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MURFREESBORO — Aaron Green won his 400th game as Oak Ridge basketball coach in February. He's guided the Wildcats to 12 district championships in 15 seasons and taken them to the TSSAA basketball state tournament seven times, including a runner-up finish in 2014.
"I'm old," Green mused Thursday after the Wildcats' 60-39 Class 4A quarterfinal win over Walker Valley. Even at the age of 47, it's easy to see what he means.
But for as much as Green, a former Tennessee guard who later worked on Bruce Pearl's staff as a graduate manager, has experienced in his career, Thursday was unique. At the same time Oak Ridge (30-3) was running rampant at Middle Tennessee State's Murphy Center, the No. 2 seed Vols were in the process of beating Wofford 77-62 in the NCAA tournament. Earlier in the day, Pearl and No. 1 overall seed Auburn won their opening game over Alabama State, 83-63.
The Wildcats will face Whitehaven (33-3) in Friday's state semifinal. If they win, they'll play Saturday for their first state championship since 1963.
It sounds trivial — your current team, former boss and alma mater all winning postseason games on the same day — but it's a bit deeper for Green. He texts with Vols coach Rick Barnes, and the two have wished each other luck throughout their respective playoff runs. And before the Wildcats' 56-51 win over Bearden in the Region 2-4A semifinals on March 4, Pearl texted Green a good-luck video.
Green was a video coordinator and information specialist on Pearl's staff at Tennessee from 2007-10 before being hired at Oak Ridge.
“He’s a great motivator, great coach," Green said. "I learned a ton in my three years. It was really an educational three years for me, on and off the floor. A lot of what we've done at Oak Ridge the last 15 years has that Coach Pearl blueprint."
The message Pearl sent to the Wildcats? "Play with passion, play with poise, play with purpose."
Pearl's Tigers won the SEC regular season championship, going 15-3 in what has widely been deemed as the strongest conference of all time — the SEC sent a record 14 teams to the NCAA tournament this season. Green can relate to that grind. Both Oak Ridge and Region 2 runner-up Maryville reached the state tournament, and the Wildcats had to beat 22-win West and 28-win Bearden just to reach the region final.
MORE: TSSAA boys basketball state tournament brackets, schedule and scores
"I told some people that this was by far the toughest group of region teams I've played against since I've been at Oak Ridge," Green said. "We definitely earned it, for sure."
As influential as Pearl's been on Green, who played at Tennessee from 1995-99, there's no question about where his loyalties lie. If Tennessee and Auburn keep winning, they'd meet in the national championship game on April 7. Green was rooting for the Vols when they upset the Tigers in the SEC tournament last week and a potential rematch would be exactly the same.
“I'm a Vol fan through and through," Green said. "I’m Tennessee, Big Orange Country."
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at [email protected] and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: TSSAA basketball: Oak Ridge state tournament run sparked by Bruce Pearl
Continue reading...
"I'm old," Green mused Thursday after the Wildcats' 60-39 Class 4A quarterfinal win over Walker Valley. Even at the age of 47, it's easy to see what he means.
But for as much as Green, a former Tennessee guard who later worked on Bruce Pearl's staff as a graduate manager, has experienced in his career, Thursday was unique. At the same time Oak Ridge (30-3) was running rampant at Middle Tennessee State's Murphy Center, the No. 2 seed Vols were in the process of beating Wofford 77-62 in the NCAA tournament. Earlier in the day, Pearl and No. 1 overall seed Auburn won their opening game over Alabama State, 83-63.
The Wildcats will face Whitehaven (33-3) in Friday's state semifinal. If they win, they'll play Saturday for their first state championship since 1963.
It sounds trivial — your current team, former boss and alma mater all winning postseason games on the same day — but it's a bit deeper for Green. He texts with Vols coach Rick Barnes, and the two have wished each other luck throughout their respective playoff runs. And before the Wildcats' 56-51 win over Bearden in the Region 2-4A semifinals on March 4, Pearl texted Green a good-luck video.
Green was a video coordinator and information specialist on Pearl's staff at Tennessee from 2007-10 before being hired at Oak Ridge.
“He’s a great motivator, great coach," Green said. "I learned a ton in my three years. It was really an educational three years for me, on and off the floor. A lot of what we've done at Oak Ridge the last 15 years has that Coach Pearl blueprint."
The message Pearl sent to the Wildcats? "Play with passion, play with poise, play with purpose."
Pearl's Tigers won the SEC regular season championship, going 15-3 in what has widely been deemed as the strongest conference of all time — the SEC sent a record 14 teams to the NCAA tournament this season. Green can relate to that grind. Both Oak Ridge and Region 2 runner-up Maryville reached the state tournament, and the Wildcats had to beat 22-win West and 28-win Bearden just to reach the region final.
MORE: TSSAA boys basketball state tournament brackets, schedule and scores
"I told some people that this was by far the toughest group of region teams I've played against since I've been at Oak Ridge," Green said. "We definitely earned it, for sure."
As influential as Pearl's been on Green, who played at Tennessee from 1995-99, there's no question about where his loyalties lie. If Tennessee and Auburn keep winning, they'd meet in the national championship game on April 7. Green was rooting for the Vols when they upset the Tigers in the SEC tournament last week and a potential rematch would be exactly the same.
“I'm a Vol fan through and through," Green said. "I’m Tennessee, Big Orange Country."
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at [email protected] and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: TSSAA basketball: Oak Ridge state tournament run sparked by Bruce Pearl
Continue reading...
