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Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 8:36 am
by rchschem
Will Run PACE for Reese's wrote: Of course, if there is any interest in running an Ohio-format tournament in the South (south of NC that is)... isn't Cardinal Gibbons still doing No Buzzer Bowl??? :) :wink:
Raleigh Charter, who won both Brookwood and PACE in 2006 (and placed highly at TJ's 2 tournaments), runs a 4-quarter formatted house-written tournament, the Right Triangle Open (March 8, 2008), that attracts teams from Virginia as well as NC. I think that makes us the only true region-straddling, pan-formatted team IN THE UNIVERSE. We are quiz bowl sluts.

(I used to coach the Rockdale County HS team, so I lurk here just to keep up on the Ga. scene. And the inspiration for our format came from the many pleasant trips I took to Snellville. It would have been nice to finish .500 one of those times, but that's not Rick's fault!)

Eric

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 6:36 pm
by jrbarry
Eric:

What you did at Rockdale (GA) was merely a prelude to what you have done at Raleigh Charter.

Somehow I have missed tyhd fact that you give tournaments. My fault, I am sure. When do you host?

JRB

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 10:19 pm
by Rountree
To reiterate a couple of points and clarify a few others, here are my thoughts:

1. My sarcasm about NAC questions measuring the quality or a team was clearly missed by most on this thread; I have no love for QU, but admire a tournament that has been around for over 20 years - that longevity says something to me (though I am not sure exactly what).

2. Thank you for the kind words about the Chattahoochee tournament Mr. Barry; however, any peculiarities of the Chattahoochee coach were certainly fostered at a tender age by his own high school coach ;)

3. Norcross and Chattahocchee are not one-man teams this year. CHS is like Brookwood in many ways: Chattahoochee had 4-5 different A teams this past semester, so we still don't have a set A nor a set B team. There are, of course, advantages and disadvantages to this approach, but it has worked fairly well so far.

4. I don't even attempt quoting people on the threads - I don't need technology to help me make a fool of myself thank you very much.

5. Back to GA because it's on my mind, Centennial is a very good team - their captain Harrison was solid last year and they will be improved this year if he can get a supporting cast. They came in 2nd place 2 years ago at JV State after knocking off Brookwood when he was a sophomore, so they can run with the big boys. A top 4 finish at Chattahoochee last weekend proves that again. Roswell is coming on as well. That gives Fulton County a small handful off teams that can make a splash at State in an attempt to wrestle the stanglehold away from those darn Gwinnettian schools.

6. Brookwood is still the cream of the crop in 5A until someone dethrones them - you don't win 10+ State Championships and not get respect. Brookwood and Walton are the 800 pound gorillas on the block. Until Chattahoochee or someone else can CONSISTENTLY beat them at State, those teams have to be the favorites every year (this year is no exception). Yes, CHS beat Brookwood several times last year, but not when it counted at State - Mr. Barry does a great job getting his teams ready for that tournament every year because it is the most important one. Period, end of discussion.

7. The 4 Quarter format is just as good as straight TU and Bonus; in fact, it is probably better (certainly more entertaining). With that said, the GA State Championships use only straight TU and Bonus, which is fine for me since I like it just as much.

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 9:42 am
by rchschem
jrbarry wrote:Eric:

What you did at Rockdale (GA) was merely a prelude to what you have done at Raleigh Charter.

Somehow I have missed tyhd fact that you give tournaments. My fault, I am sure. When do you host?

JRB
March 8, 2008. It's generally in March.

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 1:26 pm
by Rountree
Eric,

That probably explains why Mr. Barry and other GA teams don't make it up to Raleigh Charter's tournament: March 8 is the same weekend as our Varsity State Championship, which is always in March (like your's).

As I have said before, the State Championship is the most important tournament of the year for many GA teams, especially Brookwood, Chattahoochee, and Walton, just to name a few. Good luck with the tournament - I have heard nothing but good things about it!

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 8:58 pm
by Saiem
I've been looking at the gataquizbowl schedule and notice that you only have a JV tournament for the Feb 16 Saturday. Would any of you like to come down to lovely Tallahassee for the Rickards High Spring Tournament?

I'm sure I'll make an announcement soon enough on the message board, but I would like to gauge some interest from the out of state schools. Also, would things be more interesting for you if it was a two day tournament?

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 1:12 pm
by jrbarry
6. Brookwood is still the cream of the crop in 5A until someone dethrones them - you don't win 10+ State Championships and not get respect. Brookwood and Walton are the 800 pound gorillas on the block. Until Chattahoochee or someone else can CONSISTENTLY beat them at State, those teams have to be the favorites every year (this year is no exception). Yes, CHS beat Brookwood several times last year, but not when it counted at State - Mr. Barry does a great job getting his teams ready for that tournament every year because it is the most important one. Period, end of discussion.
haha! Chattahoochee is sooooo far above everyone else in 5A in Georgia, we are all playing for second in State! Don't try to "bear Bryant-Vince Dooley" your team, Coach Rountree. The rest of us know better.

It will be Norcross, Walton, and Brookwood fighting for second place to Chattahoochee this year at State. Centennial and Northview could challenge as well.

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 1:24 pm
by mhanna
Ahhhhh, the season is still young. Chattahoochee and Walton are super teams and out of the gate fast. Norcross is quick and knowledgeable, but in the end I see Brookwood rising as a phoenix. That said, this could be one of the Brookmeister's best coaching years.

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 1:40 pm
by Rountree
Hey look, Mr. Barry, you quoted someone - correctly! I am envious of your superior technological mastery of this forum ;)

Listen, you can't come back over the top of me with my own strategy - EVERYONE knows Brookwood and Walton are the teams to beat at State every year. Why? Because they always win! You can't deny that or try to say this year will definitely be different for some reason. Chattahoochee and Norcross have good teams, as does Centennial this year, but the combined number of State Championships between those teams is ONE - by CHS a few years ago. Until those teams can win year in and year out at State, we all have to assume that either Brookwood or Walton will win it all in March! End of discussion.

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 1:46 pm
by jrbarry
Get back to work! The taxpayers of Fulton County and Georgia are not paying you to post on this site during school hours!!! :-)

PS Ain't nobody in this state that thinks Brookwood is gonna win 5A State this year and you know it. Find your own strategy anfd do not try to usurp mine! :lol:

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 4:58 pm
by Sen. Estes Kefauver (D-TN)
That reeks of fallacy to assume that because someone has won state most of the time that they will continue to win state in an activity where the lineups of teams frequently change from season to season. There have been numerous examples of teams who can be really dominant for a year or 2 and then can never ever place at a tournament again, often beating the "traditional" powers in the process (see Cutter Morning Star). The only criteria that I see as useful measures of comparison are: the number of returning players (especially those who score the teams points, if you have one or 2 people who score a lot then it won't matter as much if you lose the other 2 who combined get 3 ppg), the past performance of players moving up to fill the spots on a team (if the players were really good when they played JV/B team), or past performance at tournaments when they used their current lineup more or less intact. However, the simplest thing is to actually wait until the tournament happens and see who wins it. To assume anything from the past without taking those criteria into account is just making an uneducated guess.

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 6:41 pm
by kCobain911
Deesy Does It wrote:That reeks of fallacy to assume that because someone has won state most of the time that they will continue to win state in an activity where the lineups of teams frequently change from season to season. There have been numerous examples of teams who can be really dominant for a year or 2 and then can never ever place at a tournament again, often beating the "traditional" powers in the process (see Cutter Morning Star). The only criteria that I see as useful measures of comparison are: the number of returning players (especially those who score the teams points, if you have one or 2 people who score a lot then it won't matter as much if you lose the other 2 who combined get 3 ppg), the past performance of players moving up to fill the spots on a team (if the players were really good when they played JV/B team), or past performance at tournaments when they used their current lineup more or less intact. However, the simplest thing is to actually wait until the tournament happens and see who wins it. To assume anything from the past without taking those criteria into account is just making an uneducated guess.
I think its a "strategy" of some GA coaches to downplay their teams on purpose. Theres not really much uneducated guessing going on.

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 10:48 pm
by AKKOLADE
kCobain911 wrote:I think its a "strategy" of some GA coaches to downplay their teams on purpose. Theres not really much uneducated guessing going on.
The Lou Holtz strategy - beg off, even when you're the better team.

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 11:38 pm
by jrbarry
Charles, et al:

Mr. Rountree and I are just have some fun. We are old friends. I can assure you, Charles, we are not assuming anything.

However, I must confess, if a school has produced winning teams with different players every year over a span of time, it might be wise to, at the very least, take them seriously as a contender. That probably is the logical basis for what Mr. Rountree suggested in his earlier post.

At Brookwood, we generally play different players every year with very few people starting on our A team for two years in a row. Counting how many returning players we'll have in any given year is not going to give you a very good indication of how strong our team is going to be.

Just a different "take."

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 11:54 pm
by NoahMinkCHS
leftsaidfred wrote:
kCobain911 wrote:I think its a "strategy" of some GA coaches to downplay their teams on purpose. Theres not really much uneducated guessing going on.
The Lou Holtz strategy - beg off, even when you're the better team.
I would (possibly) pay money to watch either of those coaches give a Holtz-style "pep talk". Maybe we can negotiate a discount on our next tournament or something... </off-topic>

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 12:10 pm
by Rountree
Mr. Barry is correct Charles - we are just exchanging some friendly pleasantries. It's just some gamesmanship on our parts. Mr. Barry and I go way back like Cadillacs. I know what the Brookwood State Championship-winning machine is all about, first-hand. Mr. Barry is, in my opinion, the best Quiz Bowl coach this state has ever had. He may be the best in the entire Southeast, though I am a bit biased for sure.

Back to the topic at hand, though, I really don't know who will win State this year. I couldn't even strongly argue for a favorite. It's just too hard to predict from one year to the next or even one semester to the next. For example, if you asked me from August to February last year, I would have said Chattahoochee was going to win, but we were outplayed and outcoached in the State Championship by a Brookwood team, albeit without the exact same lineup, that we had beaten several times over the course of the year (some of them by large margins).

Since Brookwood's A team and CHS's A team have been in flux this year, I think it will all depend on which team gels quicker and plays to their full potential in March. Of course, you have to throw in Walton, who appear to be getting stronger tournament by tournament. And that leaves Norcross and Centennial, 2 teams that don't get a lot of publicity but have 2 of the best players in the state in Ben and Harrison, respectively. Honestly, any of those 5 teams could get hot and take the title as best in State 5A. I don't know if Northview, Parkview, Grayson, Roswell, or Alpharetta have enough players yet to make a deep run, but you can't count out any of those teams for an upset here and there.

If I had to pick the top 4 finishers at State today (at the end of 2007), this is the order I would pick:
1. Brookwood (they hold the top spot largely because of their history, their coach, and their ability to consistently improve as the year goes on)
2. Chattahoochee
3. Walton
4. Norcross

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 11:49 pm
by Gunnells
While Norcross appreciates the mentions, we have fallen behind the pack this year. It will be a three way battle between Chattahoochee-Brookwood-Walton for the crown.

Norcross has only a single victory against that trio, and it came on a fluke round that served a couple questions right into the wheelhouse of what is normally a supporting player. Lamentably, we are unlikely to get that lucky again, and (with a couple of exceptions) our players have established they are not going to expand their knowledge base.

If we can hold off everyone else for 4th, it would be an accomplishment.

Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:15 pm
by mhanna
I have the formula for Norcross' path to success. Let Aiken sit at the table and all of a sudden all of the stars are in alignment.

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:55 pm
by Ben_Dodson
Norcross may be unable to attend tournaments in the near future since we might all be playing in the snow instead. That's right. It's snowing in Georgia.

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:57 pm
by Xerxes
Ben_Dodson wrote:Norcross may be unable to attend tournaments in the near future since we might all be playing in the snow instead. That's right. It's snowing in Georgia.
:lol: I bet the people in the Minnesota and Illinois thread are laughing at us.
Right now I'm just praying for Cobb County Schools to be closed.

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 10:21 pm
by kCobain911
Xerxes wrote:
Ben_Dodson wrote:Norcross may be unable to attend tournaments in the near future since we might all be playing in the snow instead. That's right. It's snowing in Georgia.
:lol: I bet the people in the Minnesota and Illinois thread are laughing at us.
Right now I'm just praying for Cobb County Schools to be closed.

Hate to burst your bubble, but it won't happen. I'd like to be wrong...

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 11:43 pm
by Irreligion in Bangladesh
We are laughing - it was shorts weather today. (At least, by my crazy standards - 40 degrees counts!)

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:51 pm
by Gunnells
That's ok. It cracks me up when they find summer heat waves newsworthy.

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 7:21 pm
by Ben_Dodson
Academic Team Tip #195: When you ask a team "what was the score last round against *insert good team here*", a follow-up question should be added. That question is..."Who won?".

Now, I bring this up because in a recent tournament, we happened to play and beat a well respected team by a fairly wide margin. In not a few times, we were asked how the round went, to which we responded with the score. Immediately afterwards, we were greeted with comments like "Oh wow, sorry." and "Ahh, well sometimes you start off slow in the morning". For the most part it was humorous, but in a way, a bit annoying. So please, do it for all the underdogs out there, striving to achieve whatever brief glory they can before drowning in the wake of more loftier minds. Please, ask who won. Thank you.

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 7:53 pm
by Xerxes
Ben_Dodson wrote:Academic Team Tip #195: When you ask a team "what was the score last round against *insert good team here*", a follow-up question should be added. That question is..."Who won?".

Now, I bring this up because in a recent tournament, we happened to play and beat a well respected team by a fairly wide margin. In not a few times, we were asked how the round went, to which we responded with the score. Immediately afterwards, we were greeted with comments like "Oh wow, sorry." and "Ahh, well sometimes you start off slow in the morning". For the most part it was humorous, but in a way, a bit annoying. So please, do it for all the underdogs out there, striving to achieve whatever brief glory they can before drowning in the wake of more loftier minds. Please, ask who won. Thank you.
In most situations, Norcross is not considered an "underdog." Now I'm dying to know who you beat.

EDIT: I assume you're talking about the Berry tourney yesterday.

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 9:23 pm
by AdamL
My best guess is... [look at some of the other posts that were made about Berry] but I don't actually know that.

Yeah, Norcross probably isn't usually huge underdog, but I meant to ask, Ben, what happened to the rest of your A team? I saw a few unfamiliar faces there instead...

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 10:35 pm
by Ben_Dodson
it was basically a combination of college interviews, SAT's, and chinese school that took away a sizable chunk of our team. Thats why there also ended up being confusion over a Norcross B, because several people said they couldn't go at the last minute, then vice versa, and vice vice(?) versa. It seems like this year we consistently have problems fielding a full squad, but hopefully as the year winds down we can finally bring all our top players.

Our captain joined us in time for the round against Dorman B, but it ended up not making a difference. We were down 30 at the half, but then they swept every question after that. It was a very very impressive performance by them, and I'm not surprised at all that the only team to beat them ended up being Dorman A. The good thing of having people missing though was that my girlfriend got to play on the team with me. That was certainly fun =).

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 10:49 pm
by Ben_Dodson
oh, and btw. for cedar shoals on the 2nd, a UPENN interview and All-State auditions (rescheduled due to the snow...) are taking away another two of our top four. Needless to say, Norcross will probably be less than spectacular once again.

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:41 am
by Gunnells
I wouldn't worry about it for a couple reasons. It is very easy for a strong team to get overlooked in the Atlanta area when you typically have to go against five or six of the top teams in the nation at every event, as well as a multitude of teams like Central Gwinnett that work as hard as anybody and get overlooked. It is oftentimes more challenging to make the quarterfinals around here than to pile up trophies in some states.

Furthermore, Norcross hasn't performed to full potential recently, so it is even more understandable. The fault lies not in our stars.

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 10:36 pm
by jrbarry
Brookwood never overlooks Central Gwinnett, our neighbor to the east-northeast!

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 12:49 am
by Gunnells
jrbarry wrote:Brookwood never overlooks Central Gwinnett, our neighbor to the east-northeast!
Go Black Knights!

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 3:25 pm
by Rountree
Hey, let's get some new posts going on this thread.

Which teams are going to UGA and GATA in March?

Anyone in GA going to DACQ other than us? Just curious...

Good luck for those of you going to Cedar Shoals this weekend. We are sending sophomores so it looks like we might not bring the Bulldawg trophy back to CHS for the 3rd year in a row - I will certainly miss seeing it. Hopefully, a non-UGA person will get and have the chance to display it proudly in their room for the next year. Go Dawgs!

Any new thoughts on who is in the running for State (Varsity or JV)?

Which national tournaments are y'all going to attend?

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:16 pm
by AlphaQuizBowler
Alpharetta will be attending both UGA and GATA, but we aren't going to DACQ.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:26 pm
by Ben_Dodson
is chattahoochee going to be entirely sophomores? I did not realize a calamity of such magnitude existed to stop the Cougars from bringing their A game. Unless, of course, this is a clever ploy to lower the guard of your competition. Hmm... not bring home a trophy indeed.

Norcross might go to PACE this year from what I hear from our coach, but that's yet to be decided. Depends how much money we get from our fundraiser. However, we will be going to NAQT as well as the other three Mr. Rountree mentioned. I think we'll be at the Parkview tournaments too...although I'm not even sure if that's still going to happen.

Those in the running for State are Chattahoochee, Brookwood, and Walton with Norcross and Centennial having the potential to upset these titans of quizbowl (assuming all of Norcross A actually shows up for a tournament...). Beyond that, other teams will have to settle for those Region Champs trophies. For example... Norcross 2007: Region 7 Champs. Damn straight.

Is anyone going to Vanderbilt Spring?

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 1:08 am
by AdamL
Ben_Dodson wrote: I did not realize a calamity of such magnitude existed to stop the Cougars from bringing their A game.
We're sending a team to Robinson (on the same day). Some of the juniors are ineligible to play at Cedar Shoals because they might be attending the DACQ tourney, so it ended up being convenient to just send the sophomores. I sure am going to miss that anatomically-correct trophy though... not to automatically assume our JV team will lose... hah (but seriously, there'll be good competition here - it'll be interesting to see who comes out on top when Dorman isn't around).

I wish I had seen Centennial play at some point this year... no clue how good they are. At JV state 2 years ago we played them in the finals and they did surprisingly well, and they've probably retained most/all of those players (definitely Harrison), but it really depends how much they've worked since then.

Also, I don't believe Chattahoochee is going to Vandy Spring.

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 3:52 am
by DumbJaques
anatomically-correct trophy
Time to start shopping for Weekend of Quizbowl trophies. . .

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 2:27 pm
by jrbarry
When Brookwood had that Bulldawg Brawl trophy, I added an LSU "sweater" to that ugly bulldawg on top. That was the classiest that trophey ever looked.

We always TRY to lose that tournament so we won't be stuck with that trophy! :-)

Note: our senior captain will not be at Cedar Shoals Saturday. Some sort of allstate music tryout thingy.

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 7:42 pm
by Gunnells
jrbarry wrote:When Brookwood had that Bulldawg Brawl trophy, I added an LSU "sweater" to that ugly bulldawg on top. That was the classiest that trophey ever looked.
I think he needs some South Carolina gear. It's only fitting given the results between the hedges this past fall.

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 10:30 pm
by CSQuizJags
As long as he looks the same when you bring him back in 2009 than when I handed him off to you in 2008. :grin:

Congrats to Norcross again, BTW. The most nerve racking final Ive ever read.

And I still swear up and down I said the correct number. :smile:

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:22 pm
by jrbarry
I KNOW you said the right number. But, in any event, with the correct equation having been clearly read and the correct quadrant of the answer clearly given, Brookwood's answer to that tossup should have been ruled correct. It probably would have changed that match in our favor.

But, NOrcross is a deserving champion and they played well throughout the playoffs. Congrats to those guys.

Georgia 2007-2008

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 9:28 pm
by scquizbowl
There's a NAQT tournament this Saturday at Piedmont College in Demorest, GA (above Cornelia). James Island is bringing their varsity team, but who else is coming?

Piedmont College Tournament?

Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 8:09 am
by jburnsOHS
This is the first I've heard of any kind of tournament at Piedmont ever.

Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:39 am
by CSQuizJags
They've been hosting this for at least 3 years now (I think they may have done it longer as Murray Co's coach told me about it). They only get about 8 teams (all they can handle and mostly from the North GA area) and it's more of a recruiting tool. They use clocks and A series questions. It's OK, but not like any of the tournaments run in the state.

They do feed you, FWIW.

Brookwood went two years ago and won. Centennial won last year. We were 2nd last year.

We're taking 3 teams (as we always have), so at least we know four teams are going.

Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:29 pm
by Ben_Dodson
Will Brookwood or Walton be attending UGA? If so, it seems like UGA will turn into a pre-State warm-up for the top spot.

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 3:06 am
by vig180
Mods please delete. Thanks.

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 11:24 am
by Ben_Dodson
sorry, didn't see Brookwood was signed up. I suppose i"ll just wait for the rest of the field to be posted though. feel free to delete.

Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 8:21 pm
by AlphaQuizBowler
Results from Sequoyah JV Tournament:
1. Alpharetta
2. Walton
3. Norcross and Woodstock (I'm not sure if they played for third.)

Also, congratulations to Kayhan (sorry if I misspelled it) from Walton on being the top scorer for the prelims.

I thought the tournament was well-run, and the readers that we had read well. The questions were good as well.

Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 10:38 pm
by Ben_Dodson
i heard alpharetta has one guy that is ridiculously good for a jv player. anyone like to comment on this?

Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 6:51 pm
by Rountree
Chattahoochee won the Fulton County Championship last Wednesday, defending last year's title in route to a perfect 9-0 record. The competition was not without drama however. CHS won on a protest against Centennial to clinch the top spot, and defeated Alpharetta by 20 points in the final game. Centennial finished 2nd and Alpharetta 3rd (Northview was 4th).

Chattahoochee played awful against Centennial, but on the replacement TU for the protest Centennial didn't know the character of Wolf Larson was created by Jack London after we bounced it over to them. That won it for us. Centennial would have won by 20 points without the protest, and probably would have won the County Championship.

Most of the questions were bad as usual - I believe they are QU and the rounds are only 10 TU and Bonuses (2 of which were math-related each round). All the bonuses (2, 3, and 4 parters) are read at one time and the captain has to answer all of them at once - needless to say my kids are not used to these questions or format, but they stayed focused (for the most part). Also, the readers are mainly teachers with little or no quiz bowl experience except for this tournament every year.

Anyway, it hopefully makes us eligible for High-Q next year and we got a shiny new trophy. Harrison at Centennial is very good - I would say one of the top 5 players in the state. Alpharetta was better than they have been in the recent past - Coach Rashford has a solid bunch and they are improving. After we had the match won, we stopped playing and they ate us up to make it closer than it could have been. I would say they are definitely a sleeper at state and may surprise some people. Centennial would not be a sleeper in my opinion and I still think they can make some noise at state, especially if Harrison gets hot.

Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 7:15 pm
by Rountree
Chattahoochee will be without 4 of our top varsity players at UGA on March 1st due to the SAT and some orchestra thingy. We will bring an "A" team and a couple of JV teams, mainly freshmen, to get some experience. We are just glad to have a solid tournament the week before State to play in.

State is wide open this year as I have said in the past. I am more interested in seeing the best in the state play than I have been at any tournament this year. We have played Brookwood, Walton, Norcross, Grayson, Alpharetta, Centennial, Roswell, and other 5A schools this year. Those teams have the ability to bite you if you are not on top of your game.

Brookwood and Walton have gotten better over the course of the year (as they always do), and are still 2 of my top 4 picks. Chattahoochee's A team hasn't played them since last semester and we are looking forward to seeing them again at State (if not at UGA the week before).

One of the best games I have seen all year was Chattahoochee vs. Brookwood at Alabama, but that was the first tournament of the year and a lot has happened since then. I know they are better and I think we are too. Walton beat us at UGA last semester, though we didn't have our "usual" A team. Norcross beat us at Walton on some very strange questions, but they deserved to win. Like I said, State is there for the taking; all a team has to do is grab it and hang on.