I never bashed the coach. I'm just stating what I'm hearing. Somerset has underachieved nearly every year, and especially after the All A.

 

Getting Somerset to Richmond?

 

Monticello, Burgin, and Danville isn't the toughest competition. I never said he wasn't a good coach.

 

Here's the thing about that. How many of those other teams are ever a legitimate threat to win their district or one of the top 5-10 teams in the region? Almost never. Somerset however is usually very competative overall in the 12th even though they are one of the smallest schools in Region. Not only that but they've made 3 Finals in the All A so they've done well against good competition when they've made it. If you compare Thacker's record compared to the other programs in the 12th since he's been at Somerset I think you'd find that it stacks up pretty well. That hasn't translated into a lot of success in the main Regional Tourney but honestly how often can a school of Somerset's size be expected to win the Region against the bigger teams? How often have Southwestern and Pulaski won the Region since Thacker's been at Somerset? None. The Region has been dominated by Boyle, Wayne, South Laurel and Lincoln since he's been there. All the other programs have had trouble competing with them.

Here's the thing about that. How many of those other teams are ever a legitimate threat to win their district or one of the top 5-10 teams in the region? Almost never. Somerset however is usually very competative overall in the 12th even though they are one of the smallest schools in Region. Not only that but they've made 3 Finals in the All A so they've done well against good competition when they've made it. If you compare Thacker's record compared to the other programs in the 12th since he's been at Somerset I think you'd find that it stacks up pretty well. That hasn't translated into a lot of success in the main Regional Tourney but honestly how often can a school of Somerset's size be expected to win the Region against the bigger teams? How often have Southwestern and Pulaski won the Region since Thacker's been at Somerset? None. The Region has been dominated by Boyle, Wayne, South Laurel and Lincoln since he's been there. All the other programs have had trouble competing with them.

 

But nearly every year, Somerset has the players and athletes to compete. Each year they're considered one of the best teams in the region, yet they underachieve and fall short of what the main goal should be. I'm sure if you put him as head coach of Monticello, they wouldn't have a much better record than they do now. Don't get me wrong, he is a good coach, but he underachieves when it matters most. Maybe they need Thacker to coach until the All A every year and get a new coach to coach from then onto the postseason. You can't tell me that over the past three or four years that Somerset hasn't underachieved their preseason expectations.

Here's the thing about that. How many of those other teams are ever a legitimate threat to win their district or one of the top 5-10 teams in the region? Almost never. Somerset however is usually very competative overall in the 12th even though they are one of the smallest schools in Region. Not only that but they've made 3 Finals in the All A so they've done well against good competition when they've made it. If you compare Thacker's record compared to the other programs in the 12th since he's been at Somerset I think you'd find that it stacks up pretty well. That hasn't translated into a lot of success in the main Regional Tourney but honestly how often can a school of Somerset's size be expected to win the Region against the bigger teams? How often have Southwestern and Pulaski won the Region since Thacker's been at Somerset? None. The Region has been dominated by Boyle, Wayne, South Laurel and Lincoln since he's been there. All the other programs have had trouble competing with them.

 

Very true

This is for Southern Sports Fan, at least Somerset has made it out of District to go to

the Region the past two years.......... where was McCreary Central ????

 

When Somerset played the past two games against Cumberland and Rockcastle which were two really well played and physical games and they won, there were hardly any comments positive or negative on here, but let them lose a game and everyone wants to blame the coach or the players. They had a bad night and Pulaski had a good night, as everyone knows; that happens. Good Luck next week to all three of the local teams!

Somerset Program- Class and competitive

Coach Thacker- Class! Good Coach and does well for his kids.

District Game vs Pulaksi- Rival Game- anything can happen in those games. Bottom line- They are in region- only 8 teams have a shot at going to Rupp now and they are one of them- what more do you want than a chance. I dont think the people of Somerset can get a better coach for thier program- and to be honest the program is in good shape!

Somerset Program- Class and competitive

Coach Thacker- Class! Good Coach and does well for his kids.

District Game vs Pulaksi- Rival Game- anything can happen in those games. Bottom line- They are in region- only 8 teams have a shot at going to Rupp now and they are one of them- what more do you want than a chance. I dont think the people of Somerset can get a better coach for thier program- and to be honest the program is in good shape!

 

I agree 100%

Pulaski just flat out-played SHS. It was a great game for the Maroons.Once again, the Sr's for PC really stepped up & showed they want to continue to play great basketball. As Somerset goes, I would not want to be the winner of the district that has to play them in the 1st round of the region. This team has the talent to win the 12th, if they can get it all together. Coach Thacker is an outstanding coach & has built that program into a contender every year. I hope he is there as long as he wants to be.

Now, with all that said about coach Thacker, I want to address the "we are a small school, yada,yada..." Yes you are a small school, that gets plenty of help from the county to get kids in your school so you can have these competitive teams. This is no slam on your school, it just seems really convenient when Somerset loses to use that excuse. In basketball, there is no class system at this time so everyone is in the same class, no matter what size the school is.

So please, do not dishonor your school & great coach by trying to use that excuse. Somerset is way to good of a program to have that as an excuse.

Pulaski just flat out-played SHS. It was a great game for the Maroons.Once again, the Sr's for PC really stepped up & showed they want to continue to play great basketball. As Somerset goes, I would not want to be the winner of the district that has to play them in the 1st round of the region. This team has the talent to win the 12th, if they can get it all together. Coach Thacker is an outstanding coach & has built that program into a contender every year. I hope he is there as long as he wants to be.

Now, with all that said about coach Thacker, I want to address the "we are a small school, yada,yada..." Yes you are a small school, that gets plenty of help from the county to get kids in your school so you can have these competitive teams. This is no slam on your school, it just seems really convenient when Somerset loses to use that excuse. In basketball, there is no class system at this time so everyone is in the same class, no matter what size the school is.

So please, do not dishonor your school & great coach by trying to use that excuse. Somerset is way to good of a program to have that as an excuse.

 

 

Since I'm the only one to say anything about school size I can only assume that you are talking about me. If you go back and actually read my posts I made no excuses for Somerset's loss. Here's what I said:

 

Congrats to Pulaski. Last night they simply outhustled and yes, outcoached the Jumpers. It seemed like the Maroons got every loose ball and were just a step quicker than the Jumpers all night.

 

I made no excuses for Somerset's loss due to size. All of my comments were directed at people that wanted to bash and/or call for Coach Thacker's job. Facts are facts, Somerset if one of the smallest 4 schools in the 12 Region and they are consistantly good. They may not be a Regional threat each season but they are usually better than a lot of bigger school systems. As for Pulaski helping to get those students into Somerset, they only allow 250 kids in grades K-12 to pay tuition to attend Somerset. That is less than 20 per grade--how many of those play sports? As far as that goes Somerset has a waiting list of kids to get in--if Pulaski is so gracious why don't they allow all of the kids that want to attend Somerset to pay tuition and go like they used to? The FACT is I didn't use Somerset's school size as an excuse for their loss--instead I used it not to dishonor (your words) our coach but to praise him. The other 3 "All A" sized schools are not a factor most seasons, Somerset is--in spite of being much smaller than the other schools. Congrats on your victory but don't say that the Somerset fans made excuses--there were no swipes made at Pulaski. No excuses for the loss or no trashing of Coach Thacker on my part, you should read the posts closer. To paraphrase your words: Don't dishonor your school and a Coach Flynn by saying that we didn't give the Maroons credit. They earned the victory, they will be a dangerous team next week.

Here's the thing about that. How many of those other teams are ever a legitimate threat to win their district or one of the top 5-10 teams in the region? Almost never. Somerset however is usually very competative overall in the 12th even though they are one of the smallest schools in Region. Not only that but they've made 3 Finals in the All A so they've done well against good competition when they've made it. If you compare Thacker's record compared to the other programs in the 12th since he's been at Somerset I think you'd find that it stacks up pretty well. That hasn't translated into a lot of success in the main Regional Tourney but honestly how often can a school of Somerset's size be expected to win the Region against the bigger teams? How often have Southwestern and Pulaski won the Region since Thacker's been at Somerset? None. The Region has been dominated by Boyle, Wayne, South Laurel and Lincoln since he's been there. All the other programs have had trouble competing with them.

 

 

No one around here has won a region since 1992, when PC did. Two Reasons

 

1) When SW was built (giving this area 3 schools) it spread out the talent, in essence hurting both PC and Somerset.

 

If you put Casey Daulton , Jonathon Edwards, TW Sears, Cory Dixon, Shawn Whitis, and the Perkins brothers on the same team last year, that would have been a Regional championship team that would have played on Saturday in Rupp Arena.

 

2) The elementary feeder system has been broke for sometime. But thanks to Steve Butcher and Jeff Cotheran, we now have the Pulaski County Youth Basketball League this year and that will pay off in the future. Our youngsters are playing in AAU leagues and this will also play off in the future.

Let me put it this way.

 

Swap out Thacker and the Monticello coach and see what happens. Somerset has enough talent and athletes to compete with anyone in the 12th, and they're consistently rated in the top half of region during the preseason. However, after a good start, Thacker's teams usually sputter and fail to post anything in the postseason. I bet you can put Shultz in at Somerset and he would have them in not only in the region tournament every year, but competing for the title.

 

Monticello and Somerset are both 1A schools, enrollment wise. But everyone knows in this region that Somerset has more basketball players and athletes than Monticello could imagine. And many times, Somerset has more players and athletes than the bigger schools (Southwestern, McCreary, Wayne, Pulaski, Casey, Rockcastle).

As for Pulaski helping to get those students into Somerset, they only allow 250 kids in grades K-12 to pay tuition to attend Somerset. That is less than 20 per grade--how many of those play sports?

That is a great question. Just how many athletes at Somerset live in the county & pay tuition? Better yet, take all those athletes from the sports programs & see how Somerset competes w/ the other schools in the region. I will not name any kid @ SHS who does pay tuition, but take a look @ a football or basketball roster & look at the number of kids who live in the county or use a relatives address in the city. People can spin it any way they want but facts are facts, Somerset NEEDS Pulaski more than Pulaski needs Somerset.

The Jumpers have a great basketball team. It just gets old hearing it's a small school, etc... when there is no class system in high school basketball in KY.

As for Pulaski helping to get those students into Somerset, they only allow 250 kids in grades K-12 to pay tuition to attend Somerset. That is less than 20 per grade--how many of those play sports?

That is a great question. Just how many athletes at Somerset live in the county & pay tuition? Better yet, take all those athletes from the sports programs & see how Somerset competes w/ the other schools in the region. I will not name any kid @ SHS who does pay tuition, but take a look @ a football or basketball roster & look at the number of kids who live in the county or use a relatives address in the city. People can spin it any way they want but facts are facts, Somerset NEEDS Pulaski more than Pulaski needs Somerset.

The Jumpers have a great basketball team. It just gets old hearing it's a small school, etc... when there is no class system in high school basketball in KY.

 

There is one player on Somersets varsity roster that pays tuition..

How is it that some can be on that waiting list for years and others can go straight to the top? The problem is Pulaski BOE should be overseeing the tuition list. Sorry mom, one only needs to drive through Eagles Nest and see all the little bunny ears for all your athletes. I don't think they give those out to all kids do they? BTW, Eagles Nest is in the county.

Let me put it this way.

 

Swap out Thacker and the Monticello coach and see what happens. Somerset has enough talent and athletes to compete with anyone in the 12th, and they're consistently rated in the top half of region during the preseason. However, after a good start, Thacker's teams usually sputter and fail to post anything in the postseason. I bet you can put Shultz in at Somerset and he would have them in not only in the region tournament every year, but competing for the title.

Monticello and Somerset are both 1A schools, enrollment wise. But everyone knows in this region that Somerset has more basketball players and athletes than Monticello could imagine. And many times, Somerset has more players and athletes than the bigger schools (Southwestern, McCreary, Wayne, Pulaski, Casey, Rockcastle).

 

If thats how you feel then I guess Coach Jones should be in the same boat.. Atleast Thacker has gotten his team to the region the past couple years.. Maybe if we sent Thacker to MC then he'd at least get them to the region?

 

And I'm pretty sure Somerset is competing for the title this year, they're one of eight teams left..

Coach Jones is far above Coach Thacker on getting things done. Rob Jones has done great things on less talent year in and year out than anyone else in the region. Coach Jones is one of a kind and we need more like him. As far as Monticello's coach, he is a great young coach and gets the most out of what he has to work with. I agree that if he had Somersets talent, he would be hard to beat.