Game was played like a real game with the JV's scrimmaging at the half for 6 minutes.

 

Breakdown by quarters:

 

Walton: 20-12-18-23-- 73

Holmes: 15-19-19-25-- 78

 

Holmes will scrimmage Scott Co next Sat at 5 at Grant Co.

A few thoughts from the scrimmage:

 

1. Chris Hayes is going to be the most athletic guard in nky this year, hands down. He was absolutely all over the floor at both ends of the floor and skying in for rebounds. There were a few possessions where he got multiple offensive rebounds in a row. It's also not everyday that you see 6'0 guards with one hand put back dunks off missed shots. He had a nice one hand dunk off a missed shot in the third quarter.

 

2. Both teams substituted a lot in the first half which led to A LOT of sloppy play and fouls. I believe there were 16 fouls called in the first quarter alone. This made it very hard for either team to get in a rhythm. In the second half, when both teams stuck to a 7 or 8 man rotation, Holmes seemed to pull away and their press was much more effective.

 

3. Speaking of dunks, Dontel Rice had a pretty nice two hand dunk off a missed shot. The kid's athleticism is off the charts. He makes it look so effortless when he goes up for rebounds. He had a somewhat quiet game scoring wise but did well defensively and grabbing rebounds at both ends of the floor.

 

4. Holmes is going to score a lot of points this year....but they're also going to turn the ball over a lot. Careless mistakes everywhere from playing too fast but I guess that's to be expected with a new team running the uptempo style that Booher likes to run. Second half the Dogs looked better though and went on several nice runs, including a 10-0 run in about a 2 min span to pull away.

 

5. Holmes should have some pretty good depth this year. Quan Palmer is going to be a nice point guard and doesn't play like a soph at all. Dasean Peterson also will be able to provide some nice minutes off the bench at the 3 or 4. Charles Knox was an absolute brut in the second half. His big body caused problems for the bigger Walton defender. He had to have been in double figures by the end of the game. He'll remind a lot of you of Terrence Clark from the 08 team. Jaleel Gray just does it all for the Dogs. Athletic win at 6'3 and also crashes the boards hard. He sent McNeil of Walton about 10 rows up on one 3 point attempt.

 

6. For Walton they had several kids that stood out. Dark haired kid that looked to be about 6'3 got to the rim with some ease and rebounded extremely well. They also had a kid that looked to be in the 6'4-6'5 range with short blonde hair that was pretty rocked up. He was a beast down low. I'd say both big men were in the high teens scoring wise. They had a shorter guard that his several 3's too. He hit a 3 at the buzzer to make the final 78-73, instead of 78-70. Not a bad team by any means. Very scrappy and they weren't afraid to run and press Holmes.

 

Holmes has a lot to work on though if they want to compete with teams like Boone, Dixie, and Conner. Their lack of depth in the front court will hurt them this season. But then again, the way they press and get out and run, opposing teams won't have much time to set up offensively. Holmes applied pressure the entire game and seemed to be in very good shape. One thing's for sure, the Dogs lack "beef' seriously. A lot of "long' athletic kids on this years' version of the Bulldogs.

Wasn't there but have to ask why in #2 you say Holmes pulled away when they outscored the Bearcats by 3 in the second half.

 

No disrespect to the Dogs, but with what they lost, I think they will be in a dogfight to make the region tournament this year. The 35th is tough.

Wasn't there but have to ask why in #2 you say Holmes pulled away when they outscored the Bearcats by 3 in the second half.

 

No disrespect to the Dogs, but with what they lost, I think they will be in a dogfight to make the region tournament this year. The 35th is tough.

 

A sluggish first quarter is what made this a close game.

 

Last three quarters, Holmes outscored Walton by 10. Would've been 13 if not for a half court heave by Walton at the buzzer to end the game.

 

I agree that they'll be in a dogfight to make the region tournament but I think they are better than both Beechwood and Holy Cross. They are a very scrappy athletic team and their press will give a lot of teams problems.

 

Only time will tell. The game against Scott Co next week should give us a better indication of what to expect from Holmes this year.