Tennessee: Boys State Tournament Preview

After seeing what the girls state tournament had to offer last week, the boys state tournament starts Wednesday and will end with three state championships on Saturday.

Here’s a few storylines to watch;

Humboldt vs. Manassas

This is why I hate the blind draw. Humboldt is undefeated at 33-0 and was ranked No. 1 all season, but will lock up with Manassas (25-2), ranked No. 2 in Class A, in the first game of the tournament at 10 a.m. Wednesday morning.

It's too bad one very good team will be bounced from the proceedings immediately.

Mr. Basketball

Unlike the girls tournament, where only one Miss Basketball finalist played at the state tournament, the boys field has a plethora of Mr. Basketball candidates.

In Class A, all three finalists are here in Reginald Buckner (Manassas), Wes Long (Summertown) and Jeremy Sexton (Tennessee Temple). Chase Dunn (Livingston Academy) in Class AA and junior Joe Jackson (White Station) in Class AAA will also make a push on the big stage for the coveted honor.

Uncharted Territory

Six teams are making their first state tournament appearance. Those schools include Clarksville Academy and Grace Baptist in Class A, Carter and Sheffield in Class AA and Clarksville Northeast and Walker Valley in Class AAA.

Back-to-Back

Bolivar coach Rick Rudesill has done something the previous two weeks that not a lot of coaches can say they have done. Rudesill is both the girls and boys coach and both teams made the state tournament.

His Tiger girls lost to state champion Gibson County in the quarterfinals last week while his boys team will play Livingston Academy at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

Title Goes Through Memphis

Memphis-area schools have won eight of the previous nine Class AAA state titles and have two more entries (White Station and Raleigh Egypt) in the state tournament this year. Maryville in 2007 broke the Memphis hold of seven consecutive state titles. Ridgeway defeated fellow Memphis power White Station for a state title last year.

Class A Capsule

State Titles
Tennessee Temple - 3, 2002, 2003, 2007
Humboldt - 2, 1949, 1975

Rookies - Clarksville Academy and Grace Baptist will be making their first state title appearance this week and both could hang around for a while.

Ranked Teams - Five teams were ranked in the final Associated Press top 10: No. 1 Humboldt, No. 2 Manassas, No. 6 Grace Baptist, No. 7 Tennessee Temple, No. 8 Clarksville Academy.

On a Roll - Humboldt, Manassas and Grace Baptist come into the state tournament on big time winning streaks. Humboldt has the state’s longest winning streak at 33, Manassas has won 18 straight and Grace Baptist has reeled off 13 in a row.

College Signees - Reginald Buckner, Manassas, Mississippi; Patrick Shaughnessy, Chattanooga Grace, Charleston Southern

Favorites - The winner of the Humboldt-Manassas grudge match will be the overwhelming favorite to take home a gold ball come Saturday. In the bottom half of the bracket, it looks like a Tennessee Temple-Clarksville Academy semifinal will be in the works.

Class A Schedule
Quarterfinals - Wednesday
Manassas (24-2) vs. Humboldt (33-0), 10 a.m.
Chatt. Grace (26-5) vs. Knox Grace (27-6), 11:45 a.m.
Temple (26-5) vs. Cloudland (20-10), 1:30 p.m.
Clarksville Acad. (27-5) vs. Summertown (25-9), 3:15 p.m.

Friday - Semifinals
Manassas-Humboldt winner vs. Grace Baptist- Knoxville Grace winner, 10 a.m.
Temple-Cloudland winner vs. Clarksville Academy-Summertown, 11:45 a.m.

Saturday
Championship, 2 p.m.

Class AA Capsule

State Titles
Brainerd - 3, 1984, 1988, 1992
Bolivar - 2, 2004, 2005
Booker T. Washington - 1, 2001
David Lipscomb - 1, 1993
Knoxville Fulton - 1, 2008

Rookies - Carter and Sheffield are the newbies in the Class AA field as both will be making their first tournament appearance.

Ranked Teams - Four. No. 3 Knoxville Fulton, No. 4 Livingston Academy, No. 6 Bolivar, No. 7 Booker T. Washington

On a Roll - Booker T. Washington (13), Livingston Academy (13) and Brainerd (11) have the longest winning streaks coming into the tournament.  

College Signees - James Gallman, Knoxville Fulton, Middle Tennessee State; Joe Meady, Carter, Carson Newman; Chase Dunn, Livingston Academy, Tennessee Tech; Chris Reaves, Bolivar, Austin Peay.

Favorites - No. 4 Livingston Academy and No. 3 Knoxville Fulton look like they are on a collision course in the semifinals in the top half of the bracket. No. 7 Booker T. Washington and Brainerd should be the semifinal match in the bottom half. 

Class AA Tournament Schedule
Wednesday - Quarterfinals
Bolivar (26-3) vs. Livingston Acad. (32-2), 5 p.m.
Sheffield (19-14) vs. Fulton (27-6), 6:45 p.m.

Thursday - Quarterfinals
B.T. Washington (27-2) vs. Carter (21-11), 10 a.m.
David Lipscomb (26-6) vs. Brainerd (29-6), 11:45 a.m.

Friday - Semifinals
Bolivar-Livingston Academy winner vs. Sheffield-Fulton winner, 1:30 p.m.
B.T. Washington-Carter winner vs. David Lipscomb-Brainerd winner, 3:15 p.m.

Saturday
Championship, 4 p.m.

Class AAA Capsule

State Titles
White Station - 4, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004
Science Hill - 3, 1990, 1994, 1995

Rookies - Clarksville Northeast and Walker Valley will be making their first state tournament trip and both could surprise this week at the tournament.  

Ranked Teams - 5. No. 1 Knoxville Bearden, No. 2 Raleigh Egypt, No. 3 Walker Valley, No. 4 White Station, No. 5 Science Hill.

On a Roll - Science Hill has the longest winning streak in Class AAA with 19 straight, Walker Valley has 18 in a row, while nationally-ranked Knoxville Bearden and Raleigh Egypt both have won 14 in a row.

College Signees - Josh Odem, Science Hill, UT-Chattanooga; David Ware, Walker Valley, Carson Newman.

Favorites - Three teams could be considered favorites as No. 1 Knoxville Bearden and No. 4 White Station should meet in the semifinals barring a quarterfinal upset in the bottom half of the bracket. The other favorite No. 2 Raleigh Egypt should tangle with No. 3 Walker Valley in the semifinals  but don’t be surprised if there is an All-Memphis final like last season. 

Class AAA Tournament Schedule
Thursday - Quarterfinals
Walker Valley (33-1) vs. Science Hill (31-4), 1:30 p.m.
Raleigh Egypt (33-2) vs. Beech (28-4), 3:15 p.m.
Northeast (26-6) vs. Bearden (35-2), 5 p.m.
Red Bank (20-14) vs. White Station (28-7), 6:45 p.m.

Friday - Semifinals
Walker Valley-Science Hill winner vs. Raleigh Egypt-Beech winner
Northeast-Bearden winner vs. Red Bank-White Station winner

Saturday
Championship, 6 p.m.
Questions? Comments? Contact Donovan at dstew4vu@yahoo.com .