Here's the schedule. Looks like a good lineup. Both Varsity and JV scrimmages wil be conducted.

 

10 a.m. Gym 1 Green Co. vs. Grayson Co.

Gym 2 Western Hills vs. Clark Co.

 

1 p.m. Gym 1 Casey Co. vs. Boone Co.

Gym 2 Heath vs. Metcalfe Co.

 

4 p.m. Gym 1 Marion Co. vs. Ryle

Gym 2 Breck Co. vs. N. Laurel

 

7 p.m. Gym 1 E-town vs. Shelby Co.

Gym 2 No Game

Any observations or comments from the days activities at E-town?

Any observations or comments from the days activities at E-town?

 

I watched two of the varsity scrimmages. As in many pre-season scrimmages the scoreboard clears after each quarter but I kept a running total to get to the scores I'll list.

 

In the first game I saw Boone County outscored Casey County by a 54-45 margin. The teams were even at 14 in the first quarter as Casey County sophomore center Megan Pittman was particularly impressive with 10 points, including 6-6 (I believe) from the foul line. Boone County senior Jocelyn Davis had 6 to lead her squad.

 

Boone gained control in the second quarter as Ryle transfer sophomore Sydney Moss had 6 and began to play physical against Pittman, although Pttman got in a good shot to the jaw of the bulkier Moss!

 

The third quarter was interesting as Boone played none of its starters at all and the reserves actually boosted the lead. Boone has a number of sophomores and they played a significant amount of time throughout the game and looked pretty good for the most part.

 

Casey County outscored Boone by 2 in the final stanza as Coach Nell Fookes went away from her traditional man-to-man defense and experimented with the zone. It was obvious that Boone was much better in the man and I suspect that will be what most teams see from the Rebels as the regular season unfolds.

 

Casey County, who was 29-4 last year, lost three starters to graduation and is pretty young. I'd expect them to get better as the season goes on and Pittman is going to be a handfull for anyone that faces Casey.

 

Boone is pretty solid with three returning starters and Moss moving into the lineup. The trio of Davis, Moss, and Heather Sandlin played AAU ball together all summer and they seem to have become very comfortable working together. Moss is an excellent passer and if teams double her down low I'd expect Davis to be the beneficiary of some good feeds.

 

The second game found Ryle coming out hot from three and taking a 2 point lead (16-14) at the quarter over Marion County. Abby Jump had 3-threes in the quarter and Ashley Cheesman added another.

 

Casey County switched to a man in the second quarter and that changed the complexion of the game. Ryle relys a lot on the three and was not able to get the open looks as easily once Marion County switched out of the zone.

 

The final tally was 61-47 Marion County.

 

Ryle did hit several other threes, at least two more by Jump (possibly 3), including a banked 30 footer at the final buzzer that falls on the pure luck side. Jenna Crittendon has several as well but Ryle showed little or no inside game and was badly beaten on the boards. They also had trouble with full court pressure when Marion County went to that. On one occasion Ryle had to call timeout as their guard got double-teamed trapped. After the timeout that same trap occurred again and Ryle turned the ball over and Marion County got a layup out of it.

 

Marion County featured a couple of nice looking freshman players. Kayla Epps, daughter of former UK standout Anthony Epps, played the point and handled the ball and ran the offense very well. She also scored well but was very selective in her shot selection. Epps probably had 3-5 three's, missing only twice I believe and also scored on drives, usually after a steal. Epps also pressured Jump most of the time after that first quarter. Jump did get free on screens for some open threes and hit a couple of nice drives, arching the ball high off the glass over taller defenders, but Epps really made her work.

 

The other freshman for Marion County that had a nice game was Kyvin Goodin-Rogers (daughter of Former Louisville BB standout Tick Rogers). I've seen Goodin-Rogers listed as a pivot but she played a lot on the perimeter and hit a handful of threes, often being set up by Epps. She displayed a quick release and seemed to catch the ball in shooting position. MC also had another player that impressed me but I didn't get a name. She played a lot inside and was a quick jumper who grabbed a number of boards and blocked several shots. She seemed to have a nose for the ball.

 

That's what I can remember from the couple of games I watched.

Didn't see the Boone game. I'm sure they did a lot of good things. The Ryle game was interesting. Marion County is supposed to be one of the best teams in the state and that was before the girl moved in from Lexington. Marion is very long and good rebounders. Ryle plays them again at the Lexington Catholic Tournament and hopefully starter Dawn Johnson will be back. By the way, a thiry foot shot at the buzzer is usually somewhat lucky, but the other 16 points (4 3's) on 6 of 7 shooting plus 4 assists by Jump is skill not luck.

Didn't see the Boone game. I'm sure they did a lot of good things. The Ryle game was interesting. Marion County is supposed to be one of the best teams in the state and that was before the girl moved in from Lexington. Marion is very long and good rebounders. Ryle plays them again at the Lexington Catholic Tournament and hopefully starter Dawn Johnson will be back. By the way, a thiry foot shot at the buzzer is usually somewhat lucky, but the other 16 points (4 3's) on 6 of 7 shooting plus 4 assists by Jump is skill not luck.

 

I think I did point out the high points of what Jump did, although I didn't have complete stats. She, like about any other player in the scrimmages, did some good things and some not so good things. That's to be expected early in the season.

Ryle showed none of their regular offensive sets, played 2-3 zone defense, ( they will play man to man 95% of the time) and held their own against pretty strong competition. They do need to work on their rebounding.

Ryle is not best in region and does not have a shot at beating a team like Marion.

Ryle may not be the best team in the 9th Region but Boone didn't have the most talent top to bottom last year in the region. They had the best player, but Highlands had the most talent. I guess that's why they play the games. As far as beating a team like Marion, not many people will. They're very good. I do know this, Ryle plays a schedule that will expose them to many different styles of play and different talent levels. I think you would agree that Marion is as tough as anyone in the 9th Region. Remember, the season starts in February.

I didn't say, nor did I hear anyone else say, that Ryle is the best team in the 9th Region. They are among 4 or 5 contenders for the Regional Crown this year. About having a chance to beat Marion County? Hopefully we''l get a chance to see come Tourney time.

Did Marion County have all there players? I thought I read on here somewhere that they would be short 2 starters for the scrimmage.

Ryle showed none of their regular offensive sets, played 2-3 zone defense, ( they will play man to man 95% of the time) and held their own against pretty strong competition. They do need to work on their rebounding.

 

I suspect the reason they played zone is because of tough match-ups.

Did Marion County have all there players? I thought I read on here somewhere that they would be short 2 starters for the scrimmage.

 

I'm not totally familiar with Marion County but I think they did have what I believe are their top three players, all starters from last season, Kayla Epps, Kyvin Goodin-Rogers, and Breanna Elder who is the player whose name I didn't pick up in my original scrimmage report. In viewing articles in the Louisville Courier Journal I recognized her picture so I'm sure she played.

I suspect the reason they played zone is because of tough match-ups.

 

I had heard that, since Ryle plays Marion County later in the season, they wouldn't show everything. I suspect most teams don't show everything they have in scrimmage games.

 

Based on the comparative athleticism I saw in that scrimmage, I agree with you that in man-to-man Ryle would find the going even tougher against MC. Guess we'll see when they meet later.