The boys preview last Sunday was tough. The girls preview was much easier, as all the pieces fell into place.
Last year the Riverdale girls were the overwhelming favorites, or at least favored in all 36 games they played.
The regular season championship, district and region championships, a sub-state victory followed by a state championship were all forgone conclusions for many.
Someone forgot to tell Blackman and Memphis Central as Riverdale finished 34-2 and district tournament and state runner-up.
Not much has changed. Riverdale is 12-3 having lost to a nationally ranked team from Illinois and a Georgia powerhouse as well as losing to Memphis Central in Memphis.
RHS has since beaten Memphis Central at Riverdale.
Again Riverdale is a heavy favorite to win the regular season.
The Lady Warriors, with Olivia Jones, Shelbie Davenport, Shacobia Barbee, Alexa Middleton, Toyree Watkins and Tyisha Petty have a star at all five starting spots plus the first girl off the bench.
I did not say a good player or a very good player, I said a star. All six can shoot from anywhere, Jones, who is playing great, Watkins and Barbee are excellent rebounders, the defense is very good as they get plenty of steals and blocked shots and their press and fast break are devastating.
Their passing (especially Middleton and Davenport) is super. This is the best 5-on-5 Rutherford County girls team I’ve seen in many years.
The major area of concern at Riverdale is the injured hand of Toyree Watkins and the health of point guard Tyisha Petty, who may be Riverdale’s MVP. Petty has missed some games but could return soon. RHS is my pick for No. 1 in the regular season.
This leaves us at No. 2, which is my only real problem. It’s Oakland or Blackman.
OK, I’m out on a limb here. I think they could easily split their games this season but Blackman has a slightly better chance to win both games and a slightly less chance of being upset by another district team.
I say this because I think Blackman is a touch faster and a little more physical.
I could be wrong; we shall see.
With Kortney Cox, who is the most versatile player in the mid-state, the under-rated guard Chelsey Hall and a very good freshman, Alex Johnson, the Blaze, 13-1 before 2012 began, will finish second. They were in the state tournament last spring.
Oakland, also 13-1, has been paced by a solid and improving post player, Ellen Riggins, and long-range bomber Monica Barrett. Guard Emily Eubank is always on the attack and is the glue that holds this squad together.
Oakland has won every close game they have played this year and often ran away with the rest – that’s impressive. The Lady Patriots will finish No. 3, barely.
The teams are very similar.
Both had nice winning streaks in the first half, both have excellent coaching staffs who know how to win and both won tournaments over the holidays.
The 4th place team will be the Siegel Stars with Kelsey Naish, Markentria Humphrey (both do everything well) and 3-point shooter Maddie Denton leading the way. They are over 500 with signature wins over East Ridge, McGavock and Ravenwood and had nine wins before Jan. 1.
Smyrna is trying to rebuild and contend at the same time and is having some success, especially when Kayta Hunt and freshman Treasure Hunt play well.
Treasure Hunt (great name don’t you think?) is a future star – trust me.
The Lady Dogs have signature wins over Marshall County and Pearl Cohn; they need and will eventually get better chemistry and will finish fifth.
La Vergne is an unusual story.
Between 2007 and 2009, no one had more talent (more than 60 wins) than the Lady Wolverines, but they wasted it and never got out of the region.
Today they are so young and inexperienced they simply cannot win in the toughest district in the state. This is going to take some time.
Nothing is written in stone, of course and anything can happen.
As a matter of fact, many teams often lose to the same common opponent. I’ll tell you who that is, actually, what that is, next Sunday. |
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