Region D Top 10 Boys Basketball Rankings

1. Castlewood - Strong inside / outside capability give the Blue Devils the inside track as a true contender to the Region D crown.
2. Twin Valley - They are the team in Region D that you never hear about right now. A team that has something that many teams in Region D do not have and will need come tournament time... a strong inside game. The Panthers have stable guard play and with the Panthers version of "Big Country" with Baldwin inside, the Panthers are still favorites to win the Black Diamond and make a run at a repeat of their Region D Championship.
3. Gate City - Right now, the Blue Devils are beginning to click a little bit. They have a little bit of height but the motor has been revved up with the addition of the little spark plug named Tyler Parks. He cant shoot, he doesnt score hardly at all but he brings an "in your face" rock hard mentality that rubs off on his other talented Blue Devils teammates. One sentence says it all... When the bleachers in Gate City start a rockin, trust me you don't want to come a knockin. Watch out Region D, here they come.
tie (4.) Thomas Walker - Huge win over Twin Springs was a shot heard around the Cumberland District. Playing the role of the ultimate Cinderella this year, the Pioneers may be giving Castlewood a run for the district crown when tournament time rolls around. Will have to see how they compare with St. Paul to determine who is the better squad.
tie (4.) St. Paul - Along with Thomas Walker, the other Cinderella who is going to be in the hunt not only for a District Championship but a possible Region D Championship IF all the cards fall right for them. Cumberland District Championship is up in the air for the first time in a long time. Will have to see how they compare with Thomas Walker to determine who is the better squad.
6. Powell Valley - You can't sleep on this team. Yes they have a first year coach and they are assimilating into his system. That is the key. They are getting better with every game. They could very well be a Region D representative from the LPD come tournament time this year.
7. Rye Cove - Adam Hood could be one of a rare few to break the 2000 pt. barrier this year. If he is able to create points and find support with his other teammates, the War Eagles could be the sleeper in the Cumberland that sneaks up on the other district counterparts and walks into the Region D Tournament. I'll make a bold prediction this year. This will be the year that Rye Cove sweeps Twin Springs home and away.
8. Clintwood
9. Council
10. Twin Springs

Once again, an example of a true ranking - even if I don't completely agree with all that's said, it's still very good. Not only does he/she take into account a team's win/loss record, but gives reasons for almost each team's ranking position - some thought process has taken place and more than just a team's win/loss record and ignoring who each team has faced was taken into consideration here.

Thanks. I've seen a few of these teams play and rankings are doomed to change as the season goes along anyway. There are a lot of factors that go into how teams should be ranked though. Knowing a lot of the personnel who may be active or inactive. Level of the opponents that were faced in previous wins or losses. Knowing if that team is making a run or in a slump. Many many factors go into ranking teams. That is why it is so much fun come tournament time because one person may think they know who is the best and that whole concept can be shot down in 32 minutes of play. I do not and will not ever say that I know who is the best team out there. I can only give my opinion as to who I think is but to hold it as gospel would be downright crazy.
How many wins or losses a team has will never be an exact read on how good or bad a team is.

Castlewood could play Science Hill, Dobyns Bennett, Dr. Michael Krop (FLA.)..the Arby's Champion and Liberty Tech (Jackson, TN.) another Arby's Classic team ranked in the nation... and play 3 Cumberland games and be 3-4 right now but that would be in no indication of the talent level on their team. Now if they lost 65-64 to Science Hill, 56-53 to Dobyns Bennett, 73-69 to Dr. Michael Krop and 65- 56 to Liberty Tech and have a record of 3-4 then I would be surprised if they didnt win the Region D Championship because any team that could hang with those four opponents with those scores is going to annihilate some teams in Region D. Trust me. But.. this is where I agree with redrain on this subject. Won / Loss records are never an indication of a teams talent or its potential to be a contender for a championship.

Here was my top 10 from a last week. Not much has changed IMO so far this week, but PV may soon be on the rise, and possibly JIB.

1. Castlewood - Cumberland
2. Gate City - Lonesome Pine
3. Twin Valley - Black Diamond
4. Rye Cove - Cumberland
5. St. Paul - Cumberland
6. Thomas Walker- Cumberland
7. Powell Valley - Lonesome Pine
8. Twin Springs - Cumberland
9. Honaker - Black Diamond
10. Clintwood - Lonesome Pine

Sounds like we're stuck on terminology here. I would consider that as more of an analysis of the teams, and there's nothing wrong with that. But, what you might consider a big win for a team may not be such a big win for somebody else. For example, Coeburn beat Powell Valley early season, yet they lost to Clintwood recently. Which weighs more, the win over PV or the loss to Clintwood? Do you see where personal opinion comes into play?

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Once again, an example of a true ranking - even if I don't completely agree with all that's said, it's still very good. Not only does he/she take into account a team's win/loss record, but gives reasons for almost each team's ranking position - some thought process has taken place and more than just a team's win/loss record and ignoring who each team has faced was taken into consideration here.


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You take both into consideration. A ranking, on a high school scale especially, opinions are involved. In example, when the AP state rankings in football, or basketball comes out, often there are teams with more losses than some others ranked higher due to who they have faced up to that point as well as other considerations. A team could be 8-0 and have faced substandard competition, but not be ranked ahead of a team 6-2 that has faced tougher opponents. There are plenty of people who publish rankings for local and state high school sports - VirginiaPreps, swvafootball.com, the Associated Press (as mentioned above), etc, etc. The Cumberland District board had a Top 10 Ranking in football this season that it put out on a weekly basis, with 5-6 people voting. Tricitiessports.com has Northeast Tennessee boys and girls rankings in basketball as well as other sports that is determined by their sportswriters.

The Coalfield could have done the same thing, having their writers give their input and actually think out a ranking poll instead of just listing the teams in order of their current win/loss standings. If they had done this, then it would be a true ranking by the paper.

The problem I've seen with some of the "rankings" you're referring to with publications is that they are often made by people who haven't even seen the teams play. Having worked for a newspaper before, I can also tell you that sports writers, like all of us, are human and have biases.

I agree that the Coalfield could do a more indepth analysis of the teams, but I'm also sure that many people, if not most, would disagree with them on some point.

I think I've seen all the boy's teams in Region D play this season at least once now, and about 70% of the girls teams. I could give you my own personal opinion of how I think they should be ranked, but it would be very subjective. I would rather let the records speak for the teams.

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You take both into consideration. A ranking, on a high school scale especially, opinions are involved. In example, when the AP state rankings in football, or basketball comes out, often there are teams with more losses than some others ranked higher due to who they have faced up to that point as well as other considerations. A team could be 8-0 and have faced substandard competition, but not be ranked ahead of a team 6-2 that has faced tougher opponents. There are plenty of people who publish rankings for local and state high school sports - VirginiaPreps, swvafootball.com, the Associated Press (as mentioned above), etc, etc. The Cumberland District board had a Top 10 Ranking in football this season that it put out on a weekly basis, with 5-6 people voting. Tricitiessports.com has Northeast Tennessee boys and girls rankings in basketball as well as other sports that is determined by their sportswriters.

The Coalfield could have done the same thing, having their writers give their input and actually think out a ranking poll instead of just listing the teams in order of their current win/loss standings. If they had done this, then it would be a true ranking by the paper.


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CVCGrad, you really should give your own ranking. I was just like VHSDevil, not reading that this is what the Coalfield put out but your own opinion(s). I have read your postings in the past, and you always seem to have a better grasp on teams than most - that's why I was shocked to see what you posted. I would put much more belief into what you had to say than what you posted from the Coalfield, I do know this. People want to read opinions, thoughts, analysis, and so on. If they want current win/loss standings in each district, you go to the scoreboard part of the Kingsport Times-News (or insert your paper's name here) and look to see what it is.

I tried to be very specific in stating that this was data from the Coalfield Progress.

I know it's a very limited view, but I still believe team records say more about a team than anyone, myself included, can say without bias or prejudice.

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CVCGrad, you really should give your own ranking. I was just like VHSDevil, not reading that this is what the Coalfield put out but your own opinion(s). I have read your postings in the past, and you always seem to have a better grasp on teams than most - that's why I was shocked to see what you posted. I would put much more belief into what you had to say than what you posted from the Coalfield, I do know this. People want to read opinions, thoughts, analysis, and so on. If they want current win/loss standings in each district, you go to the scoreboard part of the Kingsport Times-News (or insert your paper's name here) and look to see what it is.


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