Crunch-time

Frosh Tiggers played pretty well for the most part...

They showed that this summer at NKU's camp where they had double digit wins over Boone and Holy Cross. In the Boone game both Bradley and Sandfoss were missing, but still NCC had their way with them. With the exception of the LexCath & Miami camps, Boone played the entire summer with split squads and 2-4 returning starters missing. With a full squad, Boone beat some strong teams and took the likes of E-town & Lakota West to the final shot of the game. It's great to have summer success; however, it's important to keep things in perspective. Change is good and I'm confident NCC will be much better for it. I'm very happy for Courtney and, except for a game or two, I hope she has a tremendous season.

Only hearsay, but, Boone played even with Lloyd and Conner/SK played pretty even as well. SK was in position to win, but penalties and a called-back touchdown really hurt them.

They were able to clear the bench pretty much the entire 2nd half versus Conner and the final 5-6 minutes versus Boone. With only 25 or so player's...that really helps some key players, plus, gets some good minutes for the other player's that have put in a lot of work over the summer. The future does look promising for these young Tigers.

B'Wood freshmen followed up a 45-20 (31-0 at the half) win over Conner last week with a win over Boone last night. After an early 1st qtr fumble deep in B'Wood territory resulted in a Boone touchdown...B'Wood played pretty solid the rest of the way.

That Cheerleader you were talking too is...my SISTER!!!

Heard Crane is out with a torn quad...

I'm assuming we are using the label "AAU" as a description/term for a summer team. AAU is a great organization for young athletes between the ages of 10-13yrs old, but after that, the numbers drop drastically. There are roughly 100-150 teams at the AAU National tourney's between these ages; however, for various reasons the number of teams at Nationals drop by nearly half at 14yrs old and beyond. I'm sure expense is a huge factor, but it also appears it's that age when teenagers make their decisions to enjoy their summer, focus on other sports, hang it up entirely, or decide to take their games a different direction. Exposure tournaments have been the wave over the past few years and are taking a large amount of talented players/teams away from AAU. These tournaments offer great exposure to athletes; however, the exposure can be a double-edge sword (good or bad exposure). Just playing games against any level of competition is not nearly enough. A kid needs to buy into the fact that someone/somewhere is working harder, wants it just as bad, and refuses to fall short of reaching their dream. Once it drops from their head to their heart...it's game on!!

Sorry this is long!! I can absolutely guarantee school ball is not enough. Some kids are stars on their HS team and will be average on a very good summer team. Some kids look good on their HS team and great when playing with other great players. There are so many camps out there and you must be careful because "most" are money machines and a complete waste of time & money. I'm a huge fan of asking people for advice that have gone through the process. I'm also a big fan of taking the "camp" money and using it for a good personal trainer to specifically focus on weaknesses. If she truly has the ability to play at the next level then you must view it as an investment. Then, most importantly, she "absolutely must" take those learnings and couple-it with the desire and drive to put in the work in the driveway when no one is watching. As far as summer ball, I highly recommend finding a team of player's with the same goals and passion to play at the next level. It may mean moving on from their current team of school friends where they have so much fun. It may not be a popular decision, but the player and parents need to make the best decision for "their" kid that will put them in position for future success. Do your homework and find a team, coach, or organization that considers success by the number of player's getting college offers and not wins & losses. Trophies look good on a website, but they are for bragging rights and do not pay college tuition. Beginning the summer between their Frosh & Soph year...the kid absolutely must be on a team that attends major college exposure events. Again, this requires doing your homework. There is a huge number of so-called "Exposure" events, but if you think your kid can play D1 or D2 then you must make sure the tourney's coincide with the NCAA evaluation periods (http://www.NCAA.org - usually the last weekend in April and the last 2.5 weeks in July) so you know which are legit. Some of these events will have 300-500 college coaches in attendance. Most colleges have budgets and they want the most for the money so they will attend events where a lot of talent is in one location. IMO...other than "perhaps" AAU nationals for 15 and 16yr olds...all other events should be used for tune-up's to prepare for the college Exposure events. There are perhaps 6-8 really good events during the evaluation periods and a team can only make it to 3 or 4...so choose wisely! Of course, all of this is only "my" opinion and what I have learned...I'm sure others have a lot better advice than me.

The majority of the kids just do not want to put forth the time, effort, and work that is required. It's not easy to practice 6 day's per week and play a 6-7 month season while still meeting the rigors of the classroom. It takes a ton of discipline and a lot of kids would just rather not deal with it. I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard "I have no desire to play in college so I would rather just enjoy high school instead of playing". How many promising young athletes have we seen that just decided to hang it up to do other things? My Daughter was a pretty solid soccer & basketball player, but "she" made the decision to drop soccer and focus on hoops year round. It takes a different mentality and passion for a kid to make the decision to do "whatever" it takes to play at the next level (especially D1). If the player chooses to put in the work...then it's up to the parents to put them in the best possible position to be successful. It takes huge sacrifices from everyone involved.

No tuition. Dad is on the BC payroll and she can attend any BC school.

It's going to be a long first few seasons. They have the right person for the job because she is incredibly patient and that's what it will take for a new program in a fairly tough district/region. The expectations for winning won't be too high since they will be so young and that should help take the pressure off.

The unrealistic expectations were for a coach to pick up where Hans left off...face it, "ANY" coach was going to feel the pain because even though the heart was there the "experienced" talent just wasn't. Also, with the rise of Ryle & Conner, the 33rd district has probably been tougher than ever...A bad time for "ANY" new coach to be rebuilding a program. Turner brought up and developed some nice young player's and SH is moving to a new district (historically not as tough)...she took the grief & lumps over the past 2yrs and the program & new coach are going to reap the rewards.

Cooper doesn't have a gym yet and may not have enough player's to field 3 teams. They went into summer camps loaded with 6th & 7th graders. One NKY team unnecessarily beat them by 70+ pts at Thomas Moore. Calling out an upstart program for the "W" is not much of a stretch. Some SH parents are obviously happy Turner is gone, but I'm guessing the feeling is probably mutual (parent-wise). Cooper was an all-around great move for Turner for several reasons and not having to deal with "unrealistic" expectations by parents is definitely one of them.

Wow!! NCC was very fortunate to lose a good coach and be able to have a school official w/coaching experience, along with his niece, ready to step in and take over on such short notice.

Posted by R.Ernst: Former Northern Kentucky prep phenom Donna Murphy, in desperate need of a liver transplant, is undergoing the surgery at University of Cincinnati Hospital this afternoon. The donor liver, according to Murphy's brother Duran Murphy, arrived late Wednesday night. The surgery began at 7 a.m. this morning. "They should be finishing it (around 3 p.m.)," Duran Murphy said. "All the main arteries are connected. The most complicated parts are done. Once they finish up, if there aren’t any complications, she should have a healthy liver."

Well if they are in Ryle's district then no reason to be concerned about eligibility or paying tuition. All this talk was for nothing

I'm not familiar enough with the Bylaw's to comment with confidence; however, if this young lady played varsity last season don't be surprised if the KHSAA intervenes. I am familiar with an instance where an 8th grader actually moved and had to wait on a ruling for athletic eligibility. It does happen all the time, but I have not heard of one instance where a kid was accepted as a tuition student in the Boone County system...BUT there may be.

Sorry TBG...no interest in the boy's Just hope they made 100% sure before burning bridges. I'm just saying...if the door is opened in the county of Boone for tuition students...look out!

Oh well...no dog in this fight...good luck to the kid and hope it works out.

Haven't read that on the boy's forum. I'm aware of a couple of "potential" transfers for the girl's and I'm pretty sure they were told the KHSAA is focused on Soccer, FB, & VB right now and it may be Sept/Oct before they will have the opportunity to review the documentation and make a ruling. Supposedly they can particpate with the team until Oct 15th if a ruling has not been made. After the 15th, they must stop until a ruling is made. I wonder if they ruled on the boy's side because it was such a high-profile transfer. Also, isn't Euton's Mom an employee as well? not sure...just curious.

CP24...they probably have done their homework, but I would be "very" surprised if it has been looked at by the KHSAA. They are pretty stern about dealing with sports at certain times...and I am fairly certain they won't rule on Bball until the Sept/Oct timeframe, but I may be wrong. I'll stick with my "this will open a huge can of worms" comment because no school in Boone County is over-crowded anymore since the addition of Cooper.

Any guess of how many out of district para-professional coaches will be hired throughout the State in order to allow their athletes to switch schools without moving? if this happens a "huge" can of worms will be opened... I agree with UNC, I can't see it happening nor do I see up-n-coming Ryle putting their program at risk.

She had some really nice offers, but in the end, the whole SLU package was special so there was no reason to hold off on her commitment any longer. Her summer team-mates have either already committed or will "pull the string" very soon and we're extremely proud of them as well. HS ball is good (with the right coach), but summer ball is where these kids get the opportunity to shine and showcase their skills with and against some of the best in the country.

Bird's #1 without a doubt. Now, whether they can handle the pressure or not will remain to be seen. They had a tough time carrying the label last year. Beyond them, I would wait until August to see if anyone transfers in or out. It seems to always happen. Ryle #2 (hmmm not sure about that one just yet).