Rainman11

I know there are a lot of 8th graders playing high school basketball this year, but none of them are playing for teams the caliber of Holmes. And while I think McClendon is a good player, I think the rating of No. 7 for the class of 2013 in KY is way too high. He may develop into that in the next year or two, but let's slow down thinking he will make any impact at Holmes this year. If it happens, that will not be a good thing for Holmes (something else would have to cause this -- injury, etc.).

When does he turn 14? Is he a grade exception for 13U?

And the Wolfpack's best player from last year is now with KY Elite.

Is the game at 7 or 7:45? The Herald showed 7:45 this morning in the paper, but I thought it was at 7.

Fayette County has a rule -- no school, no games. I know they were closed Tuesday, so that's why Scott County and Dunbar didn't play. Not sure on the Shelby Valley game.

A friend of mine has a theory that all men should be clipped at birth. At age 18, they are given an IQ test and if they pass, then a reversal will happen. If they fail, no children for life. After seeing this, I think my friend is onto something.

Darrell Hicks .... There are a lot of 8th graders playing varsity this year, but I think Hicks is the best of the bunch. About 6-2, 6-3 and can shoot the ball from outside while also controlling the glass. Played for The Ville in AAU. I also hear Clark won't be around that much longer at Shelby County.

That's just wrong!

Here in Scott County we are hoping to a speedy recovery. The doctors said 4-6 weeks and it will be Week 5 when we return from Christmas break. Plus, the weather and a scheduling conflict has cut down on the amount of games SC has had to play (2 games called off so far and tonight's game was moved to Wednesday). We were real shorthanded Saturday with Richardson out and Page was sick, so we play without a true point guard against Grant County. But, Portwood did everything with 28 of the team's 56 points in a nine-point win. I love Richardson's game, but getting varsity playing time next year will be really tough as they only lose Phares and Ford and have Ivey, Walls, Bryant, etc. etc. etc on the way.

Actually, their talent level has been overrated. It has mentioned by other posts regarding the struggles of Euton. I think he might be the most overrated player in the state in a long, long time. Phares struggles against kids his size or bigger and Jackson can only score going to the bucket. Guyn is their best player without a doubt. I still think Euton, Phares and Jackson are good players, I just think the gap in talent between Scott County and the rest of the state has been exaggerated. Having said all that, can they still put it all together and end up being the best team in the state? Without a doubt that can and may happen.

I don't think there is a rule regarding this .... On another note, Richardson for Scott County out up to 6 weeks with hairline fracture in his ankle.

I heard it was a 2 point game at halftime, but Lincoln ran away with it in the second half to win by 15-20 over Royal Spring. The information I got said Lincoln had a really good team and the person had also seen Scott County play and felt Lincoln might be better.

Don't say the rest of the team didn't step up. The press break SC had last night is the same one they have had for years. They trust that their point guard can get open on his own against a double team. IMO it is an awful press break. But it is what it is.

This is actually backwards in your thinking. Portwood's ability on the inside alllows the shooters to get theirs, not the other way. Plus, he sees the floor so well he is able to find the open shooters.

Knox Co beat Scott Co 39-37 today when Cannidy (sp) hit a 15 footer with 15 seconds left. Scott Co had a couple chances to tie in the final seconds but couldn't convert. Knox was up 25-9 late 2nd quarter before SC made a run that tie the score at 31. Was a great early season game. SC played without Portwood due to illness. Sebastian beat LexCath in pool play and will play Knox in the finals at LexCath. Scott Co plays LexCath for 3rd.

Those are great wins for Clinton County, especially in 8th grade as Russell was Final Four last year at state. Having said that, Robertson is a special player and I know when Scott County played them in state everything went through him so it is hard not to struggle without him.

Harrison's 6th is decent. Scott County beat them twice (by 6 and 5) in Harrison's tournament a couple of weeks ago. McKee is at Georgetown Middle and starts 7th grade. Martini is a 7th grader and starts at Scott County. Malesick, who also plays with the SC Wolfpack, starts at point guard for the 6th grade and has been really good so far. The SC 6th grade is 7-1, with the only loss to Lexington Catholic by a LOT. Catholic is really, really good.

Scott County swept Royal Spring last night. The 8th grade was very dominating after a slow first couple of minutes. They took a 6-1 early deficit and outscore Royal Spring by about 25 the rest of the first half and won 54-22. They host Harrison County Thursday, before going to Lexington Catholic Saturday where they will play Lexington Christian and Knox County in pool play. The Knox game should be really fun. Whoever comes out of that 3 team pool (likely the winner of Knox-Scott County) will most likely play Catholic in the championship game.

Scott County slipped past Royal Spring 40-37 last night in 7th grade. I said on a different topic earlier in the season that Scott County would not be great. While Portwood is a stud, they just haven't gotten great contributions from many other kids -- the Daniel kid being the exception. If some of their other kids step up, then maybe that will change down the road. Royal Spring packed it in and tried to do all they could to take Portwood away. He still had 18 and Daniel added 14.

As far as McNeil, it is my understanding he is NOT a grade exception as a 7th grader. But, I agree, some grade exceptions have a huge advantage. Portwood at Scott County has dominated in the 7th grade games that have been played so far. He, of course, also plays 8th grade and does awfully well playing there as well.

Since I was at the game, I know Portwood did not play Saturday in the 8th grade game against Catholic. He did play a little over 2 quarters in the 7th grade game (and all other games during the weekend), but Catholic was winning easily by that point anyway when he tweaked his back. It's been an issue, but with any tweak he sits a little bit. And I was also at the Mason game 7th grade game and Scott County was never threatened in the second half, so I don't understand how Mason gave up early. But, tonight, Portwood did play in the 8th grade game after dominating the 7th grade game. Scott County won by 18 in 7th grade, but Catholic pulled out the victory by 3 in the 8th grade game when Richardson's 3 at the buzzer missed. Scott County -- although it is very, very early -- is not playing near the level they did last year. Of course, last year they also struggled early, they just didn't play the teams the caliber of Catholic and were able to get away with it. Scott County has the talent to bounce back, they just need to find a way to involve more than just Richardson and Portwood, who combined for 38 of the 41 tonight. Last year when they won the state tournament, they had 4 players average in double figures and another one about 7 a game. The big kid from Catholic has really improved. He dominated the paint and their little point guard made 5 3's. So, you have to give all the props to Catholic on this night.

They do have a 6-3 / 6-4 kid, but he is the same one they have always had -- just keeping growing .... Catholic actually beat Scott County by 2 Saturday in a running clock Pan-o-rama at McNabb in 8th grade .... Portwood did not play for Scott County as he has been nursing a back injury all pre-season .... Scott County gets Catholic in SC's season opener tomorrow night .... Portwood is expected to play .... I expect a different outcome tomorrow night once the teams play a full game at full strength, but Catholic has a nice team .... They will do well this year .... Scott County will see a lot of them as they have a potential to play 4 times (3 on schedule and also in the same tournament) ....

The first thing everybody has to keep in mind about the AAU is you are actually playing an AGE level with grade being allowed for 3 exceptions. What that means is you can be in 3rd or 12th (obviously a big exaggeration for my point), but you are eligible first and foremost by the age you are. I had a player on my team for 3-4 years who was a grade older than the rest, but was age eligible. Just keep that in mind when you talk about grade exceptions.

So, Rose Hill is your 2nd favorite school. Although, it would have been easier to say you are a fan of the KY Patriots/OBC Patriots AAU team. I believe all 4 of the transfers played there at one time or another.

I think Lincoln was somewhere in the argument as the best team even before they whipped Wayne. My question would be .... is this a testament to how strong Lincoln really is or did we all overrate Wayne? Scott County plays in a panorama this weekend at McNabb to start this season. They will play McNabb, LexCath and Mason County.