Was that a dig on anyone?

 

Sounds like Conner stepped up their game for this one. Quiet night by Hemmerich? Keep in mind good teams win close games. Holmes is out of sync right now, but it only takes one night to find the rhythm. Can not wait for the regionals.

 

Not a "dig" at anyone in particular. I consider Dawn a "smart" coach for using it in the 2nd half of their game and Hicks apparently saw an opportunity to give Holmes problems.

 

Bill Belichick is one of my favorite coaches in any sport because of his willingness and smarts to make adjustments game to game to best capitalize on an opponents weakness. Right now it appears Holmes does not have an answer for a 2-3 zone. Will CovCath play a 2-3 against them in the districts?

 

This year Boone County has shown that Cooper has problems when facing a 1-3-1 zone. Will Cooper see a 1-3-1 from other teams in their districts?

Conner played 2-3 zone.

 

Smart coaches will take note and not even attempt to play M2M.

 

Sharp observation (made by several folks) regarding Holmes' varsity difficulties with the 2-3. That being said, Conner's JV ran the same defense 90 minutes earlier and Holmes' JV tore it apart -- the ball movement was crisp, the shooters got good looks, and Holmes' JV PG earned about 10 free throw attempts by penetrating and drawing contact.

 

My point here is that there is an offense for every defense and I am eager to see what BGP-ers with more coaching experience than I have will say about this situation. Is Holmes' varsity squad using a faulty strategy, or are they simply not executing?

Sharp observation (made by several folks) regarding Holmes' varsity difficulties with the 2-3. That being said, Conner's JV ran the same defense 90 minutes earlier and Holmes' JV tore it apart -- the ball movement was crisp, the shooters got good looks, and Holmes' JV PG earned about 10 free throw attempts by penetrating and drawing contact.

 

My point here is that there is an offense for every defense and I am eager to see what BGP-ers with more coaching experience than I have will say about this situation. Is Holmes' varsity squad using a faulty strategy, or are they simply not executing?

 

Or, does Conner's JV not have the right athletes to execute a quality 2-3 zone?

 

I know that Conner's varsity has some good, quick athletes to execute the 2-3 in a quality fashion. Its not just about coming down the court and setting up the 2-3 zone... you have to really be able to move and know how to correctly rotate.

There is no doubt that Booher and Listerman know how to attack a 2-3 zone, as do about 95% of the coaches in the state. Holmes has a lot of one on one players that can create shots. Not great shooters, including Bolden. They don't have much time, but I believe they have the shooters to do this, but not certain. This is a huge difference in last year's team. Colston and/or Palmer would have killed a 2-3 zone, you'd be out of it in no time. I do not think they have those type of shooters. They might as well get used to it because they are going to see it the rest of the way.

There is no doubt that Booher and Listerman know how to attack a 2-3 zone, as do about 95% of the coaches in the state. Holmes has a lot of one on one players that can create shots. Not great shooters, including Bolden. They don't have much time, but I believe they have the shooters to do this, but not certain. This is a huge difference in last year's team. Colston and/or Palmer would have killed a 2-3 zone, you'd be out of it in no time. I do not think they have those type of shooters. They might as well get used to it because they are going to see it the rest of the way.

 

Obviously, I'm not very familiar with Holmes' team. However, one caveat that I might add to that would be that, in some rare cases, I've seen a team let a kid who is nothing but a spot up shooter hone his craft in the JV games, then break him out as a zone buster late, late in the season.

 

For some teams, it's like an ace in the hole. Risky? Certainly. Does it pay off sometimes though? Certainly.

 

Kid plays JV and doesn't get analyzed and picked apart in scouting reports, gets more shots and just plays an outright bigger role than he would in varsity competition.

 

Kid plays more and more varsity as the year goes on, slowly transitioning into the role.

 

Does he wake up one morning and find out he's starting in a regional final? No.

 

Would a coach be willing to throw him in as part of a "package" (i.e., in the sense of a football package) where his shooting skills give the team's zone offense a huge boost? If it pays off, yes.

 

Sometimes we see a kids seemingly come out of nowhere and play a complimentary role in a regional title run when it was never the Coach's intent to force their hand and play them in a major role until they had to.

 

Obviously, the kind of instances I've mentioned are more the exception than the rule, but I am a firm believer that it does happen somewhat because I've seen it.

For anyone who was at the game, is this true? Did Conner just sit in a 2-3?

 

Conner played all zone. They also pressed quite a bit in a 2-2-1. Weren't really trapping out of it. Appeared they were just putting on some token full-court pressure to slow Holmes down.

Conner played all zone. They also pressed quite a bit in a 2-2-1. Weren't really trapping out of it. Appeared they were just putting on some token full-court pressure to slow Holmes down.

 

Token full court pressure to dictate tempo: something that's really underrated when evaluating it from the eyes and opinion of the average fan, but is nonetheless effective.

Token full court pressure to dictate tempo: something that's really underrated when evaluating it from the eyes and opinion of the average fan, but is nonetheless effective.

 

Agree 100%. I'm sure there were some in attendance who were wondering why Conner was pressing Holmes, especially since the press wasn't generating any turnovers and Holmes is the quicker team. But as you stated, and IMO, Conner wasn't looking to try and create turnovers as they were just looking to play the game at a pace they were comfortable with.

Maybe Holmes is not as good as projected,,Bolden is not having the year I thought he would have, partly due to a somewhat weak supporting cast, and teams know what to expect from him,,time will tell..

Like I've said. The ball has a strange way of bouncing come tourney time and anyone that thinks they will simply walk into a gym and get a "W" is, or could be, sadly mistaken. Conner makes one more rebound and it's an "L" for Holmes but kudos to them for "making a play" and finding a way to win. The 9th is a strange region and while there are favorites NO ONE is safe so I will not be surprised if anyone, and that includes Holmes, heads to Rupp.

Like I've said. The ball has a strange way of bouncing come tourney time and anyone that thinks they will simply walk into a gym and get a "W" is, or could be, sadly mistaken. Conner makes one more rebound and it's an "L" for Holmes but kudos to them for "making a play" and finding a way to win. The 9th is a strange region and while there are favorites NO ONE is safe so I will not be surprised if anyone, and that includes Holmes, heads to Rupp.

 

Correct,,Ask Holmes about how they got dumped by Newport..

Or, does Conner's JV not have the right athletes to execute a quality 2-3 zone?

 

I know that Conner's varsity has some good, quick athletes to execute the 2-3 in a quality fashion. Its not just about coming down the court and setting up the 2-3 zone... you have to really be able to move and know how to correctly rotate.

 

Good point. This was the first time I'd seen Conner's JV this year, but they had only lost four games prior to last night so they must be good defenders in general, plus I remember them running the 2-3 a lot as an eighth-grade team. As for Conner's varsity, I'd also only seen them once this year so I don't know where they stand on the quickness spectrum. I typically assume that when you default to the 2-3 zone you're admitting your opponent is quicker than you are, but I am no high-school coach.

 

Hey, wait a minute! Are you saying Holmes' JV isn't that good? (Kidding, kidding, no thread hijack intended.)

Like I've said. The ball has a strange way of bouncing come tourney time and anyone that thinks they will simply walk into a gym and get a "W" is, or could be, sadly mistaken. Conner makes one more rebound and it's an "L" for Holmes but kudos to them for "making a play" and finding a way to win. The 9th is a strange region and while there are favorites NO ONE is safe so I will not be surprised if anyone, and that includes Holmes, heads to Rupp.

 

No doubt a team can throw a clunker in there, but can a team like Holmes beat both NCC and CCH in a regional, if it happens to draw that way. One of them yes, especially if one of them has a clunker, both not likely to, however. We saw a defending champion state titleist in Holmes (with 2 D-1 players) lose to a very good Newport team in 2010 in the regional final by about 30 because they played an awful (clunker) game. It happens. That is not to discredit Newport that year, they deserved it and totally outplayed the Bulldogs.

 

I'd be very surprised if either NCC or CCH do not represent the 9th.

Maybe Holmes is not as good as projected,,Bolden is not having the year I thought he would have, partly due to a somewhat weak supporting cast, and teams know what to expect from him,,time will tell..

 

What were you expecting? The kid is averaging over 20 ppg and around 5 apg and 5 rpg.

 

Holmes isn't playing well right now...plain and simple. Boone zoned Holmes for 32 mins as well and Holmes beat them by 30. They are very inconsistent right now. Until their shooters start making shots, it is going to appear they are struggling against the zone.

 

Like you said, time will tell. Newcath is the hands down favorite to win the region but I'm not going to give up on Covcath or Holmes just yet.