Best Underclassmen in Region 4 Tournament

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>PICTURED: [player_tooltip player_id='1664285' first='Carter' last='Webb'] (Siegel)</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>By late February the top players are all known. Few personnel surprises remain, if any. While this story may not unearth a hidden gem it will focus solely on non-seniors. To quality for an underclassmen here no player may be in his senior season. That is the only restriction.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Region 4 Tournament draw</span></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cookeville vs. Rockvale<br>Siegel vs. Lebanon</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blackman vs. Wilson Central<br>LaVergne vs. Oakland</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/iamgarrisoneady/status/1760865000678215832?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/iamgarrisoneady/status/1760865000678215832?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1477574' first='Jalen' last='Heard'] | '25 SG | Cookeville</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Averaging 10.8 points per game. Shooting 47% from the floor this season, including 54 made three-pointers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1664285' first='Carter' last='Webb'] | '25 G | Siegel</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Siegel's [player_tooltip player_id='1664285' first='Carter' last='Webb'] started young and just kept improving at a steady pace. Nobody in this tournament is quicker bursting from arc to rack. Webb is a legitimate candidate for Tournament MVP though it will take one or two massive Siegel wins to get there.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2362465' first='Jaren' last='Davis'] | '25 G | Cookeville</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cookeville is a senior-dependent team, but both<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='2362465' first='Jaren' last='Davis']</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='1477574' first='Jalen' last='Heard'] make impacts as juniors. Davis averages 8.6 ppg and hits just over one three-pointer per night. Earned All-District 2nd Team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2789397' first='Malachi' last='Long'] | '25 SG | Rockvale</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Averaging 8.3 ppg.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1665187' first='Ty' last='Newton'] | '25 PG | Rockvale</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Next to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2084618' first='Darryl' last='Cotton']</strong> (Rockvale), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1665187' first='Ty' last='Newton']</strong> is the Rockets best scorer. He'll give you 8.9 ppg. One of the best free-throw shooters in the entire field.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1919180' first='Dorien' last='Lyles'] | '26 SG | Siegel</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Siegel Stars are finally "old" again. A program stuffed with senior talent for years was young and inexperienced last year. In 2023-2024 they run out three senior starters and a junior with years of experience in [player_tooltip player_id='1664285' first='Carter' last='Webb']. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1919180' first='Dorien' last='Lyles']</strong> is the breakout star for Siegel though.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/DorienLyles/status/1737657349605671385?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/DorienLyles/status/1737657349605671385?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1947172' first='Landon' last='Bryant'] | '25 SG | LaVergne</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Elite scorer. Destined to be a volume scorer in college. Earned All-District 1st Team. Former PrepHoopsTN Combine Co-MVP.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cam Samuel | '25 F | LaVergne</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fantastic rebounder.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2308938' first='Steven' last='Sherman'] | '26 SG | LaVergne</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Earned All-District Honorable Mention.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Marques Anglin | '26 SF | Lebanon</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Earned All-District Honorable Mention.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ja'Michael Mitchell | '26 SF | Wilson Central</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Earned All-District Honorable Mention.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2139255' first='Ike' last='Boone Jr']. | '26 SG | Wilson Central</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Earned All-District Honorable Mention.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1769962' first='Towan' last='Siler'] | '25 PG | Wilson Central</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Earned All-District First Team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1830667' first='Garrison' last='Eady'] | '25 PG | Blackman</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Steady lefty scorer and passer. Defends his position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1669216' first='Christian' last='Johnson'] | '25 PF | Blackman</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Strong rebounder. Critical to the team's defensive structure and stability.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2237638' first='Dyson' last='Elam'] | '25 SF | Blackman</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Slinky wing. Bouncy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2044071' first='Keller' last='Jackson'] | '26 SF | Blackman</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tough, committed. Currently, Keller is a grunt for Blackman, but he will mature into a statistical leader in the years to come. He just puts on his helmet and puts in the tough manual-labor hours now.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2358806' first='Bryant' last='Haggard'] | '27 G | Oakland</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2358806' first='Bryant' last='Haggard']</strong> dropped 17 points in a win over Riverdale High early in January. In his high school debut, November 14th, 2023 against Tullahoma High Bryant scored 27 points!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->