Elizabethtown High School, Elizabethtown, Kentucky 02-15-08
It was a "throw-back" trip for me on Friday night. I lived in Shelbyville from 1995 to 2002, when I pulled up stakes and moved my family to Bowling Green. I loved Shelbyville and Shelby County. I even learned to pronounce it the correct way "Shebbuhvuhl and Shebby Cyownny." When I saw that the Rockets were venturing down to the Crossroads of Kentucky, I decided I was tired of Fourth Region games and that I would cross into Chris Gregory's turf and watch a match up between teams from the Fifth and Eighth regions.
It brought back some great memories of my days living in the Eighth Region. My first real taste of basketball up there came one morning while I was getting my hair cut in Greg Tipton's barbershop. Greg and his customers got into a heated discussion about Toyota recruiting players for Scott County High School, which had up-ended Shelby County's long reign in that region. It was great to find a great barber and a place where people liked to talk high school hoops, even if they were a little jealous of Scott County. They called them "Team Toyota."
If I had any concept of "blogging," I would've started the Pick and Roll during my days in Shelbyville because I was a regular at Shelby County games and never missed the Eighth Region tournament at Henry County High School. It was a great gym full of a lot of great fans and a lot of great basketball.
I loved seeing the Rockets take the court tonight. It was great to see these two programs, both rich in tradition. Shelby County has two state championships (1966 and 1978), and Elizabethtown won it in 2000. Between them, they have been to 21 Sweet Sixteen Tournaments. Plus, they share the same colors, blue and gold.
During warm ups, Elizabethtown's band played "The Time Warp," and it seemed that way. It could've been 1996 or 1997 all over again, except that a kid like Alex Matthews, who plays for the Rockets, was a just a little boy in those days. Gosh! I was kind of hoping that I could spend Saturday morning in Tipton's barbershop griping about the officiating and whining about Scott County kicking everybody's butts.
Shelby County started the game absolutely ice cold, and they looked more like a fizzy pop than a fire blazing rocket. Elizabethtown's 2-1-2 zone (talk about a "Time Warp.") befuddled the Rockets, and they fell behind 8-1. It seemed like it was forever before Shelby County broke the ice, but they finally did Johnson's free throw. Mike Clark called a timeout and worked a little "Rocket science" and put them on the right trajectory. At the end of the first quarter, Tim Sanford hit a three that put Shelby County within one, 11-10.
Shelby County seemed to take control of things in the second quarter. They moved the ball around the 2-1-2 zone by hitting the high post and letting him distribute the ball back to the perimeter. Alex Matthews also made some sharp interior passes that kept the Panthers' defenders one step behind the ball. The Rockets took a 22-20 lead to the locker room at halftime, and I thought that Shelby County would find their orbit in the second half and splashdown a victory.
I was wrong. It's why I don't pretend to be a pundit, and it's one of many reasons why I don't gamble.
In the second half, E-town showed patience on the offensive end and continued to play a very active zone defense. Sean Bouthelette, which translates to English as "defense destroyer," and Chris "Go-Go" Gohman started hitting shots and making passes to break down Shelby County's defense. It seemed that the Rockets had no answer.
It was in the third quarter that I witnessed the "Nacho Call." An Elizabethtown fan was standing near the end of the court eating nachos, and when a ball bounced out-of-bounds on that end of the court, he signaled that it was E-town's ball. I looked to me that the referee looked to the fan for the call. It was as if the fan said, "that's not-cho call."
The score was tied at 33 at the end of the third.
Shelby County fans should click HERE for my true feelings about the fourth quarter. My brother travels to South Africa on a regular basis, and he tells me that the locals there call zebras "pajama donkeys." Early in the fourth quarter I wondered if these were the same pajama donks Chris Gregory saw in Larue County the other night. In the second half, Shelby County had more than 10 fouls, and the Panthers had two.
Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm letting my feelings come through, but I've never pretended to be objective on this blog. Behind Male High, Shelby County is my second favorite team because I followed them closely for seven years. Plus, my nephew graduates from SCHS this spring.
Nothing against Elizabethtown because I respect their program, and I cheered for them in 2000 when Antwain Barbour and the Panthers downed Lexington Catholic for the title. I cheered very hard for them.
The Panthers defensive pressure and patient offense frustrated Shelby County, and the home team cruised to a 52-43 victory over one of the leading teams in the Eighth Region.
OBSERVATIONS
The Panthers' Den: What a great place to watch a basketball game. I really liked Charlie Rawlings Memorial Gym. It's a bit of a throwback place, and I liked that the teams sit on the bleachers right along with the fans. That can be very intimidating. They didn't blare loud music before the game or during halftime. I just wish more people were there.
Band on the Fun: I'm giving a Pennyrile Pick and Roll "Three Thumbs Up" nod to the E-town band. They played music at the right time, and they played some old classic rock n'roll numbers. When fans ponied up a buck to shoot a three point shot at halftime, the band played Billy Squier's "The Stroke." That's fantastic! But, they aren't spreadin' ear pollution far and wide, Billy.
Two F's, Two T's, and Two Guns: I noticed a banner for Steffphon Pettigrew hanging in the gym. He was Kentucky's Mr. Basketball last year, and E-town has honored him with a nice banner. I remember when Garrett Morris on Saturday Night Live imitated Ugandan dictator Idi Amin he always said, "Two A's, two D's, and one gun." I've seen Mr. Pettigrew play at WKU this season, and I can tell everyone that the young man has a healthy pair of guns. He is put together solid, and opponents are learning that the young Mr. Pettigrew can sling those guns. I'm looking forward to when Steffphon Pettigrew is a Wheel of Fortune puzzle.
Stand Up and Cheer!: I noticed E-town shares its fight song with the Hilltoppers. Being a WKU alumnus and a regular attendee of Hilltopper hoops, it's hard not to sing along with "Stand Up and Cheer," and it may have bothered some of the Shelby County fans I was sitting amongst.
Showing posts with label Eighth Region Basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eighth Region Basketball. Show all posts
Friday, February 15, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Larue County 59 - Spencer County 56
Larue County High School, Hodgenville, Kentucky, 01-15-08
By Chris Gregory
Larue is quietly making a name for themselves in the fifth region this year. Nobody is giving them a shot to win the region, but I feel like they can play with the top three or four temas in the region. This is a team that is loaded with blue collar players, they have no Scotty Hopson's or Darius Miller's or Jon Hood's on their team, just hard nosed kids that love to play the game. Spencer Co. is about the same way. This is the first time I ever watched any Spencer Co. team. They play hard and sometimes dirty.
A decent sized crowd was on hand, and Spencer Co. brought a rowdy bunch. I had a quick chat with Coach Paul Childress before the game and he said that he was a little worried about this game. After coming off a big district win he didn't know how his team would respond against a non regional opponent. He also said that this was a very good Spencer Co. team, better than there 8-8 record.
The game got under way and Larue controlled the tip, Spencer backed into a 1-2-2 zone. It seemed to confuse Larue at first but they had great ball movement and got a bucket and the Hawks looked like they were going to pick up right where they left off on Friday. Spencer looked a little tight and made some silly turnovers. The quarter was a good one for the Hawks, they were up 16-8 when Spencer Co. got a time-out with 2:19 to go in the quarter. The Bears came out of the time-out and that's when the fans showed up as well. They were on the refs as soon as they put the ball back in play. I have been all over the fifth region this year and I haven't seen these refs before, I'm sure they were legal, but they were not that consistent. The first quarter ended with a Larue Co. lead 19-10.
With the Spencer Co. fans still rowdy the second quarter began and Larue was still hot, with the help of Tyler Hornback, Larue Co's all purpose player, they started to stretch their lead. But the Bears started to claw back into this one. They were taking it to the Hawks and getting them into big time foul trouble. Hornback, who had been all over the court picked up his second foul with 5:58 to go in the half. they were forced to sit him and that's when Spencer Co's Craig Edwards took over. Edwards is a wide body and he had been frustrated the whole game, he was kind of a dirty player but I guess his frustration made him act a little dirty. He would complain about not getting any calls, but he never did anything wrong. With Larue Co. in foul trouble, (three starters with two fouls) the sub's was able to hold the lead and go in at the half up 31-23.
Both teams of course, headed to their locker rooms and we got to enjoy the Larue Co. cheerleaders do their floor routine, I guess they have some kind of competition coming up, oh well good luck to them. Now I don't know what Coach Jacob Barmore said to his team, but they were in and out of the locker room in no time. I guess they wanted to catch the cheerleaders as well. Whatever he said must have worked cause they came out looking like a different team. They ran off a flury of buckets and cut the lead to two points. Larue got a timeout, Coach Childress had to settle his team.
The third was a wild one both teams were very intense and it got a little ugly. The refs were still catching it from the fans as they were still inconsistent, the fans from Spencer were really upset, they saw there team get back into this game, but now they thought the refs were going to take them out of it. That's when they had seen enough from one particular fan, they stopped the game and escorted a fan out of the gym. Now my back was to the Spencer Co. crowd but I had heard them all night and I wasn't about to turn around to see who was getting tossed. It was ugly. Good thing they had a sherriff's deputy on hand. Funny thing is that fans across the gym said the ref tossed the wrong guy. After it was all said and done Spencer Co. had there first lead 40-39 to end the third.
This game was a rough one for both teams, I had to keep looking down at the Larue bench to see if football Coach Rodney Armes was passing out helmets and shoulder pads. It was really heating up. Both teams made silly fouls and some mistakes in the fourth, I don't know if that was from being tired or just frustrated from all the banging. It must have been frustration, a Spencer Co. player picked up a technical foul, and it kinda took the steam out of his team. Now Larue Co. struggled all night from the free throw line (11 for 25). but after the technical, they started to fall and that was the turning point IMO. That put Larue up 51-46. The Bears still had fight in them, after trading buckets and some Larue made FT's the lead was 55-50 with 38.5 tics on the clock. Spencer was forced to foul, which probably wasn't a bad idea cause Larue had shot so poorly through-out the game. But they made them down the stretch and Larue won a wild one in Hodgenville, 59-56 .
OBSERVATIONS
Brothers in Arms: Senior Shawn and Junior Christian Seymour, both smart on and off the ball court, tonight they made 4 of 6 free throws with less than forty seconds to go in the game. On a night that the free trows were not falling, they stepped it up and knocked some important shots down. That builds confidence for tournament time.
I Know You Are, But What Am I?: Craig Edwards for Spencer Co. is a bully, I mean that in a good way. He is wide and very strong kid and he gives opposing players fits. He's a good offensive player as well, he single handly brought Spencer Co. back in this game scoring 19 points and many rebounds. He fouled out with about 40 seconds to go, after that they had no one to go to. Hats off to the bully!
Silent but Deadly: Coach Paul Childress, for people that know him, knows that he pretty much is quiet most of the time, well until game time that is. Tonight you could tell he really wanted this game, not that he don't want every game, but he really worked the sidelines tonight, working the refs, getting after players, only to get the most out of them and that is why people like him, he gets the most out of what he has got. At times I thought he was going to blow a gasket but he just turned away and kept his cool.
Leader of the Pack: Larue Co's Tyler Hornback has put together back to back performances that Larue fans have been waiting for. He is starting to turn the corner and at a good time in the season. He started off the season a little slow, but now he may be ready to carry this team on his back. But then again there are many players on this team who can step it up on any given night. Region teams know about Hornback, he was a starter last year as a Soph. and he made some noise then, so he may get some heavy attention come tournament time. So look for Corey Salsman, The Seymour Bro's. or Byran Bault to step up and help out and lead a balanced team.
By Chris Gregory
It's been a week and a half since I have been to a game, (dang work schedule). So tonight I got back to it. I didn't have to travel far for the contest (about three miles)between Spencer Co. Bears and the Larue Co. Hawks. Both teams were on a six game winning streak. The Hawks won last Friday against district foe Green Co. which to date is probably the best overall game played by Larue. Spencer from the 8th region, has had some good wins against John Hardin, North Bullitt, and Louisville Western.
Larue is quietly making a name for themselves in the fifth region this year. Nobody is giving them a shot to win the region, but I feel like they can play with the top three or four temas in the region. This is a team that is loaded with blue collar players, they have no Scotty Hopson's or Darius Miller's or Jon Hood's on their team, just hard nosed kids that love to play the game. Spencer Co. is about the same way. This is the first time I ever watched any Spencer Co. team. They play hard and sometimes dirty.
A decent sized crowd was on hand, and Spencer Co. brought a rowdy bunch. I had a quick chat with Coach Paul Childress before the game and he said that he was a little worried about this game. After coming off a big district win he didn't know how his team would respond against a non regional opponent. He also said that this was a very good Spencer Co. team, better than there 8-8 record.
The game got under way and Larue controlled the tip, Spencer backed into a 1-2-2 zone. It seemed to confuse Larue at first but they had great ball movement and got a bucket and the Hawks looked like they were going to pick up right where they left off on Friday. Spencer looked a little tight and made some silly turnovers. The quarter was a good one for the Hawks, they were up 16-8 when Spencer Co. got a time-out with 2:19 to go in the quarter. The Bears came out of the time-out and that's when the fans showed up as well. They were on the refs as soon as they put the ball back in play. I have been all over the fifth region this year and I haven't seen these refs before, I'm sure they were legal, but they were not that consistent. The first quarter ended with a Larue Co. lead 19-10.
With the Spencer Co. fans still rowdy the second quarter began and Larue was still hot, with the help of Tyler Hornback, Larue Co's all purpose player, they started to stretch their lead. But the Bears started to claw back into this one. They were taking it to the Hawks and getting them into big time foul trouble. Hornback, who had been all over the court picked up his second foul with 5:58 to go in the half. they were forced to sit him and that's when Spencer Co's Craig Edwards took over. Edwards is a wide body and he had been frustrated the whole game, he was kind of a dirty player but I guess his frustration made him act a little dirty. He would complain about not getting any calls, but he never did anything wrong. With Larue Co. in foul trouble, (three starters with two fouls) the sub's was able to hold the lead and go in at the half up 31-23.
Both teams of course, headed to their locker rooms and we got to enjoy the Larue Co. cheerleaders do their floor routine, I guess they have some kind of competition coming up, oh well good luck to them. Now I don't know what Coach Jacob Barmore said to his team, but they were in and out of the locker room in no time. I guess they wanted to catch the cheerleaders as well. Whatever he said must have worked cause they came out looking like a different team. They ran off a flury of buckets and cut the lead to two points. Larue got a timeout, Coach Childress had to settle his team.
The third was a wild one both teams were very intense and it got a little ugly. The refs were still catching it from the fans as they were still inconsistent, the fans from Spencer were really upset, they saw there team get back into this game, but now they thought the refs were going to take them out of it. That's when they had seen enough from one particular fan, they stopped the game and escorted a fan out of the gym. Now my back was to the Spencer Co. crowd but I had heard them all night and I wasn't about to turn around to see who was getting tossed. It was ugly. Good thing they had a sherriff's deputy on hand. Funny thing is that fans across the gym said the ref tossed the wrong guy. After it was all said and done Spencer Co. had there first lead 40-39 to end the third.
This game was a rough one for both teams, I had to keep looking down at the Larue bench to see if football Coach Rodney Armes was passing out helmets and shoulder pads. It was really heating up. Both teams made silly fouls and some mistakes in the fourth, I don't know if that was from being tired or just frustrated from all the banging. It must have been frustration, a Spencer Co. player picked up a technical foul, and it kinda took the steam out of his team. Now Larue Co. struggled all night from the free throw line (11 for 25). but after the technical, they started to fall and that was the turning point IMO. That put Larue up 51-46. The Bears still had fight in them, after trading buckets and some Larue made FT's the lead was 55-50 with 38.5 tics on the clock. Spencer was forced to foul, which probably wasn't a bad idea cause Larue had shot so poorly through-out the game. But they made them down the stretch and Larue won a wild one in Hodgenville, 59-56 .
OBSERVATIONS
Comedians or Players?: This Larue Co. team should nickname this season "The Blue Collar Players Tour", they will not win any Mr. Basketball awards or probably not sign any Division 1 scholarships in basketball, but they work hard and listen to their coach and right now they are gettin er done, with their balanced attack. I hope they can keep up their good play when they get back into district play on Friday at Hart Co.
Brothers in Arms: Senior Shawn and Junior Christian Seymour, both smart on and off the ball court, tonight they made 4 of 6 free throws with less than forty seconds to go in the game. On a night that the free trows were not falling, they stepped it up and knocked some important shots down. That builds confidence for tournament time.
I Know You Are, But What Am I?: Craig Edwards for Spencer Co. is a bully, I mean that in a good way. He is wide and very strong kid and he gives opposing players fits. He's a good offensive player as well, he single handly brought Spencer Co. back in this game scoring 19 points and many rebounds. He fouled out with about 40 seconds to go, after that they had no one to go to. Hats off to the bully!
Silent but Deadly: Coach Paul Childress, for people that know him, knows that he pretty much is quiet most of the time, well until game time that is. Tonight you could tell he really wanted this game, not that he don't want every game, but he really worked the sidelines tonight, working the refs, getting after players, only to get the most out of them and that is why people like him, he gets the most out of what he has got. At times I thought he was going to blow a gasket but he just turned away and kept his cool.
Leader of the Pack: Larue Co's Tyler Hornback has put together back to back performances that Larue fans have been waiting for. He is starting to turn the corner and at a good time in the season. He started off the season a little slow, but now he may be ready to carry this team on his back. But then again there are many players on this team who can step it up on any given night. Region teams know about Hornback, he was a starter last year as a Soph. and he made some noise then, so he may get some heavy attention come tournament time. So look for Corey Salsman, The Seymour Bro's. or Byran Bault to step up and help out and lead a balanced team.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)