3 vs. 4 classifications in basketball.

[UpperCumberlandMan]

On 2/12/2024 at 5:09 PM, MP2023 said:

It should be three classes because it is watered down. We have to many football classes and we have more schools playing basketball than football. We know it is about money forTSSAA.

Everything in football and basketball is so very watered down 

[WestTNHoopsFan]

Im so tired of hearing about the 4 classes "watering down" the games. The reality of it is, there is not a hand full of Division 1 basketball players in the entire state. And honestly, I'm not sure if there are any high level D1 kids. the number of classes dont have anything to do with that. There have been blow outs every year and there will continue to be blow outs every year. Bottom line - "Watered down" means that tennessee high basketball is just not that good right now and there just are not a lot of high level talented kids. So can we please stop with all the watered down stuff. In my opinion that just takes away from these kids accomplishments. they hear, "Oh these classes watered down the competition" and it sends a message of "if things were the way they use to be you would not have accomplished what you accomplished"... Can we just stop? 

Edited March 18 by WestTNHoopsFan

[85warrior]

It needs to stay at 4. When it was at 3 you had schools with 1100 students that were  too big to be in AA that were forced to be AAA and be in the same district and region with the massive schools with 2000-2500 students.

[Alumn89]

1 hour ago, WestTNHoopsFan said:

Im so tired of hearing about the 4 classes "watering down" the games. The reality of it is, there is not a hand full of Division 1 basketball players in the entire state. And honestly, I'm not sure if there are any high level D1 kids. the number of classes dont have anything to do with that. There have been blow outs every year and there will continue to be blow outs every year. Bottom line - "Watered down" means that tennessee high basketball is just not that good right now and there just are not a lot of high level talented kids. So can we please stop with all the watered down stuff. In my opinion that just takes away from these kids accomplishments. they hear, "Oh these classes watered down the competition" and it sends a message of "if things were the way they use to be you would not have accomplished what you accomplished"... Can we just stop? 

I agree talent is probably a little down right now.  But I would also submit to you that the current state of College Athletics has a little to do with how "high" kids get recruited.    There are many college coaches who simply don't want freshmen.  They don't want to have to bring a guy in, develop his strength and skill, with a chance that he will be unhappy having to wait and transfer out. 

This effects every talent level.   Guys like Christian Alston may have been power 5 in the NCAA climate 10 years ago.  Guys like Tyler Lee would certainly have been a solid D1 back then.   So many kids are going D2 or NAIA now that could have had a D1 scholarship if the transfer portal hadn't come along. 

Ultimately, the cream still rises to the top.  It just may take a year or two at a lower level for D1 coaches to come calling.  Once they transfer up , coaches feel more solid about not having to develop and not having to risk a transfer out. 

[Indian]

Could be worse, could have 6 classes. 

[WestTNHoopsFan]

3 hours ago, Alumn89 said:

I agree talent is probably a little down right now.  But I would also submit to you that the current state of College Athletics has a little to do with how "high" kids get recruited.    There are many college coaches who simply don't want freshmen.  They don't want to have to bring a guy in, develop his strength and skill, with a chance that he will be unhappy having to wait and transfer out. 

This effects every talent level.   Guys like Christian Alston may have been power 5 in the NCAA climate 10 years ago.  Guys like Tyler Lee would certainly have been a solid D1 back then.   So many kids are going D2 or NAIA now that could have had a D1 scholarship if the transfer portal hadn't come along. 

Ultimately, the cream still rises to the top.  It just may take a year or two at a lower level for D1 coaches to come calling.  Once they transfer up , coaches feel more solid about not having to develop and not having to risk a transfer out. 

Agree with all that... AND all levels of college ball is outstanding. Nothing like a Juco that develops kids!!! love NAIA ball. It is ultra competitive. D3 and D2 has all my love. But my point is Tennessee don't have a ton of D1 basketball players. Zero in the class of 2024 in the top 100. Zero in the class of 2025 top 60.  So, lets not blame 4 classes of watering down the games... We just don't have that caliber of player. With that being said, lets celebrate the kids that are working their rear end off and making it to the state tournament instead of always talking about watered down this, watered down that. It is not the classifications. It is the lack of high level talent. 

[WestTNHoopsFan]

3 hours ago, Alumn89 said:

I agree talent is probably a little down right now.  But I would also submit to you that the current state of College Athletics has a little to do with how "high" kids get recruited.    There are many college coaches who simply don't want freshmen.  They don't want to have to bring a guy in, develop his strength and skill, with a chance that he will be unhappy having to wait and transfer out. 

This effects every talent level.   Guys like Christian Alston may have been power 5 in the NCAA climate 10 years ago.  Guys like Tyler Lee would certainly have been a solid D1 back then.   So many kids are going D2 or NAIA now that could have had a D1 scholarship if the transfer portal hadn't come along. 

Ultimately, the cream still rises to the top.  It just may take a year or two at a lower level for D1 coaches to come calling.  Once they transfer up , coaches feel more solid about not having to develop and not having to risk a transfer out. 

Let me give a cavate... Those two guys you mentioned I am sure are great players and people. However, if they are power 5 they would be at a power 5 school. And if they are legit D1, they would be at a D1 School. D1 coaches aint passing on guys that can play and qualify to be in school. the transfer portal changed a lot but it didn't change that. 

[tradertwo]

2 hours ago, WestTNHoopsFan said:

Let me give a cavate... Those two guys you mentioned I am sure are great players and people. However, if they are power 5 they would be at a power 5 school. And if they are legit D1, they would be at a D1 School. D1 coaches aint passing on guys that can play and qualify to be in school. the transfer portal changed a lot but it didn't change that. 

I agree with you, and will add that there are just as many kids in DI right now as there was when I was able to watch Brian Lake, Olajuan Kemp, Willie Kemp, Wayne Chism, Thaddeus Young, Cannon Whitby, Tony Delk, Steve Hamer, Kirk Haston, Corrie Johnson, ect...

   For whatever reason, there aren't right now and haven't been for a few years any kids in rural West Tn. on that level...maybe not even close to that level. Without checking, there's a span of a few years that many of those I listed overlapped and you could drive less than an hour to see a true DI athlete. You just knew then that you were enjoying a level of basketball that wouldn't last, but when the run stopped, you wouldn't have thought that it was done for years without even a sniff of that kind of avalanche of talent. The "good 'ol days" really were the good 'ol days!

[Lash]

let's look at the surrounding states number of classes

Missouri 6 + privates multiplier 

Arkansas 6 (fb7) (privates forced to "play up" in a formula based on past success)

Mississippi 6 + 2 private

Alabama 7 + privates multiplier

Georgia 6 + privates multiplier

North Carolina 8 just expanded to

Virginia 6 (privates +2 vague?)

Kentucky 6fb other sports 1 (plus singleA has their own tourney) + has a separate state org that runs some of their private school sports

and you guys say watered down when we are next to last in number of classes above Kentucky with our 4+2

We should expand to 6 like our neighbors and do away with districts and just be regions like football and the other states

[Indian]

Travel would be hard especially M-Th. 

[Alumn89]

18 hours ago, WestTNHoopsFan said:

Let me give a cavate... Those two guys you mentioned I am sure are great players and people. However, if they are power 5 they would be at a power 5 school. And if they are legit D1, they would be at a D1 School. D1 coaches aint passing on guys that can play and qualify to be in school. the transfer portal changed a lot but it didn't change that. 

Yea I disagree there.  I know a few coaches at the D1 level and there are head coaches, without a doubt, who simply don't want freshmen. Not all think this way but there are some.  They see the portal as more of a sure thing. They are willing to pass on a "D1 guy" because they don't want the risk involved.  They are more willing to pull up a D2 guy with a year or two of good tape at that level who can't transfer out on them.        So I guess we will have to agree to disagree.   

[repoman]

Girls' side AA is the toughest, and AAA is the weakest. AAA, for some reason , has  really shown the "waterdown" effect of going to 4 classes