Basketball season for 2013/2014 should provide another exciting year. What should we expect from Holmes? Remember, please be constructive.

I'll defer to Walter.:lol2:

I'll defer to Walter.:lol2:

 

:lol2:

Holmes will miss the trio of Coston, Palmer, and Englemon, but their depth this year will help make replacing them much easier as it will be a group effort with 2 or 3 guys at each position.

 

Early Prediction on starting 5:

 

5'11 James Bolden - Bolden played in the EYBL over the summer which has improved his game tremendously. Anyone that knows him knows he is a gym rat. Kid has hit the weights hard over the summer to improve his strength and explosiveness and should be that much tougher to deal with this year. Arguably best player in his class and top 5-7 in the state regardless of class. This team will go as far as "Beetle" takes them.

 

5'10 Markel McClendon- McClendon comes to Holmes from Holy Cross with 2 years of varsity experience already under his belt heading in to his sophomore season. McClendon is probably the quickest player on Holmes team and while he isn't know for an outside shot, has worked hard over the summer to improve that area of his game. Gets to the rim easily because of his speed but it is his defense that makes him so tough to go against. His quickness allows him to absolutely harass opposing players without getting a foul called on him. Him and Bolden will combine for the best backcourt in NKY and one of the better ones in the state.

 

6'0 Armani Housely- Housely came on strong last season off the bench with his clutch outside shooting. It is the play of him and 6'2 Daequon Glover that will determine how good this team can be as both have shown an ability to knock down the three with consistency throughout the summer. That will be needed to keep teams from double teaming Bolden. Both Housely and Glover are strong and athletic for this position. Housely is probably the better defender, but Glover might be the better offensive player. Both are good outside shooters, however, and will really surprise people who are questioning Holmes' outside shooting.

 

6'5 Marcus Hill- Hill is another kid that improved throughout the season last year and continued that trend throughout the summer. He will be a force down low with his rebounding and defensive presence. Foul prone at times and somewhat inconsistent on offense but will average atleast 6 ppg, IMO. Lefty that will draw a lot of fouls and block a lot of shots.

 

6'5 Quinton Chames- Q returns as a senior after averaging 8 ppg, 8 rpg last season as a junior. Expect those numbers to increase this year. When he plays with a purpose, he is easily one of the top 3 best "bigs" in the region. Having him back will really help Bolden and the outside shooting as he has really focused on his back to the basket moves over the summer, while also showing an improved mid range game. That added dimension to his game could help him start receiving college interest.

 

The Holmes bench will be much deeper this year compared to last, which is why I think they will be better than last year's team. They bring up a JV group that only lost 3 games last year and won the JV region championship, while also adding a sophomore class that is easily the most talented and deepest in the region. That group was state champs as 8th graders without McClendon. Here are the guys I'm expecting to see time this year off the bench:

 

6'2 SR Daequon Glover (see above)

 

6'2 Soph Drew Arnold- Arnold is the most physically gifted kid in this sophomore class. He is an undersized 4, but his strength allows him to go against anyone and hold his own. Started a couple games over the summer against big time competition and more than held his own. Reminds me a lot of Charles Knox from a couple years ago. Big, strong kid that is able to bully a lot of his competition. Decent ball handler but could be really good if he improved his skill enough to play the 3.

 

6'0 Keyontae Herndon- This kid has been playing varsity since his freshman year and defensively will be a key guy off the bench. Not as offensively gifted as some of the other guys in the starting lineup but he does have some offensive skill and absolutely jumps out of the gym for his size. One of the better athletes on the team. Needs to work on his outside shot and ball handling some but plays hard and had games over the summer where Coach Booher mentioned him as being the best player on the team.

 

6'5 Rod Avery- Rod is a junior and if you saw the video I posted recently, is a big time athlete. He has been a work in progress since his freshman year but the coaching staff is very high on him and his raw ability. He is able to do things that nobody else on this team can do because of his size and athleticism. Defensively he worries me some, but is a good rebounder and will provide depth at the 4 and 5. Will need to work on his defense, but will block a lot of shot. Biggest thing with him is adding strength and confidence in his game. Has all the tools to be very good.

 

6'0 Soph Steffan Green- Green is probably the second best sophomore in this class. Very strong guard that attacks the rim hard and is improving his jump shot. Will compete with Herndon for minutes at the 2 but can also run the point some. Big time scorer when he gets on a roll. Watched him score 8 points in 1:30 last year against Ryle in a jv game.

 

 

5'11 Soph Ian Brolley- Brolley is kind of a wildcard, IMO. He is very good defensively but it is his outside shot that could be a huge boost to Holmes off the bench by season's end. Watched him score 10 points in less than 2 minutes against Elder this summer in a scrimmage. Has a very good looking jumper and is definetly overlooked by a lot of outsiders who talk about Holmes' sophomore class.

 

6'5 soph Brandon Moore- Moore didn't play until the end of the season last year because of surgery in the off season. Before the surgery, a coach told me that this kid has the best back to the basket moves and is the best "true" big on the team as a frosh. We will see how a full off season helps his progression. Going against Chames and Hill every day definetly helps him improve at both ends.

 

Other guys to look for at the JV level:

 

6'4 Soph Keyon Lucky- Big time athlete that was a key to the freshman team success last year. Already built like Englemon as a soph and is absolutely rocked up. Interested to see if he can crack the varsity rotation this year.

6'1 Soph Marcus Mullins- This kid looks the part of a very good player but I haven't seen him enough to give my opinion on his game.

5'11 Brennon Englemon- Had a solid summer with Legends Elite. Will be a nice JV player and probably contribute a little more as a junior.

 

Overall, I think Holmes will once again be very good this season. (Some people will say shocker and that I'm a homer for saying that but coaches who saw them this summer all agreed with me when I asked what they thought)

 

I know Coach Booher won't like me saying this, but this is probably the most talented team he has had at Holmes, top to bottom. They have depth, size, athleticism, and quickness. The biggest question is how all of that comes together without guys like Coston, Palmer, and Englemon leading them. I'm really looking forward to meeting with Coach Booher and seeing Holmes in a couple months when I start my team previews.

 

A few things that I will add about this team to end my observation of what I saw over the summer:

 

Best guard duo in the region with Bolden/McClendon

Most athletic 4/5 in the region with Hill/Chames. (KEY WORD: ATHLETIC..NOT BEST)

Also, there will be no questioning of their schedule this year. Here are a few of the games/events that they will play in:

 

Fast Lane Classic at Sheldon Clark (Pre season scrimmage)

KY-Buckeye Classic v GCL team (I believe)

KY Farm Bureau Classic at Expo Center v Johnson Central

KY Farm Bureau Classic at Expo Center v TBA (Played New Rochelle, NY in this game last year. NY team that was on SC for the shot to win championship)

Stop DWI Classic in Binghampton, NY (Loaded event that Trinity played in last year)

McCracken County Hoopfest

Cincy Woodward

Mason Co

Joe B Hall Classic (Nothing official, but heard this is v Ballard)

Clark Co (Final game of season)

Nice work Walter, now you know I defered.

Also, there will be no questioning of their schedule this year. Here are a few of the games/events that they will play in:

 

Fast Lane Classic at Sheldon Clark (Pre season scrimmage)

KY-Buckeye Classic v GCL team (I believe)

KY Farm Bureau Classic at Expo Center v Johnson Central

KY Farm Bureau Classic at Expo Center v TBA (Played New Rochelle, NY in this game last year. NY team that was on SC for the shot to win championship)

Stop DWI Classic in Binghampton, NY (Loaded event that Trinity played in last year)

McCracken County Hoopfest

Cincy Woodward

Mason Co

Joe B Hall Classic (Nothing official, but heard this is v Ballard)

Clark Co (Final game of season)

 

NCC, Brossart, Cov. Cath and Dixie as well. Very solid line up.

NCC, Brossart, Cov. Cath and Dixie as well. Very solid line up.

 

I was talking about out of region/NKY play, but yes 9th region play plus Brossart/Scott will make their schedule very tough this year.

 

They will likely play Dixie twice as the Holmes stop DWI Classic consists of:

 

Holmes v Lville Southern

Dixie v Lville Male

 

WInners/Losers play one another. Should set up a Holmes/Dixie Round 1 match up in the finals of the classic.

A few summer videos:

 

You say that Holmes will have the best backcourt in NKy and one of the better ones in the state...

 

Let me throw this out there.... You stated in a previous post that Zach Pangallo is or could be a top 20 player in the state for his class. Now, he will be pairing with Tanner Moeves to form NCCs backcourt and Tanner goes about 6'2" with a nice shot, strong, and ability to get to the rim. Pangallo has great quickness, a good shot, good handles and real nice passing ability.

 

What separates beetle/Macklendon from Pangallo/Moeves (both of whom have atleast d2 college interest)?

 

Just curious on your opinion.

Nice highlight of Macklendon. He looks a little thicker than I remember. He and beetle must have been working out together. That can definitely help!

In all honesty, I see no one on the current roster that comes close to replacing Coston, Palmer, and Englemon. Now in a year or two maybe, but not this season. Am I alone here with this assessment?

I agree those guys can't be replaced. But, Booher will have serviceable guys at the position. Holmes will go as far as Bolden takes them, lol. Much like last year, only with a better roster last year IMO. Or better starting roster....