NKY Girls Basketball Top 10 -- Week 8

[The Double Deuce]

Good morning!  You'll notice a couple of things below, both in terms of movement, as well as "others to watch".  On the latter point, I'm only going to list 5 in the others to watch area, it is truly just too tough to slice and dice the teams in that lower grouping due to wide gaps in strength of schedule and they just keep beating each other.  I will try and call out a big win when one arises for them, but I'm going to focus on the teams that are just out of the Top 10.  Secondly, you'll see a shake-up in the top 5 this week -- it is impossible to ignore, and not reward, Conner's impressive 11 game winning streak, including a win over Ryle, at Ryle, last week.  We have talked about Ryle's lack of depth beyond their amazing Top 4 all year, I wonder if that isn't start to rear its head a little...you can only ask those 4 to do so much, for so long, before they start to wear down.  Maybe not, and they rally down the stretch (they certainly are uniquely talented!), but we shall see.  Lastly, I'm not sure NewCath isn't playing better than Holy Cross right now, but their head-to-head match-up in the 9th All A was convincingly won by the Indians, so they stay in that order right now.

1.  Notre Dame  (15-1):  they play in the Republic Bank Louisville Invitational Tournament this week -- opening with Assumption, which will be one-way traffic for the Pandas.

2.  Dixie  (16-4):  vs Lloyd, at #4 Ryle (!!), and at St. Henry

3.  Conner  (16-3):  vs #7 NewCath

4.  Ryle  (12-6):  vs Boone County and vs #2 Dixie

5.  Cooper  (11-8):  vs Scott and vs Boone County (feel bad for the Rebels, they have a brutal schedule this week)

6.  Holy Cross  (13-8):  vs Paris in the "All A State Championship" at EKU, win and advance to Friday, lose and their week is over.

7.  NewCath  (14-6):  at #3 Conner, at Bellevue, at Nicholas County

8.  Simon Kenton  (11-9):  vs Boone County and at #10 Ludlow (sneaky good game)

9.  Bishop Brossart (13-7):  vs Campbell County 

10. Ludlow  (16-5):  vs Dayton, vs #8 Simon Kenton, vs Bellevue

Others to watch:

*  St. Henry  (11-9)

*  Walton Verona  (10-11)

*  Campbell County  (7-11)

*  Pendleton County  (11-9)

*  Scott  (8-12)

[The Double Deuce]

Info for Dixie at Ryle:  Thursday the 27th at 7:30 PM out in Union.  

[UCME]

2 hours ago, The Double Deuce said:

Info for Dixie at Ryle:  Thursday the 27th at 7:30 PM out in Union.  

I believe 859 Sports Radio will be in the building for this one!

[HasBeenCoach]

What is going on at Ryle? This was expected to be a great year for NDA and that is no surprise. Kes can flat out coach. It’s easy to say someone can coach or not based on a game or two but I would love for someone to show me a better prepared team game in and game out as well as a team that just flat out gives their all each game more than a Kes Murphy coached team. 
 

I expected Cooper to make that big jump this year with the second year in coaches new system and they are proving that. 
 

Kudos to Conner and Dixie. Big schools and should always have a good team on the court but I’m saying they over achieved a little this year. Wasn’t sure how Conner would be with Stamm gone but Coach Gambrell has done a great job continuing to grow that program. 
 

Now back to Ryle. Hands down the best talent of any team in the 9th. Multiple D1 caliber players with offers. While other teams are really hitting their stride, it doesn’t look like that is happening for them. You have arguably the best shooter in the state in Holtman, a big post in Baker and Eubank who is just a flat out athlete. Austin Johnson is a tremendous player also.  Are their injuries? 

[The Double Deuce]

33 minutes ago, HasBeenCoach said:

Now back to Ryle. Hands down the best talent of any team in the 9th. Multiple D1 caliber players with offers. While other teams are really hitting their stride, it doesn’t look like that is happening for them. You have arguably the best shooter in the state in Holtman, a big post in Baker and Eubank who is just a flat out athlete. Austin Johnson is a tremendous player also.  Are their injuries? 

You nailed the answer, and I've watched them personally 3x, 4 if you count their pre-season scrimmage, and they have 4 players.  Now...they have 4 GREAT players (I think Austin Johnson is the most talented player in the region), but they only go 6 deep typically, and the drop from 4 to 5 and 6 to 7 is pretty significant.  They have been playing a rugged schedule for two months, I don't know how they aren't starting to wear down a little, as I referenced in the original post.   

Also like you, Coach, I think Kes is amazing, and his team plays so hard for 90 feet, they are just brutal to play against, and unlike Ryle and Cooper, they send waves and waves of girls at you all night, now incorporating a few of his talented freshmen with regularity as well.  Notre Dame has my favorite player to watch in the region, Macie Feldman, but they do lack the top-end talent that Ryle has, but they more than make up for it with depth, togetherness, senior leadership, and coaching prowess.

 

[HasBeenCoach]

33 minutes ago, The Double Deuce said:

You nailed the answer, and I've watched them personally 3x, 4 if you count their pre-season scrimmage, and they have 4 players.  Now...they have 4 GREAT players (I think Austin Johnson is the most talented player in the region), but they only go 6 deep typically, and the drop from 4 to 5 and 6 to 7 is pretty significant.  They have been playing a rugged schedule for two months, I don't know how they aren't starting to wear down a little, as I referenced in the original post.   

Also like you, Coach, I think Kes is amazing, and his team plays so hard for 90 feet, they are just brutal to play against, and unlike Ryle and Cooper, they send waves and waves of girls at you all night, now incorporating a few of his talented freshmen with regularity as well.  Notre Dame has my favorite player to watch in the region, Macie Feldman, but they do lack the top-end talent that Ryle has, but they more than make up for it with depth, togetherness, senior leadership, and coaching prowess.

 

Austin has really transformed herself post ACL injury. 
 

I do believe that state championship team and even the 3 peat region teams were only 6 deep with Austin being the 6th man. Granted none of these players are Schwartz or Scherr, they still did not go deep then either. 
 

Getting your top talent to play and your whole program on the same page is the responsibility of one person. Putting your players is best spot to win is vital. Kes gets it. Would love to see him get that level talent and what he would do with it. His HC state championship team was good but nothing like 3-4 D 1 players. 

[The Double Deuce]

47 minutes ago, HasBeenCoach said:

Getting your top talent to play and your whole program on the same page is the responsibility of one person. Putting your players is best spot to win is vital. Kes gets it.

This is it, all 3 of Kes' levels (FROSH, JV, Varsity) play the exact same way.  Not just the same plays...the same WAY.  Intense.  Talking.  Together.  Pressure for 90 feet.  They are brutally hard to play against.

[rjal]

32 minutes ago, The Double Deuce said:

This is it, all 3 of Kes' levels (FROSH, JV, Varsity) play the exact same way.  Not just the same plays...the same WAY.  Intense.  Talking.  Together.  Pressure for 90 feet.  They are brutally hard to play against.

Notre Dame also somehow manages to keep 30 to 40 kids in the program. I understand smaller school struggling to keep that many kids but I never understood why some of the big schools did not. Ryle is one that I have always wondered about. They have what 1600 students in their school? I wonder if when the girls come in as freshman they see several superstars some of which are underclassmen already on the varsity team and decide to find a different sport because they know their varsity time may be limited. I have absolutely no idea if that is the reason it is just the only thing I can think of as to why  there is no depth in a school of that size.  And maybe it is just a coaching style. Some coaches do not go deep on their bench. It is a double edge sword. You don’t go deep because there’s a big drop off but the girls at the end never develop because they never play.

[Big Red]

Maybe it's me, and I'm not reading reading the tone of this the right way.  It seems like you are making a point to differentiate the top talent at Ryle as a significant gap to other teams, with their 3-4 Div 1 talented players.  I don't see the gap the same way.  Lacey Bradshaw is a 4 year starter, top player in region for several years with multiple D1 offers, committed to Morehead St.  Do we not consider Macey Feldmann one of the best athletes in the state?  She's clearly a D1 talent in multiple sports, but going to Johns Hopkins for the added academic dynamic.  Do we view Holtman as that much more of a talent than Hubert?  I'm not a talent evaluator, but they look pretty similar to me.  At a minimum, Hubert has established herself as a top 3pt shooter in the state, and defenses are keying on her midway through the season.  Have you seen Maya Lawrie?  Yes, she's a freshmen, but (at 5'10") she's as tough and athletic as anyone I've seen.  I am also pretty sure Carly Tranter will play D1 in soccer.  I'm not sure about basketball, but it's D1 athletic talent. 

Probably biased and haven't seen as many games as others, but I don't get the "top 4" gap in talent the way it's inferred above.  No disrespect to Kes, but I'm not sure we should give him all the credit compared the kids.  I also think similar comparisons could be done with Cooper.  

[The Double Deuce]

10 minutes ago, Big Red said:

Maybe it's me, and I'm not reading reading the tone of this the right way.  It seems like you are making a point to differentiate the top talent at Ryle as a significant gap to other teams, with their 3-4 Div 1 talented players.  I don't see the gap the same way.  Lacey Bradshaw is a 4 year starter, top player in region for several years with multiple D1 offers, committed to Morehead St.  Do we not consider Macey Feldmann one of the best athletes in the state?  She's clearly a D1 talent in multiple sports, but going to Johns Hopkins for the added academic dynamic.  Do we view Holtman as that much more of a talent than Hubert?  I'm not a talent evaluator, but they look pretty similar to me.  At a minimum, Hubert has established herself as a top 3pt shooter in the state, and defenses are keying on her midway through the season.  Have you seen Maya Lawrie?  Yes, she's a freshmen, but (at 5'10") she's as tough and athletic as anyone I've seen.  I am also pretty sure Carly Tranter will play D1 in soccer.  I'm not sure about basketball, but it's D1 athletic talent. 

Probably biased and haven't seen as many games as others, but I don't get the "top 4" gap in talent the way it's inferred above.  No disrespect to Kes, but I'm not sure we should give him all the credit compared the kids.  I also think similar comparisons could be done with Cooper.  

Yes, I think the talent gap of the top 4 is that wide.  Yes, Bradshaw is a very nice player and deserving of her Morehead State opportunity.  Yes, I LOVE Macie Feldman and say so regularly, she is my favorite player in the region, and she is a bright kid who will do great at Johns Hopkins.  The girls at Ryle have Power 5 offers in several cases, that isn't the same thing.  No disrespect to the Pandas' players, they are terrific, but it isn't the same thing.  I'm a huge fan of Noelle and she can certainly impact games with her unbelievable ability to shoot the ball, but yes, the evaluators rate Holtman differently.  No one works harder on her game than Noelle Hubert, I have so much respect for her and how she grinds, it isn't a knock on her.  Holtman already has D1 offers as a junior, Noelle doesn't.  

The Gibson and Lawrie girls, even though they are freshmen, are terrific.  So is the McGraw freshmen, just not at nearly 6' tall.  They all could develop in three years to D1 players, for sure.  

Cooper is more like Ryle in that they have very little depth, and they have a kid in Whitney who will play higher level D1, Liz has a NKU offer as well, and I'd guess Logan will end up at around the same level.  They just don't have a lot beyond their top 6....although they have a 7th grader who will be AWESOME as she develops down the road.  

 

[HasBeenCoach]

3 hours ago, The Double Deuce said:

Yes, I think the talent gap of the top 4 is that wide.  Yes, Bradshaw is a very nice player and deserving of her Morehead State opportunity.  Yes, I LOVE Macie Feldman and say so regularly, she is my favorite player in the region, and she is a bright kid who will do great at Johns Hopkins.  The girls at Ryle have Power 5 offers in several cases, that isn't the same thing.  No disrespect to the Pandas' players, they are terrific, but it isn't the same thing.  I'm a huge fan of Noelle and she can certainly impact games with her unbelievable ability to shoot the ball, but yes, the evaluators rate Holtman differently.  No one works harder on her game than Noelle Hubert, I have so much respect for her and how she grinds, it isn't a knock on her.  Holtman already has D1 offers as a junior, Noelle doesn't.  

The Gibson and Lawrie girls, even though they are freshmen, are terrific.  So is the McGraw freshmen, just not at nearly 6' tall.  They all could develop in three years to D1 players, for sure.  

Cooper is more like Ryle in that they have very little depth, and they have a kid in Whitney who will play higher level D1, Liz has a NKU offer as well, and I'd guess Logan will end up at around the same level.  They just don't have a lot beyond their top 6....although they have a 7th grader who will be AWESOME as she develops down the road.  

 

I would agree with this. There is a difference in D1 college athlete offered in soccer playing basketball compared to D1 offers to play basketball (In most cases). There is a reason those players are rated as high as they are. No offense to them at all. Feldman is tremendous player. There is a reason she isn’t rated as high as the players at Ryle. But I would take Feldman in most cases because of the way she plays. That is the credit I give Coach Murphy and his staff. They get the most out of their players where I don’t think Ryle is. 

[Big Red]

I understand that there can be a talent gap, and what can differentiate the kids as far as recruiting.  It is fantastic for the local kids to be getting these D1 offers.  I probably need to watch more of Ryle (I have seen them more than a few times the past few years).  I have found it interesting on some of these discussions how players are viewed because of how they are rated or recruited, as opposed, to how good (or great) they are as a high school player in a specific year.  Nick Ruthsatz is a great example.  Let me make my point in a different way.  For this year, if you are doing a high school girls draft.  You can pick any kid from the current top 5 teams to go play a round robin "high school" tournament.  If you were to pick Macie Feldmann first overall to lead your team, and Whitney (Cooper) second, and Lacey Bradshaw top 5, no one is looking at you like you are crazy.  As opposed to a different year where if Maddie Scherr and Lauren Schwartz didn't go top 2, then there is clearly a lack of understanding what's going on.  I don't see a gap like that for this year, and of course, that is no disrespect intended to any of the great players that make these.   Also, it is just my opinion.