F@lcon

I didn’t stay for the Trinity game but I watched Buford/TN High and Carmel/Science Hill. As usual, the local teams had plenty of help from the officials. Watson from Buford didn’t seem to be comfortable this game. It seemed at times like he may have been hurting and struggled with his passing. Carmel was very athletic, dominated the boards in first half and played most of the game above the rim. SH came out in second half and boxed out better but turnovers kept them from making much of a run.

I typically wouldn’t mind the sign either but with the rough history and accusations over the last couple years I think the administration should step in before it does go too far. Eventually small things could incite larger rifts.

That works too

First, who coined the term “scrum”, lol. Second, both sides ARE at fault. Wise plays like TJ did in high school. He played very chippy and annoying to try to get opposition riled up to mess up their game. I don’t know how much he has coached players to take kids out so can’t say much about that. Wise fans were allowed to hang a sign saying “Merry Christmas to everyone except GC”. That falls on the school administrators as much as TJ. With the history of these teams, why allow something that starts a riff between crowds (much like the diapers on sticks at GC) before the game starts? If the schools truly want it to end, step in and make it clear that it needs to stop. Stop whining about each other on message boards.

Duh! Lol

He is a big dude, not sure about his name. I feel sorry for him. On one hand you have influential parents of your best player and on the other hand you have a talented kid with a mother who has a history of raising h#ll and/or transferring every time her kid don't get to be the star.

You haven't seen them. I think Northwood could beat Wise, Lee, and Ridgeview in M7 when they are hitting their shots. Northwood will play Battle Friday and I think that game will hinge on the ability of Battle's interior size to be able to push Northwood primarily to 15'+ shots and stop offensive rebounds.

Carter had 21 and Strong had 20. It was a tough game throughout. Abingdon led most of the way but lost Hungate before halftime to injury. He had 20 pts at that point. Northwood played very physical and hit big shots when needed. Abingdon didn't shoot well from the perimeter and didn't hit their free throws allowing Northwood to get the lead late. In my opinion, if Abingdon had shot 30%+ from the arc and 75% from free throw line in this game they win by double digits. If Northwood can control a couple kid's attitudes and stop their parents from trying to control the coach they can do big things this season. But, knowing the people involved, I would not be surprised to see this team implode by mid season. Abingdon will need their seniors to play better and 1-2 more kids to step up and contribute for them to compete in the top half of the M7.

Right now it seems to be a shootout for 2nd. Until someone proves they can play with GC they stand alone. Union will be tough after getting the kid back who was injured last year. Abingdon had 2 big losses to graduation and will be young this year but they have a lot of athletes on the team that should improve and compete as the season goes along. Battle will have a couple guards to contend with and they will have some high output games. As Duke said, Lee could upset a team or 2 this season but I don't see them putting it together for an entire season. Wise lost Mullins to graduation and now McCamis so I don't see them being a factor but who knows who may step up for them. Ridgeview may be a sleeper team but only time will tell. They have some athletic kids but not sure if they have conventional basketball talent.

Gate City had very little fan support at Abingdon this season. It was the lowest turnout I have seen from them. Ridgeview probably tripled their traveling fan base. Part of that is simply because if you don't win only the diehard fans continue to come. I am sure another part of that has to do with the shift from Gate City being a football school to being a basketball school. For a long time GC has always been a solid football contender each year. To get that back you will need someone or something that will make kids want to come out. The new coach will need to provide excitement to get current athletes back into the pads but for the long term it takes winning. It will take a few years to begin having any major success but once you do that then the younger kids begin to get interested in playing again. Right now, your 8-10 year olds are wanting to be the next McClung or Ervin instead of the next Houseright.

I am sure LB is very physical and I truly believe abingdon is an obvious underdog. One can argue the whole 2a/3a thing forever and neither side will change their minds. One advantage I see is that LB can’t really gauge what abingdon can/can’t do. They see the early season losses including the hidden valley game so they think it’s a cakewalk. Then they see the later season quality wins against union and Ridgeview and a little uncertainty has to creep in. Abingdon will need to be playing at the top of their game and get some big plays early to have a shot. As Rick Moranis told his team on Little Giants, you can beat anyone “one time”.

Lol, I am as bad as anyone for keeping things going but you guys keep saying let it die while your posts ironically keep pushing it to the top of the board.

If GC wants a run only guy then reed is the answer. The problem is that he builds no relationship with players. He is a jerk (can’t use the proper wording) and within 2 years the whole team will hate going to practice. Good luck.

I agree, there are many great multiple sport stars. The only point I was trying to make regarding specialization is that you become better at the individual sport because of it. I would rather see a well rounded athlete any day.

I am not a fan of specialization. Most kids aren’t gifted like the boys that we have mentioned. Not saying that talent doesn’t get you noticed. But the average player will remain average if they only get in season work. It is a known fact that more practice will make you better (except to Allen Iverson). Sport seasons carry over into other seasons more now than in the past and coaches get into pissing matches because kids aren’t fully devoted to their sport at the time. Football runs into basketball if the team makes the postseason so that would always hurt teams like gate city in years past. GC was always perceived as a football team playing basketball. Now with the Mcclung era, they are a basketball school who happens to have a football team. Many baseball and basketball teams try to compete in the offseason at camps or travel tournaments and players have to decide in which one to participate. It’s much tougher today than it was in the 80’s and 90’s.