Player of the game was obviously Ben Watson, he was a monster on the boards and offensively was a force. Birds missed a lot of shots early and lacked intensity but it seemed to pick up late in the 1st period. I thought the Birds 1-8 are solid. Their only weakness is the lack of a dead eye shooter. If they had that I think you would have to put them number 2 behind Holmes. .

 

Stephen K had a rough night but several other Birds picked up the slack. Nice victory for the Birds.

 

What happened to the CovCath Crazies in the 2nd half. It looked like a smattering at best. I heard one cheer from them at the beginning of the game and that was all.

 

Cov Cath is abysmal, Im sorry but this might be the worst CovCath team I have seen in many many years. They turn it over too much and lack any offensive threats. Maile is good offensively because he has hops and gets up high enough to find his smooth release. He hustles and plays hard also. Wellbrock is put together and I dont know why they didnt try to pound it down low to him and Isler. Guard play was not good at all and they do miss Shover but I gotta say even if they had him tonight it would have been a 10 pt HHS victory.

 

 

 

I gotta tell ya, Ryle looked more impressive to me than HHS. But yes they did look solid for this early on in the year. Watson did look very good.

 

Guards are a definite weakness. Turnovers, turnovers and then some. And then some shots that miss completely. They usually completely ignore the big guys down low. Wellbrock and Isler both work hard down low and usually are pretty good about bodying up and producing when they actually do touch it, but no matter how much you tell the guards they don't care lol. Counts and Sorrell today were kinda a lost mess, not sure what that was all about. They are both hit or miss. Sorrell is good for a boat load of three's one day or absolutely nada the next. And Maile has had a couple of off games, but hopefully he gets back into it the next few days. We need some leadership out of him, Isler, and Ives out there

At some point you have to start looking to next season and Mike Listerman is a good judge of when to do that. I am sure lack of getting back on defense had a lot to do with player personell changes also.

 

I would hope he is not already throwing in this towel on this season and "looking towards next season" because he still has his seniors this year to look to. And I don't think they'd appreciate all their hardwork the past years being ignored.

At some point you have to start looking to next season and Mike Listerman is a good judge of when to do that. I am sure lack of getting back on defense had a lot to do with player personell changes also.

 

Are you suggesting that Listerman has given up on this team and is working towards next year? In December?

Something that hasn't really been stated is that CCH lately has constantly gotten solid play out of their 3 and 5 positions (Maile, Wellbrock, Isler), but been hit or miss with their 1,2, and 4. So my question is this: If you're getting solid play out of your 3 and 5, why not start Wellbrock at the 4 instead of Counts and Isler at the 5? I understand Isler isn't exactly in "basketball shape" yet, but eventually Coach L is going to have to realize if they want to be successful, they have to have 2 big guys in together.

Are you suggesting that Listerman has given up on this team and is working towards next year? In December?

 

No not at all but he is a smart guy and games in December arent as crucial as games in Feb/March so why not get some kids some PT. Why try to win meaningless games with 5 or 6 kids. It was clear that HHS was the better team. I cant explain why he subbed only down 5 or 6 though.

Something that hasn't really been stated is that CCH lately has constantly gotten solid play out of their 3 and 5 positions (Maile, Wellbrock, Isler), but been hit or miss with their 1,2, and 4. So my question is this: If you're getting solid play out of your 3 and 5, why not start Wellbrock at the 4 instead of Counts and Isler at the 5? I understand Isler isn't exactly in "basketball shape" yet, but eventually Coach L is going to have to realize if they want to be successful, they have to have 2 big guys in together.

 

I agree, they are solid down low and take up space. Get them the rock and let them atleast earn some FT's. It aint all pretty but it works. Mike needs to realize he doesnt have the talented 3pt shooters he has had in years past who were able to create space and get their shots off. Guys like Bovard, Jacobs, Teirney, Nestheide.

I agree, they are solid down low and take up space. Get them the rock and let them atleast earn some FT's. It aint all pretty but it works. Mike needs to realize he doesnt have the talented 3pt shooters he has had in years past who were able to create space and get their shots off. Guys like Bovard, Jacobs, Teirney, Nestheide.

 

 

lol, by now I hope we're getting the hint. Outside of a good three point shooting game by Sorrell vs Ryle on Friday, we have had a horrendous 3 pt game.

 

Our most success has come when we have big guys on the floor. Having Wellbrock and Isler on the floor opens so much up because they both post up hard and get open. It opens up the outside and clears out the inside for someone to drive if need be.

 

Counts starting just offers nothing positive to the lineup. He is better as a player off the bench to give you a few minutes of power. Don't let him handle the ball though...

Nice win for the Birds. Watson owned the paint tonight:banana:

I was not impressed by Kowoloneck (except for a short time in the early 4th) but Watson was very, very impressive. Big, athletic, and relentless.

I'd like to see the HHS shot chart. It probably looks like one huge dot right under the basket. I can honestly only remember two outside shots and those were in the first half. The bad thing is that the inside shots were rarely contested.

Good point. CCH defensive rebounding was miserable. Too many times the big guys were going for blocked shots and getting out of position

They have to get the ball into the hands of Wellbrock more often in the paint. No excuses for passing up opportunities to get him the ball when he had his man posted.

CCH guards can hardly get the ball up the court, let alone get it inside. Honestly, it has never been a focal point at practice and I don't see that changing any time soon. Even since Votel, getting the ball to the post wasn't a part of the offense.

Was told tonight there is a good chance Shover will be back in action Friday...

 

Unless Mike Shover told you that I would be very skeptical especially if you mean playing in a game.

I did. As much as I hate to say it (), GT is right. I feel so bad for Mitch, though.

Honest opinion, and I know I may catch some crap for this, is I'm really not sure what lineup Listerman put in. Aside from Isler and I believe maybe Maile or one other true varsity player, he had all JV players in. We were only down by 5 or 6 at this point. It was still a good ball game. Then all of a sudden we're down by 13 and it's over. He did not help coach his team to a win tonight.

 

He needs to stop subbing in his entire JV team during the game, because honestly, they need more time at the JV level yet.

 

Vs Ryle Listerman used his best 8 players and it was a good game, they hung in it and it worked. Why revert back to subbing in to your last man? It just didn't make much sense.

The fact that CovCath fans are saying that "we had a good game" in a loss to Ryle shows the fact that this team is way down. I remember two years ago, with two seniors out (me being one of them), CovCath lost by 6 to #1 ranked and future State Champs Scott County. Now, Losses to Ryle are considered good games.

 

Personally, I think some of the JV players need more PT. Heimbrock played well tonight. Thelen needs to be more aggressive but he is, IMO, more talented now (as well as with room for improvement) then the other big guys. If anything, those JV guys don't turn the ball over- Ives, Counts, Pauly, even Maile are all turnover prone. I have never seen so many players pick of their dribble for no reason. Machinot can get the ball up the floor without turning it over.

I was not impressed by Kowoloneck (except for a short time in the early 4th) but Watson was very, very impressive. Big, athletic, and relentless.

 

Good point. CCH defensive rebounding was miserable. Too many times the big guys were going for blocked shots and getting out of position

 

CCH guards can hardly get the ball up the court, let alone get it inside. Honestly, it has never been a focal point at practice and I don't see that changing any time soon. Even since Votel, getting the ball to the post wasn't a part of the offense.

 

 

 

I did. As much as I hate to say it (), GT is right. I feel so bad for Mitch, though.

 

The fact that CovCath fans are saying that "we had a good game" in a loss to Ryle shows the fact that this team is way down. I remember two years ago, with two seniors out (me being one of them), CovCath lost by 6 to #1 ranked and future State Champs Scott County. Now, Losses to Ryle are considered good games.

 

Personally, I think some of the JV players need more PT. Heimbrock played well tonight. Thelen needs to be more aggressive but he is, IMO, more talented now (as well as with room for improvement) then the other big guys. If anything, those JV guys don't turn the ball over- Ives, Counts, Pauly, even Maile are all turnover prone. I have never seen so many players pick of their dribble for no reason. Machinot can get the ball up the floor without turning it over.

 

Ah, I agree with a lot of what you have to say, especially with the guards and the turnovers. But Heimbrock, while playing okay, didn't bring anything to the table. He is okay for a couple minutes, but beyond that he doesn't do much productive. Thelen has done well, but he isn't doing better than the other two big guys. Maybe you haven't been to the games, but the big guys are bodying up down low, drawing fouls, and when they DO get the ball, which I know you know this is rare, they are making something happen. Rebounding can always be improved, but without them rebounding is scarce is existent at all. Thelen tonight couldn't hold on to the ball to save his life. He needs to get tougher. JV is the perfect place to work on his game, but he is not ready for the tempo of varsity yet.

 

The main problem truly is the guards. Even Maile is turning into a turnover liability. It's just a mess out there.

Just an off night for Stephen. He dropped 24/11 on Mason County who knocked off Cincy St. X this weekend and is playing much better.

I watched them plan to spread out across the bleachers thinking they had something funny in mind. Nothing happened, they stayed spread out and they were done for the night...

 

I'm guessing someone floated an air biscuit and sought cover.

Wow, CCH is pretty bad right now. Do they have much room to improve this year. Obviously all teams should get better as the season carries on, but can CCH be a decent team come playoffs?

When coach Listerman watches the tape of the game the one thing that should stick out more than anything is how out of shape several of his players are. I don't know how much better of a team Highlands is, but I can tell you they were in much better physical shape than Covington Catholic.

No it was at some point when they were only down about 5 or 6, Isler, Maschinot, Heimbrock, Wilson, and one other JV player were in and it just blew the game wide open. It was possibly the worst lineup I'd seen Listerman put in this season, and I think his starting lineup stinks. So..I don't know. There are just a lot of kinks to work out this season.

 

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OK. Since my memory was foggy I checked the play by play game log.

 

At 3:06 in the 3rd qtr with Luke, Zack, Trevor, Wilson, and Heimbrock on the floor Ice hit 2 FTs to make the score 38 - 32.

 

Maschinot subbed for Luke.

 

2:52 left - HHS scores to go up 40 - 32.

 

2:22 Thelen subs for Heimbrock

 

1:16 Ives and Wellbrock in for Thelen and Sorrell.

 

So for less than 2 minutes we had Ice, Trevor, Wilson, Maschinot, and Heimbrock/Thelen and the score changed by 2 points.

 

HHS scored with 1:04 left in the 3rd with Ice, Wellbrock, Ives, Maschinot, and Wilson on the floor - now up 10.

 

Scored one more time with same 5 to go up 12 at the end of the qtr.

 

The result of the JV lineup was a net loss of 2 points.

I have never seen so many players pick of their dribble for no reason.

 

You are dead on there. There is no way to get the ball inside if the guy bringing it down the court picks up his dribble just over half court. If the JV guard can get the ball to a position where he can make a pass that will lead to an offensive play, I say put him in. CCH has too many resuce attempts with ball handlers stuck in no-man's land because they picked up their dribble.

 

On another note, someone pointed out the parallels between CCH football and basketball this year. The varsity teams struggle to pull it together and the JV teams have performed well. No matter if that is chemistry or talent, they need to tap into that before this gets too far out of hand.