Mason County 57 - Holmes 48
Welcome to my post about the Northern Kentucky Invitational Tournament. They have all the good football teams, but now they want to dominate basketball, too. I used to work in northern Kentucky a lot, and I always felt like I was in Ohio when I got north of Georgetown. People talked funny, drove like maniacs, and insisted on telling me that I was #1 in the form of a hand signal. They drove fast but were awful nice when they passed me. I'd just tell them that I thought they were #1 right back.
I went to the game for two reasons. First, I love the way the Holmes Bulldogs play basketball. When they are clicking, I could watch them play all day. They play with grace and agility. The make a beautiful sport more so. The other reason? I wasn't going to deny my quest to see all fifteen games of the Sweet Sixteen.
Crazy? You're danged right. Going to the entire tournament is among the craziest things I've done in a long time. It will probably take a week to get the sound of basketball out of my head. The whistles. The horns. The bouncing of a ball on hardwood. The squeak of rubber soles. It's all in there.
I don't know what to write about a championship. I don't want to bore everyone with a game recap because that will be told in every newspaper from the banks of the Mississippi to the headwaters of the Tug.
Holmes played sloppy in the first and third quarters, and it cost them the game. I'm tired. I may write more about it in the next couple of days, but I'm going to bed and celebrating Easter on Sunday.
Happy Hoops!!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Sweet Sixteen; Semifinals
Holmes 57 - Lexington Catholic 50
All I've heard all week is that Lexington Catholic was going to win the state championship. I had nothing to counter them with, but I knew that Holmes was a very good team. With Elijah Pittman emerging as a reliable sophomore scoring and rebounding threat, the Bulldogs looked like the kind of team needed to knock of the Knights.
It didn't look to good for Holmes at the start of the game. They played sloppy, much of it due to Catholic's tenacious press. Catholic looked unstoppable, taking a 19-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Bulldogs sprang to life in the second quarter and outplayed the Knights. Holmes was quicker and stronger than them. The Knights had a 31-25 lead at the break, but Holmes was coming after them, outscoring them 21-12 in the second quarter.
After the half, Holmes picked up where they left off in the first half. They continued to surge at the Knights, and with 4:58 on the clock, they cut the lead to 34-32. They tied it at 38 with 2:38 left in teh third quarter.
At this point the video boards featured the Subway "Sub of the Game," which was Elijah Pittman. At that point he had six points and three rebounds. I've become a huge fan of this wonderful sophomore who stepped his game up on the big stage of the Sweet Sixteen. He finished the game with 15 points.
I guess Pittman averaged about 15 points a game for the tournament, and he did all of it -- to the semifinal -- from the bench. I've become a huge fan of his.
The momentum shifted back to Lexington Catholic at the end of the quarter, when they hit two quick baskets as time expired. They were up 44-41.
The Bulldogs played great defense in the fourth quarter, holding a beleaguered Catholic team to just six points. Meanwhile, they reeled off 16 points and rode a 57-50 win over one of the favorites to win the tournament into the championship game.
Mason County 60 - Shelby County 50
Thirty years ago, the Shelby County Rockets won their second state championship by downing the Holmes Bulldogs. It would be one of those "wow" moments if the two linked up again in the championship round. By the way, Charles Hurt played for Shelby County, and Dicky Beal played for Holmes. Both ended up playing together for UK.
I think Dicky Beal bumped into me tonight, and, of course, the officials called a foul on me.
Instead of having Louisville Central in their way like they did in 1978, Shelby County had a mighty Mason County team in their way. Instead of having the star headed to play for the Wildcats, Mason County had the star -- Darrius Miller -- headed for UK.
Mason struggled with the Rockets defense in the first half. At the end of one quarter, the Royals had a 16-15 lead on Shelby County, who probably wore the glass slipper to the semifinals. It's funny because their baseball team wore the same shoe to the state championship game last summer.
The two teams played to a 6-4 defensive slug-fest in the second quarter. It wasn't pretty basketball.
Mason County controlled the second half and advanced to the championship game with a 60-50 victory.
OBSERVATIONS
Eight More Miles to Louisville: I've been meaning to post something about this. It's the first time since 1996 that both Louisville schools were eliminated in the first round. Well, I guess that the good programs from the state's principal city has to allow the underpopulated places in the state to enjoy the Sweet Sixteen. Everybody is lucky that Male High choked in the first round of the Seventh Region tournament.
Billy G: Billy Gillespie was hanging around the Sweet Sixteen for the semifinal watching Darius Miller. Autograph seekers swarmed him at times. Maybe he'll finally sign his contract.
Eight through Eleven: The semifinal featured teams from the eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh regions. They should have called it the "Golden Triangle Invitational." Oh, well, that will lead to more industry moving into the area.
Double Royalty: I noticed that Mason County has a kid named Ethan King on the squad. He scored 18 points in Saturday morning's semifinal. He's the Royal's King. Thank, you very much. TCB, baby.
All I've heard all week is that Lexington Catholic was going to win the state championship. I had nothing to counter them with, but I knew that Holmes was a very good team. With Elijah Pittman emerging as a reliable sophomore scoring and rebounding threat, the Bulldogs looked like the kind of team needed to knock of the Knights.
It didn't look to good for Holmes at the start of the game. They played sloppy, much of it due to Catholic's tenacious press. Catholic looked unstoppable, taking a 19-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Bulldogs sprang to life in the second quarter and outplayed the Knights. Holmes was quicker and stronger than them. The Knights had a 31-25 lead at the break, but Holmes was coming after them, outscoring them 21-12 in the second quarter.
After the half, Holmes picked up where they left off in the first half. They continued to surge at the Knights, and with 4:58 on the clock, they cut the lead to 34-32. They tied it at 38 with 2:38 left in teh third quarter.
At this point the video boards featured the Subway "Sub of the Game," which was Elijah Pittman. At that point he had six points and three rebounds. I've become a huge fan of this wonderful sophomore who stepped his game up on the big stage of the Sweet Sixteen. He finished the game with 15 points.
I guess Pittman averaged about 15 points a game for the tournament, and he did all of it -- to the semifinal -- from the bench. I've become a huge fan of his.
The momentum shifted back to Lexington Catholic at the end of the quarter, when they hit two quick baskets as time expired. They were up 44-41.
The Bulldogs played great defense in the fourth quarter, holding a beleaguered Catholic team to just six points. Meanwhile, they reeled off 16 points and rode a 57-50 win over one of the favorites to win the tournament into the championship game.
Mason County 60 - Shelby County 50
Thirty years ago, the Shelby County Rockets won their second state championship by downing the Holmes Bulldogs. It would be one of those "wow" moments if the two linked up again in the championship round. By the way, Charles Hurt played for Shelby County, and Dicky Beal played for Holmes. Both ended up playing together for UK.
I think Dicky Beal bumped into me tonight, and, of course, the officials called a foul on me.
Instead of having Louisville Central in their way like they did in 1978, Shelby County had a mighty Mason County team in their way. Instead of having the star headed to play for the Wildcats, Mason County had the star -- Darrius Miller -- headed for UK.
Mason struggled with the Rockets defense in the first half. At the end of one quarter, the Royals had a 16-15 lead on Shelby County, who probably wore the glass slipper to the semifinals. It's funny because their baseball team wore the same shoe to the state championship game last summer.
The two teams played to a 6-4 defensive slug-fest in the second quarter. It wasn't pretty basketball.
Mason County controlled the second half and advanced to the championship game with a 60-50 victory.
OBSERVATIONS
Eight More Miles to Louisville: I've been meaning to post something about this. It's the first time since 1996 that both Louisville schools were eliminated in the first round. Well, I guess that the good programs from the state's principal city has to allow the underpopulated places in the state to enjoy the Sweet Sixteen. Everybody is lucky that Male High choked in the first round of the Seventh Region tournament.
Billy G: Billy Gillespie was hanging around the Sweet Sixteen for the semifinal watching Darius Miller. Autograph seekers swarmed him at times. Maybe he'll finally sign his contract.
Eight through Eleven: The semifinal featured teams from the eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh regions. They should have called it the "Golden Triangle Invitational." Oh, well, that will lead to more industry moving into the area.
Double Royalty: I noticed that Mason County has a kid named Ethan King on the squad. He scored 18 points in Saturday morning's semifinal. He's the Royal's King. Thank, you very much. TCB, baby.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Sweet Sixteen Quartefinals; Session Two
Shelby County 53 - Hazard 50
Anyone who has read my posts knows that I'm pulling for the Rockets to win the state championship. I have ties to that community and am a long time fan of Shelby County.
Hazard jumped out to an early lead, and Shelby County played a terrible second quarter, scoring only seven points. The Rockets played a 3-2 zone that overplayed on the wings trying to force Hazard to go inside. Hazard's Josh Whittaker, who is a fantastic sophomore, stepped his scoring and had a 11 points at halftime.
Hazard had a 30-20 lead after holding Shelby County to five second quarter points.
Shelby County responded by playing a nearly perfect third quarter. They hit their shots and quickly cut the lead to 30-29. In fact, Hazard didn't score until the 2:40 mark of the quarter. I noticed that Coty Minnis hurt his foot and actually had his shoe off while on the bench. He was for a couple of minutes but returned before the end of the quarter. Shelby tied it at 33 with Tim Sanford's three pointer.
The Rockets outscored them 18-5 in tthe third and had a 38-35 lead.
In the fourth the Rockets expanded the lead to 46-37, but the Bulldogs had one more bite left in them. They roared back to within two, 50-48. Shelby County hit important free throws down the stretch, and kept Hazard from capitalizing on two critical possessions at the end of the game.
Shelby County advances to the semifinals for the first time since Charles Hurt led them to the championship in 1978.
OBSERVATIONS
Who Shot the Sheriff: Paintsville's band is the first one I've seen that features steel drums. I used to live in Miami, Florida, and never saw one down there. They played "Low Rider" by War the other night, and on Friday night they played "I Shot the Sheriff." I guess they probably don't do that song when the team travels to Harlan County.
Lexington Traffic Update: You know those little stick figure people and pets that people stick on the back windows of their mini-vans? In Lexington, those things are kill flags. Crosswalks are target zones. People gripe about Louisville traffic to me, but at least Louisville traffic moves. It moves at a break-neck pace, but you're going to get where you're going unless you die. I read a story in the "Hurled-Liter" that a woman gave birth in her car on Broadway in Lexington. What the paper didn't tell is that the child was conceived, gestated, and born in the same traffic jam.
Hanging Up the Whistle: Paintsville's coach, Mike Runyon, is retiring. His career ended when the horn sounded on their loss to Holmes in the quarterfinals. When one of his players complained to the officials the other night, he got the attention of the player and just tapped the side of his own head with one finger, telling the young man to think. That's great.
B.G.'s D.G.: Congrats to Bowling Green's Coach D.G. Sherrill for being named Fourth Region Coach of the Year. He's proof that coaching goes beyond the court and into young men's hearts.
T.P. Scott Update: Mr. Scott from Adair County survived game number 666. No seven headed monster or anything else out of The Revelation. He's moved on and closing in one #675. That's 675 Sweet Sixteen games in-a-row.
Anyone who has read my posts knows that I'm pulling for the Rockets to win the state championship. I have ties to that community and am a long time fan of Shelby County.
Hazard jumped out to an early lead, and Shelby County played a terrible second quarter, scoring only seven points. The Rockets played a 3-2 zone that overplayed on the wings trying to force Hazard to go inside. Hazard's Josh Whittaker, who is a fantastic sophomore, stepped his scoring and had a 11 points at halftime.
Hazard had a 30-20 lead after holding Shelby County to five second quarter points.
Shelby County responded by playing a nearly perfect third quarter. They hit their shots and quickly cut the lead to 30-29. In fact, Hazard didn't score until the 2:40 mark of the quarter. I noticed that Coty Minnis hurt his foot and actually had his shoe off while on the bench. He was for a couple of minutes but returned before the end of the quarter. Shelby tied it at 33 with Tim Sanford's three pointer.
The Rockets outscored them 18-5 in tthe third and had a 38-35 lead.
In the fourth the Rockets expanded the lead to 46-37, but the Bulldogs had one more bite left in them. They roared back to within two, 50-48. Shelby County hit important free throws down the stretch, and kept Hazard from capitalizing on two critical possessions at the end of the game.
Shelby County advances to the semifinals for the first time since Charles Hurt led them to the championship in 1978.
OBSERVATIONS
Who Shot the Sheriff: Paintsville's band is the first one I've seen that features steel drums. I used to live in Miami, Florida, and never saw one down there. They played "Low Rider" by War the other night, and on Friday night they played "I Shot the Sheriff." I guess they probably don't do that song when the team travels to Harlan County.
Lexington Traffic Update: You know those little stick figure people and pets that people stick on the back windows of their mini-vans? In Lexington, those things are kill flags. Crosswalks are target zones. People gripe about Louisville traffic to me, but at least Louisville traffic moves. It moves at a break-neck pace, but you're going to get where you're going unless you die. I read a story in the "Hurled-Liter" that a woman gave birth in her car on Broadway in Lexington. What the paper didn't tell is that the child was conceived, gestated, and born in the same traffic jam.
Hanging Up the Whistle: Paintsville's coach, Mike Runyon, is retiring. His career ended when the horn sounded on their loss to Holmes in the quarterfinals. When one of his players complained to the officials the other night, he got the attention of the player and just tapped the side of his own head with one finger, telling the young man to think. That's great.
B.G.'s D.G.: Congrats to Bowling Green's Coach D.G. Sherrill for being named Fourth Region Coach of the Year. He's proof that coaching goes beyond the court and into young men's hearts.
T.P. Scott Update: Mr. Scott from Adair County survived game number 666. No seven headed monster or anything else out of The Revelation. He's moved on and closing in one #675. That's 675 Sweet Sixteen games in-a-row.
Sweet Sixteen Quartefinals; Session One
Lexington Catholic 54 - Owensboro 47
The Owensboro Red Devils just gave one of the best teams in the state a run for their money. Lexington Catholic has a stable full of Division I prospects, and Owensboro has a several good players and Brock Moorman. I don't mean to put down the other Red Devils, but Moorman is the only player on their squad that might get the looks that Vee Sanford, Jordan Smart, or Nathan Novosel get.
The Red Devils outplayed the Knights at times, and they took a narrow 23-21 lead to halftime
In the third quarter the Knights came back and took the lead away from Owensboro. In an effort to stop Catholic's surge, Wayne Breeden, used all his timeouts. With 3:06 left in the quarter, Owensboro had one full timeout left.
The Knights took a 38-32 lead to the final frame.
There was a big crowd at this game, and they were responsive to the action on the court. Tyler Swift drew first blood in the fourth with a three pointer at 6:40 that brought the Red Devils to within three.
That's when Taylor Stewart took over the game for a few minutes for the Knights. He started out with back-to-back slam dunks, and topped his effort off with a three point shot that put the Lex. Cath a 47-36 lead.
Owensboro had one more run left in them, and they pulled to within two with 3:18 left with a 49-47 score. Catholic controlled the last three minutes of the game and held Owensboro scoreless. They advance to the semifinals with a 54-47 victory.
Holmes 61 - Paintsville 53
The Paintsville Tigers attack the basket more and better than anyone I've seen this season. Landon Slone and Shane Grimm will take on anyone with the dribble, and they are dangerous because they can finish plays or pull up and shoot.
I was anxious to see how they would match up with the athletic Holmes team. They hung pretty well with Holmes, which has so many different tools on the floor. Paintsville competes with good teams by doing everything right. They have to.
Holmes took a three point lead to the second quarter, but the Tigers outplayed them, outscoring them 16-10 in the second quarter and took a narrow 24-21 lead to halftime. The Tigers ended the half with a beautiful play. Blake Bundy flipped a perfect pass to Landon Slone, who finished it with a reverse layup. It was done perfectly.
Paintsville pace seemed suicidal. They fly up and down the court, and they only have six or seven players that are very good (I hate to write that). They start thinking about attacking the basket when they inbounds the ball on the other end.
Every time I wrote Paintsville off in the second half, they came back on Holmes. The Tigers clung to a 37-36 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Bulldogs used their size, strength and athletic advantage in the fourth quarter and outscored Paintsville 25-16 to win and advance to the semifinals to face Lexington Catholic.
OBSERVATIONS
Who Shot the Sheriff: I love Paintsville's band. I've never, ever seen a high school band that features steel drums, and I'm a native of Miami, Florida. I didn't know there were that many Rastafarian's in the Kentucky mountains. The dude playing the steel drums, played a great rendition of "I Shot the Sheriff." I loved it. I wonder if they'd play that song if they performed in Harlan County?
Lexington Traffic Update: I read in the "Hurled-Liter" that a baby was born in a car on Broadway in Lexington. I'm willing to bet that the full story would say that the child was conceived, gestated, and born in the same traffic jam. By the way, if any soul is brave enough to step off a curb in "SexyLexy" right after the walk signal flashes, they are brave enough serve in the military. In Lexington, crosswalks are target zones. Has anyone noticed the little stick figures people put on the back windows of their SUVs usually depicting a family and a couple of pets? In Lexington, those things are kill flags.
That's Not the Pits, Man!: Elijah Pittman entered the state tournament averaging 5.4 points a game. Since stepping onto the court at Rupp Arena he's scored 24 in the first round game and 19 in Friday's quarterfinal. Pittman is a just a sophomore. He's long, lanky, and athletic. He can also step out and knock down three point shots. I wonder if David Henley has been rope-a-doping everyone this season.
The Owensboro Red Devils just gave one of the best teams in the state a run for their money. Lexington Catholic has a stable full of Division I prospects, and Owensboro has a several good players and Brock Moorman. I don't mean to put down the other Red Devils, but Moorman is the only player on their squad that might get the looks that Vee Sanford, Jordan Smart, or Nathan Novosel get.
The Red Devils outplayed the Knights at times, and they took a narrow 23-21 lead to halftime
In the third quarter the Knights came back and took the lead away from Owensboro. In an effort to stop Catholic's surge, Wayne Breeden, used all his timeouts. With 3:06 left in the quarter, Owensboro had one full timeout left.
The Knights took a 38-32 lead to the final frame.
There was a big crowd at this game, and they were responsive to the action on the court. Tyler Swift drew first blood in the fourth with a three pointer at 6:40 that brought the Red Devils to within three.
That's when Taylor Stewart took over the game for a few minutes for the Knights. He started out with back-to-back slam dunks, and topped his effort off with a three point shot that put the Lex. Cath a 47-36 lead.
Owensboro had one more run left in them, and they pulled to within two with 3:18 left with a 49-47 score. Catholic controlled the last three minutes of the game and held Owensboro scoreless. They advance to the semifinals with a 54-47 victory.
Holmes 61 - Paintsville 53
The Paintsville Tigers attack the basket more and better than anyone I've seen this season. Landon Slone and Shane Grimm will take on anyone with the dribble, and they are dangerous because they can finish plays or pull up and shoot.
I was anxious to see how they would match up with the athletic Holmes team. They hung pretty well with Holmes, which has so many different tools on the floor. Paintsville competes with good teams by doing everything right. They have to.
Holmes took a three point lead to the second quarter, but the Tigers outplayed them, outscoring them 16-10 in the second quarter and took a narrow 24-21 lead to halftime. The Tigers ended the half with a beautiful play. Blake Bundy flipped a perfect pass to Landon Slone, who finished it with a reverse layup. It was done perfectly.
Paintsville pace seemed suicidal. They fly up and down the court, and they only have six or seven players that are very good (I hate to write that). They start thinking about attacking the basket when they inbounds the ball on the other end.
Every time I wrote Paintsville off in the second half, they came back on Holmes. The Tigers clung to a 37-36 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Bulldogs used their size, strength and athletic advantage in the fourth quarter and outscored Paintsville 25-16 to win and advance to the semifinals to face Lexington Catholic.
OBSERVATIONS
Who Shot the Sheriff: I love Paintsville's band. I've never, ever seen a high school band that features steel drums, and I'm a native of Miami, Florida. I didn't know there were that many Rastafarian's in the Kentucky mountains. The dude playing the steel drums, played a great rendition of "I Shot the Sheriff." I loved it. I wonder if they'd play that song if they performed in Harlan County?
Lexington Traffic Update: I read in the "Hurled-Liter" that a baby was born in a car on Broadway in Lexington. I'm willing to bet that the full story would say that the child was conceived, gestated, and born in the same traffic jam. By the way, if any soul is brave enough to step off a curb in "SexyLexy" right after the walk signal flashes, they are brave enough serve in the military. In Lexington, crosswalks are target zones. Has anyone noticed the little stick figures people put on the back windows of their SUVs usually depicting a family and a couple of pets? In Lexington, those things are kill flags.
That's Not the Pits, Man!: Elijah Pittman entered the state tournament averaging 5.4 points a game. Since stepping onto the court at Rupp Arena he's scored 24 in the first round game and 19 in Friday's quarterfinal. Pittman is a just a sophomore. He's long, lanky, and athletic. He can also step out and knock down three point shots. I wonder if David Henley has been rope-a-doping everyone this season.
Sweet Sixteen: First Round; Session Four
Eight games in two days is killer. I dream about basketball at night. Maybe my addiction has finally led to an overdose. I'm no Gram Parsons, though, so I will be careful not to push too far.
Game One
Paducah Tilghman 77 - Greenwood 53
When Greenwood won the Fourth Region I wondered how a scrappy team like them would fare in the Sweet Sixteen. When Tilghman won the First Region, I wondered if Greenwood could handle their size. When Tilghman took the floor on Thursday night, I knew the Gators were going to end up as a buffet with everyone in Paducah saying, "Tastes like chicken."
The Tornado pounced on Greenwood as if they were a trailer park sitting in a treeless field in a super cell thunderstorm.
There's not very much to write about this game. Quick summary: the Gators shot terrible and Tilghman's Stefon Perry and Isaac McClure grabbed every rebound that came off the board. Perry had 11 rebounds and McClure had 13. They had a combined 18 defensive rebounds. Tilghman had 42 boards as a team, and 32 of those came off the defensive glass. They had one fewer defensive rebounds than Greenwood had total boards -- 33. The Gators shot a miserable 27.4% for the game.
Isaac McClure finished the game with 16 points and was 7 of 15 from the field with two three pointers.
Greenwood had no answer for Tilghman's dominance. They made a late run at them, but the Gators were over matched. In a way, Tilghman was a giant Steve Irwin Thursday night in Lexington. Tilghman advances to the quarterfinals with a 77-53 victory over Greenwood
Game Two
Mason County 66 - Elliott County 62
I could bore Pick and Roll readers with a thousand cliches about David and Goliath or with the movie "Hoosiers," which I have done in the past. By high school standards, Mason County has a big lineup starting two players who are 6'7" and they have several others well over six feet tall. Elliott County is smaller, but has more scrap than a junkyard.
The Elliott County Lions played their way into the hearts of the Rupp Arena crowd in Thursday's nightcap game.
Mason County seemed in control of the game in the first half, but Elliott stayed at their heels. The Royals had a precarious 35-30 lead at halftime.
The drama started in the third quarter when Elliott County started their bid to upset one of the teams I've heard a lot of people say is going to win the championship. They closed to within two, 43-41 at the end of the quarter.
Twenty seconds into the fourth, Elliott County's Tyler Maynard, one of only two seniors on the squad, made a statement by launching a three from the the wing to put the Lions ahead 44-43.
Earlier in the season my cohort Chris Gregory commented that a player started looking for his shot when he got off the bus. These guys from Elliott County started looking for their shots when they departed Sandy Hook. They are to shooting what Ricky Skaggs is to the mandolin.
A little later, Maynard shot a beautiful arching, rainmaking three pointer from the Rupp Arena logo that brought the house down. He put his Lions up 53-47, and they had the momentum.
The Royals did what great teams do to win ballgames. They didn't falter. Trevor Setty and Russ Middleton were like big game hunters late in the game. They hit back-to-back-to-back threes that gave Mason County a 62-59 lead with 1:40 left.
Elliott County made a challenge to a very good basketball team that beat them 90-61 earlier in the season. They received a rousing ovation from the crowd as they left the floor.
Mason County advances to meet Tilghman with a 66-62 win.
OBSERVATIONS
Magic Johnson?: Mason County's Darius Miller is 6'7" and often brings the ball up the court for the Royals. He handles the ball well and sees the court pretty good. There were times, though, when he needed to be under the basket to take advantage of his team's size advantage. He's a good player with a nice soft shot.
Some Love for Pick and Roll?: I noticed that Elliott County's Timmy Knipp had a "T" tattooed on one calf and a "K" on the other. Thanks, Timmy, but it's a bit much. Oh, wait, maybe those are HIS initials.
Toppahz in da House: The KHSAA honored former Hilltopper Terry Davis just before the Shelby County game in the afternoon, and they honored Hilltopper great Jim McDaniels in the evening. It's good to see Hilltoppers at the state tournament. The last time there were that many Hilltoppers on the Rupp Arena floor they handed the Wildcats a 64-52 loss.
I go to church with a guy who played against McDaniels in high school. He told me one time that he held Big Jim to below his season average in one ballgame. McDaniels averaged 44 points that season, and my friend held him to 42. Good work, Ralph.
Toppahz Not in da House: I'm glad to not see Darrin Horn and the WKU coaching staff skulking around the state tournament. That means they have work to do readying to play in the NCAA.
Game One
Paducah Tilghman 77 - Greenwood 53
When Greenwood won the Fourth Region I wondered how a scrappy team like them would fare in the Sweet Sixteen. When Tilghman won the First Region, I wondered if Greenwood could handle their size. When Tilghman took the floor on Thursday night, I knew the Gators were going to end up as a buffet with everyone in Paducah saying, "Tastes like chicken."
The Tornado pounced on Greenwood as if they were a trailer park sitting in a treeless field in a super cell thunderstorm.
There's not very much to write about this game. Quick summary: the Gators shot terrible and Tilghman's Stefon Perry and Isaac McClure grabbed every rebound that came off the board. Perry had 11 rebounds and McClure had 13. They had a combined 18 defensive rebounds. Tilghman had 42 boards as a team, and 32 of those came off the defensive glass. They had one fewer defensive rebounds than Greenwood had total boards -- 33. The Gators shot a miserable 27.4% for the game.
Isaac McClure finished the game with 16 points and was 7 of 15 from the field with two three pointers.
Greenwood had no answer for Tilghman's dominance. They made a late run at them, but the Gators were over matched. In a way, Tilghman was a giant Steve Irwin Thursday night in Lexington. Tilghman advances to the quarterfinals with a 77-53 victory over Greenwood
Game Two
Mason County 66 - Elliott County 62
I could bore Pick and Roll readers with a thousand cliches about David and Goliath or with the movie "Hoosiers," which I have done in the past. By high school standards, Mason County has a big lineup starting two players who are 6'7" and they have several others well over six feet tall. Elliott County is smaller, but has more scrap than a junkyard.
The Elliott County Lions played their way into the hearts of the Rupp Arena crowd in Thursday's nightcap game.
Mason County seemed in control of the game in the first half, but Elliott stayed at their heels. The Royals had a precarious 35-30 lead at halftime.
The drama started in the third quarter when Elliott County started their bid to upset one of the teams I've heard a lot of people say is going to win the championship. They closed to within two, 43-41 at the end of the quarter.
Twenty seconds into the fourth, Elliott County's Tyler Maynard, one of only two seniors on the squad, made a statement by launching a three from the the wing to put the Lions ahead 44-43.
Earlier in the season my cohort Chris Gregory commented that a player started looking for his shot when he got off the bus. These guys from Elliott County started looking for their shots when they departed Sandy Hook. They are to shooting what Ricky Skaggs is to the mandolin.
A little later, Maynard shot a beautiful arching, rainmaking three pointer from the Rupp Arena logo that brought the house down. He put his Lions up 53-47, and they had the momentum.
The Royals did what great teams do to win ballgames. They didn't falter. Trevor Setty and Russ Middleton were like big game hunters late in the game. They hit back-to-back-to-back threes that gave Mason County a 62-59 lead with 1:40 left.
Elliott County made a challenge to a very good basketball team that beat them 90-61 earlier in the season. They received a rousing ovation from the crowd as they left the floor.
Mason County advances to meet Tilghman with a 66-62 win.
OBSERVATIONS
Magic Johnson?: Mason County's Darius Miller is 6'7" and often brings the ball up the court for the Royals. He handles the ball well and sees the court pretty good. There were times, though, when he needed to be under the basket to take advantage of his team's size advantage. He's a good player with a nice soft shot.
Some Love for Pick and Roll?: I noticed that Elliott County's Timmy Knipp had a "T" tattooed on one calf and a "K" on the other. Thanks, Timmy, but it's a bit much. Oh, wait, maybe those are HIS initials.
Toppahz in da House: The KHSAA honored former Hilltopper Terry Davis just before the Shelby County game in the afternoon, and they honored Hilltopper great Jim McDaniels in the evening. It's good to see Hilltoppers at the state tournament. The last time there were that many Hilltoppers on the Rupp Arena floor they handed the Wildcats a 64-52 loss.
I go to church with a guy who played against McDaniels in high school. He told me one time that he held Big Jim to below his season average in one ballgame. McDaniels averaged 44 points that season, and my friend held him to 42. Good work, Ralph.
Toppahz Not in da House: I'm glad to not see Darrin Horn and the WKU coaching staff skulking around the state tournament. That means they have work to do readying to play in the NCAA.
Sweet Sixteen: First Round; Session Three
Since I'm a semi-native of Louisville, it disappoints me that "da-Ville" isn't a good host to the Sweet Sixteen and has lost the opportunity to host it for time's immemorial. I see why Lexington's a better host, though. Rupp Arena being in downtown and immediately adjacent to nice hotels sets up an atmosphere that Louisville cannot duplicate. Fans can go from hotel to hotel through hamster tubes that allow them to stay out of the rain and cold and stay out of Lexington traffic.
Lexingtonians run red lights as if it were a sport. They drive under the speed limit until the light turns red, and then they gun it. If I were going to take up Figure-8 stock car racing as a hobby, I'd practice by driving through Lexington green lights at full speed.
I used to work in Lexington in a previous life. I grew to hate New Circle Road with a passion. It's part expressway and part parking lot. The genius who decided that it was smart to design a road that goes from expressway to a jungle of stop lights in 1.1 seconds should spend eternity driving a Yugo without heat or air around New Circle Road.
I've decided that New Circle is a metaphor for UK's football and basketball programs. One part of it is speedy and well designed while the other part of it is congested and does not work the way it is designed.
Game One
Hazard 50 - South Laurel 47
Like New Circle Road, this game was sort of a match up of opposites. South Laurel is a newer school with a large enrollment, and Hazard has been around for along time and only has 286 students. Old and small versus new and big. This is the 28th time Hazard has made it to the Sweet Sixteen.
Hazard made the most of it from the opening tip. They jumped on the Cardinals with sticky defense in the first quarter that allowed them to take a 14-4 lead. Opening with an active defense and trying to shock an opponent in the first quarter may be a very good strategy for the state tournament. It can expose the nerve of a team. It's sort of like basketball's "shock and awe" strategy, but it can't result in a frustrating occupation that drags on for five years.
Hazard's point guard is a sophomore by the name of Josh Whittaker. This kid is one of the best ball handlers I've seen this season, and is unflappable under any kind of pressure. He played like he belonged on the Rupp Arena court. He played all 32 minutes of the game and scored 17 points. He did have six turnovers, but, hey, he's a sophomore.
South Laurel got over their shock. I doubt that they were ever in awe of Hazard. The Cardinals were not getting in position and had poor shot selection, but in the second quarter they turned things around and closed the gap on the Bulldogs. They outscored them 13-10, but Hazard had a 24-17 lead at halftime.
The two teams played evenly in the third quarter, and Hazard took a 34-26 lead into the final frame.
South Laurel played with great intensity in the fourth quarter and made a heroic effort to upend Hazard. Late in the game, the Cardinals' Jordan Bortnem, who scored 21 points, canned two free throws to bring his team to within five at 44-39. They got a chance to cut it to three when Wes Dean drove the lane with a beautiful layup. The ball hung on the rim for what seemed like an eternity and creaked over and fell into the hands of a waiting Hazard player. It seemed like South Laurel's hopes ended there.
They pulled within two on a couple of possessions down the stretch, but when Hazard's Whittaker hit a well challenged running jump shot with under a minute left, South Laurel's hopes really faded. Hazard withstood their late game challenge and advanced with a 50-47 victory.
Game Two
Shelby County 70 - Lincoln County 58
When I posted on Shelby County's February 15th game with Elizabethtown, I confessed that I probably had a bias toward the Rockets. I lived in Shelbyville for seven years and made a lot of good friends there, and I followed Shelby County basketball during those seasons. These days, my nephew, Tyler Layton, pitches for the Rockets, so I still have a soft spot for them.
If my post has bias, I apologize.
Shelby County took control of this game early on and controlled it all the way through. They were bigger and stronger than Lincoln County, and their defense frustrated the Patriots. Lincoln County lives and dies by the three point shot, and on Thursday afternoon they fell on their sword in the first half. They shot 1-13 from the arc in the first half.
They did hit eight threes in the second half, but it was too little too late for them.
Shelby County is one of the best interior passing teams I've ever seen. They make short, quick passes, and all of their interior players have great hands. Alex Matthews, who is a forward, had eight assists. Coty Minnis, often the beneficiary of Matthews' passing, scored 25 points. He's very good at the two hand lay-in off the glass. No one is going to slap the ball away from him when he gets it in the paint.
Shelby controlled the boards, too, out rebounding the Pats 38-15.
Shelby County advances to meet Hazard with a 70-58 victory.
OBSERVATIONS
Nice Shot Layton: My nephew, Tyler Layton, participated in one of the promotions at halftime in which contestants have to hit as many shots as possible in 45 seconds. They try to outscore someone from the other school. Layton kept shooting threes that shanked off the front of the rim. Hey, Tyler, quit playing on the eight foot goals!
Turn Out the Lights: Lincoln County had a huge crowd on hand. I used to spend a lot of time in that county, and made me think that no one was left down there. I hope the last one out turned off the light, checked to make sure the stove was off and the iron unplugged.
Best Band Music of the Session: South Laurel's band broke out into a great rendition of J. Geils Band's "Freeze Frame." You gotta love that.
Lexingtonians run red lights as if it were a sport. They drive under the speed limit until the light turns red, and then they gun it. If I were going to take up Figure-8 stock car racing as a hobby, I'd practice by driving through Lexington green lights at full speed.
I used to work in Lexington in a previous life. I grew to hate New Circle Road with a passion. It's part expressway and part parking lot. The genius who decided that it was smart to design a road that goes from expressway to a jungle of stop lights in 1.1 seconds should spend eternity driving a Yugo without heat or air around New Circle Road.
I've decided that New Circle is a metaphor for UK's football and basketball programs. One part of it is speedy and well designed while the other part of it is congested and does not work the way it is designed.
Game One
Hazard 50 - South Laurel 47
Like New Circle Road, this game was sort of a match up of opposites. South Laurel is a newer school with a large enrollment, and Hazard has been around for along time and only has 286 students. Old and small versus new and big. This is the 28th time Hazard has made it to the Sweet Sixteen.
Hazard made the most of it from the opening tip. They jumped on the Cardinals with sticky defense in the first quarter that allowed them to take a 14-4 lead. Opening with an active defense and trying to shock an opponent in the first quarter may be a very good strategy for the state tournament. It can expose the nerve of a team. It's sort of like basketball's "shock and awe" strategy, but it can't result in a frustrating occupation that drags on for five years.
Hazard's point guard is a sophomore by the name of Josh Whittaker. This kid is one of the best ball handlers I've seen this season, and is unflappable under any kind of pressure. He played like he belonged on the Rupp Arena court. He played all 32 minutes of the game and scored 17 points. He did have six turnovers, but, hey, he's a sophomore.
South Laurel got over their shock. I doubt that they were ever in awe of Hazard. The Cardinals were not getting in position and had poor shot selection, but in the second quarter they turned things around and closed the gap on the Bulldogs. They outscored them 13-10, but Hazard had a 24-17 lead at halftime.
The two teams played evenly in the third quarter, and Hazard took a 34-26 lead into the final frame.
South Laurel played with great intensity in the fourth quarter and made a heroic effort to upend Hazard. Late in the game, the Cardinals' Jordan Bortnem, who scored 21 points, canned two free throws to bring his team to within five at 44-39. They got a chance to cut it to three when Wes Dean drove the lane with a beautiful layup. The ball hung on the rim for what seemed like an eternity and creaked over and fell into the hands of a waiting Hazard player. It seemed like South Laurel's hopes ended there.
They pulled within two on a couple of possessions down the stretch, but when Hazard's Whittaker hit a well challenged running jump shot with under a minute left, South Laurel's hopes really faded. Hazard withstood their late game challenge and advanced with a 50-47 victory.
Game Two
Shelby County 70 - Lincoln County 58
When I posted on Shelby County's February 15th game with Elizabethtown, I confessed that I probably had a bias toward the Rockets. I lived in Shelbyville for seven years and made a lot of good friends there, and I followed Shelby County basketball during those seasons. These days, my nephew, Tyler Layton, pitches for the Rockets, so I still have a soft spot for them.
If my post has bias, I apologize.
Shelby County took control of this game early on and controlled it all the way through. They were bigger and stronger than Lincoln County, and their defense frustrated the Patriots. Lincoln County lives and dies by the three point shot, and on Thursday afternoon they fell on their sword in the first half. They shot 1-13 from the arc in the first half.
They did hit eight threes in the second half, but it was too little too late for them.
Shelby County is one of the best interior passing teams I've ever seen. They make short, quick passes, and all of their interior players have great hands. Alex Matthews, who is a forward, had eight assists. Coty Minnis, often the beneficiary of Matthews' passing, scored 25 points. He's very good at the two hand lay-in off the glass. No one is going to slap the ball away from him when he gets it in the paint.
Shelby controlled the boards, too, out rebounding the Pats 38-15.
Shelby County advances to meet Hazard with a 70-58 victory.
OBSERVATIONS
Nice Shot Layton: My nephew, Tyler Layton, participated in one of the promotions at halftime in which contestants have to hit as many shots as possible in 45 seconds. They try to outscore someone from the other school. Layton kept shooting threes that shanked off the front of the rim. Hey, Tyler, quit playing on the eight foot goals!
Turn Out the Lights: Lincoln County had a huge crowd on hand. I used to spend a lot of time in that county, and made me think that no one was left down there. I hope the last one out turned off the light, checked to make sure the stove was off and the iron unplugged.
Best Band Music of the Session: South Laurel's band broke out into a great rendition of J. Geils Band's "Freeze Frame." You gotta love that.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Sweet Sixteen: First Round; Session Two
Game One
Paintsville 93 - Jeffersontown 87
I thought they might have to examine the Rupp Arena floor for scorch marks after this barn burner. You can throw all sorts of sports cliches at this ballgame -- barn burner, track meet -- whatever you want. These two teams attacked the basket and had some dead eye shooters.
I'm guessing that J-town's Coach Jeff Morrow never dreamed that his team could shoot 52.2% in the first round and lose. They were 35 for 67 and scored 87 points, but will be packing their bags and heading back to the Louisville Metro.
No one doubted that these two teams would play at a pace faster than a field full of Secretariats because Paintsville averaged 81.3 points a game, and J-town posted 68.5 points a game. In today's 32 minute ballgame they scored 180 points. That's 5.6 points a minute. If it was a college basketball game, they could've turned off the shot clock because the time keeper would've worn out the reset button. Fans could not take their eye off of the game because they might miss a couple of possessions in a flash.
Heck, I got out of breath just watching it.
Paintsville's Landon Slone is one of the best shooters I've seen in a long time. His instinct is to score, and he's a great stop-and-pop shooter, and can hit jumpers from any range and any spot on the floor. He stymied J-town's defenders and finished the game with 35 points.
The Chargers' Thomas Jackson (where have I heard that name before?) led the way with 24 points. He averaged 10 points a game during the season, but he exploded in Wednesday's game. Everybody scored a lot of points.
Paintsville controlled the ballgame. It's not a matter of controlling tempo because both teams enjoy a fast paced game. The Tigers outplayed J-town in this style of game. It would be dangerous to try to open up a game on Paintsville because they have great shooters, great ball handlers, and they will attack the basket on anyone.
It was an exciting game because down the stretch J-town kept it close and cut the lead to two, 86-84, with 1:12 left in teh game. Of the four games played on Wednesday, this was by far the best. Both teams played great and played like they belonged in Rupp Arena. I believe it's the best game I've seen all year.
Game Two
Covington Holmes 64 - Bardstown 44
Simply put, Bardstown was over matched. I have a feeling that the phrase applies to a lot of teams that played Holmes this year. The Bulldogs are loaded with great athletes and are very well coached. It's not common to see slam dunks in a high school game, but on Wednesday night the Bulldogs threw down three against the Tigers from Bardstown.
Holmes also keyed on senior point guard, Corey Hall, who averages 13.6 points a game. He had a miserable night with just three points and six turnovers. Bardstown had 29 turnovers for the game. The Bulldogs had 16 steals.
At one point Holmes had a 29 point lead on the Tigers, and Coach David "I'm Not Don" Henley called off -- pardon the pun -- the dogs in the fourth quarter. He could've really embarrassed the young Bardstown team, which has only two seniors on the roster.
I'd watch out for this Holmes team. Everyone up here is talking about Lexington Catholic and Mason County, but Holmes is absolutely loaded with good players. They are big, strong, and incredibly athletic. They have a balanced attack, and I love to watch them play. If them and Lex. Cath tangle in the semifinal, it could be an exciting Saturday morning match up.
Elijah Pittman finished with 10 points for the Bulldogs and had one very impressive dunk. He also has a nice outside shot. He's listed at 6'5" but can elevate like a rocket. Ricardo Johnson led with 11 points and six rebounds.
Jordan Hickman had 14 points for Bardstown. The Tigers lose Corey Hall next season, but they should be a solid team in the Fifth Region with a roster full of seniors.
Holmes advances to meet Paintsville at 1:30 on Friday. That should be a tilt.
OBSERVATIONS
Great Bands: Paintsville's band includes a xylophone. They opened with a great rendition of War's "Low Rider." They jammed on the drums and xylophone. J-town's band is excellent. I really liked it when they whipped out Lipps Inc.'s "Funky Town." They played it so well. Heck I thought everyone was going to leave Lexington for Funky Town about half way through the song. I guess I'm just going to talk about, talk about, talk about movin. If there's a championship for sweet Sweet Sixteen bands, these two have to be in the finals. Oh, wait, Central's band can hang with them, too.
Fun with Flavo-O-Rich: During a break in every game these dudes from Flavorich come out to center court with the biggest dang slingshot I've every seen. They send t-shirts flying into the upper reaches of Rupp Arena. They even hit a banner for one of the retired jerseys. I have some experience with one of those things. One of my neighbors in Hugh Poland Hall at WKU made a slingshot out of rubber hoses used to supply bunsen burners. They bombed people in the parking lot with water balloons. I just want to say that we weren't crazy enough to bomb WKU campus police with water balloons. We would NEVER do anything so irresponsible. To any WKU police reading this -- it was a really rainy night that night with some huge raindrops. If you want to investigate, my name is spelled C-H-R-I-S G-R-E-G-O-R-Y.
Best Student Section: Chris Gregory has posted all season that the Bardstown student section is the best. They are. They put the dukies on Tobacco Road to shame, and they don't do anything in bad taste, either. I love it when students surf in the crowd. It's a neat effect. I love them. I hate that they took the first round ouster because this group would be fun to have around.
Paintsville 93 - Jeffersontown 87
I thought they might have to examine the Rupp Arena floor for scorch marks after this barn burner. You can throw all sorts of sports cliches at this ballgame -- barn burner, track meet -- whatever you want. These two teams attacked the basket and had some dead eye shooters.
I'm guessing that J-town's Coach Jeff Morrow never dreamed that his team could shoot 52.2% in the first round and lose. They were 35 for 67 and scored 87 points, but will be packing their bags and heading back to the Louisville Metro.
No one doubted that these two teams would play at a pace faster than a field full of Secretariats because Paintsville averaged 81.3 points a game, and J-town posted 68.5 points a game. In today's 32 minute ballgame they scored 180 points. That's 5.6 points a minute. If it was a college basketball game, they could've turned off the shot clock because the time keeper would've worn out the reset button. Fans could not take their eye off of the game because they might miss a couple of possessions in a flash.
Heck, I got out of breath just watching it.
Paintsville's Landon Slone is one of the best shooters I've seen in a long time. His instinct is to score, and he's a great stop-and-pop shooter, and can hit jumpers from any range and any spot on the floor. He stymied J-town's defenders and finished the game with 35 points.
The Chargers' Thomas Jackson (where have I heard that name before?) led the way with 24 points. He averaged 10 points a game during the season, but he exploded in Wednesday's game. Everybody scored a lot of points.
Paintsville controlled the ballgame. It's not a matter of controlling tempo because both teams enjoy a fast paced game. The Tigers outplayed J-town in this style of game. It would be dangerous to try to open up a game on Paintsville because they have great shooters, great ball handlers, and they will attack the basket on anyone.
It was an exciting game because down the stretch J-town kept it close and cut the lead to two, 86-84, with 1:12 left in teh game. Of the four games played on Wednesday, this was by far the best. Both teams played great and played like they belonged in Rupp Arena. I believe it's the best game I've seen all year.
Game Two
Covington Holmes 64 - Bardstown 44
Simply put, Bardstown was over matched. I have a feeling that the phrase applies to a lot of teams that played Holmes this year. The Bulldogs are loaded with great athletes and are very well coached. It's not common to see slam dunks in a high school game, but on Wednesday night the Bulldogs threw down three against the Tigers from Bardstown.
Holmes also keyed on senior point guard, Corey Hall, who averages 13.6 points a game. He had a miserable night with just three points and six turnovers. Bardstown had 29 turnovers for the game. The Bulldogs had 16 steals.
At one point Holmes had a 29 point lead on the Tigers, and Coach David "I'm Not Don" Henley called off -- pardon the pun -- the dogs in the fourth quarter. He could've really embarrassed the young Bardstown team, which has only two seniors on the roster.
I'd watch out for this Holmes team. Everyone up here is talking about Lexington Catholic and Mason County, but Holmes is absolutely loaded with good players. They are big, strong, and incredibly athletic. They have a balanced attack, and I love to watch them play. If them and Lex. Cath tangle in the semifinal, it could be an exciting Saturday morning match up.
Elijah Pittman finished with 10 points for the Bulldogs and had one very impressive dunk. He also has a nice outside shot. He's listed at 6'5" but can elevate like a rocket. Ricardo Johnson led with 11 points and six rebounds.
Jordan Hickman had 14 points for Bardstown. The Tigers lose Corey Hall next season, but they should be a solid team in the Fifth Region with a roster full of seniors.
Holmes advances to meet Paintsville at 1:30 on Friday. That should be a tilt.
OBSERVATIONS
Great Bands: Paintsville's band includes a xylophone. They opened with a great rendition of War's "Low Rider." They jammed on the drums and xylophone. J-town's band is excellent. I really liked it when they whipped out Lipps Inc.'s "Funky Town." They played it so well. Heck I thought everyone was going to leave Lexington for Funky Town about half way through the song. I guess I'm just going to talk about, talk about, talk about movin. If there's a championship for sweet Sweet Sixteen bands, these two have to be in the finals. Oh, wait, Central's band can hang with them, too.
Fun with Flavo-O-Rich: During a break in every game these dudes from Flavorich come out to center court with the biggest dang slingshot I've every seen. They send t-shirts flying into the upper reaches of Rupp Arena. They even hit a banner for one of the retired jerseys. I have some experience with one of those things. One of my neighbors in Hugh Poland Hall at WKU made a slingshot out of rubber hoses used to supply bunsen burners. They bombed people in the parking lot with water balloons. I just want to say that we weren't crazy enough to bomb WKU campus police with water balloons. We would NEVER do anything so irresponsible. To any WKU police reading this -- it was a really rainy night that night with some huge raindrops. If you want to investigate, my name is spelled C-H-R-I-S G-R-E-G-O-R-Y.
Best Student Section: Chris Gregory has posted all season that the Bardstown student section is the best. They are. They put the dukies on Tobacco Road to shame, and they don't do anything in bad taste, either. I love it when students surf in the crowd. It's a neat effect. I love them. I hate that they took the first round ouster because this group would be fun to have around.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Sweet Sixteen: First Round; Session One
Oh boy! The KHSAA bills the Sweet Sixteen as the "Greatest Show in Hoops." It isn't all hype, either. The KHSAA officials and the Rupp Arena staff work their tails off to host one of the biggest gatherings in the Commonwealth. Think about it. In the course of four days they will put on 15 basketball games and host over 100,000 basketball fans in the arena. I wouldn't even guess at how many media, participants, and staff also attend the Sweet Sixteen. It is a great show, even before they tip up the first basketball.
First Session; Game One Lexington Catholic 69 - University Heights Academy 54
It was the battle of the small private schools. I expected this to be a real battle between two very good basketball teams. Both teams are loaded with Division I prospects, and they've put up some impressive numbers over the course of the season.
I saw University Heights play Bowling Green in December when the Blazers cruised into the Purples' gym and cruised out with a victory. That night, Tyshwan Edmondson caught my eye, and he came into the state tournament averaging 18.2 points a game while hitting 42 of 106 three point goals and dishing out 143 assists in 34 ballgames. Scotty Hopson was the leading scorer for the Blazers with 24.4 points a game, and he averaged 11.4 rebounds per game. He gets all the attention, and rightly so with those gaudy numbers. DaQuan Brown ads 12.8 points per game for UHA.
I knew about those guys because I saw them play, and I talk to people in "Hopsonville" about the Blazers.
I knew very little about Lexington Catholic. I knew they were good, and I know from experience to respect anyone who navigates their way out of the Eleventh Region. They have three solid Division I prospects in their starting lineup. Vee Sanford averages 12.7 points a game and is a big 6'3" guard. Taylor Stewart is the leading scorer with 17.6 points a game. Jordan Smart adds 12.3 points a game and Nathan Novosel puts in 13.3 per game.
The Knights are a well balanced basketball team, in scoring and in any other stat you can conjur.
Lexington Catholic threw a wicked press at the Blazers from the opening possession, and UHA withered under the pressure. They had trouble moving the ball and holding on to it. Vee Sanford had four steals in the first half, and the Blazers committed 13 turnovers in the half.
The Knights had a commanding 42-22 lead on the Second Region champions. I think everyone in the arena was as surprised as I was at the whipping the Knights were putting on UHA. DaQuan Brown had four turnovers, and Tyshwan Edmondson had five.
Lexington Catholic opened the second half right where they left off in the first half. They took a 23 point lead, 47-24, on UHA early in the third quarter.
UHA made a courageous comeback. They outscored the Knights 18-9 in the third quarter and eventually cut the lead to six points. Lexington Catholic caught a late surge in the fourth quarter and downed the Blazers 69-54.
Scotty Hopson scored 21 points, 13 of which were in the second half, and grabbed nine rebounds. Tyshwan Edmondson grabbed 10 rebounds, scored 13 points, but had an ugly seven turnovers for the game.
Taylor Stewart scored 25 points for the victorious Knights, and teammate Vee Sanford scored 22 points and had seven steals. I decided that "Vee" stands for victory. I'd watch out for the Knights because they are a well balanced and tough basketball team.
Game Two
Owensboro 63 - Louisville Central 48
Nearly every year a team "captures lightning in a bottle" in a regional tournament and plays its way into the Sweet Sixteen. This year, the Central Yellow Jackets from Louisville came into the tournament with a 15-11 record, which means they started post season play with a .500 record. In the Sixth Region tournament, the Yellow Jackets beat a 22-10 Fairdale team and a 25-4 Pleasure Ridge Park team. So, Central was capable of beating some pretty good teams.
The magic runs out, though. On Wednesday, the Red Devils from Owensboro busted Central's bottle full of lightning on the hardwood of Rupp Arena.
I saw Owensboro play in the Citizens First Bank Classic in Bowling Green right before Christmas. I guess they were doing their best impression of Tubby Smith's 2006 Wildcat team because -- looking back -- they might have been the high school version of "Team Turmoil." They dropped back-to-back games to Greenwood and Central Hardin, and they were without one or two players because of discipline. In Bowling Green, the Red Devils registered a lackluster performance, and Coach Wayne Breeden seemed inactive in their game against Central Hardin. I nearly commented on it then, but I sensed that his team was having problems.
I never figured them for a Sweet Sixteen team, but they won 22 ballgames and beat a good Apollo team twice in the postseason. Apollo did their rival a favor when they took down top ranked Muhlenberg North by one point in the regional semifinal.
The two teams played fairly even in the first quarter, but things changed in the second. Owensboro played like a regional champ that belonged in the state tournament, and Central looked like a 15-11 team that peaked several days ago. The Red Devil defense held them to four second quarter points, and they took a 30-14 lead to halftime.
Central played tough in the third quarter. They picked up their defense and nearly played their way back into the game. Ridge Wilson hit a basket late in the quarter that pulled the Yellow Jackets to ten points, 38-28, I thought they might have some life.
Something that might have hurt Central's effort was when their point guard Chris Starks hurt his toe. Starks isn't a scorer for them, but he's a floor leader and had accumulated 105 assists during the season. He never made it back into the game. They still challenged the Red Devils, but Central's performance in the second quarter doomed them. Owensboro advanced to face Lexington Catholic with a 63-48 win.
OBSERVATIONS
A Court Full of Talent: When the Blazers and the Knights took the court in the first game, there were at least six, possibly seven, Division I prospects on the hardwood. The two teams were big, quick, and athletic. I really expected a better game, but Lex. Cath had too many tools and a great press.
Bibby, Baby: I mean that in the context of Al Davis saying, "Just win, baby" and not that Central's Coach Doug Bibby is a baby. I really like his coaching style. He very rarely gets onto the officials and is always instructing and teaching his kids on the court and on the bench. His players seem to respect him, too. I don't know anything about Coach Bibby, but I think he played for Central back in the 1980s. I think, but I remember a kid named Bibby that frustrated the Male Bulldogs for a couple of seasons.
Percussion Concussion: Central's band absolutely rocks. They warmed up the crowd with about 15 minutes of drum lines that bumped and grooved. Man! It was fun. Their cheerleaders are great, too, and actually cheered their team.
Moorman Tabernacle Choir: Brock Moorman for Owensboro had a dandy ballgame. He had a about 25 points, and I lost track of his rebounds. If he continues to play that way in the tournament, he'll have people singing his praises. He'll have to have the same kind of game if Moorman and his Devils get past the Lexington Catholic Knights. Pick and Roll is glad it's not stormy in Lexington because he'd be looking out for a lightning strike after that last line.
First Session; Game One Lexington Catholic 69 - University Heights Academy 54
It was the battle of the small private schools. I expected this to be a real battle between two very good basketball teams. Both teams are loaded with Division I prospects, and they've put up some impressive numbers over the course of the season.
I saw University Heights play Bowling Green in December when the Blazers cruised into the Purples' gym and cruised out with a victory. That night, Tyshwan Edmondson caught my eye, and he came into the state tournament averaging 18.2 points a game while hitting 42 of 106 three point goals and dishing out 143 assists in 34 ballgames. Scotty Hopson was the leading scorer for the Blazers with 24.4 points a game, and he averaged 11.4 rebounds per game. He gets all the attention, and rightly so with those gaudy numbers. DaQuan Brown ads 12.8 points per game for UHA.
I knew about those guys because I saw them play, and I talk to people in "Hopsonville" about the Blazers.
I knew very little about Lexington Catholic. I knew they were good, and I know from experience to respect anyone who navigates their way out of the Eleventh Region. They have three solid Division I prospects in their starting lineup. Vee Sanford averages 12.7 points a game and is a big 6'3" guard. Taylor Stewart is the leading scorer with 17.6 points a game. Jordan Smart adds 12.3 points a game and Nathan Novosel puts in 13.3 per game.
The Knights are a well balanced basketball team, in scoring and in any other stat you can conjur.
Lexington Catholic threw a wicked press at the Blazers from the opening possession, and UHA withered under the pressure. They had trouble moving the ball and holding on to it. Vee Sanford had four steals in the first half, and the Blazers committed 13 turnovers in the half.
The Knights had a commanding 42-22 lead on the Second Region champions. I think everyone in the arena was as surprised as I was at the whipping the Knights were putting on UHA. DaQuan Brown had four turnovers, and Tyshwan Edmondson had five.
Lexington Catholic opened the second half right where they left off in the first half. They took a 23 point lead, 47-24, on UHA early in the third quarter.
UHA made a courageous comeback. They outscored the Knights 18-9 in the third quarter and eventually cut the lead to six points. Lexington Catholic caught a late surge in the fourth quarter and downed the Blazers 69-54.
Scotty Hopson scored 21 points, 13 of which were in the second half, and grabbed nine rebounds. Tyshwan Edmondson grabbed 10 rebounds, scored 13 points, but had an ugly seven turnovers for the game.
Taylor Stewart scored 25 points for the victorious Knights, and teammate Vee Sanford scored 22 points and had seven steals. I decided that "Vee" stands for victory. I'd watch out for the Knights because they are a well balanced and tough basketball team.
Game Two
Owensboro 63 - Louisville Central 48
Nearly every year a team "captures lightning in a bottle" in a regional tournament and plays its way into the Sweet Sixteen. This year, the Central Yellow Jackets from Louisville came into the tournament with a 15-11 record, which means they started post season play with a .500 record. In the Sixth Region tournament, the Yellow Jackets beat a 22-10 Fairdale team and a 25-4 Pleasure Ridge Park team. So, Central was capable of beating some pretty good teams.
The magic runs out, though. On Wednesday, the Red Devils from Owensboro busted Central's bottle full of lightning on the hardwood of Rupp Arena.
I saw Owensboro play in the Citizens First Bank Classic in Bowling Green right before Christmas. I guess they were doing their best impression of Tubby Smith's 2006 Wildcat team because -- looking back -- they might have been the high school version of "Team Turmoil." They dropped back-to-back games to Greenwood and Central Hardin, and they were without one or two players because of discipline. In Bowling Green, the Red Devils registered a lackluster performance, and Coach Wayne Breeden seemed inactive in their game against Central Hardin. I nearly commented on it then, but I sensed that his team was having problems.
I never figured them for a Sweet Sixteen team, but they won 22 ballgames and beat a good Apollo team twice in the postseason. Apollo did their rival a favor when they took down top ranked Muhlenberg North by one point in the regional semifinal.
The two teams played fairly even in the first quarter, but things changed in the second. Owensboro played like a regional champ that belonged in the state tournament, and Central looked like a 15-11 team that peaked several days ago. The Red Devil defense held them to four second quarter points, and they took a 30-14 lead to halftime.
Central played tough in the third quarter. They picked up their defense and nearly played their way back into the game. Ridge Wilson hit a basket late in the quarter that pulled the Yellow Jackets to ten points, 38-28, I thought they might have some life.
Something that might have hurt Central's effort was when their point guard Chris Starks hurt his toe. Starks isn't a scorer for them, but he's a floor leader and had accumulated 105 assists during the season. He never made it back into the game. They still challenged the Red Devils, but Central's performance in the second quarter doomed them. Owensboro advanced to face Lexington Catholic with a 63-48 win.
OBSERVATIONS
A Court Full of Talent: When the Blazers and the Knights took the court in the first game, there were at least six, possibly seven, Division I prospects on the hardwood. The two teams were big, quick, and athletic. I really expected a better game, but Lex. Cath had too many tools and a great press.
Bibby, Baby: I mean that in the context of Al Davis saying, "Just win, baby" and not that Central's Coach Doug Bibby is a baby. I really like his coaching style. He very rarely gets onto the officials and is always instructing and teaching his kids on the court and on the bench. His players seem to respect him, too. I don't know anything about Coach Bibby, but I think he played for Central back in the 1980s. I think, but I remember a kid named Bibby that frustrated the Male Bulldogs for a couple of seasons.
Percussion Concussion: Central's band absolutely rocks. They warmed up the crowd with about 15 minutes of drum lines that bumped and grooved. Man! It was fun. Their cheerleaders are great, too, and actually cheered their team.
Moorman Tabernacle Choir: Brock Moorman for Owensboro had a dandy ballgame. He had a about 25 points, and I lost track of his rebounds. If he continues to play that way in the tournament, he'll have people singing his praises. He'll have to have the same kind of game if Moorman and his Devils get past the Lexington Catholic Knights. Pick and Roll is glad it's not stormy in Lexington because he'd be looking out for a lightning strike after that last line.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Sweet Sixteen Hype
Paducah native Irvin S. Cobb once wrote, "Until you go to Kentucky and with your own eyes behold a Derby, you ain't been nowhere and you ain't seen nothing." I tend to agree with Mr. Cobb, but I think the same applies to the Kentucky Boys' Sweet Sixteen. "You ain't been nowhere and you ain't seen nothing" until with your "own eyes behold" a Sweet Sixteen.
On Pick and Roll I've posted that March is Kentucky's Mardis Gras. I'm only half joking about that. I do think that the Commonwealth's passion for basketball culminates in a winter/spring celebration of a cultural phenomena that sets us apart from many parts of the nation. I also think it makes us brothers to several parts of the nation that share our love for basketball. I'm not joking about that.
Kentuckians are basketball mad. I'm not a native of the state. I was born in Miami, Florida, and I cut my teeth on Miami Dolphins football and University of Alabama football (my parents lived in Dothan, Alabama, for a long time before moving to Miami). I really didn't know of any sports outside of football and baseball. I often dreamed of playing football for Bear Bryant and then Don Shula, and my brother and I spent endless hours playing football on the rough bermuda grass in our backyard in Hialeah.
In 1972, my father, who is a native Kentuckian, moved my family to Louisville. We moved up in the middle of March Madness, and Denny Crum's Cardinals made their first run to the Final Four. I have no recollection of the sport before we moved to Louisville, but I can remember thinking that Kentuckians were insane. And, maybe they are between October and the first week of April.
The following season, my father started taking me to Kentucky Colonels games in Freedom Hall. Louie Dampier, Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore were all on that team. I had favorites, too, like Ron "The Plumber" Thomas and Wendell Laettner, who was also a favorite with many women in Louisville. Those games in Freedom Hall were as if my father handed me some powerful drug that was instantly addictive. I was hopelessly hooked and have been since one of those winter nights so long ago in Louisville.
I never quit liking football, but a metal hoop and a red, white, and blue basketball joined the posters of Mercury Morris, Bob Griese, and Paul Warfield in my bedroom. My brother and I put that metal hoop on the top of our closet door, and we played all the big rivals of our favorite basketball teams right there in our room. We played the Tennessee Volunteers, Memphis State, and the hated Indiana Pacers. My parents wasted many footsteps coming in to our room and telling us to be quiet.
I don't even remember which year it was, but a neighbor two doors down from us put a basketball goal on the front of his garage. His name was Bill Venenman, and he was crippled from a severe bout with polio from his childhood. We called him "Mr. V." Mr. V had an endless enthusiasm for the game of basketball, and he had two favorite teams: the Kentucky Wildcats and the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers. He had gone to Western when Ed Diddle had some of his best teams. There were times when he would sit in his wheelchair and regale us kids with stories of the Wildcats and the Hilltoppers and some of the great high school basketball teams he remembered from his childhood.
Mr. V. knew what he was doing when he erected a basketball goal. He knew that every kid in our neighborhood would adopt the driveway in front of his garage their local basketball court. I don't know how many hours I spent in their driveway, but the Venemans never tired of us kids playing basketball there. If it got too late in the evening, they shooed us away.
After two or three years in Kentucky, basketball was as much a part of me as the blood that coursed through my young veins. Once, when I brought home a bad report card, my parents banned me from playing or watching basketball for nearly a month. I thought I was going to die. They wouldn't even let me shoot baskets at the metal hoop on my closet door. I would've taken a thousand whippings to avoid that February without basketball.
I still think that punishment kept me from ever making the basketball team at Male High School, which kept me from a college scholarship and kept me out of the NBA (Pick and Roll has deadpan humor even when I'm talking, so please realize that the previous statement is written in jest).
What does this have to do with the Sweet Sixteen? I'll tell you. It has a lot to do with it. See, I'm not unique. There are probably more than a million other Kentuckians who have had the exact same experience. There's probably several thousand that had the same experience, but they made their high school basketball team and lived a dream whether they appreciated it at the time or not.
When my brother got married in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1983, his bride's brother and friends challenged us to a game of three-on-three in their backyard. I was on my second year of coming within a hair's breadth of making Male High's basketball team, so I could play fairly well. My brother and his best friend, Ralph, were just out of college. We went out to their backyard and discovered that they had an eight foot goal.
We beat those guys like rented mules. They wouldn't switch up teams so we just kept pounding them. I bruised my wrists from dunking the ball so many times. Our friend was wearing a WKU sweatshirt, and one of them asked, "Do you play for WKU?" We fell about laughing because by Kentucky standards we were terrible.
We went inside and watched Louisville and Houston play in the Final Four. One of my sister-in-law's brothers said to the other, "these Kentuckians sure are crazy about basketball."
Yep. He nailed it.
So, imagine an arena -- a very large arena -- filled with 20,000 fans cheering on a high school basketball game, and you've got the Sweet Sixteen. It is a celebration. It's as if we've built up to the tournament with three or four months of celebration, and the Sweet Sixteen is a Fat Tuesday spread over the course of four days.
The beauty of the Sweet Sixteen is that the road map for getting there has been marked for generations. It's possible for a team with no regular season victories to get hot in late February and play their way into Sweet Sixteen. There's no RPI. There's no selection committee. There's no Billy Packer or Dick Vitale touting a conference or a particular team located in central North Carolina. There's no seeding. There's no "power conferences."
When a team straps on their shoes at the start of the district tournament, they know the road to the state tournament. They know they have to get by a couple of teams that they've faced twice already during the regular season. They know that if they get into the regional tournament, they're going to have to knock off three teams that are likely rivals and likely have played one or two or three times during the season.
When a team wins the regional championship, their reward is a slot in what I think is the most difficult basketball tournament on the planet. The NCAA tournament is hard, but they play two games a week with a day off in between. In the Sweet Sixteen, a team either has to win four games in four days or four games in three days, depending on where they are seeded. They have to play a semifinal in the morning and a championship game in the evening.
No one is in the Sweet Sixteen because they are a mediocre team from the middlings of a powerful football conference. So, every game is tough, and every player is playing not just for a championship but for a dream.
Those dreams are created when a father hands a son the game of basketball, be it in the form of bounce pass in the living room floor or by taking his boy to a long ago basketball game. The dream is run and rerun thousands of times on an empty court in a neighbor's driveway or in a church parking lot or on a dirt court in front of a tobacco barn. It is a hand off of a culture buffed into the polish of this great Commonwealth. For those fortunate few who play in the Sweet Sixteen there is so much more than banners and trophies. They are fulfilling a dream that is almost instinct.
As I write this, I can almost see that goofy gangly kid of my long ago in the neighbor's driveway counting down the clock -- five...four...three...two...one -- and winning another Sweet Sixteen or NCAA championship for one of his beloved teams.
You ain't been nowhere and you ain't seen nothing.
On Pick and Roll I've posted that March is Kentucky's Mardis Gras. I'm only half joking about that. I do think that the Commonwealth's passion for basketball culminates in a winter/spring celebration of a cultural phenomena that sets us apart from many parts of the nation. I also think it makes us brothers to several parts of the nation that share our love for basketball. I'm not joking about that.
Kentuckians are basketball mad. I'm not a native of the state. I was born in Miami, Florida, and I cut my teeth on Miami Dolphins football and University of Alabama football (my parents lived in Dothan, Alabama, for a long time before moving to Miami). I really didn't know of any sports outside of football and baseball. I often dreamed of playing football for Bear Bryant and then Don Shula, and my brother and I spent endless hours playing football on the rough bermuda grass in our backyard in Hialeah.
In 1972, my father, who is a native Kentuckian, moved my family to Louisville. We moved up in the middle of March Madness, and Denny Crum's Cardinals made their first run to the Final Four. I have no recollection of the sport before we moved to Louisville, but I can remember thinking that Kentuckians were insane. And, maybe they are between October and the first week of April.
The following season, my father started taking me to Kentucky Colonels games in Freedom Hall. Louie Dampier, Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore were all on that team. I had favorites, too, like Ron "The Plumber" Thomas and Wendell Laettner, who was also a favorite with many women in Louisville. Those games in Freedom Hall were as if my father handed me some powerful drug that was instantly addictive. I was hopelessly hooked and have been since one of those winter nights so long ago in Louisville.
I never quit liking football, but a metal hoop and a red, white, and blue basketball joined the posters of Mercury Morris, Bob Griese, and Paul Warfield in my bedroom. My brother and I put that metal hoop on the top of our closet door, and we played all the big rivals of our favorite basketball teams right there in our room. We played the Tennessee Volunteers, Memphis State, and the hated Indiana Pacers. My parents wasted many footsteps coming in to our room and telling us to be quiet.
I don't even remember which year it was, but a neighbor two doors down from us put a basketball goal on the front of his garage. His name was Bill Venenman, and he was crippled from a severe bout with polio from his childhood. We called him "Mr. V." Mr. V had an endless enthusiasm for the game of basketball, and he had two favorite teams: the Kentucky Wildcats and the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers. He had gone to Western when Ed Diddle had some of his best teams. There were times when he would sit in his wheelchair and regale us kids with stories of the Wildcats and the Hilltoppers and some of the great high school basketball teams he remembered from his childhood.
Mr. V. knew what he was doing when he erected a basketball goal. He knew that every kid in our neighborhood would adopt the driveway in front of his garage their local basketball court. I don't know how many hours I spent in their driveway, but the Venemans never tired of us kids playing basketball there. If it got too late in the evening, they shooed us away.
After two or three years in Kentucky, basketball was as much a part of me as the blood that coursed through my young veins. Once, when I brought home a bad report card, my parents banned me from playing or watching basketball for nearly a month. I thought I was going to die. They wouldn't even let me shoot baskets at the metal hoop on my closet door. I would've taken a thousand whippings to avoid that February without basketball.
I still think that punishment kept me from ever making the basketball team at Male High School, which kept me from a college scholarship and kept me out of the NBA (Pick and Roll has deadpan humor even when I'm talking, so please realize that the previous statement is written in jest).
What does this have to do with the Sweet Sixteen? I'll tell you. It has a lot to do with it. See, I'm not unique. There are probably more than a million other Kentuckians who have had the exact same experience. There's probably several thousand that had the same experience, but they made their high school basketball team and lived a dream whether they appreciated it at the time or not.
When my brother got married in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1983, his bride's brother and friends challenged us to a game of three-on-three in their backyard. I was on my second year of coming within a hair's breadth of making Male High's basketball team, so I could play fairly well. My brother and his best friend, Ralph, were just out of college. We went out to their backyard and discovered that they had an eight foot goal.
We beat those guys like rented mules. They wouldn't switch up teams so we just kept pounding them. I bruised my wrists from dunking the ball so many times. Our friend was wearing a WKU sweatshirt, and one of them asked, "Do you play for WKU?" We fell about laughing because by Kentucky standards we were terrible.
We went inside and watched Louisville and Houston play in the Final Four. One of my sister-in-law's brothers said to the other, "these Kentuckians sure are crazy about basketball."
Yep. He nailed it.
So, imagine an arena -- a very large arena -- filled with 20,000 fans cheering on a high school basketball game, and you've got the Sweet Sixteen. It is a celebration. It's as if we've built up to the tournament with three or four months of celebration, and the Sweet Sixteen is a Fat Tuesday spread over the course of four days.
The beauty of the Sweet Sixteen is that the road map for getting there has been marked for generations. It's possible for a team with no regular season victories to get hot in late February and play their way into Sweet Sixteen. There's no RPI. There's no selection committee. There's no Billy Packer or Dick Vitale touting a conference or a particular team located in central North Carolina. There's no seeding. There's no "power conferences."
When a team straps on their shoes at the start of the district tournament, they know the road to the state tournament. They know they have to get by a couple of teams that they've faced twice already during the regular season. They know that if they get into the regional tournament, they're going to have to knock off three teams that are likely rivals and likely have played one or two or three times during the season.
When a team wins the regional championship, their reward is a slot in what I think is the most difficult basketball tournament on the planet. The NCAA tournament is hard, but they play two games a week with a day off in between. In the Sweet Sixteen, a team either has to win four games in four days or four games in three days, depending on where they are seeded. They have to play a semifinal in the morning and a championship game in the evening.
No one is in the Sweet Sixteen because they are a mediocre team from the middlings of a powerful football conference. So, every game is tough, and every player is playing not just for a championship but for a dream.
Those dreams are created when a father hands a son the game of basketball, be it in the form of bounce pass in the living room floor or by taking his boy to a long ago basketball game. The dream is run and rerun thousands of times on an empty court in a neighbor's driveway or in a church parking lot or on a dirt court in front of a tobacco barn. It is a hand off of a culture buffed into the polish of this great Commonwealth. For those fortunate few who play in the Sweet Sixteen there is so much more than banners and trophies. They are fulfilling a dream that is almost instinct.
As I write this, I can almost see that goofy gangly kid of my long ago in the neighbor's driveway counting down the clock -- five...four...three...two...one -- and winning another Sweet Sixteen or NCAA championship for one of his beloved teams.
You ain't been nowhere and you ain't seen nothing.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Fifth Region Championship, Hart County High School, Munfordville, Kentucky
Bardstown 84 - Central Hardin 74
By Chris Gregory, Fifth Region Correspondent
Folks, I don't know where to start with this one. You could label this game as a game of runs. It was a matter of who would make the last run. It could also be the modern day "Hoosiers" because Central Hardin is one of the largest schools in the state, and Bardstown is one of the smallest. The Tigers were not as worried as the little team from Indiana.
We had a full house in Munfordville, and they honored the Fifth Region Athletic Directors Hall of Fame. They inducted one of my golfing buddies from Hart County, Ed Dennison. He has served Caverna High School since 1978.
After the induction, I noticed a group of young ladies and maybe one guy standing in front of the scorer's table. I didn't know what was going on. They announced that they were from Bardstown High and would sing the National Anthem. I was floored by their performance. Way to go, ladies and gent.
The first run of the night took no time. Central got the tip, and it was off to the races. Coming into the game, I thought that the Bruins had no chance to run with the Tigers, but I was wrong. They busted open the first quarter with a couple of threes and took the lead 26-18. All week Central Hardin shot the lights out in the first quarter. I'd like to know what percentage they shot in those quarters because they always came out hot.
Between the quarters I started taking in some of the fan action. All of Cecilia must have been there to support the Bruins. Heck, if you went down Highway 62, you probably could've stolen anything you wanted. I'm sure it was a ghost town. They were real proud of this team, as they should be.
(Editor's Note: How do you think I finance Pick and Roll? I wasn't at the Fourth Region Tournament last night. I was cruising up and down U.S. 62 with a pickup truck, a flashlight, and a crowbar.)
The Bruins got a little rattled in the second, and the second run of the night was starting. The Tigers were getting back into the game thanks to Central Hardin not scoring a field goal for nearly 3:00. It was getting wild and tensions were running high. I have to credit the officials for keeping this game and players under control. Bardstown cut the lead down to three before the half. It was a good half of basketball, and I hoped it would continue in the second.
The guys I sat with had a halftime discussion about what adjustments were going to be made by both teams. It was kind of crazy. The 1-3-1 zone Central had used all week was working for them, and the great ball movement and inside-out play was working for Bardstown. The third quarter was going to be different. I think Bardstown Coach Gary Goode was trying to catch hsi breath. In the third, he just sat down and turned his players loose. they responded with a 24 point outburst. Early in the quarter, Bardstown got their first lead and were not going to be denied. They held Central to 13 points in the quarter. The Tigers lead 55-47 after three.
When the fourth got started the Tigers still had some things to take care of. Bardstown was out-playing Central on both ends of the floor. In no time, they had pushed their lead to 12 and J.C. Wright called a timeout with only a minute or so off the clock.
Central had one more run. They set screens for Tony Harding and he connected on a couple of huge threes. One of them was at the 1:11 mark, and that three got it back to a ten point lead. After a Bardstown turnover, Harding hit another three. Wow! Another run and Central was showing life, and the Bruin Nation was alive again. Time was not on their side, however. Central had cut the lead to three, but that was with 48 seconds to go. They had to start fouling.
Bardstown hit their free tosses and won by ten, 84-74. It's the Tigers first trip to the Sweet Sixteen since 1971. They had a huge second half, scoring 53 points. Down the stretch, the Tigers made 13 of 14 free throws after the 1:30 mark.
OBSERVATIONS
Cool Hand Luke: Coach Gary Good is probably the most laid back head coach I have ever seen. He coaches under control (if that makes sense). He never looks stressed on the sidelines. He never looked too upset when things weren't going his way. During timeouts, he just grabbed up the clipboard and drew up plays. It was just simple basketball, and his players responded, big. I never have met Coach Goode, but he looks like the type of guy you could approach and have a nice conversation with.
One for the Little Guys: The Bardstown Tigers are in the state tournament. Being one of the smallest schools in the state, I can hear all of the small schools around the Commonwealth cheering for them next week. They may be joined by the likes of Hazard and University Heights. Maybe we can crown a small school champs this year.
Good Sportsmanship: As the Central Hardin team headed back to their locker room, I noticed several of the Elizabethtown High boy's team congratulating them on a hard fought game. As cross town rivals, I thought this was a real nice gesture by the Panther team.
I'm Laying Down the Pencil: The season is over for me. I hope folks have enjoyed what I have contributed to Pick and Roll. I will be at the state tournament, but I think I will let Pick and Roll report on those games. I plan on doing this again next year (if you will have me). Thanks for reading, and I hope you check back during the state and next year.
Editor's Note: Pick and Roll is here to stay. The response has been tremendous, and I've had a blast putting it all together. It's as simple as this: I love basketball. It is the most beautiful, athletic, and pleasing of all the sports. The motion, the precision, the skill, the athletic ability, the excitement make it dang near perfect. I think Chris shares my feelings about basketball. I will be reporting from the Sweet Sixteen, and I hope I'm up for 15 basketball games in four days. I hope I can write coherent reports from "SexyLexy."
Pick and Roll might be dormant throughout the summer, but things will get going again for football season. I actually "kicked" Pick and Roll off in November with reports on a couple of Bowling Green football games. I guess I'll subtitle it "The Pennyrile Hook and Ladder" for the pigskin season. After the Sweet Sixteen I plan to post something about the future of Pick and Roll.
Fifth Region All Tournament Team
Clint Henderson - Green County
Chase Cox - Taylor County
Jesse Beavers - Nelson County
Christian Seymour - Larue County
Chris Gohman - Elizabethtown
Sean Bouthilette - Elizabethtown
Darrin Ballou - Adair County
Kalen Kimberland - Adair County
Daniel Linder - Central Hardin
Chris Nichols - Central Hardin
Tony Harding - Central Hardin
Demarco Phillips - Bardstown
Damian Edelen - Bardstown
Jordan Hickman - Bardstown
Corey Hall - Bardstown
Corey Hall was named MVP with a 22.6 point average
By Chris Gregory, Fifth Region Correspondent
Folks, I don't know where to start with this one. You could label this game as a game of runs. It was a matter of who would make the last run. It could also be the modern day "Hoosiers" because Central Hardin is one of the largest schools in the state, and Bardstown is one of the smallest. The Tigers were not as worried as the little team from Indiana.
We had a full house in Munfordville, and they honored the Fifth Region Athletic Directors Hall of Fame. They inducted one of my golfing buddies from Hart County, Ed Dennison. He has served Caverna High School since 1978.
After the induction, I noticed a group of young ladies and maybe one guy standing in front of the scorer's table. I didn't know what was going on. They announced that they were from Bardstown High and would sing the National Anthem. I was floored by their performance. Way to go, ladies and gent.
The first run of the night took no time. Central got the tip, and it was off to the races. Coming into the game, I thought that the Bruins had no chance to run with the Tigers, but I was wrong. They busted open the first quarter with a couple of threes and took the lead 26-18. All week Central Hardin shot the lights out in the first quarter. I'd like to know what percentage they shot in those quarters because they always came out hot.
Between the quarters I started taking in some of the fan action. All of Cecilia must have been there to support the Bruins. Heck, if you went down Highway 62, you probably could've stolen anything you wanted. I'm sure it was a ghost town. They were real proud of this team, as they should be.
(Editor's Note: How do you think I finance Pick and Roll? I wasn't at the Fourth Region Tournament last night. I was cruising up and down U.S. 62 with a pickup truck, a flashlight, and a crowbar.)
The Bruins got a little rattled in the second, and the second run of the night was starting. The Tigers were getting back into the game thanks to Central Hardin not scoring a field goal for nearly 3:00. It was getting wild and tensions were running high. I have to credit the officials for keeping this game and players under control. Bardstown cut the lead down to three before the half. It was a good half of basketball, and I hoped it would continue in the second.
The guys I sat with had a halftime discussion about what adjustments were going to be made by both teams. It was kind of crazy. The 1-3-1 zone Central had used all week was working for them, and the great ball movement and inside-out play was working for Bardstown. The third quarter was going to be different. I think Bardstown Coach Gary Goode was trying to catch hsi breath. In the third, he just sat down and turned his players loose. they responded with a 24 point outburst. Early in the quarter, Bardstown got their first lead and were not going to be denied. They held Central to 13 points in the quarter. The Tigers lead 55-47 after three.
When the fourth got started the Tigers still had some things to take care of. Bardstown was out-playing Central on both ends of the floor. In no time, they had pushed their lead to 12 and J.C. Wright called a timeout with only a minute or so off the clock.
Central had one more run. They set screens for Tony Harding and he connected on a couple of huge threes. One of them was at the 1:11 mark, and that three got it back to a ten point lead. After a Bardstown turnover, Harding hit another three. Wow! Another run and Central was showing life, and the Bruin Nation was alive again. Time was not on their side, however. Central had cut the lead to three, but that was with 48 seconds to go. They had to start fouling.
Bardstown hit their free tosses and won by ten, 84-74. It's the Tigers first trip to the Sweet Sixteen since 1971. They had a huge second half, scoring 53 points. Down the stretch, the Tigers made 13 of 14 free throws after the 1:30 mark.
OBSERVATIONS
Cool Hand Luke: Coach Gary Good is probably the most laid back head coach I have ever seen. He coaches under control (if that makes sense). He never looks stressed on the sidelines. He never looked too upset when things weren't going his way. During timeouts, he just grabbed up the clipboard and drew up plays. It was just simple basketball, and his players responded, big. I never have met Coach Goode, but he looks like the type of guy you could approach and have a nice conversation with.
One for the Little Guys: The Bardstown Tigers are in the state tournament. Being one of the smallest schools in the state, I can hear all of the small schools around the Commonwealth cheering for them next week. They may be joined by the likes of Hazard and University Heights. Maybe we can crown a small school champs this year.
Good Sportsmanship: As the Central Hardin team headed back to their locker room, I noticed several of the Elizabethtown High boy's team congratulating them on a hard fought game. As cross town rivals, I thought this was a real nice gesture by the Panther team.
I'm Laying Down the Pencil: The season is over for me. I hope folks have enjoyed what I have contributed to Pick and Roll. I will be at the state tournament, but I think I will let Pick and Roll report on those games. I plan on doing this again next year (if you will have me). Thanks for reading, and I hope you check back during the state and next year.
Editor's Note: Pick and Roll is here to stay. The response has been tremendous, and I've had a blast putting it all together. It's as simple as this: I love basketball. It is the most beautiful, athletic, and pleasing of all the sports. The motion, the precision, the skill, the athletic ability, the excitement make it dang near perfect. I think Chris shares my feelings about basketball. I will be reporting from the Sweet Sixteen, and I hope I'm up for 15 basketball games in four days. I hope I can write coherent reports from "SexyLexy."
Pick and Roll might be dormant throughout the summer, but things will get going again for football season. I actually "kicked" Pick and Roll off in November with reports on a couple of Bowling Green football games. I guess I'll subtitle it "The Pennyrile Hook and Ladder" for the pigskin season. After the Sweet Sixteen I plan to post something about the future of Pick and Roll.
Fifth Region All Tournament Team
Clint Henderson - Green County
Chase Cox - Taylor County
Jesse Beavers - Nelson County
Christian Seymour - Larue County
Chris Gohman - Elizabethtown
Sean Bouthilette - Elizabethtown
Darrin Ballou - Adair County
Kalen Kimberland - Adair County
Daniel Linder - Central Hardin
Chris Nichols - Central Hardin
Tony Harding - Central Hardin
Demarco Phillips - Bardstown
Damian Edelen - Bardstown
Jordan Hickman - Bardstown
Corey Hall - Bardstown
Corey Hall was named MVP with a 22.6 point average
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Fourth Region Championship, E.A. Diddle Arena, Western Kentucky University
Tuesday, March 10, 2008
Greenwood 57 - Bowling Green 49
Greenwood 57 - Bowling Green 49
I think most everyone that has played basketball or follows the sport understands the phrase "rubber match." It's usually used to describe the third meeting of opponents who have played twice and split the outcomes. Even though Bowling Green and Greenwood played four times this season and split them 2-2, I think Tuesday's Fourth Region championship game could be called a rubber match. It was a re-match of the 14th District Championship, which the Purples won 45-42. They played three times during the regular season, and the Gators won two of those games. The teams are fairly evenly matched.
Tuesday's championship would be a test of wills.
The two teams played evenly throughout the first half. The score was tied at 13 at the end of the first quarter. Dee Anderson seemed like he was going to do it all for the Gators with five points and four big rebounds. He was exerting himself against Bowling Green's D.L. Moore on the boards, even though Anderson is four inches shorter than the Purples' center. It was going to be a tough game.
In the second quarter, the two teams went back-and-forth with the lead. Bowling Green was able to contain Anderson, but Greenwood has a lot of tools on the offensive end of the court. Mark Lacy, Austin Reed, and J.J. Smith contributed for the Gators in the second quarter. Bowling Green, however, spread out their scoring the second and stayed with Greenwood. Charlie Williams gave the Purps the lead, 25-24, at halftime.
In the second half, Greenwood came out with the intensity on both ends of the court needed to win a regional championship. They played tough. They played to win. Bowling Green never really responded very well to the Gators' amped up play. In the third quarter, the Purples' defense was flat footed, and they slapped at the Greenwood players too much. The Gators emerged from the third with a 38-33 lead after outscoring Bowling Green 14-8 in the third.
I sensed it. Greenwood's players had an intensity that the Bowling Green's players seemed to lack. It was a honing intensity that allowed them to do everything right. Greenwood is scrappy, and they were going to fight to win the championship.
Things got a little ugly near the end of the game. Greenwood had the lead, so the Purples had to foul to get the ball back. The officials whistled them for intentional fouls on more than a couple of possessions. I have to ask this, aren't all fouls at the end of the game intentional? At least one of the calls was questionable. When Andre "Snoop" Graham fouled Mark Lacy at half court, he grabbed Lacy's uniform to keep him from falling after he fouled him. The ref called it intentional. I thought it was bogus.
I will say that Graham sort of set the tone earlier when he took a Greenwood player down onto the scorer's table. It made the officials on the ready to call the intentional foul. The calls down the stretch gave Bowling Green no chance to stop Greenwood, but, mostly, they made a difference in the final score and not the outcome.
Greenwood advances to the Sweet Sixteen with a 57-49 victory of Bowling Green. They take the season series 3-2. I missed only one of those five games. I missed the game in the Holiday Classic in December when the Gators and the Purples tangled for third place in the tournament.
D.L. Moore finished the game with 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Purples, and Jarren Nixon scored 12 points and grabbed four boards. Bowling Green shot 1-12 from behind the arc, but killed Greenwood on the boards, 38-21. They out-rebounded the Gators 19-5 on the offensive boards.
Dee Anderson was the Player of the Game, and he had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Anderson, who is a sophomore, made big plays in Tuesday's game. He had more than half of Greenwood's 21 rebounds, and he is 6'2". Mark Lacy added 14 points for the Gators, and J.J. Smith had 10.
OBSERVATIONS
A March Day: My family are Hilltopper fans. I got home from work to find my family watching the Lady Topper's down MTSU in the Sunbelt Championship game this afternoon. We picked up and went to Diddle for tonight's championship game. We came home and watched WKU's men win the Sunbelt Championship, also over MTSU, to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Folks, that's spring in Kentucky. In there somewhere, I shot baskets with my little boy.
Saying Goodbye?: I'm not ready to shut down the Pick and Roll. Next week I will be in Lexington for the Sweet Sixteen, and I will be giving updates at the end of the sessions. They won't be nearly as detailed, but I hope I can capture some of the flavor of Kentucky's Mardis Gras. Stay with me folks.
However, there are some farewells. I've enjoyed watching the Fourth Region games this season, and I've become a big fan of a lot of the players and coaches in this region. There are a lot of tough competitors in the region, and it makes me sad to see some of them go. Some I will get to see next season, but others will move on and move up. I kind of hate to see it all wind down. I'll miss spending Friday afternoon trying to figure which game I'm going to go see. I've had a blast, but it's not quite over.
Sleepy, Sleepy: the KHSAA official at tonight's championship game caught up on some much needed sleep. I saw him at the press table nodding off when they tipped it up tonight. I hope he catches up on things by reading the Pennyrile Pick and Roll.
All Tournament Team
Tim Coffey - Russell County
Rayco Bryant - Franklin-Simpson
Bryon Ellis - Russell County
Matt Riley - Barren County
Donnie Bigbee - Russellville
Bryson McFall - Russell County
Jarrett Jenkins - Greenwood
Billey Williams - Bowling Green
Tevin Barksdale - Bowling Green
Dee Anderson - Greenwood
J.J. Smith - Greenwood
Lee Hubbard - Barren County
D.L. Moore - Bowling Green
Mark Lacy - Greenwood
Tuesday's championship would be a test of wills.
The two teams played evenly throughout the first half. The score was tied at 13 at the end of the first quarter. Dee Anderson seemed like he was going to do it all for the Gators with five points and four big rebounds. He was exerting himself against Bowling Green's D.L. Moore on the boards, even though Anderson is four inches shorter than the Purples' center. It was going to be a tough game.
In the second quarter, the two teams went back-and-forth with the lead. Bowling Green was able to contain Anderson, but Greenwood has a lot of tools on the offensive end of the court. Mark Lacy, Austin Reed, and J.J. Smith contributed for the Gators in the second quarter. Bowling Green, however, spread out their scoring the second and stayed with Greenwood. Charlie Williams gave the Purps the lead, 25-24, at halftime.
In the second half, Greenwood came out with the intensity on both ends of the court needed to win a regional championship. They played tough. They played to win. Bowling Green never really responded very well to the Gators' amped up play. In the third quarter, the Purples' defense was flat footed, and they slapped at the Greenwood players too much. The Gators emerged from the third with a 38-33 lead after outscoring Bowling Green 14-8 in the third.
I sensed it. Greenwood's players had an intensity that the Bowling Green's players seemed to lack. It was a honing intensity that allowed them to do everything right. Greenwood is scrappy, and they were going to fight to win the championship.
Things got a little ugly near the end of the game. Greenwood had the lead, so the Purples had to foul to get the ball back. The officials whistled them for intentional fouls on more than a couple of possessions. I have to ask this, aren't all fouls at the end of the game intentional? At least one of the calls was questionable. When Andre "Snoop" Graham fouled Mark Lacy at half court, he grabbed Lacy's uniform to keep him from falling after he fouled him. The ref called it intentional. I thought it was bogus.
I will say that Graham sort of set the tone earlier when he took a Greenwood player down onto the scorer's table. It made the officials on the ready to call the intentional foul. The calls down the stretch gave Bowling Green no chance to stop Greenwood, but, mostly, they made a difference in the final score and not the outcome.
Greenwood advances to the Sweet Sixteen with a 57-49 victory of Bowling Green. They take the season series 3-2. I missed only one of those five games. I missed the game in the Holiday Classic in December when the Gators and the Purples tangled for third place in the tournament.
D.L. Moore finished the game with 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Purples, and Jarren Nixon scored 12 points and grabbed four boards. Bowling Green shot 1-12 from behind the arc, but killed Greenwood on the boards, 38-21. They out-rebounded the Gators 19-5 on the offensive boards.
Dee Anderson was the Player of the Game, and he had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Anderson, who is a sophomore, made big plays in Tuesday's game. He had more than half of Greenwood's 21 rebounds, and he is 6'2". Mark Lacy added 14 points for the Gators, and J.J. Smith had 10.
OBSERVATIONS
A March Day: My family are Hilltopper fans. I got home from work to find my family watching the Lady Topper's down MTSU in the Sunbelt Championship game this afternoon. We picked up and went to Diddle for tonight's championship game. We came home and watched WKU's men win the Sunbelt Championship, also over MTSU, to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Folks, that's spring in Kentucky. In there somewhere, I shot baskets with my little boy.
Saying Goodbye?: I'm not ready to shut down the Pick and Roll. Next week I will be in Lexington for the Sweet Sixteen, and I will be giving updates at the end of the sessions. They won't be nearly as detailed, but I hope I can capture some of the flavor of Kentucky's Mardis Gras. Stay with me folks.
However, there are some farewells. I've enjoyed watching the Fourth Region games this season, and I've become a big fan of a lot of the players and coaches in this region. There are a lot of tough competitors in the region, and it makes me sad to see some of them go. Some I will get to see next season, but others will move on and move up. I kind of hate to see it all wind down. I'll miss spending Friday afternoon trying to figure which game I'm going to go see. I've had a blast, but it's not quite over.
Sleepy, Sleepy: the KHSAA official at tonight's championship game caught up on some much needed sleep. I saw him at the press table nodding off when they tipped it up tonight. I hope he catches up on things by reading the Pennyrile Pick and Roll.
All Tournament Team
Tim Coffey - Russell County
Rayco Bryant - Franklin-Simpson
Bryon Ellis - Russell County
Matt Riley - Barren County
Donnie Bigbee - Russellville
Bryson McFall - Russell County
Jarrett Jenkins - Greenwood
Billey Williams - Bowling Green
Tevin Barksdale - Bowling Green
Dee Anderson - Greenwood
J.J. Smith - Greenwood
Lee Hubbard - Barren County
D.L. Moore - Bowling Green
Mark Lacy - Greenwood
Fifth Region Tournament, Hart County High School, Munfordville, Kentucky
Monday, March 10, 2008
By Chris Gregory, Fifth Region Correspondent
Game One: Central Hardin 63 - Adair County 58
I am a huge fan of high school basketball if you haven't noticed by now, and I really don't have any connections with any certain team or players other than friends I've made during the season. But, in the last week or so it's been hard not to root for some of them. I like the underdogs, and I like coaches who have never been in situations like this before.
For instance, Central Hardin Coach J.C. Wright has put his time in on the sidelines in Cecilia. He and his team are the hottest things going in the Fifth Region. Monday night they were trying to get into the finals for the first time in school history. They've already accomplished one big feat this year by winning the 17th district tournament, a district loaded with good teams year in and year out.
The local odds maker who sat near me during the game told me that he liked Central in this game, against the defending Fifth Region champs. Adair has a good ball club, and I knew it would be a good game.
Adair controlled the tip and got the opening bucket. As usual, the Indians were very patient and looked for the best possible shot. Central was quick to run, wanting to get the upper hand by controlling the tempo. The Bruins had the hot hand in the first two minutes of the game, hitting every shot they attempted. Most were three pointers. On the defensive end, the front row fans were getting a lot of action because of the deflections by the Bruins. Central Hardin was building a lead, and I had only seen Adair play from behind one time this season. It wasn't good. It was when they played University Heights in the King of the Bluegrass, and they lost the game. Central Hardin was running past the Indians, leading after one, 25-14.
Adair County is loaded with talent. Three players were on the all region team, and Mark Fudge was Coach of the Year. They were not going to give in that easy. They did cut it to six points early in the second, but Central had a weapon in Daniel Linder, who was begging for the ball. He had the hot hand. They pushed the lead back to ten, and fans around me said that Adair would cut it in half by halftime. They did, thanks to Tony Harding making the "Charlie Brown Blockhead Play of the Game." He fouled Kalen Kimberland with 3.6 seconds left in the half. Kimberland made the layup and the following free throw. Central Hardin had the slim lead of 36-31 at halftime.
I thought Adair County had just played the worst half of basketball I had seen them play, and they were only down five. I have seen Adair play many more times than Central. I really didn't know the fire power Central Hardin possessed. Like I said, they have been the hottest team over the last few weeks in the Fifth. They picked a good time to come out of hibernation and put together a winning streak.
I wish high school basketball had its own TV station because this game would make an instant classic. The Indians had one more run in them. They just weren't going to roll over and play dead against the Bruins. Adair County kept their heads and knew they had it in them to win the game. Corey Helm, who was off the mark most of the night, hit huge back-to-back threes and tied the game with 2:29 to go. This would be the last run they could make. Central Hardin just wanted it more, and they deserved the victory. Adair County couldn't execute in the closing minutes. Central won by five, and we will have a new Fifth Region champion.
OBSERVATIONS
Huh? What'd ya say?: I hope Hart County uses the gate money they got this week to get a new PA system. It's horrible! The lady running the PA was OK, but I couldn't hear her. She sounded a lot like Charlie Brown's teacher, "wha wha, wha, wha." If you didn't know the players' names when they scored, you weren't going to hear it, either. Buck up Hart County!"
The Poppa Bear: Congratulations to J.C. Wright and his staff. This is the season that Central Hardin fans have waited. They are hot "WRIGHT" now. I feel like this team has been under the radar all year. They have a killer 1-3-1 zone defense, and teams find it hard to crack. Most fans I came across this season never mentioned the Bruins. It was always Adair, North or Bardstown as the favorites. I know they have not won the big game yet, but I'm just sying no one had them going this far.
Go Volunteers!: No not the ones in Knoxville. The Munfordville Fire and Rescue was in charge of the parking and did a great job. They probably don't get to see any of the games, but they were out there making sure your car was safe. They did slack up when people were leaving, which was kind of crazy. They should have helped out on that end as well. Overall, good job.
Game Two: Bardstown 52 - Elizabethtown 50
Folkls, these games are taking a toll on me. The excitement has been great for all of them, but the last game of the semifinals might have been the most excitement I've seen all year. If you have read the Pick and Roll all year, you know I have said to never give up on a James Haire coached team. They knocked off Green County in the first round, and they were ready to square off with the Runnin' Tigers of Bardstown in the semifinals.
Battle of the City Schools! Bardstown jumped out on E-town very quickly, and it looked like this game was oing to be over before we got out of the first quarter. The Tigers have great ball movement, and it had the Panthers gasping for air. Coach Haire had to use a timeout befor ethis game got out of hand. E-town managed just four points in the first quarter, and they were down by 11.
E-town showed some life in the second quarter. It may have been because the E-town girls team showed up after winning their final earlier on Monday. Chris "Go Go" Gohman was on a roll again tonight. He had his hands all over the ball. I didn't keep up with steals, but he must have hd a bunch. Bardstown helped E-town by not making any field goals for about two minutes. That seemed like a long time in this fast paced game. By the end of the second, E-town had cut the Tiger lead to four. Never count out a James Haire coached team. The Panthers were hanging tough in a physical game. The halftime score was 28-24, Bardstown.
Teams don't win a state championship just by the talent they have on the floor. James Haire is a great coach, and I have heard over the years that he can prepare for any team. He made adjustments at the half, and Panthers came out in the third ready to upset the Tigers. I call this an upset because most people had Bardstown in a landslide. E-town was in control, and everything was going in their favor. The tempo was a big factor in the third. At the 2:40 mark, E-town had their first lead of the night. I could see the momentum shift to the Panthers. The Bardstown fans seemed to wilt in their seats; E-town was not ready for this season to be over with.
I could spend an hour writing on the fourth quarter alone. It's the best quarter of basketball I've seen all this year. This game had been tight since the start of the third, and the fourth was going to be a slug-fest. Both teams were trading buckets and someone had to make a stop. E-town struck first, forcing Bardstown into a couple of turnovers. With a two point lead with 1:30 to go, E-town had the momentum once again, but, all of sudden, Bardstown stepped it up and tied it again with 25.2 to go.
Elizabethtown came down to their end of the floor and was going for the game winner. They turned the ball over. They fouled Bardstown's Demarco Phillips with 10.2 seconds to go in regulation.
Were we headed to overtime?
After Phillips missed both free throws, I thought were were. The Panthers grabbed the missed free throw and headed down the floor with time running down. At half court, Bardstown's Corey Hall, the senior leader, stole the ball, ran down the floor, and hit the game winning layup with 1.8 seconds to go. E-town's crowd just dropped in their seats, and the Bardstown fans rushed the floor. They were headed to the finals on a last second layup. It just gave me cold chills again writing about it.
Bardstown pulls out a very exciting game, 52-20.
OBSERVATIONS
Cheerleading 101: I have to give it up to the Bardstown student section. They were fantastic again tonight. The stuff they come up with is great. I was thinking that cheerleading must be 6th period over there in Bardstown. It's hard to put into word, but I will try. One cheer all the students lock arms and sway back and forth. Four guys stand up and the pep band strikes up the old Beach Boys tune "Surfin' USA," and it looks like the four guys are surfing in the crowd. Another one is the boxing match. One students comes out with head gear and gloves and stands on the floor. He the shadow boxes the crowd and they act like they're getting punched. Then, the student with the gloves connects with the KO punch. The whole crowd hollers "KO, KO, KO" to the E-town fans. It even had the refs smiling during a timeout.
The End Zone is the Place to Be: Hart County High has bleachers in one end of their gym. This is where the real fans sit. I sat there most of the tournament. It's full of old players, current coaches, and fans of basketball. Me being a youngster in the group, I learned a lot with the "Older Guys." I also handed out a lot of cards for this website. So, hello first time readers, welcome to our crazy basketball world.
Apologies from Pick and Roll: Chris sent me his story, and I was going to post it this morning. Pick and Roll is an early riser, which is the result of starting my working life in the grocery produce business. I had to meet deliveries at 4 a.m., and I walked to work (up hill both ways). When we switch back to Daylight Savings Time, I'm thrown for a loop. I slept too late this morning to get to Chris's excellent coverage, and I had to meet someone in Murray early in the morning. I apologize.
I quote the great philosopher, Grandpa Jones, "Daylight Savings Time is like cutting one end off a blanket and sewing it on the other to make it longer." By the way, did you know that Louis "Grandpa" Jones was born in Henderson County, Kentucky, but they always billed him as "The old man from the mountains..." I've been the Henderson County, thousands of times, but I have yet to see a mountain.
As always, Pick and Roll readers are appreciated.
By Chris Gregory, Fifth Region Correspondent
Game One: Central Hardin 63 - Adair County 58
I am a huge fan of high school basketball if you haven't noticed by now, and I really don't have any connections with any certain team or players other than friends I've made during the season. But, in the last week or so it's been hard not to root for some of them. I like the underdogs, and I like coaches who have never been in situations like this before.
For instance, Central Hardin Coach J.C. Wright has put his time in on the sidelines in Cecilia. He and his team are the hottest things going in the Fifth Region. Monday night they were trying to get into the finals for the first time in school history. They've already accomplished one big feat this year by winning the 17th district tournament, a district loaded with good teams year in and year out.
The local odds maker who sat near me during the game told me that he liked Central in this game, against the defending Fifth Region champs. Adair has a good ball club, and I knew it would be a good game.
Adair controlled the tip and got the opening bucket. As usual, the Indians were very patient and looked for the best possible shot. Central was quick to run, wanting to get the upper hand by controlling the tempo. The Bruins had the hot hand in the first two minutes of the game, hitting every shot they attempted. Most were three pointers. On the defensive end, the front row fans were getting a lot of action because of the deflections by the Bruins. Central Hardin was building a lead, and I had only seen Adair play from behind one time this season. It wasn't good. It was when they played University Heights in the King of the Bluegrass, and they lost the game. Central Hardin was running past the Indians, leading after one, 25-14.
Adair County is loaded with talent. Three players were on the all region team, and Mark Fudge was Coach of the Year. They were not going to give in that easy. They did cut it to six points early in the second, but Central had a weapon in Daniel Linder, who was begging for the ball. He had the hot hand. They pushed the lead back to ten, and fans around me said that Adair would cut it in half by halftime. They did, thanks to Tony Harding making the "Charlie Brown Blockhead Play of the Game." He fouled Kalen Kimberland with 3.6 seconds left in the half. Kimberland made the layup and the following free throw. Central Hardin had the slim lead of 36-31 at halftime.
I thought Adair County had just played the worst half of basketball I had seen them play, and they were only down five. I have seen Adair play many more times than Central. I really didn't know the fire power Central Hardin possessed. Like I said, they have been the hottest team over the last few weeks in the Fifth. They picked a good time to come out of hibernation and put together a winning streak.
I wish high school basketball had its own TV station because this game would make an instant classic. The Indians had one more run in them. They just weren't going to roll over and play dead against the Bruins. Adair County kept their heads and knew they had it in them to win the game. Corey Helm, who was off the mark most of the night, hit huge back-to-back threes and tied the game with 2:29 to go. This would be the last run they could make. Central Hardin just wanted it more, and they deserved the victory. Adair County couldn't execute in the closing minutes. Central won by five, and we will have a new Fifth Region champion.
OBSERVATIONS
Huh? What'd ya say?: I hope Hart County uses the gate money they got this week to get a new PA system. It's horrible! The lady running the PA was OK, but I couldn't hear her. She sounded a lot like Charlie Brown's teacher, "wha wha, wha, wha." If you didn't know the players' names when they scored, you weren't going to hear it, either. Buck up Hart County!"
The Poppa Bear: Congratulations to J.C. Wright and his staff. This is the season that Central Hardin fans have waited. They are hot "WRIGHT" now. I feel like this team has been under the radar all year. They have a killer 1-3-1 zone defense, and teams find it hard to crack. Most fans I came across this season never mentioned the Bruins. It was always Adair, North or Bardstown as the favorites. I know they have not won the big game yet, but I'm just sying no one had them going this far.
Go Volunteers!: No not the ones in Knoxville. The Munfordville Fire and Rescue was in charge of the parking and did a great job. They probably don't get to see any of the games, but they were out there making sure your car was safe. They did slack up when people were leaving, which was kind of crazy. They should have helped out on that end as well. Overall, good job.
Game Two: Bardstown 52 - Elizabethtown 50
Folkls, these games are taking a toll on me. The excitement has been great for all of them, but the last game of the semifinals might have been the most excitement I've seen all year. If you have read the Pick and Roll all year, you know I have said to never give up on a James Haire coached team. They knocked off Green County in the first round, and they were ready to square off with the Runnin' Tigers of Bardstown in the semifinals.
Battle of the City Schools! Bardstown jumped out on E-town very quickly, and it looked like this game was oing to be over before we got out of the first quarter. The Tigers have great ball movement, and it had the Panthers gasping for air. Coach Haire had to use a timeout befor ethis game got out of hand. E-town managed just four points in the first quarter, and they were down by 11.
E-town showed some life in the second quarter. It may have been because the E-town girls team showed up after winning their final earlier on Monday. Chris "Go Go" Gohman was on a roll again tonight. He had his hands all over the ball. I didn't keep up with steals, but he must have hd a bunch. Bardstown helped E-town by not making any field goals for about two minutes. That seemed like a long time in this fast paced game. By the end of the second, E-town had cut the Tiger lead to four. Never count out a James Haire coached team. The Panthers were hanging tough in a physical game. The halftime score was 28-24, Bardstown.
Teams don't win a state championship just by the talent they have on the floor. James Haire is a great coach, and I have heard over the years that he can prepare for any team. He made adjustments at the half, and Panthers came out in the third ready to upset the Tigers. I call this an upset because most people had Bardstown in a landslide. E-town was in control, and everything was going in their favor. The tempo was a big factor in the third. At the 2:40 mark, E-town had their first lead of the night. I could see the momentum shift to the Panthers. The Bardstown fans seemed to wilt in their seats; E-town was not ready for this season to be over with.
I could spend an hour writing on the fourth quarter alone. It's the best quarter of basketball I've seen all this year. This game had been tight since the start of the third, and the fourth was going to be a slug-fest. Both teams were trading buckets and someone had to make a stop. E-town struck first, forcing Bardstown into a couple of turnovers. With a two point lead with 1:30 to go, E-town had the momentum once again, but, all of sudden, Bardstown stepped it up and tied it again with 25.2 to go.
Elizabethtown came down to their end of the floor and was going for the game winner. They turned the ball over. They fouled Bardstown's Demarco Phillips with 10.2 seconds to go in regulation.
Were we headed to overtime?
After Phillips missed both free throws, I thought were were. The Panthers grabbed the missed free throw and headed down the floor with time running down. At half court, Bardstown's Corey Hall, the senior leader, stole the ball, ran down the floor, and hit the game winning layup with 1.8 seconds to go. E-town's crowd just dropped in their seats, and the Bardstown fans rushed the floor. They were headed to the finals on a last second layup. It just gave me cold chills again writing about it.
Bardstown pulls out a very exciting game, 52-20.
OBSERVATIONS
Cheerleading 101: I have to give it up to the Bardstown student section. They were fantastic again tonight. The stuff they come up with is great. I was thinking that cheerleading must be 6th period over there in Bardstown. It's hard to put into word, but I will try. One cheer all the students lock arms and sway back and forth. Four guys stand up and the pep band strikes up the old Beach Boys tune "Surfin' USA," and it looks like the four guys are surfing in the crowd. Another one is the boxing match. One students comes out with head gear and gloves and stands on the floor. He the shadow boxes the crowd and they act like they're getting punched. Then, the student with the gloves connects with the KO punch. The whole crowd hollers "KO, KO, KO" to the E-town fans. It even had the refs smiling during a timeout.
The End Zone is the Place to Be: Hart County High has bleachers in one end of their gym. This is where the real fans sit. I sat there most of the tournament. It's full of old players, current coaches, and fans of basketball. Me being a youngster in the group, I learned a lot with the "Older Guys." I also handed out a lot of cards for this website. So, hello first time readers, welcome to our crazy basketball world.
Apologies from Pick and Roll: Chris sent me his story, and I was going to post it this morning. Pick and Roll is an early riser, which is the result of starting my working life in the grocery produce business. I had to meet deliveries at 4 a.m., and I walked to work (up hill both ways). When we switch back to Daylight Savings Time, I'm thrown for a loop. I slept too late this morning to get to Chris's excellent coverage, and I had to meet someone in Murray early in the morning. I apologize.
I quote the great philosopher, Grandpa Jones, "Daylight Savings Time is like cutting one end off a blanket and sewing it on the other to make it longer." By the way, did you know that Louis "Grandpa" Jones was born in Henderson County, Kentucky, but they always billed him as "The old man from the mountains..." I've been the Henderson County, thousands of times, but I have yet to see a mountain.
As always, Pick and Roll readers are appreciated.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Fourth Region Tournament, E.A. Diddle Arena, Western Kentucky University
Monday, March 10, 2008
Game One: Bowling Green 57 - Russell County 48
Semifinal
A lot of people I talk to think that Bowling Green likes to run and gun on the basketball court. I've never found that to be the case this season. Most of Bowling Green's I've watched have been low scoring affairs. I find this to be true: as goes the Purples' defense so goes the Purples. If they play tough defense, they can dictate the tempo and control the game. If they get lazy on the defensive end, they struggle and usually lose.
Monday night, I saw a little of both of Bowling Green tonight. Their defense came in flashes, but it was never quite enough to finish off the Lakers until the late in the game.
Bowling Green and Russell County seem to be on the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of style of play. Bowling Green attacks the basket and looks to slash into the lane to create offense. Russell County is methodical. Bowling Green is athletic while Russell County depends on fundamental basketball to get them through a game. I always love to see these two kinds of teams square off against one another, especially when advancing in a regional tournament is at stake.
Russell County made it to the semifinals last season and met their end against Warren Central. The steady play and experience of players like Bryon Ellis, Bryson McFall, and Timmy Coffey made the Lakers a tough opponent, especially for a Jekyll and Hyde team like the Purples.
Bowling Green pressed and played man-to-man throughout the ballgame, but the Lakers kept finding ways through the pressure. They're also good at drawing fouls.
D.L. Moore never made his athletic ability an issue for the Lakers until later in the game. He wasn't getting rebounds and he wasn't working for his shots. It doesn't matter if Lebron James laces up against the Russell County brand of Lakers, he's going to have to work for his shots. Their zone defense has no holes in it, and they collapse on the ball like a Las Vegas hotel that's outlived its usefulness.
Russell County outplayed the Purples in the first half and took a 24-22 lead to the break.
The two teams played even in the third quarter, each scoring 14 points.
They played back-and-forth to open the fourth quarter, but I noticed that Russell County showed signs of fatigue. Bowling Green Coach D.G. Sherrill shuttled players in and out of the ballgame so much that my head was spinning, but the Lakers didn't have as many bodies to throw out on the court.
The Purples controlled the fourth quarter, outscoring Russell County 21-10. They advanced to the regional final with a 57-48 victory.
Tevin Barksdale was Player of the Game and had 16 points. Billey "Lando" Williams had 14 points and Jarren Nixon had 11.
For the Lakers, Bryon Ellis had 16 points, and this kid would not back down. He really earned my admiration in this game, this tournament, and even from last year's tournament.
OBSERVATIONS
Bowling Green Fan Support: Quicksand offers better support. The Purps has some great fans, and I don't want to bust on the ones who show up for the games. There were very few students there tonight. I've seen more student support at a chess club match. Greenwood will have 30 times the number of students at tomorrow's championship game than Bowling Green.
March Madness: I was watching games on the court. I was trying to catch parts of the Middle Tennessee-South Alabama game on the televisions in Diddle Arena. It's just not enough to keep up with one or two or three games on a March evening. It's Kentucky's Mardis Gras! I can't imagine not keeping up with basketball in March.
Armies of Cheerleaders: My gosh! When I was in high school, Male High had six or seven cheerleaders. Now, schools have scads of them. Between games tonight at Diddle Arena the four schools had about 30 cheerleaders a piece trying to get out of or get into the end zones at the arena. I read where every fifth person in the world is Chinese, but I'm starting to think that every fourth person in the world is a cheerleader.
That reminds me of a funny cheerleader story. At Male High, our cheerleaders did this cheer on the court in which they shouted, WE ARE...MALE BULLDOGS! Just think about that a second and listen to it in your head. I always laughed out loud.
Game Two: Greenwood 67 - Barren County 65
A few more broken hearts went into the asphalt for the Road to Rupp on Monday night. These hearts were from Barren County, and either Bowling Green or Greenwood will drive right over those broken hearts on I-65 when their bus trucks them up to Lexington.
Greenwood pounced on Barren County early. They played tenacious man-to-man defense and kept constant pressure on the ball. They took a commanding 9-2 lead on Barren County, but the Trojans made a run of their own, and all was not lost. Greenwood had a 15-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
From there, Barren County outplayed the Gators through most of the rest of the game. Although Lee Hubbard was scoreless in the first quarter, he strapped his Trojan teammates to his back and carried them through the second quarter, scoring 12 of Barren County's 17 points in the frame. Greenwood held on to a 30-27 lead at halftime. Mark Lacy, who doesn't look to score a lot of points for the Gators, led the Greenwood scoring with a 11 first half points.
The second half made for a classic basketball game. Both teams went after each other with the tenacity that is only reserved for post season play. I'd have to say that Monday's semifinal game was the best game I've seen all season.
It resulted in a heart breaker for Barren County, though. I felt like they outplayed Greenwood through most of the game. They outscored them in the second and third quarters and built a 65-60 lead with just a couple of minutes left in the game. They quit attacking the basket, though, and seemed like they wanted to put it in the deep freeze. That's a dangerous decision against Greenwood because the Gators are so very quick. Mark Lacy and Austin Reed (Thing 1 and Thing 2) are too quick and too well equipped to always have to pass back to the point against them. Not only are they quick, but they have great leaping ability. One would think it would be easy to throw over them, but that is a terribly wrong assumption.
Greenwood went after the Trojans like a wicked band of Spartans. Barren County's five point lead evaporated, and their hope of advancing to take on Bowling Green evaporated. Greenwood bookended the game with a first quarter flurry and a fourth quarter rally and won, 67-65.
Mark Lacy was Player of the Game and scored 22 points while dealing out six assists. J.J. Smith added 13 points along with Dee Anderson.
OBSERVATIONS
Lee Hubbard Fan Club: Count me as a member. Hubbard scored 22 points on Monday night and grabbed nine rebounds. This guy would be a steal for Campbellsville or Lindsey Wilson. I could see him getting significant minutes for the Austin Peays of the world. At the end of each Barren County game, teammates, opponents, cheerleaders, coaches, equipment managers, and whoever kneel at the jump circle and Lee leads them in a prayer. I've enjoyed watching him play.
The Joint Was Jumpin: The Barren County fans and the Greenwood fans are great. They are loud, too. My ears are still ringing after tonight's ballgame.
Ben Hubbard Update: Regular Pick and Roll readers will recall my report on Barren County's Ben Hubbard hitting his head on the court and walking around in a daze afterward. It was a scary moment. He played tonight, and when Dee Anderson fouled him on a layup, he made the shot. The Barren County fans gave him a standing ovation.
Fourth Region Tournament: The folks that put this thing together do a fantastic job. It's great basketball in a great venue and a lot of great people doing a lot of hard work. I'm always sad to see it shut down and tomorrow will be the championship between Bowling Green and Greenwood.
Game One: Bowling Green 57 - Russell County 48
Semifinal
A lot of people I talk to think that Bowling Green likes to run and gun on the basketball court. I've never found that to be the case this season. Most of Bowling Green's I've watched have been low scoring affairs. I find this to be true: as goes the Purples' defense so goes the Purples. If they play tough defense, they can dictate the tempo and control the game. If they get lazy on the defensive end, they struggle and usually lose.
Monday night, I saw a little of both of Bowling Green tonight. Their defense came in flashes, but it was never quite enough to finish off the Lakers until the late in the game.
Bowling Green and Russell County seem to be on the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of style of play. Bowling Green attacks the basket and looks to slash into the lane to create offense. Russell County is methodical. Bowling Green is athletic while Russell County depends on fundamental basketball to get them through a game. I always love to see these two kinds of teams square off against one another, especially when advancing in a regional tournament is at stake.
Russell County made it to the semifinals last season and met their end against Warren Central. The steady play and experience of players like Bryon Ellis, Bryson McFall, and Timmy Coffey made the Lakers a tough opponent, especially for a Jekyll and Hyde team like the Purples.
Bowling Green pressed and played man-to-man throughout the ballgame, but the Lakers kept finding ways through the pressure. They're also good at drawing fouls.
D.L. Moore never made his athletic ability an issue for the Lakers until later in the game. He wasn't getting rebounds and he wasn't working for his shots. It doesn't matter if Lebron James laces up against the Russell County brand of Lakers, he's going to have to work for his shots. Their zone defense has no holes in it, and they collapse on the ball like a Las Vegas hotel that's outlived its usefulness.
Russell County outplayed the Purples in the first half and took a 24-22 lead to the break.
The two teams played even in the third quarter, each scoring 14 points.
They played back-and-forth to open the fourth quarter, but I noticed that Russell County showed signs of fatigue. Bowling Green Coach D.G. Sherrill shuttled players in and out of the ballgame so much that my head was spinning, but the Lakers didn't have as many bodies to throw out on the court.
The Purples controlled the fourth quarter, outscoring Russell County 21-10. They advanced to the regional final with a 57-48 victory.
Tevin Barksdale was Player of the Game and had 16 points. Billey "Lando" Williams had 14 points and Jarren Nixon had 11.
For the Lakers, Bryon Ellis had 16 points, and this kid would not back down. He really earned my admiration in this game, this tournament, and even from last year's tournament.
OBSERVATIONS
Bowling Green Fan Support: Quicksand offers better support. The Purps has some great fans, and I don't want to bust on the ones who show up for the games. There were very few students there tonight. I've seen more student support at a chess club match. Greenwood will have 30 times the number of students at tomorrow's championship game than Bowling Green.
March Madness: I was watching games on the court. I was trying to catch parts of the Middle Tennessee-South Alabama game on the televisions in Diddle Arena. It's just not enough to keep up with one or two or three games on a March evening. It's Kentucky's Mardis Gras! I can't imagine not keeping up with basketball in March.
Armies of Cheerleaders: My gosh! When I was in high school, Male High had six or seven cheerleaders. Now, schools have scads of them. Between games tonight at Diddle Arena the four schools had about 30 cheerleaders a piece trying to get out of or get into the end zones at the arena. I read where every fifth person in the world is Chinese, but I'm starting to think that every fourth person in the world is a cheerleader.
That reminds me of a funny cheerleader story. At Male High, our cheerleaders did this cheer on the court in which they shouted, WE ARE...MALE BULLDOGS! Just think about that a second and listen to it in your head. I always laughed out loud.
Game Two: Greenwood 67 - Barren County 65
A few more broken hearts went into the asphalt for the Road to Rupp on Monday night. These hearts were from Barren County, and either Bowling Green or Greenwood will drive right over those broken hearts on I-65 when their bus trucks them up to Lexington.
Greenwood pounced on Barren County early. They played tenacious man-to-man defense and kept constant pressure on the ball. They took a commanding 9-2 lead on Barren County, but the Trojans made a run of their own, and all was not lost. Greenwood had a 15-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
From there, Barren County outplayed the Gators through most of the rest of the game. Although Lee Hubbard was scoreless in the first quarter, he strapped his Trojan teammates to his back and carried them through the second quarter, scoring 12 of Barren County's 17 points in the frame. Greenwood held on to a 30-27 lead at halftime. Mark Lacy, who doesn't look to score a lot of points for the Gators, led the Greenwood scoring with a 11 first half points.
The second half made for a classic basketball game. Both teams went after each other with the tenacity that is only reserved for post season play. I'd have to say that Monday's semifinal game was the best game I've seen all season.
It resulted in a heart breaker for Barren County, though. I felt like they outplayed Greenwood through most of the game. They outscored them in the second and third quarters and built a 65-60 lead with just a couple of minutes left in the game. They quit attacking the basket, though, and seemed like they wanted to put it in the deep freeze. That's a dangerous decision against Greenwood because the Gators are so very quick. Mark Lacy and Austin Reed (Thing 1 and Thing 2) are too quick and too well equipped to always have to pass back to the point against them. Not only are they quick, but they have great leaping ability. One would think it would be easy to throw over them, but that is a terribly wrong assumption.
Greenwood went after the Trojans like a wicked band of Spartans. Barren County's five point lead evaporated, and their hope of advancing to take on Bowling Green evaporated. Greenwood bookended the game with a first quarter flurry and a fourth quarter rally and won, 67-65.
Mark Lacy was Player of the Game and scored 22 points while dealing out six assists. J.J. Smith added 13 points along with Dee Anderson.
OBSERVATIONS
Lee Hubbard Fan Club: Count me as a member. Hubbard scored 22 points on Monday night and grabbed nine rebounds. This guy would be a steal for Campbellsville or Lindsey Wilson. I could see him getting significant minutes for the Austin Peays of the world. At the end of each Barren County game, teammates, opponents, cheerleaders, coaches, equipment managers, and whoever kneel at the jump circle and Lee leads them in a prayer. I've enjoyed watching him play.
The Joint Was Jumpin: The Barren County fans and the Greenwood fans are great. They are loud, too. My ears are still ringing after tonight's ballgame.
Ben Hubbard Update: Regular Pick and Roll readers will recall my report on Barren County's Ben Hubbard hitting his head on the court and walking around in a daze afterward. It was a scary moment. He played tonight, and when Dee Anderson fouled him on a layup, he made the shot. The Barren County fans gave him a standing ovation.
Fourth Region Tournament: The folks that put this thing together do a fantastic job. It's great basketball in a great venue and a lot of great people doing a lot of hard work. I'm always sad to see it shut down and tomorrow will be the championship between Bowling Green and Greenwood.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Fourth Region Tournament (Girls), E.A. Diddle Arena, Western Kentucky University
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Franklin-Simpson 49 - Bowling Green 37
Fourth Region Championship Game
This is a first for the Pennyrile Pick and Roll. I was able to make it to an entire girls basketball game today, and I've lived to write about it. That's a joke. I have nothing against girls basketball. I never write about it because I have my limitations, and I have this crazy thing that a lot of people call a "job." No, I'm not talking about the "Job" of the Old Testament; I'm talking about the "job" that keeps Pick and Roll old and testy. I have to draw the line somewhere or I would spend too much time watching basketball. While I believe there's no such thing, my wife does. I apologize to fans of girls basketball because I sacrifice it to keep up with boys basketball.
If any readers wonder what goes into Pick and Roll decision making, click here to see some video of our last editorial staff meeting.
The Franklin-Simpson Lady Wildcats have been a team on a mission for the entire season. Coming into Saturday afternoon's game, they had only two blemishes on their record in 33 ballgames. They dropped a game to Muhlenberg North on December 28th in the Greenwood Classic, and they lost to Henderson by five on January 19th in the Shooting Star Classic at Muhlenberg North.
They took on the Lady Purples from Bowling Green, who beat a tough Barren County team on Friday night to reach the finals. The Lady Purples had something to prove, carrying a 22-10 records into the championship.
In the first quarter, it seemed like neither team would ever break the ice and score. They were nearly three minutes into the game before Cheyenne Brown scored for the Lady Wildcats. Bowling Green's Erica Smith and Alexis Lawrence responded with back-to-back three pointers, and it seemed that the Lady Purples had thrown down a challenge to Franklin-Simpson. the two teams traded basket and more than made up for the lack of scoring in the first three minutes of the game. Franklin-Simpson had a 12-8 lead.
The Lady Wildcats had a devil of a time with traveling calls early in the game. I guess they were over-anxious and started their moves before putting the ball on the floor. It can be tricky, and the calls made me realize why I'd hate to be a referee.
Bowling Green tied the game at 12, but the Lady Wildcats went on an 18-6 run and took a commanding 30-16 lead at halftime.
Franklin-Simpson's Kelleshia Cook, who's going to play college ball in COOKville, Tennesee, is a very good basketball player. Anytime there's chaos on Franklin's defensive end, Kelleshia Cook is going to be involved in it somehow. She makes important plays on that end of the court and out hustles everyone on the court. She gets to the loose balls. She gets the ball as it's going out-of-bounds when the other team has given up on it. She seems to be everywhere. She finished the game with five steals, which was half of the team's total.
The early part of the third quarter went badly for Bowling Green. They were frustrated and seemed to lose their composure. Kelleshia Cook hit a three pointer that put the Lady Wildcats up 42-22, and it seemed that they were going to crush the Purples like a big juicy grape. That wasn't the case. Bowling Green rallied and closed the quarter with an 8-2 run. They matched Franklin in the third with each team scoring 14 points.
Franklin-Simpson took control in the middle of the fourth quarter. Bowling Green trimmed the lead, but the Lady Wildcats went into an impressive stall offense that kept the Lady Purples' defense rushing around the court. They ran a lot of time off the clock and won the championship with a 49-37 victory.
Franklin-Simpson had three players with 13 points: Dominique Cook, Kelleshia Cook, and Chastity Gooch. Apparently, you had to have double o's in your name to score in double digits for the Lady Wildcats on Saturday. I guess Drea Gooch didn't get the memo because she only had four points.
Erica Smith led the Purples in scoring with 16 points. Bowling Green only shot 26.7% from the field and was a miserable 3-17 from beyond the arc. They shot 20% in the first half. They did out rebound the Lady Wildcats, 31-28, and had 15 offensive boards, which can be expected when a team has a terrible shooting night.
Franklin-Simpson's road to the Sweet Sixteen will be a short one -- in distance. The Girls' Sweet Sixteen is played at Diddle Arena starting on Wednesday. The Lady Wildcats play at 6:30 on Thursday evening and will play the Eighth Region Champ, which won't be decided until Monday night.
OBSERVATIONS
Purple Purpus: That's not a typographical error. The Lady Purples has a player with the last name of "Purpus." Purple's Purpus Plays with Purpose. Man! Say that three times real fast.
The All-Geography Team: Kristie Nation, Cumberland County; Cecilia Smith, Bowling Green; Katie Covington, Todd County; Savannah Hilliard, Franklin-Simpson; and Cheyenne Brown, Franklin-Simpson. That makes me wonder how many times a pass for the Lady Wildcats goes from Cheyenne to Savannah.
Superman Villain: Lex Lindsey? Oh, wait, that's Lex Luther, and although Coach Lindsey is a basketball genius, he's no villain. He seems to be a heck of a nice guy. He stomps on the court every time he wants the attention of his team. It startled me whenever he did it this afternoon. I'm worried that Lex is going to end up with shin splints if he's not careful. WKU might send him a bill for the repair of a few boards of the Diddle Arena floor, though.
Not Too Many Cooks in Franklin's Kitchen: The Lady Wildcats have Dominique Cook and Kelleshia Cook for players, but they also have Kelly Cook on the bench as an assistant coach. No one complains about too many Cooks in the kitchen in Franklin.
Pick and Roll Breaks Routine: I travel a lot during the week, and the driving can really wear these tired bones down. I like to press the couch on Saturday afternoons and usually drift off in a nap watching a couple of football schools play basketball on television. Four in the afternoon is prime nap time, but I was at Diddle instead. That's after sledding with my children for four hours on Saturday.
All Tournament Team
I must apologize because I missed one name as it was announced.
Alexis Lawrence - Bowling Green
Arial McKinney - Bowling Green
Paige Lee - Glasgow
Charli Fant - Glasgow
Erica Smith - Bowling Green
Brittany Payne - Franklin-Simpson
Courtney Thomas - Barren County
Kelsey Mitchell (Freshman) - Barren County
Dominique Cook - Franklin-Simpson
Ashley Rainey - Warren East
Chastity Gooch - Franklin-Simpson
Laura Fletcher - Cumberland County
Arienne Tarrence (Freshman) - Bowling Green
Kelleshia Cook - Franklin-Simpson
Franklin-Simpson 49 - Bowling Green 37
Fourth Region Championship Game
This is a first for the Pennyrile Pick and Roll. I was able to make it to an entire girls basketball game today, and I've lived to write about it. That's a joke. I have nothing against girls basketball. I never write about it because I have my limitations, and I have this crazy thing that a lot of people call a "job." No, I'm not talking about the "Job" of the Old Testament; I'm talking about the "job" that keeps Pick and Roll old and testy. I have to draw the line somewhere or I would spend too much time watching basketball. While I believe there's no such thing, my wife does. I apologize to fans of girls basketball because I sacrifice it to keep up with boys basketball.
If any readers wonder what goes into Pick and Roll decision making, click here to see some video of our last editorial staff meeting.
The Franklin-Simpson Lady Wildcats have been a team on a mission for the entire season. Coming into Saturday afternoon's game, they had only two blemishes on their record in 33 ballgames. They dropped a game to Muhlenberg North on December 28th in the Greenwood Classic, and they lost to Henderson by five on January 19th in the Shooting Star Classic at Muhlenberg North.
They took on the Lady Purples from Bowling Green, who beat a tough Barren County team on Friday night to reach the finals. The Lady Purples had something to prove, carrying a 22-10 records into the championship.
In the first quarter, it seemed like neither team would ever break the ice and score. They were nearly three minutes into the game before Cheyenne Brown scored for the Lady Wildcats. Bowling Green's Erica Smith and Alexis Lawrence responded with back-to-back three pointers, and it seemed that the Lady Purples had thrown down a challenge to Franklin-Simpson. the two teams traded basket and more than made up for the lack of scoring in the first three minutes of the game. Franklin-Simpson had a 12-8 lead.
The Lady Wildcats had a devil of a time with traveling calls early in the game. I guess they were over-anxious and started their moves before putting the ball on the floor. It can be tricky, and the calls made me realize why I'd hate to be a referee.
Bowling Green tied the game at 12, but the Lady Wildcats went on an 18-6 run and took a commanding 30-16 lead at halftime.
Franklin-Simpson's Kelleshia Cook, who's going to play college ball in COOKville, Tennesee, is a very good basketball player. Anytime there's chaos on Franklin's defensive end, Kelleshia Cook is going to be involved in it somehow. She makes important plays on that end of the court and out hustles everyone on the court. She gets to the loose balls. She gets the ball as it's going out-of-bounds when the other team has given up on it. She seems to be everywhere. She finished the game with five steals, which was half of the team's total.
The early part of the third quarter went badly for Bowling Green. They were frustrated and seemed to lose their composure. Kelleshia Cook hit a three pointer that put the Lady Wildcats up 42-22, and it seemed that they were going to crush the Purples like a big juicy grape. That wasn't the case. Bowling Green rallied and closed the quarter with an 8-2 run. They matched Franklin in the third with each team scoring 14 points.
Franklin-Simpson took control in the middle of the fourth quarter. Bowling Green trimmed the lead, but the Lady Wildcats went into an impressive stall offense that kept the Lady Purples' defense rushing around the court. They ran a lot of time off the clock and won the championship with a 49-37 victory.
Franklin-Simpson had three players with 13 points: Dominique Cook, Kelleshia Cook, and Chastity Gooch. Apparently, you had to have double o's in your name to score in double digits for the Lady Wildcats on Saturday. I guess Drea Gooch didn't get the memo because she only had four points.
Erica Smith led the Purples in scoring with 16 points. Bowling Green only shot 26.7% from the field and was a miserable 3-17 from beyond the arc. They shot 20% in the first half. They did out rebound the Lady Wildcats, 31-28, and had 15 offensive boards, which can be expected when a team has a terrible shooting night.
Franklin-Simpson's road to the Sweet Sixteen will be a short one -- in distance. The Girls' Sweet Sixteen is played at Diddle Arena starting on Wednesday. The Lady Wildcats play at 6:30 on Thursday evening and will play the Eighth Region Champ, which won't be decided until Monday night.
OBSERVATIONS
Purple Purpus: That's not a typographical error. The Lady Purples has a player with the last name of "Purpus." Purple's Purpus Plays with Purpose. Man! Say that three times real fast.
The All-Geography Team: Kristie Nation, Cumberland County; Cecilia Smith, Bowling Green; Katie Covington, Todd County; Savannah Hilliard, Franklin-Simpson; and Cheyenne Brown, Franklin-Simpson. That makes me wonder how many times a pass for the Lady Wildcats goes from Cheyenne to Savannah.
Superman Villain: Lex Lindsey? Oh, wait, that's Lex Luther, and although Coach Lindsey is a basketball genius, he's no villain. He seems to be a heck of a nice guy. He stomps on the court every time he wants the attention of his team. It startled me whenever he did it this afternoon. I'm worried that Lex is going to end up with shin splints if he's not careful. WKU might send him a bill for the repair of a few boards of the Diddle Arena floor, though.
Not Too Many Cooks in Franklin's Kitchen: The Lady Wildcats have Dominique Cook and Kelleshia Cook for players, but they also have Kelly Cook on the bench as an assistant coach. No one complains about too many Cooks in the kitchen in Franklin.
Pick and Roll Breaks Routine: I travel a lot during the week, and the driving can really wear these tired bones down. I like to press the couch on Saturday afternoons and usually drift off in a nap watching a couple of football schools play basketball on television. Four in the afternoon is prime nap time, but I was at Diddle instead. That's after sledding with my children for four hours on Saturday.
All Tournament Team
I must apologize because I missed one name as it was announced.
Alexis Lawrence - Bowling Green
Arial McKinney - Bowling Green
Paige Lee - Glasgow
Charli Fant - Glasgow
Erica Smith - Bowling Green
Brittany Payne - Franklin-Simpson
Courtney Thomas - Barren County
Kelsey Mitchell (Freshman) - Barren County
Dominique Cook - Franklin-Simpson
Ashley Rainey - Warren East
Chastity Gooch - Franklin-Simpson
Laura Fletcher - Cumberland County
Arienne Tarrence (Freshman) - Bowling Green
Kelleshia Cook - Franklin-Simpson
Friday, March 7, 2008
Fifth Region Tournament, Hart County High School, Munfordville, Kentucky
Thursday, March 6, 2008
By Chris Gregory, Fifth Region Correspondent
Game One: Elizabethtown 55 - Green County 48
Well, we're through the first round of the Fifth Region tournament. On Wednesday things went as planned with both top seeds winning. Thursday night, though, things would be more interesting because these teams were ready to get it on with one another.
Underdogs leave it all on the floor come tournament time. I love the way kids play hard for their schools. Most of them know they will not play at the next level, so they make the most of it this time of year.
The first game was between Green County and Elizabethtown. This game was a hard one to call. I really didn't know who would win this game, and at the start it looked like no one wanted it. Both were stone cold from the field. It was a very ugly game. One must take into consideration that no one on either roster has played in a regional game. The last time E-town was in the regional tournament most of these players were freshman and sophomores and didn't dress varsity. Green County is making their second appearance in 11 years. The coaches, on the other hand, have been in the regionals before. If you know about the Fifth Region, then you've heard of James Haire. He's been to plenty of tournament games. Toby Curry, Green County's coach, has been there before but only as a player. He led his 1995 Adair County squad to the Fifth Region championship game.
The coaches know how important this game is, but do the players?
Like I stated above, this one was ugly in the first half. The tempo favored E-town, but they could not find the bucket. In fact, no on could find it. I started to think that someone had put a lid on the goals. It was the lowest scoring first quarter I've seen all year. E-town led 6-4. That's not a misprint.
The second quarter was about the same with not much going on. Both teams had a lot of turnovers and missed field goals. Something had to give. Green County came into this game as one of the best scoring offenses in the state, but E-town was near the top in scoring defense. I kept waiting for something to happen. Finally, Green County made a "run" by this game's standards. They ran off four points. I mean this game was UGLY. Green County had the halftime lead, 16-15, in what was a struggle for both teams.
The Panthers stepped up the "D" in the third, and the scoring heated up as well. It actually turned into a shoot-fest between E-town's Chris "Go-Go" Gohman and Green County's Clint Henderson. These guys swapped shots like Pamela Anderson swaps husbands. It was turning into a game for a change. Green still hung onto the lead, 36-33.
Chris Gohman owned the fourth quarter and finished the game with 33 points, including six made free throws under 3:00 left in the game. Elizabethtown came back after trailing most of the game to knock out the first district champ of the tournament. They won 55-48.
OBSERVATIONS
Panthers in Charge: Elizabethtown controlled the tempo of this game from the tap. Green County wanted to run, but the Panthers would not let them. Even though the Dragons led most of the game, E-town never panicked and at the right moment took charge. They put Green County away, holding them well below their average of 70 points a game.
These Seats are Reserved: The E-town student section settled into their seats. All of them were sitting down minding their own business and not bothering anyone. Then, an administrator from Hart County made them move. They were in one end zone of the gym, and I guess it wasn't the right place for them to sit. This set off the E-town athletic director, and he told his students to get rowdy early. They booed the administrator every time he came around.
Going Back for Seconds: Folks, Hart County High School may have the best concession stand I've seen in a long time. On Wednesday I reported on the nachos supreme. Tonight, I took a closer look at the menu. To my surprise, they had homemade fried apple pies. Ah, man! They weren't as good as my Mamaw Gregory's but darn close. Editor's Note: I've had Mamaw Gregory's fried apple pies, so now I'm angling to join Chris at the Fifth Region tournament.
Second Game: Bardstown 72 - Taylor County 66
When the draw came out I knew this game would be a shoot-out. That was an understatement. I got so caught up in this game that I forgot to look at the score after the buzzer sounded. I do know that Bardstown had the lead. Both teams shot out the lights.
I hadn't seen a game like this all year. Each team had an answer for the other. Corey hall for Bardstown got things rolling early when he connected for five three pointers in the first half. His counterpart, Chase Cox, matched him shot-for-shot. He had four threes at the break, and Bardstown had a 37-28 lead.
I don't think these teams wanted to go to the locker room for halftime. They were afraid they might cool off. That was not the case. They started the third right where they left off. This game was living up to the hype people talked about all week. It's a shame that one of these teams had to lose. The game was like a ping-pong match, very fast paced. It seemed like it only took an hour to play this entire game. I looked back at the first half and the teams combined for 11 three point goals.
Taylor County worked the interior game as well. Leonard Macon was a force down low, and made Bardstown adjust many shots. He picked up about four or five blocks and scored at will. They just didn't give it to him enough. By this time, Bardstown had a five point lead, but Taylor County had one more run in them. With four minutes left in the game, Macon had a monster slam and the crowd went nuts. I thought it might be the turning point for Taylor, but Bardstown was too tough and won a great game, 72-66.
OBSERVATIONS
When It Rains it Pours: Tonight, I witnessed one of the best shooting displays I have ever seen. These teams combined for 19 made three point baskets. Corey Hall finished with six and so did Chase Cox. Cox is only a junior, so look out next year.
I'm Proud of My Mama: The Bardstown student section is led by "The Big Mamas." They are parents, aunts, and alumni who still have school spirit. They come up with all of the cheers and not ashamed of getting down with the students. I think they brought the whole school with them tonight. Although cold at times with chants like "maybe next year" and "so long seniors," they are fun to watch.
Really. Maybe Next Year: Taylor County loses only two players from this year's team. One is a reserve and the other is a starter. But their man two will be back. So, maybe the Bardstown fans were right, maybe next year. With Chase "Gunner" Cox at the helm and a big presence down low with Macon, Taylor County will be back to fight another year.
The semi-finals will be on Monday night so look for more reports.
By Chris Gregory, Fifth Region Correspondent
Game One: Elizabethtown 55 - Green County 48
Well, we're through the first round of the Fifth Region tournament. On Wednesday things went as planned with both top seeds winning. Thursday night, though, things would be more interesting because these teams were ready to get it on with one another.
Underdogs leave it all on the floor come tournament time. I love the way kids play hard for their schools. Most of them know they will not play at the next level, so they make the most of it this time of year.
The first game was between Green County and Elizabethtown. This game was a hard one to call. I really didn't know who would win this game, and at the start it looked like no one wanted it. Both were stone cold from the field. It was a very ugly game. One must take into consideration that no one on either roster has played in a regional game. The last time E-town was in the regional tournament most of these players were freshman and sophomores and didn't dress varsity. Green County is making their second appearance in 11 years. The coaches, on the other hand, have been in the regionals before. If you know about the Fifth Region, then you've heard of James Haire. He's been to plenty of tournament games. Toby Curry, Green County's coach, has been there before but only as a player. He led his 1995 Adair County squad to the Fifth Region championship game.
The coaches know how important this game is, but do the players?
Like I stated above, this one was ugly in the first half. The tempo favored E-town, but they could not find the bucket. In fact, no on could find it. I started to think that someone had put a lid on the goals. It was the lowest scoring first quarter I've seen all year. E-town led 6-4. That's not a misprint.
The second quarter was about the same with not much going on. Both teams had a lot of turnovers and missed field goals. Something had to give. Green County came into this game as one of the best scoring offenses in the state, but E-town was near the top in scoring defense. I kept waiting for something to happen. Finally, Green County made a "run" by this game's standards. They ran off four points. I mean this game was UGLY. Green County had the halftime lead, 16-15, in what was a struggle for both teams.
The Panthers stepped up the "D" in the third, and the scoring heated up as well. It actually turned into a shoot-fest between E-town's Chris "Go-Go" Gohman and Green County's Clint Henderson. These guys swapped shots like Pamela Anderson swaps husbands. It was turning into a game for a change. Green still hung onto the lead, 36-33.
Chris Gohman owned the fourth quarter and finished the game with 33 points, including six made free throws under 3:00 left in the game. Elizabethtown came back after trailing most of the game to knock out the first district champ of the tournament. They won 55-48.
OBSERVATIONS
Panthers in Charge: Elizabethtown controlled the tempo of this game from the tap. Green County wanted to run, but the Panthers would not let them. Even though the Dragons led most of the game, E-town never panicked and at the right moment took charge. They put Green County away, holding them well below their average of 70 points a game.
These Seats are Reserved: The E-town student section settled into their seats. All of them were sitting down minding their own business and not bothering anyone. Then, an administrator from Hart County made them move. They were in one end zone of the gym, and I guess it wasn't the right place for them to sit. This set off the E-town athletic director, and he told his students to get rowdy early. They booed the administrator every time he came around.
Going Back for Seconds: Folks, Hart County High School may have the best concession stand I've seen in a long time. On Wednesday I reported on the nachos supreme. Tonight, I took a closer look at the menu. To my surprise, they had homemade fried apple pies. Ah, man! They weren't as good as my Mamaw Gregory's but darn close. Editor's Note: I've had Mamaw Gregory's fried apple pies, so now I'm angling to join Chris at the Fifth Region tournament.
Second Game: Bardstown 72 - Taylor County 66
When the draw came out I knew this game would be a shoot-out. That was an understatement. I got so caught up in this game that I forgot to look at the score after the buzzer sounded. I do know that Bardstown had the lead. Both teams shot out the lights.
I hadn't seen a game like this all year. Each team had an answer for the other. Corey hall for Bardstown got things rolling early when he connected for five three pointers in the first half. His counterpart, Chase Cox, matched him shot-for-shot. He had four threes at the break, and Bardstown had a 37-28 lead.
I don't think these teams wanted to go to the locker room for halftime. They were afraid they might cool off. That was not the case. They started the third right where they left off. This game was living up to the hype people talked about all week. It's a shame that one of these teams had to lose. The game was like a ping-pong match, very fast paced. It seemed like it only took an hour to play this entire game. I looked back at the first half and the teams combined for 11 three point goals.
Taylor County worked the interior game as well. Leonard Macon was a force down low, and made Bardstown adjust many shots. He picked up about four or five blocks and scored at will. They just didn't give it to him enough. By this time, Bardstown had a five point lead, but Taylor County had one more run in them. With four minutes left in the game, Macon had a monster slam and the crowd went nuts. I thought it might be the turning point for Taylor, but Bardstown was too tough and won a great game, 72-66.
OBSERVATIONS
When It Rains it Pours: Tonight, I witnessed one of the best shooting displays I have ever seen. These teams combined for 19 made three point baskets. Corey Hall finished with six and so did Chase Cox. Cox is only a junior, so look out next year.
I'm Proud of My Mama: The Bardstown student section is led by "The Big Mamas." They are parents, aunts, and alumni who still have school spirit. They come up with all of the cheers and not ashamed of getting down with the students. I think they brought the whole school with them tonight. Although cold at times with chants like "maybe next year" and "so long seniors," they are fun to watch.
Really. Maybe Next Year: Taylor County loses only two players from this year's team. One is a reserve and the other is a starter. But their man two will be back. So, maybe the Bardstown fans were right, maybe next year. With Chase "Gunner" Cox at the helm and a big presence down low with Macon, Taylor County will be back to fight another year.
The semi-finals will be on Monday night so look for more reports.
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