East Tennessee Newly Ranked ’25’s

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>PICTURED: [player_tooltip player_id='2343066' first='Zack' last='Turner']</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Take a gander at an assortment of east Tennessee players making their PrepHoopsTN ranking debut.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Debuting: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2448254' first='Tripp' last='Pinion'] (White County)<br><strong>Why?</strong> That special White County Spartan team of 2022-2023 featured four senior starters and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2448254' first='Tripp' last='Pinion']</strong>. At the time Pinion was unusually strong, confident, and steady for a sophomore. He made big plays routinely, recording 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 turnovers in the Spartan's 2023 State Tournament appearance. This past winter, as a junior the scoring burden fell largely on his shoulders with that quartet graduating. Tripp came through with 16.2 points per game. Don't discount those 3.9 assists per.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These were some of Tripp's best scoring games from 2023-2024: vs. Signal Mountain (27 points), Livingston Academy (25p), Stone Memorial (24p), Cumberland County (22p), and Stone Memorial again (19 points). That January 9th game against Stone Memorial was fantastic. Tripp scored 19 points on just seven shots from the floor good enough for 71% FG!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Debuting: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2343066' first='Zack' last='Turner'] (Gibbs / [program_tooltip program_id='2148909' first='Pro' last='One TN'])<br><strong>Why?</strong> The shorter guard rattled off high-scoring nights throughout his junior year. The guy put up 21.4 points per night! Turner is adept finishing with either hand and hits three-pointers with the best of them in the state. He will debut outside the Top 100 largely because he is a little small for some college programs. With his scoring and ball-handling he will find a place to play after high school though.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/GibbsBoysBball/status/1755295983120818681","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/GibbsBoysBball/status/1755295983120818681 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Debuting: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2338102' first='Bolton' last='Born'] (Baylor School)<br><strong>Why?</strong> Baylor School was so deep this past winter. Barton earned some time, but not much. What impressed about his game was the shooting. Standing 6-foot-3, Born is a prototypical shooting guard. Great in catch-and-shoot opportunities. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Debuting: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2352062' first='Reese' last='Clark'] (Knox West)<br><strong>Why?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Debuting: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2342206' first='Hasani' last='Jackson'] (East Ridge)<br><strong>Why?</strong> Raw, but athletic. Hasani plays with ferocity. Bouncy guard.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Debuting: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2352726' first='Juwaan' last='Troutman'] (Austin-East)<br><strong>Why?</strong> Austin-East actually plays Troutman as almost a center. He is so quick off of his feet. The guard-heavy team leans on him to deter driving guards. Because they gamble a lot on passing lanes, Troutman sees plenty of guys dribbling straight into his kitchen. Wonderful rebounder. Can he play the wing in college? Tough to know. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Debuting: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2362465' first='Jaren' last='Davis'] (Cookeville)<br><strong>Why?</strong> Good shooter. Winner. Cookeville found great success with [player_tooltip player_id='1236443' first='Joshua' last='Heard'] and a lot of dependable teammates. Jaren can do a few things that bring team success. Rebound, defend, shoot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Debuting: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2338094' first='Brock' last='Barton'] (Baylor School)<br><strong>Why?</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Debuting: </strong>Habeen Yusuf (Hamilton Heights Christian Academy)<br><strong>Why?</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Debuting: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2340258' first='Vito' last='Perkovic''] (Hamilton Heights Christian Academy / [program_tooltip program_id='2358547' first='BMaze' last='Elite'])<br><strong>Why?</strong> Nimble wing with impressive height. Vito will scream up the recruiting lists in July, if he has not already. Colleges love players with his mixture of skill and size. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Debuting:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='2350882' first='Eli' last='Graf'] (Alcoa)<br><strong>Why?</strong> State Champion. Eli is gritty and strong despite sizing up shorter than many guards. He reads the game excellently. Defends with the toughness of a football player, which he is. Probably going to go the football route after high school.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->