Anyone who follows basketball in East Tennessee knows about the success of the Flames at Lee University.
Venerable coach Tommy Brown and staff will now take on the task of moving from NAIA to NCAA Division II as they head to the Gulf South Conference.
A big move requires quality players and it appears Coach Brown is working on that dynamic as well.
Levi Woods (Meigs County) and Isaac Merian (Oak Ridge) will both take their expansive games to Cleveland and play for the Flames next fall.
Woods, who was named MVP of the Rocky Top Fall League this past week, is a dynamic scoring guard who has a chance to be a future All-American for the Flames.
Merian, who was selected to the 1st team All-league squad in the fall league as well, is a burgeoning talent, with springs and a much improved scoring mentality, especially from the outside.
Two of the best players on the East Tennessee landscape, Woods and Merian both played their summer hoops with the Tennessee Velocity.
Now each player will concentrate on helping their high school squads make the annual pilgrimage to Murfreesboro for the state tournament in March.
Merian helped lead the Wildcats of Oak Ridge their last season while Woods will look to take Meigs County, who has dropped to the Class A classification, to the dance himself.
