Hey I'd take 19 and 12 with a ring! Instead of 36 and 22 in a loss. And Im not talkin about 96 and 98 because the talent was way up Benders jr. and sr. year. 96 was a pretty good year for talent but there were some upsets in regionals that year.

Hey I'd take 19 and 12 with a ring! Instead of 36 and 22 in a loss.

Vanhoose has a ring, too, with 29 and 27 in the semifinals against Lexington Catholic. It's one of the most memorable performances in Sweet 16 history. Something tells me Vanhoose will be remembered long after Bender.

Isn't this a high school thread? The state of Kentucky is all about hype. That's the reason IN continues to beat us every summer and the majority of folks don't understand why! Ive read countless articles about how Hopson doesnt play hard and this and that but he had a great sr. year and has huge national reputation! Most folks you ask wouldnt put him on their all-state team based on their personal feelings not his on the court play. Just like Bender! 19 and 12 in a Championship game as a sophmore would have the avg player given Mr. Basketball right then. Had D. Miller done it (19 &12 as a soph) nobody else (Hopson or Mack) would have been mentioned. Had Sparks done it as a Soph. he wins it(probably shoulda got it anyway). Folks in the state have won Mr. Basketball or been all state by accomplishing less then Bender:banana:, I do know that!

Isn't this a high school thread? The state of Kentucky is all about hype. That's the reason IN continues to beat us every summer and the majority of folks don't understand why!

Indiana beats us because they have more talent. That isn't very hard to figure out.

Ive read countless articles about how Hopson doesnt play hard and this and that but he had a great sr. year and has huge national reputation! Most folks you ask wouldnt put him on their all-state team based on their personal feelings not his on the court play.

Have you watched Hopson play? Even in big games, state tournament games, he doesn't play hard on both ends of the floor.

 

No one has said he isn't an all-stater, but a lot of us think he didn't deserve to win the Mr. Basketball award, regardless of his McDonald's All-American status.

Just like Bender! 19 and 12 in a Championship game as a sophmore would have the avg player given Mr. Basketball right then. Had D. Miller done it (19 &12 as a soph) nobody else (Hopson or Mack) would have been mentioned. Had Sparks done it as a Soph. he wins it(probably shoulda got it anyway). Folks in the state have won Mr. Basketball or been all state by accomplishing less then Bender:banana:, I do know that!

Is Bender a relative of yours? :lol:

Hey I know I'll never forget him. Dont know him personally and his story was kinda sad but he was overrated to me. That's how I'll always remember him. Good but not great! Ky basketball(vertically challenged) made him who he was. Put him in Atlanta and he's an after thought playing for Mercer or Ga. State! Bender is still a national recruit in Chicago, NY, LA, or GA. Nothing personal against VanHoose just calling it like I see it.

Look Im not from Louisville, a Ballard alum, or a Bender fan. Im a fan of basketball with a realistic view on high school basketball in KY. There are a bunch of overlooked kids every year that dont have the hype of some players that they're better then. Read some of my other posts. I love Ky basketball but until we start changing up things we're leaving out worthy kids. I could play for Caldwell Co. and avg.30 and not get noticed but if I did it for Lex. Catholic I'm all world. Am i really a different player cause of the school name. Sportswriters in the state need to get out and observe the talent and not just write about the same hand full of people. I've seen Hopson play twice jr. and sr. year and he seemed to play harder under the new coach. I'm anxious to see how he does against In because it seems like he plays better against top talent.

I've seen Hopson play twice jr. and sr. year and he seemed to play harder under the new coach. I'm anxious to see how he does against In because it seems like he plays better against top talent.

Just the fact that even you acknowledge that Hopson "seemed to play harder under the new coach" underscores a lot of people's attitude about him. Why should that even be an issue?

Hey I know I'll never forget him. Dont know him personally and his story was kinda sad but he was overrated to me. That's how I'll always remember him. Good but not great! Ky basketball(vertically challenged) made him who he was. Put him in Atlanta and he's an after thought playing for Mercer or Ga. State! Bender is still a national recruit in Chicago, NY, LA, or GA. Nothing personal against VanHoose just calling it like I see it.

For the last time, it didn't matter if Bender was a "national recruit" ... Vanhoose accomplished more throughout his career than Bender did, and with less talent. Period. End of story.

I've been to the KY/IN All-star game in Frankfort and Owensboro and believe it or not most years the talent is very close. Only when IN's been loaded has it really gotten ugly. KY IMO puts some talented kids on the team but they also try to get kids from all over the state to attract fans. To me its not just about winning games. A UK connection is going to bring fans, so if you got that and some statewide hype you're in. Had Stepp walked on at UK he probably makes this years team based on being All-state.(Delph's rep. wasn't big enough state wide IMO). So my point is politics is huge here.

I've been to the KY/IN All-star game in Frankfort and Owensboro and believe it or not most years the talent is very close.

Not in recent years.

KY IMO puts some talented kids on the team but they also try to get kids from all over the state to attract fans. To me its not just about winning games. A UK connection is going to bring fans, so if you got that and some statewide hype you're in.

I have some problems with the selection process sometimes, but Kentucky's talent hasn't been very comparable to Indiana's for the most part since the turn of the century.

Had Stepp walked on at UK he probably makes this years team based on being All-state.(Delph's rep. wasn't big enough state wide IMO). So my point is politics is huge here.

No, Stepp wouldn't have made the team ... there are a lot of guards in this state that are better than him. The same goes for Delph, too.

Not in high school! Only thing he got over him was Mr. Basketball. And Bender shoulda got that. Both got rings. So hey u can't really make that statement. If u wanna get picky neither is in the NBA so it doesnt matter what happened in college. But my focus was high school from the jump! And the big boys in the state yawned at your boy! Tubby woulda let Bender come to Lex!

Not in high school! Only thing he got over him was Mr. Basketball. And Bender shoulda got that. Both got rings. So hey u can't really make that statement. If u wanna get picky neither is in the NBA so it doesnt matter what happened in college. But my focus was high school from the jump! And the big boys in the state yawned at your boy! Tubby woulda let Bender come to Lex!

You keep telling us that Bender was better than Vanhoose. Give us some supporting evidence. Please.

Well most of the posters say Sloan had a terrible try out but he made the team. That's over Edmondson, Moorman, all the Louisville kids, and a host of others. Kids mthat are going to eventually have DI scolarships.

Man I appreciate you keeping this going, I really do. I can talk hoops all day. Anyway I just think he was more talented then VanHoose. And he didnt get his due statewide because of his off the court issues. He accomplished the same things as VanHoose in high school and played against better talent IMO. So why wasnt he Mr. Basketball is my question. Throughout the history of the award if you go to state as a youngster and produce your name is at the top of the list for Mr. Basketball. Unless you do a Bud Mackey the award is yours. No body in his class rose to his level of play statewide. So Benders story shows me that its more then just on the court play that determines KY's post season awards. Just used VanHoose as an example.

Just mention Hopson playing harder this year because most posters say thats their biggest complaint! That's yours right?