Loudon High School Top 25 for Class of 2010

For what the Loudon High School boys' basketball team lacks in talent, it makes up for with grit and hustle. That was the ingredient Tuesday night when the Redskins beat host Christian Academy of Knoxville 52-39 in a District 4-AA game. "Talent-wise, we're not the most talented team, but they play hard, play together and do what I tell them," Loudon coach Colt Narramore said. "That was evident tonight." Loudon (10-3, 1-0 District 4-AA) was led in scoring by senior point guard Josh Berry with 15 points. Senior posts David Lee Haskins and Zac Strange scored 13 and 11, respectively, and freshman guard Jordan Belvin had 10.

The Redskins are a scrappy bunch. "We've been playing together since we were old enough to play ball, probably since the fifth grade," Berry said. "That's just the way we play. We're all friends and we go out and play hard, have fun, and do what it takes to win." CAK (8-4, 1-1) was led in scoring by senior center Josh Parker and junior forward Emory Naler with eight points each. "We were probably due a game like that," first-year CAK coach Shane Wells said. "We've been playing well all year. We didn't shoot it well and we turned it over too much, but the effort was there."

CAK was 13-of-48 from the field, including 4-of-22 from 3-point range, and committed 13 turnovers. The Warriors were 9-of-18 from the foul line, while Loudon was 7-of-11. Wells left Lenoir City's boys team last spring and took the CAK job vacated when veteran coach Johnny Darden was not retained after the 2008-09 season. "Shane Wells is one of the best coaches in Tennessee," Narramore said. "CAK is lucky to have him and he'll do well here." Loudon went 10-19 last season and lost two seniors from that team's nine-player rotation. "We got a lot of guys back," Narramore said. "This is my third year at Loudon and these guys have been with me since day one. The last month or so we've really convinced them to believe in what we're saying as coaches."

Loudon took the lead for good in the last 2 minutes of the first quarter, finishing with a 7-0 run for an 18-11 lead. The Redskins were up 25-18 at halftime. CAK cut the deficit to 27-25 with 4:42 left in the third quarter on Naler's 3-pointer. Berry scored the next seven points on a drive to the basket, a 3-pointer, and a steal and layup. Belvin's 3-pointer gave the Redskins a 10-point lead after three quarters, and they built it to 16 with 4 minutes to play.

"(CAK) cut it close and we called timeout and got back to executing our offense," Narramore said. "I was pleased with our defensive effort. That's something we instill in them every day: If you play good defense, you give yourself a chance to win."

Amburn honored by LTVAC

Bill Thompson Enters Hall of Fame

Loudon Head Baseball Coach Bill Thompson is joining company with University of Tennessee greats Todd Helton and Phil Garner. Thompson was elected to the Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame last Saturday, joining 43 other legendary Tennessee players, college coaches and high school coaches.

"It is a great honor. I was very humbled by it," Thompson said of his election to the hall. This is the second hall of fame induction Thompson has been a part of, as he was inducted into the Knoxville Area Coaches Hall of Fame in the 1990s. Thompson entered the hall of fame along with local coaches Rick Haddock of Summertown (21 years and retired) and Ernie Smith (32 years and still coaching) of David Lipscomb.

In his comments during his induction, Thompson said he talked about how everyone has been focusing on "dream jobs" recently. "I've had my dream job for 35 years now," he said. Thompson has coached at Loudon High School since the inception of the baseball program in 1975. He is the only head coach the school has ever known in baseball and, during his tenure, he has compiled a 667-361 overall record. The 667 wins is good for sixth in all-time high school baseball coaching wins.

Thompson, however, credited his players over the years with a great deal of the record he's posted. "Our players here have all put team first, listened and did what they had to to win," he said. "We've had a lot of good players with good attitudes," he added. more...