16 hours ago, 24Rocks said:

I think for COY Shaun Busick at DCA has to be one of the leading contenders.  At the beginning of the year most people on this site were ranking DCA at #3 or #4.  The knock on them was that they'd lost too many good players and some of the ones he had to count on were young and untested.  He installed a new offensive system, switched defenses, and built a bench that goes 5 deep.  Winning the All A state championship was huge.  Yes, he did inherit an excellent point guard in Boyd and the two bigs in Ayiei and Ateny but he's done an outstanding job in bringing the rest of them along.

I understand the argument for picking a coach who's done a lot with less, like Al Gover.  Who knows how the rest of the season will play out.  If one of the coaches who has less options makes a strong run in the regional tournament it would solidify that argument.  

What do you think DCA record would be without Ateny and Lu?  Coach Busick has done a good job, but nobody with any basketball sense had DCA 4th in the preseason.   I will give him a lot of credit for developing some of American kids they have on the bench, and they’re a much deeper team because of it.  But They have a 6 year PG and two 7 footers, when the rest of the region is collectively small.  Next tallest guy in region is what 6”7?  DCA would  be like a lot of these other .500 teams without the twin towers.  Ateny flat took over the Lincoln Co. game last night in 2nd quarter.  Kid is different!

3 minutes ago, LethalPG said:

What do you think DCA record would be without Ateny and Lu?  Coach Busick has done a good job, but nobody with any basketball sense had DCA 4th in the preseason.   I will give him a lot of credit for developing some of American kids they have on the bench, and they’re a much deeper team because of it.  But They have a 6 year PG and two 7 footers, when the rest of the region is collectively small.  Next tallest guy in region is what 6”7?  DCA would  be like a lot of these other .500 teams without the twin towers.  Ateny flat took over the Lincoln Co. game last night in 2nd quarter.  Kid is different!

Totally understand your viewpoint. But last year they had Dut as well as these two. Granted, Ateny only played the last month of the season but he was their best player then. And they had a stronger supporting cast or at least what should have been.

I think they should win the region based on personnel. But I will give him a lot of credit for having players understand their roles, developing the inexperienced guys and perhaps most importantly effectively figuring out how to best use that size to his advantage on both sides of the ball.

Lots of coaches struggle to define and enforce expectations around roles. He did that very well. I can also think of some coaches who couldn’t or wouldn’t adapt to having two big kids on the floor at the same time. But he figured out how to not only do it, but do it effectively on both sides of the ball, and as a result make it a huge advantage for them. 

 

3 hours ago, QueenoftheSouth said:

Totally understand your viewpoint. But last year they had Dut as well as these two. Granted, Ateny only played the last month of the season but he was their best player then. And they had a stronger supporting cast or at least what should have been.

I think they should win the region based on personnel. But I will give him a lot of credit for having players understand their roles, developing the inexperienced guys and perhaps most importantly effectively figuring out how to best use that size to his advantage on both sides of the ball.

Lots of coaches struggle to define and enforce expectations around roles. He did that very well. I can also think of some coaches who couldn’t or wouldn’t adapt to having two big kids on the floor at the same time. But he figured out how to not only do it, but do it effectively on both sides of the ball, and as a result make it a huge advantage for them. 

 

Totally respect that viewpoint, but you quoted me and didn't answer the first part of my statement...What would be their record without the twin towers?   To me, it would look a lot like some of these other teams if not worse.

I would have no problem with Coach Busick winning the award.  Winning a state championship at the class A level and being the out right best team all season long merits such honors.

14 minutes ago, LethalPG said:

Totally respect that viewpoint, but you quoted me and didn't answer the first part of my statement...What would be their record without the twin towers?   To me, it would look a lot like some of these other teams if not worse.

To your point I would ask what was DCA record and success rate before they got the second 7 footer?  Never out of district, most of time in the play in game for district. After second one came along they got to region losing district to Boyle. I see your point that success has jumped when both were on the floor so probably has as much to do with that as coaching. Coach Busik has done a good job though getting the most from his talent. 

18 minutes ago, LethalPG said:

Totally respect that viewpoint, but you quoted me and didn't answer the first part of my statement...What would be their record without the twin towers?   To me, it would look a lot like some of these other teams if not worse.

Sorry, that’s right. To answer your question, I agree with your assertion. I was conceding that point but then saying why I still thought he should be a finalist.

1 minute ago, BasketballFan24 said:

To your point I would ask what was DCA record and success rate before they got the second 7 footer?  Never out of district, most of time in the play in game for district. After second one came along they got to region losing district to Boyle. I see your point that success has jumped when both were on the floor so probably has as much to do with that as coaching. Coach Busik has done a good job though getting the most from his talent. 

Yes, both things can be true at the same time. Having Ateny is a game changer, literally. And they wouldn’t be nearly as good without him. But also (like you acknowledged) the coach deserves credit for figuring out how to use both of them effectively. To have both on the floor virtually all the time and to turn that into an advantage. I’ve seen coaches that are too stubborn to adapt, married to a system (for instance have to play man) and wouldn’t have played them both together in a regular basis. 

38 minutes ago, QueenoftheSouth said:

Yes, both things can be true at the same time. Having Ateny is a game changer, literally. And they wouldn’t be nearly as good without him. But also (like you acknowledged) the coach deserves credit for figuring out how to use both of them effectively. To have both on the floor virtually all the time and to turn that into an advantage. I’ve seen coaches that are too stubborn to adapt, married to a system (for instance have to play man) and wouldn’t have played them both together in a regular basis. 

I don’t think figuring out how to use the bigs is anything. You tell them protect the rim, rebound, and score the ball over most nights kids 5-10 inches shorter than you. Like @LethalPG said. He’s done a good job covering their weaknesses around them though. 

2 hours ago, LethalPG said:

Totally respect that viewpoint, but you quoted me and didn't answer the first part of my statement...What would be their record without the twin towers?   To me, it would look a lot like some of these other teams if not worse.

Take 2 of the top 3 players off of each team in the region and see what their record would be.  

31 minutes ago, 24Rocks said:

Take 2 of the top 3 players off of each team in the region and see what their record would be.  

C'mon now, I agree with a lot of your takes but its apples to oranges here.  

4 hours ago, BasketballFan24 said:

I don’t think figuring out how to use the bigs is anything. You tell them protect the rim, rebound, and score the ball over most nights kids 5-10 inches shorter than you. Like @LethalPG said. He’s done a good job covering their weaknesses around them though. 

Hey, I agree with you, but I’ve seen it screwed up by a coach or two in our own region. Not with 7 footers but good bigs. It does require making some adjustments on both sides of the ball compared to what they might have most years. Well worth it for sure, but some can’t figure it out. That’s a fact.

On 2/14/2025 at 2:51 PM, se7ens said:

So, I am going to have a very unpopular take here, but I don't think Carson Fraley belongs on the list this year. Not his fault at all, injuries have just plagued the kid. But only playing in (and these numbers don't count the most recent game against Lincoln) 16 games and averaging 11.6 points I don't think cuts it. He isn't even the highest average scorer for the Maroons. Cash Baird, Braden Fugate and Sawyer Robbins for Lincoln all have higher averages. Not saying that scoring is the end all be all, just kind of shocked he got on and no kid from Lincoln, especially Baird, did. 

I believe that he was voted on due to reputation and being from Pulaski.  Put him on a team like Garrard (no knock against Garrard) and he does not get voted for.

4 pages for COY award? ?

 

IMO coach of the year is the coach who does more with less. More prep, strategy, scout and brain storming collectively goes into it with the entire coaching staff to sometimes, figure out how to even score 2 points when you don’t have as much talent. ? Those coaches are more likely to not make it deep into March and deserve the accolade. I can attest, it is way harder to coach less talent than good talent. (Obviously) 

Team of the year goes to the team that wins the regional tournament, and ultimately, the state tournament. COY award goes way deeper into the trenches.

Tryston Ford has far less talent, but continues to show up 12 months out of the year to fight for his guys. Obviously others are just like him, but his name jumps out to me as somebody who doesn’t get enough credit for the work he has to put in. Those kinda guys would always be who I voted for as COY.

My two cents.

 

24 minutes ago, Chosen1ne said:

4 pages for COY award? ?

 

IMO coach of the year is the coach who does more with less. More prep, strategy, scout and brain storming collectively goes into it with the entire coaching staff to sometimes, figure out how to even score 2 points when you don’t have as much talent. ? Those coaches are more likely to not make it deep into March and deserve the accolade. I can attest, it is way harder to coach less talent than good talent. (Obviously) 

Team of the year goes to the team that wins the regional tournament, and ultimately, the state tournament. COY award goes way deeper into the trenches.

Tryston Ford has far less talent, but continues to show up 12 months out of the year to fight for his guys. Obviously others are just like him, but his name jumps out to me as somebody who doesn’t get enough credit for the work he has to put in. Those kinda guys would always be who I voted for as COY.

My two cents.

 

Coach Ford has 5 wins, all though he's a great young coach the coach of the year to me is Wade Davis. He's the definition of doing more with less. 

1 hour ago, Statsdontlie said:

Coach Ford has 5 wins, all though he's a great young coach the coach of the year to me is Wade Davis. He's the definition of doing more with less. 

I wouldn’t expect you to understand what I’m talking about. He has 5 wins because the school down the road has two of his kids. That’s neither here nor there. I didn’t say he was coach of the year, I said folks like him. Just like Coach Davis, who is great at doing more with less.