3 hours ago, GoBucks97 said:

Acting like Lloyd is all a sudden on Par because of 1 player and a solid roster is kinda odd. EJ is a stud D1 player but just now gaining the mentality to completely overtake games. CCH wins this year and schedule speak for themselves, along with recent history. I actually think CCH is heavy regional favorites after there play in some tournaments this year against stiff competition! Obviously Lloyd, Cooper, and Newport would be that group who could upset.Acting like Lloyd is all a sudden on par because of 1 player and a solid roster is kinda odd. EJ is a stud D1 player but just now gaining the mentality to completely overtake games. CCH's wins this year and their schedule speak for themselves, along with recent history. I actually think CCH is heavy regional favorites after their play in some tournaments this year against stiff competition! Obviously Lloyd, Cooper, and Newport would be that group who could upset.

I agree that CCH is currently the favorite. Saying they are the heavy favorite is a stretch in my opinion after last night. They have played an elite schedule and have some great wins to show for it. But to say Lloyd isn’t on par with them after last night is odd to me. They have played a strong schedule as well. CCH, Lloyd and Cooper are all on par with each other in my opinion. Newport not far behind at all.

Cov Cath had that place jumping last night, that was a great environment (if your the home team). I have been saying for years now Walker is perfectly capable of being able to control big time games and for me last night was the first time I have seen him break out of his shell and be comfortable with being uncomfortable. There were several strectches where Walker went minutes without touching the ball and this could of been due to fatigue because he may have only sat a minute or two the whole game but I think coach Walker should have force fed him more. Without him Lloyd loses by 45. He showed all three levels of his game and it shouldn't be a suprise he dominated down low with Cov Cath's size restraints but it was fun to watch him do what he is supposed to do to an undersized team and be able to mix in some finesse and outside touch. Cov Cath definitely took Blaackar out the game I don't think that he just randomly happen to have a "off night" but hopefully someone in his inner circle keeps it real with him and he can grow and become stronger after it because he didn't affect that game in anyway. Cov Cath did Cov Cath like things and that proved fruitful for them at the end with a great W that was well deserved. Mcgillis is a straight up bucket I don't know who is going to be able to keep pace with him in the 9th! Harney is as solid as they come and he was coming back off injury shout out to him for being able to maintain a high level of play after some time off. Cov Cath was more discipline and in shape and I believe that gave them a little more depth to trust off the bench than Lloyd had, Lloyd was gassed out starting the 4th because they really didn't have a bench (Walker actually looked stronger in the last 4 minutes then he did all game tho). Cov Cath is also very well coached and you can tell they believe in what they preach. Sebastian for Lloyd I think stepped up alot last night and if he carries himself the rest of the year like he did last night Lloyd just took a big leap forward overall. I think he is still getting back in basketball shape especially coming off a knee injury at the end of the football season where he didn't look comfortable even walking. Going to be an interesting 9th region tournament. I didn't realize Cov Cath was that small but if they can continue to overcome their size descrepancies with the 3 ball the way they did last night they will be hard for any team in Ky to beat at the end of the year. Cov Cath, Lloyd, Cooper, and Newport at the top. I'd watch a game like last night over any NBA game every time that was beautiful basketball in more ways than one.

16 hours ago, Runcible Owl said:

 

Collins for Lloyd was mentioned by @Hollywood23 and @Nkybballfan23. I'm unfamiliar. Can anyone tell us when he's expected to return? Injury? Did he play last year?. 

Elijah has a lingering football injury. Barring another setback he should be back in the next week. He’s a senior guard can really shoot it and I would guess he was their third/fourth leading scorer last season. He’s smart with the ball and has no problem defending the other teams best player. 

As always, the 9th Region is up for grabs and multiple teams could win this thing. It will be fun to watch it play out.

The only other thing I’ll say is I thought that was not the Colonels best game…..came out a bit flat, no press/trapping, shooting was not be best, several missed layups/easy field goals, and do not get me started about the Free Throws…..while I thought that was Lloyd playing at their top level, especially Walker……so yes, I do think Cov. Cath. comes out on top more times then not and is ona slightly different trajectory then Lloyd……when Lloyd and Cooper meet that will be a whale of a game.  The Colonels are the clear #1 in the region, but it’s absolutely a 3 horse race between CCH, Lloyd, and Cooper with a dark horse that could easily emerge….

@Cov_Cath_HwyAgreed. I do believe that Cov Cath wasn't at their best but just like Blaackar not being effective it was the way the cards fell that night and Lloyd wasnt neccessarily at their best either even though Walker was on point. I think Walker could of had 45 points if the refs would have called even half the fouls that should have been called on him and Coach Walker would have forced it to him in a few stretches where he didn't touch the basketball. I think Coach Walker did coach a good game tho he got deep into his bag of sets for EJ. I would say he got fouled on at least half of his attempts inside the paint and I think he only got 2 trips to the free throw line. He looked so much bigger and stronger than everyone else on the court to extent where he got the LeBron treatment from the refs. He was put to the floor on at least 4 occassions where he finished through contact without a whistle on any. @Runcible Owl@Hollywood23@Nkybballfan23 E. Collins is definitly Lloyds best outside shooter, good on ball defender, can do some ball handling and has good court IQ. They are definitly a better team when he can dress especially because of Lloyds depth issues. Pretty sure he is trying to come back from a high grade hamstring issue from what I could tell from watching Lloyds playoff game online. I hadn't addressed Collins being out because I only addressed what went on during the game but yes Collins could have made a difference in that game. Cov Cath definitly wanted to clean somethings up after that game I almost feel like they stole a W by pulling it out on an off night which is always good for a team to see themselves do but Lloyds got to be feeling like it will be hard for Cov Cath to beat them again when they see each other down the road. I will say it one more time EJ Walker was abused Friday night, but instead of tucking his tail he kept pounding that thing.

How far can coaches come out on the playing floor? Watching on CCs HUDL cam, CCs coach was out 2-3ft almost the entire second half. Lloyd’s coach ventured out but  not near as much. Just a rules question not a debate.

3 hours ago, Honey Badger said:

@Cov_Cath_HwyAgreed. I do believe that Cov Cath wasn't at their best but just like Blaackar not being effective it was the way the cards fell that night and Lloyd wasnt neccessarily at their best either even though Walker was on point. I think Walker could of had 45 points if the refs would have called even half the fouls that should have been called on him and Coach Walker would have forced it to him in a few stretches where he didn't touch the basketball. I think Coach Walker did coach a good game tho he got deep into his bag of sets for EJ. I would say he got fouled on at least half of his attempts inside the paint and I think he only got 2 trips to the free throw line. He looked so much bigger and stronger than everyone else on the court to extent where he got the LeBron treatment from the refs. He was put to the floor on at least 4 occassions where he finished through contact without a whistle on any. @Runcible Owl@Hollywood23@Nkybballfan23 E. Collins is definitly Lloyds best outside shooter, good on ball defender, can do some ball handling and has good court IQ. They are definitly a better team when he can dress especially because of Lloyds depth issues. Pretty sure he is trying to come back from a high grade hamstring issue from what I could tell from watching Lloyds playoff game online. I hadn't addressed Collins being out because I only addressed what went on during the game but yes Collins could have made a difference in that game. Cov Cath definitly wanted to clean somethings up after that game I almost feel like they stole a W by pulling it out on an off night which is always good for a team to see themselves do but Lloyds got to be feeling like it will be hard for Cov Cath to beat them again when they see each other down the road. I will say it one more time EJ Walker was abused Friday night, but instead of tucking his tail he kept pounding that thing.

Great analysis. I have waited for EJ to play like that for the last 4 years. He finally used his body and frame to score and if they would have given it to him more in the post I am not sure Cov Cath would have had an answer to it. He was fatigued and he will need to remedy that before going to South Carolina. 

The Colonels definitely have the best back court in NKY Greater Cincinnati. Although they drop off a lot after the Big 3 pretty significantly outside of the grittiness and hustle of Ruthsatz. Their guards, the rest of the roster struggle to manage the ball under pressure. Against Lloyd their bench did come up big and quite honestly that was the first time all year IMO. I hope they could do it more. I did notice that McGillis only touched and shot the ball 3 times in the 4th quarter. I'm not sure if this was by design and I think they are lucky it worked. He was on fire in the 3rd and then he scored early in the 4th and never got the ball back. Harney had 4 pts going into the 4th and helped win it at the charity stripe but I'm not sure I would allow my top scorer to cool off and stand away from the ball. I agree McGillis is a walking bucket and the most talented player on the team and he appeared frustrated. It appears sometimes that the ball seems to stick sometimes in the other guards hands. 

In order to continue to be successful Coach Thelen must make the boys aware of the pecking order. Basketball and sports in general is not an equal opportunity sport. Both Harney and McGillis have played high level AAU their whole life. They have experience with pressure moments and big time basketball. They need to have the ball and the other players must always be looking for them. My two cents. 

A couple of strong wins for the Colonels this weekend. Congrats. 

2 hours ago, Breds82 said:

How far can coaches come out on the playing floor? Watching on CCs HUDL cam, CCs coach was out 2-3ft almost the entire second half. Lloyd’s coach ventured out but  not near as much. Just a rules question not a debate.

You mean their 6th man? The refs ran into him multiple times not sure why they didn’t correct that. 

Congratulations to Covington Catholic. Big win against Lloyd Memorial who has a nice team. It's a positive for Covington Catholic when they can still pull off a win when a player the caliber of Walker goes off like he did (14/16 from the field, not to mention a double-double machine) and also for Lloyd Memorial in the sense of how they handled the hostile environment at Covington Catholic. They started the game on a nice run and quieted the crowd quick. Although Covington Catholic would get going, I thought they came in and did a good job setting the tone early. A couple of things improve for them, which I'm sure they'll be working on, Lloyd Memorial could have emerged victorious and I know Covington Catholic will be looking to continue to make strides as well. Two great teams and it should be a thrilling tournament for the 9th region this year.

Both are top 10 teams. Should be a great regional tournament.

52 minutes ago, Hollywood23 said:

You mean their 6th man? The refs ran into him multiple times not sure why they didn’t correct that. 

I maybe a little off on the score but I liked how Lloyd jumped out like 12-4 and then CCH's athletic director had the game stopped because there was too many spectators "not in a seat". CCH got a nice free timeout from that and I noticed coach Walker wasn't too happy with it lol

3 hours ago, Shotwhisperer75 said:

Basketball and sports in general is not an equal opportunity sport

100% great quote right there.????????

6 hours ago, Breds82 said:

How far can coaches come out on the playing floor? Watching on CCs HUDL cam, CCs coach was out 2-3ft almost the entire second half. Lloyd’s coach ventured out but not near as much. Just a rules question not a debate.

As far as I know of, the NFHS rules state the coaching zone is 100% "out of the court," meaning no coach should be stepping onto the court at all during game action. So if you really want the rule to be enforced to the letter, then no coach should be standing on the court at all. That's a tough rule to follow tightly in an awful lot of high school gyms just because of how tight things are. When you're trying to maintain room for a head coach to walk around in front of his bench while he's coaching the game, plus providing bench seating, plus providing access behind the bench for training staff to move/take players water etc, and still allowing access for fans to get to/from the stands behind the bench....that's a LOT of room that realistically just isn't there.

Assistant coaches are supposed to remain seated during game play, if I'm not mistaken. I do think Jake has stepped out fairly far sometimes during game play, and I'm sure there is going to come a time where he'll be corrected by a ref about that, but just realistically speaking, Friday was his 11th-ever game as a head coach, so standing while coaching and directing during the game is something he's pretty new to.

Here's the NFHS rule: 

NFHS Rule 1-13-2: “The coaching box shall be outlined outside the side of the court on which the scorer's and timer's table and team benches are located. The area shall be bounded by a line drawn 28 feet from the end line towards the division line. At this point a line drawn from the sideline toward the team bench becomes the end of the coaching box going towards the end line.”

Note (effective beginning 2017-2018 school year): State Associations may alter the length and placement of the 28 foot (maximum) coaching box. The box should be from the end line to the 28 ft. line.

4 hours ago, Honey Badger said:

I maybe a little off on the score but I liked how Lloyd jumped out like 12-4 and then CCH's athletic director had the game stopped because there was too many spectators "not in a seat". CCH got a nice free timeout from that and I noticed coach Walker wasn't too happy with it lol

Yeah, that was some great scheming by Cov Cath on how to slow Lloyd's roll. So back in late June when the schedule was about to come out, Coach Thelen and the AD got together and realized that they needed to come up with a plan in case Lloyd jumped out to a big lead in the basketball game that was scheduled for 6 months away. So they decided that they needed to tell the school's 100 Year Celebration Committee to schedule their big 100yr Celebration basketball reunion night at the Lloyd game. And in addition to that, the AD called and made sure that Jostens would wait until January right before the Lloyd game to send Cov Cath all the rings for the Cross Country, Indoor Track, and Outdoor Track state championships so then they could invite all of those athletes and their parents to the game too. Then, all they needed to do was wait for 6 months to hatch their plan. And then it happened, once the house was packed in the Cov Cath gym and the moment was right, just like they suspected, Lloyd went on a scoring run. So Coach Thelen looked over at the AD and gave him the hi sign, and at just the right moment the AD came rushing over to the scorer's table and had the game stopped to make all the spectators standing behind the baselines and in the aisles of the bleachers go find a seat....and just like that, their big plan worked, and they forced Lloyd's hot streak to go cold.