Scrimmages Hint at Nearing Season

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A full slate of scrimmages Saturday showcased how far or how little teams developed as the season nears. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Smith County (50) vs. LEAD Academy (36)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Smith County played surprisingly solid against an aggressive squad. The Owls won 13 games last season and 14 the two preceding campaigns. Are they better this year? Perhaps. The Owls will compete against Monterey, York Institute, and Cannon County this year. The district could be better than usual too as Cannon County features budding star <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2194623' first='Miles' last='Alexander']</strong> and steady senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2876404' first='Lukas' last='Phillips']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The lead Smith County guard, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3043670' first='Cooper' last='Williams']</strong>, made some clever decisions at pace. A 6-foot-2 guard Cooper is a bit of 2A anomaly, and he can see over defenders to make plays. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>LEAD is very quick, as always. Unfortunately, they simply did not create or take quality shots against Smith County. Getting into the lane is a strength and yet the layups tending towards odd and unconventional leans. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2623333' first='Cleo' last='Wonderly']</strong> (LEAD) played the most consistently, disrupting dribblers as a defender.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Knowledge Academies (36) vs. Riverdale (45)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2274016' first='Waymon' last='West'] </strong>(Riverdale) is the headliner. For years now West torched Murfreesboro-area defenders with angular, deceptive dribbling and left-handed scoring. West is a little stronger physically this season, but not much. His game is quite similar with slightly more explosion. Expect him to draw many fouls as a senior. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Waymon's best early shot was from the wing. He dribbled into the shot and pulled up beautifully, making a smooth jumper from 20'.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Once again, the Warriors of Riverdale will be guard heavy. Waymon is the only player well over 6' and he exclusively away from the basket. The Warriors pulled away as West made free throws in the fourth quarter. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Smyrna (50) vs. Clarksville (49)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Smyrna used <strong>Kaden Matthews</strong> (Smyrna) to endure fullcourt pressure at the very end. Matthews was very comfortable as the defenders crowded him. His basketball maturity is at an all-time high.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->