(UPDATED) 8AAA Post-Season Preview: Is Columbia Central Capable of Winning Again?
With mere hours remaining until the 2020 playoff season commences, District 8-AAA is more top-heavy than expected. The Red Raiders of Coffee County High finished first with a record of 19-7, 10-2. Ben Fulton (pictured above) will challenge for All-District…
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Continue ReadingWith mere hours remaining until the 2020 playoff season commences, District 8-AAA is more top-heavy than expected. The Red Raiders of Coffee County High finished first with a record of 19-7, 10-2.
Ben Fulton (pictured above) will challenge for All-District in his senior season. There will be competition from a couple sophomores and even a Riverdale-transfer. From 2018-2019, few players returned and yet three of the top four teams finished exactly as they did a year ago: #1 Coffee County, #2 Lincoln County, #4 Franklin County.
“The district will benefit from exceptionally ambitious and skilled underclassmen. Expect changes in the standings from last season.” – Andrew Force, PrepHoopsTN June 2019.
Postseason District Tournament Seeds
#1 Coffee County
#2 Tullahoma
#3 Lincoln County
#4 Franklin County ELIMINATED 2/17
#5 Columbia Central
#6 Shelbyville ELIMINATED 2/17
#7 Lawrence County ELIMINATED 2/15
Postseason Matchups
GAME 1: Shelbyville @ Lincoln County
W1 @ Tullahoma
GAME 2: Columbia Central @ Franklin County
W2 @ Coffee County
Regional Qualifiers
Coffee County
Tullahoma
Lincoln County
Columbia Central
Familiar Faces
@PrepHoopsTN Camper Gabe Coleman plays for Lawrence County. You can read more about Gabe here.
Ben Fulton camped at PrepHoopsTN’s Spring Combine. He even earned his way into the All-Star Game.
Nasir “Sumo” Scaife was a fantastically speedy brightspot at the 2018 PrepHoopsTN Fall Combine.
Lincoln County Aims for Regional Tournament Appearance
Jailen Brown, Owen Sandin, Michael Anthony Gill, Ethan Sticker, and Josiaha Jenkins will start for Lincoln County throughout their playoff run.
“Jailen Brown, Owen Sandlin, and Michael Anthony Gill are really good, but all around we are all pretty good,” shared Josiaha Jenkins through Twitter DM Sunday evening. “We’re a solid team.”
Shooting guard Jailen Brown is the only junior in the starting lineup. Class of 2022 shooting guard Owen Sandin is the lone sophomore. Jenkins, Gill, and Sticker are all seniors. Obviously, as it always is, the seniors will be feeling that looming sense of urgency that only a senior can feel. If the three seniors lose Monday evening to #6-seeded Shelbyville, then they are done with high school basketball forever.
Both Brown and Michael Anthony Gill are college prospects with a couple college coaches tracking their progress weekly.
Columbia Central
Q Martin is a player to fear. The Class of 2022 guard will be a problem next season for the defending District Tournament Champions.
“He had 28 versus Marshall County earlier,” shared I40 Runnerz AAU Head Coach Tino. “He is good…athletic.”
Senior-to-be Devin Reynolds gives Central a consistent scorer alongside Martin. Reynolds gets plenty of his buckets on the break. He comfortably finishes against challenging defenders.
Martin is one of the youngest for his grade and still put up serious numbers as a dynamic freshman. Columbia Central’s entire roster is exceptionally athletic, possibly the most athletic in the district. Coffee County brings back and adds pieces to a team very athletic too.
Columbia Central Head Coach Nick Campbell also made a splash hire of former Tennessee Volunteer star Tyler Smith. Smith joins the coaching staff and immediately expands the knowledge base of instruction.
Coffee County
Coffee County replaced wonderful scorer Darius Rozier (#23 pictured below), but the team added a slick guard from Riverdale High. Jaylon Wooten brought his slippery handle and touch around the rim to Class 8AAA from Riverdale High.
Wooten is one of the taller guards in the region and defenses found him difficult to deter.
Head Coach Micah Williams knows what he is getting from reigning All-District Team member Kyle Farless too.
Coffee County HighCJ Anthony’s speed with and without the ball is disruptive. Anthony is a dual-sport athlete that consistently brings toughness to the program.
When tasked with competing against an elite point guard (Q Martin-Columbia Central), a capable and physically strong defender like C.J. is extremely important. Without him Coffee County, like most teams, would be completely lost against the dynamic scorer.
Coffee County season opened with STARTERS: G: Jaxon Vaughn (6’1) G: Shawn Anderson (6’1) G: Kyle Farless (6’3) F: Jaylon Wooten (6’6) F: Rod Brinkley (6’4)
Players to Watch
2022 Q Martin, Columbia Central
2021 Keshawn Frierson, Columbia Central
2022 Cameron Johnson, Columbia Central
2020 DQ Mitchell, Columbia Central
2020 Jaylon Wooten, Coffee County (pictured)
2020 Ben Bassham, Lincoln County
2021 Kyle Farless, Coffee County
2021 C.J. Anthony, Coffee County
2021 Jaxon Vaughn, Coffee County
2022 Sumo Scaife, Franklin County
2020 Deven Schockley, Franklin County
2022 Trenton Sholley, Franklin County
2022 Elijah Reynolds, Lawrence County
Alex Carr, Lawrence County
Kaden Vaughn, Lawrence County
2021 Gabe Coleman, Lawrence County
2020 JonDavid Bedford, Lawrence County
2020 Ben Fulton, Tullahoma
2020 Erman Garcia, Shelbyville Central
2021 Demarcus Smalls, Shelbyville Central
Ascension?
My pick to climb the ladder this season was Franklin County. In fact, the only team to climb was Tullahoma. They improved YOY from 6th to 2nd (tied). The improvement was so significant because THS gets to start their postseason in the District Semifinals! They already qualified for the Regional 4AAA draw.
2018-2019 D8AAA Standings
Coffee County | 10-2 | 20-6 | Finalist |
Lincoln County | 8-4 | 18-13 | Semifinalist |
Columbia Central | 8-4 | 18-11 | District Tourney Champ |
Franklin County | 6-6 | 8-15 | |
Lawrence County | 5-7 | 7-16 | Semifinalist |
Tullahoma | 3-9 | 7-20 | |
Shelbyville Central | 2-10 | 6-22 |
2019-2020 D8AAA Prediction
Columbia Central
Coffee County
Franklin County
Lincoln County
Lawrence County
Tullahoma
Shelbyville Central
The seven team district looks to break apart into three tiers. Coffee County and Columbia Central will be the class of the league. Franklin County, Lincoln County, and Lawrence County are virtually interchangeable. Truthfully the order on the middle three could be shuffled anywhere right now. Read more about Franklin County below.
Tullahoma and Shelbyville Central look thin on talent. It will be difficult to keep pace with the rest of the league.
Huge congrats to Kyle Farless (All-District & All-Tournament Member) and Darius Rozier (District MVP & All-Tournament Member) #CC🏀 pic.twitter.com/1atPD4baz1
— Coffee Co. Basketball (@CCHSBasketball7) February 17, 2019
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