Bell County, Wayne County and Lincoln County aren't exactly small schools, and I would never use the AP poll as an accurate barometer for determining the top 20 teams, given some of the membership's screwy voting habits.

forum.

 

You've forgotten what this thread is all about. The question was whether or not to create a "AA" tournament. If we were to create a "AA" tournament, these are exactly the kinds of teams that might wind up in such a tournament. And, while I'm certainly not endorsing the AP poll, any team that shows up on the AP poll is going to be a competitive team, which is exactly my point: small(er) schools compete very effectively with larger schools, have for years, and always will.

 

North Oldham doesn't belong in the same discussion with Elliott County, Corbin, Hazard and Shelby Valley, both in terms of enrollment and rankings — those teams are pushing to be in the top 10, and North Oldham isn't.

 

You're missing my point. I wasn't pointing out teams that are top 5, top 10, top 25, or even top 50. This thread isn't a thread to debate what teams in KY are better than others this year. There's plenty of other threads that are doing that... I was just pointing out some schools that are significantly smaller than the "bigs" that are more than holding their own. I could have mentioned any of a number of other smaller schools, but snatched those out of the air.

 

McPapa, thanks for the enrollment info. This further supports my point: fully 20% (4 of 20) teams are represented in BGP's top 20 that have enrollments under 700. Doesn't look like the little guys are doing too bad at all.

 

Now - if you're going to complain that Corbin isn't a "small" school, then I should point out that two of the teams in this week's girls' All-A state tournament have over 600 enrollment... Apparently, those are considered "small" schools...

I can say that this comment is wrong. North Oldham isn't pushing the top 10 due to being a school that has only been around 6 years, not because they aren't good enough. North had one bad game all year to a top 15 team and the other losses have all been on the road and to very good teams.

 

(@ Ballard by 10 in a game that was tied late, by 9 to Henderson County @ Oldham County in a game tied with 2:00 left, by 7 to Owensboro in a game they led with 4 minutes to go, by 2 @ Anderson County in a game they led by 10 with 6:00 left and by 3 @ Bullitt East in a game that saw Bullitt East shoot 35 homer free throws to North's 15)

 

North Oldham is ranked 2nd or 3rd in the state in scoring and has a lot of guns. For a program that is only 6 years old they have come a long way, but is definitely not in the "inner circle" of teams that are always in the top 25. That won't happen for them if they are 15-0 because people don't know nor respect their program.

 

The only thing this program doesn't have is a storied name that keeps them in the discussion every year. They may well be playing in Rupp this year, but even then likely won't get any respect.

 

To say they don't belong in the discussion is total nonsense. They only don't if you continue to base all thoughts on teams on history and tradition versus their play. North has been in every game above and you need only to ask Coach Renner at Ballard his thoughts. They were in a dog fight on opening night and if that game isn't at Ballard then North Oldham has a win versus a top 10 team.

I suspect that North Oldham's exclusion from the top 20 has more to to do with losses like this:

 

A. Henderson County at Oldham County, practically in the Mustangs' backyard

 

B. Owensboro on a neutral court

 

C. A 32-point loss to Muhlenberg North on a neutral court

 

None of those teams are ranked, either.

 

Even one of their recent wins makes me question why North Oldham deserves top-20 consideration. At the Laurel County Hoopfest, the Mustangs were tied in the fourth quarter and eventually beat a decent Marshall County team that was missing their best player, who was out with a sprained ankle.

I suspect that North Oldham's exclusion from the top 20 has more to to do with losses like this:

 

A. Henderson County at Oldham County, practically in the Mustangs' backyard

 

B. Owensboro on a neutral court

 

C. A 32-point loss to Muhlenberg North on a neutral court

 

None of those teams are ranked, either.

 

Even one of their recent wins makes me question why North Oldham deserves top-20 consideration. At the Laurel County Hoopfest, the Mustangs were tied in the fourth quarter and eventually beat a decent Marshall County team that was missing their best player, who was out with a sprained ankle.

 

 

That post wasn't saying they should be in the top 25. It was in response to them not even deserving discussion. Points above are value but Marshall they had an 18 point lead and the Muhlenberg game was simply a bad day for that team. Henderson @ OC is no advantage. No team they have lost to is lower than 2nd in their region. ALL big games have been away from home as well.

That post wasn't saying they should be in the top 25. It was in response to them not even deserving discussion. Points above are value but Marshall they had an 18 point lead and the Muhlenberg game was simply a bad day for that team. Henderson @ OC is no advantage. No team they have lost to is lower than 2nd in their region. ALL big games have been away from home as well.

Marshall was without their best player, and they came back and tied the score in the fourth quarter after being down 18.

 

North Oldham playing Henderson County a few miles across the county is no advantage? Please ...

 

Again, North Oldham is a decent team, but they belong nowhere in the same discussion as Elliott County, Shelby Valley, Corbin and Hazard ... that was my original point.

Marshall was without their best player, and they came back and tied the score in the fourth quarter after being down 18.

 

North Oldham playing Henderson County a few miles across the county is no advantage? Please ...

 

Again, North Oldham is a decent team, but they belong nowhere in the same discussion as Elliott County, Shelby Valley, Corbin and Hazard ... that was my original point.

 

We're WAY OFF THREAD, guys. This thread has nothing to do with rankings of any team.

Bottom line ... if the "AA" schools want their own tournament, they can start it just like the All A Classic did 20 years ago.

Why would they start their own, they are already playing in the All A? Some AAA football schools are in the All A--that's crazy!

You've forgotten what this thread is all about. The question was whether or not to create a "AA" tournament. If we were to create a "AA" tournament, these are exactly the kinds of teams that might wind up in such a tournament. And, while I'm certainly not endorsing the AP poll, any team that shows up on the AP poll is going to be a competitive team, which is exactly my point: small(er) schools compete very effectively with larger schools, have for years, and always will.

 

 

 

You're missing my point. I wasn't pointing out teams that are top 5, top 10, top 25, or even top 50. This thread isn't a thread to debate what teams in KY are better than others this year. There's plenty of other threads that are doing that... I was just pointing out some schools that are significantly smaller than the "bigs" that are more than holding their own. I could have mentioned any of a number of other smaller schools, but snatched those out of the air.

 

McPapa, thanks for the enrollment info. This further supports my point: fully 20% (4 of 20) teams are represented in BGP's top 20 that have enrollments under 700. Doesn't look like the little guys are doing too bad at all.

 

Now - if you're going to complain that Corbin isn't a "small" school, then I should point out that two of the teams in this week's girls' All-A state tournament have over 600 enrollment... Apparently, those are considered "small" schools...

 

That was my motivation for posting the enrollment info - to shed light on that very fact.

 

Four more teams with enrollment under 1,000 are also represented.

Hey if we had a AA State Tournament then schools the size of Montgomery, Clark, and maybe even Saint X or PRP could play in it.

I'm afraid if we head down that road - coming up with a "middle-class" tournament - we're one step away from classes. There's simply no reason for a "AA" unless you're going to classes.

 

And to that - I VOTE NO!

I agree the only way I would go for classes is to have 4 classes. Play and get your 4 winners then class A plays class AA, AAA plays AAAA then two winers for a grand champion. But I would just as soon keep our "Greatest Show On Earth"