retropop

Since AC will host the 8th region tourney in 2012, give them the nod as the favorite to make it to Diddle. Lots of folks would say that Lawrenceburg is an unforgiving place for opponents to visit.

This has been a good group of players for several years, with numerous players being front line players for their teams for their entire high school careers. But ... how will the play when they battle their Indiana counterparts in 2012? Is there enough size? There are lots of perimeter players on this list.

Whatever needs to be done will probably get done by newly named Coach Small. With his proven track record as a coach, plus his current contact with the Basketball Academy, look for Assumption to be a talent destination and a reinnvigorated metro-Louisville program that will shake up the local pecking order. It will be interesting to watch how it all plays out.

DC, it beats the heck out of me, but it would be interesting to have an idea of what is going on, as NOHS has the potential and facilities to make some noise in the district and region picture some day. It seems as though all 8th region girls' b-ball news flashes reflect solid interest from every corner of the region except the 29th district, which makes one believe that it's taken more seriously in other parts of the region than down there.

This has surprisingly has drawn little interest, and even less in the way of details. Doesn't anyone have any clues as to what is going on in the way of filling the vacancy at NOHS? It has all of the outside appearances of a potentially good job - facilities, location, solid academics. Calling Col. Mike - do you have any words???

Is there any word on the junior Kentucky all-stars that will be practicing/scrimmaging the senior All-Star team - whom does the team consist of, and when and where will the scrimmages be held? It's under a month away.

First off, good luck to Coach Clinkenbeard in his new post as head coach. Second, with the players and talent returning, W-V should win regardless of who is coaching. Third, now the question on a good number of observers' minds is this - will there again be new additions from outside the W-V feeder system, as in the past?

According to the KHSAA "open jobs" site, the North Oldham girls' head coaching position is vacant. Does anyone know the story of what happened and what the future looks like for the Lady Mustangs?

This is pretty heady stuff, as there are several very successful and well-proven coaches in the 8th. The one this person is replacing did awfully well, too. We will certainly see if he/she is up to the task of generating love and happiness within the W-V community.

Mr. Sullivan would defintely have in depth familiarity with the intangibles of the job, which would be beneficial to him. Plus, he appears to know what he is doing when it comes to coaching b-ball.

How true, no one did ask for it. Similarly, the past two coaches did not ask for any of the back-biting, back-stabbling second guessing that has been so abundantly provided by - hopefully - a few "fans" of the program. I just know that if a new coach moves to this program and uproots his/her family to do so, they need to know what they might be entering. And if you personally take offense to what was earlier stated, you, SUMR, may be with good reason to have sensiitive toes. Having said that, I sincerely hope that the KIDS at W-V have a great experience with a good coach who can keep the winning ways on track.

If any prospective coaches have been following the W-V posts over the past few years, they must certainly be aware of some of the unique circumstances that evidently come with this job. My advice is this: Buyer beware - and enter into it with your eyes wide open and grow a tough hide. Good luck to you, Coach Miller, in whatever endeavors you decide to pursue! A job well done at W-V, to be sure.

It cannot be said any better than you said it, TMC. A great and positve post, and best of luck to the Lady Bearcats.

You pose a great question, Mr. A. Unlike boys, sometimes some girls play their best basketball at a younger age, however with such a roster full of youngsters, maybe the odds of attrition will work in their favor. Time will tell the tale. What is your honest opinion as to how this year's team compares with last year's team - better, worse, the same? Last year they were a bit of a surprise region champion - in my opinion a very good and worthy team but still an unexpected champion - while this year's pre-season expectations have not allowed them to be below the radar and sneak up anyone.

How weird would that have been, to have to play after being cooped up of a bus for so long and then have to hurry up and play? Probably not too many teams could have pulled it off.

The 7th Region - what a tough region year in and year out! Three of their teams are good enough to represent practically every other region in the state.

Clyde, I couldn't agree with you more. And to be totally honest, I hope that I am way off base. The point that I am trying to make is that anywhere, any school that is pushing the limit of the intent of the KHSAA guidelines is just not being honest - and I don't have a pie-in-the-sky naive attitude about this. It just comes down to good, clean competition, which is what we should hope for in high school athletics. Again, I agree with you fully - and I hope that I am way off base.

It's somewhat expected that things such this occur if a private school is involved, as it is their business to put kids in their seats and fill their classrooms. However, a public school is an entirely different thing. Farmer Jones doesn't get to go over into Farmer Smith's field and harvest is soybeans, does he? Similarly, a public school should not be doing the same thing with student-athletes form neighboring schools. It seems that this is consistently happening up in the northern portion of the 8th region, based on the frequent comments, observations and admissions by people posting on this web site. When folks complain about parochial schools recruiting, and I am certainly not defending them in any way, at least their very survival depends upon getting kids in their doors. But the alleged incidents referred to regarding the schools mentioned, regardless of KHSAA rulings, sully the schools' athletic programs and tarnish their accomplishments. This is shameful, plain and simple! And to the KHSAA: What about the old smoke and fire truism?

With the KHSAA making the decision to shuffle officials from region to region this year, does anyone have any word on who will be where starting tomorrow night? Not only which region is is going where, but which individual officials are on call. Since there is a lot of uncertainty and much riding on it, I just wondered. I figured it would be good to meniton it prior to contests beginning -- before the sour grapes come due for harvest. As I recall, the 8th region had "outside officials" last year, and that was pleasing :lol: to some and horrific :madman: to others - if I remember correctly.

Unbelievable - again!!! WALTON-VERONA MUST BE THE WORST COACHING JOB IN THE STATE OF KENTUCKY -- BECAUSE OF THE CONSTANT NEGATIVITY AND SECOND GUESSING THAT THIS POST REPRESENTS! For crying out loud, this team - and its coaches - have just cut down the nets, on the road, against their nemisis! WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT??? Great job by the Lady Bearcat players and Coach Miller and staff! Congratulations and enjoy the moment -- if the negative adults and/or fans will let you!

Not an upset at all. South played out a great season, but to say that they should have been favored is a bit of a stretch. In fact, they probably did quite a job of overachieving over the long haul, as Coach Simpson did a masterful job of getting the most out of his players all season long. The considerable roster changes due to graduation from last year makes this year's team all the more special. Hats off to North, as they played a whale of a game to avenge the earlier loss. WHAT A GREAT GAME BY BOTH TEAMS!!! Good luck to the 'stangs next game.

BIG GAME! But it's a whole new season this time around, though. Both clubs will move on, but who will show up for this contest and take care of business? W-V can exorcise some of their demons Thursday night, or else keep being bedeviled. Too close to call says part of me, but then again Simon has had their way up until now - help, I'm too conflicted to predict! It should be a great game for the fans, though.

Having not had time for digging deeply into the list, I wonder if anybody has had the time to figure out just where these teams would fit into the Sweet-16 bracket? Is there much difference between the top and lower brackets?

This must have been a defensive struggle, and probably a very physical one, too. Two very solid and well-coached teams going at it pretty hard, no doubt.

Even though the 8th region has not been dominant at Diddle in recent years, it is a great region for several reasons. First, there is a great deal of competition and parity amongst the participants. There are also a good number of quality players and coaches distributed around the region. Just few years a go it had two players -Rachelle Gray (Shelby Co.) and Lauren Jones (South Oldham) - make the Kentucky All-Star team that swept Indiana in the summer series. But here is the important observation: Both of those players could not be named POY in the 8th that year, indeed Gray received the honor. That doesn't diminish any accomplishments and performances by any players, it just goes to show that somebody will be placed at the top every season with the recognition. (Any old school folks out there remember Affirmed and Alydar - two great horses but only one winner?) Congrats to Rianna and to Coach Osborne for a great campaign in 2010-11.