Mid-Tennessee Hidden Gems (2023)
Often, perhaps too often, talented players go unmentioned on this website. To remedy this oversight, enjoy another edition of Hidden Gems.
Keith Roland (Pearl-Cohn)
Now a senior, Keith “KP” Roland is a guy I have been observing a bit for about a year. I have been very hesitant to give him much shine simply because he is an undersized guard, and to put it bluntly, there are hundreds of hard-working undersized guards. ‘What makes him any different,’ I wondered.
Keith is extremely hard-working and committed, which is mandatory for any guards hoping to make an impact in a giant’s world. Secondly, Roland knows how to score the basketball. He can get to the rim and the free throw line against Nashville Metro players or private school guards. There is an encouraging level of cleverness and speed to him.
During Team Camp at University of Alabama Huntsville, KP averaged 15+ ppg for his 4-2 Pearl-Cohn Firebirds. Pearl picked up wins over Soddy-Daisy, Coffee County, Cookeville, and White House. They lost to Notre Dame and McCallie.
Roland eagerly accepts and embraces contact.
Grayson Burleson Grayson Burleson 6'4" | SF Summertown | 2025 State TN (Summertown)
Grayson is a Class of 2025 player, so he does not perfectly fit the 2023 theme.
He will likely wind up a baseball star like many of the southern Tennessee dual-sport athletes, but Grayson is wonderfully skilled as a shooter and scorer. Good guard height. He is the younger brother of some warriors, and so often you find elite hoopers coming up as the baby brother. That yearning and striving daily makes a big difference. Well, Grayson is both hungry and talented.
Jonathan Sawyer (Fairview)
Sawyer is spending the summer with Tennessee Panthers AAU. If ever there was a program perfectly equipped to help and develop the hidden gem, then it is the Tennessee Panthers program.
Jonathan played a lot as a junior for Fairview High, but the team featured many veterans, most of them proven high school scorers: Kennedy Pendergrass, Mays McCoy Mays McCoy 6'4" | SF Fairview | 2024 TN , Jackson Arnold, Carter Durham. Sawyer did play sound defense then. His blossoming this past few months suggests a breakout year for the Yellowjackets. Love the height.
Deion Subaran Deion Subaran 6'4" | PG Coffee County | 2023 State TN (Coffee County)
Just transferred from Webb-Bell Buckle to Coffee County. Subaran runs with PSB-NASHVILLE. He shows off nice guard size, a willingness to pass, and some natural athleticism. Shooting is still raw. He might be able to play at the NAIA-level, perhaps junior college.