HS sports fan

Congrats to Corbin. Great game, great night, great student sections. Corbin won because they earned it. Officiating did not determine outcome. Corbin players, coaches-class. South players, coaches-class. Would love to see the region final contain 2 50th district teams.

Many of the officials in the 13th are not in good enough physical condition to run the floor. We have an official that was calling varsity games way before paying his dues to earn varsity status. I'm not saying he is a bad official, but no way he worked his way up through the ranks. I'm sure it even caused some resentment among other officials in same region.

Nice article Les. I totally agree that coach Robinson is a class act. He works hard, he knows the game, he is student of the game that will continue to learn more and get better, he has a passion for the gaem, the kids, the school, and the community. Agree somewhat with the comparison he made to the 1998 Jackets, but...He failed to mention that in '98 they had a kid that was not that tall, not that quick or fast, not that strong, was not the best shooter, but was the CONSUMATE FLOOR GENERAL...I believe he now goes by the name that many called his father for many years...Coach Vernon. His impact went waaaay beyond the linescore.

Yes the parking at W'burg is awful, I hear there are plans to expand the lot a great deal after the new athletic complex gets built. I would guess that they might use the gravel parking lots at the UC tennis courts and baseball field. That may seem like a bit of a walk to some, but honestly, you could be in the main lot at Whitley and actually have a longer walk to the door. Corbin Civic Center be great by me, but some of those W'burg admistrators might like to try and make some money off the tourney:)

I am as hard core a W'burg fan as anybody and even I would not have blown a whistle on that last play. Only thing I might have done differently is told my players in the previous time out to get the ball inbounds and across half court quickly, then call the timeout and set up a play for last shot. Obvioulsy that is a MUCH easier decision from an "armchair coach." Us spectators have to realize that it is MUCH more difficult to coach from the bench than the stands, and MUCH more difficult to officiate on the court than in the stands. It was a great game and the W'burg coaches and players should all be proud for putting themselves in a situation to have a chance to win the game. The more times you are in that situation, the better you get at it.

You mention Pettit as being a tandem with Teague that could give any 5 fits...You are exactly right. BUT, Pettit has to buy into this. He has the height, body, strength, talent, and skills to be an extremely effective 4 man. Give up the desire to make the no look passes, the flops to draw a charge, the 17 footer that has him back peddling across half court before the ball even hits the rim. Use what the good Lord gave you!!!!!!! Put your butt on the low block with your back to the bucket, show the guards where to give you the ball, make a strong move, and you'll get to the line. Then use your love of the 15' shot to knock down foul shots. I am not totally against him shooting from the perimeter occasionally, but after the shot, slash to the bucket to go after the offensive rebound. Pettit could help this team IMMENSLEY, but it won't happen until he embraces the fact that he is a post player not a perimeter player. Pettit could average a double/double if he would be willing to put on a hard hat and go to work in the paint. It may not be what he enjoys the most, but if he wants to be a contributing member of this team night in and night out, that's how he can accomplish that. W'burg is making some noise by playing quality competition closely, and I honestly believe that if someone could get Pettit to play as I have described, he would be the missing piece in a puzzle that could enable the Jackets to notch many more quality wins and be ready to make some noise in the district tourney.

Best thing about tonight was that the burg was down 12 in the 4th as mentioned and fought back to have a chance to win the game. I thought Teague worked his butt off. St John is very good but he was outhustled several times by Teague. Taylor played like they need him to. Taylor and Cunningham both may be buying more into the "team" concept. Change up in the starting lineup by inserting freshman Kevin Hoffman. He brings nice energy to the team and not being from around here he pays no attention to the name on the opponents jerseys. Nice quote on the Coach Leforce Bubba. Now for my belly aching:) 3 point shot by SL definitely hit the guidewire. Entire gym saw it and then watched it wobbling for several seconds. NO way a 3 man crew should not see (and call that). I'm not very good at math, but if you subtract 3 from SL score, what happens. I still think they (refs) protect St. John. I believe they do it for notable players and I believe they do it for notable coaches. Not quoting numbers, but SL shot more than twice as many free throws as WHS in 2nd half. I don't find SL in the same league as Corbin (talent, physicality, anything), and sorry Bubba, I don't think they handcheck, grab, hold, bump, etc. nearly as much. Don't get me wrong, I still respect the heck out of you as a friend and a basketball mind:) Typically not many games on a Monday night. I find it hard to believe that Chaney, Allen, and Kelley were the 3 highest ranked officials available. I believe that is what the arbitre program is supposed to do. Maybe Robinson and Wright have them ranked high, and if so, then the program is working. I guess I could ramble, I mean whine more, but 5:30 am comes early. Nothing personal Redhound, just trying to get under your skin:) Worst thing about tonight...What has happened to SL's crowd? Very few fans and practically no students. I hate to admit that I think I miss that obnoxious student section from a few years ago. Even if you don't think you can make it to Rupp going out and supporting your team and classmates should still happen. Maybe their girls palyed at home (I didn't check) and that's where all the basektball fans were. Their loss, they missed a very enjoyable basketball game.

I agree that good and bad officials exist. Coaches, players, officials, fans all make mistakes. My main problem with some officials is that they don't seem to respect the game when it involves certain "bottom shelf" teams. I don't care whose playing, you should run up and down the floor, be in proper position, be as consistent as possible, and maintain professional behavior. My only comment about those that work summer camps...I have seen in person officials calling games in summer camps and talking on their cell phone during the game while walking up and down the floor. Not really sure how that will help them improve. With all that said...It is a very diffiuclt job and I want no part of it:)

Very true that we all have those fans, I guess I am guilty of paying more attention to it from the Corbin fans due to the rivalry. The SL student section a few years back was pretty rough, but they have since subsided. I appreciate your support of your team, there is absolutely no doubt that the coaching staff and kids work their butts off in the gym and in the weight room to have such a high calibre program and I in no way meant to take anything away from them and their accomplishments.

It really looked to me like the Jacket guards were trying to buy into Robinson's "get it inside to Teague" in the 1st half better than they have all season, then I believe the Hounds made a point at the half to put an end to it...Which they did. In the 2nd half the Jacket guards were back to their same old style of too much dribbling and settling for poor shots. I appreciate you comment that the result might have been different, but as others have said, Corbin wins this game 10 out of 10 times. I never meant to infer that W'burg would have won the game had it not been for officiating. Teague does a nice job in the paint, I just don't think that he can physically keep it up for 4 quarters against strong opponents like CHS. I'd like to see Pettit in there banging instead of wanting to be more of a perimeter type player. Will do on the post SL report.

I thought I avoided the belly aching by admitting that Corbin is the superior team and that the refs had nothing to do with the outcome of the game. I was simply stating that I believe that Corbin is permitted to handcheck, grab, bump, etc more than other team on a regular basis. I'm sorry you dislike WHS. I happen to respect Corbin's athletics, academics, administration, coaches, and student/athletes (their fans can sometimes be rather arrogant and rude though).

Could very well have been verbal expressions, I was not close enough to hear. I was able to see that the shove was to his own team mate and not a Corbin player. I don't know if it was worsened shot selection or if Corbin prevented WHS from getting the ball to Teague like they did in the 1st half hence causing the Jackets to settle for worse shots.

Just wanted to mention that I was not bashing Lebanion. He is great athlete and he utilizes his strength to compensate for his lack of quickness...But again, if handchecking is supposed to be a fould, then call it and they will eventually stop.

I have seen them play and totally agree with you. Whitley even more than SL. The Lebanion kid for Whitley is a prime example. He is not quick enough to defend guards so he simply stops them with his hands long enough for him to defend them when they try to blow by. Why has the game changed like that? Have officials been told to allow the hand checking and holding? To me, rules of the game are rules of the game. If handchecking is a foul, then call it, on everyone, all the time. If that happened, then the game would change back to the way it was meant to be played. Refs should not adjuist to players, players should adjust to refs. Umps should not adjust their strike zone to each pitcher. Pitchers ahve to adjust their locations to the umps strike zone.

High profile tourney and able to call a lot of games in a short period of time is very financially lucrative.