Did I see Kevon in a picture?

When is the draw for region?

 

9:00am Sunday morning and Tristateinternetsports.com will carry it live.

Obviously there is talent. However,don't diminish the challenge that the staff had.

 

That staff has a challenge every year. I think he's done well, but we shouldn't act like he took a team void of talent and made them great. I think he belongs in the discussion, but there are a lot of coaches that would trade him for talent.

That staff has a challenge every year. I think he's done well, but we shouldn't act like he took a team void of talent and made them great. I think he belongs in the discussion, but there are a lot of coaches that would trade him for talent.

 

Outside of Hayes, not one Holmes player was considered top 10 in the region at the beginning of the year. (Although I did say I felt Dontel Rice should be considered and Gray was a darkhorse)

 

The progress that guys like Gray, Coston, Palmer, Knox, Amison, and even Englemon have made is a direct reflection of the work and time that Coach Booher, Wimzie, and Hall have put in with them.

BTW, the Enquirer should be embarassed with their lack of coverage of last nights' game. I get the paper today expecting to see a big article and all I see is a few paragraphs of the Holmes and Notre Dame wins combined together.

 

The St. Henry-Villa Madonna girls game had a bigger story than this game. Absolutely ridiculous.

As an outsider looking in, I'm wondering if folks in the 9th feel an impending sense of doom as to whether Coach Booher and Holmes will be the dominant top "dog" in the Region down the road?

As an outsider looking in, I'm wondering if folks in the 9th feel an impending sense of doom as to whether Coach Booher and Holmes will be the dominant top "dog" in the Region down the road?

 

Holmes has a lot of talent coming up over the next 4 or 5 years....talent that will thrive in Booher's system.

 

Holmes will lose their two leading scorers after this year in Chris Hayes and Jaleel Gray, but return two very talented juniors in 6'5 Dontel Rice and 6'2 Charles Knox as well as a solid role player in Demarco Amison, who sees about 6-8 mpg..

 

The sophomore class has 3 kids that are seeing a lot of minutes right now with 5'11 Quan Palmer starting, 6'0 Bj Coston seeing about 15 mpg, and 6'2 Chris Englemon seeing about 10 mpg now that Peterson is no longer at Holmes.

 

The freshman class is led by 5'10 Keyontae Herndon, who is already dressing varsity and athletic as they come. Kid can jump out of the gym for only being a frosh and 5'10. He reminds me a lot of Duran Jefferson as a frosh, as far as basketball skills go. They also have a kid named Marcus Hill that's in the 6'4-6'5 range, and a very talented guard named Jamonte Wilson that is around 6'0. Another very athletic kid that saw a lot of time in football at the varsity level.

 

The 8th grade class is the next "special class" coming through. They recently won the NKY 8th grade championship and have three very good players, two of which are already in the 6'1 range.

 

With all of Holmes' teams (elementary through varsity) running Booher's system, you're going to see Holmes have a lot of success at the varsity level for years to come.

 

A poster, I believe Colonel Crazy, said it best though... "Holmes is like Highlands in football. They're always good and often great." The biggest problem at Holmes, however, is they have lost a lot of good athletes over the years whether it be to transfer, moving across the river, or other off the court issues. I know of several kids that aren't in school anymore at Holmes that were outstanding players at a young age but fell in with the wrong crowd and saw their bsaketball days cut short (after freshman level) due to off the court issues.

 

Only time will tell though.

Back to the game, Jaleel Gray finished with a double double last night....16 pts, 10 rbs.

Outside of Hayes, not one Holmes player was considered top 10 in the region at the beginning of the year. (Although I did say I felt Dontel Rice should be considered and Gray was a darkhorse)

 

The progress that guys like Gray, Coston, Palmer, Knox, Amison, and even Englemon have made is a direct reflection of the work and time that Coach Booher, Wimzie, and Hall have put in with them.

 

So in your eyes they had 2 of the top 10 players and one that could have been. So talent wasn't lacking which is exactly what I said.

So in your eyes they had 2 of the top 10 players and one that could have been. So talent wasn't lacking which is exactly what I said.

 

It takes more than 3 talented players to win a region. See Holmes last year.

 

This years' team is no where near as talented but they run a system that suits their strengths and they have 4 or 5 kids to go with Gray, Rice, and Hayes that simply play hard all the time.

 

No doubt Coston, Englemon, and Palmer will be tough their senior year but name another team in the region that could have their top player kicked off before the season starts (K. Rice), lose their starting pg mid season (Mayfield), and then lose their 6th man (Peterson) at the end of the season and still have the success Holmes is having.

 

You're seriously not giving Coach Booher and his staff enough credit. Not saying Holmes doesn't have talent, because they do, but it takes more than talent to win. Hard work beats out talent all day, every day. See Newcath against Holmes over the years.

It takes more than 3 talented players to win a region. See Holmes last year.

 

This years' team is no where near as talented but they run a system that suits their strengths and they have 4 or 5 kids to go with Gray, Rice, and Hayes that simply play hard all the time.

 

No doubt Coston, Englemon, and Palmer will be tough their senior year but name another team in the region that could have their top player kicked off before the season starts (K. Rice), lose their starting pg mid season (Mayfield), and then lose their 6th man (Peterson) at the end of the season and still have the success Holmes is having.

 

You're seriously not giving Coach Booher and his staff enough credit. Not saying Holmes doesn't have talent, because they do, but it takes more than talent to win. Hard work beats out talent all day, every day. See Newcath against Holmes over the years.

 

They haven't won anything yet, but I think they're the favorite next week. I didn't take anything away from him or his staff. I said that a lot of coaches in the region would trade talent with him and see hwat happens in the end. How many times has NCC won the 9th lately. I'll take the talent.

So in your eyes they had 2 of the top 10 players and one that could have been. So talent wasn't lacking which is exactly what I said.

 

They have a talent pool that is unequaled in N KY and very deep, however, they had very little varsity experience coming into the season. Hayes got a few minutes last year, but not extensive. A lot of teams had more experience with their starters than Holmes this year. Booher had to coach up a lot of talent with a very tough schedule, hence the inconsistency. Inexperience causes the inconsistency. There has been a lot of good coaching this year, I don't know how you determine the best, but Booher, Chevy, Brannen and others could and should be considered. The starting talent previous to this year at Holmes is rare with a state semi-final loser in 07 State runner up in 08 and state champion in 09, before laying an egg in the regional final last year. No or very few teams in the state had that kind of run in a long time. They are good this year just not top 10 maybe not even 25 in the state due to inexperience and probably less than elite talent, but they are right there with the best in the region. Good for them

As an outsider looking in, I'm wondering if folks in the 9th feel an impending sense of doom as to whether Coach Booher and Holmes will be the dominant top "dog" in the Region down the road?

 

No.

Best of luck to the Dawgs going forward.

I am not sure that their talent pool is deep and unequaled. They have a few kids who have really blossomed this year, but other than that they really don't possess great talent in depth. They have a couple of sophomores who have played adequately and are gaining valuable experience.

They will have more athletes than most NKY schools, but there is a huge difference between being athletic and being skilled.

The big thing for Holmes is to start consistently bringing depth through the program. In high school, you may be able to get away with one good player from each class, but for Holmes they need to consistently bring that depth through.

Far too often, especially over the last couple of years, promising talent has failed to progress from their middle school to the high school.

I believe they lost two of their better kids from their 8th grade team last year to Holy Cross and that team of freshman barely fielded enough players at the finish line this year.

The potential is there which means they haven't done anything yet.

Again, the job Coach Booher has done this year has been terrific. They have essentially followed "Next Man In" theory.

 

A few coaches could be right in the mix for COY. I think Tim Sullivan has done a really good job. Of course Grant Brannen and Ken Chevelier are others.