Lion Mania

Since their Freshman year Ferg and the Ferguson twins have made 3 straight 16th Region Final games. They showed grit and determination tonight and actually had RH on the ropes several times with double digit leads, but couldn't deliver the knock out blow. In the championship they will have East on the ropes in the 2d half and will deliver the knockout blow. Plus Elliott still didn't shoot the three ball well and has not in last 2 weeks, but they played fantastic defense against a much taller RH team. Tim Knipp played like a monster on the inside and had the best game I have seen him play. If they can get their long ball going again they will be a hard out for even a Mason!!! Elliott 75 East 56

I have seen both play several times and they are nice players, but not D-1 material. Sloane would be a nice player for Morehead or EKU and Stepp at a Cumberland, Union, or Pikeville. Slone has more athletic ability than Stepp and thus the higher level.

Last game Elliott shot 28% and RH shot 53%. Elliott, although winning, has not shot well the last few weeks. Better shooting allows Elliott more opportunites to get transition defense buckets. Prediction: Rose Hill shoots 47% and Elliott shoots 42%.Elliott 75 Rose Hill 67 Remember: Last time despite a 25% difference in shooting it was a one point game inside a minute left. RH has to have a 15% difference in shooting to win this game. RH will shoot a higher % than Elliott (see above) but still lose the game. Difference in shooting between the two teams will be under 10%. Elliott and especially Ferg will shoot the three much better than last time!!!

No brackets until Sunday's draw. SF teams will be Elliott/RH/Bath/Raceland. Nobody wants East Carter in Round 1 which makes for a tough game. Hope RH and Elliott are in opposite brackets and don't play in the SF Round. This game should be saved for the Region Final: Rose Hill vs. Elliott on Monday evening March 10th in Morehead.

Looking at 2007 Regional brackets here is what I found. Nine (9) of the 16 Regions played their S/F on Monday night and the final on Tuesday night. Format the same this year as last because the Girl's Sweet Sixteen is up first and all Boy's Regionals have to be completed by Tuesday March 11th, 2008 (day before the Girl's Sweet Sixteen begins). Some regionals play S/F on Saturday and then the final on Monday night. 11th Region played S/F on Saturday and then didn't play the final until Tuesday last year. Advantage of Sat/Mon: Both teams get one day rest before the final Disadvantage of Sat/Mon final: Teams must wait at least 9 days before their first round state tourney game vs. 8 days if they played on Tuesday evening. Seems like the Sat/Mon arrangement has the bigger immediate advantage. Then why so many regions doing the Mon SF and Tue Final with back to back nights?? Any thoughts or reasons??

Probably not an upset, but anytime Warren Central gets beat in the district and doesn't compete for the 4th Region title it gets everyone's attention. The Bowling Green Purples took them out of the 4th Region tournament picture for the 1st time in at least 7 years and maybe longer?? Not seeing a Tim Riley WC team in the Sweet Sixteen this year will be strange!!! Good luck to Greenwood, Barren County, Franklin-Simpson, Bowling Green or whoever comes out of the 4th. You have quite a tradition to uphold........

From listening to the Elliott fans (in the stands) last night, if the Lions play the way they did against Morgan County then Elliott gets beat by 10-15 points. I would agree with them. But they will play to the competition which is a much improved competition and win. Elliott has beat both Raceland and Morgan County three times. It is difficult to beat a good team three times?? Elliott 76 East 69

Sounds like the future is bright for Deming with the two real good freshman twins. Will have to make a trip to Robertson County and check them out since they still have three more seasons!!! thanks, Sugar Daddy for the info!!!:dancingpa

Noticed the King kid got 30 points and the LH said he was just a freshman. Is this one game or does this kid average 20 points per game?? Pretty impressive for a freshman to score 30 points!!! How big is the King Kid?? Is he a guard or inside player??

MCHS Indian--How did I know that this poll would tickle you pink!!!!

Trojans--I must confess you are right. Shelby Valley does have 2 quality wins against Top 20 competition and a close game with J-Town. That loss to Pikeville is puzzling?? Although an Elliott supporter I can see the rational in a 20-25 range. Good points.

Who knows?? Maybe Elliott was a few votes away from sharing the #20 spot with Shelby Valley. I'm sure many like this poll and consider it more accurate.

BGP Poll 2-20 1. Mason County 2. Bryan Station 3. Lexington Catholic 4. Scott County 5. Eastern Click here for the rest of the poll. Elliott is ranked #5 in LIT, #11 in Cantrall and Max Preps, and #9 in AP. Elliott beat Shelby Valley by double digits in the 1st round of the State Tournament last year and they have essentially the same squads. For all those that think Elliott should not be in the Top 20: Here is your poll. But, I'm sure if it was a Top 25 Elliott would be included in the BGP Poll along with Muhlenburg North and Montgomery County. Good to see three mountain teams of Paintsville, Hazard, and Shelby Valley in the Top 20.

Ferg is a very quite and polite young man who is a role model for all the young kids in the county. He is unassuming and I respect him not for the words he says, but just the way he handles himself. Unlike us on the threads he doesn't have much to say about a particular game. He has the same demeanor whether he has a bad game with 13 points or scores a 40 point game. If you were to ask him something like, "I saw a poll the other day that had you rated one of the top 10 juniors in the state". His response would probably be thats nice, but I don't know about all that. His words on & off the court don't come from his mouth, but come by his play and the polite and courteous manner in which he handles himself. In this day and age of excessive pride and boasting he is a breath of fresh air!!!

Not a lot of posts here. Pretty much what everyone thought. One note. They played the two seniors majority of the game and subs played last 4 minutes of 1st half and last 6 minutes of the game. A close out the regular season game at 21-3 and now its Morgan next Tuesday in post season action. Let the real games begin!!!

UHA should be #5. Madison Central has lost 10 games including Wayne County and should not be in the Top 20. I agree that Paintsville/Shelby Valley should be getting a little more respect.

Ferg is a few inches taller than Farmer. And Farmer's mechanics on his shot was a lot different. I think he compares more with Lofton on size, shooting mechanics, ball handling, quickness, and overall athletic ability. Ferg is listed at 6'2" and am told that it what he measures, although some argue 6'1". Pretty much same size as Lofton.

The Mason-Elliott game will probably be the highest attendance of any game (bar the Sweet Sixteen) of the year. I have been to Montgomery County's Gym and it holds about 4,200. I doubt there will be the problems everyone is excited about. I live in the 12th Region and don't have a dog in the fight, just my observation. Also as an outsider, after having it 38 straight years (or whatever the number) in the Mason Fieldhouse somebody somewhere ought to get a shot at it. It's called fair and equal distribution. After 38 straight years I don't know why the Mason fans are complaining or any fans for that matter. I don't think any one team should dominant the regional. There are 16-18 other teams that want a piece of the pie every once in a while. Once in a half century is not asking too much??

Sorry SPINDOC---Didn't see yours until after I punched mine!!!

I agree with HOOTSCOOT. I know Ferg and he is a great kid who is unselfish and wants team success. He is a very humble and quiet kid that loves to play and wants to do his best for team and community. Elliott doesn't have these perceived problems. Just because a kid walks off the court doesn't mean an attitude. Every team has isolated incidents and Elliott has no more than any other team in KY. These kids get along. Maybe some of the fans don't get along with certain folks, but don't bleed that over into the kids!!!!

Last regular season home game for seniors Maynard and Centers. On Senior Night I predict the 2 seniors will combine for 25 points and both score in double figures. The juniors and frosh Knipp would be thrilled with that!!! The score won't matter.

LIGHTS OUT--Now that is a classy comment. thanks and I hope Mason does well and gets to Rupp also. Before long all of us (except a few red clad UL fans) are going to be rooting Mr. Miller on at UK. Hopefully, if we both get to Rupp we can at least give the fans their money's worth. If not, then we may can stand tall and say we lost to the State Champs!!! Good luck to the Royals!!!!

Ferg is getting D-1 attention by letters and visits. In the end it is what the coaches think that matters since they award the scholarships. Us fans are not awarding any scholarships last time I looked. We have our opinions, but ours don't count since we don't have any scholarships to give out.

WIREMAN IS RIGHT--They is no guarantee that they both won't be in Rupp. Again, upsets are the norm these days and you can't go off just one game. If they had played twice and Mason blew them away both times then I would say the 3d blowout is more probable. Again, just ask UK about Vandy??

Elliott to draw an analogy is like the country of Israel. Both are very small and regarded by many as insignificant. But, they both get a lot of type and comments from everyone. Just remember Vandy beat UK by 41 the other night and what happened in the first game. Not saying Elliott would beat Mason in a re-match, but basketball is a strange game to figure out and Rupp Arena is a not the Mason Fieldhouse. It is a neutral court. One that Elliott is familiar with from 2 games last year and Mason isn't familiar with from last year. May not be a blow out if they hook up again. But, will just have to wait and see what happens in the next 3 weeks or so.