Rainman11

I know the Indy Ice teams are the same organization, one a D1 and one a D2 team. That can't be a lot of fun that they are in the same pool. In Indianapolis a couple of weeks ago, they had to meet in bracket play based on pool play results and they practiced instead of playing the game, because the D1 team would have won easily.

And, forgot to mention, Shane Hall will be joining the Ky Elite 13U as well. He didn't play this past weekend in Indianapolis.

There has been some player movement in this age group. Zach McCormick is back with the Tarheels. Jackson Davis is now playing with KY Elite. There has been one common games among the Legends-Elite-Tarheels this year, and Legends beat the Elite on a last second shot yesterday in Indianapolis. Hard fought game, very competitive game on both sides. All 3 teams will be in St. Louis this weekend. The state tournament should be very good in this age group, and it a toss up between those 3 teams. Not sure if anybody will surface that can compete with them. KY Elite will most likely be at the Battle of the Borders in Louisville.

Second high school is currently under construction but it is a Technical School and no gym is being put on the property. The thought in Scott County is this will be the second high school in the next 10 years.

Harrison has some great talent on the way, I see it as a no brainer to hire Hundley, a class act that has been involved with success in playing and coaching at alot of different levels...

If anybody saw my posts from the game Saturday, this is what I feared. I was hoping I was wrong. This is definitely tough news for Richie, and that is much more important than what it does to Scott County. Let's hope college coaches don't give up on him.

Lafayette over Frankin County was a big upset in the 11th. I know Franklin County was probably the 3rd best, but Lafayette was 11-18. They only made it out of the district because the public school in Lexington won't play Catholic and that district couldn't seed teams. So, a blind draw placed LCA and Lafayette in one semifinal (and Lafayette only won by 2) and Dunbar, Catholic and Tates Creek in the other side playing for one region spot.

Henry County is typically not a factor in region (although they are this year), so there aren't complaints about who hosts the tournament. If they were the region favorite year in and year out, I would venture to say other teams in the 8th might want to make changes.

Scott County shot 8-10 of them late. I thought the officiating changed after the first quarter or so. It seemed like they let a lot go on both ends early, then it tightened up sometime during the second quarter and continued that way. When Lafayette's coach got the technical, it was probably a foul -- at least compared to everything else the officials had been calling. But, for the most part, I thought they were consistent, meaning early they let a lot go on both ends and after that they called it tight on both teams. In the second half, Scott County dominated when Chad Jackson was on the floor. They pushed it out to a 8 or 9 point lead until Jackson got his 4th, then Lafayette took a 3-point lead when Jackson was on the bench. When he returned, Jackson regained dominance. I would say they outscored Lafayette by about 20-22 in the second half with Jackson on the floor. The same thing happened late first quarter when Scott County went to the bench and lost a 12-4 lead in about a minute. I would have like to see Jackson taken out of the game with less than a minute and Lafayette with the ball. He picked up the 3rd foul with 55 seconds left in the half. Guyn didn't do a good job handling the ball today. If Phares remains out (and seeing him walk around and his reactions, I fear the worst, but I certainly hope I am wrong), Guyn must play better for Scott County to win Tuesday night. And, he is obviously capable.

Phares is definitely done. Such a shame for the kid.

Phares out with a knee injury that occurred in first quarter when landing after a block shot. He came back twice for short periods but has been limping noticeably while in the game. When he came out the last time, he appeared to tell the coaches he was done.

AAU now lists a Division III National Tournament on their national website. I read through the new rules and I can't find anything about this division and if it has different qualifications. Anybody know anything about it?

Just an FYI. AAU has a rule with grade exceptions, some don't even have a rule. For example, USSSA is grade based, which means your entire team could be holdbacks. And, middle school basketball is not governed by holdbacks. I believe the entire South Laurel team (at least the kids that played) was made up of holdbacks. Having said that, if you are going to play get used to it. Otherwise, don't play. Scott County had only one holdback for the past 2 years on its team that won the state in 7th grade and made the Final 8 in 8th grade. So, it is possible for a team without holdbacks to compete.

Let's get some facts straight here. 1. KY Elite was not the host team. Their coaches and one player are from Georgetown -- that's it. They entered the tournament just like everyone else. 2. The Wolfpack played 3 games on Sunday to get to the finals and the Elite played 2 (not 4 and 2). The reason the Wolfpack had to play an extra game is they finished 4th in their pool. So, if the Wolfpack would have won another game in their pool, they wouldn't have been "beat to death." They only had themselves to blame for that. 3. And, you do NOT know that one of the Elite's big men is 15, because he is not. Portwood -- the kid I am sure you are speaking here -- is 14 years old and a 7th grade exception. 4. My comment above about the Elite missing 2 of their big men had nothing to do with anything other than the previous post that said they were a big team. I was just saying if their normal lineup is there, they are even bigger. I know the Wolfpack was missing a couple of their players in the finals. Again, the above points are the facts. Another fact, the Wolfpack has a nice team and will do very well in D2 state (at least I heard they were playing D2 state -- correct me if I am wrong). And, they have some nice players, most notably #50. As I told him after the game Sunday, I look forward to hearing more about him down the road in high school. Sorry for what some may perceive as a rant, but I get sick and tired of people posting the same incorrect information over and over and over again on here.

I agree with this. When I have setup a tournament in the past (when all teams advance to single-elimination tournament like this past weekend), I try to match teams competitively in pool play. I think it is not only better for the perceived weaker teams, it also allows the better teams to have a more competitive weekend. Sometimes, though, the organizers don't truly understand who are the better teams.

Actually, the Elite didn't even have two of their big men this past weekend.

Don't forget about South Oldham and RC Celtics (Trinity feeder). Those 2 and Franklin County were all very good school teams. Scott County is putting together their summer school team as we speak, which combines Scott Middle, Royal Spring and Georgetown Middle. That should be a very good group as well.

Couldn't agree more, Timmons would have been hard to guard man-to-man. Like I mentioned earlier, he is a heck of a player. Like I said, if KY Elite had its normal roster intact, some man-to-man would have been played. And, in case anybody is wondering, Franklin County did not play 100% man against Elite either.

Of the 7 kids that played in the semis and finals, 2 were grade exceptions -- Portwood and McCormick. On their normal roster, they have the 3, as allowed in AAU.

You can't always play one defense. The Elite played man most of the time in their first tournament, but played a halfcourt trapping defense most of this weekend, until late second quarter against Franklin County and all game against the Wolfpack -- when they went with a 2-3 defense that had the look of a matchup zone. First of all, as a coach, you have to mix it up to keep the other team (or other coach) off balance and personnel (both yours and the other team) determines what you can do. In my opinion, though, a good offensive team can attack either a zone or a man defense, so it really shouldn't matter what the other team plays.

And, the 13U Ky Elite won the 14U division, beating the Wolfpack 52-35 in the finals. The Elite went on a 20-3 run over a 5-6 minute stretch to take a 37-13 lead and they coasted from there. Portwood from the Elite was the best big man this weekend and the only big man that played on Sunday for Elite. McCormick and Grundy also especially solid weekends for the Elite. #50 from the Wolfpack played well in both games against the Elite and Timmons from Franklin County is a heck of a guard. By the way, The Ville team you are thinking of in the above post is the 14U Ville that finished 6th in the nation last year. So, I agree, if the two teams mee, the Ky Elite 13U would have some problems. The Ky Elite 14U will be the one battling The Ville this April in Lexington.

Rest of pool results ... Madison Colonels beat Wolfpack. RC Celtics beat Knicks and Warren County. Madison Colonels beat Conquistadors. Last game of night Wolfpack beat KY Elite 54-53. Elite was shorthanded with Portwood as the only post. Shane Hall from Johnson County played first 3 games but was sick and missed Wolfpack game. Elite missed 2 front ends in the last minute that would have put it away. Wolfpack overcame 37-24 deficit to win. Having said that, take nothing away from the Wolfpack. They played a good game. No. 50 (I assume the Gallatin Co kid) is a nice player. He scored the game winning basket with a nice move and was a tough guard for the Elite. Wolfpack also shot the ball well from long distance. Portwood missed a 10 footer at the buzzer that would have won it for the Elite. Final 8 should be the Elite vs. Warren Conty, Knicks vs. Franklin County, South Oldham vs. Wolfpack winner vs RC Celtics vs Madison Colonels. The bottom bracket is especially tough.

6-8 (Belter) and 6-5 (Johnson) not there this weekend for KY Elite but they are still 3-0 so far. They beat Flight by about 30, RC Celtics (who were the bigger team) by 3 and Warren County by about 50. They play the Wolfpack later. Ky Elite will win Poll A if Knicks lose to RC Celtics later or win by less than 3. A Knicks win by more than 3 would be a tie in at 3-0 and Knicks win on points. Other Pool A games ... Knicks beat Flight and Paris. Warren County beat Paris. South Oldham won Pool B at 3-0. Wins over Wolfpack, Conquistadors and Franklin County. Franklin beat Madison Colonels and Conquistadors.

Lexington, but I know nothing about them.

From Paris to Georgetown, it is definitely US460, not 62 .... So, from Maysville, you would take 68 to Paris, hit the Paris bypass, go to what I remember is the 2nd light (that is 460), turn right at the light at 460 then follow my earlier directions ... Going over the interstate overpass will trigger everything and immediatly look for the Wendy's (it's about a 1/4 after the overpass) ....