Abingdon's Annsley Trivette dribbles the ball against Carroll County earlier this season.
Tim Hayes
Annsley "A.J." Trivette of Abingdon High School has already established herself as one of the area's elite girls basketball players and she'll get to showcase those skills on a big stage this week.
The smooth and versatile 6-foot-3 junior will be among the marquee talents in the Doc Maples Holiday Hoops Tournament at Viking Hall, which gets underway on Thursday.
The Scottsboro Wildcats from Alabama, Cocke County, Dobyns-Bennett, Elizabethton, Greeneville, Volunteer and the host Tennessee High Vikings are the other participants in the 28th edition of the event.
"I think we have an exciting field this year," said tournament director and longtime Tennessee High assistant coach Charlie Tiller. "It has a bit more of a local flavor than the last several years. That wasn't done intentionally but talented local teams kept reaching out with interest last spring so that was how it ended up. It is hard to pass up when six of the teams advanced to at least the Sweet 16, five to an Elite Eight, three to a Final Four, and one was state runner-up, which is Scottsboro, who is also the first team that we have had from Alabama, so that is pretty exciting.
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"I think it is going to be three pretty great days of basketball and is great bang for your buck. We hope that folks will take a break from the shopping and come by and take in some hoops."
Abingdon is off to a 5-0 start with four of those wins by double digits and will get tested this week against some out-of-state foes.
An 8:30 p.m. first-round game against the Volunteer Falcons is up first for the Abingdon Falcons.
"The field at Doc Maples is a strong field and definitely no joke," said AHS coach Jimmy Brown. "We're honored to be a part of it and anxious to go down there and try to put on a good show."
Abingdon went 23-7 last season in winning the Region 3D championship and advanced to the 2024 VHSL Class 3 state semifinals. The Falcons played their best basketball at the end of the season after finishing third in the Mountain 7 District standings and big things are expected from them during the 2024-25 season.
"I think we've definitely put high expectations on ourselves," Brown said. "That's helped because we feel like no matter what everybody else's expectations are, ours are pretty daggone high. We've worked hard in practice so far and we've had some success on the floor."
So has Trivette, to nobody's surprise.
She's averaging 19.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.2 steals per contest.
What area of her game has she improved on most from a season ago?
"Definitely my jumpshot," Trivette said. "Being able to expand outside the paint, trying to create space from my defender for my jumpshot and also making better passes."
Brown can vouch for her dandy distributing.
"She's always seen the floor really well and made the right play but man, her passing so far this year has been off the charts," the coach said. "Everybody knows she can score, everybody knows she rebound, but she's really stepped it up with her sharing of the basketball. She makes us go by not just getting other people shots, but getting other people good shots that they know they can make. It's given everybody some confidence."
That was evident in Tuesday's 86-64 win at Lee High.
Trivette tallied 24 points, while Lauren Baker (20 points), King University signee Chloe Reynolds (16 points) and Brenna Green (11 points) also scored in double digits.
Trivette spent her freshman season at Richlands before transferring to Abingdon. With last season's roster almost entirely intact (Ella Seymore was the lone starter who departed), chemistry is key for the Falcons.
"We are a strong bonded team," Trivette said. "It shows when we are on the court with how well we play with each other."
Abingdon has beefed up its schedule too.
Along with the Doc Maples Holiday Hoops tourney, there are non-district games against Lord Botetourt, Magna Vista, William Fleming and defending Region 1C champion George Wythe.
Oh yeah, reigning VHSL Class 2 state champion Wise County Central is Abingdon's biggest rival in the ultra-competitive Mountain 7 District.
"I've told the team I think this is probably the hardest schedule we've had since I've been here," Brown said. "We've really stepped up our non-district stuff and it's not like we really needed to with the Mountain 7 being hard enough as it is."
Many of those foes will focus on slowing Trivette, but she welcomes the challenge.
"Playing hard teams now is just going to help us later on in the season and in the postseason," she said. "There's definitely a little bit of pressure on us, but me and my team are just doing our jobs and not worrying too much about the future. We're just taking it one step at a time."
Speaking of the future, a flood of NCAA Division I scholarship offers have come Trivette's way.
James Madison, Appalachian State, Providence, Davidson, Elon, Radford, Liberty, Toledo, Bowling Green, La Salle, Robert Morris, Kent State, Youngstown State, Gardner-Webb, Marshall, Furman, Purdue-Fort Wayne and Belmont are among those in pursuit of her services.
"I haven't made any big decisions right now," she said.
She will probably get plenty of attention this week at Viking Hall from spectators, media members and opponents alike.
"When you have a kid her size who can do the things that she can do, I would say that she is one of the headliners of this year's tournament," Tiller said. "She is very skilled and has a well-rounded game and I would say based on her offer list, she is a pretty legit college prospect."
The Holiday Hoops tourney has produced a long list of DI players through the years and add Trivette to that list.
"We are very proud to put on the tournament each year. There are many things that provide that motivation," Tiller said. "One is the opportunity to showcase our sport and give attention to these young ladies who are so talented and work so hard. It is also important to expose people to high-level players and teams on the girls' side just like has happened with The Classic over the years on the guys side.
"It is also a great chance to give our players a chance to compete against high-level competition that will help us prepare for what awaits as we get into conference play and on into the postseason. Finally, it is a great chance to showcase our fantastic facility and campus and it is a real credit to our administration and school system that they continue to support us year after year."
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