I think we are getting close here. I tend to want to leave Smith and Lorenzen out of these conversations, as they are aberations. You may never see the likes of two athletes of their calber for decades. So do we say that the times of Highlands having legit shots at regional titles is something of the past due to football overwhelming the program? Or do we look at some past regional winners that had few if any footballers and try to find a solution in that vein? As a past HHS bballer, I just hate to resign to the fact that my Bluebird basketball program cannot rise to the prominence of where it once was.

 

All I can say is my kid is doing his best to get the program back to Regional contender status, its his only sport and he works on it 8-9 months a year. I wish there were more that could do this.

I cannot believe that we are still beating this dead horse. I agree with Malachi that there is something wrong, but I am not real sure what it is and how it can be fixed. That right there is the $ 64,000 question.

All I can say is my kid is doing his best to get the program back to Regional contender status, its his only sport and he works on it 8-9 months a year. I wish there were more that could do this.

You may have said something that seperates football from basketball. The football players only had 3 weeks between the state game and the start of winter weights and conditioning. If the football team took 3 or 4 months off you may not have seen a 4peat. Sometime you just have to work harder than your competition.

If the Highlands folks could harness the energy and passion of this thread and direct them to the basketball program, then maybe it would improve. It's probably the same recipe that has proved so successful with the football program.

You may have said something that seperates football from basketball. The football players only had 3 weeks between the state game and the start of winter weights and conditioning. If the football team took 3 or 4 months off you may not have seen a 4peat. Sometime you just have to work harder than your competition.

 

Anything more than 9 months of same sport and burn out sets in.

Just wondering when the honeymoon is over with coach Flynn? Next year looks like it will be another struggle as the JV has problems scoring and if Towles gets a D-1 scholarship he might take the BB season off. I know that it can be cyclical but I dont see things getting better.

I was wondering how long it would take for this thread to resurface after the 29 point performance versus the Breds. It took almost 24 hours. Not bad.

Tonight's game vs Newport will be a key indicator for this program. If the coaches can get them focused and the boys have the mental toughness to bounce back from a demoralizing loss to rival NCC then it will be huge. If they do the opposite then it will be a painful remaining 10 games.

If a small school like NCC (A-AA ) can win with players coming off the football field , surely Highlands can too . Remember Patience is a virtue .

If a small school like NCC (A-AA ) can win with players coming off the football field , surely Highlands can too . Remember Patience is a virtue .

 

Unfortunately only a handful came out for BB this season (Towles, New, Nick True, McCoy).

I think the expectations are a little too high. Highlands has had some success over the last 10 years, despite not winning the region since the Ross/Gino year. No different than Conner, Ryle, Boone Co, St. Henry, Dixie, etc... The Drauds, Lorenzens, Smiths, Neltners don't come along every year. Last year's senior group was very talented but were derailed by injuries to Grubbs and Grote. This year's team is average, Top 10 in NKY if at full strength, but the injury to Stewart has caused the issues mentioned in the NCC thread (guarding the post, changing shots with his height and added scoring threats). His presence opens the offense for the standstill shooters in Egan and Lewis, takes the scoring onus off Crowley and allows Dean to penetrate and dish. The other issue is depth. An 8 man rotation would be better, but you've got to trust 8 guys to get it done. Coach Flynn obviously doesn't have that comfort level with the Sophs yet.

 

Highlands, like most of the teams mentioned above, will have years that they are very successful based on the talent, but for a football school to succeed on the hardwood they need some basketball-only guys to carry the team with their court awareness and basketball knowledge, they need to avoid the injuries of the last two years and Coach Flynn has to sell the right football players to continue to come out.

Unfortunately only a handful came out for BB this season (Towles, New, Nick True, McCoy).

 

You forgot Turner and Collinsworth. Roughly 1/3 of the roster is made up of football players. There simply are not many basketball only players in these classes.

For the old-timers (myself included), let's not forget the climate at HHS is not the same as when Coach Shields arrived on the scene. He was an outstanding coach but he also benefitted from an influx of talent that followed him there and from St Thomas closing a year after he arrived. Despite what we may choose to remember, there were also some lean years.....but Coach Shields was a master at getting the most out of his teams at tourney time. Also, "back in the day" more kids played the sport that was in season and moved on to the next one......in todays world, kids are much more likely to "choose" a sport and not play others, particularly at larger schools. At a smaller school, if you are one of the better athletes, you are expected to play them all (or at least multiple).

At HHS a lot of football players could be a factor on the court but their committment to football is too strong. This is reality.......there is still plenty of talent, but unless you have both, it is going to be hard to compete for regional championships regularly. If they would have had a little better luck with the injury bug in the last few years, this discussion might not be taking place?

Looking at the future, I like the direction they are going with Coach Flynn. I believe you will see some progression in the development of the program but he will still have to fight the "forces at play" at a school like Highlands....he knows what he signed on for. It would be nice to see the community (Ft.Thomas, student body, alumni, former players,etc) to support the program in a positive way and not always looking at it with a critical eye.........just a thought.

Tonight's game vs Newport will be a key indicator for this program. If the coaches can get them focused and the boys have the mental toughness to bounce back from a demoralizing loss to rival NCC then it will be huge. If they do the opposite then it will be a painful remaining 10 games.

 

Tonight's game is nothing more than a confidence builder. Newport is down. Way down. Even without Stewart, the Birds should roll by 25+.

 

A better indicator of the program may be to start to see some improvement on the JV and freshmen levels.

For the old-timers (myself included), let's not forget the climate at HHS is not the same as when Coach Shields arrived on the scene. He was an outstanding coach but he also benefitted from an influx of talent that followed him there and from St Thomas closing a year after he arrived. Despite what we may choose to remember, there were also some lean years.....but Coach Shields was a master at getting the most out of his teams at tourney time. Also, "back in the day" more kids played the sport that was in season and moved on to the next one......in todays world, kids are much more likely to "choose" a sport and not play others, particularly at larger schools. At a smaller school, if you are one of the better athletes, you are expected to play them all (or at least multiple).

At HHS a lot of football players could be a factor on the court but their committment to football is too strong. This is reality.......there is still plenty of talent, but unless you have both, it is going to be hard to compete for regional championships regularly. If they would have had a little better luck with the injury bug in the last few years, this discussion might not be taking place?

Looking at the future, I like the direction they are going with Coach Flynn. I believe you will see some progression in the development of the program but he will still have to fight the "forces at play" at a school like Highlands....he knows what he signed on for. It would be nice to see the community (Ft.Thomas, student body, alumni, former players,etc) to support the program in a positive way and not always looking at it with a critical eye.........just a thought.

 

I will go along with some of this. What I'm not remembering is the influx of talent that came from St. Thomas. I can think of a couple guys, but am failing to come up with any names, when they really started rolling around 1979