In their really tough games, they may go 8 deep, but it would more likely be 7. Allen, Proffitt, Smith, Hammonds, Marcum, Goodin, Riley.

 

 

Thats about the number I was thinking. I know all teams in the mountains would like to be able to play 7-8 guys without losing much on the scoring end, but at the same time, I know plenty of mountain teams that would just assume play 3-on-3 or 4-on-4.

The Blackcats held Williams from Woodford to 28 pts.(10 in the first half) in the Frankfort tournament last week and, as I was told by a Frankfort staff member seated at the table, he is a sure all-stater. And it seemed as though our defense was penalized much more than Woodford's in the 2nd half, after we took the lead into the locker room at halftime, or their scoring would have been less than the 59 pts. they put up. We also "held"( ) June Buchanan's Stepp to 33(6 in OT, I believe) in an earlier overtime loss.

It seems that with most mountain teams, it is better to hide these problems by playing teams in your region four and five times a season, rather than venture out and have the weaknesses exposed in the interest of making a better ballclub and not getting embarrassed in the first round of the Sweet 16.

From what I've seen, you just hit it on the bullseye.

Not saying it's all mountain schools or the majority, but one thing you have to look at is that some mountain schools have one baller and four roll players. In other words, they have one superstar and four players that are just average and below players. This causes the baller/superstar to shoot 40 shots or so and gets 40 points. Not saying everyone that scores 40 is in this situation, just saying it happens. There is one mountain school that has a player scoring 35 and 40 a game and the next guy to him is probably averaging 8 or 10 and his team averages losing by 15-20 points or so, I'm guessing. The defense is there, it's just that when you play a team like this, coaches let the superstar get his points, shut everyone else down, and win the game by 20 points or so. I've seen it happen time and time again, it works.

 

what team would you be referring to roundleather24?

Alot of mountain teams have to set in that statue zone because some schools do not have the quickness to gaurd the teams in the cities.

Most mountain teams...but don't include Belfry .....they have played a VERY demanding out of region schedule so far.. the staff there has the philosophy that it doesn't matter how many times you smash a lesser opponent during the regular season...it matters whether or not you make it to RUPP..and the only way to do that is play a tough schedule.

Granted, my question is a general one, but I have to wonder when reading some of these threads. It seems like every night somebody from out of nowhere goes for 40+.

 

I know the stereotype of mountain kids is that everyone can shoot. But looking at the big picture, it seems as if those kids are sacrificing defense for the desire to be the next Richie Farmer. So I ask you: Where's the Defense?

 

Funny you mention Richie Farmer. Sometimes I get the impression some Mtn players think if they can avg 25 or 30 points a game they'll get some looks and letters from some decent colleges. Sad part is I dont think they realize that D1, D2 and NAIA coaches don't recruit players that haven't proved they can guard somebody. Will Jones is a good example at Clay. He's been a very good player for Clay since he was a freshman, he's a great kid with alot of offensive skills, could be one of the best mid-range shooters to ever play at Clay. The BUZZ on Jones is; as soon as he hones his defensive skills (he has shown improvement as of late) and proves he's a complete player his phone will start ringing, possibly even OVC! I know Mountain teams can play defense, I've seen em do it. :thumb:

Believe it or not, Pikeville has been surprisingly good on defense this year if you throw out the June Buchanan season opener. While their coaching staff is known for scoring thousands and thousands of points in college, the Panthers play really hard on the defensive end. They held Paintsville in the low 50's (Landon Slone held to 12) and Covington Holmes to 62. If they improve their shooting troubles they might surprise a few teams later on this season.

What about JC?...Mark my words they will be able to play defense...going from a 2-3 during the Les Trimble Era to a full court, all game 2-2-1 press is tough to do in a year...but by the end of the season this team will be able to play great defense and win the 15th...JC also has a very tough out of region schedule also...They play North Broward Prep (top 25 team in the state Florida) in the Lexington Catholic Tourny here a couple of weeks...They played a VERY VERY GOOD team in Summersville, SC in the Hazard Invitational...They had the game won but they took 3 or 4 posessions off and Summersville made them pay...BUT if they played every game like they did against SC...They will be hard to beat

What about JC?...Mark my words they will be able to play defense...going from a 2-3 during the Les Trimble Era to a full court, all game 2-2-1 press is tough to do in a year...but by the end of the season this team will be able to play great defense and win the 15th...JC also has a very tough out of region schedule also...They played a VERY VERY GOOD team in Summersville, SC in the Hazard Invitational...They had the game won but they took 3 or 4 posessions off and Summersville made them pay...BUT if they played every game like they did against SC...They will be hard to beat

Les' teams could press well at times also!! JC is very good but they play an awfully lot of people. Sometimes it is hard to establish a great defensive unit when you play so many people. You are right, they may win the 15th, then again they may not make it out of the 57th either!! They don' appear to be having much fun!!

what team would you be referring to roundleather24?

I hate to single anyone out, but it's a 14th region team, but I've seen this happen several times over the years. Even at my hometown school. About 4 years ago we had a player averaging 25 ppg and he broke out several times for 40+, but the downside was the other teams were shutting down the other players and we were losing to teams that we should beat. Great players are going to get their points if the rest of the team is just average. Bark at the moon!

Hazard has had success playing defense in the past...However, coach Kevin Spurlock has some serious work to do this season with his ballclub. Anyone who has watched Hazard play over the past couple of seasons would have to agree that they could play defense. This season, at least by looking at their record, has been a little different.

This entire page of postings has made me angry. First of all, I doubt that some of you realize where the mountains in this state are. Many of the teams discussed are not even close to any mountains. Most of eastern Kentucky, which of course garners criticism from all people ignorant of our heritage and assets, is not in the mountains at all. However we are in the hills and they are very different from mountains. Hills are friendly looking, usually somewhat rounded mounds of earth. Mountains are like the Alps, the Rockies, etc. They are very tall and forbidding looking. I think Pike County and surrounding countryside are in the mountains.

And now, back to our main concern of basketball, Morgan County has one of the better defensive teams which was ever put together in such a small school, I think.........and I am sure there are others.

Have you seen Knott play defense in their first four games they had already forced over 90 turnovers. If thats not defense then i don't what is.

Granted, my question is a general one, but I have to wonder when reading some of these threads. It seems like every night somebody from out of nowhere goes for 40+.

 

I think it has more to do with the low level of overall talent in the mountain regions. Good players can "bust out" for big numbers more often because of the small number of talented and athletic players.