Admiral4Life

Taken from Sports Illustrated as of 11/7 (https://www.si.com/high-school/mississippi/top-25-mississippi-high-school-boys-basketball-preseason-rankings-11-7-24-01jc1g7bq5tq) The final rankings certainly won't pan out this way given how little they really know about some of these situations but until then, what are y'all's thoughts? While everyone is gearing up for the playoffs for high school football in Mississippi, the 2024-25 basketball season in Mississippi has begun this week for a handful of teams. With the season getting fully underway next week, here is the first top 25 basketball power rankings for the state of Mississippi. 1. Canton Led by four-star power forward, Jamarion Davis-Fleming, the Tigers have their sights as repeating as the 5A state champion. 2. Germantown The Mavericks got a big boost to their roster when Mike Williams, son of former NBA player and current Jackson State coach, Mo Williams, transferred in from Jackson Academy. His addition will have Germantown as one of the favorites to win the 7A state championship. 3. Starkville The Yellow Jackets are led by senior guards, LeBron Johnson and David Washington, as they look to defend their 7A Region 2 District championship this season. 4. Olive Branch The reigning 6A state champions look to defend their title this year, and they have the roster to do so. The focal point of the offense will be ran through senior guard, Reece Garrison. 5. Booneville The Blue Devils proved once again that they are one of the best teams in the state by winning the 3A state championship. They are also led by one of the best players in the state in Kedrick Simmons. His play should have Booneville as the favorites to repeat as state champions. 6. Ridgeland The runners up in the 6A state championship return some key pieces this season. They are led by senior guard, Phil Nelson, who averaged 16.5 points per game last season. 7. Jackson Academy The loss of Mike Williams hurts, but do not count out the Raiders this season. They return Mississippi College commit, Caleb Gaitor, who is one of the leaders on the team at the point guard position. 8. Pascagoula After losing a heartbreaker to Ridgeland in the playoffs last season, the Panthers are hoping for a better outcome this season. The player to watch for is senior forward, Quey'Sean Taylor, who averaged 14 ppg last season for Moss Point. 9. Meridian The Wildcats have their sights set on defending their 7A state championship. This has been one of the most consistent programs in the past decade, and they look to prove that again this year. They are well-coached, and they have a deep and talented roster that can take them deep into the postseason. 10. Biloxi This team is deep, and they have tremendous guard play that should help them compete for the 7A Region 4 District. 11. Columbus The Falcons picked up Wilton Bush who transferred from New Hope who can provide an immediate spark to the team. If the team gels, they are the team to challenge Ridgeland in their district. 12. Cleveland Central The Wolves look to build upon their 24 wins from last season, and Jason Talbert can very well be the reason why. His versatility at the shooting guard and small forward positions can cause potential mismatches for the defense. 13. Hattiesburg The Tigers lose their top two scorers from a season ago which would set most teams back. However, they do return Tristen Keys who averaged 8 points per game last season. His athleticism is a nightmare for the opposition. 14. Madison Central While playing in arguably the toughest district in the state this season, the Jaguars to have some playmakers to some noise. Dylan Rowe, who is committed to Jackson State, has proven he is one of the top players in the state. He has good, all-around play on offense which makes it difficult for opposing teams to stop him. 15. Pass Christian One of the key players to watch for the Pirates this season is senior forward, Jonathon Jackson. His play in the post will be crucial for their offense to have success this season. 16. Wayne County The War Eagles have a young but talented roster, especially at the guard positions. They have a deep roster as well that should be able to compete with the best of the best in 5A. 17. Lanier The Bulldogs finished with a losing record last season, but they are expected to drastically improve. The biggest reason is that senior guard, Emajai Horton, transfers over from Provine. He has excellent scoring ability, and he should provide the much needed spark to Lanier. 18. Coahoma County After losing by three points in the state championship, the Panthers are capable of making it back with most of their returning production returning which includes their top two scorers. 19. South Jones The Braves are led by senior forward, Ashton Magee, who has emerged as one of the top players in the state. Jyrion Cook is also expected to play a crucial role this season. 20. Greenwood After having a successful season last season, the Bulldogs are hoping to build upon that with junior guard, Jermi Kendrick, leading the way. 21. Laurel This is a talented and deep roster that are led by eight seniors. The Tornadoes have high hopes that they carry the momentum they gained at the end of last season into this season. 22. New Albany The Bulldogs will look to build upon their 18 wins last season, and they are optimistic for a reason. They return junior point guard, Braden Shettles, who averaged 18 points per game. 23. Oak Forest (La.) After making the switch to the MAIS a decade ago, the Yellow Jackets have made their presence known across all sports. They are led by senior forward, Garrett Shoemaker, who averaged 22 points per game along with 11 rebounds per game a season ago. 24. Magee The Trojans return their leading scorer in Jeremiah Cole from last season which is a huge boost for their team. They should be the favorite to repeat as the Class 3A Region 6 District champions this season. 25. Madison-Ridgeland Academy After losing Josh Hubbard, who had a sensational freshman season at Mississippi State, the Patriots continued their winning ways last season. They finished 31-6, but they fell to Jackson Academy in the state championship. They are poised to make another run at state this year when they kick off their season versus Central Hinds Academy next Tuesday.

It's a head football coaching job on the Gulf Coast. That means you're making 6 figures (for whatever reason), it's a good school and a nice area, and every football coach thinks they're the one to turn a program around regardless of its degrees of success prior to their arrival. Plus you're less than an hour from New Orleans and everything else there is to do down here. It's kind of a no brainer.

With Jamborees and games beginning tomorrow, what is the outlook for the year? Who is the team to beat in every classification? Who will be the sleeper teams? Who will end up being overrated by the end?

With the current official shortage I'm sure the one thing that would make more people want to be officials would be publicly shaming them when you disagree with judgement calls or lose a game and you look for an easy scapegoat instead of your own team's shortcomings.

New Murrah? LOL!!

Who was "recruited"? Both RBs (the ones with 250+ yards rushing) have been in the GSD since elementary or middle school. We get kids from all over that move here every year. We had kids move in the years that Picayune beat us, sometimes easily. Please feel free to enlighten me and everyone else as to whom was recruited. Or is slander your only tool?

So, we teach emotional instability and insecurity instead of mental toughness and communication? Run from a problem instead of resolving it? Sure, just eliminate all districts and boundaries. Throw out all the rules. Make it the wild wild west where everyone is out for everyone and team no longer matters. Had those families done what they were supposed to do then nothing would have happened. End of the story.

The Admirals came up just short in their rally against Madison Central @MC. This team has shown some fire and improvement. Picayune is traditionally very tough. I'm hoping for a good competitive game where the Admirals can pull it out and build some momentum going into a very tough match up against Brandon. I'm still blown away by the basketball score from their game against Clinton.

Edited

It's the "cool" thing to do now. If you transfer, people will talk about you. It puts your name on social media and allows you to make the "After a great conversation with Coach ______ I'm taking my talents to _______." post on social media. They get lots of likes and messages and feel important. What you actually can and do is less important than being talked about and having "clout" on social media. They're waaaaaaay too focused on things that don't actually matter and aren't important in reality.

Alabama does have 2 million more people than we do so just by numbers the law of average of them having more talent is likely. Besides, how much can any group of coaches really do with only a week at best of practice? Not to mention it being an all star game which means opt outs and less than best effort more often than not.

This trend is in all sports. You'll see some parents and family at games, you'll see some students, you'll see some of the general community... Regardless, you'll see the ratio of those increase per game the more the team wins and is worth showing up for. For some of the larger schools though, if the band isn't performing at halftime, you'll see a 75% decrease or more in the size of the crowd. There is just so much more to do now unless you have a direct link to the players or team. In the "olden days" a lot of people just went to the games because it was the only thing going on and you were guaranteed to meet up with old friends. Now, that's just not the case. Throw in the lack of school spirit, lack of team commitment, lack of general interest in anything other than getting high or playing on phones/social media and you've got a great recipe for apathy and disinterest. Start winning games and having a chance to accomplish something? Then you'll see the fair weather fans and random nobodies come back.

Harrison Central is open according to the MHSAA job board

How does a school district go "all in" for football any more than they already do? They have a great weight room and facility there. What they have lacked has been talent. No coach wins without talent.

No kid should be forced to choose between sports. There are COUNTLESS examples of athletes who have been good at both. LAZY kids or LAZY coaches preach specialization because it means less work for them. If you truly love a sport you play it. Kids and teams can be good at both if the kids and coaches are willing to put in the work. It's a myth that you have to specialize. Countless studies have proven that there are advantages to playing multiple sports - leading to greater agility and muscular development as you use some different movements and similar movements in each sport, greater camaraderie amongst the student body as there is more likely to be greater cross sport support rather than everyone being in their own clique, there's more excitement going into each season as the kids are moving from one thing to another allowing for fresher mental experiences rather than the same tedious grind every day with months and months before the singular season, kids aren't putting all their hopes and dreams in one source of disappointment/happiness... Plus, AAU has nothing to do with school ball. It's travel rec league for the majority of kids who play it. And anyone who tries to get a kid to specialize, whether it be basketball or football, isn't thinking of the kid's best interest.

Why should a highly successful sport like basketball be sacrificed and reduce itself to mediocre just so football can be more successful?

That was my point, I don't remember any significant member ever being banned. There were a few squabbles but mostly the members who didn't like each other stopped replying to each other like mature adults LOL

Exactly! Better parents might have prevented some of these cops from being so unconcerned for the lives of their fellow human beings that they casually use deadly force on a whim against minorities for no better reason than they are minorities! Or have this unfortunate tendency to believe that someone under the influence of drugs or other substances is somehow not worthy of compassion or of life. Or were you victim blaming? George Floyd may not have been the model citizen or human but he didn't deserve to be murdered by someone who is supposed to "serve and protect."

Last gasp before he ends up in the booth at ESPN or the pulpit at a southern baptist church. I give it a few weeks at least, a few games at most, before either he decides that's enough or the team cuts him.

That's the part of football coaching that has always baffled me. If your DC calls all the defensive plays and your OC calls all the offensive plays and each handles the subs and development of their respective side of the ball then what exactly does the head coach do that warrants the recognition? Deciding whether to punt, kick a FG, or go for it on 4th? I couldn't hand over both sides of the ball. I'd be doing one or the other. But then again, I'm not a football guy, just a casual fan.

Nah, no way they didn't know. He'd have to disclose previous employers. Background checks, google searches, word of mouth, etc... There's no way they didn't know. Other than being embarrassing for both individuals I imagine it could easily be dismissed as a one time mistake.

What is the story behind this? Seems like a strange time to make this move.

Wow... just wow... Has there been an update on this story? Does anyone have any more info on it?

It's the same in basketball. Everyone wants to be recruited. It's the byproduct of Social Media. If you aren't posting highlights and getting offers you aren't any good OR you aren't perceived as being any good. So, any loser that can dunk or make a layup posts a video. Any one that catches a pass and looks cool in a helmet and shorts can run routes and catch a ball to snazzy music. It's all a sham and the kids are getting sold lies. But the kid can play and should get an opportunity to play somewhere after high school. Hopefully he is focusing on that and not the dog and pony show that is social media.

The officer's behavior throughout the entire incident was terrible. He showed no human emotions, no concern, no regard for the man. He showed nothing but contempt. Him needlessly pinning him to the ground for more than nine minutes with his knee buried in his neck may not have been the only "cause" of Mr Floyd's death but his callous disregard for the man's life DID ultimately lead to his death. The man deserves prison.