Just thinking out loud, but is the problem at Ashland a lack of numbers issue? Ive always been a critic of the way Flynn runs certain things in his basketball system. The entire thing is devoted towards the top 7 or 8 players and the rest of the team is kind of "left out" I was thinking about this the other day but look at all of the athletes he's lost because of this. Last year Brandon Pennington was the only senior on the team and that certainly hurt the cats last year. How much would athletes like Sam Hensley, Adam Clark, or Justin Canty have helped out last year? The class after that had Brandon Williams, Joe Smith, and Alex Wheeler all quit the team before coming back this year for their senior season. Ian Holbrook also quit and has not came back.

And the current junior class has already seen Luke Bonner, Fields Davis, Jared Williams, Kevin Burns and Shane Fairchild(soph) quit. Pretty much all of these players have quit while they were on the varsity and I'm just wondering out loud, how much of an impact could these players have made under Flynn if he could've got them to stick around?

 

Russell has the talent.

The talent is definitiely on the benches but there is a huge problem with the coach with communication. What a shame that these boys cannot be lead to the state. It is not fair to them, fans, parents, schools. The coach also has the talent but lacks in motivational skills. The coach also knows why he has lost one of his best players - the quote in Friday nights paper was..........The word Assault was the reason. How unfair to a gifted child. We do need to remember these players are children. Young adults that need to be teachers to teach and guide them. A coach should guide Kasey as they would want one of his children to be guided. I think that Kasey needs to apologize to the coach and the team, but I strongly think that the coach should also apologize to Kasey and the team and lets move on to Rupp. Forgiving and forgetting will make us all stronger in the long run. God put us here to be of service to each other. Coach Dodd has many gifts and talents to share with these boys.Lets move in that direction. He can make an incredible difference. GOLD STAR

Russell has the talent.

The talent is definitiely on the benches but there is a huge problem with the coach with communication. What a shame that these boys cannot be lead to the state. It is not fair to them, fans, parents, schools. The coach also has the talent but lacks in motivational skills. The coach also knows why he has lost one of his best players - the quote in Friday nights paper was..........The word Assault was the reason. How unfair to a gifted child. We do need to remember these players are children. Young adults that need to be teachers to teach and guide them. A coach should guide Kasey as they would want one of his children to be guided. I think that Kasey needs to apologize to the coach and the team, but I strongly think that the coach should also apologize to Kasey and the team and lets move on to Rupp. Forgiving and forgetting will make us all stronger in the long run. God put us here to be of service to each other. Coach Dodd has many gifts and talents to share with these boys.Lets move in that direction. He can make an incredible difference. GOLD STAR

Why is this in the Ashland basketball thread?

Why is this in the Ashland basketball thread?

I was wondering the same thing?

You may be right, but my recollection was that Kevin Ward was the up and coming player at Putnam instead of Jeff and I thought Ward was the starter. I also recall as sophomores that Harkins was a starter and Kovach played virtually none at all. Then Kovach grew from something like 6'3" to 6'7" and immediately became a star on Harkins level as a Junior. I recall Jeff just went from being one of the guys and pretty much became an All State caliber player over a 12 month stretch. He was perfect for the Patterson system. Perhaps the phrase late bloomer should be replaced by sudden bloomer. Regardless, he became a super player and was a great guy also.

Kevin Ward and Jay Shippey are the only two 12 year olds I ever knew with well defined "pecs". Both were beasts on the football field, and yes Ward did play some basketball until he severely broke his right forearm playing baseball as a sophomore. From that point on, he focused on football.

 

If I'm not mistaken, Harkins and Kovach were both grade school products of Holy Family, who still had a high school team when they were at Ashland. I think Harkins stayed at HF through 8th or 9th grade. Both were big talents on the court. :thumb:

When Jeff Kovach was in the 9th grade Kevin Ward was in the 8th grade. At that time we still had 2 jr. high 7th-9th grade. Jim Harkins was at Holy Family thru the 9th grade the he went to Ashland for high school .

When Jeff Kovach was in the 9th grade Kevin Ward was in the 8th grade. At that time we still had 2 jr. high 7th-9th grade. Jim Harkins was at Holy Family thru the 9th grade the he went to Ashland for high school .

Was Harkins an apple or an orange? :confused:

Was Harkins an apple or an orange? :confused:

 

That is a very thought provoking question.

 

I would be a giant squash myself but the giant squash isn't a fruit. Therefore, I am a banana. :banana: :banana: :banana:

What happens when an apple becomes an orange, or vise versa.

What happens when an apple becomes an orange, or vise versa.

 

Another thought provoking questions.

When Jeff Kovach was in the 9th grade Kevin Ward was in the 8th grade. At that time we still had 2 jr. high 7th-9th grade. Jim Harkins was at Holy Family thru the 9th grade the he went to Ashland for high school .

 

I agree on all counts here. Harkins and I were in homeroom as sophomores when he first came to Blazer. (I thought Kovach was in the Ashland system all the way through, but I am not positive) My question is did Ward, who as Fastbreak said was physically advanced at this age, start for Putnam freshman team as an 8th grader?

Kevin Ward and Jay Shippey are the only two 12 year olds I ever knew with well defined "pecs". Both were beasts on the football field, and yes Ward did play some basketball until he severely broke his right forearm playing baseball as a sophomore. From that point on, he focused on football.

 

If I'm not mistaken, Harkins and Kovach were both grade school products of Holy Family, who still had a high school team when they were at Ashland. I think Harkins stayed at HF through 8th or 9th grade. Both were big talents on the court. :thumb:

Jeff came to Poage in the 5th grade.

I see Jay Shippey every now and then. It is hard to believe it is the same person that I went to school with. He still speaks often of Herb Conley and how much he looks up to him.

T Cat 72 -

Where is Shippey now? Last time I saw him, he looked like death warmed over...

 

I hope he is doing better now.

 

Frances

T Cat 72 -

Where is Shippey now? Last time I saw him, he looked like death warmed over...

 

I hope he is doing better now.

 

Frances

 

He's not. He wanders the streets of downtown Ashland, I think he had been staying at the Salvation Army. He definitely looks in bad shape... its a real shame. From what I understand he lost some very close family members all around the same time while he was in high school.

Shippey has suffered some tragic losses. He deserves compassion rather than BGP coverage. Maybe some of you Ashlanders could lend a hand and give some encouragement to one of your own. I feel sure that you don't want to overlook one who helped build the tradition.

Shippey has suffered some tragic losses. He deserves compassion rather than BGP coverage. Maybe some of you Ashlanders could lend a hand and give some encouragement to one of your own. I feel sure that you don't want to overlook one who helped build the tradition.

A good post, scooterbob. I know that Jay's life growing up was anything but "picture perfect". After he graduated, I didn't see him for about 15 years. I saw him twice, in Central Park, and to be honest, I didn't even recognize him the first time (someone else recognized him first). His appearance had changed that drastically. When he sat down on the bench and we talked, it was obvious that he wasn't "all there" (mentally speaking). Something had changed - in a big way.

 

Since that time, I haven't seen him again. That is why I asked how he was doing.

 

I don't know of anyone that wouldn't wish Jay well. As far as helping him, I have no idea what form that would (or could) take.

 

Frances