Author: Scott Wallace

Vanderbilt Should Hire Drew Maddux for Basketball Coach

Scott Wallace

Former Commodore star calls this his dream job. For years, Vanderbilt University has been one of the toughest places to play for opposing teams. Their arena, Memorial Gym is the most unorthodox venues in college basketball in the country. Opposing coaches must get used to their bench being behind a basket instead of on the sidelines. Also, the floor is elevated so the game looks like a Broadway production. Through the years, Vanderbilt teams have enjoyed beating top teams because of their advantage. “Memorial Magic” has been witnessed many times on West End. Recently, Vanderbilt fired their head men’s basketball coach Bryce Drew. Drew came in as an up and coming coach from a mid-major program in Indiana, Valparaiso University. At his opening press conference, Drew discussed coaching a Vanderbilt team to a Final Four. Three years later, the Commodores are looking for a new coach. National names have been rumored to be front runners for the job. Former Georgetown University coach John Thompson III, University of Central Florida coach Johnny Dawkins, Murray State University head coach Matt McMahon and Lipscomb University’s head coach Casey Alexander to name a few have been discussed. All have great resumes, but they all…

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Pearl-Cohn, Miquan Tucker Shoot Their Way to Region Victory

Scott Wallace

Junior small forward Tucker hits 10 three pointers to lead Pearl-Cohn to home game on Monday The Pearl-Cohn Firebirds used a hot shooting night from Miquan Tucker (pictured, right) to outlast the East Nashville Magnet Eagles 71-60 in the Region 5AA championship game from Pearl-Cohn. Tucker went 10 of 17 from behind the three-point line to lead of scorers with 31 points. “I was shooting the ball with confidence and looking for my teammates,” said Tucker. “After winning this game, my focus is on the next game. We have to stay locked in, in practice and execute.” Tucker scored 19 first half points to help stretch a second quarter 17-point lead with 4:21 left in the half. The Eagles closed the half on a 16-6 run to cut the lead to 30-26 on a Caleb Grimes three point shot at the buzzer. After Pearl-Cohn junior post Tyrone Marshall (pictured, left) scored a basket to start the second half, the Eagles went on a mini 6-0 run to tie the score at 32. Marshall then took over on both ends finishing the quarter with three dunks and three blocks. The dunks all came off of pick and dive plays that forced…

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East Nashville and Pearl-Cohn To Play for Region Championship

Scott Wallace

Two storied high schools will battle for the right to host a sub-state game. Before the season started, not too many people would have predicted this match-up. The East Nashville Eagles were coming off an undefeated regular season in 2018 but fell short by one game of reaching the regional finals. That team graduated six of their top eight players. The Pearl-Cohn Firebirds ended the 2018 season in last place in District 10AA. New coach Terry Cole had a couple of nice pieces coming back but the resurgence was thought to be in the future. Both teams lost to Martin Luther King Academy I the district tournament but now they have clinched a berth to play at least two more games. “All I have to say is that we made it to Friday,” said Eagles head coach Jim Fey. Last year we had a good team. We didn’t make it this far. I knew this team had a chance because they play hard. I like our chances.” Eagles Hold Off MLK The Eagles and the Martin Luther King Academy Royals gave everyone in attendance at Pearl-Cohn their money’s worth in the first game with East holding on in a 54-51…

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District 10AA Boys Sweeps Region 5 Games

Scott Wallace

For the second consecutive year, the District 10AA boys’ teams swept the four Region 5AA quarterfinals. By virtue of the top seeded Martin Luther King Academy Royals, the second seeded Pearl-Cohn High School Firebirds and lower seeds the East Nashville Magnet Eagle and the Maplewood High School Panthers all winning against their District 9AA opponents, the Region 5AA semi-finals have been moved from Greenbrier High School to Pearl-Cohn High School on Wednesday. At 6pm, the district regular season champion East Nashville will take on district tournament champion MLK in a rematch on the district semi-final which MLK came from a double-digit deficit to win 56-51. The Eagles are coming off an impressive 91-71 road victory over White House High School. After being 25-21 at the end of the first quarter, White House went on a 6=0 run to go up 31-21 at the 7:05 mark of the second quarter. East then went on a 26-4 run in the second and part of the third quarters to take a commanding lead and never looked back. East Nashville vs. White House East Nashville (91) Taras Carter 7-13 5-9 22, Caleb Grimes 5-9 0-1 11, Tre Shaw 2-4 0-0 4, Isaiah Jones 4-4…

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District 10AA Girls’ Teams Take Different Roads to Region Semi-Finals

Scott Wallace

East Nashville makes fourth consecutive trip while Maplewood has first team in regionals The Tennessee Region 5AA girls’ semi-finals is just like a wedding. The East Nashville Lady Eagles and Cheatham County Lady Cubs, they would be considered something old. Both teams advanced to Murfreesboro for the state finals last year. For the Lady Eagles, this is their fourth consecutive trip and all four years they advanced to play in Murfreesboro. “Last week was an up and down week for us so I was glad to see our kids get together and decide to play with an overall effort,” said East Nashville head coach Missy Donaldson. We are a player led team more than a coach led team. As a coach that is good to see. The kids in the past did all that they could. This team right here we stress for them to relish every moment. They truly play with 100% effort. I am honored that I get to coach them.” The Lady Cubs defeated East Nashville last year to win the region. Both teams then won sub-state games but lost in the quarterfinals of the state finals. Head coach Jim Gibbs has a veteran team at his…

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Maplewood Lady Panthers Eye Long State Playoff Run

Scott Wallace

NASHVILLE- As you walk in Maplewood High School’s gym, you can’t miss the wall behind the south end that has two panther eyes. This Friday, those eyes and the eyes of District 10 AA will be on a crucial girls’ basketball match-up between the East Nashville Lady Eagles (23-2 overall, 10-1 District 10AA) and the Maplewood Lady Panthers (15-3, 11-0). A victory by Maplewood will clinch the district for the first time and give them a season sweep of the powerful East Nashville squad in both teams’ last regular season game. “This game is very important,” said Lady Panther head coach Tristin Williams. “A win will put us in a good position for the tournament and we expect to see them again in the (district) championship. We have been focused on the task at hand all year. Our goal is to get to Murfreesboro this year. We are trying to get where they are. Coach (Missy) Donaldson does a great job. I have respect for the players and coaches over there. They work extremely hard.” Another daunting image when you walk in the gym are the banners hanging with championships on the wall. In recent years, the boys’ program coached…

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East Nashville Eagles Slide Past Stratford Spartans to Nab Top Spot as District Tournament Nears

Scott Wallace

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – The East Nashville Magnet Eagles (21-3 overall, 10-0 District 10-0) clinched the top spot in the district as they outlasted the Stratford Spartans (8-12, 3-6) 65-60 Tuesday at Stratford. The Spartans, playing without four of their top players stayed close throughout. East took a four-point lead into the half, but the Spartans started the third quarter on an 8-1 run to take a 41-38 lead with 5:20 left in the stanza. East then went on a 6-0 run to retake the lead. Stratford matched that run scoring six straight as well. The Eagles then went on a mini 4-0 run to close the quarter with the game tied at 48. “They wouldn’t let us get away from them,” said East head coach Jim Fey. “We made mistakes and missed free throws. Their effort was better than ours.” East took a five-point lead at 55-50 midway through the fourth quarter. A conventional three-point play by Startford senior guard Quanie Clendening (20 points) cut the lead to 55-53. The Eagles struggled from the free throw line but kept the Spartans at bay. With 50 seconds left, Eagle senior guard Caleb Grimes (19 points) blocked a three-point attempt by Greg…

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Fisk Splits with Hiwassee

Scott Wallace

NASHVILLE– The Fisk University Bulldogs split with the Hiwassee College Tigers in front of a sold-out crowd in North Nashville on Wednesday. Lady Bulldogs Run Out of Gas in Home Loss Senior guard LaShae Brown scored 27 points and frontcourt mates Andria Thomas (12 points and 18 rebounds) and Kennedi Stephens (10 points 12 rebounds) recorded double-doubles but it wasn’t enough as the Fisk Lady Bulldogs (3-15) lost their 12th straight game 86-71 to the Hiwassee Lady Tigers (17-3) in non-conference play. The first half was close as the Lady Bulldogs went into the locker room down by two points and were primed to deliver an upset. “At the end of the day, we have to learn how to keep our energy throughout games,” said Fisk coach Lauren Falohun. “We didn’t finish around the rim. We dominated them on the boards, but we didn’t take care of the ball. That really hurt us.” The Lady Tigers had four players in double figures led by Leisa Butler’s 22 points. After only being up by five to start the fourth quarter, they scored the first six points in the final stanza and never looked back. Hailey Browning added 17 points, J’Lynn Majors…

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East Boys, Maplewood Girls Top Weekly Tennessee Star Teams

Scott Wallace

  The East Nashville Magnet Eagle Boys (17-3 overall, 7-0 D10AA) and the Maplewood Lady Panthers (13-3, 7-0 D10AA) top this week’s Tennessee Star Metro Basketball poll. The Eagles, riding a 14 game winning streak, are facing their toughest challenge so far this week facing ninth-ranked Pearl-Cohn (11-7, 5-2 D10AA) at home on Tuesday and seventh-ranked Martin Luther King Academy (10-7, 3-3 D10AA) on the road on Friday. “Every game is tough for us especially in our district,” said East head coach Jim Fey. “You can’t take anyone for granted. Every team wants to beat us and seem to play their best against us. Just another tough couple of games if you ask me.” The Lady Panthers are riding high after going into East Nashville and defeating the Lady Eagles 60-58 for the second year in a row. This week the Lady Panthers will take on 17th ranked Stratford (2-11, 1-5 D10AA). Games This Week: Tuesday, January 22 (All girls’ games start at 6 pm. Boys at 7:30) Hume-Fogg @ Whites Creek Martin Luther King Jr. @ Stratford Pearl-Cohn @ East Nashville Hunters Lane @ Cane Ridge Glencliff @ Hllsboro McGavock @ Hillwood Antioch @ Overton Stem Academy @ RePublic…

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Local Entrepreneur Robert C. Sherrill Receives Pardon from Gov. Bill Haslam

Scott Wallace

Robert C. Sherrill has been running for a long time. In 2002, he ran away from a youth halfway house that made him serve time in an adult prison when he was finally captured. His running, in his words, comes from being in a broken family. When his father passed away when Sherrill was young, he ran. When he got out of prison, he ran a lucrative drug ring. This week he received news that made him run around and shout. Government Bill Haslam called him to let him know that he would sign papers that would pardon him. “It was like a breath of fresh air, I really don’t know how to describe it,” said Sherrill. “I am truly blessed, I’m truly humbled and I am truly thankful. I have been running my whole life it seems. It was a process on this journey to get pardoned. It was a three-month process. Very frustrating. But nevertheless, I am thankful.” Sherrill credits his faith in God and his rough upbringing to keep him focused. Before the pardon, he was able to own several businesses including; Imperial Cleaning Systems Inc., The Lab Nashville, Vanguard Transportations and RCS Holdings Real Estate. Sherrill…

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Father Ryan’s Adriana Batey Signs Letter of Intent to Milligan College

Scott Wallace

SOUTH NASHVILLE– If you see Adriana Batey in the mall or about town, she looks like a normal teenager. Around the Father Ryan campus, she is soft-spoken and studious. When you put a shot put in her hand, she is aggressive and as her coach describes, a self-motivated technician that is intentional on fixing her smallest errors and is critical on herself but gets results. Batey accounts her aggressiveness from playing soccer at a younger age. Today that hard work paid off as she signed a letter of intent to compete in track at Milligan College, a NAIA near Johnson City, Tennessee. “We are so proud of where she is right now,” said mom Veronica Batey. “She struggled with academics when she first came to Father Ryan and now she has excelled as an A-B student. Her coach, Coach (Scott) Shaver is like family to me. We saw her start as a multi-eventer and then she decided to just throw. I am happy she picked Milligan because they cultivate the athletes well. I am so proud of her, I can’t even imagine.” Adriana has been competing in track for seven years. Her personal best is close to 34 feet in…

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Atlanta Suburb Honors Hometown Hero, Injured Tennessee State Football Player Christion Abercrombie

Scott Wallace

SOUTH FULTON, Georgia – Cheerleaders, students and football players recently filled Westlake High School’s gymnasium for a pep rally, but there was no football game. School leaders welcomed back injured Tennessee State University football player Christion Abercrombie, a Westlake graduate. It’s the first time Abercrombie has made a public appearance since being injured during the TSU game against cross-town rival Vanderbilt University. He suffered a life-threatening head injury during his team’s 31-27 loss. He collapsed on the sideline. The team knew it was serious, but had no idea he would have emergency surgery on his skull that night and many more ahead. “He understands some days and some days he doesn’t. (It) depends on his mood,” said mom Staci Abercrombie. After several surgeries and lots of prayer, Abercrombie is moving quickly on the road to recovery. “Christion is an inspiration to all of us,” said South Fulton Mayor Bill Edwards. “He has persevered through his head injury. In football sometimes, the other team will recover a fumble. Christion has recovered his own fumble and is still on the road to recovery. Today, December 19, 2018 from now on will be known as Christion Abercrombie Day in the City of South…

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