Class AAA State Title Dark Horse Options: Part II
The Class of AAA will have a fascinating State Tournament. The two finalists from the 2001 AA State Championship, Jackson South Side and Greeneville, ascended to this larger classification. Chattanooga and Knoxville both brought historically powerful programs along: East Hamilton,…
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Continue ReadingThe Class of AAA will have a fascinating State Tournament. The two finalists from the 2001 AA State Championship, Jackson South Side and Greeneville, ascended to this larger classification. Chattanooga and Knoxville both brought historically powerful programs along: East Hamilton, Fulton, Chattanooga Central, Austin-East, Clinton.
The AAA Championship will be in a word, tough.
Team: Lincoln County
Top Players: Owen Sandlin Owen Sandlin 5'9" | SG Lincoln County | 2022 State TN , Eric Greenwood, Kelby Fitch
2020-21 postseason result: Lost R4AAA to Siegel
Key Wins: Lawrence County x 2, Cascade x 2, Marshall County x 2
Losses: Page x 2, Franklin County x 2
https://twitter.com/Darrion08King/status/1488882432053030916?s=20&t=1I1pNg_WhsShMc28NhKO9g
About Lincoln County: The Falcons are not big. They are not very fast. In order for the Lincoln County Falcons to advance deep into the playoffs, they need to be the best at their best skill…shooting. Jackson Mullins, Kelby Fitch, and Owen Sandlin Owen Sandlin 5'9" | SG Lincoln County | 2022 State TN are scorers of the basketball. They hit open shots and take high-percentage shots.
Starters:
#0 Jackson Mullins (’23)
#2 G Kelby Fitch (’22)
#10 Eli Ogle (’23)
#21 F Eric Greenwood (’22)
#32 G
Owen Sandlin
Owen
Sandlin
5'9" | SG
Lincoln County | 2022
State
TN
(’22)
Team: Red Bank
Head Coach: Nick Fike
Top Players: Haden Spurgeon, Reco Trimble,
Kristopher Clay
Kristopher
Clay
6'0" | SG
Red Bank | 2022
State
TN
,
Nick Smith
Nick
Smith
6'2" | SG
Tyner Academy | 2023
State
TN
,
Kendrick Lloyd
Kendrick
Lloyd
6'2" | SG
Red Bank | 2024
State
TN
2020-21 postseason result: Lost Regional QF to Tyner Academy
Key Wins: East Hamilton, Howard, Cleveland, CSAS
Losses: Baylor School, Tyner, Howard
Predicted Postseason Path: The AAA Class sets up nicely for Red Bank. No longer are they facing Tyner Academy, Howard Tech, or Brainerd in the postseason. Those were wars through the last several years and this veteran Lion team will benefit from their absence. Who will they see? East Hamilton, assuredly.
About Red Bank: The Lions, a deep team, put together a strong 10-game winning streak through January after a loss to Baylor School. They even pulled off a win against East Hamilton. On Clay, he is a touch short for a college shooting guard. Clay is quite athletic and bouncy, which will help offset this somewhat at the next level. At this level he is active and springy. Nick Smith Nick Smith 6'2" | SG Tyner Academy | 2023 State TN is physical and efficient. His game never seems to dip and the playoffs will be a true test of his capacity for AAA greatness. Reco Trimble is truly a badger in the rebounding wars necessary to win the tight-ones.
Longshot Teams
Scott
It is challenging to imagine Trey Morrow Trey Morrow 6'3" | SG Scott Co Tn | 2022 State TN losing, but Scott suffered several tough losses this season. Maybe they are not as impenetrable as they need to be to make the State Tournament. Morrow is one of the Top 3 Best Bets to hit 40 points on any given night, but there is a distinct possibility he could score 40 and his team could lose to a Greeneville or Clinton team.
Dyersburg
Dyersburg has a more clean path than Scott this year with a really weak Region 8AAA other than Fayette Ware. The Memphis squads leave a lot to be desired in AAA and Dyersburg has the horses to trot.
The Trojans of Dyersburg go pretty big across their frontline with Ryan Lowrance (6’6″), Meshach Jones (6’3″), and Evan Quertermous (6’4″). They can be a handful on both ends down deep.
Timarion Johnson plays with such lower-body strength that he penetrates and absorbs contact as well as anyone in AAA. There is some maturity to his game. In the playoffs there will be plenty of possessions that just lack shape or sharpness. In these moments, Timarion will be a perfect solution to trudge through the muck and make something out of nothing.
#1 PG
Ace Mahaffey
Ace
Mahaffey
6'0" | PG
Dyersburg | 2024
State
TN
(2024)
#14 SG Timarion Johnson (2022)
#3 SF Meshach Jones (2022)
#20 SF Ryan Lowrance (2023)
#24 F Evan Quertermous (2022)
The team defense is solid and the physicality will never slump. This program is always solid, but also typically unknown by their peers when they arrive in middle Tennessee.
Early February Team Rankings.
Mid-January AAA Team Rankings.