No way anyone saying Jake Geisler is not athletic saw him play against the very athletic Bulldogs tonight. The kid is athletic. Period end of story. Want to come up with your list of more athletic centers, start your own thread and have a ball.

 

I agree, absolutely incredible action from Geisler.

Rice for Holmes did not show up tonight, 0 points and very few boards. He did sit about 13 minutes the first half with 2 fouls but I don't believe he picked up the 3rd foul and he might as well have stayed on the bench the second half. Peterson did a pretty good job in Rice's abscence but he was about the only one off the bench that helped much. Palmer played a lot but couldn't throw it in the ocean tonight. He was not the same shooter tonight that I have seen in other Holmes games this season. They had a lot of good 3 looks but for some reason seemed reluctant to take them the second half.

 

Senior center Jake Giesler scored 24 points as Newport Central Catholic edged Holmes, 55-53 in a Lloyd Invitational semifinal on Wednesday.

 

Giesler poured in 10 of those points in the fourth quarter to help the Thoroughbreds erase a four-point deficit.

 

NewCath will play Fern Creek in the final at 8 p.m. on Thursday.

 

NEWCATH 11-14-11-19—55

HOLMES 11-12-17-13—53

 

NEWCATH (5-2): Buter 2 1 6, Hightchew 5 0 10, Ryan 2 1 7, Giesler 10 4 24, Miller 2 0 4, Doyle 2 0 4. Totals 23 6 55.

 

HOLMES (7-4): Peterson 5 0 10, Hayes 4 3 13, Gray 6 0 12, Greis 2 0 4, Palmer 1 0 2, Knox 1 2 4, Mayfield 3 0 6, Coston 1 0 2. Totals 23 5 53.

 

3-pointers: NCC—Ryan 2, Buter. H—Hayes 2.

 

Holmes can't win if Rice doesn't show up to play. Hayes is probably their best player, but Rice is the difference-maker. Disappointing effort from him tonight.

All pics from semi finals at Lloyd

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=50152&id=100000001760626&l=648a041230

Disappointing loss for Holmes. I felt like in the last 2 or 3 minutes of the game they simply gave Newcath the game.

 

With time ticking under a minute to play and Holmes with the ball and 1 point lead, instead of holding and going in a 4 corner offense, Mayfield was dribbling out top out of control. Beuter almost stole it from him several times then when he actually did pass it, he drove toward Gray on the wing and a bad pass caused Gray to travel and turn it over. In that situation, you need the ball in Gray and Hayes hands. No disrespect to Mayfield, but both are much better ball handlers and would've handled the pressure better, IMO. Holmes really needs to learn how to finish. 3 losses this season have come by a combined 7 points.

 

At that point, I knew Newcath was going to win because Holmes had no answer for Geisler at the other end. Geisler was a man among boys down low last night. Simply too big and strong.

 

I noticed that neither Gray, or Rice, played much in the second quarter. That really hurt Holmes, IMO. Newcath was able to go on a run and head in to the locker room with a 2 point lead. Neither team led by more than 6 in this one.

 

Holmes really needs to work on their ball movement against the zone. There were several possessions where Newcath forced Holmes to wait atleast 30 seconds to get a shot off. Gray and Hayes were the only two who attacked the zone.

 

Hightchew was very impressive last night as well. He is much faster than I thought and his penetration opened up a lot of things both for himself and his teammates.

 

In the end, typical Newcath/Holmes game. Give credit to Coach Brannen and his staff. He flat out knows how to coach against Holmes and he really knows how to control the tempo of the game against them.

 

Can't wait for these two to meet again in February. I expect another battle.

I don't think he is athletic...just big and stays underneath the basket

 

He is athletic. He's not Doelman, but he moves his feet well and uses his body. That is athletic.

All you guys kill me. For one, I never saw Brock and Doellman play in t he 9th. Too busy running St. Pius girls basketball and watching my own kids, so don't tell me what I remember. Plus, I don't think they played Jake's position, so don't confuse tall men with big men. If you don't think Geisler is athletic with the ball then you don't watch him very closely. He brought the ball up against the press like a guard. He also did a half spin move and then drove to the basket and made a scoop shot like a guard. PLEASE get off the Doellman/Brock comparisons.

 

Doellman and Brock both played the 5 - Brock moreso than Doellman. Doellman beat CCH in 02 or 03 bringing the ball up against the press. Brock could jump out of the gym and play on the wing if needed.

 

If your timeline is 2004 I'd say BVotel was more athletic.

Is Geisler the best big man in N. Ky.? I am sure the CCH crowd will argue for Thelen. Boone Co. might say Brown. Ryle has Stauffer. Dixie has Pike. I am not sure anyone of those, or anyone else, are better than Geisler.

 

It is definitely a strong year for the 5 position this year in NKY. I'd say Geisler,Thelen, Brown, and Stauffer could be #1 with Pike coming up behind them.

Doellman and Brock both played the 5 - Brock moreso than Doellman. Doellman beat CCH in 02 or 03 bringing the ball up against the press. Brock could jump out of the gym and play on the wing if needed.

 

If your timeline is 2004 I'd say BVotel was more athletic.

 

Doellman beat CCH in '02 at Conner.

 

I haven't seen Geisler play. I'm not doubting his athletic ability, but I would guess that Brennan Votel was more athletic as well. He was 6'7'' and basically had guard skills. Not taking anything away from Geisler though, as it sounds like he's talented as well. I'll have to check out NCC play sometime this season.

Doellman beat CCH in '02 at Conner.

 

I haven't seen Geisler play. I'm not doubting his athletic ability, but I would guess that Brennan Votel was more athletic as well. He was 6'7'' and basically had guard skills. Not taking anything away from Geisler though, as it sounds like he's talented as well. I'll have to check out NCC play sometime this season.

 

Doellman used to bring the ball up the court regularly.

It is definitely a strong year for the 5 position this year in NKY. I'd say Geisler,Thelen, Brown, and Stauffer could be #1 with Pike coming up behind them.

I agree with you Clyde. The 5 mentioned players could easily vie for the top big man in the region, but they are only going to be as good as the guards that bring the ball up and feed them when they're open. I've watched this group of boys for some years now and can easily say they all work very hard to earn every basket and every rebound. There's no clear cut #1 big man until the regionals final game, and IMO, stats are not so important if you can't help your TEAM advance.

All you guys kill me. For one, I never saw Brock and Doellman play in t he 9th. Too busy running St. Pius girls basketball and watching my own kids, so don't tell me what I remember. Plus, I don't think they played Jake's position, so don't confuse tall men with big men. If you don't think Geisler is athletic with the ball then you don't watch him very closely. He brought the ball up against the press like a guard. He also did a half spin move and then drove to the basket and made a scoop shot like a guard. PLEASE get off the Doellman/Brock comparisons.

 

I wasn't comparing Geisler to Doellman or Brock...there is no comparison. I watched Geisler last yr and the game last night against Holmes and he didn't look athletic to me. He looks like a big & strong body, smart kid who knows his strength is to stay around the basket on offense and defense. You have your opinion and other people have theirs.

Is Geisler the best big man in N. Ky.? I am sure the CCH crowd will argue for Thelen. Boone Co. might say Brown. Ryle has Stauffer. Dixie has Pike. I am not sure anyone of those, or anyone else, are better than Geisler.

 

Each one has the ability to shine and take over a game. There's several factors you need to look at. IMO, no one big mentioned is much better than the other and it depends on who's defending them also.

We'll get a better feel for just how athletic Geisler is tonight when he goes against 6'9 Warren of Fern Creek. He is receiving interest from UT-Martin, EKU, and Austin Peay according to Coach Layfield.

 

Let's not forget that Geisler was being defended by 6'2 Knox and 6'4 Rice much of the night. Most of the time when he was dribbling last night, people would simply get out of his way because he's like a freight train with the ball.

Make it stop. Only on BGP could this discussion turn into an argument about who I remember to be an athletic big man or not. Once again, I did not see Doellman or Brock play the 5. Anyone that did not see Geisler play last night, keep to yourselves how athletic he looked. Or watch the replay then come back to the discussion. paNDA backs me up. That's all I need.