With basketball season in full swing and district play ramping up, UCR’s Rusty Ellis and Michael Lindsay have graded each team’s performance to this point. Grades were decided upon using multiple factors including win-loss records, quality of wins and preseason expectations for each school.
Dragonettes: A+
Overall Record: 14-2
Key Wins: Warren County, McMinn Central, Cumberland County, Oneida, Clay County, South Gibson, White County
Reasoning: York Institute has earned the rare A+ for their performance to this point in the season. The Dragonettes play one of the toughest schedules in Class AA, and they’ve collected multiple statement wins along the way. Their two losses are to Class 4A’s Coffee County (22-1) and Cookeville (13-3).
How to Improve: York has one of the toughest challenges of all; maintaining an A+ ranking. The Dragonettes are held to the highest standards on the Upper Cumberland. They have state championship potential, and maintaining an A+ ranking requires them to play at that caliber for the rest of the season. I’m sure coach Michael Green wouldn’t have it any other way.
Dragons: B
Overall Record: 9-7
Key Wins: Clay County, Unicoi County
Reasoning: The Dragons’ record can be a little deceiving as they played their first few games without their football players. York has good wins over Clay County and Unicoi County and has reeled off five straight wins. The Dragons have a chance for another deep postseason run
How to Improve: The biggest key for York to improve their score is to handle business in their winnable games. The Dragons had a few games before Christmas (Oneida, Cookeville, Coffee County) they could’ve won but fell short. This York team needs to take care of business in their favored games and maintain their hold on District 5AA.