Posted by birdfan on Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 3:35 PM:
Now that the season is winding down to its final couple of weeks, what teams do you think exceeded pre-season expectations and what teams were a total bust?
Just looked at some pre-season rankings and pre-season comments about what teams many thought would be the "cream of the crop", this year....some predictions came to fruition while others were a total bust just like the teams that they predicted would rise to the top.
Just for conversation...no attacks, please!!
Replies (33)
Advance was a good surprise. I really wish they would've won.
-- Posted by youarebad on Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 3:41 PM
Advance definitely and I didn't see Cape beating Sikeston like that
-- Posted by yaeger on Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 3:51 PM
I have to agree with the advance props i don't think anybody seen them a buzzer beater away from the final four.
-- Posted by porchswing on Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 4:12 PM
I don't guess at the beginning of the season I saw South Pem winning their district. They had a very productive season.
-- Posted by BuckMajor on Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 4:54 PM
Someone did, Buck...in reading some of the pre-season posts, someone did predict South Pem would dethrone Bernie.
And, like the rest of you, Advance was not on anyone's list of pre-season favorites.
-- Posted by birdfan on Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 5:13 PM
The most annoying statement at the beginning of this season was when someone stated this year would be a "down year" for SEMO conf and the whole region. That is a very depressing statement. I feel like it has been a GREAT year with tough competition and all have put in the hard work to get better. Best wishes to all Seniors, and good luck next year to the underclassmen!
-- Posted by deal on Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 5:23 PM
Not to take anything away from Advance, but injuries really helped them out at the end of the year.
Chaffee beat them 3 times before Peyton Montgomery went out.
Oran beat them by 27 earlier in the year before Tenkhoff went out.
Every team has to play the hand dealt to them and it's not Advance's fault that the other players got hurt, but they were 0-4 against those district opponents before the injuries.
-- Posted by El Burro on Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 5:23 PM
That would be more along the lines of why this is "over achievers" and not just "achievers".
-- Posted by BuckMajor on Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 5:26 PM
For what it's worth, Advance was a 3-pointer buzzer beater from going to state.
-- Posted by FarmBoy06 on Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 6:24 PM
That sounds like you really are taking something away from Advance. Almost an "attack".
-- Posted by newbie67 on Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 6:33 PM
Who cares what Advances record was against teams before they had injuries? They won the games when they counted. Many teams had to deal with all types of adversity during the year. That's why you play the games.
-- Posted by jwhitlock on Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 6:37 PM
Sour grapes asdf. Congratulations to Advance on a great finish to their year!!!
-- Posted by IndianPride on Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 6:51 PM
Chaffee only beat them two times and that was before Dawson Mayo was moved to varsity and before Alex Morse became Steve Kerr.
-- Posted by Coach Horrell on Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 7:13 PM
What Advance did was great this post season injuries happen. New haven wasn't injured nor was Thayer. Great season Advance.
-- Posted by yaeger on Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 7:36 PM
In all fairness, when Oran beat Advance, Below was injured. He played only a little and was ineffective.
-- Posted by Larry Doby on Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 8:18 PM
I would say sour grapes would be advance coach talking bout calls! Great season! Congrats!
-- Posted by Hatershate on Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 8:29 PM
If's and excuses never count.
-- Posted by jayrod on Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 9:17 PM
SCC has lost 5 games , 1 to 5A District champs Jackson , 1 to 4A District champs Cape Central , 2 to 3A District champs Charleston, and 1 to Covington Tenn. the first game of the season... Now their headed to the Final Four at state,I think they may be over achivers !! What do you think ???
-- Posted by DA#1OLDCAT on Mon, Mar 10, 2014, at 8:31 AM
NMCC beat SCC. But yes I think they've had a great season! Probably could be put in that overachiever category.
-- Posted by BuckMajor on Mon, Mar 10, 2014, at 8:44 AM
Cape Central never played SCC either.
-- Posted by CTFan on Mon, Mar 10, 2014, at 8:54 AM
Cape Central never played SCC either.
-- Posted by CTFan on Mon, Mar 10, 2014, at 8:54 AM
I'd put Sikeston in the overachiever category. People may think that's a dumb thing to say but consider what they returned from last year and still went 22-4 and lost to a very talented Cape team on their home floor in districts.
Of the rotation: Chris Scott (JV last year), Zach Harrison (JV), Marqese Parks (JV), Dominique Dyes (Soph.), Ja'lon Marr (half a season of JV), Dantrell Brown (JV), Corbyn Blissett (torn ACL), Jairius Ray (broken leg), Luke Williams (broken bone in foot).
Returners: J.T. Jones (all-state), Reese Porter (starter).
-- Posted by semohoops on Mon, Mar 10, 2014, at 9:14 AM
If Sikeston goes 22-4 next season, I will be amazed and put them in this category without question.
-- Posted by bball79 on Mon, Mar 10, 2014, at 9:25 AM
asdf1234 is not exactly correct. Chaffee won the first 2 meetings and lost the 3rd and 4th meeting with Advance. In early January Advance won 76-72 with Mayo up in his second varsity game. And Chaffee had Peyton Montgomery for the entire game, save 2 minutes at the start that he was sitting for an unknown reason. Advance followed up with a district win over Chaffee at their place. As Larry Doby mentioned, Below was extremely limited in the early meeting and Advance beat Oran twice later. I would say Advance put together a great run at the right time. But I would give props to Chaffee and Oran as well. Chaffee never stopped battling after Montgomery went out and had some big wins without him. Oran never stopped battling when Tenkhoff went down, and there they were at the precipice of a district title without him on the floor. All three of those teams deserve credit for putting together some great games for their fans to see down the stretch.
As long as the legendary Joe Shoemaker patrols Oran's sidelines they will always be a threat. But don't sleep on Advance because "We've got Asmus!"
-- Posted by officerrodfarva on Mon, Mar 10, 2014, at 9:39 AM
With what they have returning and their schedule next year, that will be very difficult. But I agree with you on that bball79.
-- Posted by semohoops on Mon, Mar 10, 2014, at 9:41 AM
Sikeston has high expectations every season but realistically, with just two returning (healthy) players, how good did you think they would be? Chris Scott played 14 minutes in the semifinals and 8 minutes in the 3rd place game. That constitutes his varsity experience right there other than mop-up minutes. So I don't know if I'd count 22 minutes in an entire season as "played quite a bit." I think you're underselling Cape. I knew they would be incredibly difficult to beat on their home floor. When we learned two years ago that the district would be held at Cape, everybody knew what a tall task it would be. Ask Charleston how good they were when they put it all together. I think they found out with a beatdown in the Christmas tourney and losing on your home floor to Cape.
Ray and Blissett contributed, yes. But Ray was poised to be a big-time breakout player before his injury. He was having a fantastic summer and at times was Sikeston's best player on the floor before the injury. It's a miracle he played at all this season and he left his heart on the floor every night and was a major contributor. Blissett was an unknown since he had never played varsity before and was recovering from a devastating knee injury AND a broken finger a month before the season.
You keep saying "you guys" when referring to Sikeston. Please find posts where I talked about how deep Sikeston is and where I thought Sikeston would be 22-4. Other posters may say things like that, but they are not me. This is my opinion.
Considering what Sikeston returned (which is two players) and playing EIGHT first-year varsity players, yes I say Sikeston overachieved. I would argue Charleston with both Bogans and Webster would at least equal what Sikeston had returning in Jones and Porter, yet you say Charleston overachieved.
-- Posted by semohoops on Wed, Mar 12, 2014, at 4:31 PM
But Charleston is one of the premier basketball team in the area, they have 1,000 state titles it's in their blood to be good so I don't think they overachieved they do what just comes natural. Isn't that's what normally said?
-- Posted by TFA on Wed, Mar 12, 2014, at 5:21 PM
But remember, "Tradition Never Graduates" ;)
-- Posted by BuckMajor on Wed, Mar 12, 2014, at 5:34 PM
Had to mess with you Dean. When I read the title to this forum I was thinking oh know!! Luckily it hasn't been as bad as I thought. I figured people would eat up the underachiever one.
-- Posted by TFA on Wed, Mar 12, 2014, at 7:32 PM
What Holifield has done at Sikeston is a remarkable coaching achievement so I would say if he felt Chris Scott wasn't ready before the final four, then you should trust his judgment and his foresight in recognizing that in those moments at state, he trusted Scott to get the job done. Don't hate Dean. Appreciate. He's taken a school with very little basketball tradition and, yes, turned them into a powerhouse. You should appreciate that. And he wins with very few kids that are recruitable college material athletes (lack of size, athleticism, skillset). For the most part, they are undersized, hard-working kids that form great teams and believe in the system. And Buckmajor did make a good point, tradition never graduates. Sikeston has built a tradition of winning. The kids believe in it. They feel they can and should win every game, regardless of who the opponent is. Next year appears to be a "down year" going in, but I expect Holifield to put together another team that will be competitive every single night with a chance to win every game. Think about this, going into the district title game against Cape, Sikeston was three points away from being 25-0, losing three games in OT.
-- Posted by semohoops on Wed, Mar 12, 2014, at 7:40 PM
Don't give me this "woe is me" nonsense about no talent. Charleston had arguably the best player in the area, a 6-5 lefty that can flat stroke it, and Robert who is a bull and is a dang good one too not to mention the usual assortment of quick as cat role players. Maybe they weren't "returning starters" but that is plenty of talent to build around and the envy of the area in most cases. Let me ask you this...would you trade any top three players in the area from one team for the top three on Charleston? There are just a few examples that I can think of where it's even close.
-- Posted by semohoops on Wed, Mar 12, 2014, at 7:44 PM
That's not to say anything about Coach Farmer. He's one of the best in the area and a Hall of Famer. But I don't buy into he had no talent argument. Charleston finished about exactly how I thought they would. I expected them to win districts. I expected them to contend for the conference. And I expected them to be a quarterfinalist. They won maybe one or two games I didn't expect against Sikeston and Jackson, but neither of those were too shocking to me. The overachieving aspect I would give them are players like Clark, Kellum, Horton, Moore stepping up like they did this year. Credit to Farmer for putting those guys in a position to succeed. Just like Holifield should get credit for putting his eight guys that haven't played varsity ball in a position to succeed.
-- Posted by semohoops on Wed, Mar 12, 2014, at 7:52 PM
Next year we have Blissett, Marr and Luke who had any varsity time with Blissett the most and Luke out most of the time with an ankle injury. Should be interesting.
Now that the season is winding down to its final couple of weeks, what teams do you think exceeded pre-season expectations and what teams were a total bust?
Just looked at some pre-season rankings and pre-season comments about what teams many thought would be the "cream of the crop", this year....some predictions came to fruition while others were a total bust just like the teams that they predicted would rise to the top.
Just for conversation...no attacks, please!!
Replies (33)