Geez!....or Wow!.....or any other number of exclamations! I had vowed to stay out of this "If's, and's and but's" thread but it has turned rather nasty with a lot of, IMHO, very questionable "facts" and "conclusions" being thrown out.

 

Is this an intense rivalry? Yes, having been on both sides of it I would say it definitely is.

 

But the fact remains, it has been dominated by Boone County. Boone has won 19 of 20 games, the only Ryle win being when Moss was an 8th grader at Ryle and scored 18 points in a 62-51 Ryle win AT Boone County. Of course Boone won the rematch in the district tourney that season by 18 points. It should now be Ryle's turn to step to the plate and reverse the trend. They return all but one player from this season and will definitely be the favorite in Region 9 next year. But it will remain a rivalry and will be as intense as ever.

 

As to Nell Fookes being able to only win with transfers and therefore is overrated as a coach, that's simply ridiculous and the outcry of the folks who are tired of getting their butts kicked by her teams. Sorry, you don't win ~550 games, average 22+ wins per season over 25 years, win 75+% of your games, win 17 district championships, win 9 district championships, be named to the basketball coaches Court of Honor by the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches and the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, be inducted into the Northern Kentucky Athletic Directors Hall of Fame in, be and honored as the Coach of the Decade for the 1990's by the Greater Cincinnati Coaches Association by just getting transfers. Such an assertion is patently.........well to put it bluntly........stupid! By the way, Fookes has been officially notified by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association (NHSACA) of her selection as a 2010 National Coach of the Year Finalist.

 

And speaking of transfers, the statement was made that Oliverio took over a Ryle team that was 9-10 and took them to 21-7 with "basically the same team". That isn't quite correct. The 2007-2008 team had at least Moss, Crittendon, and Jump as new members who were solid contributors, with Moss being the second leading scorer (and second leading rebounder) and Crittendon the fourth leading scorer after both were brought up from the Gray Middle School squad, and Jump was the fifth leading scorer. Hardly the same team and obviously more talented, but a nice coaching job by Oliverio in using young talent.

 

And on with transfers, as though they only occur at Boone. The question was raised "Maybe Nell should be asking herself how Ryle is so close to her in such a short period of time. Not to mention the transfer from Ryle?" The answer? Those maligned transfers. Has anyone checked to see how many Ryle players don't live in the Ryle district? Yeah, I know there is an "explanation" for these but to accuse Boone of using transfers while ignoring the out-of-district players on the Ryle squad is hypocrisy at its best. All schools will have transfers from time to time. They, in and of themselves don't assure winning. Good coaches win and win over long periods of time, transfers or no. Coach Fookes has done that.

 

Coach comparisons? I could get deeply into that because I've seen both up close. But I won't get into direct comparisons for what should be obvious reasons. I will say that I had the same "external view" opinion of Coach Fookes prior to this season. I only saw the yelling and stomping on the sideline and thought I didn't particularly care for that. Interestingly enough, early last season, when Moss was still at Ryle and we were watching a Northern Exposure Tourney game, I asked her, while watching Coach Fookes "in action", "Could you play for her?" and got a quick response "Sure I could".

 

That has proven prophetic because Moss, after absolutely regressing as a player last season, has improved by leaps and bounds this season under Fookes. And I've gotten to see Fookes beyond that "external view" I mentioned. I've found her to be an intense, demanding coach but one who is genuinely interested in her players as students and as people. I'll take that combination every day of the week and twice on Sunday!

 

I recently had a discussion with a sports writer who covers NKY HS sports. He, an impartial observer in terms of having no tie to any of the teams, told me he had the same experience. He initially watched Fookes and thought "I don't think I'd want my daughter playing for her". Then, over time and observing past the obvious, he said he also saw beyond the "external view" and realized all the other things Fookes does and how much she cares about her players.

 

Again, I didn't want to post on this "issue" but found it so one-sided that I just figured I had to have my say.

 

Now I'm going to head to the State Tournament and enjoy whatever the results are for the Boone County Rebels! :walk: It has already been an outstanding season. :thumb:

 

As I remeber correctly Moss and Criitendon joined that team as 8th graders

late Dec. when the team was already 11-1 so the transformation of the program had already taken place. No doubt they had an impact on team though. Wouldn't expect you to do anything different than support the coach that has made everything right for your player.

You are totally correct! One player does not win the game! Each player on the team has a job to do. Who knows if Boone would or would not of won with or without Moss! Sometimes players can pull out wins in situations that are very hard to believe, its called having alot of heart when you play! We are very happy she is at Boone, she is a wonderful person as well as athelete and brings much more to the team than just her athleticism!

 

 

One has to but look at situations where Moss has been out of the line-up, with foul trouble or for whatever reason. The Boone team finds other players to score and rebound and win. They have great senior leadership from players who have been there and those girls know how to lead and to win.

As I remeber correctly Moss and Criitendon joined that team as 8th graders

late Dec. when the team was already 11-1 so the transformation of the program had already taken place. No doubt they had an impact on team though. Wouldn't expect you to do anything different than support the coach that has made everything right for your player.

 

Ryle was 8-1 when they moved up. 8-1 against a rather weak schedule if you look at it, with a 30 point loss to a Glen Este team that was 11-10 for the year. No doubt the transformation was under way. A new coach always brings a new enthusiasm and hope to any program, but the overall season was accomplished with better talent, albeit young, than Ryle was used to having.

 

My point in answering that particular comment was more to get to the influx of non-school district talent into the Ryle program as being a huge key in their distinct improvement. And that only in light of the constant criticism of Coach Fookes for using transfers. I think several other answers here have properly addressed that. Doubt there is any coach out there who wouldn't take a transfer into their program if that happened. And, as I've said before, good programs will attract good players.

 

In particular I am absolutely not trying to minimize or demean the job Coach Oliverio is doing. Again, one has but to look at the results compared to previous seasons to know she deserves a ton of the credit for the improvement.

 

I do not defend Coach Fookes for what she has done for "my player" but rather on the basis of what I see her do as a coach, mentor, and confidant for all her players. "My player" has had no bed of roses as she gets as much tough love as anybody. But she has taken that in the spirit in which it has been given and the improvement and results are there.

Just looking at the Miss Basketball thread; made me wonder. . .

How awesome would it be in a couple of years to maybe have 2 of the top contenders for Miss basketball right here in Northern Kentucky? From the

same school system? In fact, both from Union? Jenna and Sydney both have the potential - looking forward to seeing them live up to it!

Just looking at the Miss Basketball thread; made me wonder. . .

How awesome would it be in a couple of years to maybe have 2 of the top contenders for Miss basketball right here in Northern Kentucky? From the

same school system? In fact, both from Union? Jenna and Sydney both have the potential - looking forward to seeing them live up to it!

 

Now that would be good press!

Just looking at the Miss Basketball thread; made me wonder. . .

How awesome would it be in a couple of years to maybe have 2 of the top contenders for Miss basketball right here in Northern Kentucky? From the

same school system? In fact, both from Union? Jenna and Sydney both have the potential - looking forward to seeing them live up to it!

 

Seems like someone told me there is another stud player in the 12 class but I certainly see these 2 as legit candidates.