I don't know what more you need to be impressed by their post players. Thelen is probably 2nd in NKY in scoring and until yesterday's sub par game, Wellbrock was probably leading NKY in shooting percentage. They both average about 10 rebounds per game. This is the typical example that if you have CovCath on your jersey, you not only are expected to walk on water, you better leave footprints.

Theilen was very good. I was impressed by him. And you can unwad the panties, I'm not knocking on the others. Simply saying after the dunk contest in warmups, I expected them to dominate the post more than they did, especially in the first game of the tournament. And after hearing all the hype in this forum about how defensively outstanding CC is year in and year out, I'm simply surprised they gave up 85. FWIW, I think they are a very talented bunch who will no doubt be much better as tourney time approaches. Seem very well coached. So CCR you can go ahead and put the antennae down. As for the CovCath on your jersey, no one in the AIT seems all that overwhelmed by it.

Theilen was very good. I was impressed by him. And you can unwad the panties, I'm not knocking on the others. Simply saying after the dunk contest in warmups, I expected them to dominate the post more than they did, especially in the first game of the tournament. And after hearing all the hype in this forum about how defensively outstanding CC is year in and year out, I'm simply surprised they gave up 85. FWIW, I think they are a very talented bunch who will no doubt be much better as tourney time approaches. Seem very well coached. So CCR you can go ahead and put the antennae down. As for the CovCath on your jersey, no one in the AIT seems all that overwhelmed by it.

 

Against Glasgow, the post players put up almost 60. Glasgow's points came from the guards. As far as my comment about the jersey, it was about expectations, not results. In Park Hills, the exptations are high no matter who's wearing the jersey.

Against Glasgow, the post players put up almost 60. Glasgow's points came from the guards. As far as my comment about the jersey, it was about expectations, not results. In Park Hills, the exptations are high no matter who's wearing the jersey.

Theilen had 38 of those. Again, he was impressive.

Not sure if it was Coach Gillen or Coach Prosser, but one of those stated something like this:

 

November and December is about finding out who you are, January and February is about becoming the best of who you are, March is for finding out if your best is good enough!

 

I think CovCath has found out who they are. They are a team that will depend upon the post players, Thelen, Wellbrock and to a lesser extent Connelly to score. They are a team that will be an average at best shooting team. They will rely on Wilson or Evans to be the deep threat ( seems like one or the other is on, but very seldom both) and they will be a team with a PG by committee. If they play strong defense and don't turn the ball over they can play with anyone. If they struggle in those areas they can lose to anyone.

 

The old guy stated it well, they need to have more consistent and balanced scoring in the post. Teams will find a way to stop Thelen, especially when they have more than 24 hours to prepare. They need Wellbrock and Connelly to be more consistent offensive threats, and they need to avoid those 3 - 5 minute stretches where they seem to lose their mind, both offensively and defensivley. It seems like in every game they "check out" in either the 3rd or early 4th quarter.

 

For them to be a serious contender they need to improve the Free throw shooting. They are not talented enough to be a 60 -65% free throw team. They need that to be above 70%. I know that is easier said than done, but I also believe that is something that you can improve on. It's tough to get faster or stronger in January and Feb. but you can definitely improve your Free throws.

 

Finally they need to individually and as a team "buy in" to what they are ask to do. If you are ask to be the defensive stopper, and give up scoring opportunities, or to be a 10 minute role player instead of a starter, buy in.

 

Talent wise this is not one of the better CovCath teams, but if they play their roles, and improve in a few areas I can see them being a 16 -17 win team. I think they will be the 2 seed in their district, and possiby winning a game or two in the Region.

 

This (bold) is a recipe for inconsistent results. Point guard is the most important position on the floor. You rarely, if ever, see a good team without a good PG running the show. The bigs can't do their thing if there isn't a PG to control tempo and get the offense into their sets.

This (bold) is a recipe for inconsistent results. Point guard is the most important position on the floor. You rarely, if ever, see a good team without a good PG running the show. The bigs can't do their thing if there isn't a PG to control tempo and get the offense into their sets.

 

I don't disagree. I think that is why you have seen the inconsistent play so far. Unfortunately I don't think they have that one great point guard. Maschinot I think has the most potential, but he also has been inconsistent.

 

I do believe they can go by committee and still be successful, they just have to accept their roles. While I agree that is not the best formula ( one strong PG would be), there is enough talent/potential among the group to make it work.

 

I am just trying be realistic with what I have seen so far from the team. Perhaps Evans/Pauly/Maschinot will step up and be that PG they need, but so far they haven't shown that. At some point you have to recognize what you are and build from there, instead of trying to force feed something you are not.

Was hoping for another NKY final like last season, but I guess you can't keep Ashland out of the finals two years in a row.

Ashland, Mason to AIT finals

 

Ashland — For Ashland, the defensive task was clear.

 

Don’t let the big men score the basketball.

 

The Tomcats succeeded well enough to scoot past Covington Catholic, 63-53, to claim a spot in the Ashland Invitational Tournament championship game tonight, in which they will face Mason County at 8:30 at Anderson Gymnasium.

 

Covington Catholic’s prime post presence, in the form of duo Jake Thelen and Trevor Wellbrock, exploded for 53 combined points in the Colonels’ opening-round win over Glasgow, but Ashland had a game plan to limit that production on Tuesday.

 

“We tried everything we could to not let them enter the ball into the post,” said Ashland coach Buddy Biggs, a 1988 graduate of Covington Catholic. “And if they did, I wanted us to double team them immediately. I thought we did a very good job of that.”

 

Thelen led Covington Catholic (5-5) with 22 points, while Wellbrock struggled from the field and managed only six points. Wellbrock did tally a game-high 12 rebounds.

 

“I wanted to force them to shoot contested jumpers tonight instead of just throwing it inside and scoring,” Biggs said.

 

Covington Catholic shot just 33 percent from the field, and outrebounded an undersized Ashland team by a margin of only four.

 

Ashland (10-1) never trailed in the second half, but the Colonels never totally disappeared.

Some of the post players for CC are more impressive in the warmups with the officials still in the dressing room than when the whistle blows to tip it up. First time I saw them, I was left thinking there was alot more than I witnessed. So, perhaps the above analogy is correct and I will assume that as the season rolls along that some of those kids will develop in roles that will supplement Theilen in the post with added scoring. And frankly, after reading all the hype about the CC teams defensive prowess, I was terribly surprised to see 85 hung on them as well.

 

I don't know who was hyping this year's defense, but this is a CovCath team coming off a year where they did not make the 9th Region tournament for the first time in a long time and had already given up 76 to LexCath earlier in the season. The defensive prowess of previous years was predicated on good guard play and a deliberate style of play. This team is still trying to find an identity, but an overtime win over a good Glasgow team and a solid effort against Ashland in the AIT are nice building blocks. Right now this team is a middle of the pack 9th Region team. Hopefully, by the end of the season, they can be more than that.

I don't know who was hyping this year's defense, but this is a CovCath team coming off a year where they did not make the 9th Region tournament for the first time in a long time and had already given up 76 to LexCath earlier in the season. The defensive prowess of previous years was predicated on good guard play and a deliberate style of play. This team is still trying to find an identity, but an overtime win over a good Glasgow team and a solid effort against Ashland in the AIT are nice building blocks. Right now this team is a middle of the pack 9th Region team. Hopefully, by the end of the season, they can be more than that.

 

I disagree about the defense in year's past being based on a deliberate style of play. It was about ball pressure and rotating on defense.

 

Individually, Covington Catholic may have been at a disadvantage but they had always played well together on both ends of the court.

 

The deliberate style of play rears its head every once in a while, but that was mostly under Coach T.

I disagree about the defense in year's past being based on a deliberate style of play. It was about ball pressure and rotating on defense.

 

Individually, Covington Catholic may have been at a disadvantage but they had always played well together on both ends of the court.

 

The deliberate style of play rears its head every once in a while, but that was mostly under Coach T.

 

I noted the good guard play which would apply the ball pressure out front.

 

And maybe we are disagreeing on what deliberate means. CovCath would/will run if the fast break is there, but nothing is forced. It will never be the NBA style with Listo as coach.