Regardless of how our local teams fare, it's certainly a grand time to be proud of girls' basketball in Greene County. Probably more so than ever before, and the county has been pretty doggone good at this sport for a number of years.

Having three teams advance to the state tournament is unprecedented for Greene County, and although some of the larger metropolitan counties like Shelby (Memphis) and Davidson (Nashville) can probably say they've sent three teams to the "Big Dance," it's not very common.

I well remember 20 years ago that East Tennessee was given very little respect by the mid-state writers when it comes to girls' basketball. They thought the state ended just east of Shelbyville, or at the farthest, just east of Clarkrange. That's not the case any more.

The GreenBank Ladies' Classic, held in Greeneville each December, is one of the most popular tournaments in the state, and there are many mid-state teams that not only hope to get an invitation to play here, but they have said that they would come as regularly as they are invited. You look down the lineup of state tourney teams and it's a familiar cast when you compare the state tourney with the Ladies' Classic: in addition to South Greene, Greeneville and North Greene, teams that are in the field that have played in the Classic include Oak Ridge, Riverdale, Mt. Juliet, Morristown West, Memphis Central and McMinn Central.

It's ironic that the North Greene girls played the same school that the North Greene boys drew when they made a state tournament appearance in 1992. Middleton was led that year by a 7-footer named Steve Hamer, who went on to excel at the University of Tennessee.

South Greene has won the state tournament four times and finished runnerup during three other visits, and now the Rebels have tied Bradley Central with the state record for most tournament appearances with 25.

South Greene and Greeneville are now District 2-AA rivals, and the two teams they drew in the state tournament, Polk County and McMinn Central, are district rivals in District 5-AA. McMinn Central was the AP's No. 1-ranked team in the state in the final poll of the season, but lost to Polk County in the regional finals. The pair knocked off a duo of very good teams in Sub-State, with Polk County beating Upperman at home, and McMinn Central defeating Cannon County on the road.

Two teams in Class A are in the tournament for the first time: Scotts Hill and Chattanooga School for Arts & Sciences. They are the only newcomers to state among the 24 teams in Murfreesboro in the three classifications.

The top five teams in the final AP Class AAA poll made it to state: Morristown West, Mt. Juliet, Murfreesboro Riverdale, Memphis Central and Walker Valley. Also advancing were No. 8 Clarksville and No. 9 Memphis Overton. The only team to make it to state that did not receive any votes at all in the final AP poll was Oak Ridge.

In Class AA, No. 1 McMinn Central, No. 3 Gibson County (ranked No. 1 most of the year), No. 7 South Greene, No. 8 Westview and No. 9 Polk County advanced. Not receiving any votes, but advancing all the way to state, were Christ Presbyterian, Lewis County and the Greeneville Lady Devils.

In Class A, No. 1 Middleton, No. 5 Jackson County and No. 10 Scotts Hill were the only three top 10 ranked teams that advanced. North Greene, Coalfield, Chattanooga Arts & Sciences, Moore County and Wayne County made it despite not receiving Top 10 votes.

What does this prove? Nothing, except what coaches always say: season polls are fun for the fans to read, but they mean absolutely nothing when tournament time rolls around, because it's a brand new season.