Cooper 51 Covington Catholic 38 (9th Region Championship)

[futurecoach]

Congrats to Cooper! What a great game and just a great environment with a huge crowd. After getting down 11 to 1 to start the game. Cooper going to that 1 3 1 was the difference and clearly got Covcath out of any rhythm they had early.

 

Good luck down state Jags! Win state!

[Qryche11]

Curious how the Colonels shot in last year's final compared to tonight.

[frankdracman23]

Curious how the Colonels shot in last year's final compared to tonight.

 

Last year against NCC:

 

 

CovCath

28

Total Field Goals Made (2pt and 3pt)

 

53

Total Field Goals Attempted (2pt and 3pt)

 

52.8%

Total Field Goal %

 

4

Total 3-Point Field Goals Made

 

16

Total 3-Point Field Goals Attempted

 

25.0%

Total 3-Point Field Goal %

 

7

Total Free Throws Made

 

7

Total Free Throws Attempted

 

100.0%

Total Free Throw %

 

29

Total Rebounds

[Qryche11]

Last year against NCC:

 

 

CovCath

28

Total Field Goals Made (2pt and 3pt)

 

53

Total Field Goals Attempted (2pt and 3pt)

 

52.8%

Total Field Goal %

 

4

Total 3-Point Field Goals Made

 

16

Total 3-Point Field Goals Attempted

 

25.0%

Total 3-Point Field Goal %

 

7

Total Free Throws Made

 

7

Total Free Throws Attempted

 

100.0%

Total Free Throw %

 

29

Total Rebounds

 

Wow that was quick!!!

 

Looks like the 3pt shooting did them in.

[SSC]

Did nobody see Walters miss close shots and free throws when he was fouled? I can promise you the Jags didn't want him on the bench.

[Rick Rude]

Kunkel looked like he definitely wanted to make a statement. Not only had a great offensive game but also guarded CJ all night and held him to 7 points. I think he proved tonight what he is made of. Complete all around player.

[Bluesport]

And here i thought the earth shifted on it's axis...nope just Cooper beating Covcath!

 

No earth shifting on its axis...CovCath just lost a basketball game to a NKY team.

[Bluesport]

Congrats to the Jags!

 

Kunkel is a stud and was clearly the best player on the court. Maybe Indiana, Iowa, Xavier, and the others that have supposedly visited Park Hills should make a trip to Union!

 

Ruthsatz clearly got out coached by Sully. Great game plan by the Jags!

 

Jags broke CCH's back in the 3rd quarter. CCH started the quarter up 5 and ended it down 5.

 

CCH didn't know what to do against Cooper's 1 3 1 defense. They threw the ball into the top defender 5 times in a row.

 

Not sure why Jake Walter passed up 9 (I counted) one foot jump shots / dunks. He should have had 20 points. I'm baffled!

 

Everyone says how deep CCH is but I only saw 6 kids play.

 

Cooper will represent well at Rupp!!

 

CCH's depth was hurting as some of those guys are out. There is a reason a Frosh is the 1st guy off the bench. Doesn't take away from the victory. Great win for the school.

[FeelingGood]

Did nobody see Walters miss close shots and free throws when he was fouled? I can promise you the Jags didn't want him on the bench.

 

Next year he makes those shots. I was impressed on how he played. May not have been the outcome he wanted but he will only improve over this next summer. Look for him to be double digits consistently next year and to be a dominant force in the state.

[letabrotherspeak]

CovCath came out on fire and setting the pace, and Cooper didn't blink. They came out of the timeout and McNeil buries a 3 to calm the nerves and steady the ship.

At that point is was just a matter of time reeling them in and the tempo which from the tip was quick slowly grinded to a halt.

CovCath doesn't like the slow tempo and started the game in a junk defense with Walter out top and it may have got them an early edge but Cooper was able to beat that. CovCath settled into their zone and Cooper who is capable playing at any style began to be very patient and probing the defense and got back into the game.

I believe Cooper scored at the end of the second quarter and at the end of the third quarter and executed it perfectly.

Once CovCath went man to man Cooper was in the driver's seat. CovCath can't guard Cooper man to man. Cooper is as physical as they are and do not get bumped off drives like other teams. Plus Cooper has multiple playmakers who can deck it and kick to capable shooters.

Cooper went with their 5 man passing game and forced Walter to come out of the paint and defend switches. If CovCath went to face guard, the offensive player that was getting face guarded went to set ball screens. Didn't see it a whole lot but its effective against face guarding.

After 3 straight threes by CVH, I thought that Cooper may come out of the 1-3-1 but didn't and they closed very well on shooters. I thought CovCath was too hesitant to drive and get to the line.

With Walter in the game, Cooper fouled every time he went for a put back or layup.

In the 1-3-1, they played behind or on the side of Walter and when he caught it they didn't double and played the skip passes.

Cooper just executed from the second quarter on. They called a timeout in the early 4th quarter and promptly scored a layup on an out of bounds under play.

You won't see many teams spread it and attack CCH off the bounce with continued success like Cooper did tonight in the second half.

Cooper can make some noise in Lexington. The will be heavy favorites in the first game.

Tip of the cap to CVH. He is the true definition of leader and a winner. He has been terrific during his career at CCH. Not many will come close to what he has accomplished there.

The 9th Region is a hard region to win. CCH has made 5 straight trips to the region final and has only come away victorious in two of them. They got a title and a final four run with those two victories, but I would venture to say it is one of the top 3 toughest region's to win on a year in and year out basis.

It just makes what David Henley and Holmes did in their run in the late 90's all that more impressive and likely one that won't be repeated for a while.

[Mr. Sixer]

First congrats to CVH on a great career at CCH. Known him since he, Sean and Dante' all played two years of AAU ball together. Great young man and I wish him the absolute best at the next level. Congrats to CCH on a great season and one heck of a run over the last 4 years.

 

To all the prognosticators that chose to say Cooper would lose this game by 9 and 12 plus points someone forgot to tell Cooper! I am sure when CCH went up 11-1 you were all feeling good about yourselves but what you should have been doing was understanding that this team does not quit. Cooper went on a 50-27 run to close out the game after being down by 10 to start the game off.

 

Coach Sullivan has done an outstanding job as Cooper's only coach. His first season he was 2-29 in a new school that certainly lacked talent but he's built it from the ground up and more importantly he has remained loyal to his school and his players when other suitors came calling. He coached his players tonite to keep fighting and that is exactly what they did and he made a huge strategic decision to go to the 1-3-1 zone which CCH simply couldn't figure out.

 

Dante' and Sean have played together since the 3rd grade and they have lead this team with great leadership and I wish them and the Jags all the best at the Sweet 16 at Rupp where I certainly think they can make a serious run and bring home a title! AK was on exciting to watch. Kid just keeps telling himself the next shot is going in when his shots aren't falling and they weren't in the first half. Chris McNeil made things difficult for Ruthsatz which is exactly what I thought he'd do and held him to a 3. Runion shot very well and really helped out on the defensive end.

Best of luck and Go Jags!!

 

Excellent crowd tonite and had a friend all the way in Dallas, Tx who was listening on the radio and the announcer stated the attendance was over 7000.

[Clyde]

Did nobody see Walters miss close shots and free throws when he was fouled? I can promise you the Jags didn't want him on the bench.

 

Come on. Be better than this when talking about a high school kid.

[SSC]

Come on. Be better than this when talking about a high school kid.

 

Probably right. My point was everyone was saying why did he pass up close shots. It might have been b/c he couldn't get them to go.

[SECRules]

CCH's depth was hurting as some of those guys are out. There is a reason a Frosh is the 1st guy off the bench. Doesn't take away from the victory. Great win for the school.

 

My point is CCH is not as deep as touted or the coaches don't trust their bench if they only sub one player. - it's not injuries!

 

Sure, Nowak is hurt and they missed his defense but offense was CCH's problem.

 

Davin is hurt but he is a wild card as no one has seen him play Varsity ever.

 

Lenihan didn't play while Ruthsatz didn't come out although he didn't do anything tonight.

 

Fleek, Thelen and Deere can contribute but didn't play.

 

But you are right, regardless of any of this, the Jags clearly earned the victory!!!!

[letabrotherspeak]

Did they ever announce the crowd total? With the girls Sweet 16 starting this week they went ahead and removed a few hundred seats for the press which no doubt forced people upstairs.

I would venture to say that it was easily in excess of 6k.

I thought the officiating was very solid. By in large you didn't notice them and they didn't get cute with extra tweets of the whistle, and made strong authoritative calls.

Also, I must say that St. Elizabeth Healthcare has done a heck of a job in sponsoring the 9th Region with their giveaways and tshirt promotions. They also do an excellent job with the Girls State Tournament and it would be nice to see the many casual fans who came out tonight attend some girls Sweet 16 games later this week.