Coach Bezold of NKU was there. My guess is he was checking out JJ.

People often point out the failings of Rice and Pittman when it comes to losing their cool so its only fair we comment on both when they maintain it.

 

Rice took a forearm shiver to the jaw from a Newport kid and didn't retaliate. I'm not sure I would have been so calm.

 

Pittman got hammered fairly hard on a breakaway (clean play). It looked like his first instinct was to retaliate verbally but he stopped and went over and gave the kid a fist bump and helped him up.

Casual fan or scout?

 

How tall is Luther?

How tall is Luther?

 

If Pittman is 6'7 then Luther is about 6'3 maybe. Luther got the tip.

 

His pre-game show was quite impressive. Toothpick legs.

Holmes really looked to be together tonight. As said earlier there were several really hard fouls against them which resulted in the Holmes player patting the fouling player on the rear and even helping them up off the floor.

 

 

The only controversy I saw was who sat where on the bench. Always surprised when the sixth and seventh men are down by the water cooler instead of beside the coaches.

Nice pics Panda. Pittman had a few hard jams tonight but the best one of the night was when Ricardo Johnson drove the baseline, Foster tried to jump with him, and he ended up getting posterized as Ric threw it down hard with two hands.

 

JJ also had a pretty nice dunk over Tucker, as you can see from your pics.

 

All in all, I felt Holmes played very well tonight. Newport is just that good. If they had more depth, they'd be a top 3 team in the region, hands down. They have a ton of athleticism and Luther's put back jam was very nice.

 

Holmes pushed their lead out to 7 points a couple times tonight but Newport continued to fight back until late in the game when Holmes stepped up their pressure and got several turnovers in a row to push the lead out far enough to force the Wildcats to start settling for 3 pointers. Newport had a chance to tie when they were down 52-49 but a 3 rimmed out for Luther and Rice got a huge rebound and made one of two to give Holmes a 4 point lead. Holmes closed the game on a 9-2 run to put the game away for good.

 

Very nice game by both teams. Luther is the real deal for Newport. Like Clyde said, kid has really nice hops.

 

The stat of the night though: 3 Holmes players with double doubles

 

Elijah Pittman: 17 points, 11 rebounds

Ricardo Johnson: 15 points, 10 rebounds

Jeremiah Johnson: 12 points, 10 rebounds

People often point out the failings of Rice and Pittman when it comes to losing their cool so its only fair we comment on both when they maintain it.

 

Rice took a forearm shiver to the jaw from a Newport kid and didn't retaliate. I'm not sure I would have been so calm.

 

Pittman got hammered fairly hard on a breakaway (clean play). It looked like his first instinct was to retaliate verbally but he stopped and went over and gave the kid a fist bump and helped him up.

 

I've been trying to tell people all season that Rice has really matured and grown up since last year. He has kept his mouth shut in the games I've seen him and just goes out there and plays ball. He also has quit settling for 3's and started attacking the rim. That has really elevated his game and he's finally starting to look like the top 10 player that many had talked him up to be.

 

I was also pleased to see Pittman keep his cool tonight on the play that you're speaking of. He had an easy breakaway dunk and Sizemore came in and smacked down pretty hard at his arms. It looked like Pittman was gonna go over and say something to him but he went over and gave the kid a smack on the rear instead and complimented him for going hard and not giving up on the play.

 

Clyde, what were your thoughts on Hayes play? I've been really impressed with him at both ends of the floor so far. His quickness is a huge asset for Holmes.

BTW, Foster might not have scored much tonight but he really made Ricardo Johnson work hard on defense. He is extremely quick and there was a play or two where he made Ric stumble back after being crossed. He has very nice handles.

Holmes won this game by 10 but Newport played with them the entire game until the last two minutes. A VERY good game. Newports defence was great tonight. IMO Newport is in the top 5 in my own personal poll. They looked great tonight. If they take smarter shots or make the extra pass in the last two minutes of the game then Newport could have just as easily won this game. Holmes pulled away with this game with about two minutes to go. When the clock was at 2:03 the score was 51-48 Holmes. So you see how close this game was. Very good game by the Cats. They played with Holmes great tonight. I would say if i saw Holmes and Newport play 10 times this year Newport would win 40% or maybe 50% of the games. Also I think if Newports bench was just a man or two deeper they win this game.

Newport's Luther, hands down, has the best hops in NKY.

 

Hands down. He can flat jump out of the gym. The put back dunk he had over #34 on Holmes was by far the best dunk of the night. Also did anyone else notice everybody on one side of the gym stand up with about two minutes to go in the game? They were all standing up looking at something. I couldnt make out what they were looking at. Anybody know? Just curious.

Holmes is still the best team in nky but Newport is second no dis-respect to Boone but Newport is just that good this year.

Holmes won this game by 10 but Newport played with them the entire game until the last two minutes. A VERY good game. Newports defence was great tonight. IMO Newport is in the top 5 in my own personal poll. They looked great tonight. If they take smarter shots or make the extra pass in the last two minutes of the game then Newport could have just as easily won this game. Holmes pulled away with this game with about two minutes to go. When the clock was at 2:03 the score was 51-48 Holmes. So you see how close this game was. Very good game by the Cats. They played with Holmes great tonight. I would say if i saw Holmes and Newport play 10 times this year Newport would win 40% or maybe 50% of the games. Also I think if Newports bench was just a man or two deeper they win this game.

 

I don't know about that. Remember that Holmes played this game without Avery last night too. That makes a big difference having a starter out. Newport can definetly compete with them, but in a 10 game series, I'm not sure if Newport would even beat them twice, let alone 4 or 5 times.

Clyde, what were your thoughts on Hayes play? I've been really impressed with him at both ends of the floor so far. His quickness is a huge asset for Holmes.

 

To be honest, no one off of the bench for the Dogs did a lot for me other than give the starters a blow. None of them shot very well. He and the little kid #3 did show some quickness. Other than Rico hitting a few jumpers, Holmes outside shooting was putrid and that's being kind.

To be honest, no one off of the bench for the Dogs did a lot for me other than give the starters a blow. None of them shot very well. He and the little kid #3 did show some quickness. Other than Rico hitting a few jumpers, Holmes outside shooting was putrid and that's being kind.

 

Holmes inexperience off the bench has shown early in the season.

 

Hayes is the only one off the bench who has provided consistent scoring for Holmes. He's probably averaging around 5 ppg.

 

I didn't think either team shot well from outside last night.