JokersWild24 Posted March 4, 2014 Posted March 4, 2014 (edited) 8 teams enter the 11th Region Tournament with bigger goals in mind. Introduction & Shout Out: The time for talk is almost over, as Thursday night tips off 11th Regional Tournament action from the Frankfort Civic Center. Before we get started, I'd like to give a shout out to a friend of mine and BluegrassPreps, Mr. Dave Redden. Dave does a great job covering the 11th Region for 1300 AM WLXG, Lexington's ESPN Radio affiliate, and has helped to provide me with updates from some of the district games, as well as providing great updates in our threads. The pictures used in this article are some that Dave has sent me from his full game galleries, and if you click the link under the images, you'll be able to view the full galleries, which are a treasure trove for fans of the 11th. HT: Dave Redden, WLXG.com Henry Clay's Jordan Green is one of three Mr. Basketball candidates still alive in the 11th. The 11th Region Tournament Bracket looks like this: Opening Round: Game 1, Thursday, March 6 @ 6:30: Madison Central v. Franklin County Game 2, Thursday, March 6 @ 8:15: Lexington Catholic v. Scott County Game 3, Friday, March 7 @ 6:30: Henry Clay v. Lafayette Game 4, Friday, March 7 @ 8:15: Woodford County v. Madison Southern Semi-Finals Game 5, Saturday, March 8 @ 6:30: Winner Game 1 v. Winner Game 2 Game 6, Saturday, March 8 @ 8:30: Winner Game 3 v. Winner Game 4 Finals Tuesday, March 11 @ 7:30: Winner Game 5 v. Winner Game 6 HT: Dave Redden, WLXG.com Lafayette's Jackson Davis will tip off regional play against a hot Henry Clay squad. Ranking The Teams: Per usual, I'm going to rank the teams on tiers. I do this because trying to sort out this season's field has been somewhat of an exercise in futility. Tier 1: Scott County Lexington Catholic Lafayette Scott County had separated themselves from the field in recent weeks, but a loss to Henry Clay allowed the rest of the field to gain some ground. Lexington Catholic hit a very rough skid late before righting the ship in district play. Lafayette has been solid throughout the season and is probably the team I'd give the best chance of knocking off Scott County in a one-and-out, but they've also lost 3 of the 4 games they've played against Lexington Catholic. Tier 2: Henry Clay Madison Central On the second tier, Henry Clay and Madison Central are two teams who might not be seen as having as strong a chance of stringing together the three games needed to take home the title, but it definitely wouldn't be shocking if either did, especially considering that they got favorable draws (or at least we can agree that "it could have been worse" in that sense). Tier 3: Woodford County Franklin County On Tier 3, each of the teams have talent, but aren't without their flaws. While either of these teams could beat someone on a given night, I think it'd be somewhat of a long shot to win it all. Tier 4: Madison Southern On Tier 4, we have Madison Southern, who, while certainly capable of pulling off the upset of Woodford County, would be a heavy underdog against the winner of Lafayette-Henry Clay in the next round and would play that role again against whoever they were to meet in the finals should they win that one. HT: Dave Redden, WLXG.com Scott County's Trent Gilbert is one of 3 11th Region Seniors who is making a strong case for Mr. Basketball. Winning the 11th Region and getting to play on the big stage in Rupp will only help the case of he, Green, or Davis. Game Previews: Game 1 - Madison Central v. Franklin County: Two teams whose routes through the season has proven my preseason prognostications to be fallacious. Coming in, Madison Central was the young, inexperienced team who didn't have a shot at sniffing even a fraction of the success they'd experienced last season. Franklin County was the senior laden team led by Rylan Rowe and Lorenzo McCaskell who had the talent to make a serious run at the regional title. Throughout the season, Madison Central grew up and earned respect while Franklin County suffered through injuries and struggled to find a way to live up to their expectations. Leading the charge for the Indians is sophomore guard Cameron Thomas. Thomas is a smooth athlete whose name will start getting more attention as he continues to grow and develop his game. Like this season's senior class (with Davis, Green, Gilbert, and company), the sophomore class in the 11th is loaded and Thomas may only trail Dunbar's Darius Williams as the top player in the class. The Indians aren't a 1 man band though. They are well rounded, with junior forward Sam Jones (14.4 PPG, 11 RPG, 54% FG%), senior forward Demarcus George (13 PPG, 9.6 RPB, 56% FG%), Thomas' (13.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 42% FG%), Coty Alexander (9.4 PPG, 31% 3PtFG%, 75% FT%), Kirk Humphrey (9.3 PPG, 28% 3PtFG%), and Isaiah Johnson (8.3 PPG, 75% FT%) giving them six players who contribute. As long as Central has Allen Feldhaus on the sidelines, you know they'll be well coached and disciplined, making them a tough out for anyone. This season might honestly be one of Feldhaus' best coaching jobs, regardless of how the Indians fare from here on out, but I've got a feeling the boys from Richmond don't plan on the ride ending anywhere besides Rupp. On the flip side, the Franklin County Flyers are a team who, while they have underachieved somewhat, are still talented enough to knock off anyone. I've been told by observers that, athletically, they "pass the look test". They also have Rylan Rowe, a top 10 talent who can put points on the board in a hurry. Chris Roberts is a big body that eats space in the middle and opens up things for Rowe and fellow guard Lorenzo McCaskell. Roberts is strong, but has a soft touch around the basket. He'll play off Rowe and open things up for Lorenzo McCaskell, a top 15-20 type talent who also excels on the gridiron but missed a lot of time early on in the year while nursing an injury suffered during football season. If you'll remember, McCaskell is the kid who shattered a backboard during warmups in a regular season game. In addition to that trio, the Flyers have junior guard Ryan Schneider, a kid who can get some buckets if you don't pay attention to him. They also have some size and defensive presence in senior center Demetrius Wiley. Defensively, Franklin County will mix a number of strategies, including man-to-man, zones such as a 1-3-1, and full court pressure. Offensively, the Flyers will try to push the tempo. They'll try to get the ball up the floor in a hurry and want to play max possessions and put up a lot of shots to make your job defending them that much tougher. When Franklin is clicking on all cylinders, when they are playing good defense and hitting shots, they're a team to be reckoned with. Additionally, it is worth noting that Franklin County and Woodford County have somewhat of a built in advantage going in considering that they've already played 2 games at the Frankfort Civic Center, which definitely counts for something. HT: Dave Redden, WLXG.com Lexington Catholic's Robert Dence will be counted on to control the middle in the Knights' opener against Scott County. Game 2 - Lexington Catholic v. Scott County: Catholic wins one of the toughest districts in the state and gets the reward of opening up regional play with a Scott County team that'd won 20 straight before being upended by a hot Henry Clay team. If the Knights want to have any shot at winning this game, they'll need to erase memories of the 81-60 beatdown the Cardinals laid on them less than 3 weeks ago. The Knights went into Georgetown and were never in the game, as the hosts raced out to a 28-9 advantage after 1 quarter and leading by as many as 32 at one point before calling off the dogs and subbing heavily to end each half. While Coach Salsman might want to burn that game tape, the Knights may have to revisit and find ways to correct mistakes. If you are a diehard and want to watch a replay of the game for yourself, here's a link. Scott County probably won't be shooting as hot as they were out of the gate, which will help, but from a mental standpoint, I think it's extremely important that the Knights go in with guns blazing, as I'm not really sure how they might respond to getting down early. Each team will try to get after the other with their trademark full-court pressure. On Catholic's side, it will be some variation of the 2-2-1 three-quarter court pressure that has wilted so many teams in the past. For Scott County, we'll see more principles of "run-n-jump" pressure implemented than what you'll get from Catholic, albeit one that still operates at a slower pace than we've seen in past years due to their having to compensate for 7'0 Raekwon Long's presence. Of course, with Long in the game, we'll see fewer aggressive traps where a defender in the back looks to jump passing lanes on the 3rd or 4th pass. You don't put a 7'0 in the back of your press and have him gamble for steals, you leave him at the rim and discourage the other team from trying to attack the pressure by running a press offense intent on getting layups. Understandably, we'll likely instead see more of a chess match where the pressure is designed to dictate the tempo and get the Knights out of rhythm, with the aggressiveness of the pressure really dialed up when Long isn't on the floor. Offensively, both teams have their primary scorers, Gilbert and Tanner Johnson. Each will get theirs, despite the fact that both coaches know the other team's system and tendencies so well that they could call out the plays in their sleep. Both kids are just too good to completely shut out of a game. The best indicator of which team comes out victorious might come from the one who is able to establish their complementary players offensively. For Scott County, this means getting open looks that Teddy Ware can knock down and/or having Tony Martini do the little things and find a way to stuff the stat sheet. For Lexington Catholic, this means finding contributions from guard Michael Talbott and seeing senior big man Robert Dence provide effective minutes against Martini and/or Long. HT: Dave Redden, WLXG.com The offensive output of Lexington Catholic's Michael Talbott could be the X-factor for the Knights in opening round play. Here, Talbott drives as Lafayette's Ross Jenkins (44) and Dequise Robinson (2) defend. HT: Dave Redden, WLXG.com For Henry Clay, it starts and ends with Jordan Green. Game 3 - Henry Clay v. Lafayette: Much like the luck of their counterparts in the 43rd, Henry Clay was rewarded with a date against one of the state's top 10 teams in the regional opener after winning their district. Jordan Green has been on fire for Henry Clay since returning from a dislocated elbow late in the season. To beat the Generals, he'll have to keep putting the Blue Devils on his back. He'll certainly have to have a game where he goes for at least 25 if the team is to advance. Nonetheless, you have to wonder how valuable the experience of playing without Green and having some of the other kids build confidence ended up being for Henry Clay. It's no coincidence that the increased contributions from the Tisdale brothers have been accompanied by success. While Jeremiah was more of a known commodity coming into the season as a top 10 player in the 11th, it's been the contributions of little brother Isaiah, a sophomore guard, that have helped push the Blue Devils over the hump during their recent run. Isaiah had 9 against Bryan Station and 7 against Scott County in district tournament action, and while that doesn't seem significant, any type of consistent production from a third scoring threat to go along with older brother Jeremiah and Green makes them dangerous. Lafayette has been one of the state's top teams all year long. That's primarily because of two things: 1.) the presence of Jackson Davis, and 2.) the overall depth around him. Davis is the third of our Mr. Basketball candidates to be profiled in the game previews, but like the previous two, he really needs no introduction. If for some reason you haven't heard of him, he's the son of former UK player Jonathon Davis, and posted a cool line of 32 points, 31 rebounds against Lexington Catholic in the district finals while Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings looked on (no doubt, the presence of Stallings and the fact that Davis has recently reopened his recruitment after committing to Rice is no coincidence). On the year, Davis' stat line breaks down like this: 24.9 PPG, 12.9 RPG, 46% 3PtFG%, 70% FT%, 58% FG%. The Generals are more than just Davis, however, and it starts at the top. They are coached by Mike Mendenhall, a former Lexington Catholic star whose Dad was an influential member of some of the coaching staffs who helped lay the foundation for Lexington Catholic to win their first state title. Mendenhall employs a defensive philosophy that is highly similar to the Knight's calling card 2-2-1 three-quarter court D. The Generals have a variety of skill sets with the personnel at their disposal and will come at you in waves. Typically, they'll start with the 6'9 Davis, 6'6 sophomore forward Ross Jenkins, 6'5 combo guard Lance Blakley, 5'11 sniper Harrison Lane, and 5'11 guard Dequise Robinson. Blakley is a kid who will put observers in the mindset of a Mark Jackson/Derrick Jasper type guard. While he's so big and thick that he might not have the most agile feet, he can put defenders on his hip and patiently back them down to get where he wants to go. Blakley is prone to being what I'd label as a "hit or miss" player. Some nights, he'll look amazing, other nights, very so-so. On the year, Blakley averages 7.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 36% 3PtFG%, 67% FT%, 41% FG%. Robinson is a small guard, who plays like the fearless senior that he is. He's seen a number of battles in the 11th, so he's earned his position by understanding his role and playing to his strengths. He's a guy who can knock down the open jumper if given space, and isn't afraid to try and get into the lane to try and make plays. On the year, Robinson averages 10.9 PPG, 38% 3PtFG%, 70% FT%, 42% FG%. Lane, the son of Transylvania coach Brian Lane, is a heady player who has a lethal shot and will dial up from distance. A kid with a true shooter's mentality, he plays like the next one is going in, regardless of the kind of game he's having, and isn't afraid to step up and seize the moment. For evidence of this, look no further than his nailing a clutch 3 against Scott County late in the Republic Bank Classic to send the game to OT (his first points of the contest). Lane might have some defensive deficiencies, but he's also the kid you worry about leaving if you want to double Davis or that can take advantage of a defender who doesn't work hard chasing him off screens. On the year, Lane averaged 6.6 PPG, primarily by shooting 28% from 3 and an astounding 92.6% from the free throw line. Jenkins is a big kid, who, like Lane, makes up part of an impressive sophomore class in the area. He's 6'6 and has a wide base, and while he's definitely no slouch, you can tell that he has better days ahead. All that said, he's still a kid whose had some nice performances sprinkled in throughout the year and is the kind of player that most any team in the state would be giving minutes to. On the year, Jenkins averaged 5.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and shot 48% from the field. Past those kids, Lafayette can bring in two of my favorite players in the 11th, junior wing Dontavion "Lucky" Jackson and freshman guard Jujuante Carpenter, as well as sophomore guard Jaelin Jenkins and senior wing-forward Taylor Hall. Jackson is an all-city receiver on the football squad and really wreaks havoc when the Generals dial up their full court pressure by jumping passing lanes and using his athleticism to finish in transition. Simply put, the kid is a weapon off the bench and subbing him in for a kid like Lane or Jenkins can give the Generals a vastly different look. On the year, Jackson averaged 7.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and shot 27% from 3 while shooting 48% from the field. Carpenter is a name that those around the city should start getting familiar with. While he's only a freshman and could still stand to grow some (he's only in the 5'10 range right now), he's still a kid who can handle and put the ball in the basket. He's had some big games this season, but, like Jenkins, probably has days ahead where he'll score many more. On the year, Carpenter only averaged 3.7 points per game, but shot 29% from distance and 40% overall from the field. Jenkins is another young guard, who, like Robinson and Carpenter, is a bit on the small side, but is nonetheless capable of providing some solid ball handling if pressed into duty. On most other teams, he'd be a kid that might see more minutes. Hall is a senior in the 6'3-6'4 range with a decent build, who, while often getting overlooked because of all the depth that the Generals have, is a kid that can come in and provide solid minutes in spot duty. When he's in, he won't be asked to score, but if he's pressed into duty and can just play decent defense and rebound the ball in his area, that's going to be a positive. HT: Dave Redden, WLXG.com Lafayette's Jackson Davis with the emphatic slam against Lexington Catholic. Game 4 - Woodford County v. Madison Southern: Madison Southern is likely the team that, whether most others would admit it or not, is one that everyone wished to draw. The Eagles are led by Tanner Kidwell, a sophomore guard, and are anchored by the athleticism of five star running back Damian Harris. Unfortunately for the Eagles, they've drawn a Woodford County team who matches up well with them. Like Southern, the Yellow Jackets don't have lots of size. Unlike Southern, they do have a number of guards/wings who can light up the scoreboard in a hurry if they get hot. Coach Hundley's Jackets are led by top 10 type talent Eli Boggess, a heady guard with a smooth stroke. If teams place too much emphasis on slowing him, then guards Grayson Graf and Sam Souers have proven that they are more than capable of stepping up and making teams pay. Offensively, Hundley will try to use a lot of sets that incorporate motion and screens both on and away from the ball. These sets look to free up shooters for open looks and/or to get easy baskets off of back-cuts when the defense overplays the ball. Defensively, Hundley doesn't have a "calling card" per se (i.e., not something like Hicks' Scott County or Lexington Catholic's full court pressure, etc.), but instead are more likely to make adjustments to what they do depending on the opponent. They'll play a mix of man, 2-3 zone, etc. accordingly. These are just my opinions, so take it for what it's worth, but, I would say that, because of their lack of size and foot speed, we should expect more zone defenses from them as they progress. If they were to win the Madison Southern game, they'd move on to play the winner of Lafayette and Henry Clay. I'm unsure of whether or not they have a kid who can play Davis man-up in the post, so going zone and hoping the Generals have an off shooting night doesn't seem to be the worst idea. If nothing else, you'll see man defense which employs some zone principles as they'll absolutely have to give help from somewhere on Davis. For many of the same reasons, I would expect them to also give zone looks to Henry Clay because I'm unsure who they would feel comfortable enough in to leave them on Green in man and it seems as though hoping Henry Clay is having an off-shooting night from outside (i.e., that Henry Clay plays the "3 point lottery" and loses) would most likely be a solid strategy. All that said, Hundley is an excellent coach and will have his team thoroughly prepared. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if he uses a mix of defensive sets and strategies, switching often to confuse the opposition (which would also help combat his team's overall lack of athleticism when compared to whoever they'd be playing). Count on this: Woodford County will be well-coached and are very disciplined in what they do. They'll be put in position to run their sets offensively and play solid team defense. When it's crunch-time, the ball will go to Boggess when they need to score, and they'll be more likely than not to knock down their free throws if it's tight. While it would be somewhat of a surprise if the Yellow Jackets were upset by the Eagles, it certainly isn't out of the question. In all likelihood, however, Woodford is a well coached team who is just a bit short on talent when it comes to matching up with the 42nd or 43rd District's representatives 1-5, but is nonetheless capable of spoiling their season by getting hot on a given night. Buckle up folks, it should be fun. Your thoughts and predictions? Edited March 4, 2014 by JokersWild24
JokersWild24 Posted March 4, 2014 Author Posted March 4, 2014 Agree or disagree with anything out there? There's tons of stuff to digest, but I'm anxious to know everyone's thoughts. I tried to provide the most comprehensive review of the 11th possible, so I hope it worked out.
gold sunrise Posted March 4, 2014 Posted March 4, 2014 Agree or disagree with anything out there? There's tons of stuff to digest, but I'm anxious to know everyone's thoughts. I tried to provide the most comprehensive review of the 11th possible, so I hope it worked out. Great job. Loved the pictures...nice touch.
JokersWild24 Posted March 4, 2014 Author Posted March 4, 2014 Update: I added some more info on Woodford County and Franklin County. This can be found in the sections previewing each team's first round game.
JokersWild24 Posted March 4, 2014 Author Posted March 4, 2014 To update and to clarify something that wasn't immediately clear from reading the article, Lexington Catholic will be without guard Jarrod Griffin. Griffin is a kid who was pivotal to a lot of things they do. For one, he was one of the team's primary ball handlers, and for another, he's a kid that could knock down the triple. Griffin had 16 points in the District Final against Lafayette before going out with an injury to his wrist/hand. 13 of his points came in the first half.
JokersWild24 Posted March 4, 2014 Author Posted March 4, 2014 Another note for those who may be interested, here is a video link to the Henry Clay/Scott County 42nd District Final (2/27): 2013-14 Scott Co Boy's Basketball - 42nd District Finals: Scott Co vs Henry Clay 2-27-14 | Scott County High School Videos | iHigh.com
JokersWild24 Posted March 5, 2014 Author Posted March 5, 2014 For those who've seen them a few more times since I've last got to watch them in person, what did you think of Lafayette? I ask because I think they were playing awesome back in December, but might have peaked too soon. Nonetheless, they are still very capable of winning the region. Thoughts?
UKFan10 Posted March 5, 2014 Posted March 5, 2014 For those who've seen them a few more times since I've last got to watch them in person, what did you think of Lafayette? I ask because I think they were playing awesome back in December, but might have peaked too soon. Nonetheless, they are still very capable of winning the region. Thoughts? I wouldn't say they have declined since December. I just think they have been exposed more. Teams have learned you aren't going to be able to stop Jackson Davis, so they have focused more on quieting the supporting cast. I think in order for them to win the region, players like Lance Blakley, DeQuise Robinson, and Lucky Jackson will have to have good games. I have them as my favorite to win the region. I wouldn't be surprised if Scott County or Henry Clay won though.
JokersWild24 Posted March 5, 2014 Author Posted March 5, 2014 I wouldn't say they have declined since December. I just think they have been exposed more. Teams have learned you aren't going to be able to stop Jackson Davis, so they have focused more on quieting the supporting cast. I think in order for them to win the region, players like Lance Blakley, DeQuise Robinson, and Lucky Jackson will have to have good games. I have them as my favorite to win the region. I wouldn't be surprised if Scott County or Henry Clay won though. Thanks. The bolded was one thing I really wondered about. Admittedly, however, I haven't seen them in person since Christmas. Still yet, Mendenhall is, at least to me, a great coach, and I wonder if he's got a lineup and/or some sets that he's not shown yet. Definitely agree that if they're going to make noise, it'd be players like Blakley, Robinson, Lucky (or even Jajuante and Jenkins) stepping up and playing big. There'll be some pivotal games where they just have to have some type of contribution outside of what they know they can get from Davis. I think that, overall, the 11th is too talented for that not to be the case. I've always liked Lafayette because they had something that other 11th Region teams just didn't have in Jackson Davis. 9The previous statement was made with no offense to Martini & Long or Dence & Ryan intended.) That isn't to say that any of the aforementioned are bad players, just that they don't have the capacity to score and change a game in the same way Davis does and/or command that type of attention from the opposition's defense when fulfilling the role of a primary scorer.
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