Best Class A Players Remaining

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Class A so often gets overlooked. Why? To be blunt the major newspapers devote more coverage to larger schools because more students, parents, faculty, fans are likely going to translate into more papers or online subscriptions purchased. PrepHoopsTN is not the same, and the following coverage shows why.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Of the 16 remaining Class A teams many players deserve both recognition and instill fear in opponents. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>To be considered for this or future stories, always DM @PrepHoopsTN.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1495468' first='Cadon' last='Buckles']</strong> (Hampton) scores in bunches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1339348' first='Mason' last='Keeton']</strong> (Oneida) is ranked #117 in the state entering his final AAU season. Keeton is a competent shooter and passer. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1277274' first='Eli' last='Reagan']</strong> (Pickett County) is ranked #74. Quality scorer at the Class A level. The program needed somebody to emerge offensively before this season and Eli was the one who did.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1273545' first='Jacob' last='Amonett']</strong> (Pickett County) is ranked #54 in the Class of 2025. A little smaller than his twin brothers in height, Jacob is a point guard all day long. He must attack all of the time with the new roster, a roster which outperformed everybody's expectations after the twin Amonett brothers graduated in June. Jacob needs to improve his on-ball defense in the coming years. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1548922' first='Eli' last='Gaines'] </strong>(Chattanooga Prep) can shoot the outside shot, mostly off of the catch. Not solid yet dribbling into it. Gaines is sturdy for a guard, especially so at the Class A level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1410768' first='Elijah' last='Groves']</strong> (East Robertson) is the best athlete playing basketball in Class A. State Champion.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1262847' first='Marquez' last='Taylor']</strong> (McKenzie) - Incredible leaper. Super strong. Disruptive defensively. He is able to attack with purpose and defenders are often overpowered by his body when he heads to the lane. When McKenzie presses he is the best on-ball defender. Likes to gamble when the opportunity arises. Dribblers and passers don't know exactly what he is going to do on defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>De'Andre Turnbow</strong> (Chattanooga Prep) - Starter. Turnbow is a Class of 2026 guy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Joel Bulis</strong> (Chattanooga Prep) - Starter. Joel is a Class of 2026 guy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kyrell Randolph</strong> (Chattanooga Prep) - Starter. Kyrell is a Class of 2025 guy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Derrick Roberson</strong> (Chattanooga Prep) - Starter. DR is a freshman.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lachlan Matthews </strong>(Perry County) averages 18 points per game through the team's 23 games so far. LM continues to be a remarkably consistent outside shooter, making 33% both last year and this year. During his junior year Matthews hit 23-69, while he buried 34-102 so far this campaign. Matthews will be important for the Viking hopes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Logan Medders</strong> (Houston County) plays soundly on both. Medders is a classic point guard, willing to lead by example with the pass and on-ball defense. He is a capable shooter, but like the best point guards he does not need to score to be impactful.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Participating Teams</span><br>University<br>Hampton*<br>Oneida*<br>Greenback<br>Chattanooga Prep*<br>Van Buren County<br>East Robertson<br>Pickett County<br>MASE<br>Bluff City<br>B.T. Washington<br>Middle College<br>Dresden<br>Middleton<br>Humboldt<br>Peabody<br>Houston County<br>Frank Hughes<br>McKenzie<br>Perry County*<br>Wayne County<br>Moore County<br>Huntland<br>Fayetteville<br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->