Team Preview: McNairy Central

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>PICTURED: McNairy Central team.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Prep Hoops staff is taking a closer look inside Tennessee high school basketball programs, as they gear up for the 2023-2024 season. Our next team feature is McNairy Central High, in southern Tennessee.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Head Coach:</strong> Stacy Riley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">McNairy Central Playoff History</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>State Championship Record:</strong> 0-3<br><strong>State Championship Appearances (3):</strong> 1996, 1991, 1983</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>10</td><td>*</td><td>Ryder Plunk SF, SG • Jr.</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>*</td><td>Tanner Kirk Sr.</td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td></td><td>Darrien Clark PG • Sr.</td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>*</td><td>Ethan Johnston PG • Sr.</td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>*</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='2285338' first='Case' last='Stone'] PG • So. • 5' 9" • 160 lbs</td></tr><tr><td>20</td><td></td><td>Alan Rickman SG, SF • 6' 4" • 168 lbs</td></tr><tr><td>21</td><td></td><td>Brandon Walker SG, PG • 5' 11" • 170 lbs</td></tr><tr><td>23</td><td>*</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='2274871' first='Jackson' last='Price'] SG, SF • Jr.</td></tr><tr><td>24</td><td></td><td>Jabari Melton Sr. • 6' 2" • 163 lbs</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <!-- /wp:table --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline"><strong>Typical Starters:</strong></span><br>Ryder Plunk<br>Tanner Kirk<br>Ethan Johnston<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2285338' first='Case' last='Stone']<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2274871' first='Jackson' last='Price']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In their 2023-2024 season opener, McNairy Central hosted Dyersburg and their Trojans. McNairy fell 64-44.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2274871' first='Jackson' last='Price']</strong> hit a corner three-pointer. He looked the part of an active undersized wing with a good amount of confidence and fire. For pockets he defended the post. Jackson really liked contact and bumped into dudes. His defensive versatility is encouraging long-term. Price plays bigger than his size, which matters greatly to the modestly-sized Bobcats.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2285338' first='Case' last='Stone']</strong>, sophomore point guard, is a serviceable floor leader. he needs to get faster, but he does not make bad decisions. Most of his passes lead to good shots. Unfortunately, His court vision and patience are better than average. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tanner Kirk</strong> kind of plays the big. Kirk is an ok athlete but lacks the size or elite explosion to be consistently impactful as a 3A back-to-basket forward. Kirk would be more dynamic slashing or shooting in the mid-range. The team, lacking meaningful size, needs him to do otherwise. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->