Don't mind if I pick your memory. As we can see from the 'Greatest 9th Region Team Ever' thread, there's been some great teams that have won the 9th Region and have represented us well in the Sweet 16 over the years. Not every great team made it out of the region either by major upset, or just that the 9th was very competitive that given year. Like Walton-Verona's 81 team that didn't make it out of their district, but had the eventual Pioneer State Champs on the ropes in a double-overtime thiller. Were they a great team or a 1 man show in Andy Burns? I honestly don't recall. What do you recall? What teams had everything they needed to make a statement in the Sweet 16 but just didn't get over the hump for one reason or another? Who were some of these Forgotten Greats??? Lest We Not Forget...:confused:

 

Conner in 81 had a tough team with Jim Pitzer, Sammy Carr, Scott Thomas (his son Eric now plays at Conner), Mickey Henson and Allan Jones. THis team was well rounded and had good guard play, plus had the bigs to go down low with. There claim to fame was that they were the only team that season, I think the only one, anyway to beat the eventual state champion Simon Kenton Pioneers. I was a sophomore and dressed for that game but never got on the floor. Boy those were the days....:thumb:

Conner in 81 had a tough team with Jim Pitzer, Sammy Carr, Scott Thomas (his son Eric now plays at Conner), Mickey Henson and Allan Jones. THis team was well rounded and had good guard play, plus had the bigs to go down low with. There claim to fame was that they were the only team that season, I think the only one, anyway to beat the eventual state champion Simon Kenton Pioneers. I was a sophomore and dressed for that game but never got on the floor. Boy those were the days....:thumb:

 

I think SK lost a few that year to other N.Ky teams. Lots of talent and balance helped prepare them for Sweet Sixteen run. Anybody from Walton (with Burns) or NewCath (Cowens brothers) or Newport (Mayes and Simpson) or CovCath (Turney) want to jump in here?

Ryle did not make it to the 9th Region Tournament that year although that's hard to believe with it being Doellman's senior year. They did however host it that year. St. Henry and Simon Kenton came out of the 33rd district and met once again in the 9th Region Championship game. I do recall the incident with which you speak, but I was not in attendance at that 33rd district semi-final game. Maybe somebody who was can give us blow by blow details. :fight:

 

St. Henry beat Ryle that year in Districts. Doellman played 11 minutes that game and had 5 fouls. Had to go to the hospital and receive 13 stiches and went through 3 different jerseys. Earlier in the year Doellman hung about 35 on St. Henry and they knew the only way to stop him was to play physical/dirty. Ross Czarnik hit Doellman in the nose after a play and the ref's never saw it. It was a very, very dirty game. However, St. Henry was the best team that year. :madman: :mad:

 

The Cov Cath team that lost to Ryle in the region championship certainly thought they were GREAT. The parents had booked their rooms in Lexington prior to the region championship game!!! :lol:

Got some of your players and match-ups mixed up here. Some of the players from '84 would not have matched up with the guys from '87 and '88.

 

NCC - M. Sandfoss, J. Pangallo, D.Albrink - Class of "84

HHS -Maile, Lankheit, Burkart - '84

CCHS - Ken Johnson - '84

 

 

NCC - Jacobs, A. Albrink - Class of '87

HHS - Draud , Schuett- "86

Barth, Weyer, Hergott "87

Cowie, Blasingame, Cox '88

 

Not sure of the other CCHS players

 

I ran a lot of games at the Armory with Blasingame/Barth/Cowie as well as played in a District game my Soph year against the NCC studs. That NCC class was loaded with talent in 87'. I believe they lost in the Finals of the Region to a last second Blasingame shot. I still remember the awesome picture in the KY Post showing Blasingame elevated in the air releasing and several NCC players just staring up at it as it left his fingers.

 

Any Highlands folks on here care to relive that game? I think it was 87'. Highlands went on to win the Region in 88' also down at Holmes.

 

If anyone remembers the Regional games in 87' and 88" as far as results let me know or atleast the Final Four that would be cool.

Another forgotten player was Chris Haynes in 1989/1990 at Scott. He was a load let me tell you. We drew Scott in the 1st round of the Regional Tournament in 89' and Haynes was a Frosh I think at the time. We played horribly in that game as did Scott and they got us by 10 or so. They went on to win the Region that year over a very talented Holy Cross team who knocked off Holmes (the heavy favorite). I remember Haynes had an awesome dunk in the finals of the Region that year caught on video by Don Weber. Other players on that Scott team were Mark Kirby, Scotty Smith, Rob Smith to name a few.

 

Jack Jennings was another player from 1988 who we had to face in the District Tournament down at Dayton. We held him to 29 by playing in front and behind and let me tell you he was one of the best post players I ever faced. We were hanging on him in the lane and he was drop stepping us left and right. They had some blazing guards that year in Corey Pouncy and Antwon Brown. Alphonso Pouncy and Anthony Tupman rounded out that starting lineup in what I believe was Reynolds Flynn's final year as a coach. I believe the final was 91-76 and I was never so tired in my life after that game.

Two other games I want to mention on here that were a couple of the best games I ever witnessed as a kid. I believe it was the All A Classic Finals in 1981 down at Bellevue between that awesome Walton VErona team with Andy Burns/John Anderson and my beloved Bellevue Tigers with Doug Schulte/Jim Maher. That was a major battle on the old Tartan Turf floor at Ben Flora Gymnasium. Does anyone remember that game?

 

Another game was the All A Classic Finals in 1983 held down at Ludlow in a packed house. It was the first year I believe they allowed teams from around the state to travel north and participate. I remember Carlisle Co came up and they were ranked like in the top 2 or 3 in the state. They met Bellevue in the Finals that year and it was a barn burner. I think Carlisle co. won by 2pts or something but it came down to the buzzer. I also believe David Henley (current Holmes coach) was on that Carlisle Co. squad. Bellevue had two very good guards who were lighting it up that night in Steve Crittendon and Doug Miller. I think Miller must have had 30 pts that night with his little set shot from the corner.

Great stuff guys.:thumb: Keep'em coming. It's really awesome to be going down 9th Region memory lane. :thumb: Thanks to everyone for all of their great stories.

Jack Jennings was a beast. I believe his senior year averaged about 35 a game and shot an incredible 73% from the field. Avg. over 17 a game at WKU and played for several years overseas in Isreal and was MVP and led the league in scoring a few times. To my knowledge he never learned to dunk though!

 

I also seen Scott Draud drop 69 at Holmes in 86 before the 3 line. He would have had at least 80 in my opinion with it. I believe the final was something like 115-109 highlands over holmes. He would pull up from anywhere and drain it. I'm sure Dixie or Ludlow could of used him!

Another forgotten player was Chris Haynes in 1989/1990 at Scott. He was a load let me tell you. We drew Scott in the 1st round of the Regional Tournament in 89' and Haynes was a Frosh I think at the time. We played horribly in that game as did Scott and they got us by 10 or so. They went on to win the Region that year over a very talented Holy Cross team who knocked off Holmes (the heavy favorite). I remember Haynes had an awesome dunk in the finals of the Region that year caught on video by Don Weber. Other players on that Scott team were Mark Kirby, Scotty Smith, Rob Smith to name a few.

 

Jack Jennings was another player from 1988 who we had to face in the District Tournament down at Dayton. We held him to 29 by playing in front and behind and let me tell you he was one of the best post players I ever faced. We were hanging on him in the lane and he was drop stepping us left and right. They had some blazing guards that year in Corey Pouncy and Antwon Brown. Alphonso Pouncy and Anthony Tupman rounded out that starting lineup in what I believe was Reynolds Flynn's final year as a coach. I believe the final was 91-76 and I was never so tired in my life after that game.

 

Didn't Holmes get to the state tournament one year with Jennings (88 or 89)? I thought they won the region and he had a good showing in a state tournament game.

 

Also, I could be wrong but I thought Corey Pouncey was a freshman on the 90 Holmes squad that got to the finals, which would have made him a 7th grader in 88. The older Pounceys were Alphonso at Holmes and Burt at Holy Cross, and 88 sounds about right for them.

Jack Jennings was a beast. I believe his senior year averaged about 35 a game and shot an incredible 73% from the field. Avg. over 17 a game at WKU and played for several years overseas in Isreal and was MVP and led the league in scoring a few times. To my knowledge he never learned to dunk though!

 

I also seen Scott Draud drop 69 at Holmes in 86 before the 3 line. He would have had at least 80 in my opinion with it. I believe the final was something like 115-109 highlands over holmes. He would pull up from anywhere and drain it. I'm sure Dixie or Ludlow could of used him!

 

Jennings had 68 one night at the Fieldhouse at Holmes in 88 - 1 shy of Draud's phenomenal mark. Also, Kenny Shields said that he kept the shot chart from Draud's game that night and figured out that if there'd been a three point line he would have had 86!

Jack Jennings was a beast. I believe his senior year averaged about 35 a game and shot an incredible 73% from the field. Avg. over 17 a game at WKU and played for several years overseas in Isreal and was MVP and led the league in scoring a few times. To my knowledge he never learned to dunk though!

 

I also seen Scott Draud drop 69 at Holmes in 86 before the 3 line. He would have had at least 80 in my opinion with it. I believe the final was something like 115-109 highlands over holmes. He would pull up from anywhere and drain it. I'm sure Dixie or Ludlow could of used him!

 

While we're on it, talking about great individual performances (maybe this could be a new thread) Draud's 69 and Jennings 68 are the two best performances in NKy history, according to the KHSAA records, but in that same gym I think you also had Dicky Beal drop 50 on CovCath in 80, Jennings went for 52 in another game, and going back a few years farther Rick Fischer of Holmes lit it up 48. Also, at one point I think Bob Barton, who went on to a successful major league baseball career, held the individual scoring record at Holmes (46 or 48?).

 

How about other schools records?

Conner in 81 had a tough team with Jim Pitzer, Sammy Carr, Scott Thomas (his son Eric now plays at Conner), Mickey Henson and Allan Jones. THis team was well rounded and had good guard play, plus had the bigs to go down low with. There claim to fame was that they were the only team that season, I think the only one, anyway to beat the eventual state champion Simon Kenton Pioneers. I was a sophomore and dressed for that game but never got on the floor. Boy those were the days....:thumb:

 

SK had 5 losses that year but Conner was the only team to beat them twice. They beat them in the Conner Invitational and then beat them again a few weeks later.

While we're on it, talking about great individual performances (maybe this could be a new thread) Draud's 69 and Jennings 68 are the two best performances in NKy history, according to the KHSAA records, but in that same gym I think you also had Dicky Beal drop 50 on CovCath in 80, Jennings went for 52 in another game, and going back a few years farther Rick Fischer of Holmes lit it up 48. Also, at one point I think Bob Barton, who went on to a successful major league baseball career, held the individual scoring record at Holmes (46 or 48?).

 

How about other schools records?

 

I saw Ronnie Dawn put on an unbelievable performance his senior year (2001) dropping in 50+. I Don't recall who it was against but he did it at home, and to top it off, hit a half court shot to finish a phenomenal 1st half. :thumb:

Does anyone remember the total and who they played?

I saw Ronnie Dawn put on an unbelievable performance his senior year (2001) dropping in 50+. I Don't recall who it was against but he did it at home, and to top it off, hit a half court shot to finish a phenomenal 1st half. :thumb:

Does anyone remember the total and who they played?

 

Not sure of the total but it was against Newport. I remember the half court shot very clearly..

Didn't Holmes get to the state tournament one year with Jennings (88 or 89)? I thought they won the region and he had a good showing in a state tournament game.

 

Also, I could be wrong but I thought Corey Pouncey was a freshman on the 90 Holmes squad that got to the finals, which would have made him a 7th grader in 88. The older Pounceys were Alphonso at Holmes and Burt at Holy Cross, and 88 sounds about right for them.

 

Nope, C.Pouncy played. I have the press clipping from that night. Terry Boehmker did a story on the game. Holmes polishes off Bellevue in 2nd half. Halftime score was 45-37 Holmes. Holmes scored the last 8 points to go into halftime. Then went on a 12-2 run to start the 3rd. Here is the boxscore from that game. It was my Jr. year.

 

Holmes 19 26 20 26 - 91

Bellevue 14 23 14 23- 74

Holmes

Tupman- 5 6 16, A. Pouncy 6 1 14, Brown 8 2 18, Humphrey 1 1 3, Jennings 12 5 29, Eilers 0 2 2, C Pouncy 4 1 9. Totals 36 18 91

Bellevue

Witte- 2 4 9, Chinn 3 1 7, Berkley 12 5 29, Swope 5 4 14, Thomas 3 0 9, Hollingsworth 1 4 6, Totals 26 18 74

 

Tupman was a frosh that year and I believe C. Pouncy was also. they went to state the year without Jennings as I dont think Bingo ever got down there to be honest.