OAK RIDGE LOOKS FORWARD TO THE CHALLENGE OF FACING TOUGH TOURNAMENT COMPETITION

Former Notre Dame athlete turned Oak Ridge coach Paul Lynch is excited about the prospect of coaching in a U-High Tournament he once played in.

Facing fifth-seeded Jackson only seems to add to his excitement.

"The Christmas Tournament gives small schools the opportunity to go up against large ones and see what they can do," said Lynch. "We're looking forward to the challenge of playing against Jackson."

Oak Ridge, seeded 14th, will carry a 2-5 record into its first-round game at noon Monday. The Blue Jays own two wins over Meadow Heights and have suffered losses to Woodland, Zalma, Scott County Central, Scott City and Kelly.

"At this time we're striving to meet our preseason expectations and goals," said Lynch. "The kids are responding well and working hard. We're young and inexperienced and making lots of mistakes related to that."

The Blue Jays have only four seniors on their roster, and lost many of their key varsity players from last season.

"We don't have one superstar," said Lynch. "All the kids are doing a good job of contributing and that's why we've had some success so far."

Probable starters for the tournament will be seniors Duran Engeler and Ryan Thomas and juniors Beau Morrison, Ben Fadler and Matt Schoen.

Schoen has averaged about 11 points and seven rebounds per game. Thomas has averaged around nine points a game and leads the team with around three steals per game. Morrison is averaging nine points per game and has done a good job of running the team.

"We would be a little happier if our record was better," said Lynch. "We've played some good teams early in the year and I've seen some good things out of our kids that holds promise for later on in the year."

When assessing his chances of defeating 4A Jackson, Lynch was diplomatic.

"I don't ever go into a game feeling I will lose," said Lynch. "It's a major challenge for us going up against a team that has been traditionally very strong, but we're not going to back down from them. Coach Burk does an outstanding job and always has his players ready to play; it will be a big challenge."

Lynch believes top-seeded Charleston has a very good chance of winning the tournament, due to their superior athletic ability. He also believes Scott City and Notre Dame have plenty of talent, as well.

"There are at least six or seven teams with a legitimate shot at winning it all," said Lynch.