District 7A Tournament Preview

Jackson County High School will host the entire D7A Tournament. The five-team tournament begins Tuesday with a critical elimination game between Clarkrange and Red Boiling Springs.   <h2>Clarkrange vs. Red Boiling Springs</h2>   https://twitter.com/CHSBuffaloBBall/status/1615424356120944640?t=2eVafA3zQkfuOlhppCLgxg&s=19   <h2>Winner vs. Clay County (#1)</h2>   Keaton Arms is one of the best Class A players in the state.   "[Clay County] are probably one of the stronger teams we have played, said TN Heat Head Coach Bond. "Big, strong football kids that are athletes."   A legacy of greatness exists in Celina, Tennessee.   "Clay County is solid," said Coach Bond. "I think he does as good a job [cosching] s anybody I have seen."   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ClayCountyBBall/status/1624103943142838272?t=itN3U4QxoOZ6cNfxWQ6qCA&s=19 </div></figure>   <h2>Pickett County (#3) vs. Gordonsville (#2)</h2>   Great clash of programs!   "I like where we are," said Head Coach Joseph Amonett Sunday afternoon on a brief, informative phone interview. "We lost 5 of our top 6 from last year. We didn't have high expectations. Some people thought we would only win five or six games. We are sitting at 14-11."   Credit two young, skilled players.   "[player_tooltip player_id='1273545' first='Jacob' last='Amonett'] has expanded his role. [player_tooltip player_id='1277274' first='Eli' last='Reagan'] finished 2nd team all conference. Those two sophomores have played like seniors for us."   "Caden Miller, Gage Harris, Kaiden Thomas...They stepped up."   Have any players done anything unexpected? "Gage has averaged, about 10, barely played any last year. Never played as a junior. Hit 50 3's. Small kid. Only about 5'8", but he plays bigger than that."   "We will play Pickett County next Friday night," said Gordonsville Head Coach Gregg Bibb via phone call February 10th. How did GHS fare against them in the regular season? "Beat them 68-52 at their place. [In the other game], got up 17 in the third and won 47-41. Pickett County lost some key guys last year. We have a clear advantage in the post."   The younger brother of Will and Zach Amonett, [player_tooltip player_id='1273545' first='Jacob' last='Amonett'] is a quick, attack-minded sophomore guard. He stands 6-foot-0. Very tight handle. Jacob will need to be special in this playoff opener, with the #1 and #2 Regional Tournament seeds available to the winner.   Dylan Anderson (Pickett County) is an important, scrappy player. Like most of the upperclassmen, Dylan can hit the open shot. Overall, the team is quite skilled, though young.     Pickett County Roster   #20 Gage Harris* (2024) 5'8" PG #11 [player_tooltip player_id='1273545' first='Jacob' last='Amonett']* (2025) #21 Kaiden Thomas* (2024) 5'8" SF #14 [player_tooltip player_id='1277274' first='Eli' last='Reagan']* (2025) #4 Caden Miller* (2024) #10 Lyric Parris (2025) #5 Dylan Anderson (2023) #22 Payne Burton (2023) 5'10" PG   Gordonsville Roster   Brodie Sykes* (2025) Brayden Holliman* (2023) Ryder Grisham* (2023) Peyton Climer* (2023) Will Dudney* (2023) Tristan Wood (2024) Tucker Smith (2024)   Gordonsville Head Coach Gregg Bibb Analysis   Will Dudney is a really good defender. Strong kid. Good rebounder. Can score it in the post. We can defend with him either in the post or on the perimeter. Really good athlete.   Peyton Climer started for me all last year and this year. He is a really good defender, really good athlete. Slasher. A team-first guy. He can score it, more of a slasher than a catch-and-shoot guy. He can create. He just plays so hard. He is a great leader for us.   Ryder Grisham is a really good catch-and-shoot three guy. He plays the "3". He guards a guard.   Brayden Holliman. Really good shooter. Can do it on a catch-and-shoot three or off the bounce. Sees the floor pretty well. Plays point and "2".   Brodie Sykes About a 6-foot-5 kid. Really good scorer on the block. Can stretch it out. Can make a three. Plays extremely hard. Really good leader for us even though he is just a sophomore. <Did he play last year?> He did play some last year. He plays hard. He leads. He is a team-guy. Scores the ball well on the post. Rebounds the ball extremely well. Leads us in rebounding. We had Austin Ducrest last year. Austin is a whole lot stronger, but like I said Brodie is a basketball/baseball guy. Really good baseball player as well. You know what are you going to get [with Brodie].   Tristan Wood This is the first year that he has ever gotten significant time. Good athlete. Good defender.   Tucker Smith PG. Backup point. Really smart. Handles the ball really well. Understands the game unbelievably. Can shoot it. Just a tough kid.     <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>2</td><td></td><td>Brayden Holliman SG • Sr. • 5' 8"</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td></td><td>J Foster PG, SG • Fr. • 5' 10" • 145 lbs</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td></td><td>Tucker Smith PG, SG • So. • 5' 3"</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td></td><td>Brodie Sykes SF, PF • So. • 6' 5" • 183 lbs</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td></td><td>Peyton Climer SG • Sr. • 5' 10"</td></tr><tr><td>21</td><td></td><td>James Peoples PG, SG • So. • 5' 9" • 125 lbs</td></tr><tr><td>22</td><td></td><td>Cole Harper PF • Jr. • 6' 0" • 245 lbs</td></tr><tr><td>24</td><td></td><td>Clinton Pope PF, C • So. • 6' 1" • 165 lbs</td></tr><tr><td>30</td><td></td><td>Ryder Grisham SF, SG • Sr. • 6' 1"</td></tr><tr><td>30</td><td></td><td>Luke LinderSG • Sr.</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>