The Year of Power Teams
The next month plus of high school basketball might stray from the current motif, but late 2017 proved profitable for power teams. There are still undefeated teams left and a couple teams with multiple losses certainly dismantled most opponents too.
Entering the first weekend of January these squads are several notches above the rest.
East Nashville (16-0)
It took overtime for East Nashville to knock away a hot-shooting Franklin team opening night. Since then the Eagles are barely getting challenged throughout the region.
East (8-1)
The nation’s highest ranked team is deservedly the state’s best team. When Head Coach Penny Hardaway lured James Wiseman to East he hardly left any doubt.
Knoxville Webb (14-3)
Emory Lanier, Chase Ridenour, David Sanger, Myles Rasnick, Tariq Daughton, the list goes on and on. Webb played some giants in 2017. They are road-tested.
McCallie (15-0)
Junior Clay is playing wonderful and the best challengers to Brentwood Academy’s state title are the Blue Tornado.
Knoxville Catholic (12-1)
Despite the coach’s apprehension about acclimating a few younger players once again the Fighting Irish play great basketball. Stacked upfront the Irish feature Brock Jancek and possibly the best 2020 in the state in Akeem Odusipe.
Blackman (15-0)
It was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Blackman. Without the two Donovans Head Coach Barry Wortman knew he would have to bring along many inexperienced varsity players. Trenton Gibson (23rd in 2018) and Brandon Thomas (#78 in 2018) did not let the Blaze letdown at all. And their defense is the most stifling in central Tennessee.
Only two TN teams have scored 40 points on @BLAZE_HOOPS since Thanksgiving.
— Prep Hoops Tennessee (@PrepHoopsTN) January 3, 2018
Goodpasture (13-1)
Senior guard Tripp McEachern (PrepHoops #104) can carry his Cougars each and every night out.
Brentwood Academy (7-2)
The Eagles of Brentwood Academy motored through a difficult NXT LVL Hoopfest field as the calendar turned. With Darius Garland playing healthy and free of recruiting nerves there aren’t many teams in the state capable of competing against the guard-dominated lineup. The best player in the state has help from Cameron Johnson and Cory Reynolds.
Southwind (14-1)
Mark Freeman (5th best in 2018) makes Southwind go. Playing in Class AAA Region 8 they will have a hellacious time escaping East, Whitehaven, or even Memphis Central.
Dyer County (16-1)
The Dyer County Choctaws won eight games by double digits. Brighton (x2) and Senior Night against Union City mark the schedule as tough future opponents.
Memphis Central (9-1)
Central features a sticky backcourt that really guards you. Their lone loss was at Bolton by one point around Thanksgiving.
Bearden (18-1)
The Knoxville high school Bearden faces a tough road ahead with games against Maryville, Cleveland, and Austin-East in February. Already the Bulldogs defeated Cleveland and Riverdale, two very good teams in their own right.
Cleveland (10-2)
Cleveland maintains an eight game winning streak including a 65-62 win over Clarksville NE. Junior Dionte Ware’s emergence makes the Blue Raiders a favorite in February.
Riverdale (14-1)
The Warriors of Riverdale found their stride in the last few weeks. After winning the Willie Brown Memorial Championship at Father Ryan over the hosts they appear poised to win over 20 games. The Warriors still need to face Blackman twice and Oakland twice to assert dominance over District 7.
Gallatin (15-2)
Head Coach Bobby Luna has one of his best teams in 20 years in charge of the Green Wave. He remembers a team with five college players on it, but Zool Kueth, Collin Minor, Octavian Arnold, and Parrish Cloud are really trusting each other on the floor.
Whitehaven (11-1)
The only team to beat Whitehaven thus far are the Eagles of Brentwood Academy. Head Coach Faragi Phillips collected a deep, hungry defensive team.