Thanks couldn’t tell since CM didn’t list of St. ax’s players.

 

It was against the starters.

 

We were there to broadcast the South-Woodford and North-Henry games, and were enjoying the other two contests, so I started putting updates out. Unfortunately, I didn't have the St. X names at first so I just did the best I could.

 

Later, I got the St. X names and as you can see in the later stages I was including St. X names in the updates.

 

I didn't know the St. X kids till tonight.... I had seen Spencer on multiple occasions - both this year and past years - so I knew their kids pretty well, like I know most of the 8th Region squads.

 

Really a fun game for the fans; probably maddening for the coaches.

 

Truly a game of two wildly different halves. In the first half, St. X could absolutely do no wrong. Tremendous ball movement, wide-open shooters, tremendous outside shooting, and incredibly dominant play on the glass.

 

In the second half, St. X appeared stunned that Spencer had some fight left. The Tigers missed open layups, fumbled with the ball against the Spencer defense, and were frequently slow in defensive rotations, which often led to Spencer free throws.

 

Meanwhile, the Spencer team that was slow and uninspired in the first half, and seemed to have no hustle at all, seemed to find those attributes in the locker room. Coach Jason Burns needs to bottle whatever he told those kids, because they came out fired up in the second half, and began battling for every loose ball and every rebound.

 

It was almost as if the two teams had swapped uniforms at the half.

 

Vastly entertaining game. Enjoyed it!

Did Spencer play better in the second half because of the point guard or was it because you changed seats at the half?

 

I guess if you haven't been watching Spencer County the last four years then you don't know how important the point guard is to that team. He doesn't score a lot of points but he runs that team setting everybody else up, handling the ball against pressure and not turning the ball over while being one of the best defenders on that team. So when he sits out for over a quarter and your team gets down 26 and when he comes back and your team darn near wins the game I guess that might be a factor. My question to you is Collins still a contender considering they lost to Simon Kenton? You asked that question after Spencer County lost to Collins. The answer to that question is that there are probably 6 or 7 contenders in the 8th. Pick a night and any of those teams can upset each other.

Very few high school teams can lose/be without a key player and look anything like the same team at full strength. (St. X last night, Spencer tonight, Woodford, Simon Kenton, North Oldham, etc.) Ballard was without Minkins when they lost to PRP. Male will be different with Howard Fleming.

 

Foul trouble also can dramatically change the game for a high school team without much depth. Collins ran into that tonight.

 

Trying to make sense of scores from night-to-night with 15-18 year old kids will drive us crazy, but trends over a 30-game season usually bring some clarity.

 

Totally agree with you.

Good bounce back win for the Tigers! While a team doesn’t want to squander a 26 point lead, it is a good learning experience heading into the last month of the regular season.

I guess if you haven't been watching Spencer County the last four years then you don't know how important the point guard is to that team. He doesn't score a lot of points but he runs that team setting everybody else up, handling the ball against pressure and not turning the ball over while being one of the best defenders on that team. So when he sits out for over a quarter and your team gets down 26 and when he comes back and your team darn near wins the game I guess that might be a factor. My question to you is Collins still a contender considering they lost to Simon Kenton? You asked that question after Spencer County lost to Collins. The answer to that question is that there are probably 6 or 7 contenders in the 8th. Pick a night and any of those teams can upset each other.

 

Thanks for asking the question and then answering it also. I've been around the game all my life, just never realized the importance of the point guard,LOL. Do you feel the musical chairs holds any importance, seems like happens often.

My hats off to Spencer for not just throwing in the towel.

But, back to Ballard and X, having two starters out with the flu and the Jerk keeping his first team in, is not acceptable.

I wanted to add that we are a big boy school, so if somebody can beat us bad, so be it. Just don't pile it on unnecessarily.

I wanted to add that we are a big boy school, so if somebody can beat us bad, so be it. Just don't pile it on unnecessarily.

 

Please explain the difference?

For me it's when the game is no longer competitive, not just the score. The coaches know when. If a losing team pulls its starters, it's time to let up. Leaving your starters in the game with a 35 point lead in the 4th is probably past that time. I'm sure the parents of the Ballard reserves are real fans of the Coach as their sons sat on the bench watching the starters play with a 35 point lead in the 4th.