Memphis D2

[outtacontrol]

Lausanne= can they be successful with gasol leaving? will jonnie west and carlos taylor be good enough to lead an otherwise untalented team?

 

ECS= can they go from being just an average team to being a successful one? will matt lea get any better? will they repeat as district champs?

 

MUS= can they do anything at all with ryan baum leaving? is their slow tempo game successful against the athleticism of the other memphis players?

 

Harding= can they continue tradition of being a successful team with a large amount of talent leaving the school? can coach froedden once again turn a team losing much talent into a well meshed high calibur team?

 

BCS= will the jrs-to-be be enough to win district? will brandon berry, ross tapley, big mike, patrick spoch, and brian moffit, and co. come together to be a major threat in the area?

 

St. Benedict= will they continue to be just a sleeper team or will reggie payton step up and get them better?

 

CBHS= will they ever become a threat to any team? will chris mosby improve and become a leader of that team?

 

Bishop Byrne= is charles hampton going to get mr. basketball and lead byrne deep into the postseason? will the other players step up enough to keep hamptons load from becoming too large?

[CoachtFAN]

It will be interesting next year, but I'll give you my top rankings.

 

1. Briarcrest

2. MUS

3. CBHS

4. Harding

5. ECS

6. Bishop Byrne

7. Lausanne

8. St. Benedict

 

I guess I'm putting out different rankings here. The first one was district results. Going with the Top 5 in actual talent and what a team COULD do, I would rank it this way:

1. Briarcrest

2. Harding

3. Lausanne

4. ECS

5. CBHS

 

For region winners, I would pick:

1. Briarcrest

2. CBHS

3. Harding

 

Lausanne won't do much next year without Gasol. Briarcrest basically has the same team. The BCS coach is very talented. Briarcrest was horrible at the beginning, and the coach made that young team into a serious threat by the end of the season. They will mesh next year and do great things. I see them leading the Memphis for a couple years. MUS always manages to produce even in down years. I think they'll be close again. Harding might actually do better next year even though they lost a lot of talent, because Coach Froedden does good things with average teams. However, Harding seems to endure a horrible hex.

 

I think that the top three in state from each region would be: Briarcrest (W), Brentwood Academy (M), and Notre Dame (E).

 

Ranking the top 5 in state, I would say:

1. Brentwood Academy - by a mile

2. Father Ryan

3. Briarcrest

4. Notre Dame

5. McCallie

 

The west is still not very strong yet. Briarcrest could give teams a good run in 2 years, but it's my impression that BA owns Division II right now.

[Edited by CoachtFAN on 4-19-03 7:48P]

 

[crest77]

I think that with the talent that bcrest had this year, they did very well, and since they are keeping that talent I think that they will be a force next year and will be a force next year. Especially when the team comes together as one, instead of discombobulated as they were at the beg. of the season.

[outtacontrol]

Is CBHS gonna be good next year? In your picks, you had them near the top but i dont see anything about them that would give me a scare. I also thought byrne would be higher b/c charles hampton is a beast. good statement about harding tho, i believe you bc froedden has a way of making those guys a great team. i know with all the good players this year, chemistry was a huge messed up factor for them but without any selfishness next year, theywill still be a threat and are not to be underestimated. how about ecs? will matt lea be able to lead that team with meeks and cottam gone? who will mus have?

[CoachtFAN]

With division II, it's always about parity. And CBHS seems like an average-talented threat. ECS had good talent this year. I'm not sure exactly how they did so well this year. I was kind of suprised with them. They will still be good next year. MUS seems to always be a threat whether or not they have much talent because Peter's runs a good program.

 

I don't see Bishop Byrne as being all that good, but I should have reconsidered them. It just seems like there is such a disparity between large and small schools. Lausanne was the first to break that disparity and climb up, but their program is not very strong, they just got lucky to get a huge guy on their team. Bishop Byrne might crawl out, but it just seems like it's near impossible for a small school to make it.

 

Now that I think about, Bishop Byrne could snag the number two spot in the region. I'm pretty set on Briarcrest being number 1, and I think Harding might slip into 3rd, with 2nd open to anybody. The thing about next year is that it's really anybody's game. This year, it should have been Harding and Lausanne because they had the most talent, but we all know how that ended up. That's just how these things work out sometimes. It's what makes the game fun.

 

I think Briarcrest is definitely first place, and after that, there are two other levels. 2nd level would be ECS, Harding, Byrne. 3rd level would be Lausanne, CBHS, MUS, St. Benedict. Once you get past Briarcrest, it's really anyone's game. My CBHS prediction was just kind of a random guess.

[Edited by CoachtFAN on 4-21-03 11:43A]

 

[CoachtFAN]

outtacontrol - you said something about Charles Hampton as Mr. Basketball. If anyone's got a chance from the West, then he's the only one. He'll probably be a finalist. My guess is that Mr. Basketball will go to a Brentwood Academy kid, probably Brandon Wright. And he's only gonna be a sophomore next year.

[outtacontrol]

Brandon Wright, I forgot about him. How could I? Yeah, he could very well get it but you are right, if anyone from the west can get it, it would be Charles. He is a very talented player that can jump out of the gym. I'm not sure on how he can shoot from the perimeter but he is very strong and can break you down off the dribble. I'm looking forward to seeing him next year. I've only seen Brandon Wright play twice and neither time was he a threat, but this was early in the year, maybe their 3rd and 4th games of the year TOPS. He definitely improved and turned many heads later in the year. With his height, all he needs is some muscle on him and he will be incredible. He is what a Mr. Basketball should be. Unlike Marc Gasol. If Gasol weren't seven feet tall and three million pounds, he would not be any good. He is out of shape and very slow. He also is the biggest crybaby I have seen in a while and gets alot of calls, just because he is Pau's brother. He does have very good hands but thats about it. However, he is a big as he is and so he was effective against pretty much everyone so I can't say much else about him. Who do you think will step up for Harding next year? I know Rod will be their go to guy on the perimeter and will be looked at to expand his game, but who else will be offensive options or defensive specialists? BCS will be very good talent wise and unless the don't get along ( Harding '02-'03) they will be the best in the west. Do you think Matt Lea will be any good next year? He has a stroke and is not a bad player but it seems that at his height, he should work in the post a little bit. Maybe not. What do you think?

[CoachtFAN]

Harding lost a very talented senior class with Trey and John leading the way. Adam will be Harding's main guy next year. Helping him out will be Byron Taylor and Brennon Martin. But Harding is definitely going to struggle next year. They have a younger team with only 1-2 seniors. With great coaching, they should still be a threat, but it will be a tough journey for them. Right now, they don't look too hot, but Coach Froedden can do great things with teams.

 

I second your comments on Gasol. I tried to make similar comments during the season and people bashed me as a disgruntled fan. I think that Josh Suddath of McCallie was robbed of Mr. Basketball. Brandon Wright was only a freshman this year, so it took awhile for him to really get going, but next year, I think he will be on fire. I definitely see him as a finalist next year, possibly winning Mr. Basketball more than once. Oh and to remind you, those early games you saw of BA was the first half of the season when it looked like they were going nowhere. Second half of the season, BA came alive, I think much to the credit of Wright (and senior Dunlap).

 

Matt Lea is good and will lead ECS, but he's gonna have to do too much if ECS is going to go anywhere. He'll score most of points, but I don't think it will be enough. ECS will be a threat, but I don't see them accomplishing much next year.

[CoachtFAN]

P.S. I'm enjoying a highly intelligent and non-biased discussion with you. It's nice not to deal with all the biased and charged comments that I hear too often. I'm giving you a good mark.

[outtacontrol]

I agree about ECS and Gasol. I have heard about Harding, however, that Byron will not be back. He did not play near the end of the year and is not working out with them right now. I think Michael McNutt and Mariun Price will need to step up and give good support to the backcourt. What about freshman Greg Hardy? He is big, strong, and a heck of a rebounder. Nobody on the team could box him out. He does have to work on his game but I think he has the potential to be a good player. Any word on if Tacuma is coming back either? Word has it that him and Byron are going to another school. I sure hope not, these two are the future for Harding hoops. I think Harding would have a bright future if everyone stays. Their JV team was the best around, getting second in the Tourney b/c people couldnt show up, playing time was limited due to the 6 quarter rule, oh yeah and a 6'7 300 lb beast named Big Mike that was never called for over the back. Anyways, I think Hardings JV indicated a bright future for Hoops. Any thoughts?

[CoachtFAN]

I wouldn't be suprised if Byron was leaving. I kind of forgot about that. I think the two of them may even be going to Briarcrest which means more power to them. It will be tough for Harding next year. Most of the team will have to step up. As for JV players, I wasn't sure that they were all that talented. I'm sure the future is still competitive for Harding, but not sure if it is bright. Some of it will depend on how long Coach Froedden is there. I know he would rather be in Nashville near his step-daughter. He may just be waiting for the opportunity. If he leaves in a year or so, it will be a blow to Harding. However, he has been training his assistant Johnny Carr (former Harding player) really well. I'm guessing Froedden is preparing to leave and making sure he leaves Harding with a solid program. I'm not too engrossed or biased with Harding's future, because I am a senior and will soon cease to care about anything related to Harding in four weeks. I guess that's why I can tell it like it is without the we're-gonna-win-state mentality. What about you? It sounds like you play... Where you at?

[Edited by CoachtFAN on 4-21-03 9:01P]

[tcompton]

What is the deal with Harding? They have as good if not better talent than anyone, have a good regular season, and then fade in the tourney. Why can't they get over the Hump? I don't mean just this year, this has been a yearly occurance.