Seems like the only way they will lose could be if a team gets hot from 3-point land. Boone still tries to play inside too much IMO.

 

Hey Eta: What team from KY could possibly get hot from trey land??

Just having some light hearted fun!!! Holmes is on a roll and a very good team!!

Boone probably only goes 6 or 7 deep without a drop off from what I've seen.

 

Highlands can go 9 or 10 deep and be fine because ALL of their players play tough defense. Their depth inside with Grubbs, Dill, and Watson really takes a toll on teams. (See Boone Co.) I feel Highlands matches up better with Holmes because they're just simply more physical than Boone. It takes a physical team to be able to rebound with and defend Holmes and I just don't see Boone being that team. They aren't aggressive enough offensively to get Holmes in foul trouble, which to be honest is the only way I see any NKY team beating them.

 

And I'd say the only player in Boone's lineup more athletic than the Highlands kids would be McFarland over Dill. Popp/Gabbard and Gordon/Grote are pretty much mirror images of one another. Watson is MUCH more athletic than Earls.

 

I know you probably aren't going to agree with me on that assessment, but we'll know more here in about two weeks when Holmes plays both Boone and Highlands in a 5 day span.

 

I agree that Boone needs to get more physical, especially when the refs allow it. Boone has some very good defenders, but a few players still need work. Offensively, I'd say Boone has more offensive depth. But It depends on how the refs call the game. The last Boone/Highlands game resembled a football scrimmage more than basketball, as have many of Highlands games over the last few years, and Boone needs to adjust to the style of play.

 

I don't think either team matches up athletically (e.g. rebounding)) with Holmes. The best chance for either team to beat Holmes is to have a hot shooting night from outside and/or hope one or two Holmes players.

I have just seen Boone County at the Lex Cath tournment, they have no outside shooting, they didnt really attempt many. What's the deal with that? Maybe the couple of games I saw was an bad example. Dont get me wrong they are a good team.

IMO Holmes will lose to a hot shooting team in the regionals.

 

I just don't see anyone in the 9th that could get hot enough to beat Holmes.

 

Holmes is already one of the better 3 point shooting teams in the region. Teams can get hot from outside, but I really don't see any team in the region that can play good enough defense and score consistently enough to knock them off. Seneca (#14 BGP poll) and Henderson Co both shot lights out from outside against Holmes and still lost by double figures. If Holmes loses, it won't be until the state tournament IMO.

 

I think Mike Listerman of CCH said it best with his comment in the Cats Pause Preview:

 

"They are by far the cream of the crop in the region, and one of the most talented teams in the state....I don't know if they can run the table or not, but somebody's going to have to play their best game of the season while Holmes plays it's worst game for them to get beat."

I dont see Holmes losing unless this team from Maryland comes to Kentucky this weekend with some unexpected fire power and stuns them. I think when/if they lose though it certainly won't be because they ran into a team better than them. This is an extremely talented bunch of kids but at times they can let there emotions get the best of them and that can cause some issues, as well as underestimating opponents and playing down to there level, similar to the conner game this season. If they come out on there A game or even B game for that matter I dont see anyone in N.KY. that can beat them. The stretch to watch would be Highlands, Hazard, Boone games because I believe they are the best 3 teams remaining on there schedule and they play them in succession. It will be fun to watch, 33-1 (and avenging the only loss) is incredible. I dont care who you are or who you are playing.

I have just seen Boone County at the Lex Cath tournment, they have no outside shooting, they didnt really attempt many. What's the deal with that? Maybe the couple of games I saw was an bad example. Dont get me wrong they are a good team.

 

Whether or not it is true, I've heard that their coach doesn't want them shooting as many threes this year. Last year, Krohman for Boone burned it up early in the season, and when teams started taking his three-point shooting away, Boone did not adjust and suffered as a result.

 

I think you need good balance between inside and outside game, and you can't pass up open 3s, especially if you can hit them for a good percentage. This should only open up your inside game more.

 

They have a few guards who can shoot threes fairly well if they have the green light and are open.

 

It seems like Boone is trying to work more for inside shots.

 

Boone was 5 for 8 from 3s against Campbell County, which is a decent number. In most games, they have attempted and made only 1 or 2 threes.

I predict a Holmes loss on Febuary 13th. Things have a way of repeating themselves. They have lost to this team 4 out of the last 5.

 

 

:ohbrother:

 

:dancingpa Holmes will kill New Cath by 20+ :dancingpa

:ohbrother:

 

:dancingpa Holmes will kill New Cath by 20+ :dancingpa

 

I don't think Holmes will beat them by 20+ but they should beat them by atleast 15.

Boone probably only goes 6 or 7 deep without a drop off from what I've seen.

 

Highlands can go 9 or 10 deep and be fine because ALL of their players play tough defense. Their depth inside with Grubbs, Dill, and Watson really takes a toll on teams. (See Boone Co.) I feel Highlands matches up better with Holmes because they're just simply more physical than Boone. It takes a physical team to be able to rebound with and defend Holmes and I just don't see Boone being that team. They aren't aggressive enough offensively to get Holmes in foul trouble, which to be honest is the only way I see any NKY team beating them.

 

And I'd say the only player in Boone's lineup more athletic than the Highlands kids would be McFarland over Dill. Popp/Gabbard and Gordon/Grote are pretty much mirror images of one another. Watson is MUCH more athletic than Earls.

 

I know you probably aren't going to agree with me on that assessment, but we'll know more here in about two weeks when Holmes plays both Boone and Highlands in a 5 day span.

 

And the ironic part is that Dill had a nice game against Boone and actually frustrated McFarland (who he guarded most of the game) that led to the Technical. BTW the Dill kid QB'ed for HHS as a frosh and catches for the B-ball team (not too shabby), but I would still agree at this point McFarland would get the nod as a hoopster.

They don't have to worry about another game until they get to Rupp.

Y'know, when this question was first posed, I pretty much bought into the idea that it was a sure thing that Holmes would run the table. With a little help from tonight's game against Ryle and a look at their upcoming schedule, I'm not so sure that is such a sure thing anymore. Sure, they are rated higher than any team left on their schedule, but outside of Cooper and Simon Kenton, I don't think that any of the other games are necessarily going to be a cakewalk. Scott, Dixie, Highlands, Hazard, Boone County, NCC, Campbell County, and Conner are pretty much all starting to hit their stride and you know that each and every team playing Holmes have nothing to lose by taking their best stab at knocking down the giant. Y'know they're all going to be up for this game. That's 8 straight games in a row that Holmes must be on their best because no doubt each team is coming to play and bringing their 'A' game. I think that it's still a great possibility that Holmes will still take them all, but it's starting to look like a more daunting task than it once did. Each game's certain to promise a ferocious atmosphere with the Bulldogs with a big bulls eye on their backs and all the opponents with nothing to lose. Heck, I hate to say it but IMO sometimes in games like these the refs sometimes can tend be a little too human at times too, getting emotionally caught up in the excitement of a possible upset. I'm not saying any one of our wonderful refs would every consider entering a game with such leanings in their mind, but in the heat of given moments, you never know how they can be affected. I've certainly seen remnants of this in the past, but of course you can never prove such a thing. Getting away from all of that though, because I think the bigger threat is my first point of 8 games in a row with ever improving opponents. I look for the next few weeks to be awful interesting.

I think that it might be better for the Bulldogs if they were to lose before the post season, because it's just really hard to go undefeated in the 9th region. Not saying it's impossible as it has happened, but it's hard.

Y'know, when this question was first posed, I pretty much bought into the idea that it was a sure thing that Holmes would run the table. With a little help from tonight's game against Ryle and a look at their upcoming schedule, I'm not so sure that is such a sure thing anymore. Sure, they are rated higher than any team left on their schedule, but outside of Cooper and Simon Kenton, I don't think that any of the other games are necessarily going to be a cakewalk. Scott, Dixie, Highlands, Hazard, Boone County, NCC, Campbell County, and Conner are pretty much all starting to hit their stride and you know that each and every team playing Holmes have nothing to lose by taking their best stab at knocking down the giant. Y'know they're all going to be up for this game. That's 8 straight games in a row that Holmes must be on their best because no doubt each team is coming to play and bringing their 'A' game. I think that it's still a great possibility that Holmes will still take them all, but it's starting to look like a more daunting task than it once did. Each game's certain to promise a ferocious atmosphere with the Bulldogs with a big bulls eye on their backs and all the opponents with nothing to lose. Heck, I hate to say it but IMO sometimes in games like these the refs sometimes can tend be a little too human at times too, getting emotionally caught up in the excitement of a possible upset. I'm not saying any one of our wonderful refs would every consider entering a game with such leanings in their mind, but in the heat of given moments, you never know how they can be affected. I've certainly seen remnants of this in the past, but of course you can never prove such a thing. Getting away from all of that though, because I think the bigger threat is my first point of 8 games in a row with ever improving opponents. I look for the next few weeks to be awful interesting.

 

Holmes toughest remaining games are Highlands, Boone, and Hazard.

 

Holmes will beat NCC, Campbell Co, Scott, and Dixie by 10+. None of those teams have the size or athleticism to contend with Holmes. As far as Conner, I think Holmes may have overlooked them first go around. I see Holmes beating them by around 15 in the second game.

Holmes toughest remaining games are Highlands, Boone, and Hazard.

 

Holmes will beat NCC, Campbell Co, Scott, and Dixie by 10+. None of those teams have the size or athleticism to contend with Holmes. As far as Conner, I think Holmes may have overlooked them first go around. I see Holmes beating them by around 15 in the second game.

 

I agree that some of these teams pose more of a threat than others, but I'm pretty much just displaying the quality of the teams in succession that the Bulldogs have to beat to get it all done. On paper, I say you're probably right on, but I still think each one of em' is gonna give the Bulldogs all they want just to satisfy their own pride of giving it their best shot against a giant. Some of these games might end up a lot closer than you might think because of that little extra effort. Some of them... because some, if not all, also have the chance of getting away and turning into routs. If any of the teams do get past Holmes, it certainly won't be by much, but the Bulldogs certainly are capable of dominating their way to large victories over all of them. I say if the Bulldogs do do it, they've certainly will have earned it. Getting through 8 straight games with formidable opponents, with a bulls eye on your back and having your stamina tested to the limits to get it done is no walk in the park. I'm confident that they can, but still they need to keep awake for every minute of every game because there's a bunch of pesky little fleas out there just looking to get under the Bulldogs collar.

I agree that some of these teams pose more of a threat than others, but I'm pretty much just displaying the quality of the teams in succession that the Bulldogs have to beat to get it all done. On paper, I say you're probably right on, but I still think each one of em' is gonna give the Bulldogs all they want just to satisfy their own pride of giving it their best shot against a giant. Some of these games might end up a lot closer than you might think because of that little extra effort. Some of them... because some, if not all, also have the chance of getting away and turning into routs. If any of the teams do get past Holmes, it certainly won't be by much, but the Bulldogs certainly are capable of dominating their way to large victories over all of them. I say if the Bulldogs do do it, they've certainly will have earned it. Getting through 8 straight games with formidable opponents, with a bulls eye on your back and having your stamina tested to the limits to get it done is no walk in the park. I'm confident that they can, but still they need to keep awake for every minute of every game because there's a bunch of pesky little fleas out there just looking to get under the Bulldogs collar.

 

I agree completely with you. The one biggest thing that should be noted though is in that 8 game stretch, only two of those games are on the road...@ Scott 1/31 and @ Boone 2/10.

 

I don't see any of those other teams being able to knock Holmes off at Holmes. It's tough enough to beat them in your own gym, let alone on the road in a hostile environment.