MBA vs Ba?

[rollredroll]

I agree Brandon. It's not as if their 6 Super 7 teams have been bad (four state title game appearances), and if memory serves, the 1998 team was undefeated going into the title game, which they lost in a close game to MBA. They just don't seem to have the fire they had in the '80s and early to mid '90s, in which they were arguably one of the most feared programs in the South.

[FHSrebel27]

Wow, I can't believe it was '98 when Benji Walker led the Eagles to the state championship game. That seems like such a short time ago, and it has actually been five years. That was still back in my BA days. Always fun to recall the good ole days. I'd have to agree that they have lost the "killer instinct." I wonder why though. Maybe they won't ever get it back being in D-II. You only have to "kill" 6 other teams. Not a put down on D-II. I think Super 7 action on a Friday night can be the most excting thing around. But it might, in the back of these guys' heads, lessen their desire to want to do as good as say, the '95 and '96 teams. You get what I'm saying?

[itzme]

Posted by rollredroll:

I agree Brandon. It's not as if their 6 Super 7 teams have been bad (four state title game appearances), and if memory serves, the 1998 team was undefeated going into the title game, which they lost in a close game to MBA. They just don't seem to have the fire they had in the '80s and early to mid '90s, in which they were arguably one of the most feared programs in the South.

 

I hate to say it, but they're just getting over the Tom Moore years. I know a lot of people did not understand why Coach Moore was reassigned, but perhaps the attitude of players was one reason. The rising Juniors never played for Coach Moore, and should start making a real contribution this coming season. We'll see.

[FHSrebel27]

Well I have to object to that, itzme. I respect your opinion and you're a great member of the site. But, Coach Moore was an excellent coach if you ask me. I was only around his program, not Flatt's, so maybe that would have changed my mind. But, I'll just leave it at that I think Moore was just fine and won't go into this Moore/Flatt argument again.

[coulibaly]

Itzme, you're exactly right.

[itzme]

Posted by FHSrebel27:

Well I have to object to that, itzme. I respect your opinion and you're a great member of the site. But, Coach Moore was an excellent coach if you ask me. I was only around his program, not Flatt's, so maybe that would have changed my mind. But, I'll just leave it at that I think Moore was just fine and won't go into this Moore/Flatt argument again.

 

I agree we should not get into that discussion overall. Tom Moore is a really fine person.

[BigRed3]

if moore lost by 1 in the clinic bowl and got fired....why isn't flatt in another country for losing by SIXTEEN.

[AGGSL]

Let me see if I understand. Not only did Coach Moore not do a good job when at BA (at least in the eyes of the BA traditionalists), he is still being blamed today for their lack of the killer instinct? Itzme, is that right? Perhaps MBA is just better. Coach Moore ought to be glad he is gone, If he were coaching last fall when MBA hammered BA, he would have been quartered and hung by now.

[CR4]

Flatt has won more state championships in 33 years than MBA has in over 100 years! Yes MBA has played better than BA in the big games the past few years but don't get too excited.

[WarriorFan]

Guys, it is obvious that most of you that have spoken out for Coach Moore are MBA fans, and Coach Moore is an MBA alumni. I hate how the whole situation went down, because I am sure he was humiliated. I am not even a Coach Moore fan, rather a Coach Flatt fan regarding coaching style. Coach Moore could coach at most any other high school and get away with losing a few games a year, much less even getting to the state and losing it. 90% of all high school teams out there would be happy just getting to the first round of the playoffs. Heck, most programs would never think of getting rid of a coach that had his win-loss record. It is hard to follow Coach Flatt. The coaching styles of these two men are night and day...Flatt being a "Patton", and Moore being a realtionship coach. BA has their own measuring stick that 99% of you would never understand, and this is not said in an elitist way. That school is run like a business (They even used a search firm to conduct a national hunt when they replaced their headmaster, Bill Brown when he retired), and not really on relationships, or parents having an inside track for their kids getting favors because of who they know. It is a very cut and dry school, not really from "old money" like MBA. There are really no "insiders". Things in that school are done different than most any place you will ever find. Yes, my heart goes out to Coach Moore, but as I said it was a corporate decision, and I don't think it was based on Coach Moore's likeability or win-loss record, because from what I have heard, he was a heck of a good guy. BA wants their national prominence back, and the only person in the state of TN that has that ability from his past record is Coach Flatt. They just didn't feel that Coach Moore could get them to a national level. BA thinks on a different level that most people have a hard time grasping. They don't care as much on state prominence, they care about being the best nationally. My guess is that though Coach Moore went through probably one of the hardest times in his life over his release, and public humiliation, God opened up an even bigger door for him, and he is much happier being away from the situation at BA. I am sure the pressure to perform was tremendous. Heck, I would never blame him for any hard feelings he may hold for BA, if any. I hope he can forgive in his heart for his treatment, and put that scenario behind him. I can assure you, God has bigger plans for Tom Moore, and his release from BA opened up better opportunities.

 

Now, MBA guys, let's talk about why you fired Jerry Meyer after just two seasons, his last with a 6-22 record....It amazes me that I am having a hard time finding a story about his firing in the Tennessean. The only one I can find is about Kevin Anglin replacing him. Kevin is a quality leader, an a heck of a good basketball player. His style of coaching is like a night and day difference to Coach Jerry Meyer's. Jerry was too "old school" for MBA. Jerry was one of the best basketball players to ever come through Nashville, and he was coached by his dad, Don Meyer, who is one of the best coaches to ever be in the game. Jerry is an author on the fundamentals of basketball, having endorsements on his teaching from even the legendary John Wooden. Coach Meyer will coach somewhere else, if he wants, and be successful. He definitely knows basketball, but he might be too rough around the edges for MBA, ie. his personal life from when he was in college. It sounds like he is a "hot head", and may have a hard time potraying the image MBA wants. Even though it is not the same issues between these two coaches, both seem to not be the right fit for these two schools(BA and MBA) programs. BA has never been a place for "nice guys", and MBA has always been about "image and being refined". I am sure the MBA administration humiliated Jerry Meyer tremendously with his dismissal. Most folks that follow basketball from the past remember him. Again, both of these firings were corporate business decisions that both schools felt necessary to get their programs running in the direction they felt it should go. Coaching is a well-known job for firings, especially if you become unpopular with the folks that pay the tuition, ie. parents, supporters and alumni. I do not fault MBA for firing Jerry Meyer, because they run that school, and it is only their business. I just want you guys to understand that you cannot find total fault in BA for firing Coach Moore, but find no fault in firing Coach Meyer after two seasons. He didn't really have an opportunity to develop his own basketball team.

[Edited by Brandon100 on 4-19-03 9:13P]

 

[boneal52]

I like the posts about returning to the killer instinct. It seems that the instinct is what they thrived on in the earlier days of winning titles. Now, with more talent, they can't quite get over the hump like they used to. But what about those last years with Flatt, when they were LOADED and had that mentality. We all remember how scary they were. They were one of the top teams in the country before Flatt left. So now, Flatt is back, if the instinct comes back, with the talent level rising back to where it was in the mid nineties.........whew, look out Tennessee.

[rollredroll]

Brandon, if memory serves, both The Tennessean and the Nashville City Paper had articles on the Jerry Meyer situation. Try the archives again; if no luck, let me know and I'll see what I can dip up. All I can say is my understanding is that he and Brad Gioia did not see eye to eye; the poor record did not help, either. Jerry sometimes lurks on here - it would be fairer for him to comment that any of us.

 

CR4, as for Flatt having more titles in 30+ years than MBA in 100+ years, yes, that is true. MBA was not awarded state titles back in the early years (e.g., 1920s) when they were winning dozens of games in a row and shutting people out for seasons on end. MBA also has played every year of its existence at the highest possible level (when enrollment dictated it could play in lower classifications, which would have improved its chances at championships). Nevertheless, that does not diminish what Flatt has accomplished. I think he proved a lot of people wrong when he won two 5A titles in two years. I just wish he had moved BA up to 3A (in the three class system) during all those years he was winning 2A titles. He had some truly awesome teams - probably the best at any level in most of those years - but there were some 3A teams here and there that would have given BA trouble.

[Edited by rollredroll on 4-19-03 9:59P]