What We Know Now: D7-4A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>PICTURED: [player_tooltip player_id='2237601' first='Micah' last='Shaw'] (Stewarts Creek)</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Talent exists everywhere in D7 AAAA.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>District 7</strong><br>Cookeville<br>LaVergne<br>Lebanon<br>Smyrna<br>Stewarts Creek<br>Wilson Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Stewarts Creek</strong><br>#1 JJ Odum*<br>#3 [player_tooltip player_id='2237601' first='Micah' last='Shaw']* (2025)<br>#4 [player_tooltip player_id='2304337' first='Tahj' last='Roseburr'] (2025)<br>#5 Jerry Taylor* (2026) <br>#10 [player_tooltip player_id='1675888' first='Brandon' last='Jamison']* 6'5"<br>#14</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>LaVergne</strong><br>#0<br>#1 [player_tooltip player_id='1947172' first='Landon' last='Bryant']* (2025)<br>#2 [player_tooltip player_id='1578726' first='Xialin' last='Lenoir']*<br>#10 [player_tooltip player_id='2308938' first='Steven' last='Sherman']* (2026)<br>#21 [player_tooltip player_id='1563745' first='Daunte' last='White']*<br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cookeville</strong><br>#0 [player_tooltip player_id='1477574' first='Jalen' last='Heard']* (2025)<br>#1 [player_tooltip player_id='1317052' first='Colin' last='Ayers']*<br>#5 [player_tooltip player_id='1236443' first='Joshua' last='Heard']*<br>#10 [player_tooltip player_id='1335783' first='Jack' last='Oakley']*<br>#11 [player_tooltip player_id='1335782' first='Bennett' last='Reeves']*</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lebanon</strong><br>#1 Avery Harris* (2025)<br>#4 TJ Searcy* (2026)<br>#10 [player_tooltip player_id='2642030' first='Cash' last='Williams']* (2025)<br>#20 Brice Njezic* <br>#21 Christian Frewin*</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Smyrna</strong><br>#0 Devon Roark* (2025)<br>#1 Jalylle Batey-Roberts* (2025)<br>#2 [player_tooltip player_id='1663715' first='Tyreque' last='McCarver']* (2025)<br>#3 Caleb Pastrana*<br>#4 [player_tooltip player_id='2422715' first='Elliyon' last='Kinzer'] (2026)<br>#12 Zekeice McCarver (2027)<br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2023/07/d7-4a-notebook/">D7-4A Preseason Notebook - Prep Hoops</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Lebanon vs. Gallatin 12/12/23</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both Lebanon and Gallatin scored the ball pretty well throughout the first half. Gallatin hammered it down low. Lebanon hit some jumpers. Gallatin was the more talented at their guard spots with De'Costa Ricks and [player_tooltip player_id='1336416' first='RJ' last='Crenshaw'], but Lebanon played well against the Green Wave zone.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Christian Frewin</strong> (Lebanon) tried to show a little wiggle. He looked like a decent ball-handler, but the jumper coming out the dribble was not dependable. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brice Njezic</strong> was a powerful rebounder in the game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2410492' first='Brody' last='Reasonover']</strong> (Lebanon) hit a three-pointer in rhythm and was also assigned to take a free throw resulting from a technical foul. This suggests Reasonover is the team's most entrusted shooter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">LaVergne vs. Nolensville 12/15/23</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I only watched one quarter of this game. [player_tooltip player_id='1947172' first='Landon' last='Bryant'] was speedy at the ideal guard height. Bryant knocked down a beautiful pull-up jumper from straight on, about 14' out. His offensive versatility sets him apart from other 2025's. Bryant was PrepHoopsTN Combine Co-MVP in October. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1563745' first='Daunte' last='White']</strong> did a few things around the rim. He played more facing up younger in his career. White's touch in tight was nice against Nolensville, but he was not rebounding outside of his area.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Stewarts Creek vs. Pickett County 12/22/23</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2304337' first='Tahj' last='Roseburr']</strong>, his head encircled with a white sweatband, made a lovely wing three-pointer in the second quarter. His quick feet made him a dangerous player for Pickett County to consider. Roseburr missed his next three. Roseburr was big in the previous game too (see below tweet).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/RedHawksFlight/status/1737973963349721528?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/RedHawksFlight/status/1737973963349721528?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1273545' first='Jacob' last='Amonett']</strong> (Pickett County) hit a three-pointer in the second quarter to give the Bobcats a little punch, but Roseburr hit another three-pointer to respond.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pickett County</strong><br>#00<br>#10<br>#11 [player_tooltip player_id='1273545' first='Jacob' last='Amonett']* (2025)<br>#14<br>#20</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Cookeville vs. Battle Ground Academy 12/22/23</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1317052' first='Colin' last='Ayers'] </strong>denied a passing lane with his quick burst, similar to a sharp-breaking cornerback reading the route perfectly. Most nights he will give up a couple of inches as a defender, and he compensates well with quicker feet and a high basketball-IQ.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ayers showed off incredible change of direction. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cookeville played unselfishly. The seniors were not at all ball dominant. Efficient attacking.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ayers is a guy that you can count on at the free throw line, but he goes through long stretches without doing anything that will draw a foul. He only took 21 free throws through his first 7 games. That number needs to be higher. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1236443' first='Joshua' last='Heard']</strong> is quite a good shooter from the stripe too. He is more of a slasher than Ayers, so he earns more free throws. It is a luxury to have two guys that hit in the 80%+ range handling the ball so frequently though. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Battle Ground Academy</span><br>3&nbsp;[player_tooltip player_id='1901670' first='Jake' last='Harney']&nbsp;*<br>4&nbsp;[player_tooltip player_id='1214941' first='Grayson' last='Collins']<br>11 Jacob Hinely<br>22 Beck Wampler<br>15&nbsp;[player_tooltip player_id='2236529' first='Christian' last='Thompson']<br>1&nbsp;[player_tooltip player_id='2111660' first='Greyson' last='Williams']&nbsp;*<br>10 [player_tooltip player_id='2691976' first='Conrad' last='Jones']<br>20 Oliver Sellers<br>14 Jackson Hammontree<br>2&nbsp;[player_tooltip player_id='2110725' first='Kaedyn' last='Marable']<br>12 Jack Duperrieu *<br>5&nbsp;[player_tooltip player_id='1368094' first='Arnett' last='Hayes']&nbsp;*<br>24 Lawson Gillispie<br>32 Dixon Adams<br>23&nbsp;[player_tooltip player_id='1789005' first='Kavien' last='Jones']&nbsp;*</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Projected Order of Finish</strong><br>1. Cookeville<br>2. LaVergne<br>3. Stewarts Creek<br>4. Lebanon<br>5. Smyrna<br>6. Wilson Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Analysis:</strong> Something was gnawing at the back of my brain when picking. 'Pick LaVergne. Pick LaVergne.' In the end, it was just too risky to select the Wolverines over a senior-stacked team in Cookeville. LaVergne's talent is tremendous and the lack of depth of Cookeville is a concern. They are very healthy right now though, and if CHS can maintain that level of health they are exceptional. Lebanon is a balanced team with only modest scoring prowess. Wilson Central will struggle a lot in district play. Smyrna has a little talent. Stewarts Creek will be feisty and they have seniors with toughness. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"> District 7 Standings (as of Dec 29)</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><thead><tr><th>Rank</th><th>Team</th><th colspan="2">Region</th><th colspan="2">Overall</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2</td><td>Cookeville</td><td></td><td></td><td>11-3</td><td>84.6%</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>LaVergne</td><td></td><td></td><td>10-4</td><td>71.4%</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Lebanon</td><td></td><td></td><td>6-8</td><td>42.9%</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Stewarts Creek</td><td></td><td></td><td>6-8</td><td>42.9%</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Smyrna</td><td></td><td></td><td>5-8</td><td>38.5%</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>Wilson Central</td><td></td><td></td><td>4-9</td><td>30.8%</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <!-- /wp:table --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewForce8">@AndrewForce8</a>.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->