DII-AA Championship Preview
A fantastic four descended upon Cookeville, Tennessee Thursday and yet just two valiant teams remain. Knoxville Catholic (28-3) will meet Christian Brothers (26-0) Semifinal Scores Lipscomb Academy (52) – Christian Brothers (58) Brentwood Academy (55) – Knoxville Catholic (63) The…
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Continue ReadingA fantastic four descended upon Cookeville, Tennessee Thursday and yet just two valiant teams remain. Knoxville Catholic (28-3) will meet Christian Brothers (26-0)
Semifinal Scores
Lipscomb Academy (52) – Christian Brothers (58)
Brentwood Academy (55) – Knoxville Catholic (63)
The Superstars
The margins are so, so small at this stage. Just a year ago Brentwood Academy nearly made it happen. They strived all off-season and winter to right that wrong. For Christian Brothers Chandler Jackson Chandler Jackson 6'5" | CG Christian Brothers | 2022 State #87 Nation TN wanted to avoid his fate from 2021.
“I wasn’t really thinking about last year,” said Chandler Jackson Chandler Jackson 6'5" | CG Christian Brothers | 2022 State #87 Nation TN . “Last year is just something I will forget.”
Chandler Jackson Chandler Jackson 6'5" | CG Christian Brothers | 2022 State #87 Nation TN is playing in his final high school basketball game and it is challenging to bet against him. The same can be said for BJ Edwards.
BJ Edwards is similarly potent and thrives at the free throw line, much like Chandler Jackson Chandler Jackson 6'5" | CG Christian Brothers | 2022 State #87 Nation TN . Brentwood Academy entered with a strategy to limit him.
“We tried to make him into a jump shooter,” said Brentwood Academy Head Coach Matt Hoppe. “I feel like we did a pretty good job of that in the first half. He is big, He is strong. He is athletic.”
Edwards, like Chandler in the game prior, began pecking away, punishing the defense with his shoulder and his soft touch. Both teams will see more physical defense Saturday.
Blue Cain Blue Cain 6'4" | SG IMG Academy | 2023 State #102 Nation FL and Edwards make the most talented scoring backcourt in Tennessee.
“These are two of the best players that have come out of Knoxville in years,” said Knoxville Catholic Head Coach Michael Hutchens. “You don’t do this without great players. They have done it all year. They have done it all tournament.”
Edwards (PrepHoopsTN #3) and Jackson (PrepHoopsTN #2) will meet in this final. This was something they joshed and joked about happening for months now.
“It is cool [playing Chandler Jackson Chandler Jackson 6'5" | CG Christian Brothers | 2022 State #87 Nation TN ]” said Edwards. “Back when he was thinking about committing to Tennessee we would talk about ‘Who is going to be Mr. Basketball? Who is going to win the championship?’ We have been talking a little trash to each other. It is all fun.”
The Team’s Tone
“They are a veteran bunch,” said Lipscomb Academy Head Coach Kevin Starks on Christian Brothers after Thursday loss. “They are not undefeated for no reason. I will say this, I am so proud of the effort that our kids put into to be here.”
The ‘Brothers’ are very close and the team’s spirit bleeds through onto the floor. It makes them stronger than the sum of their parts, and it makes them difficult to splinter during the tough times.
“We were in warmups, I told one of the managers and one of our best friends, ‘The best part to get it off your shoulders, is to just try to have fun with it,” said senior Nehemiah Ausley Nehemiah Ausley 5'10" | PG Christian Brothers | 2022 State TN . “If you see us on the court or on the bench or outside, then we are always the same.”
It can be challenging to know the character or personality of a basketball team when we merely watch the on-court performance, but apparently Christian Brothers is similarly fun-loving on and off.
“I don’t want to downplay any former teams, but as we speak, this group right here is as much fun as any team we have coached,” said CBHS Head Coach Bubba Lockett. “They on the bus. They are fun at school. They are fun on the court. Our practices are competitive but fun. And these guys just do a fantastic job with it.”
Coach Lockett told his assistant that he was surprised how loose his seniors were during the shoot-around. He expected more nerves.
FINAL:
63 @KnoxCatholic Catholic
55 Brentwood Academy
Blue Cain 16p
Deondrea 8p
BJ Edwards 23p, 13r!, 5a, 3b, 3s , 7-19 FG
Patterson 11p
Yesan Warren exceptional defensive accountability.— Prep Hoops Tennessee (@PrepHoopsTN) March 4, 2022
Team Capsules
Christian Brothers – Balanced scoring. Wonderful team-play. The dynamic of the team is unselfishness. The Brothers are loaded with seniors. Invested, physically powerful seniors. They are as prepared as any team to match Knoxville Catholic in the rebounding wars.
Knoxville Catholic – Rebounding is massive for Knoxville Catholic. Between Blue Cain Blue Cain 6'4" | SG IMG Academy | 2023 State #102 Nation FL , Pressley Patterson, and Brian Edwards Jr Brian Edwards Jr 6'3" | PG Knoxville Catholic | 2022 State #82 Nation TN . the Saints have scoring weapons. They become unstoppable when they earn second and third chances. Brentwood Academy allowed 10 second-half offensive rebounds to the Saints and it cost them the game.
Underclassmen Letter Grades: Lipscomb Academy-Christian Brothers
Christian Brothers Projected Starters:
#1
Chandler Jackson
Chandler
Jackson
6'5" | CG
Christian Brothers | 2022
State
#87
Nation
TN
#10
Nehemiah Ausley
Nehemiah
Ausley
5'10" | PG
Christian Brothers | 2022
State
TN
#12
Zion Owens
Zion
Owens
5'10" | PG
Christian Brothers | 2022
State
TN
#35
Michael Pepper
Michael
Pepper
6'3" | SG
Christian Brothers | 2023
State
TN
#32
Hunter Pratt
Hunter
Pratt
6'6" | PF
Christian Brothers | 2022
State
TN
Knoxville Catholic Projected Starters:
#1
Blue Cain
Blue
Cain
6'4" | SG
IMG Academy | 2023
State
#102
Nation
FL
#2
Deondrea Lindsey
Deondrea
Lindsey
6'7" | PF
Oak Hill Academy | 2025
#115
Nation
VA
#3
Yesan Warren
Yesan
Warren
6'1" | SG
Knoxville Catholic | 2023
State
TN
#4
Presley Patterson
Presley
Patterson
6'0" | PG
Knoxville Catholic | 2022
State
TN
#5 BJ Edwards
FINAL PREDICTION
Knoxville Catholic vs. Christian Brothers
Christian Brothers executes offensively so crisply, but they simply lack the elite scoring talent of Knoxville Catholic. It truly is a challenging prediction. Knoxville Catholic is the favorite. They can survive a poor night from Edwards and still win. Christian Brothers needs Jackson to be great, and he almost always is. The rebounding battle seems likely to swing it and Deondrea Lindsey Deondrea Lindsey 6'7" | PF Oak Hill Academy | 2025 #115 Nation VA and Yesan Warren Yesan Warren 6'1" | SG Knoxville Catholic | 2023 State TN are two guys that the Purple Wave can not physically account for.
The game will be tight throughout, but Edwards + Cain will extend it with late free throws., 63-54.
The Moment
“We are close,” said Chandler Jackson Chandler Jackson 6'5" | CG Christian Brothers | 2022 State #87 Nation TN in the aftermath. “We are right there.”