Tennessee Tech

State of '08: Tennessee

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:22:22 -0700

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Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

TENNESSEE

MEMPHIS - Whatever blueprint John Calipari follows seems to work. In his eighth year at Memphis, the Tigers advanced to the National Title game after making back to back Elite Eights. At UMASS, it also took eight years for him to reach the Final Four.

TENNESSEE - The Vols are in the midst of a good run under Bruce Pearl, three NCAA Tournaments in a row including back to back Sweet Sixteen trips. Before Pearl arrived, Tennessee hadn't made the Tourney in five years.

VANDERBILT - Vandy has been a consistent winner the last five seasons under Kevin Stallings. There's been four 20-win seasons, 5 postseason trips, and a pair of Sweet Sixteen runs. After winning 26 games last year (the 2nd best in school history), the team's first round loss to Siena was a bit of a downer.

BELMONT - Long-time coach Rick Byrd is suddenly the leader of a mid-major power. Belmont has made three NCAA Tournaments in a row, and is once agan favored to win the Atlantic Sun in 08-09.

AUSTIN PEAY - Dave Loos is nearing 20 years at APSU, a time in which the Govs have consistently been one of the top teams in the OVC. In the last decade, there hasn't even been a sub-.500 finish in conference play. In the last six years, they've made 2 NCAA trips and one NIT.

6. MIDDLE TENNESSEE - Before Kermit Davis took over in 2002, MTSU was coming off a brutal season that included just 4 D1 wins. While Davis hasn't led the Blue Raiders to the Big Dance, the program has made amazing strides under his leadership. Last year, the team advanced to the Sun Belt finals, and many feel they are that league's team to beat in '09.

7. CHATTANOOGA - Just as Davidson is the current Southern Conference darling, Chattanooga was once the league's team to beat. The last decade has been a bit more pedestrian however, with just a lone tourney trip in 2005, though the team came close in '03 & '04 as well. The last few teams have been mediocre, with win totals boosted by playing an oddly high amount of D2 teams.

8. EAST TENNESSEE STATE - With the exception of a horrible 2005 campaign, ETSU has been one of the A-Sun's most consistent winners. In 2004, the Bucs won the league title, in 2007 they dominated the regular season before falling to Belmont in the finals, and they were solid once again in 2008.

9. TENNESSEE TECH - The Golden Eagles haven't won their conference tournament in over 40 years, but they've come close in the last decade. From 2000-2003, Tech was one of the best teams in the OVC but they couldn't get over the postseason hump. The last five years have been up and down however, and this year could be one of the downers.

10. LIPSCOMB - From 2002 to 2004, this was one of the country's worst program. But after those initial growing pains, this young program has made nice progress in the A-Sun. 2006 was the program's best season with 21 wins, a 143 RPI, and a close loss to Belmont in the conference title game. This year, expectations are a bit muted.

11. TENNESSEE STATE - In the early part of the decade, Tennessee State was one of the country's worst programs. But a lot of progress has been made, and last year was the first time in a decade that the Tigers won an OVC Tournament game. Not only did TSU win one game, but they made it to the conference championship.

12. TENNESSEE-MARTIN - Over the last 20 years, UTM has hovered between bad and worse, with only 2 winning seasons in that period. But last year was surprisingly mediocre with a 15-16 D1 record and 11-9 OVC finish. Now, there's suddenly high expectations for the first time, and some publications are projecting a league title.

* Note: An unfinished version of this article, with the wrong ranking (Lipscomb in 12th) was originally posted, but it has since been corrected.

Last: South Carolina - Next: Texas

State of '08: The Introduction (& State list/links)

Daily Poll: Who Will Win the Ohio Valley?

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 08:10:30 -0700

Tennessee Tech Signs Florida Prepster

Press Release — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:44:39 -0700

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — Jeremy Jackson, a 6-foot-4 guard from Brandon High School in Tampa, Fla., is Tennessee Tech men's basketball coach Mike Sutton's first announced signee of the spring.

"We're excited about Jeremy," Sutton said. "We think he's got a chance to be a very good player in our program. He's got long range, he's athletic an aggressive. We're really excited about adding him into the mix with our team."

During his final season at Brandon High School, Jackson averaged 18.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, ranking him second in scoring in Hillsborough County.

The Eagles finished the year with a 20-6 record, and Jackson led the team in scoring in 14 of the 26 games. His high game as a senior was a 30-point night against Gibbs High School, and he also notched a pair of 29-point games.

Jackson is expected to play as either a two- or three-guard for the Golden Eagles.

"I think I made a great decision on signing with Tennessee Tech," Jackson said. "It's a good program and I think that I'll be able to make an impact there. I think I can bring a good offense to the table."

Sutton expects Jackson to make immediate contributions to the Golden Eagles.

"We think he could become a really good player down the road for us, and he'll contribute and be a force for us right away," Sutton said.

"Obviously, you're always looking for the guys who are the best fit for your program. We think Jeremy's going to be a really good fit, in terms of his ability to do a variety of things — he's a very good offensive player and he has good size."

Originally from Chicago, Jackson played two seasons at Thornwood High School in the windy city. After a move to Florida, he played one season at Tampa Baptist Academy, before settling in at Brandon to complete his high school career.

"He's played at some tough levels of competition," Sutton said. "He's played the last two years in Florida. Before that, he played in Chicago in a really good league. So he's played against some really good competition and did a great job."

Mark Hermann, Jackson's coach at Brandon, said his standout senior was among the best players in the region last winter.

"Tennessee Tech got a nice player," Hermann said. "He's got a ton of potential. This is what I've been telling the ton of colleges that were recruiting him — once you get him in school there, get him in the weight room and get him doing some individual workouts, he's really going to blossom.

"He's going to take off. He jumps out of the gym. He can do some 360 dunks, some windmills. He was one of the top three players here in the Tampa/St. Pete/Brandon area."

Jackson was named all-district his junior year and was named the Most Valuable Player in Hillsborough County. He was also named to the Tampa Tribune's All-County first team.