Shover may have made the game a bit closer, but you can't really think that he would have made it a 5 point game or even anywhere close. CCH was outmatched. It is impossible to beat a team with a tall lineup like that, with your short guard lineup in. And unfortunately CCH is going to live and die by that as it has done in past years. It just won't work as well this year because beyond Shover and Ives, we don't have a guard that can be trusted to control the ball. It is going to be a rough season, esp. with Shover being out.

 

And probably the worst thing of all is that fact that in the first two games alone there have been 36 turnovers..you just can't win games that way. And FT's were bad as well.

 

Mason County just flat out won this game, no question about it. I don't see how Highlands beat them...

 

Ps: CCH needs to develop an offense. Passing around the arc and across to the other side of the arc doesn't seem to be working.

 

 

Exactly!!!! Shover RUNS the offense. They have no other guards that can do that. And I stated this in the predictions thread that losing him also takes away from CCH defensively. He can guard almost any guard in the state. No one else can RUN this offense. Shover is the missing link in the chain and to me there's no question about it. He may not be a top scorer but it takes pressure off of Ives, Maile, and the rest of the squad. It let's Sorrell stray away open as Shover and Maile draw double teams to knock down the deep shot like he's in there for. Sorrell is completely useless without an offense that can create open shots. And if you can't have that offense, you need guards that will consistently penetrate the paint, either shoot their shot, or pass back out to an open shooter. That's what Cov Cath has done in past years with Bovard and Todd Jacobs etc. That's how their success comes. Just giving the ball to Maile and hoping he scores isn't the answer and without Mitch that's what this team is doing. Every now and then I see some light out of Ives but it doesn't stay consistent. Mitch is the peanut butter missing on this PB & J so to speak.

On a side note, I was much more impressed with Downing tonight than I was Middleton. Downing seemed to get to the rack whenever he wanted, was a great defender, and rebounded well. He seems to be the spark that ignites the Royals.

 

Barner played very well down low. He sat out most of the first half in foul trouble but when he got in the second half he made the most of it and scored pretty much at will down low and was very good on the glass.

 

Mason Co is a solid team when at full strength. BTW, Pawsat is a big kid. I didn't realize he was that big until I saw him after the game. Mason Co overall has a very nice team with some decent size. It's tough to defend and score on a team that has a lineup where a 6'4 kid is your smallest player.

 

As for Covcath....well it was pretty ugly. 12 points at halftime after starting the game on a 8-1 run! They seemed to play scared after Mason Co took the lead and got up by a few. Any team with decent size that presses Covcath is going to have a very good chance at getting a lot of easy baskets. The CCH guards don't handle the press well at all.

 

And for the last time...they are not good enough to live and die by the three!!! I've said this since over the summer. When they actually started driving to the basket in the 4th quarter they had a lot of success and started scoring points. That is their strength and Listerman needs to realize you can't go with a 5 guard lineup. Isler and Welbrock need to be in there together or CCH is going to get killed on the boards every game. At one point tonight, Coach L had the entire JV team in there on the floor, it was so bad.

 

 

 

Thelen, after a long JV game, still looked better to me than Isler did. Isler needs more time to get back into basketball shape. It didn't look good for him tonight, especially the technical foul.

Ouch! The talk prior to the game was that Downing would be back. Di he make that much of a difference?

Probably looking at Middleton not Setty. .

 

You're going to have to trust me on this one. They were looking at Setty. Middleton has already committed to Gtown.

 

Ps: CCH needs to develop an offense. Passing around the arc and across to the other side of the arc doesn't seem to be working.

 

You can design all of the offenses you want but if you can't handle the pressure outside you can't get into an offense. They were in a set that called for dribble penetration leading to a layup or a kickout. However, when you can't penetrate it leaves you circling the 3 point line. Its not 3rd grade basketball - we can't set a bunch of picks for our PG and have him dribble in. I'm not sure what offensive sets you can run if you can't handle the pressure at midcourt.

For the Mason County fan missing your bourbon and coke you can find it dripping into the CCH coach's office.

You can design all of the offenses you want but if you can't handle the pressure outside you can't get into an offense. They were in a set that called for dribble penetration leading to a layup or a kickout. However, when you can't penetrate it leaves you circling the 3 point line. Its not 3rd grade basketball - we can't set a bunch of picks for our PG and have him dribble in. I'm not sure what offensive sets you can run if you can't handle the pressure at midcourt.

 

:thumb:

For the Mason County fan who lost his/her bourbon and coke, you can find it dripping into the CCH coach's office.

 

Are yo serious???? WOW

Are yo serious???? WOW

 

"Spirited"

. That is their strength and Listerman needs to realize you can't go with a 5 guard lineup.

 

I don't think there was ever a 5-guard lineup.

Give credit to Jake Thelen tonite. He was effective defensively in the varsity game. I know he had a couple of blocks and a few alterations. He plays hard. He's going to continue to get more PT.

Give credit to Jake Thelen tonite. He was effective defensively in the varsity game. I know he had a couple of blocks and a few alterations. He plays hard. He's going to continue to get more PT.

 

I agree Big Jake did a nice job inside, and played a lot more physical than did the other bigs for CCH.

I agree Big Jake did a nice job inside, and played a lot more physical than did the other bigs for CCH.

 

You obviously weren't watching the same game as me then. Isler was very physical down low and Pawsat was on the ground a few times from being backed down and posted up hard.

You obviously weren't watching the same game as me then. Isler was very physical down low and Pawsat was on the ground a few times from being backed down and posted up hard.

 

There's a difference between pushing and shoving for no reason away from the ball and playing good physical defense. Mason scored at will down low against Isler, Counts, and Wellbrock.

Ouch! The talk prior to the game was that Downing would be back. Di he make that much of a difference?

 

Downing made a HUGE difference. The kid is a player and IMO is better than Middleton. I was very impressed with how well he handled the ball for his size. He just needs to put some weight on. The kid is a stick.