Green County 61 - Caverna 58

Green County High School, Greensburg, Kentucky 02-25-08

By Chris Gregory, Fifth Region Correspondent

Nathaniel Greene was a Major General in the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War and is for whom Green County is named. He emerged from the war with the reputation as George Washington's most gifted and dependable officer. Tuesday night, Green County Coach Toby Curry had to turn to his floor general, Clint Henderson, because they were in a battle with the Caverna Colonels.

Caverna finished the regular season with 4-21 record, or should I say a 0-0 record? It's tournament time and everyone can throw records out the window. I debated on whether or not to go to this game because I thought it might be a walkover. But, at the last minute I decided to go, and I'm glad I did.

Coach Simon Ford from Caverna came out after the teams hit the floor for warm-ups. He had to be thinking "upset" because he was dressed like he was going to do some celebrating after the game. He was decked out in a gray silk suit, light purple shirt, dark purple silk tie, and shoes to match. I didn't know if he was ready to coach or bust out his "groove thang." I wasn't the only one who noticed. Fans around me said the same thing. So, I must give Coach Ford the Pennyrile Pick and Roll "Sharp Dressed Man" Award. Somebody spin that ZZ Top record!

I haven't seen Green County at full strength this year. Their junior wing player, Keaton Druin, was hurt when I saw them in Bardstown in December. I had only heard about Caverna, and I knew they had some talented kids. I hadn't seen them play. They were fun to watch. I thought there were some fast teams in the Fifth Region, but Caverna is very fast. They have a freshman point guard Jordy Rice, who has the quickest first step I've seen this year. He got out of the gate fast, but had trouble finding the goal after beating his man to the basket. He wouldn't be held down long.

Caverna knew what was at stake on Tuesday night. They definitely didn't play like a 4-21 team. They jumped on the Dragons before the big fire breathing lizards had time to turn around. Coach Curry was not amused. He settled his team down for the moment and started pressing Caverna. They didn't stay in it long because of the speed of the Colonels. Caverna missed a lot of shots, so Green had an 18-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter starter and so did Jordy Rice. Man! Fifth Region coaches will be sick of this kid before he graduates. He is listed at 5'6" but plays much taller, and he is not scared to take it hard to the hole. He started to fill it up and Green had no answer. Green County hurt themselves by not playing defense. Caverna was turning the tables on them. They wanted the game bad. It paid off because they held the halftime lead, 29-23.

Cue up the club; I think Coach Ford is ready to dance.

I was a little disappointed at halftime. No cheerleader routines. No fancy dance teams. Not even little kids shooting free throws for a slice of pizza. Nothing! So, I decided to take a trip to the commons area to see what Green County had to offer in the way of food (they don't call me "Pudge" for nothing). I came out empty handed. Nothing caught my eye, so I had to focus my attention back on the game.

Green County made some adjustments and opened up the third in a 2-3 zone, and it got Caverna out of sorts. They made silly turnovers and were out of control. With a timeout, Coach Ford called his team over and simply told them to slow down. It's hard to tell a team to slow down when they've been running wide open all night. At this point, they still had a lead but losing it quick. The game was getting physical, and I could see the Green County players getting frustrated. They weren't supposed to lose this game, but they were in a battle. By this time, Coach Ford had lost his silk jacket. His players responded and held on to a narrow lead, 43-41.

As the fourth frame rolled around, I looked down to see if Coach Ford had gotten out his hat and walking cane. It looked like Caverna was going to stroll in and get a win and cash their ticket to the Fifth Region tournament.

The refs let the teams play all night then, all of sudden, they started calling everything. This hurt Caverna because they had relied on their big man Chad Briggs all night. He was the only size the Colonels had down low. He fouled out with about five minutes to go on a couple of hosed calls. Green County was in the bonus around the four minute mark. Caverna never got in the bonus in the second half.

With the help of Henderson, Druin, and Seth Jones, Green County's big man -- and a blown charge/blocking call against Caverna -- the Dragons got the lead around the 3:30 mark and never looked back. They avoided a scare in Greensburg and won, 61-58

OBSERVATIONS

Graveyard or Gymnasium: Someone forget to tell Green County that it was tournament time. The place was dead. There was a decent crowd there but no noise. Maybe everyone is not as pumped up as me and Pick and Roll are. It's HOOPSMAS!! The fans around me were all from Larue County, and I think they were making as much noise as anyone. I know that Green County loves their football, but show some support for your basketball team. Maybe they are all waiting for next week when Green goes to the regional tournament.

Did He Fire Five Times or Six?: Congratulations to Clint Henderson. He was chosen by the coaches of the Fifth Region to the All Region Team. he deserves it. I've watched the Green three times this year, and he has scored 20+ points every time. Tuesday, he got away with some questionable push offs, but I'm in the stands and not in a striped shirt. He loves to shoot the three and makes several as well. If Green and Taylor meet at some point in the regional tournament, look out for two of the best shooters in the Fifth. Henderson and and for Taylor, Cox, will make it rain threes.

God is My Co-Pilot: A Pick and Roll "thank you" to John Seymour and his co-pilot. I work with John and we talk hoops alot. Tonight, he called me and asked if I was going to this game. I said, "yes," and he said he'd be there in a minute to pick me up. With the salary I get from Pick and Roll it was a big help with the gas on Tuesday night. Thanks again, John. I need to ride with you more often. I love the stories from the "co-pilot." He told me not to mention his name, but people who know John know who I'm talking about.

Editor's Note: Chris, if you keep submitting great stories to me, I'll bump your salary up by 50%. We'll still be making the same amount.

Tuesday night: Hawks vs. Hart.