ElmerT

Steve Sparks citing "philosophical differences" should be a huge red flag for any prospective coach.

That's what I would call a "tainted" loss. Imagine a young team coming together at the right time during the tournament. That opportunity was denied when the Apollo administration saw fit to reward disloyalty for the 2nd year in a row. Austin Tyler was denied the opportunity to continue his maturing process as a team leader and the team was denied the opportunity to build on it's obvious young talent. Ben (a very talented player) was torched repeatedly after he started picking up fouls. He placed his value above the team's by his lacksidasical defensive effort when in foul trouble. A disturbing trend from the "higher ups" at Apollo has emerged and should give any family pause if they've got a son or daughter that's a talented student, hard working loyal person with a talent for basketball. I, for one, would not consider that school for my sports-minded, excellent students until significant changes are seen.

Truly a sad situation. Adults tend to ruin a lot of things for kids. Good luck to Apollo but this does not shine a favorable light on the program or the administrators. Not a good destination for talented players in the area. There's a huge difference between a good collection of players and a quality program. They have a good collection of players but it kinda gives you a bad feeling about the long term viability of the program under the current regime.

When you compromise ethics for a win, you shall reap what you sow. It does not bode well for the growth and sustainment of the program. It's obvious you'll need to keep looking over your shoulder if you're connected with that team. History has proven as much. Congratulations to Apollo on the win.

It just doesn't seem like the right way to build and sustain a program. Good luck to them.

I agree. I would put the onus on the coach to determine if he could trust the player to remain loyal, not disrupt team chemistry and not overly penalize guys that have done everything right. One regular season game with minimal to zero practice is beyond a stretch.

I'm all for student/player freedom of choice. It's up to the coaches and administrators to determine if they want to be known as a revolving door program.

I can't imagine a coach subjecting his program and players to that type of disruption. Huge red flag, IMO. Principal and/or AD should have vetoed this move if the coach didn't have the wherewithal to do so.

Seems like a slap in the face to those who have remained loyal.

Apollo at McLean tonight. Moss playing?

He is listed on the KHSAA roster.

.......with the return of Ben Moss?

Excellent preview! Never know how it's going to shake out until games start and anything can happen in February and March, as we witnessed last season. DC, OHS and McLean are likely the class of the 3rd Region. 1) McLean Co. - Made the regional tournament last season for the 1st time in many years under a 1st year coach. Sam Miller may turn out to be best guard in the region. 1A) OHS - Guard play goes a long way in HS BBall. Winning culture. Harris is at the top of the list of guards. 1B) DC - Best player in the region if he's focused. 1D) Meade - Caught lightening in a bottle against Apollo last season. Very well coached with skilled players. How good is the transfer? 5) Breck - Well coached. Skilled players. Enough size and depth? 6) Catholic - Young size with some shooters on the perimeter. Their ceiling will be determined by the level of conditioning attained by O'bryan. Not been the same player since injuries. 7) Hancock Co. - Good, experienced guards. 8) Ohio Co. - They will play the game the right way. Wilson is largely an unknown commodity during the varsity regular season. Should be fun to watch. 9) Muhlenberg County 10) Grayson County 11) Edmonson County 12) Butler County 13) Apollo 14) Cloverport 15) Whitesville Trinity Players to watch.: Curry (DC), Miller, Hudson (McLean), Harris (OHS), Pate, Ogle (Hancock), Hopewell (Apollo), Hackert (Meade), Mingus (Breck) Sleepers: Shelton (Apollo), Wilson (Ohio Co.) - It will be interesting to see what they can do against quality varsity competition during the regular season. They've certainly had some positive pub during AAU season.

22ft. Academy in South Carolina. Any more defections from Apollo this upcoming season?

Per Twitter.: Ben Moss to prep school. Apollo not looking so good this upcoming season.