To judge Corey on his schedule in high school is not far he can not control that. Sure he could of left and went and played somewhere else but that is not Corey. I watched him play over the summer in tournments and even at nationals, against some of the best such as OJ and others. He more then held his own, the kid could play DI easy it just happens he got over looked and I have a feeling it will come back and bit some people such as a NKU.

NKU was an option for Corey. NKU was very interested in Corey and would have loved to bring him in. Corey made a choice to go away and play. From all that I have heard he has chosen a system that will benefit his abilities and allow him to succeed.

 

Don't judge Corey by his Silver Grove schedule. Anyone that had an opportunity to see him play this summer knows that he can play at this level and be very successful.

 

Corey could have chosen to attend NKU but I believe he made a choice that he felt most comfortable with.

 

I am very proud of everything that Corey has achieved and wish him the best. I hope to make some road trips to see him play next season.

 

This is one kid that you should never underestimate, he is a warrior!!

Anyone that had an opportunity to see him play this summer knows that he can play at this level and be very successful.

 

 

Budman, you had the 3 top players in NKY last summer. Give us a comparison of TJ, Hill, and Pelle.

Silver Grove to West Liberty is 3 hrs and 30 minutes.

Really, I didn't realize it was that close.

Budman, you had the 3 top players in NKY last summer. Give us a comparison of TJ, Hill, and Pelle.

I believe that we had the top five players in Northern Kentucky playing for us last year. I love each and every one of these kids and think they are all very unique individuals, but if I were to rank them, here is what I would say:

 

1. Zack Kiernan. Zack was the biggest mis-match in Northern Kentucky. Very few teams could match up with him. He drew more attention than any other player in Northern Kentucky. No one could match his size, strength and determination. He was very heavily sought after by college coaches and could have played college basketball if he had decided to.

 

2. Corey Pelle. Corey was a kid that could do everything. It took Corey a couple of tournaments to get comfortable with his surroundings, but he was a kid that changed a game on both ends of the court. He is by far one of the most athletic kids in Northern Kentucky. This kid can not be ratteled.

 

3. Austin Hill. The swing man version of Zack Kiernan. Austin is one of the strongest kids in Northern Kentucky. He had the ability to carry a team on his shoulders. Austin can be a machine on the offensive end. Austin just needs to be more consistant. He needs to get better with the basketball and become a much better defender. Austin has the most upside of anyone on this list because he has just started to tap his potential.

 

4. Mike Hester. If he had some additional size he would be a major D-1 recruit. He is the most determined kid I have ever had play for me. This is the kid that you want on your team. He will find ways to win ball games. The most impressive thing about Mike is that he came on board with this group and gave up his scoring numbers to make the players around him better. He is so unselfish. He did a fantastic job of making his teammates better.

 

5. Todd Jacobs. If you want someone to take the last shot when your team is down, this is the man. He has nerves of steel. There is no one in Northern Kentucky that I would rather give the ball to in crunch time than Todd. He is so smart and really understands the game. Just like Mike Hester, he gave up some offensive numbers to make his teammates better. I was really suprised by his ability to defend. He is a top notch defender and makes plays on both ends.

 

I will also include two players that were not on this team:

 

Duran Jefferson. I will be honest in saying that I was not one of his biggest fans during the last couple of years. I thought he was more of a negative than a positive at Holmes. But after he came back this year from injury, he may have been the best player in Northern Kentucky. I was so impressed with his ability to control a game. During the Regionals and State Tournament I loved this kids game. You can talk about Arrez, Austin and Greg but during there run this year he was the key. Duran would make a nice college point guard.

 

Nate Sharp. The job he did at Scott after Quigley got hurt was amazing. They were so undersized and undermanned and he put up amazing numbers. He was the focus after Quigleys injury and his numbers improved. Great player.

 

I will end this rant with this. All of these kids are great players. You could argue that each kid is the best player in Northern Kentucky and probably be right. Each of this kids will play somewhere and probably be very successful.

 

The bottom line is each of this kids had fantastic high school careers and all will have an opportunity to get a free or discounted education. Celebrate these kids, don't tear them down.

 

That is my two cents for what it is worth.

I have watched several games of Pelle's and I agree. He can flat out play. he is not a typical small school can't compete with the kids from the GCL player.

I believe that we had the top five players in Northern Kentucky playing for us last year. I love each and every one of these kids and think they are all very unique individuals, but if I were to rank them, here is what I would say:

 

1. Zack Kiernan. Zack was the biggest mis-match in Northern Kentucky. Very few teams could match up with him. He drew more attention than any other player in Northern Kentucky. No one could match his size, strength and determination. He was very heavily sought after by college coaches and could have played college basketball if he had decided to.

 

2. Corey Pelle. Corey was a kid that could do everything. It took Corey a couple of tournaments to get comfortable with his surroundings, but he was a kid that changed a game on both ends of the court. He is by far one of the most athletic kids in Northern Kentucky. This kid can not be ratteled.

 

3. Austin Hill. The swing man version of Zack Kiernan. Austin is one of the strongest kids in Northern Kentucky. He had the ability to carry a team on his shoulders. Austin can be a machine on the offensive end. Austin just needs to be more consistant. He needs to get better with the basketball and become a much better defender. Austin has the most upside of anyone on this list because he has just started to tap his potential.

 

4. Mike Hester. If he had some additional size he would be a major D-1 recruit. He is the most determined kid I have ever had play for me. This is the kid that you want on your team. He will find ways to win ball games. The most impressive thing about Mike is that he came on board with this group and gave up his scoring numbers to make the players around him better. He is so unselfish. He did a fantastic job of making his teammates better.

 

5. Todd Jacobs. If you want someone to take the last shot when your team is down, this is the man. He has nerves of steel. There is no one in Northern Kentucky that I would rather give the ball to in crunch time than Todd. He is so smart and really understands the game. Just like Mike Hester, he gave up some offensive numbers to make his teammates better. I was really suprised by his ability to defend. He is a top notch defender and makes plays on both ends.

 

I will also include two players that were not on this team:

 

Duran Jefferson. I will be honest in saying that I was not one of his biggest fans during the last couple of years. I thought he was more of a negative than a positive at Holmes. But after he came back this year from injury, he may have been the best player in Northern Kentucky. I was so impressed with his ability to control a game. During the Regionals and State Tournament I loved this kids game. You can talk about Arrez, Austin and Greg but during there run this year he was the key. Duran would make a nice college point guard.

 

Nate Sharp. The job he did at Scott after Quigley got hurt was amazing. They were so undersized and undermanned and he put up amazing numbers. He was the focus after Quigleys injury and his numbers improved. Great player.

 

I will end this rant with this. All of these kids are great players. You could argue that each kid is the best player in Northern Kentucky and probably be right. Each of this kids will play somewhere and probably be very successful.

 

The bottom line is each of this kids had fantastic high school careers and all will have an opportunity to get a free or discounted education. Celebrate these kids, don't tear them down.

 

That is my two cents for what it is worth.

Wow, you put Kiernan and Pelle infront of Hill. I know these kids played for you so I'll take your word for it, but I don't see to many players in the state better than Hill, maybe Miller @ Mason County but thats about it from what I seen in Lexington. Even when he's having a bad game you can tell he's the best player on the floor by his athleticism and quickness and just the way he moves without the basketball...jmo

Hill also has 3 D 1 or D 2 athletes on his team. Pelle had one other kid on the team that would make any other high school roster (Wiseman). In some games Pelle faced a triangle and 2, with 2 guys on him. SG saw just about every defense this year. Box and 1, Run and junp Pelle, Diamond and 1, Press, Zone, etc. And he still was 3rd in the state.

 

I still can't figure out the knock on the schedule when they played Brossart 3 times, Campbell, Scott and Bowling Green. Brossart finished 10th in the final AP poll. If SG would have played Male and J-Town each once (they were both around the 9 and 10 Mark) and only played Brossart once, everyone would be saying how amazing the schedule was. To win 20 games given their size and schedule was an amazing feat. Brossart finished 2nd in the state in scoring defense and Pelle scored more against them in one game by himself than 4 teams did this year.

Only an unknowledgable fan could say that NKU was not nationally competitive this season. NKU ended Findlay's 59 game home win streak AND was one win away from the Elite 8. NKU's biggest problem prior to Dave Bezold taking the job was recruiting too many NKY players. Coach Bezold is now trying to bring in the Steven Wright's, Billy Finnell's, Anthony Teague's, and etc. to be nationally competitive and he's done a good job of doing that. You will not compete nationally with 9th & 10th Region players dominanting a roster.

 

 

Doellman, Brock, Pelle, REINHART, Miller, Knowles, Belcher, Belcher, Verax, Cooper, Miller, CHRIS LOFTON, the big kid at Belment with Belcher....

 

 

Yeah NKU(ew) could compete with that.....

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

Derrick Smith was from Silver Grove as was Sigmon (who walked on at NKU and broke his ankle) and Pelle is better than both of them.......and it isn't really close!!

I thought DSmith was a very fine player, wish I could have seen him play since most praise the kid.

Doellman, Brock, Pelle, REINHART, Miller, Knowles, Belcher, Belcher, Verax, Cooper, Miller, CHRIS LOFTON, the big kid at Belment with Belcher....

 

 

Yeah NKU(ew) could compete with that.....

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

Derrick Smith was from Silver Grove as was Sigmon (who walked on at NKU and broke his ankle) and Pelle is better than both of them.......and it isn't really close!!

:thumb:

I thought DSmith was a very fine player, wish I could have seen him play since most praise the kid.

 

 

Amazing athlete and pleasure to watch in football and basketball.

I thought DSmith was a very fine player, wish I could have seen him play since most praise the kid.

 

He was a GREAT high school player and his running mate wasn't bad either.

Doellman, Brock, Pelle, REINHART, Miller, Knowles, Belcher, Belcher, Verax, Cooper, Miller, CHRIS LOFTON, the big kid at Belment with Belcher....

 

 

Yeah NKU(ew) could compete with that.....

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

Derrick Smith was from Silver Grove as was Sigmon (who walked on at NKU and broke his ankle) and Pelle is better than both of them.......and it isn't really close!!

\

 

Smith played at the NIKE Camp and was Hoops/Gridiron National player of the year. I would say that it is close between Pelle and Smith with Smith being better.

Smith was a better high school player, surrounded by better players. I know Smith only played one year of college hoops, but Corey will be much better in college. Pelle won't have to face the double and triple teams in college like he did in high school. Corey still has room to mature physically and his best ball is in front him.