Sports

Nice career start

Farragut rookie’s 1st Bassmasters Tourney nets a 4th-place finish

In his first 2024 Bassmaster Elite Series Tournament, taking place at Toledo Bend in Many, Louisiana, “I made it to Championship Sunday, (Feb. 25), which is the top 10 and placed fourth, the highest of any rookie,” said Robert Gee, 24, of Farragut, holding up his catches.



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Smith, ex-Vols hoops standout, promoted to new KCHS head coach

4th Irish boys basketball boss in 4 years

CEDAR BLUFF — JaJuan Smith, former Tennessee Vols Basketball shooting guard (2004-2008), has been promoted to varsity boys hoops head coach at Knoxville Catholic High School. He’s the fourth KCHS boys head coach in the last four years.

A Cleveland (Bradley County) native, Smith served as a Fighting Irish boys assistant coach during the 2023-24 season. “Prior to joining the Fighting Irish family, Smith spent two years as the assistant head coach at Speights Academy in Florida,” a KCHS press releases stated. “That team had two undefeated seasons and were two-time post-grad national champions.

“Smith is a basketball enthusiast with a rich background in the sport,” the release further stated. “After a short stint in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks, Smith went on to play over a decade of professional basketball overseas … in Turkey, France and Croatia.

During his four-year career at UT, Smith earned All-SEC Defensive First Team honors for the 2008 SEC regular season champion Vols. He made 253 career 3-pointers (third all-time in program history), 183 steals (fourth all-time, program-wise) and 1,384 career points.

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Bouncing back from loss to Admirals, defending champ KCHS beats Central

KNOXVILLE — Some seventh-inning heroics propelled Knoxville Catholic High School baseball into the win column for the first time this season late last week.

A one-out walk-off RBI single from senior Grant Tallent plated pinch runner Harrison Vieira to lift the defending Division II-AA state champ Irish to a 3-2 win over Knox Central Thursday, March 7, at KCHS’s Gaylor Field. Catholic bounced back from an opening-season home loss to local power Farragut March 4.

Tallent’s seventh-inning heroics followed a two-out, two-run rally by the Bobcats in the top of the seventh inning. The senior, who played both left field and center field for the Irish against Central (1-1), said he had an idea what to expect on what proved to be the game’s final pitch.

“Coach (Caleb) Moore told me what to expect and I got it, put the bat on it and what happened, happened,” Tallent said. “It feels great to win this game.”

Catholic first baseman Nate O’Donnell opened the game-winning rally with a leadoff single and was lifted for Veira, who promptly moved into scoring position on an errant pickoff throw. He would advance to third on a single by Cooper Williamson.

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