I don't know too much about Sewell, but his stats are unreal. If he's better than Justice though, I'd love to see him play.

I'd vote Jarrod Polson myself, but I am admittedly biased towards my region. He held his own against Justice and Justice's success compared with Polson's is a wash, IMO. Polson did a whole lot more with less. Give Polson Hatfield and Newsome and Polson wins state and everyone is talking about Polson and not Justice.

 

My 2 cents.

 

I'd take Polson everyday over Justice. Until the 4th quarter, Justice could do nothing against Ballard. Hatfield and Newsome carried Shelby Valley the first 3 quarters.

 

Ballard's game plan was to force Justice to give the ball up and make someone else beat them...double teams, running guys at him, whatever it took. Typically, guys don't fare great offensively when the opponents game plan is dedicated to getting the ball out of his hands and letting other guys shoot. The Valley players delivered and made Ballard pay, but they were put in favorable positions simply because Elisha Justice was on the court.

 

:idunno:

 

I'm not sure what Polson has in his resume to match a state title, but he was a great player who showed up big two years in a row at Rupp.

Near the end of the season, I would've went with the kid from Trinity. Now, Justice should be served, IMO.

 

When a Mr. Basketball front-runner leads his team to a title and plays the way Justice did, I don't see how you could vote against him.

 

JMO:idunno:

I would have to assume that a lot of coaches around the state attended the state tournament given they got a free trip. Given that coaches vote for the award I am sure that a lot of coaches that never got to see other players outside their region saw Justice last weekend @ Rupp. All of this aside I believe Justice probably deserves the award based on a full season's work including the state tournament. It is not his fault that Shelby Valley did not play the schedule that others did. He played the hand dealt to him and did an excellent job with it.

I would have to assume that a lot of coaches around the state attended the state tournament given they got a free trip. Given that coaches vote for the award I am sure that a lot of coaches that never got to see other players outside their region saw Justice last weekend @ Rupp. All of this aside I believe Justice probably deserves the award based on a full season's work including the state tournament. It is not his fault that Shelby Valley did not play the schedule that others did. He played the hand dealt to him and did an excellent job with it.

 

They were never really in doubt against Ballard, that should help.

Sure sure. Shelby Valley was the better team PERIOD, not just "that night". The hatred for SV and their state championship is laughable.

 

They worked for this since middle school, when Justice, Hatfield, Newsome, (and others?) were held back.

 

The extra year definitely did not hurt. It can be comparable to a team of seniors playing against a team of juniors when there are several hold-backs on a team.

They were never really in doubt against Ballard, that should help.

 

They also traveled to Louisville and beat J'town to close the season...they beat two of the top teams from the state's toughest region.

 

Just like every other year, people can debate who the best team was if they wish, but Shelby Valley proved to be the best when it meant the most.

People saying that other players carried him in the finals cracks me up. Do you think the others would had got those open looks if he was not being doubled and triple teamed? What I saw was a frustrated Bruin team watching Justice single-handly breaking their full court pressure and finding the open man. Oh yeah, I think he had 18 pts to boot. Lets not forget his other 3 games that hovered around the 30 pt range. This yrs Mr Basketball is a no-brainer.

I was one who had said that Josh Sewell was the best player in the state all year, but after what happened in Lexington this past week I would have to vote for Justice. You can say regular season all you want, they vote on the award after the sweet sixteen for a reason. Justice has earned the award IMO.

Ballard's game plan was to force Justice to give the ball up and make someone else beat them...double teams, running guys at him, whatever it took. Typically, guys don't fare great offensively when the opponents game plan is dedicated to getting the ball out of his hands and letting other guys shoot. The Valley players delivered and made Ballard pay, but they were put in favorable positions simply because Elisha Justice was on the court.

 

:idunno:

 

I'm not sure what Polson has in his resume to match a state title, but he was a great player who showed up big two years in a row at Rupp.

 

Jarrod Polson always delivered. Always....regardless of the game plan. To this day the game plan against West Jessamine was pray his teammates didn't deliver because Polson always did. The Valley players, not just Justice, but the whole team is responsible for that state title. As great as Polson is, he can't beat Valley or Ballard by himself. Justice couldn't do it by himself either. Without Newsome and Hatfield he has no ring.

 

Again, I am not saying Justice isn't deserving. He is definitely more deserving than Sewell, imo, I am just making a case for Polson(the only player all week who got a standing ovation from the entire crowd and not just his home fans when he came out of his last game).

People saying that other players carried him in the finals cracks me up. Do you think the others would had got those open looks if he was not being doubled and triple teamed? What I saw was a frustrated Bruin team watching Justice single-handly breaking their full court pressure and finding the open man. Oh yeah, I think he had 18 pts to boot. Lets not forget his other 3 games that hovered around the 30 pt range. This yrs Mr Basketball is a no-brainer.

 

What I saw was a kid struggle offensively for 3 quarters. To his credit he did not force any bad shots, but he wasn't making the ones he took the same way he made them the 3 previous games. Hatfield and Newsome both knocked down their shots and and free throws and they also helped Justice single handedly break the Bruin press by bringing the ball up the court on more than one occasion. For their size their ball handling skills were impressive, btw. What kills me is everyone acting like Justice did it all in the finals when truth be told he did his damage when the game was well in Valley's hands, IMO and it's because of his teammates that Valley was beating the Bruins the way they were. How many assists did he end up with? He only had 2 at halftime.

Without Newsome and Hatfield he has no ring.

 

Don't forget Newsome, Varney, Ramey, and Tackett. But this story goes both ways... without Justice none of the other guys have a ring either. It was obvious that Ballard's gameplan was to take the ball out of Justice's hands, and make the other guys try to beat them... Justice is smart enough to understand that and had confidence in his teammates to pick up their games offensively. That is part of what makes Elisha such a good player. He could have tried to force offense to get points, but his understanding of the game is better than that. And that is evidenced by the fact that SV was able to come away with a state title... :thumb:

Jarrod Polson always delivered. Always....regardless of the game plan. To this day the game plan against West Jessamine was pray his teammates didn't deliver because Polson always did. The Valley players, not just Justice, but the whole team is responsible for that state title. As great as Polson is, he can't beat Valley or Ballard by himself. Justice couldn't do it by himself either. Without Newsome and Hatfield he has no ring.

 

Again, I am not saying Justice isn't deserving. He is definitely more deserving than Sewell, imo, I am just making a case for Polson(the only player all week who got a standing ovation from the entire crowd and not just his home fans when he came out of his last game).

 

No one can do it on their own. How many championships does Jordan have without Pippen?

Don't forget Newsome, Varney, Ramey, and Tackett. But this story goes both ways... without Justice none of the other guys have a ring either. It was obvious that Ballard's gameplan was to take the ball out of Justice's hands, and make the other guys try to beat them... Justice is smart enough to understand that and had confidence in his teammates to pick up their games offensively. That is part of what makes Elisha such a good player. He could have tried to force offense to get points, but his understanding of the game is better than that. And that is evidenced by the fact that SV was able to come away with a state title... :thumb:

 

:thumb:

If I had to make a list for this award it would look like this:

 

1. Justice - Valley

2. Sewell - Trinity

3. Johnson - Holmes

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Polson - W. Jess.

5. Everyone Else