Great info Deron, and just wanted to say welcome to BGP. Sounds like you have lots of info to share. If you have any questions about anything, just ask me our one of the other guides, we would be glad to help.

 

Thank You. Can't remember yesterday or last week but I sure as hell can remember the 70's and 80's.

The night Charles Hurt went through the net was a night I will never forget for as long as I live. My dad who has not missed a State Tournament since get this, 1955, came home from the tournament on Saturday because Channel 19 was televising it and he wanted to see it on TV. I'm only 10 years old at the time but I cried for what seemed like most of the rest of the night. These were my hero's from Holmes and the game was flat out taken away from them. I couldn't understand. My dad said nothing. I just stared at the TV and cried. After a while when things calmed my dad came over to me and said, "Deron, winning is not the ultimate in sports, but the will to win is." I'll never forget.

I'll take Bolden. Beal is a little too old to compete.

79 team was really, really good.

 

Yes it was. Muntis and Vories are definitely Top 10-15 players at Highlands All-Time. We had a get together for the All-Time team not to long ago and they are on it.

So after reading through much of the thread I take it that Bolden is now 18 and will be

19 when his basketball season ends in March of next year. When Dicky was 19 he was

starting at UK. I think the best way to analyze the two would be to understand that the

game is so much different today than when we played. Today's game depends so much

on individual play, dribble drive, 2 man, high screen and rolls, etc. The game played in the

70's and 80's is no where near this example. Take for example Dicky and Holmes. Absolutely,

not high screen and rolls and definitely never a 2 man game of pick and rolls. I will say that Dicky

had the ability to do his thing with the dribble drive but not at the expense of rolling the other

offensive players to the perimeter and beyond. Good gosh Dicky would have avg. 45 a night if

they were to implement the dribble drive offense. Nobody would have been able to stay in front

of him. Hard to compare really. I would take it that James and Dicky will

probably go down as the 2 best guards ever at Holmes. And probably leave it at that.

Beal was the deal.

 

Holy Cross had some awesome teams of its own back in those days, and the games at the school's little crackerbox gym next to the RR tracks were something to experience. Standing-room only, people sitting on the steps (and HUNDREDS more waiting outside), a million degrees inside, a thousand decibels, cops everywhere. Like a previous poster said, the entire Holy Cross fan base held up newspapers one time when Holmes' players were announced to show their (somewhat good-natured) disrespect. I believe Cross won that game, because I remember the lead in The Kentucky Post zeroing in on coach Bill Frey's wilted carnation pinned to his lapel. Frey would coach games in three-piece suits back then. Flynn wore suits too.

 

Another time the Bulldogs' Elliot (sp?) Simpson zig-zagged through the HC cheerleaders to burst through the papered hoop they were holding up for the HC players to run through. Holmes' fans went absolutely crazy when he did that. And didn't Holmes have those candy-striped warmup pants back then? That was the game, I believe, when Beal -- motivated by the fans' chant of "Dicky Who?" thundering through the gym -- lit the Indians up for 50. Posters here have been dismissing Beal's jumper, but I can still picture him taking a couple of dribbles past half court and launching one of those patented high-arching rain-makers. He just wouldn't miss. Lord knows how many more points he would have scored if there had been a three-point shot. He made so many against HC that I was stunned later when Joe B. and the UK community talked about how he couldn't shoot.

 

But yeah, Beal also benefited from the strong players around him. It was a big dilemma for defenses: Did you focus on containing Beal and risk Walton and Simpson running wild on you, or did you play the Bulldogs straight up and try to limit the impact of their post players? Holy Cross tried the latter strategy that game, and Dicky just flat-out made them pay. I remember this little old guy (a Holmes fan) walking out of the gym that night and announcing to the world, "Well they dang sure know who Dicky Beal is NOW!"

I graduated HS in 1980 and saw plenty of Beal. While he pushed his jumpshot from his waist, he created space to shoot it by his ultraquick first and second step and he would jumpfade back to create room for his shot. He was very effective at it at the high school level. Deadly. Didn't see him do it in college as Joe B probably figured it wouldn't be that effective.

 

DePaul was probably a better fit as they played a much more uptempo game. JoeB bulked Beal up and I don't think he had quite the same explosive quickness as a result although its hard to tell because his competition level was much higher obviously than HS. Would like to have seen him run and gun at DePaul.

 

From foul line to foul line, I never saw anyone bring the ball up court that quickly. I remember a district tournament game that I walked in at near half and Holy Cross was beating Holmes by a significant margin. I think it was Beal's sophomore year. He came into the game and with a full court press, he and Davis stole the ball before HC could get it past half-court.. I recall HC having major difficulties getting the ball past half court and Holmes won. They would not have made the regional tourney, must less state final game that year, without that comeback. He was something.

I graduated HS in 1980 and saw plenty of Beal. While he pushed his jumpshot from his waist, he created space to shoot it by his ultraquick first and second step and he would jumpfade back to create room for his shot. He was very effective at it at the high school level. Deadly. Didn't see him do it in college as Joe B probably figured it wouldn't be that effective.

 

DePaul was probably a better fit as they played a much more uptempo game. JoeB bulked Beal up and I don't think he had quite the same explosive quickness as a result although its hard to tell because his competition level was much higher obviously than HS. Would like to have seen him run and gun at DePaul.

 

From foul line to foul line, I never saw anyone bring the ball up court that quickly. I remember a district tournament game that I walked in at near half and Holy Cross was beating Holmes by a significant margin. I think it was Beal's sophomore year. He came into the game and with a full court press, he and Davis stole the ball before HC could get it past half-court.. I recall HC having major difficulties getting the ball past half court and Holmes won. They would not have made the regional tourney, must less state final game that year, without that comeback. He was something.

 

Richard would have been a big star at DePaul at the time, no question. But it was about every KY boy's dream to play for the Wildcats at the time, especially a kid from the inner city of Covington.

I saw Dickie not long ago, he has put on a few pounds... I think Bolden would run circles around him. Not sure why everyone thinks Beal is better than Bolden. Dickie would have real trouble keeping up with Beetle up and down the court at his age now.

 

Dickie - it's a no brainer.

Dickie Beal hands down. Dickie was a GREAT defender too.

2 of the quickest players I have seen in the 9th. Mr Beal and Mr Bolden. If you have to choose one to lead your team who do you pick. I think their games are familiar.

Thoughts:sssh:

 

Bolden woud be lucky to carry water to Beal....

Dickie all day long. Easy one.

Bolden woud be lucky to carry water to Beal....

 

Jeez. Bolden isn't surrounded by the talent that Beal played with either. Tough to compare a very, very good PG to the best PG to ever play in the 9th. However, to go this far???? Bolden will go down as one of the best ever at Holmes. Not exactly 8th or 9th man on his team.

Jeez. Bolden isn't surrounded by the talent that Beal played with either. Tough to compare a very, very good PG to the best PG to ever play in the 9th. However, to go this far???? Bolden will go down as one of the best ever at Holmes. Not exactly 8th or 9th man on his team.

 

When was Beal 8th or 9th man? Maybe when he was a frosh. So you are saying that Beal had more talent around him than Bolden does? If so, sadly mistaken my friend.