So 12th Region refs are screwing Wayne Co? At Wayne Co.??

 

Was a first! I think more than anything the game was to quick for this crew. They are more suited to the speed of a girls game. Not a fan of refs who control the game rather than just call it. Like I said earlier, not one person in the gym came to see any ref.

Mercer is a very very good team. Many weapons. Wayne shot the ball as bad as I have seen a Cardinal team shoot in years. I will agree that I also seen that the refs gave Wayne no help at all tonight( dont think it would have mattered given how bad they shot it) but this ref crew needs to be checked. Bottoms is not even a sniff of the ref his dad was. Nobody came to see him ref.

 

Love me some Kyle Bottoms. Great kid from a great family. He's gonna be a good one in time.

Wow, the game looked a lot different from the Mercer side lol. It was the consensus of the Mercer fans that one of those ref's calls played a big role in Wayne's third quarter run.

 

I only say this to point out that it depends on which color glasses you were wearing as to who you felt got the calls!

we will certainly have to shoot better to win against really good teams. When you go 3 for 26 from three point range, you are not going to win many. We played some really good teams in the Smokey Mtn Classic and have not shot the ball well since then. You will not see Blevins miss like that too many times. What looks like a bad shot for him, he usually makes those. We got very tired the last quarter, and Hager wore us out driving the ball, but if we get our shooting back, and different region referees that will call that off arm pushing, may be a tighter game in tournament.

 

How does a kid that scores 23 of his 25 points by getting to the rim only draw 2 fouls/shoot 3 free throws the entire game? Again, it looked different from our side. The Mercer crowd thought they needed a saddle. Lot of riding going on there. I don't think he gets the calls that other guards get due to his size and strength. Just my opinion.

 

That's ok. Playing through that now will only help him at the next level.

Cause if they called a foul, it would have to be on him for using that off arm getting to the rim. Mercer Co deserved the win, they were the better team tonight. I am saying if Mercer is our representative, which is very probable to get to state, they will not get away with that. If I am not mistaken every 12th region official lives north of Somerset and that's not a plus for us.

Agree to disagree. In addition to various 12th region officials, Mercer has played with 8th, 10th, 11th and 13th region officials and apparently they aren't seeing what you're seeing. And I will reiterate that it's next to impossible to get to the rim that many times and only be fouled twice, regardless of the player. I think it's interesting that you're complaining about officiating you received AT Wayne. I think that'll fall on a lot of skeptical ears.

 

How many times did one of your guards flail in the lane, fall down and get bailed out by going to the line? I don't think he'd have gotten those calls with, say, 11th region officials calling the game. Point being neither side thinks they "got the calls." I hate to even mention that publicly as I don't like blaming officials either way. They are part of the game, period.

 

For what it's worth, bigger, more athletic teams such as Mercer fare much better when games aren't called so tightly. Love them or hate them, 12th region officials call a tighter game than just about any other region's. That does NOT benefit Mercer vs any 12th region team.

 

Forget about blaming officials, either way. Here's the thing. Once again, Mercer had 4 kids in double figures: 25, 20, 13 & 11. That's the norm for them. They are a very unselfish and disciplined team which equates to good shot selection. When a team has 1 player that takes a large portion of its shots, that makes them easier to guard and lends itself to poorer shot selection and thus lower FG percentages - especially when the defensive team is longer and more athletic. While Wayne had an off night shooting, a lot of those missed threes were contested and/or rushed.

 

All that said, it was good to

see Stearns back and healthy. He is heady, smart and difficult to guard. He always plays hard. He is a top 5 player in the region IMO. I love the way that kid plays. I'd take him on my team any day.

 

And good luck today against Hopkinsville. I hope you guys represent the region well.

First of all, congrats to Mercer and their fans. Mercer is a legit team and the Mercer fans made last night's game have a great atmosphere. Wayne got beat by a better team plain and simple. I think Blevins is going to have a tough time getting a shot off against this team and teams like this and that makes for a long night for Wayne.

 

In regards to the fact that the kid scored most of his points on lay-ups but only drew two fouls...the kid usually had his man beat 15ft away from the basket and drove in for a lay-up with Wayne's bigs making a weak swipe at a block. Yea, maybe there could have been a couple more fouls called in his favor but I don't think it's lopsided enough to say much about it or accuse Wayne's players of riding him without a saddle. I saw some calls and no calls both ways that had me scratching my head. Part of the game...move on and play.

 

Next thing...I don't understand the whole "Wayne cheats at home!!111!!!!!" thing. Wayne has had some great hard nosed teams over the years that have taken care of business at home and away at the very teams' gyms that accuse them of "cHEatING!!1111!!!!!" at home. So...does Rodney have the refs in his pocket to the point that they cheat for him at away venues too?

I'm certainly not saying they cheat at home. That's not really possible. It's just that they have one of the best home courts in the state due to the environment, both the size of the crowd and the spirit.

 

Referees are human and they get caught up in the environment like anyone. Then, throw in the legendary Rodney Woods and you have a pretty potent home court advantage. Saying that isn't a factor would be like saying Duke doesn't have a home court advantage and get more calls at home.

 

Also, regarding the saddle comment, I would have never brought it up if not for the comment by the WC fan regarding the push-off. Neither played a role in the outcome. I've actually heard refs that say they allow one as a mitigant for the other. I just referenced that to say that door swings both ways.

Bottoms has regressed as an official over the last few years. His ego gets in the way of his ability to call a game. He never makes a wrong call, and he thinks he is the show. However, it appears as though the officiating had very little to do with the result of this game. I believe Mercer is the better team, they plays a style of basketball that is more consistent than Wayne. Wayne's style of play lends itself to a higher variance. They shoot a lot of threes, and if they're knocking them down they're going to be tough to beat. If they're not, then they'll have a tough time beating a quality opponent like Mercer.

 

I was shocked to see that they shot so poorly, and they only lost by 10 points. The question that's going to answer whether Wayne has a shot to beat Mercer is: Was the inept shooting just a bad shooting night, or was it a result of Mercer's defense bothering Wayne. If it's just a bad shooting night, then Mercer has reason for concern come March. If it was Mercer's ability to force tough shots, then the result will be similar, if not worse for Wayne.

 

It appears as though there are three teams in the top tier in the 12th region. The next 4-5 teams you can scramble and place as you like in the next tier. Barring an upset, Mercer will have to play the other top two teams (Wayne and SW) in the regional tournament to make it to Rupp. They will earn their way. It should be an advantage to the team out of the 48th district that finds themselves in the opposite bracket as Mercer and the other 48th district team.

The refs did not lose the game for Wayne County. Missed calls on both ends. Mercer County is a great team. Wayne County is also a pretty dang good team; just ask Hopkinsville. Don't expect WC to have too many off nights from 3 like they had against Mercer. Blevins hits contested 3s night in and night out. Wayne County will be fine.

Hopkinsville plays Wayne tomorrow. If Wayne wins I'll be sold on mercer being the best team in the state.

I guess you are sold then!

So 12th Region refs are screwing Wayne Co? At Wayne Co.??

That is a shocker as everyone "Knows" Wayne has the officials in their pockets but I don't think any of these refs are from that end of the region. There may not even be any Pro Wayne Refs left in the Region.

 

I'm not saying the refs had any impact. But Wayne has had a history of being hard to beat at home...many fans think it's because they get the breaks from the stripes, but it may just be because they are normally really good and good teams are hard to beat at home.

Bottoms has a large ego, low quality official in my opinion. The stripes didn't determine the outcome of this game though..

I'm sold. Mercer was already my number 1 before last night but after Wayne beat Hopkinsville I've got an actual idea as to how good Mercer is. I'd really like to see Mercer and Christian County play. At this point I'd pick Mercer in an exciting game.

The reason I said anything about the stiff arm was you mentioned him only getting to the foul line three times and scored 23 of hi 25 points that way. I am not blaming the refs for the loss, but I get sick and tired how Wayne gets the calls at home. If Coach Woods ranted and raved like most coaches in this region the whole game, then maybe we could win a few games. YOU RECKON