North Oldham vs. Collins Predictions/Updates

[ColonelMike]

OK, the big 8th Region tilt of the regular season is just a week away....time to start talking about it...

Who:  #3 North Oldham vs. #13 Collins

When:  Tuesday, 2/14/23 (Valentine's Day!)   girl/boy doubleheader    Girls' tip at 6 pm ET; boys immediately following

Where:  at North Oldham HS in Goshen, KY

Broadcast:  Both games will be broadcast FREE live hi-def video on www.pegasussportsky.com  

 

The boys' half of this girl/boy doubleheader should be special.    North Oldham and Collins have been 1-2 in the region all year, and are the only 8th Region teams appearing in the top 20 rankings - and both are in the top 15.

Both teams are veteran clubs, with players who have extensive varsity experience.    Dallas Roberts (NO) and Kenyon Goodin (COL) are two elite-level guards.   North brings the inside presence to the table in 6'8" senior shot-blocker extraordinaire Luke Anderson and 6'7" senior power forward Ian Higdon.   Collins counters with perhaps the most ferocious defense in the region.

Whether Collins can turn over North may be critical in this ballgame.... North will need to keep their bigs out of foul trouble to maintain their inside advantage... North has waves of players who can score the ball.....Collins needs to see Cole Harbin produce like he did against Oldham County to keep North from simply shutting down all the lanes to the rim.

This one will be fun!

What say ye?

[Adrian Woj Burner]

Not sure where to go on this one…. I think I am going to go out in a stretch and say Kenyon Goodin might be the best player in this game.

Roberts impressed me when he was younger, but I feel his game hasn’t improved much since.

[ConverseAllStar]

38 minutes ago, Adrian Woj Burner said:

Not sure where to go on this one…. I think I am going to go out in a stretch and say Kenyon Goodin might be the best player in this game.

Roberts impressed me when he was younger, but I feel his game hasn’t improved much since.

To say Roberts hasn't improved much is a stretch . . . the kid just scored his 2,000th point.  What has improved is the team around him.  The North Oldham teams of a few years ago were not nearly as talented as this year's team.

[Adrian Woj Burner]

7 minutes ago, ConverseAllStar said:

To say Roberts hasn't improved much is a stretch . . . the kid just scored his 2,000th point.  What has improved is the team around him.  The North Oldham teams of a few years ago were not nearly as talented as this year's team.

You are correct they are not. But a few years ago I felt that Roberts stood out on his team, and how he doesn't do that. His shiftiness, passing, and ability to get to the goal is all still there like it was before, but I felt that his shotmaking around the goal and mid-range wasn't the best. After watching him this year I feel that there hasn't been much improvement in that aspect of his game. 

The statement you made about his teammates improving is 100% accurate, and maybe that is where some of my judgement is coming from. 

Either way, I feel that Goodin might be the best player on the floor in this game, but it is not by a long run. 

[wingt51]

Goodin probably is the best player in the game, in my opinion, but North Oldham has the next best 3. Roberts is Roberts, but the 2 big kids will be an issue for Collins.

[ColonelMike]

I love both these teams....have been impressed all year by how business-like North is, and Collins absolutely wowed me in Buckner last week.

Forced to make a call, I have to give this to the home team.   North has tons of scorers - even if Roberts, Anderson, and Higdon aren't scoring so much, Neal, Fischer, and Howard - all far less heralded playing in the Big 3's shadows - can flat fill it up.    Collins has the region's best defense, IMO, but they won't be able to win simply by shutting down 3 players, as they did against Oldham last week.   They will have to shut down five.   If any team can do it, Collins can - but I'm going to guess North has enough arrows to shoot to outlast the Titans.

AWB, I see what you're saying - but I think we've all just gotten a little used to Roberts' magic and don't recognize it so much anymore as a truly special talent - which he certainly is.   He is, after all, in his FIFTH year as a starter.  (when he pulls off a tough play now, we've seen it all before....)   He was the Mustangs' leading scorer as an 8th grader running point....    Now he's the school's all-time leading scorer....and he doesn't have to assume so much of the burden anymore as he has an elite group around him.    Comparing him 1 to 1 against Kenyon Goodin is a really tough compare - I still say Goodin is the best player in the region that you don't hear talked about much (why he's not talked about as much as some others defies all logic).   It's like debating apple pie and pumpkin pie.   I'll take BOTH.

But even if Goodin is the best player on the court, I'll say this.....with the final seconds running off the clock and down by one score - and allowed any one guard in the 8th Region - I would take Roberts anytime.  Roberts may or may not be the best guard in a region full of insanely talented guards this year (Moore, Goodin, Green, Krohman, Johnson, ad infinitum), but with the game on the line, I honestly think he's the guy I want to have with the ball in his hands.   Over the last few years, I haven't seen anyone make as many plays in the closing seconds of a game as Roberts.   Just my opinion.  

All that said - the coin came up heads.  😁

[Adrian Woj Burner]

1 hour ago, wingt51 said:

Goodin probably is the best player in the game, in my opinion, but North Oldham has the next best 3. Roberts is Roberts, but the 2 big kids will be an issue for Collins.

They are a substantial piece to this teams success, especially in the 8th region where anything over 6’5 is considered tall. 
Having 2 of them on the court makes it difficult for teams to get easy looks inside, and their post work is phenomenal.

[ColonelMike]

2 days and counting.....

You want to BE at this game.....but if you can't, join us on www.pegasussportsky.com for the free, live, hi-def coverage....

CM

 

[Adrian Woj Burner]

Can not wait! Excited to see how the twin towers of NO play against them. I would say they might be the deciding factor in this game.

Give me North by 7.

[Hoopstars]

On 2/8/2023 at 12:14 PM, Adrian Woj Burner said:

You are correct they are not. But a few years ago I felt that Roberts stood out on his team, and how he doesn't do that. His shiftiness, passing, and ability to get to the goal is all still there like it was before, but I felt that his shotmaking around the goal and mid-range wasn't the best. After watching him this year I feel that there hasn't been much improvement in that aspect of his game. 

The statement you made about his teammates improving is 100% accurate, and maybe that is where some of my judgement is coming from. 

Either way, I feel that Goodin might be the best player on the floor in this game, but it is not by a long run. 

Interesting take and I generally agree. One improvement for Dallas- he doesn’t “press” to score like his first 4 years. I used to watch him and there were times when the second he got the ball, 90 feet away, he’d have a look and  I’d say he’s gonna shoot this trip no matter what- always because he hadn’t shot in 3-4 trips. Now when I say that, I’m wrong much of the time.  He’s matured in that respect a bunch IMO

[Adrian Woj Burner]

5 minutes ago, Hoopstars said:

Interesting take and I generally agree. One improvement for Dallas- he doesn’t “press” to score like his first 4 years. I used to watch him and there were times when the second he got the ball, 90 feet away, he’d have a look and  I’d say he’s gonna shoot this trip no matter what- always because he hadn’t shot in 3-4 trips. Now when I say that, I’m wrong much of the time.  He’s matured in that respect a bunch IMO

This is 100% accurate. The most improvement I have seen in the last 5 years of him starting varsity is his decision making, it has improved each year and this year is on another level. 
 

The progress of his teammates talent has also helped this trait.

[4 Quarters]

On 2/8/2023 at 9:33 AM, ColonelMike said:

OK, the big 8th Region tilt of the regular season is just a week away....time to start talking about it...

Who:  #3 North Oldham vs. #13 Collins

When:  Tuesday, 2/14/23 (Valentine's Day!)   girl/boy doubleheader    Girls' tip at 6 pm ET; boys immediately following

Where:  at North Oldham HS in Goshen, KY

Broadcast:  Both games will be broadcast FREE live hi-def video on www.pegasussportsky.com  

 

The boys' half of this girl/boy doubleheader should be special.    North Oldham and Collins have been 1-2 in the region all year, and are the only 8th Region teams appearing in the top 20 rankings - and both are in the top 15.

Both teams are veteran clubs, with players who have extensive varsity experience.    Dallas Roberts (NO) and Kenyon Goodin (COL) are two elite-level guards.   North brings the inside presence to the table in 6'8" senior shot-blocker extraordinaire Luke Anderson and 6'7" senior power forward Ian Higdon.   Collins counters with perhaps the most ferocious defense in the region.

Whether Collins can turn over North may be critical in this ballgame.... North will need to keep their bigs out of foul trouble to maintain their inside advantage... North has waves of players who can score the ball.....Collins needs to see Cole Harbin produce like he did against Oldham County to keep North from simply shutting down all the lanes to the rim.

This one will be fun!

What say ye?

Are you sure on the times?  Riherds shows the boys playing at 6 pm and girls at 7;30pm.

[Mojocat]

22 hours ago, Hoopstars said:

Interesting take and I generally agree. One improvement for Dallas- he doesn’t “press” to score like his first 4 years. I used to watch him and there were times when the second he got the ball, 90 feet away, he’d have a look and  I’d say he’s gonna shoot this trip no matter what- always because he hadn’t shot in 3-4 trips. Now when I say that, I’m wrong much of the time.  He’s matured in that respect a bunch IMO

Pet peeve of mine.  Definitely see kids that make up their mind, maybe not 90 feet from the basket, but when they catch it around the 3 point line, that they are going to the goal come hell or high water.  And will only pass if they just absolutely cannot get a shot off - which rarely happens, usually it just results in a bad attempt.  I hadn't made that particular observation with Roberts, but it wouldn't surprise me, given the teams/teammates he's had previously......

[Mojocat]

I think North is clearly better, but that may be because Collins didn’t look great the one time I’ve seen them.  North has won ten in a row - maybe a loss before tournaments play wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for them.  To win, Collins needs the score to be in the 50s (and 40s would be even better), but that would mean minimal contributions from the 2 North bigs and as others have said that might be a bit much to expect.   Massey says North 58-56, but  - despite my instincts! - I’m going to pick the upset here.  I’ll say Collins by 3.  Heh - changed my mind by the time I got to the end……

[deepthreejack]

North by double digits.  Collins can handle one big but not two.  Anderson 25 and 12 or some similar variation thereof..