Jump to content

ballbrain

10 Post Members
  • Posts

    170
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Reputation

10 Good
  1. It wasn't just JJ. What actually made JC such a powerhouse team the year before was an uncommon combination of talent in JK Hall at QB , Ousley at FB, along with JJ. All three played very good defense too, along with some good LB's and lineman. When Ousley came out of the backfield through the 4 hole to block for JJ the effect was devastating. Defensive backs and ends had to respect JJ's ability to get out on the edge, if that happened he'd blow right by the secondary. That meant the second level players had to get out there ahead of JJ. If Ousley was able to seal the over pursing inside backer by cutting up in the 4 hole, JJ could make one of those sharp cuts and again, he'd be through the secondary before the defense could adjust. So he could burn you on the edge or up the middle. What made things even more interesting was Hall's ability to fake the handoff and bootleg around the near side. The defense is thinking flow and he's got the edge on the other side. He wasn't as fast as JJ, but he broke off a lot of good gainers doing that. It was a nightmare to defend. By the time JJ was a senior, he could do a lot of it on his own as his final season stats show. I can't imagine JC coming close to playing at the level they did the past 4 years.
  2. LOL, I don't know. Something about your avatar just makes me want to wax historical.
  3. In 2003 as 10 yr olds, 4th graders Whetsel and Bush were in Orlando Florida competing at the AAU basketball national tounament. The same thing holds true for each consecutive year thereafter up through the 8th grade. Preparing to compete at that level meant traveling weekends to various cities around the midwest participating in AAU tournaments and Super-Regionals. As a result they competed against some of the best players in the nation in their age group, many of which are presently playing DI ball at places like Kansas, Louisville, U of Tenn., and the list goes on. Sometime around the 6th grade Corey Gregg joined their AAU team and from that point onward he can make the same claim. Other players on our AAU team included Mike Terry, Zach Davis, Zach Hart, Austin Hunt, Connor Robinson, and in earlier days, Timmy Knipp. We often bumped into the likes of Evan and Ethan Faulkner and others out on the AAU trail. All those hundreds of AAU games, elementary school ball, middle school ball and middle school state tournaments which they either won (7th grade) or came in second (8th grade) in preparation for high school play. Fast forward to March 5th, 2012 in the regional final and final seconds of these kids high school careers. Given the circumstances all have agreed on with regards to the no call in this thread. Should any ref lacking courage or conviction be in a position to deny Ashland Blazer High School, the team, or the shooter his just due and the chance to tie the game and see what he's made of? Coach Shawn Thacker- "My hats off to coach Biggs, his staff and players, They are such gutsy competitors. Guys like Gregg, Withrow and Whetsel, a part of me feels they are more deserving of this oppportunity" Very classy IMO. Thanks coach Thacker for the kind words, hope you all do well at state.
  4. I can certainly understand you're position. Trying to understand what may have been going on in the ref's mind. If he thought, "ah well, I'm not going to call a hold because it wouldn't change anything". If he saw the grab and decided not to call it maybe that was the reasoning. But then, you get the foul that radio stations, TV and sports writers from places all over our region feel is worthy of mentioning as the biggest no call, or one of the no calls they've seen. If the ref is looking at the ball coming in because he is anticipating a shot and doesn't see the grab but sees the foul on the shot, & still doesn't call either one what is his excuse then? I think the two shot foul was the plan but, when it wasn't called and the three shot foul was committed what are we claiming at that point, it's just too confusing and I'm bailing the heck out of here?
  5. Not at all, but two wrongs don't make a right and like you said they were trying to foul. Something should have been called. It was a viable strategy and I said I didn't have a problem with it as long as the shooter gets a chance at the free throw line. When the final horn sounded it was Rowan 59 and Ashland 56. All I'm saying is there are legal ways to stop the shot and anything outside of that the rules say free throws should be given.
  6. I see your point, that was a pretty subtle "had" and it got by me. I wouldn't take back anything in my post though. I've seen rough play allowed to go a bit before a foul was called. The strategy I called out was a game ending strategy option used by the defense. The grabbing was intentional but the second foul was the fail safe, the ref might could take the position he didn't see the grab, but no way can he say he couldn't see the foul on the shooter.
  7. And that's the whole point of the tactic of fouling the shooter at the end of the game. The rationale is the odds make it much harder to drop in 3 free throws as opposed to one three point shot. So the defense conceeds the free throws and committs a good hard foul on the shooter, who then must toe the line and face all the spotlight that goes with it. I have no problem with the coaching wisdom of doing that, or of Egan's effort to execute that strategy. My problem is with referee Bo Queen's failure to act. You don't just deny due process out there on the court like he did. Think of all the sensational highlights of buzzer beater shots in high school tourrnament play to come yet in this season. By the standards of this particular ref the team on defense could just tackle the shooter and celebrate their win. You can't deny a team the opportunity to shoot by using means that are clearly outside the rules of the game and not award the free throws. And that standard would apply even if the shooter was way out near half court. In this case the shooter was just past the 3 point line and well positioned for the shot. Saying that, I fully realize Whetsel would have had to make all three free throws and then the game would have gone into overtime, but as Spindoc mentioned Rowan would have had to play 4 minutes without Egan. No offense meant at all to Rowan fans here but I liked Ashland chances in the OT they fully deserved a chance to try for at the free throw line. Major travesty
  8. Guessing what might have been always seems to put an unfavorable light on the guesser. None the less, after the travesty 10th region officials visited upon the Tomcats (16th region) during the last play of their regioinal finals matchup with Rowan Co., I must say your post seems well taken to me. Like the 7 pound small mouth that got away once down at Dale Hollow, that scene will haunt my thoughts for some time. Ashland was denied a chance to tie at the end of regulation when obvious fouls were not called as the shooter got hammered before and during his shot attempt. See Rowan 59 Ashland 56 thread.
  9. Agree, and I would add, nobody wants to knock coach Thacker or any of his players. He was very gracious in his post game comments. It was the smart play. Good luck to Rowan at the Sweet Sixteen.
  10. Coach Thacker clearly wasn't going to make the same mistake Fleming did, being up 3 and Ashland had the ball at the end of the game. You understand giving up 2 points instead of 3 by fouling. What cannot be understood is how the official standing right on top of the play allows Rowan to deny Ashland a shot by an intentional foul not once but twice on the same play by the same player and no call at all is made. The reason the shooter was on his knees is because he was tackled. I guess the ref just decided Ashland didn't deserve a last second attempt at scoring. I don't know what made him think he had the right to decide Ashland shouldn't have the right to go for the tie but, he did it anyway. Nobody knows what would have been the result of the shot or of the free throws that should have been awarded but it would have been fair to at least find out. That is what the officials are paid to do, right? FWIW, when a no call makes the late sports news on TV, you know it's a big deal.
  11. Agree, that totally would have iced it for Fleming. I was surprised to see Ashland find itself down three with 15 seconds left anyway. I thought they did a much better job limiting Fleming from driving to the basket and spreading the floor, thought we fixed that nicely. The guy that hurt us last night was Steward hitting those 6- 3 balls. You never know what's going to happen this time of year on the court, Ashand made an adjustment defensively and Steward didn't get off another 3 point attempt late in regulation or the OT period. Fleming will be the team no one wants to face next season, thought they played with a lot of poise.
  12. Kyle's game has really come on this year, he is one of those players along with Fairview's Mike Terry that still out there scoring even when he gets double teamed. I saw him go down and it looked bad. I was glad to see him back on the court in the 2nd half but you could really tell he was bothered by the ankle. Hated to see that happen, he should be a force next year.
  13. Thought Ashland was toast with 15 seconds left, got the ball in and Gregg managed to get off a prayer 3 ball with 3 secs left. Very hard shot to make and he didn't hesitate. Biggs started subbing with 6:07 left in the first. Ashland has some very good subs no doubt but you have to let the seniors get their sea legs under them a bit more than that IMO Ashland really did well in the OT. All things considered a great win for Ashland but what a heartbreaker for Fleming
  14. Had a chance to see a couple of games this past season and I was really impressed with how good NAIA football is. I'll have to say we saw some big time players in Mid South Conference play. They draw from as far away as Florida and Alabama. Looks to be a very competitive league.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using the site you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use Policies.