saying is the Greenfield team of Chloe Tess Edie & Reese, there’s not been a team with that much talent ever in west Tennessee. Not Gibson County, Westview or McKenzie yet. Mckenzie may have 5 Big 5 Division 1 players but I really doubt it but we will see.
 

Gibson County was a great team, could be #2 team ever in west Tennessee. Do you really think Heather was better than Chloe?  You have no one to compare to Tess and then we had Edie. Edie should be up for Miss Basketball this year that would be 6 Miss Basketball nominees on one team. 

Edited July 5, 2021 by Greenfieldfan

[pioneer42]

3 hours ago, Greenfieldfan said:

There’s None finer than Heather Butler. She has been my friend throughout the years.  We played her at Medina middle school and she was blessed to have Kevin McMillan as a coach. She was not only a great player but a better person.  Don’t tell me she could have been this or that because I know who recruited her. She was a perfect fit at UTM. 

Mckenzie is much better than Greenfield this year and should win state. Don’t compare this Greenfield team and start putting pressure on them, if we make state this year it will be an amazing accomplishment. 
 

All I’m saying is the Greenfield team of Chloe Tess Edie & Reese, there’s not been a team with that much talent ever in west Tennessee. Not Gibson County, Westview or McKenzie yet. Mckenzie may have 5 Big 5 Division 1 players but I really doubt it but we will see.
 

Gibson County was a great team, could be #2 team ever in west Tennessee. Do you really think Heather was better than Chloe?  You have no one to compare to Tess and then we had Edie. Edie should be up for Miss Basketball this year that would be 6 Miss Basketball nominees on one team. 

I wouldn’t trade Butler for anyone that ever played anywhere in this state. She won back to back in AA and lost one game in that period. 70-1. McMillan was a father figure for her and she wanted her mom and sister to be able to attend her games. She broke the OVC record for the most points scored “ever” in the OVC and played in the WNBA. Gibson County has had pressure on them for three decades because they have made a lot of hay. I am giving Greenfield a compliment because I have seen them play and GCPioneer has them number 2 in the state and has seen them play many times this summer. I agree making the state would be a great accomplishment. Nobody is trying to put pressure on them. I hope y’all do win it all. I am proud of Edie and the way her game is progressing. 

[pioneer42]

22 hours ago, Croppygenius said:

My nephews daughter plays for Heather at I think Rock Hill middle school in Smyrna. Loves her.

You have schools all over. Rockvale is close to Murfreesboro. McKenzie, IMO has always had a lot of girls talent. They got a coach now that is going to get it out of them and play 94 feet hot you in the mouth aggressive basketball. Same with Huntingdon. They are well coached and have a really bright future with a lot of young talent.

[GoBigOrange20]

20 hours ago, pioneer42 said:

I wouldn’t trade Butler for anyone that ever played anywhere in this state. She won back to back in AA and lost one game in that period. 70-1. McMillan was a father figure for her and she wanted her mom and sister to be able to attend her games. She broke the OVC record for the most points scored “ever” in the OVC and played in the WNBA. Gibson County has had pressure on them for three decades because they have made a lot of hay. I am giving Greenfield a compliment because I have seen them play and GCPioneer has them number 2 in the state and has seen them play many times this summer. I agree making the state would be a great accomplishment. Nobody is trying to put pressure on them. I hope y’all do win it all. I am proud of Edie and the way her game is progressing. 

I agree that those GC teams were better. Greenfield would've struggled with the press. Same with the Bradford and Gleason 90s teams - especially Bradford's 1993, 1997, 1998 and 2000 teams and Gleason's 1996, 1998, 1999 (and 2006 teams). They would've beaten Greenfield by 8 out of 10 games, in my opinion because of the defensive intensity. Gleason had defensive specialists on the 98 and 99 teams (Valorie Todd, Melanie Green, Ashley McElhiney) that would've shut down down Tess and Chloe and no one would've stopped Ashley McElhiney from getting 30. She was just that good. Ashley, Michelle Street, Tonya Tuggles, Kara Sanders, Jessica Henson, and Kayla Hudson all had amazing careers that were as good as or better than Chloe or Tess.  The grit and determination of those Bradford and Gleason teams was unparalleled and they made each other better. 

I think the Chloe-Tess Greenfield teams were very good and one of the best. But, in my opinion not THE best.  Just because they had 3 D1 players (assuming Edie goes D1) doesn't equate to them being better. The role players matter in this instance. And, just because they went D1 doesn't mean they're better than the players that went the NAIA route. Recruiting was different than it is now. The 1999 Gleason team had 2 D1 players and all five starters played collegiate basketball. That's a stacked team and I'd argue more talented than the Greenfield team. Same with those Bradford teams like 2000 - when two played D1at UTM and two went to Union to play for national championships. Jessica Henson, Tashekia Brown, Kara Sanders, and Kayla Hudson were all D1 capable players that decided to play for (and win several) national championships locally rather than play for a D1 school. There's no shame in that. 

There's obviously no way to settle this, but that's my two cents. 

[1983]

Croppy, you got all this best ever stuff started lol, did you see all those Bradford and Gleason teams play?

[pioneer42]

4 hours ago, GoBigOrange20 said:

I agree that those GC teams were better. Greenfield would've struggled with the press. Same with the Bradford and Gleason 90s teams - especially Bradford's 1993, 1997, 1998 and 2000 teams and Gleason's 1996, 1998, 1999 (and 2006 teams). They would've beaten Greenfield by 8 out of 10 games, in my opinion because of the defensive intensity. Gleason had defensive specialists on the 98 and 99 teams (Valorie Todd, Melanie Green, Ashley McElhiney) that would've shut down down Tess and Chloe and no one would've stopped Ashley McElhiney from getting 30. She was just that good. Ashley, Michelle Street, Tonya Tuggles, Kara Sanders, Jessica Henson, and Kayla Hudson all had amazing careers that were as good as or better than Chloe or Tess.  The grit and determination of those Bradford and Gleason teams was unparalleled and they made each other better. 

I think the Chloe-Tess Greenfield teams were very good and one of the best. But, in my opinion not THE best.  Just because they had 3 D1 players (assuming Edie goes D1) doesn't equate to them being better. The role players matter in this instance. And, just because they went D1 doesn't mean they're better than the players that went the NAIA route. Recruiting was different than it is now. The 1999 Gleason team had 2 D1 players and all five starters played collegiate basketball. That's a stacked team and I'd argue more talented than the Greenfield team. Same with those Bradford teams like 2000 - when two played D1at UTM and two went to Union to play for national championships. Jessica Henson, Tashekia Brown, Kara Sanders, and Kayla Hudson were all D1 capable players that decided to play for (and win several) national championships locally rather than play for a D1 school. There's no shame in that. 

There's obviously no way to settle this, but that's my two cents. 

Yeah Gleason won it in 92, 99 and 2007 and Bradford won it 93, 96, 97, 98, 2000 and another year. Unbelievable run in the 90’s and 2000 by Bradford and Gleason. Bradford won it three years in a row and skipped a year and won it and the year they skipped Gleason won it. Unbelievable talent with them two. Kayla taught my neice how to shoot at a young age and she went on to lead the state in 2020 for GC. Kayla was a beast and there were many more on them teams. I like Greenfield Fan and he likes the Jackets and I respect that but there were some flat out great teams in the day around here. In 2009 nobody ever talked about the Jennings kid for Gibson County but she was probably the best defensive player that ever played over there. Nobody and I mean nobody could shake her. She could flat out defend. Greenfield is up there and in the conversation, but to say they were the best is a little too much.

[GoBigOrange20]

Gleason should've won in 1996 - probably the best Randy Frazier team. Two eventual Miss Basketball winners and multiple All-State selections. Good inside and outside play. But, they got tripped up by a Lake County team that played out of their mind for one night for their first and only loss of the season. I still say that the most well-rounded teams from West Tennessee are the Butler-led GC teams. I'd bet on an Ashley McElhiney-led team against anyone and I think she remains the best player to come out of West Tennessee in any class. But those GC teams had great guards, great posts, everyone could shoot, and they played great defense. Russell was always blessed with a 6 foot post player (at Bradford and GC) that we rarely had at Gleason outside of Lee Ann Bell in the early 90s.  

And, yes, Kayla was a special talent. She absolutely dominated the Class A state tournament in 2007.