retropop

Male will become a strong team with time.

I noticed that this week Ballard plays at Butler on Tuesday, at Sacred Heart on Thursday, and at Anderson Co. on Saturday. A number of other top schools play challenging schedules, too. This schedule would be a tough week's work for any team.

I heard from some reliable and level-headed South fans that there was a controversial "non-recognition" by the officials of an attempted timeout call by the South bench with the score tied and the ball in their possession with several seconds remaining in regulation. I do believe that this is not the first time that there has been a controversial end to a game at WV involving the Lady Dragons. Can we get a confirmation or rebuttal of this?

The 7th region is, as always, loaded with good teams and good players. This year there is no prohibitive favorite team to win the trip to Diddle, and several schools are holding tight to their very legitimate hopes of earning the right to make the trip this season. Which ever of these teams and players stay healthy, get hot, and then have good fortune at the proper time, will make the trip. This quite a good list of talented young ladies, the top six of which are seniors and may make a considerable indention upon the Ky All-Star roster. Sacred Heart - DiaJia Ruffin &/or Raven Merriweather Eastern - Madison Raque &/or Jade Spaulding Ballard - Javonna Layfield &/or Aundrea Matchen Manual - Krystal McCune

Don't hold your breath for this to happen.

When a dribbler is advancing the ball, she does not have to go the rim or anywhere in particular or with purpose, but she only needs to veer into any defender who is moving and it will be a defensive foul. We had several called in our last game in which the defender was MOVING BACKWARDS to stay away from the dribbler - and it was still called a foul. A clue, just a simple clue as to what is really a foul and what is not, is what needs to be consistently called. This is simply not happening at the present time. This a different season, and right now we have a very different game compared to what it has been in recent years. Good, bad or indifferent, it is what it is and we will deal with it.

WOW! A statement game???

3]] Wow, the 7th region is well-represented with four teams in the top seven. It looks like another toe-to-toe, knock-down, drag-out season. [/size][/i]

Just how good is NDA this year compared to last year??? They had a banner year last year, absolutely and no doubt about it. So how about this year? Every new coaching change brings a transition period, plus they graduated some significant talent and ability.

What happened to SHA against Jeffersonville? What a shocker.

Love the Farah photo. Very fine indeed.

It will be very, very interesting to see how this plays out over the course of the entire season. When tournament time rolls around, will it still be picky, ticky-tack stuff being called, or will it return to the ways of recent years? That seems to be the $1,000,000 question. At Diddle (and at Rupp for the boys), it often seemed as though the officials really wanted to stay on schedule and have the games run like clockwork.

Helllllooooooo out there! This is one strong wake up call for Eastern's opponents. Dropping 51 first-half points in Mercy is no small task. The Lady Eagles are for real in 2013-14.

TC has been on the cusp of advancing to the 8th region tourney for the past two or three years but has not quite been able to get over the hump. Perhaps this is the year. A timely dose of poise, confidence and resolve at the end of the year may be what they will need to get it done. The 29th district title may be more up for grabs this season than it has been for some time.

Who plays the toughest schedule? Some high-ranked teams have really impressive W-L numbers but play light schedules; some teams post good records despite playing many challenges; while others may stumble several times against top teams only to become hardened, strengthened and ready at tourney time. Again, who will play the toughest schedule in 2013-14?

On at least on other thread it seems that some NKY folks believe that Simon Kenton just might head to Diddle in place of the Lady Bearcats. AC is a well-known quantity, but how good is SK, and can they pull it off?

I cannot give an informed opinion on Marion Co., but you are dead-on about Eastern. They are very good. Last year the 28th district was the toughest district, in the toughest region (7th) in the state. This year the same thing it may also be said.

The Lady Mustangs were somewhat competitive for a few seasons after they split from South Oldham, but they have not been competitive overall, which is a shame because they have a decent sized student population and good facilities. If my memory is correct, I believe they are still looking for their first trip to the 8th region tourney.

It will be very competitive in the 29th this year. South has the recent tradtiion of dominance, and that definitely helped them win last year, while Oldham's lack of success in recent years hindered them. Oldham appears to have the most talent and experience, but that doesn't always translate into the "W" in at the big game at the end of the line. Until the king is dethroned, they still rule, and that hasa been and will continue to be the Lady Dragons until this year's district. My opinion is that is is very much up for grabs between thos two -- again. The bigger question to me is can Trimble break into the party and finally get to the region tourney. They have been hopeful but have not gotten over the hump several times. North Oldham will continue to not be a factor.

You make good points. Although conventional logic often disagrees, many coaches will admit that they have done their best coaching jobs when they have had some of their worst records. Because their talent was down, graduation depleted the roster, injuries, etc. they had to be extremely resourceful to be competitive (Coach Mefford, Coach Stewart, Coach Gilley, Coach Wilhoite all especially come to mind). Smaller school coaches face similar things more often, provided they have no move-ins. Those schools who seem to do that frequently must be judged differently. Also, when North Oldham entered the scene, they were primarily a split-off from South Oldham more so than from Oldham County.

I was just thinking how much of a shift has taken place in the 8th region in the last decade. Think about it. Ten years ago the powers that dominated are either out of the region or have tapered off. Bullitt East, Oldham Co., Scott Co., Shelby Co. - these were the perrenial powers, and only two of them are still competing in the region. Oldham has had hard times in recent years (but may bounce back this year), and Shelby, too; Simon Kenton moved in and has made some noise; Owen Co., South Oldham and Walton have had good runs but may be dropping off a bit; Anderson Co. has been steady and still is strong. All of this is interesting to keep in mind as the 2013-14 looms on the horizon. Just some food for thought.

With that high of a national ranking, why is she not atop the region's top 10 list? Is that an oversight or just that the older kids are so strong?

You better add another group of fillies onto this list of 7th region contenders: EASTERN. They will be a very dangerous and potent group this season, and cannot be overlooked.

[SIZE=3] Add Oldham County's Jenna Kirk to the top 10 list. Although many do not know of her due to moving in prior to last season, she will be a solid contributor and inside force for the Lady Colonels.[/size]

As my old college history prof said: "Two things are certain, continuity and change." It certainly rings true in this case. The new reality is that AAU ball has tipped the scales, and it's definitely at the expense of high school basketball. No, I don't think this is better, but it is the new reality, so live with it we must. But based on your statement, one might gather that kids with the talent to play D1, D2, NAIA etc. has not been happening previously, which is definitely not the case. It's just meant harder work for the recruiters to find them - now we have the hoops buffet. How much money is being coughed up by countless parents seeking the holy grail of "the scholarship." The percentage of scholarship athletes is not high compared to the number of participants. So who is winding up with the money? What is now going on is for the benefit of college recruiting and AAU folks, which IS the bottom line - and this is going to grow and grow. The irony is that, even though this is not an apples to apples comparison, it has keen similarities to the way that men's college basketball has been negatively impacted the the NBA. Although it's not likely that there will ever be a "one and done" entry into college and skip high school (not unless athletes' GPAs and test scores skyrocket with intelligence enhancing drugs), the landscape of men's college basketball has forever changed, and high school basketball has begun to undergo a major change, too. This is the new reality. Some may like it, some may not, but it is what it is. (This topic should become a new thread.)