District 7-4A Midseason Report

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>PICTURED: [player_tooltip player_id='1769962' first='Towan' last='Siler']</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Months into the season District 7-4A is full of surprises. Despite losing a Mr. Basketball-Finalist, his brother, and his father the coach, Cookeville is still somehow atop the District! Wilson Central is enjoying a banner year thanks to senior [player_tooltip player_id='1769962' first='Towan' last='Siler'] and Smyrna started solidly. Surprisingly, LaVergne's struggles are deep and glaring. After advancing to the State Tournament in March of 2024, they are entering District play in last place.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>District 7</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cookeville<br>LaVergne<br>Lebanon<br>Smyrna<br>Stewarts Creek<br>Wilson Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Boys' Basketball Division I Class 4A Region 4 District 7 Standings</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><thead><tr><th>Rank</th><th>Team</th><th colspan="2">District</th><th colspan="2">Overall</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>Cookeville</td><td>0-0</td><td>0.0%</td><td>7-2</td><td>77.8%</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Wilson Central</td><td>0-0</td><td>0.0%</td><td>11-4</td><td>73.3%</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Smyrna</td><td>0-0</td><td>0.0%</td><td>8-6</td><td>57.1%</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Lebanon</td><td>0-0</td><td>0.0%</td><td>6-8</td><td>42.9%</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Stewarts Creek</td><td>0-0</td><td>0.0%</td><td>6-8</td><td>42.9%</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>LaVergne</td><td>0-0</td><td>0.0%</td><td>4-7</td><td>36.4%</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <!-- /wp:table --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wilson Central</strong><br>#2 [player_tooltip player_id='1769962' first='Towan' last='Siler']*<br>#3 [player_tooltip player_id='2139247' first='JaMichael' last='Mitchell']* (2026)<br>#4 Triston Blackburn*<br>#5 [player_tooltip player_id='2559577' first='Colton' last='McClellan']* (2027)<br>#22 [player_tooltip player_id='2756852' first='Ross' last='Perlick']* (2027)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wilson Central's guard tandem truly drives the team. The squad lacks frontcourt size, so they must win the guard battles...and they often do. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1769962' first='Towan' last='Siler']</strong> and junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2139247' first='JaMichael' last='Mitchell'] </strong>score in a variety of ways. Mitchell is a left-handed slasher, and Towan drops rain from anywhere. Wilson Central is at their best when Siler and/or Mitchell are creating deflections and turnovers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1769962' first='Towan' last='Siler'] holds offers from: Pellissippi State, Motlow State, Fisk University, Lesley, and Tusculum.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Wildcats last collected 10 wins by January 3rd way back in 2013-2014! That team won 26 games and advanced to the State Tournament, ultimately losing to Brentwood in the quarters.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>LaVergne</strong><br>#1 [player_tooltip player_id='1947172' first='Landon' last='Bryant']<br>#10 [player_tooltip player_id='2308938' first='Steven' last='Sherman']* (2026)<br>#21 [player_tooltip player_id='2383401' first='Tarskii' last='Jones'] (2026)<br>#25 AJ Wright (2026)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Smyrna</strong><br>#2 [player_tooltip player_id='1663715' first='Tyreque' last='McCarver']*<br>#3 [player_tooltip player_id='2236641' first='Kaden' last='Matthews']* (2026)<br>#4 [player_tooltip player_id='2422715' first='Elliyon' last='Kinzer']*<br>#5 Elyjah Morales<br>#10 Sucory Weathers (2026)<br>#11 [player_tooltip player_id='1889704' first='Brodie' last='Webb'] (2026)<br>#12 Ze'Keice McCarver* (2027)<br>#24 Corey Daniel Jr. (2026)<br>#32 Jordan Clay-Joseph*<br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Smyrna Bulldogs consistently get big scoring nights from <strong>Yon Kinzer</strong> and<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1663715' first='Tyreque' last='McCarver']</strong>. In the Nokian Tyres New Years Classic Yon scored 19 points as Tyreque managed 24 points. They did lose by two points to Tellico Plains after nipping Rhea County earlier in the day.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yon averages 16.5 points per game and Tyreque is just under 14 ppg. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2236641' first='Kaden' last='Matthews'] </strong>leads the team in 3-point makes with 14 as he averages 8,9 ppg.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Midseason All-District Team</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1769962' first='Towan' last='Siler']<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2362465' first='Jaren' last='Davis']<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1947172' first='Landon' last='Bryant']<br>Yon Kinzer<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1663715' first='Tyreque' last='McCarver']<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2139247' first='JaMichael' last='Mitchell']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Player of the Year?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1947172' first='Landon' last='Bryant'] is probably the highest-ceiling player and yet the Wolverines finishing near or at the bottom of the district should impact his candidacy. If they do have real problems throughout, then [player_tooltip player_id='1769962' first='Towan' last='Siler'] or Yon Kinzer are wonderful options for Player of the Year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewForce8">@AndrewForce8</a>.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->