Final from Mercer. Hard fought game that was very physical. Seemed more heated on the court than most district rivalry games.

 

Edwards led Southwest with 22 and there were a couple others with 12 and another with 10 I believe.

 

Hager led Mercer with 23 and Sims had 17. Also, a third player with 10 I believe.

SW now has a big game with Hop-town coming up this Saturday afternoon.

SW sure looks the part, even without the 2 players lost to transfer this year. I know this may seem crazy to say given their record this year, but I can't help but feel they should be better than they are (certainly was the case last year).

SW sure looks the part, even without the 2 players lost to transfer this year. I know this may seem crazy to say given their record this year, but I can't help but feel they should be better than they are (certainly was the case last year).

 

They've won 12 of their last 13 (losing only to Wayne County) and have been pretty impressive. I'll grant you that last year was pretty well a disappointment considering they had three of the better players in the region and were the returning 12th Region Champs who had made it to the semi-finals of the State the year prior.

 

Edwards is one of the best players in the region, their point guard has upped his game considerably, they have excellent size up front and their young players have come along nicely.

 

What with they & Wayne plus Lincoln & Boyle both sharing districts and being in opposite brackets in those districts it is very likely the four will all be matching off in the Region. The scary part is that two of them are going to be Runners-up coming out of their respective districts which makes for a very tough first round game for whoever draws either of them.

SW now has a big game with Hop-town coming up this Saturday afternoon.

 

The KHSAA scoreboard doesn't show this game on the schedule anymore. Is it off?

The KHSAA scoreboard doesn't show this game on the schedule anymore. Is it off?

 

Apparently so. Neither team (like many across the state) has used their limit. A shame as I was considering going to see it. I've seen Southwestern multiple times, but would have loved an opportunity to see Hoptown.

They've won 12 of their last 13 (losing only to Wayne County) and have been pretty impressive. I'll grant you that last year was pretty well a disappointment considering they had three of the better players in the region and were the returning 12th Region Champs who had made it to the semi-finals of the State the year prior.

 

Edwards is one of the best players in the region, their point guard has upped his game considerably, they have excellent size up front and their young players have come along nicely.

 

What with they & Wayne plus Lincoln & Boyle both sharing districts and being in opposite brackets in those districts it is very likely the four will all be matching off in the Region. The scary part is that two of them are going to be Runners-up coming out of their respective districts which makes for a very tough first round game for whoever draws either of them.

 

I agree that those 4 seem to be the 4 top teams, though I think West can be as good as 3rd if they have it all together. But, as of late, that doesn't appear to be the case for West.

 

I'm just saying that with Edwards, Gaskin and Isaacs, I would expect them to be on the level of Wayne. Heck, they should be a match-up nightmare for Wayne and Lincoln. Maybe it's the fact that their supporting cast isn't as strong.

 

Watching Edwards play now compared to when he was a freshman, he has really gotten much thicker but, at the same time, it seems to have slowed him down some. He has a really nice outside shot and, at least within the 12th, is a handful around the basket, but he doesn't seem to have developed an off the bounce game.

 

Bottom line is they are on the outside looking in (at Wayne and Lincoln) and it just doesn't seem as if that should be the case.

I'm just saying that with Edwards, Gaskin and Isaacs, I would expect them to be on the level of Wayne. Heck, they should be a match-up nightmare for Wayne and Lincoln. Maybe it's the fact that their supporting cast isn't as strong.

 

You're absolutely correct. They ARE a match-up nightmare for either WC or Lincoln. And I suspect that both may very well have to play them in the region (or not, depends on whether or WC can beat SW a third time and Lincoln beat Boyle a third time.

 

The possible regional match-ups are many depending on who prevails in their respective district finals.

 

Even more interesting is the prospect that either WC/SW or Lincoln/Boyle might face each other for a FOURTH TIME in the region finals (this, after likely playing a third time already in the district finals).

SW now has a big game with Hop-town coming up this Saturday afternoon.

 

The KHSAA scoreboard doesn't show this game on the schedule anymore. Is it off?

 

I saw on Twitter yesterday that the game had been cancelled with no makeup (obviously). I didn't see a reason for the cancellation, however.

Watching Edwards play now compared to when he was a freshman, he has really gotten much thicker but, at the same time, it seems to have slowed him down some. He has a really nice outside shot and, at least within the 12th, is a handful around the basket, but he doesn't seem to have developed an off the bounce game.

 

Edwards brings a strong skill set to go with his size which makes him hard to stop, especially when SW chooses to post him up. I agree that he doesn't play quite as "fast" as he used to, but I think possibly that part of that may be at his coach's directive - they cannot afford for him to get into foul trouble because SW would suffer greatly with him out of the lineup.

Does he want to play in college? Do you know if he is receiving any interest?

You're absolutely correct. They ARE a match-up nightmare for either WC or Lincoln. And I suspect that both may very well have to play them in the region (or not, depends on whether or WC can beat SW a third time and Lincoln beat Boyle a third time.

 

The possible regional match-ups are many depending on who prevails in their respective district finals.

 

Even more interesting is the prospect that either WC/SW or Lincoln/Boyle might face each other for a FOURTH TIME in the region finals (this, after likely playing a third time already in the district finals).[/quote/]""

 

 

 

My point is that, based on what I've seen, I don't think SW poses a serious threat to Wayne - even though it seems that they should. I think Wayne beats them at least 9/10 times. And, I think Boyle is a guard away from beating Wayne - and probably from beating Lincoln as well.

 

All that said, just like the NCAA tournament, anything can happen on any given night, so a team other than Wayne or Lincoln could win the 12th. BUT I would be very surprised....

True, (that Wayne or Lincoln will most likely win the region), but all it takes is one loss in the region and "poof", a season's work is gone. Most recently remember last year when SW beat Wayne in the District Final and it suddenly looked as if SW finally had everything going their way (I would wage that Southwestern had quickly become the favorite to win in most neutral observer's minds) and then Mercer rudely ousted SW in the first round of the Region. Suddenly Somerset quickly had the upper hand coming out of the lower bracket with SW out of the way while no one was certain who would come out of the top bracket - West Jessamine, Pulaski or Lincoln (as Wayne had lost some of the luster in many observer's minds that they'd built up during the regular season).

 

Wayne edged by Pulaski (last second three) and West Jessamine (by one) and then overpowered Somerset in the final. Everything turned upside down and then back within the space of a week.

 

It will indeed be very, very interesting and this coming week's district play (barring a jarring upset in the first round) won't effectively change that the teams we've been discussing will fight it out for the championship. Normally I would lean towards the team with the senior leadership (as non-seniors often don't usually come as focused as do seniors for whom it is their last shot), but of these four teams, only one's best player is a senior - SW (Justin Edwards).

 

Like I say, interesting.

I saw on Twitter yesterday that the game had been cancelled with no makeup (obviously). I didn't see a reason for the cancellation, however.

 

 

Just speculating but Hopkinsville came to Taylor County last night. Southwestern is probably an hour away from Taylor County. That's a lot of time on the bus in a 24 hour period. The game was scheduled for 3pm today and I'd guess that Hoptown got home last night around 1 am. They'd have had to have been back on the bus by 9-10am to make it to Southwestern in ample time to play.

Just speculating but Hopkinsville came to Taylor County last night. Southwestern is probably an hour away from Taylor County. That's a lot of time on the bus in a 24 hour period. The game was scheduled for 3pm today and I'd guess that Hoptown got home last night around 1 am. They'd have had to have been back on the bus by 9-10am to make it to Southwestern in ample time to play.

 

Hard to understand why the game was ever set up to play,the travel would not have changed, Hoptown also pulled out of the revamped Joe B. Hall Classic..