Bowling Green 64 - Christian Brothers (TN) 59

Auxillary Gym, Bowling Green High School, Bowling Green, Kentucky

By J. Trace Kirkwood

I'm getting too old to sit on bleachers for consecutive games. My back is aching tonight. I had another tough decision in the night cap at the Citizens First Bank Classic. Franklin-Simpson took on Mason County in the big gym while Bowling Green took on Christian Brothers High School from Memphis, Tennessee.

Everybody made some really bad assumptions about this team from Memphis. Because they are named Christian Brothers, everyone assumed that they were a religious academy with a weak team. Nothing could be farther from the truth. These guys had some good size and several good basketball players, and they gave the Purples everything they had.

Christian Brothers took an early lead on Bowling Green, and finished the first quarter with an 11-9 lead. The Purples fought back and had a 30-24 lead at halftime.

These two teams were a lot of fun to watch tonight because both like to push the ball up the court and attack the basket. A kid named Booher for Christian Brothers really caught my eye. I apologize for not having his first name because I never bought a program, and I couldn't hear his name when he went to the foul stripe. The kid is a good player and is unafraid to take the ball to the hoop. He had an impressive driving dunk in the second half with a couple of Purples in hot pursuit.

Bowling Green played sloppy during long stretches of the game. I find it amazing how some teams that press a lot hate to face pressure. You'd think they'd be used to it from practice, but sometimes it doesn't translate. The Purples don't like to be pressed, and they start playing frantically to get the ball up the court. They make bad passes compounded by bad decisions. I think they spend too much time looking for Behanan, and they need to relax and push the ball up the court and not worry where their star is.

DJ Ray does a good job with this, and he handles the ball well for a lanky guy. Ray has a quick move to the basket and has learned to take advantage of defenses sagging on Behanan. He's a good, smart ballplayer. Plus, Bowling Green is a young team this year. Ray along with Tommy Boyce and Joey "Gotta Getta" Gorman are the only seniors. They lost seven from last year's team.

I don't have the stats, but Chane Behanan was effective tonight. I understand he had a miserable game against Franklin-Simpson last week. What impressed me is that Behanan had a lot of blocked shots against Christian Brothers tonight. That's good defense.

Bowling Green grew a 13 point lead in the second half, but Christian Brothers came back and made it a game late, led by the Booher kid. He's a tough ballplayer, and I think he caught everyone's attention tonight. Late in the game, Brothers' point guard let DJ Ray get around him, which resulted in them picking up a foul in the paint. Booher didn't hesitate to let the point guard know that it was his job to keep players from slashing into the paint. That's good stuff.

Bowling Green hung on to win 64-59. The Purples are now 5-1 with a loss to Franklin-Simpson.

OBSERVATIONS

Fant-ing Spell: I saw George Fant at the Bowling Green game. He sat with the Kindred brothers from Metcalfe County. That's a lot of big fellows sitting in the bleachers. I can't wait for him and Behanan to go head-to-head this season...and next season.

Royals and Wildcats: I missed a good game between Mason County and Franklin-Simpson. The final was 52-50 with Mason County prevailing. That's a tough loss for the Wildcats. I think it's great that Bowling Green has two gyms and can have simultaneous games, but I always sense that I'm missing something big in whatever gym I'm not in. I was hoping for a Fourth Region sweep tonight.

Metcalfe County 50 - Adair County 47

Auxillary Gym, Bowling Green High School, Bowling Green, Kentucky

By J. Trace Kirkwood

The Citizens First Bank Classic at the Purple Palace in Bowling Green always leaves me having to make tough decisions. When I got there tonight Greenwood was taking on Louisville DeSales in the main gym while Metcalfe and Adair tangled in the purple and gold box that is known as the auxillary gym.

I figured that I'll have many opportunities to see Greenwood, who is playing better than any team in the Fourth Region at the time, so I opted to see the Hornets and the Indians play. Plus, I wanted to see Grant and Russell Kindred play for Metcalfe.

I was a little shocked when I went into the gym because the Hornets were tricked out in blue and white uniforms. I've always seen them wear the maroon ones, and for a second I thought I had stumbled into the wrong game.

There's no love lost between these two programs. Although they are in different regions, they are geographic neighbors, and in Kentucky basketball proximity usually results in animosity. It's a good matchup to see in December.

I got to the game a little late because I couldn't pull away from watching Greenwood. When I got there Adair County had a three point lead and Metcalfe picked up their game a bit and wrestled the lead away from the Indians. The two teams sort of swapped baskets throughout the first half.

I really like the Kindred brothers. These two juniors have beefed up a little and have learned well from Coach Tim McMurtrey how to patrol the paint and how to open themselves up for passes to the lane. They know how to use their bodies and both have good hands and good sense on the court. They run the high-low post real well, and Adair County had no one who could keep them from getting the ball on either post. They keep the ball high and throw the ball high. It's really fun to watch them.

The Fourth Region is loaded with a lot of good players this season, and most of them are big fellows, too. There's exceptions like Cameron Hall at Glasgow and Dee Anderson at Greenwood, but Chane Behanan, George Fant, and Kindred brothers. There's too many good teams to catch this season, and I expect whatever team prevails in the Fourth to do some damage in Lexington in March. Everyone in the Fourth needs to watch out for the Hornets this season. They are well coached, have good interior size and play, and guards who can handle the ball well.

Metcalfe County pushed their lead out to nine points a couple of different times in the second half but couldn't hold the Indians off. Adair closed late in the game, and Metcalfe gave them every opportunity to win it. Adair couldn't hit their shots as time ran out and lost 50-47. Their record drops to 3-4, while Metcalfe moves to 5-2 on the season.

OBSERVATIONS

Tim McMurtrey Flexibility Excercises: I don't know how old Coach McMurtrey is, but he is good at crouching down as low to the court as anyone could expect to. I don't know how he does it. If I crouched down as low as he does, my knees would snap. It's impessive.

Twin Towers?: Is it still o.k. to reference the Twin Towers when talking about two tall players on the same team? I thought about that tonight watching the Kindreds play ball. I started thinking about the World Trade Center and that awful day and became reluctant to refer to the two players by that nickname. I finally decided that the term would honor both the World Trade Center and the Kindreds. I think we can be proud of both...or is that all four?

Fudge at Christmas: Considering what an effective coach Mark Fudge is, opponents don't want that Fudge at the Holidays.

Bowling Green 72 - Glasgow 67

Bowling Green High School, Bowling Green, Kentucky

By J. Trace Kirkwood

If it wasn't so cold outside tonight, I'd swear it was March. The game at the Purple Palace in Bowling Green had a post season feel to it because two of the best teams and two of the best players in the Fourth Region went head-to-head. After the ballgame I went home and watched the Hilltoppers down the 24th ranked Vanderbilt Commodores, a game that also had a March Madness air to it.

I love it. It's like Christmas in December. Wait. Christmas IS in December. My co-hort, Chris Gregory, and I always say that the Sweet Sixteen is like our Christmas.

Glasgow is good. I just want to get that out of the way because everybody keeps talking about Warren Central and Bowling Green and Russellville and Franklin-Simpson being the best teams in the region, but a good discussion has to include the Scotties. They have a lot of tools at their disposal, including Cameron Hall, who is one of the best dead-eye shooters I've seen in awhile. The Purples learned early that token defense on this kid is not going to get the job done. A hand in his face is not enough to distract him from sending the ball straight through the net. I'm not sure any defense can stop him. He can shoot square to the basket, and he can shoot off balance. I believe that Hall could shoot the ball while he was strapped to the floor and blind-folded.

Glasgow also has Dean Glass, who is a deadly outside shooter, and Kerrington and Michael Bradley. Kerrington has a good soft mid-range baseline jump shot that is difficult to defend.

The Scotties jumped out to an early lead on Bowling Green, but never led by more than six or eight points at any point in the ballgame. They made it through the first quarter with a 16-15 lead on the Purples, but D.G. Sherrill's squad was making a run at them late in the quarter.

These two teams like to push the ball up the court. Bowling Green uses a cast of characters to push the ball, led by Tommy Boyce, Darius Clement, and D.J. Ray. Glasgow depends heavily on Hall, who has great skill at moving the basketball against any amount of pressure. He's a heady ballplayer, a trait he has inherited or absorbed from his father Jeff Hall, who was a crowd favorite during his days playing for Denny Crum at UofL. Jeff Hall is also the Scotties' coach, and he has Glasgow playing championship contender quality basketball.

Bowling Green has Chane Behanan. He's a 6'7" 225 pound junior who is blessed with multiple skills on the basketball court. The term gets useda lot, so I'm reluctant to write it, but Behanan is a man among boys on the high school court. He's big and quick and strong and smart and is going to be a major force in the Fourth Region. He's got good moves around the basket, and when he learns how to use his strength to his advantage, there's not many players in the region or the state, for that matter, who will be able to stop him.

I apologize for not having any stats on the game, and I'd hate to guess how many points Behanan had in the first half, but he got into the flow of the game and made a lot of big baskets in the second quarter.

Bowling Green took a 36-35 lead to the break.

It was a real treat to watch this game because both teams are good and have good players. Hall and Behanan are going to get a lot of press, but these are complete teams in many ways. Bowling Green is a little thin on experience, with only three seniors this season.

Both teams played a fantastic third quarter. They had big plays and big shots, and the Purples still clung to a one point lead, 56-55 at the end of the quarter.

I don't usually complain about officiating, but the officiating crew at Bowling Green tonight needs to learn that teams like Bowling Green and Glasgow are going to get physical. They're going to play in a big danged hurry, too. At the start of the third quarter, one official started calling a foul on every bit of contact he saw between the players. It was awful. In three minutes, he whistled five fouls. That's one referee. He should've been escorted off the court for committing such an abomination in such a intense, wonderful basketball game.

I don't pay money to see referees.

In the fourth quarter, the Scotties looked like they were running out of gas. Heck, both teams looked a little spent. These two teams seemed capable of mixing a fast paced game with a physical one. Play got a little sloppy, but D.G. Sherrill can go deep down his bench and still get good minutes out of reserves.

Bowling Green outlasted the Scotties, 72-67. It was a hard fought game for early December. I believe it was a preview for a March matchup at Diddle Arena.

I get giddy thinking about how good the Fourth Region is this season.

OBSERVATIONS

Fourth Region Banner: Before the game the Purples hoisted a new banner proclaiming their 2009 Fourth Region Championship. It was good to see some of the players from last year's team on the court because those guys played hard every game last season. It's too bad the officials screwed them out of beating Lex. Cath in the first round. Tevin had his feet planted...

Do Not Taunt: This should be a warning to Fourth Region basketball fans -- do not taunt Chane Behanan. It doesn't do any good. The Glasgow students chanted "OVERRATED" as Behanan shot free throws in the first quarter. He missed them, but then he went on a tear and made several baskets while grabbing some huge rebounds. He's not "OVERRATED." Trust me. Guys like Behanan don't even hear that stuff. If they do, they find a way to make the other team pay for it.

Big Doins at the Dragon Den: Warren Central hosts a big shootout on Saturday December 12th. Lots a of good teams. Hopefully, Christmas shopping won't get in the way and I can catch a couple of games.

Glad to be Back

I survived the partial destruction of my house and an "exile" that lasted for nearly two and a half months last winter and spring. It's been a tough year, but my wife and I have put our house and our lives back together in time for basketball season.

I kicked the basketball season off (is that a mixed metaphor?) by going to a scrimmage between Bowling Green and Apollo. What does one write about a scrimmage? A basketball scrimmage is the equivalent of watching a stock car racer take a handful of laps on the track and then pulling into the garage and tweaking various components of the car. Coaches are tinkering with lineups and plays and finding the tolerances of their teams. I don't try to read a lot into the games or the play.

Right now, I don't even know the names of a lot of the players, which is really the case for Apollo.

Fourth Region newcomer, Chane Behanan, will be a man among boys this season. Chane's family moved to Bowling Green from Cincinnati, and he is a highly sought blue chip basketball players with courters coming from all points of the map to sell their college program to him. I can't wait to see Behanan and George Fant go head-to-head during the season. Like most season, fans will get to see them play one another three or four times in the next few months. It will be one of the great match-ups in the state.

Behanan is well muscled and has superb moves around the basket. Coach D.G. Sherrill can't slow his game down for this kid, though, because the Purps love to run-and-gun, which is the kind of basketball I love to watch. Again, it was a scrimmage, but I'd like to see the big guy hoofing it up-and-down the hardwood. I felt like Bowling Green let up on the full court game to accommodate Behanan.

I don't want to sound like I'm criticizing the kid because he is a great basketball player. I apologize to the readers, as always, because I harken back to my Male High days, too often. Behanan reminds me of Winston Bennett, who played at Male before heading to UK. Many of the descriptions I apply to Behanan applied to Bennett: big, well muscled, good hands, good moves inside, etc. Bennett, however, was an absolute warrior on the court every minute of the game. He was even intense playing "21" with friends. I know. He smashed my nose one afternoon with his elbow.

Maybe it's because it was a scrimmage. I'm anxious to see this guy in action in a real game. I know this. He'll be a major force in the region this year.

It's an easy summary from a scrimmage: Bowling Green is a contender and has a good shot at winning back-to-back regional championships. Also, the 14th District will be tough, as always.

For Apollo, I liked a kid named Trey Ewing. I hope I have that right. He wore #32 last night, and I told my friend Eddie "Frost Free" Dillard that of all the kids on the court he'd be the first I'd choose for a pick-up game. He was everywhere with never being out of position. At one point, the kid blocked a shot, fell to the court, got up and sped down the court to take a pass and hit a lay-up. Beautiful! He's a good defender and played full throttle for the entire scrimmage.

Yep. I'd take him over Behanan, and I don't mean that as an insult.

I like watching Tommy Royce run the point for Bowling Green. He can push the ball up the court, and Coach Sherrill needs to give him the green light more often.

I'm anxious to see all the Fourth Region teams play this season. I can't wait.

OBSERVATIONS

Take It Easy: My wife started jawing the referees last night. I reminded her that it was a scrimmage. That's O.K. We all have fever for some hoops. She needs to mellow out to The Eagles for the next contest.

D.G.'s Deflection: Coach Sherrill tapped the ball while it was in play last night. He apologized to Apollo's coach and their players. That's Sherrill's first defensive deflection since he finished his career at Caldwell County High School. I wonder if he played defense that tight at CCHS.

New Paint Job: Bowling Green put a new paint scheme on the hardwood at the Purple Palace. It looks good. I still wonder why they Male High's letter on their court? The Bulldogs will feel like they have a home game when they play there on January 30th, a game derailed by the Great Ice Storm of '09.

Greenwood 54 - Bowling Green 49

Bowling Green High School, Bowling Green, Kentucky

By J. Trace Kirkwood

Someone once told me that Coach Blane Embry could suit up an Upward team in Greenwood uniforms and the Bowling Green Purples would freeze at the sight of them. That's nice hyperbole, but sometime I wonder if it is true. I do know this: Greenwood has got Bowling Green's number. Greenwood's Tommy Tutone and Bowling Green is Jenny.

The other thing I know about Greenwood is that Coach Embry gets the most out of his players, possibly more than can be reasonably expected. The Gators always play hard. Will Clayton, J.J. Smith, and Dee Anderson leave it all on the court almost every time I see them play. In the first quarter of Friday night's game a kid named Cody Stumbo, who should not be confused with current Kentucky Speaker of the House of Representatives Greg Stumbo, stepped up and peppered the Purples with layups and short jumpers that pushed the Gators to a 19-8 second quarter lead.

It's good strategy to hit Bowling Green early. The best way to beat Bowling Green is to hit them right out of the gate and knock out their confidence. I'd say that Stumbo nearly did that single-handedly.

Bowling Green surged in the second frame, though, outscoring their reptilian visitors 18-9 and cutting the lead to two at the end of the first half. At one point Greenwood was stuck at 21, and Jeb Richardson made some key plays. He hit a big three pointer and then followed up a Greenwood turnover with a layup to give the purples a 22-21 lead. It's the old trey and lay play.

I fogot to mention that J.J. Smith hurt his ankle early in the first half and, I think, he even left the bench for the locker room.

Greenwood came back and got the lead late in teh second quarter and tooka a 28-26 lead to the break.

Dee Anderson is among the best press breakers in the region. If a team presses Greenwood, they've got to keep the ball out of Anderson's hands. He handles the ball pretty good, but his feet are two rockets. Anderson has a sense for getting to the rim, too. He cut through the middle of the Purple press like a hot knife, freezing Purple defenders in their shoes. He missed several layups in the game, but I knew he wouldn't miss many more as the game continued. He figured out how to take something off his layups long before Bowling Green ever figured out how to stop him.

I don't understand. When the Purples played and won at Greenwood, they did a fantastic job of containing Anderson. Friday night, it seemed they forgot he was on the court until he was flying past them. I know that Coach D.G. Sherrill told Vic Smith to pack up his locker this week (justifiably so), but Smith is a good defender on the press and near the basket. Greenwood had far too many easy shots against the Bowling Green press. I'm not chastising Coach Sherrill. Instead, I hope Vic Smith realizes what it means to be part of a team.

J.J. Smith returned to Greenwood's lineup in the fourth quarter. I'm sure his ankle was sore, but he brought his team a fresh set of legs down the stretch. He made some important baskets down in the paint. I still can't figure out how this guy takes players down low and scores against them. He's a good player, I know that, but I think defenders in this region need to stand their ground on him and see how many charges they can draw on him.

Greenwood controlled the fourth quarter, and they did what they always do against Bowling Green. They frustrated them. The Purples played desperate and launched more scuds than Saddam Hussein on a drinking binge. The two teams actually played even -- each scoring 13 points -- in the fourth quarter. It gave the Gators a 54-49 victory.

OBSERVATIONS

Post Season Implications: Friday's loss will most likely knock Bowling Green out of any chance of getting the top seed in the 14th District. It's important because the district tournament is played at Greenwood this season, and if the Purps are the two seed, they'll play the Gators in The Swamp later this month. It could mean an early ouster for one of the better teams in the region. Remember Bowling Green is Jenny and Greenwood is Tommy Tutone. "Jenny, I got your number..."

School Spirit: Is it school spirit to chant and sing on an opponent's home court after a victory? I don't know. I'm just asking. Some people might call it "poor sportsmanship."


What the Heck?: Why don't people go to basketball games. Last week, I figured people would be in the rafters at the Purple Palace for Warren Central. This week, I figured the same thing for the Greenwood game. I'm afraid the cancer of television is now killing high school basketball crowds.

Restoration of Pick and Roll Headquarters: I hope my family will be back in our home by the end of the regular season, but it's not looking hopeful. It's hard to do my usual Pick and Roll stuff from a hotel room because I'm not using my "big computer," which is full of links and bookmarks that allows me to come up with information. Plus, most of my time is consumed with issues surrounding the reconstruction of my house.

Bowling Green 61 - Warren Central 54

Bowling Green High School, Bowling Green, Kentucky

By J. Trace Kirkwood

"The Ice Bowl"

Yeah, yeah, I know "Bowl" is a football term, but I had to come up with some sort of label for this big game. Bowling Green -- the city and not the school -- wasn't heavily effected by the recent ice storm that has laid ruin to the rest of this great Commonwealth. We are one of the few islands of electricity, fuel, and food in an otherwise battered landscape. So, we're able to tip-up a high school basketball game while many other people are just hoping to get some electricity back in their house or while others stand in long lines waiting for kerosene.

It was a sort of odd night. My house is destroyed. I had to rescue my parents from a Red Cross shelter in Mayfield, Kentucky, so I've dealt with a lot of issues this week. Folks outside of the disaster area cannot imagine what kind of destruction has been done to the western end of the state unless they've seen the destruction from a hurricane. A lot of people might think that a high school basketball game was too trivial or unnecessary in such a desperate time. All day I wondered if they would play the game on Friday night. I hoped they would. Every minute of every day since that tree fell on my house I've had to deal with a hundred different issues coming at me in a hundred different ways. I needed a good night of basketball to wash away some of my worries, at least for a couple of hours.

The game did not disappoint.

I didn't take a lot of notes during this game because I was worn out, and I wanted to sit back and watch a game that promised to set the hardwood at Bowling Green's Purple Palace on fire. I knew that if they burned up the court, there's about 1,000 board feet of tree laying in my yard (some in the house) that they could use to replace the hardwood.

Warren Central and Bowling Green are good basketball teams. They play great defense, and both have a potent offense. They play physical. I sense that there's bad blood between the players. I know there's some bad blood between some of the fans. Disclaimer: Readers must remember that I don't have a dog in this fight. I like both teams, and I'm an outsider to this rivalry. I love the rivalry, though.

In a hard fought first half, Bowling Green took a 31-25 lead to the break. The Purples attacked the basket, led largely by some heady play from Charlie Williams, Tevin Barksdale, and Eric Smith.

A six point lead in a Central-Bowling Green game is nothing. It can be erased in seconds, especially when a team like Warren Central finds their afterburners and starts hitting baskets. Central's sticky defense held the Purple's to just nine points in the third quarter while the Dragons put up 18 in the third frame.

Bowling Green is a good rebounding team, but they never have an answer for George Fant. He knows how to rebound, and there's times when he looks like he's playing volleyball with the Purples. Purples fans get frustrated with their players, but I want to tell you: George Fant is good. He knows how to rebound. He's bigger and stronger than your players. Forget Fant and keep Scooter Lightfoot, Pete Winn, Brett Jackson, and the other host of Dragon rebounders off the boards.

If I had to pick a player I most wanted on my team, I wold pick Pete Winn. The Central students call him "Pistol Pete." That's probably a pretty good nickname for him, but I know none of them ever saw Pete Maravich play basketball. There's only one "Pistol Pete," but because I like Winn so much I'll let him borrow the "nom de hardwood" (if I wasn't writing this in a hotel room and with my office in order I would find the French translation for "hardwood").

I always think that Winn is who makes the Central squad. I'm not taking anything away from any of the others because teams that play like Warren Central have to have contributions from everyone. Winn makes them better. That's why when he fouled out of Friday's game I thought the Purples would win.

I don't know if you could call the way Bowling Green won the game dramatic, but I think it was dramatic. The Purples are a bad free throw shooting team. So, when they got a lead late in the fourth quarter, Central started fouling in an attempt to get the ball back and to capitalize on BG's misery at the charity stripe.

Enter the "King of the Ice Bowl." How would one be the king of such a big bowl of "chilly"? He would have to have ice in his veins. Friday night, Tommy "Rolls" Boyce filled his several pints of ice water into his bloodstream because he hit six critical free throws in the waning seconds of this game to give his Purples squad a big 14th district win over a huge rival. The Purps defend their home turf with a 61-54 victory.

These teams probably have two more encounters this season. They won't disappoint.

OBSERVATIONS

Rail Birds: The crush of exuberant Warren Central students broke the front rail of Bowling Green's bleachers. They fell out into the floor a few minutes before the start of the game. Thankfully, no one was hurt. I'm wondering what's up with the Joker faces, though. Honestly, it's a little bit weird.

Gone Fishin': At halftime, National City Bank sponsored a dance contest between three students from each high school. Central sent three boys out there. Bowling Green sent a boy and two really cute girls out onto the court. Warren Central needs to learn a thing or two about contests -- always go for the eye candy. The Central students started some sort of frenetic dance, but the Bowling Green students did a quick impromptu of the guy reeling the girls in with an imaginary fishing pole. That's funny. The crowd loved it, and Warren Central lost the contest at that moment.

Bureaucratic Stupidity: The City of Louisville, like most of the state, has massive power outages and tons of other problems. Male High's basketball team was supposed to play in the State Farm Shootout on Saturday at Bowling Green High School. The coach and administrators at Male High thought this was a good opportunity to get their players out of cold, dark houses for a nice stay at the Plaza Hotel in Bowling Green, the one city in the state that isn't in jeopardy. Some administrative wonk in the Metro School System pulled the plug on Male's trip, actually made the bus turn around on I-65 to head back into the city. The roads are clear. They weren't in any danger heading down the interstate. The administrator also pulled the plug on Eastern High School coming to the tournament. Fans will notice that Louisville Trinity will be here.

So, the Pick and Roll will give its first "Pinhead Award" to the anonymous dipstick in some Board of Education cubical farm that kept the teams from coming down here because it's always better to keep kids in houses without electricity than to let them mooch some rooms and some meals off State Farm's dime. Wait, I found the guys name. It's spelled S-T-U-P-I-D.

Pennyrile Pick and Roll Headquarters Partially Destroyed

I had planned to see Warren Central at Franklin-Simpson on Tuesday night. I assume that the game was canceled, but I don't know for certain.

At 8:30 Tuesday morning a massive oak tree fell and destroyed a substantial portion of my house. It did serious structural damage, and as the day went on we figured out that more and more of my home was uninhabitable. My insurance company dispatched a contractor that cut the tree off and out of the house and secured the structure so that it will not suffer any additional water damage. A large portion of the house will have to be rebuilt, and I had to abandon my home office, which is where I also work my regular job when I'm not on the road.

We've landed at a Drury Inn in Bowling Green, and it may end up being our home for a couple of months.

I'm still going to try to blog some games, but I don't know how consistent I'll be. I might do more. I figure I'll get real bored sitting around a hotel room. I may become the official blogger of the Greenwood Gators since I'm practically within walking distance of the school.

I'm hoping all this crappy weather clears out of here so I can go to more basketball games. I'll be at the Warren Central-Bowling Green game on Friday night and at the State Farm Shootout at Bowling Green High on Saturday.

I might post some of the photos I took of the damage to Pick and Roll HQ.

Last year we bought my little boy a real basketball goal. He loves it. His sister loves it. My kids and the neighborhood kids play basketball throughout the spring and summer on it. Last spring as I worked in my office with the windows open I could hear my little boy pretending he was Ty Rogers and hitting last second shots to win NCAA ballgames. It was a touching moment because I remember pretending to be certain basketball players and winning big ballgames. I guess the torch is passed.

When I surveyed the damage to my house I walked around to where the basketball goal is. It was unharmed by the massive branches that seemed to embrace it. I quietly said, "Thank God!" Yeah, that's what I did. I thought about how upset my kids would be if their basketball goal was mangled or destroyed. Sure, it could be replaced. Sure, I was standing in the midst of destruction. I guess that basketball goal was just a small victory in what was quickly becoming a major set-back. I don't sweat the material things. My house can be repaired. We lost none of our heirlooms or irreplaceable belongings. None of us were hurt (it could've been fatal if it happened a few minutes earlier).

I nearly cried thinking about those warm days in the spring when Bowling Green was washed in the euphoria of Ty Rogers' heroics in Tampa and my little boy pretending to be a hero and winning game after game on his very own basketball goal.

Thank God.

Warren Central 70 - Greenwood 50

Warren Central High School, Bowling Green, Kentucky

By J. Trace Kirkwood

The basketball is heating up as we near Kentucky's Mardis Gras, which is also known as "March Madness." Yeah, yeah, I know it's still January, but district tournaments are about a month away, and the tension is already in the air when district foes square off against one another. The crowds are large. The basketball is intense. The games are important. Fans are already trying to figure out how district pairing are going to or how they might end up by the results of certain games.

I love it.

When I saw that the Greenwood Gators were going to visit Warren Central, which is just up the highway and is my childrens' home high school, I couldn't resist some good 14th District hoops.

I like these two teams for different reasons. The Dragons are long and lean and athletic, and their press and high octane offense turns the 4200 square feet of a high school basketball court into a postage stamp. I really enjoy watching the Dragons play basketball.

I like Greenwood because they hustle and play above themselves on most evenings. I also like Dee Anderson, who is one of the smoothest players in the state. I sometimes want to check the 6'3" forward's shoes for afterburners, especially after he has cut through a full court press like a F-22 through Saddam Hussein's Air Force.

Early in the first quarter, Greenwood looked as if they rolled into the Dragon's Lair to win a ballgame and jumped to an early 5-3 lead on the team most people believe will win the Fourth Region. Warren Central is capable of putting points on the board in a real hurry. Central's Brett Jackson made some big plays during an explosive Dragon run that gave them the lead 15-5 at the end of the first quarter.

Every team, coach, fan, and player in the Fourth Region should beware. When the Warren Central Dragons turn it up to 11, be prepared to be knocked out. They have that extra notch on their basketball amplifier that puts them "one louder" than most teams. They get the extra push over the cliff.

After their initial five points, Greenwood had no more good looks at the basket. They forced passes and shots, and it seemed every loose ball ended up in a Dragon player's hands.

In the second quarter, Central kind of dialed things back. They didn't press Greenwood, and the Gators found their way back into a game that could've been an ugly blowout. Will Clayton and Dee Anderson made some tough shots, and Greenwood stayed within striking distance at the half down 32-21.

During the second quarter I kept thinking of the Asleep at the Wheel song "Swing with Who Swung You," which may be an old Bob Wills song. It's similar to what stock car racing fans say, "run what ya brung." When Central stepped out of it's persona of attacking the basket and playing pressure full court defense, then they let Greenwood back into the ballgame. I sort of understand because Central travels to South Laurel on Saturday (the next day) for a big game. They had to save something.

Greenwood opened the third quarter with good defense and steady offensive play and were able to cut into Central's lead. Dee Anderson did a good job at splitting up Central's press, and his speed create plays that cut the lead to 32-25. Greenwood hustles on both ends of the court. It is a trademark of Blane Embry's coaching and the determination of his players, which seems to be passed from class-to-class at Greenwood.

The Gators were still snapping at the Dragons early in the fourth quarter in an effort to win the ball game. I told my friend Eddie Dillard, heir to the Dillard Department Store fortune, that Warren Central plays some games like a race car driver coasting with the gear shift in third gear and the clutch in. As soon as they let out the clutch and engage their power, they take off like a dragster.

That's what the Dragons did in late in the third quarter and throughout the fourth. They popped the clutch on their potent offense and opened up a large lead on the Gators. They cruised to a 20 point win over their district foe, 70-50.

Warren Central moves to 6-0 in the region and 3-0 in the 14th District, while Greenwood sinks to 3-6 and 1-2.

OBSERVATIONS

A Feel Good Moment?: It did my heart good to hear the Warren Central student section welcome Bowling Green's Coach D.G. Sherrill to the game on Friday night. Coach Sherrill and his coaching staff found their way to Morgantown Road after downing Warren East 59-51 earlier, and the Central students pointed and chanted, "WE SUNK SHERRILL." I think that's what they said. It made me feel all warm inside. The Purples and the Dragons seem to be headed to a couple of district and regional collisions, so I'm sure there be some warm greetings for Coach Tim Riley at the Purple Palace when they play on January 30th.

More From the Warren Central Students: They have a great response to taunts from other student bodies. On Friday, the Greenwood students chanted "AIR BALL" after a Warren Central miss. The Central student chanted "LOOK AT THE SCORE BOARD," which showed a lopsided lead in their favor.

Go Big Blue: My little boy was sick tonight, so I took my daughter to the game. We left our good vehicle with my wife in case she had to go somewhere. That means we had to roll "Big Blue" out of our little garage. The moniker is kind of joke. "Big Blue" is a 1994 Mazda pickup truck I own that is painted bright blue. Big Blue has nearly 196,000 miles on her, and I only drive her on weekends, usually when the weather is good. The truck has trouble starting when it is cold. I put a couple quarts of oil in it between gasoline fill-ups. The radio doesn't work, either. Warren Central isn't too far from Pick and Roll headquarters in Rockfield, so I could always walk home if Big Blue died somewhere on Russellville Road.

Male High Countdown: The Louisville Male High Bulldogs visit Bowling Green next Saturday at the State Farm Shootout at Bowling Green High. I'm a Male High alumnus, so I'm anxious to see them play, and I plan to write a blog about their game, but I hope Pick and Roll readers don't expect any kind of objectivity from me when writing about my old school. I'm going to pull my old "MALE HIGH" towel from my office shelves to take to the game and serenade this year's team with my rendition of "Dear Old High School."

Let's give a rah for Dear Ole High School
And let us pledge our love of old
Others may like white and crimson (that's a stab at rival Manual)
But for us it's Purple and Gold
Let all our troubles be forgotten
Let High School spirit rule;
We'll join and give our loyal efforts
For the good of our dear school

It's dear Old High School
It's dear Old High School
The pride of all the folks 'round here.
Com on, you old grads
Join with us young lad,
It's LMHS now we hear,
Now is the time boys
To make a big noise
About Kentucky's finest school
For there is naught to fear,
The gang's all hear
So hail to dear Old High School, Hail!

Coach Norb Hummel made every freshman in his gym class learn that song before he would give them a passing grade. He also made us clean rocks from the football practice field along Caldwell Street at the "real" Male High at Brook and Breckinridge streets in downtown Louisville. By the way, my wife hates the "Kentucky's finest school" part. She says it's arrogant. I ask her how many U.S. Supreme Court Justices graduated from Hancock County. Male High also produced Hunter S. Thompson.

Bowling Green 72 - Grayson County 59

Bowling Green High School, Bowling Green, Kentucky

By J. Trace Kirkwood

There's just no way to pass up a game between the best team in the Third Region and one of the best teams in the Fourth Region. It's just too good of an opportunity to see some great basketball. Grayson County leads the Third with a 10-1 record and Bowling Green sports a 9-2 record in the Fourth and is right behind Russell County, who is undefeated in the region but only has played six games. I contend that Bowling Green and Warren Central are the teams to beat in the region. Both are good and both play full court, full tilt basketball.

Grayson County is a very good basketball team. All the players handle the ball well or really well, and they all can shoot the ball from anywhere on the court. They are patient and well coached. They don't do anything stupid and they always work for a good shot, which is easy to do when you have shooters like Travis Johnston and Tyler Saltsman on your team.

The Cougars pulled into Bowling Green riding a 10 game winning streak that includes wins over North Hardin, hated rival Edmonson County, and back-to-back victories over Apollo -- the high school and not the son of Zeus.

Bowling Green, still stinging from a tough three point loss at Warren Central, was not going to let the best team in a neighboring region come into the Purple Palace and sneak away with a victory. As usual, the Purples pressed from start to finish (it's why I like watching them so much), and they think in terms of the entire court rather than just the half court on the offensive side. At times, Bowling Green can play as graceful as any basketball team has ever played. Then, there are times when they start looping and telegraphing their passes and taking ill-advised shots and look like they might belong in Cloverport, Whitesville, or on Glenmary Avenue in Louisville.

Hey! The Purples haven't compiled a 14-3 record by playing bad basketball. They get no respect in the Fourth Region, and I don't know why because they have a real good shot at plying the hardwood in Rupp Arena this season.

Grayson County handled Bowling Green's pressure very nicely in the first quarter. They used Bennett Skaggs and Wes Smith to move the ball up the court against the press. They had Johnston in the middle of the court, but the Purples did a good job of keeping the ball out of his hands.

Bowling Green hit some nice shots in the first quarter, including D.J. Ray's bank-in three pointer. I don't think Ray called the shot, though, so it wouldn't count in a game of H-O-R-S-E.

Bowling Green had a thin 19-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Grayson County opened the second quarter with a "old fashioned" three point play and tied the score at 19. The Purples, however, pretty much controled the second frame with a good press and good hustle, but Grayson is too good of a team to roll over for an opponent even on the road. Bowling Green opened up a nine point lead at the half, but there was no feeling of the home team being in control of the game. They had a lead, but the Cougars are a forceful team and everyone could sense that they were still around for a victory.

The teams played fairly even in the third quarter, but the Purples did increase their lead by one point.

In the fourth quarter, the Cougars picked up their intensity on the defensive end, and they forced Bowling Green to play some sloppy basketball for a couple of minutes. They cut the lead to four points, and that put the home squad in a dangerous situation because of the long range shooting threat Grayson County presents. The Cougars were making a gutsy charge at a very good team on their home court.

When Bowling Green clicks they really click. When the knuckle down and play their game -- full court and fast paced -- they operate like a well-tuned, high performance engine. They started clicking in the fourth quarter when they decided to attack the basket again against a smaller and slower opponent. Charlie Williams hit a couple of nice shots late in the game. Williams is very good at slashing into the lane with the ball and hitting short jumpers because he has good elevation on his shots.

Bowling Green controlled the last five minutes of the game and won 72-59. It's an impressive victory for the Purples because Grayson County is a fine basketball team. I hope the Cougars and their fans don't hang their heads over this loss because Bowling Green is a fine team, too. Tuesday night's fans -- the few that were at the game -- might have seen a preview of a couple of Sweet Sixteen teams.

OBSERVATIONS

Chambre syndicale de la haute couture: French cuffs? Really? Did I see Coach Todd Johnston sporting French cuffs last night? I just wonder where in Leitchfield he's coming up with dress shirts with those kinds of cuffs. We have a dress code here at the corporate offices of the Pennyrile Pick and Roll, and I have thought about requiring everyone to wear French cuffs, but I think the staff would rebel.

Can't Describe It: Bowling Green's Brian Turner's jump shot defies description. It's effective, and he's a good basketball player. His jump shot starts at his ankles, peaks near the rafters, and splashes down in the nylon. If the Air Force still had Project Blue Book, he'd agents and officers prowling throughout the Fourth Region. It's definitely a UFO, and Bowling Green should call the three point stripe to the left of the lane "Area 51."

Grayson County 49 - Edmonson County 47

Grayson County High School, Leitchfield, Kentucky

By J. Trace Kirkwood

A week or so ago I got an e-mail from Brian Alexander at Edmonson County High School pointing out that the Wildcats would take on their district and Third Region rival, Grayson County in Leitchfield on the 16th. Hey! If anybody is going to take the time to e-mail Pick and Roll, I'm probably going to make some effort to get to a suggested game. Gas prices are down this winter, so I'm willing to roll to just about anywhere.

The Grayson-Edmonson rivalry is too good to pass up. I even passed on some rivalry games here in Bowling Green to make the run up to Grayson for a basketball game. I felt like the Cougars might run away with the game because they put some smack down on Edmonson County in Brownsville on December 12th by 18 points. I knew that Bowling Green and Warren Central would play a tight game (Central beat the Purps 63-60, by the way), and I knew that Greenwood and Warren East would be a battle. To tell the truth, I'm a little tired of the 14th District in the Fourth, so I stepped out of the district and region on Friday.

This is going to be real sketchy because I didn't have a notebook or a single scrap of paper to make any notes. I do know that Edmonson County brought their best game into Leitchfield and were not going to back down from a team that seems destined to win a Third Region championship this season. They were determined to avenge the earlier loss. Aaron Duncan, who the Grayson County student section called "Mr. Clean" because of his shaved head, and Mike "60 Minutes" Wallace played their guts out along with several others on the Edmonson County squad.

They had a 14-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. I hope that's right. I know the score is right, but I might have the teams reversed.

Edmonson County managed to keep somewhat of a cap on Grayson's Travis Johnston, who is Coach Todd Johnston's nephew. Johnston missed a lot of shots in the first half, and the Wildcats did a good job of forcing the ball from him. But, Grayson County is a solid basketball team, so others stepped up. Bennett Skaggs and Tyler Saltsman are solid basketball players, and they keep teams from keying on Johnston.

Both teams played solid defense in the second quarter, and the game was tied at 22 at the half. I knew I was in for a battle.

Last season, Chris Gregory, Pick and Roll's intrepid Fifth Region correspondent, ventured into Brownsville for the Wildcat's game with Grayson County. In case readers are wondering what's happened to Chris I should say that he has fallen victim to the slacking economy. You're truly might fall prey to it, too, and that spell the end of the Pick and Roll. Chris is still on the staff and will be for all time. Anyway, he pointed out, then, that this is a heated rivalry. It's almost an understatement. It's a white hot rivalry. I could sense it the moment I walked into the gym, which was packed to the rafters.

I loved the atmosphere. I love big, loud crowds at basketball games. It makes it great.

The two teams played dead even in the third quarter, too. The game was tied at 36 at the end of the quarter.

Grayson County likes to get up and down the court, and Johnston is a deadly pull up jumpshot artist. He can stop anywhere and from any speed and hang the ball in the net or touch it off the backboard. He can also drive the ball all the way to the basket. He's an all around basketball player. I wrote of him last year that he's the type of guy that drives you crazy if you're playing against him, but is the first guy you take if you're "choosin up" to play pickup ball.

With a 1:43 left in the game the scored was tied at 47, and Grayson County had the ball. Edmonson County dropped back in a tight 3-2 zone, and the Cougars decided to wait it out. Johnston stood at midcourt holding the ball looking over the Edmonson County zone. Time whizzed off the clock. The crowd rose to their feet and as more and more seconds ticked away both sets of fans erupted into a frenzied cheer. Grayson County broke into an offensive set and just as the drama reached a crescendo, Coach Johnston called a timeout with 6.6 seconds left on the clock.

I can't remember, but I think Edmonson County called another timeout, and the 6.6 seconds loomed in red numbers with all the intensity of 6.6 Trans Am, a powerful set of numbers in a powerful atmosphere.

Grayson County inbounded the ball to Travis Johnston. He seemed to be in slow motion. He drove to just beyond the free throw line, jumped, double clutched the shot and let it fly. The ball arched over the Wildcat defense as the last of the 6.6 seconds drained away. The shot hit nothing but the bottom of the net right as the buzzer sounded the end of the game. Grayson County students rushed onto the court and embraced their players. They beat their rival.

Johnston finished the game with 22 points. The last two were the most critical. Grayson County swelled their record to 15-2 and 10-1 within the region. They are 5-0 in the district.

OBSERVATIONS

Creole Lady Marmalade: Gitchy gitchy to the Grayson County band. They're great. They whipped out the ancient Patty Labelle standard "Lady Marmalade" late in the game and did a fantastic job with it. They also played "Won't You Be My Girl." I love their band, and I love that they don't blare horrible music between quarters and at halftime. They just have band music.

Blue Moon Highway: I love the name, and I've always loved "Big Mon" Bill Monroe, who I once met at a show in Louisville. If "Blue Moon of Kentucky" doesn't make your hair stand on end and your heart swell for the Dark and Bloody Ground, then you're not a real Kentuckian. Friday night, a Sara Lee truck decided to put the back axle of his trailer in the ditch on a turn. That made me late to the game. I felt sorry for the law enforcement guys out there in nine degree weather.

Caneyville: When I was about eight years old, my father and I were on our way to Mayfield, Kentucky, from Louisville. His old Oldsmobile had a flat tire, and we stopped at the Purple Flash Grill in Caneyville to fix the flat. When we went to get back on the West Kentucky Parkway, we discovered that there was a ten cent toll to re-enter the parkway. Dad looked at me and asked, "Boy, do you have a dime?" I told him know. He punched the gas pedal of that Oldsmobile and that big engine started thumping. We went flying through that toll booth doing about 50 miles per hour and hit the parkway doing about 80. This was probably in 1973 or 1974. Dad didn't slow down until we were near Beaver Dam.

I went through Caneyville at some point today. That's why the memory popped into my head.

Bowling Green 64 - Greenwood 59 (OT)

Greenwood High School, Bowling Green, Kentucky

By J. Trace Kirkwood

It's hard to defend a regional championship. Just ask Tim Riley, coach of the Warren Central Dragons. O.K. That might be a bad example. Instead, ask Greenwood Coach Blane Embry. His Gator squad came into Friday night's contest with a 5-8 record after winning the Fourth Region last year. Everybody brings their "A" game against the champs, so Greenwood has a great big target on their chests this season.

When I started looking at schedules this season picking out games I would try to attend, I marked the Bowling Green-Greenwood game first. If you live in the Bowling Green area and like high school basketball, it is a "don't miss game." It rarely disappoints. They are rivals in every sense of the word, and that adversity translates itself to the basketball court.

Blane Embry's Greenwood teams are always well coached, and he has a knack for getting his team to open up quick and bloody the nose of their opponent. I think they've won a lot of ballgames by un-nerving their opponents, especially when they play in "The Swamp," a nickname that makes Greenwood's gym sound better than it really is. The Gators jumped on Bowling Green early, and their tenacious play rattled the Purples early. The visitors played sloppy in the first quarter and kept committing stupid fouls. That's something a team cannot do against Greenwood because they will capitalize on every error. The Gators are better than their now 5-9 record indicates. I also remember that the Gators were 9-7 at the same point last year and finished with a 24-11 record with a trip to Rupp Arena, where Paducah-Tilghman beat them like a rented mule that was also lame.

At the end of the first quarter Greenwood held a narrow 14-11 lead.

In the second quarter, Greenwood continued to play with intensity and took advantage of Bowling Green's tendency to overplay on the defensive end. Greenwood showed patience while the Purples played in a sort of chaotic manner. Fourth Region teams should heed this warning: do not leave Will Clayton open on the perimeter. He will can the three every time. Actually, he can shoot with someone in his face, too.

J.J. Smith contributed some baskets for Greenwood in the first half, but Bowling Green did a good job neutralizing Dee Anderson, Greenwood's junior forward who is among the best players in the region.

The Gators took a 29-22 lead to halftime when Clayton canned a last second three. The Purples had rally, but Clayton's shot was a dagger in their heart right before the break.

Dee Anderson came to life in the third quarter. He started slashing toward the basket and picked things up on the defensive end of the court. He pierced the middle of Bowling Green's press and made strong moves to the rim before the Purples' defense could fall back into a half court defense.

Something puzzled me in the third quarter. Twice Dee Anderson got in the face of the officials. I don't know what his complaint was, but I'm guessing that it was Bowling Green's physical play. That's how they play. What seemed like a bolt from the blue, the official whistled Bowling Green's Charlie Williams for a technical. I don't know what he said to the referee, but it seemed like a quick trigger to me. Maybe the refs were still smarting from Anderson's tongue lashing. There must've been something to it because Coach D.G. Sherrill kept Williams on the bench for a very long stretch.

Through all the intense play of the third quarter, Bowling Green played Greenwood even, and the score was 41-34.

Bowling Green is a pressing team. They are a little different from Warren Central because the Dragons use their press to grind. D.G. Sherrill uses his press to frustrate and to create turnovers, especially late in the game. I love teams that press. I won't say that I hate the half court defense because Lord knows a team must play it well to win, but I much rather watch teams that press than those who don't.

I like pressing teams because it absolutely requires a team effort in order for it to be successful. No one person stars in a press. All five players have to know where to be and when to be there in order for it to work. It's not an easy thing for basketball players to run a press. That's why you don't see it in any pickup ballgames. It either works or it fails.

I don't mean to imply that the Purples' press wasn't working in the first three quarters of the game, but it really started clicking in the fourth quarter. It could be because Greenwood was showing signs of being tired. Their passes didn't snap as much. Their shots were a little short, which a key sign of fatigue. Also, Greenwood's quarter-by-quarter scoring was 14, 15, 12, 8. While the Gators posted only eight points in the last quarter, the Purples rallied with 15 points and tied the game at 49.

The thing that ultimately cost Greenwood the game was J.J. Smith getting a technical very late in the quarter by shoving one of Bowling Green's players. It lands in the Pick and Roll's "What was he thinking" category. An friend of mine who is a self-proclaimed "old school" fan after the game told me, "I'd give that boy ten dollars and his sneakers and tell him to hit the road."

Hey, it wasn't just a game. It's a rivalry game, but more importantly it's a district game and has implications at the end of the season. Plus, he saw the quick trigger on Charlie Williams.

However, I must chalk the technical foul up to Bowling Green's press, executed very well by Williams, D.J. Ray, and Vic Smith. Greenwood was tired and frustrated, which is usually the two results of a well played press.

Did I mention that I love full court presses.

The game went into overtime with score tied at 49.

Who here remembers the first Louisville-Kentucky "Dream Game" in the 1983 regional finals of the NCAA Tournament? Kentucky was spent and was lucky to be in the overtime as a result of Jim Master's 15 foot jump shot. If you don't click the links and don't remember, I'll tell you. Louisville played five minutes of perfect basketball while the Wildcats looked more like kittens being held over a bucket of water. That's sort of how the overtime period went in this game. The Purples assumed the role of Louisville while Greenwood took on the one of the kittens...I mean Wildcats.

Everything clicked for the Purples, and Coach Sherrill kept up the defensive pressure and the attack on offense. "Swing with what swung ya," is what I always say, and that's what Bowling Green did. However, Blane Embry is never going to let his team roll over and die, especially in a district game, which equates with a rival. Wisely, they started fouling Bowling Green. Greenwood looked spent. Bowling Green has trouble at the free throw stripe.

I won't say that Bowling Green did a good job at the stripe, but they hit just enough free throws to keep Greenwood at arm's length. They won an exciting game, 64-59.

Don't look now, but the Bowling Green Purples are 12-2 and 7-1 in the region. Greenwood hasn't won a Fourth Region game, and they are now 0-1 in the 14th District.

OBSERVATIONS

Low Ridin' Greenwood Band: Any time a pep band breaks out War's "Low Rider" at halftime I become an instant fan. Here's what I know. I know that no one playing that song was born when that song was on the radio. I wonder if some of their parents were even born when the song was popular. It's timeless, though. Too fine! Hey, Gators! If you're playing old music try "Papa Loves Mambo."

Watch It Punk: If anyone reading the Pick and Roll thinks it's smart to bring a pointer laser to a basketball game and shine it on the court, think again. Friday night, some kid on the Greenwood side had one of these things, and he shined it on the court during critical moments of the contest. Once it bounced up in blitzed me in the eyes. I pointed towards the kid, and he shined it again. That's too much. I alerted the Warren County deputy sheriff standing at one end of the gym.

Someone that stupid and foolish has no business being in public. I saw the kid, and I very nearly escorted one of the deputies up there to take the thing away from him. If I catch someone with one, I will take and smash it into the concrete with the steel heel of my pointy toe cowboy boots. I might do something else with the points of those boots. I can't stand that kind of stuff, and there is no place in the civilized world of basketball for some idiot with a laser beam jeopardizing the health of fans and players and the fair outcome of a basketball team. The freakin' moron, could hurt one of your own players.

Postseason Feel: Last night had it. The crowd was large and into the ballgame. The players all played hard. It felt like they were playing to stay alive. I love it.

Warren Central 76 - Russellville 61

Warren Central High School, Bowling Green, Kentucky

By J. Trace Kirkwood

When the High School Zone magazine polled Fourth Region coaches last fall most of them picked Russellville and Warren Central as the two best teams in the region. So, I marked this game on my calender as a "must attend" before the first games were played this season. As of Tuesday night other teams in the region sported gaudy win loss records, while the two pre-season favorites each stood at 8-3. One must dig a little further into their schedules to understand how Russellville and Warren Central arrived at those records. Two of the three Central losses were at the hand Christian County, and both games were played in Hopkinsville. Central's other loss was against Liberty Tech, a team from Tennessee.

Russellville had a rough road in the Arby's Classic in McCreary County, dropping three of four games. One loss was a heartbreaking 42-41 loss to Wayne County.

I sort of picked Warren Central to win this game before they tipped the ball up because Russellville was on the road and hasn't played as tough of a schedule as the Dragons.

I've always been impressed with Central's explosiveness. Even last year when they were down a bit, they still had an explosive quality and could put up points in spurts that left their opponents stunned. This season is no different except that the Dragons are much improved on what was an already good basketball team. In the first quarter, they doubled up Russellville before the Panthers knew what hit them. They had a 15-7 lead, and Panther Coach Dennis Pardue called a timeout with 3:12 left in the quarter to break the Dragons' momentum and to give his team a breather.

It worked. Russellville played them even with good guard play from Elam and Quarles (I cannot find a Russellville roster anywhere, so I apologize for not having names). Central used a balance attack of Pete Winn, Jordan Shanklin, and Scooter Lightfoot to post 25 points and a eight point lead at the end of the first. George Fant, a sophomore center for the Dragons and who is already attracting the attention of WKU, did not start the game but played a considerable amount throughout the game.

I wonder if Coach Tim Riley walks around thinking "Win with Winn." It sounds like a political slogan, and the Dragons are on a campaign to win their seventh Fourth Region crown in eight years, then they need to keep that slogan in mind. Win with Winn. Pete Winn plays guard for Warren Central and handles the ball against any kind of defensive pressure, but Winn also finds many different ways to score. He can shoot from the perimeter. He can slash to the basket. He can rebound and post in the paint. He always finds a way to put the ball in the basket. Winn is possibly one of the most underated players in the Commonwealth. I've always enjoyed watching him play.

Winn was hot in the first two quarters, and it was his play that allowed Central to maintain a seven point lead on a determined Russellville team. The two teams scored 14 points a piece in the second quarter and went to halftime with the Dragons up 39-32.

I hope I don't sound like a broken record because I know I've written this before: Warren Central wears down its opponents. They press the entire game, unless they are absolutely thrashing a weak team. Coach Riley doesn't use his press to force teams into a bunch of turnovers, although it often results in that. He uses the press in the same manner uses B-52's to carpet bomb an enemy. It is designed to break their will to fight or in the case of the Warren Central basketball to break their will to play ball.

His press works because his players give him 110% percent effort on the defensive side of the game, and they are always where they should be in a no-frills 2-2-1 press that swarms the inbounds pass. Teams better find a way to go over this press because if they putter a little five foot pass to a guard, Central is going to pin him down on the baseline -- the wrong baseline.

By the end of the third quarter, Russellville looked tired and played tired. They're a good team, but they were broken and frustrated at this point in the game. Also, the Panthers had a miserable night shooting. They couldn't hit the Earth if they were dropping basketballs out of a hot air balloon. Terrible. Warren Central led 56-41 at the end of three.

Twice in the fourth quarter the Dragons opened up 18 point leads on the Panthers. They backed off a little bit, and Coach Riley even put in his second team. Russellville made a little run, and Riley brought his "A" team off the bench, and they responded like firefighters, dousing a little blaze coming from the Panther bench.

Shemarkus Wells (c.s.) provided the highlight of the fourth quarter. Late in the game, he took the ball to the rack and dunked it two handed in traffic. The officials called a technical on him for hanging on the rim. I guess a case could be made for him needing to hang to protect himself. I don't know. It was a nice play, though, and it brought the fading crowd to life. It was the perfect punctuation mark for the ballgame.

Central won 76-61 and ran their record to 9-3 and 1-0 in the region. Russellville is now 2-1 in the Fourth. These two will tangle in post season. I just sense it. I've always believed that in the basketball adage "Guards win championships." These two teams have great guard play.

OBSERVATIONS

When the Moon Hits Your Eye Like a Big Pizza Pie: That's amore'. Warren Central does a halftime promotion that I love. If you pay a dollar, you can take a three point shot to win a free pizza from Minit Mart. They get people shooting baskets at both ends of the court and the fans jeer and cheer as others try their hand on the hardwood. One boy kept paying a dollar and missing his shot. I saw him pay four times. I wanted to say something to him because pizzas at Minit Mart are only $5.99. At one point this summer, I thought it was going to be cheaper to buy a pizza than to put a gallon of gas in my truck. I wonder if the boy realized he had nearly paid for a pizza before he gave up. Also, a Russellville cheeleader paid her dollar and swished a three. James Brandenburg from WBKO paid his buck and took a shot. He was off the mark. Hey, JB, you need a pizza about as much as I do. You and I need to do the same thing -- put a dollar towards a gym membership.

I loved Dean Martin.

Fant-om Menace: George Fant did not start. I'm not sure if he starts at all. He's a good basketball player, and I believe that WKU has already offered him a scholarship. Other Division-I programs are sniffing around the gym at Warren Central. Fant has muscled up some from last season, and he has a quick move to the basket when he wants to have one. He also rebounds well. At first, I thought Central didn't feed him the ball enough, but when a team has Jordan Shanklin, Pete Winn, and Scooter Lightfoot on the perimeter, it doesn't need to punch the ball in the middle too much. Fant draws double teams and Central compensates by passing over the cluster around him to someone attacking the basket on the weak side.

Respect the Dragon: Fourth Region teams better watch out for this fire breathing lizard on Morgantown Road. They will be a handful late in the winter.