Cooper pulls away in the 4th qtr.

St.Henry led until late in the 3rd.

I'd guess that Shelton led Cooper in scoring. He played a nice game. (Strong left hand around the basket).

Congratulations to the Jaguars.

Congrats to the Jags . St. Henry played well in the half court guarding the perimeter kept Cooper from getting open shots , #23 from St Henry played well , pretty Physical with the Cooper Bigs . Good job Crusaders .

Are my expectations of Cooper's offense too high? I am a bit surprised by their lack of scoring.

I would have expected Cooper to win by a larger margin. Congrats to them on the victory! :thumb:

 

Is St. Henry playing better?

Congrats to the Jags. They have a nice team with a lot of depth.

Are my expectations of Cooper's offense too high? I am a bit surprised by their lack of scoring.

St Henry got serious on defense. Did a real nice job in the paint.

St Henry got serious on defense. Did a real nice job in the paint.

 

It's not just one game.

I'm not sure on Cooper just yet. I think they are still finding their way/identity on offense and preach defense side of the ball so much. It appears that McNeil is the glue that holds them together. He doesn't force things, can handle the ball, shoots very well, gets to the basket if needed.

Shelton and Hawthorn played very well inside and were active on the boards. Maniacci had a few early fouls and never did a whole lot. He needs to get a lot stronger and play with a little more fire.

So far, out of the teams that St.Henry has played, I'd go...CCH,Holmes,Brossart,Cooper/Harrison Co. (have yet to play NCC).

Are my expectations of Cooper's offense too high? I am a bit surprised by their lack of scoring.

 

My take on Cooper is they are not a very "mature" team for having so many Senior's and Junior's. They simply play to the level of their competition. It's almost like they are bored most games unless it is a rival or a team ranked #1 (NCC).

 

Last night they had about 10 unforced turnovers, it seemed anyway, in the first quarter and Hathorn and Maniacci had two fouls each and they were "ticky tack" at best on Maniacci, but they were called and so be it. They sat after about 3 minutes each in the first half.

 

The third quarter, after Sullivan probably peeled paint at halftime, you would think they would come out on fire. After a minute and a half Sullivan pulled all 5 starters after they were down 7. The reserves came in and led them back to a 2 point lead and then the starters came in with a minute left in the third and played better and won by 12 after being up 15 or so.

 

I know most of the kids and expected more from them as a whole. I think they still play hard but not focused on the little things... sloppy turnovers!!

 

No disrespect to St. Henry but Cooper should have won by 30 if they come to play like they did in part of third and fourth quarter. They were down 7 and was up by 15 all within about a quarter and a half.

 

They will still be a tough out because they will play "up" to the top teams in the rankings. Just my opinion.

I would have expected Cooper to win by a larger margin. Congrats to them on the victory! :thumb:

 

Is St. Henry playing better?

 

St. Henry did a great job with their motion offense but a huge problem for Cooper is both their starting bigs spent the entire 2nd qtr on the bench with 2 fouls and when the starting 5 didn't respond well at the start of the 3rd Coach Sullivan cleared the bench with next five and went on a nice 12-4 run to regain the lead.

 

Bottom line is this, take nothing away from St. Henry but Cooper legitimately goes 10-11 deep which very few, if any, can say that in the 9th region. The problem for them is they are still trying to "figure it out". If they do, they can make it to Lexington, if not, it'll most likely be an early exit. It is scary to think what this team could be if they can ever put it together consistently. Big games coming up with Holmes and CovCath so we will see just what they are, pretenders or contenders.......

Are my expectations of Cooper's offense too high? I am a bit surprised by their lack of scoring.

 

I wouldn't say they are too high. The game was ugly. The first half Cooper couldn't hang on to the ball. It wasn't a lot of missed shots that slowed them down but a ton of silly uncharacteristic turnovers.

 

Early in the 3rd Coach Sully was so upset he yanked all 5 starters off the floor and let reserves play the rest of the 3rd in which they brought Cooper back and then the starters were finally put back in and that is when cooper went on their run.

 

As far as St Henry, Jordan Noble had a great game. He is a very good big man who can shoot from outside and knows his way around the basket. He had to deal with big Lou when he was in the game and did a pretty decent job.

My take on Cooper is they are not a very "mature" team for having so many Senior's and Junior's. They simply play to the level of their competition. It's almost like they are bored most games unless it is a rival or a team ranked #1 (NCC).

 

Last night they had about 10 unforced turnovers, it seemed anyway, in the first quarter and Hathorn and Maniacci had two fouls each and they were "ticky tack" at best on Maniacci, but they were called and so be it. They sat after about 3 minutes each in the first half.

 

The third quarter, after Sullivan probably peeled paint at halftime, you would think they would come out on fire. After a minute and a half Sullivan pulled all 5 starters after they were down 7. The reserves came in and led them back to a 2 point lead and then the starters came in with a minute left in the third and played better and won by 12 after being up 15 or so.

 

I know most of the kids and expected more from them as a whole. I think they still play hard but not focused on the little things... sloppy turnovers!!

 

No disrespect to St. Henry but Cooper should have won by 30 if they come to play like they did in part of third and fourth quarter. They were down 7 and was up by 15 all within about a quarter and a half.

 

They will still be a tough out because they will play "up" to the top teams in the rankings. Just my opinion.

Disrepect accomplished.

St.Henry just seems to bring out the worst in teams lately (see Camp.co.).

I'm not sure on Cooper just yet. I think they are still finding their way/identity on offense and preach defense side of the ball so much. It appears that McNeil is the glue that holds them together. He doesn't force things, can handle the ball, shoots very well, gets to the basket if needed.

Shelton and Hawthorn played very well inside and were active on the boards. Maniacci had a few early fouls and never did a whole lot. He needs to get a lot stronger and play with a little more fire.

So far, out of the teams that St.Henry has played, I'd go...CCH,Holmes,Brossart,Cooper/Harrison Co. (have yet to play NCC).

 

No Highlands Jim???

Cooper fans say what you want but St Henry is much better than the record or reputation. They have a chance to be pretty competitive throughout the region at the end of the year. I've said for most of the early part of the season they need time but as of now...they should have won this game.

 

They can't put up 17pts in the 2nd half and expect to win. Sounds like the same type of thing that happend again Sheldon Clark in the Lex Christian Tourn. For me it starts with the seniors and they all need to step up and play better and play more consistent. Some of them have seen 3yrs of varsity but are being outplayed by underclassmen. With that said I have been very impressed with the play of senior guard Michael Best.

I never knew you had to score a bunch of points to win a game, I always thought you just had to score more than the other team. Duh where have I been........