Team Preview: Sweetwater

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>PICTURED: [player_tooltip player_id='2051630' first='Chris' last='Alford']</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Prep Hoops staff is taking a closer look inside Tennessee high school basketball programs, as they begin their 2023-2024 season. Our next team feature is Sweetwater High School of Sweetwater, Tennessee. Sweetwater High as an entity existed as of 1912 and the nickname of Wild Cats (now Wildcats) is nearly 100 years old after a 1927 introduction!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Head Coach:</strong> Joe Allen</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"align":"center"} --> <p class="has-text-align-center"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><strong>Sweetwater Stats</strong></span></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>State</strong> <strong>Championship Record:</strong> 7-5<br><strong>Appearances (6): </strong>1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1986, 1982<br><strong>Finals Appearances/Runners-up (3):</strong> 1995, 1994, 1993<br><strong>State Championships (1): </strong>1994</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2022-2023 Record: </strong>17-9</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">2023 Playoffs</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><thead><tr><th>Date/Time</th><th>Matchup</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Feb. 17, 2023</td><td><strong>Sweetwater 64</strong>, Meigs County 61</td></tr><tr><td>Feb. 21, 2023</td><td><strong>Sweetwater 66</strong>, Kingston 55</td></tr><tr><td><strong></strong>Feb. 25, 2023</td><td>Sweetwater 59, <strong>Polk County 61</strong></td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <!-- /wp:table --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Partial Roster (2023-2024)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#1 [player_tooltip player_id='2051630' first='Chris' last='Alford']*<br>#2 [player_tooltip player_id='2279293' first='Hunter' last='Daffron']*<br>#13 [player_tooltip player_id='2279407' first='Nolan' last='Dacus']<br>#15 Campbell Hicks*<br>#20 Cade Houser*<br>#25 Parker Holt*<br>#30 Bryson Burgess<br>#32 Maddox Johnson</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Anticipated starters are: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2051630' first='Chris' last='Alford'], [player_tooltip player_id='2279293' first='Hunter' last='Daffron'], Parker Holt,</strong> <strong>Cade Houser, Campbell Hicks</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2023/11/sweetwater-tops-sequoyah/">Sweetwater Tops Sequoyah, 37-30</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Campbell Hicks</strong>, [player_tooltip player_id='2051630' first='Chris' last='Alford'], and <strong>Cade Houser</strong> are prone to taking three-pointers. The team largely relies upon guards. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2051630' first='Chris' last='Alford']</strong> scored 36 points on 13-23 shooting in a win over Midway High. He is coming off of a District MVP season and followed it up by earning @PrepHoopsTN Combine All-Star in June 2023.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:quote --> <blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Really strong push with the feet. [player_tooltip player_id='2051630' first='Chris' last='Alford'] is quick at 6'3″? [Measured 6'2.5″] He can get the puppies moving pretty well. Powerful build. Right-handed shooter. Impressive times in the 3/4 sprint (3.36, 3.45). He runs really well at a taller height than most of the campers. It must be mentioned that he was a year older than many competitors. Can score in a variety of ways. Alford is already an adept perimeter defender. He can even take another small step there and Alford should make sure he is rebounding with consistent tenacity. Overall, Alford is a very balanced player with few weaknesses.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><cite>June 2023 PrepHoopsTN Combine eval</cite></blockquote> <!-- /wp:quote --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sweetwater is still finding their way offensively, but they are able to compete every night with stout interior defense. Forward <strong>Parker Holt</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='2051630' first='Chris' last='Alford'] challenge a lot of shots in tight. The team will get some minutes off of the bench from freshman forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2279407' first='Nolan' last='Dacus']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both Dacus and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2279293' first='Hunter' last='Daffron']</strong> played for 2023 State Runners-up Sweetwater Middle School. Daffron is a sturdy, steady point guard with nice guard height. He does not make many mistakes. Daffron will start after teammate Blaine Watson sustained an injury.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Historical Results (State Tournament)</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><thead><tr><th>Game Date</th><th>Opponent</th><th>Result</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Mar. 17, 1982</td><td>Goodpasture</td><td>L, 48-49</td></tr><tr><td>Mar. 19, 1986</td><td>Unicoi Co.</td><td>L, 49-54</td></tr><tr><td>Mar. 17, 1993</td><td>Giles Co.</td><td>W, 59-56</td></tr><tr><td>Mar. 19, 1993</td><td>Union City</td><td>W, 58-57</td></tr><tr><td>Mar. 20, 1993</td><td>David Lipscomb</td><td>L, 54-73</td></tr><tr><td>Mar. 17, 1994</td><td>White House</td><td>W, 73-54</td></tr><tr><td>Mar. 18, 1994</td><td>Booker T. Washington</td><td>W, 67-57</td></tr><tr><td>Mar. 19, 1994</td><td>Giles Co.</td><td>W, 71-53</td></tr><tr><td>Mar. 15, 1995</td><td>Union City</td><td>W, 80-53</td></tr><tr><td>Mar. 17, 1995</td><td>Frayser</td><td>W, 77-65</td></tr><tr><td>Mar. 18, 1995</td><td>Harriman</td><td>L, 59-65</td></tr><tr><td>Mar. 14, 1996</td><td>Briarcrest</td><td>L, 50-53</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <!-- /wp:table --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->