Breathitt County

[Q man]

What has happened to Breathitt County. Two years ago their eighth grade team won the State AAU tournament. Shouldn't they be loaded again?

[Learker]

That is true. I am wondering how many went to Jackson City?

[Mountain Man]

As far as I know, the ones that are playin for Jackson right now, has all come from Jackson. I think Breathitts main problem is they have no leadership. I believe if someone stepped up and would take control, it would help the team alot. They all act if like they are afraid to take it inside. If you watch this team, you will see what Im talking about. They are a perimeter team. Against Magoffin, I bet they shot 20 3's. I was thinking they won the state middle school tournament, not AAU. Correct me if Im wrong, please, but I think thats what it was.

[Q man]

I think that you are right. It was the state middle school tournament.

[Nets]

They are extremely young. Be patient with them.

[Uk4Life]

Coach Hall is extremely good but this group isn't as good as advertise. They won in middle school but most have been held back so they were a year older than most other middle school players. And many schools do not even attend the middle school state tourny. They are good but not as good as they have been hyped. Just my opinion!!!

[KIDS FAN]

They are not very good but they are young. Patience and coaching will make them better.

[the legend red]

Coach Hall is extremely good but this group isn't as good as advertise. They won in middle school but most have been held back so they were a year older than most other middle school players. And many schools do not even attend the middle school state tourny. They are good but not as good as they have been hyped. Just my opinion!!!

This is very true they are all held back and were as big in 8th grade as they are now ,they are also not very quick,they were middle school heros,there have been many of them.

[ZinMaster]

Coach Hall is extremely good but this group isn't as good as advertise. They won in middle school but most have been held back so they were a year older than most other middle school players. And many schools do not even attend the middle school state tourny. They are good but not as good as they have been hyped. Just my opinion!!!

Many were held back, but they were no older than the average 7th or eighth graders in the nation.

[uk96]

I am not against holding back kids in grade school but the thing people must remember is that when they get to high school they are back to competing against kids their age or older. Sometimes they look like superstars in grade school but don't improve much when they get to high school. Sometimes when a kid has been held back one or two years he has grown as much as he is going to. Not talking about Breathitt just everyone in general.imo

[RoundLeather]

That is true. I am wondering how many went to Jackson City?

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nothing aught, blank, bottom, cipher, duck egg, goose egg, insignificancy, love, lowest point, nada, nadir, naught, nil, nix, nobody, nonentity, nothing, nought, nullity, oblivion, ought, rock bottom, scratch, shutout, void, zilch, zip, zot

I THINK THAT JUST ABOUT ANSWERS THAT QUESTION!!!

[dubbbledribbble]

Coach Hall is a great guy and a very good coach. I think if you put Warren on this team then they have a good record. They just lost too many good players to expect this team to be winning right now, but Hall will have them very competitive at the end of this season and for sure next year. As with the older 8th grade teams, I agree with the other posts. It is a whole different ballgame when these bigger, older 8th graders get to high school. All of a sudden people are the same size as them and better players. Breathitt is learning that the hard way. Shelby Valley is the same way in the 15th. Virgie and Dorton dominate at the middle school level, then they don't improve much after that. At the high school level, other teams watch more closely and all of a sudden things these kids used to dominate doesn't happen anymore. You just can't win on talent alone at the high school level. All coaches scout too well these days, they find player weaknesses and figure out how to shut teams down.

[Flash]

Coach Hall is a great guy and a very good coach. I think if you put Warren on this team then they have a good record. They just lost too many good players to expect this team to be winning right now, but Hall will have them very competitive at the end of this season and for sure next year. As with the older 8th grade teams, I agree with the other posts. It is a whole different ballgame when these bigger, older 8th graders get to high school. All of a sudden people are the same size as them and better players. Breathitt is learning that the hard way. Shelby Valley is the same way in the 15th. Virgie and Dorton dominate at the middle school level, then they don't improve much after that. At the high school level, other teams watch more closely and all of a sudden things these kids used to dominate doesn't happen anymore. You just can't win on talent alone at the high school level. All coaches scout too well these days, they find player weaknesses and figure out how to shut teams down.

A very good and I think accurate post. It's a long story that goes back a few years. After being "held back" when these current sophomores were 7th grade, they were better then most if not all of the 8th graders, which wasn't a strong group to begin with. Consequently they started for the middle school team as 7th graders and a number of 8th graders hung it up and never got back into it, as evidenced by the current senior class of the Bobcats this year. What are there? Two seniors? Anyway, in their 8th grade year, which would have been their 9th grade year ordinarily, they won the state 8th grade tournament. As I understand it, the 8th grade tournament is an invitation only event which is not really an elimination type thing to get there and I'm not sure who actually sponsors it.

It's too late to make a long story short but due to these kids staying back and causing the 8th grade kids to quit when these kids were 7th, Breathitt go virtually no significant help form what is now the senior class and even less from the group that is now the junior class which is what these kids would have been. So, Breathitt had two years of not too many new basketball players into the high school program. I may have confused myself and others a little but it somehow worked out that way.

With all that said, these kids are not as good of ballplayers as Breathitt has had the last couple or three years, but Coach Hall is a good coach and is doing the best he can do with what he's got. They will improve and when they are seniors, they will be very competitive.

And, I think they are probably about a year older on average then the regular sophomore. Heck, most have been driving for some time.

[ARC]

I agree with Flash, and will also say that the same thing is happening with Breathitt's present 8th grade team. An entire group held back and they are winning most of their games, if not the middle school state tournament. Lots of teams have 1 or 2 hold-backs, SMS has somewhere between 5 and 10. That can be good, but when it so seriously depletes the 7th and 9th grades then there will be some adjustment problems on down the road.

 

Breathitt's current sophomore class was very similar; 5 - 10 holdbacks in the 8th grade, not much strength on either their 7th or 9th at that time. Now they don't get the experienced 'help' from the jr class and most of next years incoming freshmen won't get very much experience for 2 years at the varsity level.

 

Having said all of that, when either of these two classes are seniors they will be very competitive if they hang in there until their time. If Breathitt's program had been really weak last year and these kids had started and played more varsity minutes then they would probably make a strong run for 2 or 3 years.

[HDE]

If the class ahead of those guys were beat out in middle school by the current sophomores, then they probably wouldn't help much now.

 

If the sophomores were as good as they were advertised though, they should be winning a few more games now. Harlan and Paintsville won regional championships with sophomore-dominated teams several years back.