Eta Rho

I guess I should have clarified when I made the statement then because I was referring to him being one of the best for his division in nky.

Wasn't wrong at all...I just now saw your responses. He didn't impress me when I saw him against Holmes, as he really struggled to rebound and keep up with a bigger, more athletic player. After seeing him in several games after I made that comment, I could tell his defense improved since the beginning of the year, so I gave him credit by saying he is one of the better defenders for his DIVISION in nky. He still allowed Maile to drop 26 on him though so not sure how you can consider him one of the best in nky as a whole.

Boone and Ryle in the district championship...Boone wins the district on their home court.

From KYpost.com: Holmes boys defense dominates Holy Cross Before Tuesday’s District 35 matchup against Holy Cross, the Holmes boys basketball team had a discussion about what it would take to advance deep into the postseason. The Bulldogs’ glossy 27-2 record wouldn’t matter when they entered into the one-and-done playoffs. They knew Holy Cross would be more than happy to score the upset if Holmes continued its late-season struggles. It gave senior guard Dominique Johnson a reason to worry. “You have a lot of people that want to beat you,” Johnson said. “We have a target over our heads. We knew we hadn’t been playing well for a couple games. We had to come together as a team. It was either get better now and go on, or we’re going to pack it in.” Rest of story: http://www.kypost.com/content/sportsandscores/story/2-24-Katzowitz-Holmes-Boys-Defense-Dominates-Holy/PWOp9WD1MkWYusfpjgeS1w.cspx

Actually Holmes was ranked #3 last week. They're #2 this week. Their performance hasn't been so good the past month and they were still 8-1 in February. IMO that's a true sign of a good team....they can have a lackluster performance and still get W's. With it being post season time, and Henley giving a few players wake up calls, I expect them to start kicking it in high gear. Heck, they just beat their district rival on their home court by 21 and only gave up 24 points...I'd say they're starting to kick it up a notch.

I think St. Hank gets the W...Faust is too good of a coach to allow his team to bow out of the postseason this early. St. Henry 63 Villa 50

See post #111.....

Box Score: Holy Cross (14-12) - Fortner 1 0 2. Giwa 2 3 8. Volpenhein 1 1 3. Sullivan 1 0 2. Trimpe 3 1 9. Totals: 8 5 24. Holmes (28-2) - Pittman 0 5 5. Riley 2 3 8. R. Johnson 2 0 4. J. Johnson 2 1 7. D. Johnson 4 1 12. Housley 1 2 4. Rice 1 0 3. Slusher 1 0 2. Totals: 13 12 45. Holy Cross- 5-11-6-2-24 Holmes- 11-17-7-10-45 3-pointers: HC 3 (Trimpe 2, Giwa). H 7 (D. Johnson 3, J. Johnson 2, Riley, Rice).

From the link that I posted above: ......didn't start because "we have to get him focused on his priorities," Henley said. .........Henley did not elaborate, but said he has been encouraged by Pittman's work ethic and attitude this week. "Since Sunday, he's done a good job in practice and meetings," Henley said. http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20090225/SPT0302/902250378/

From nky.com: Focused Bulldogs play much better as a team David Henley wasn't complaining about a postseason win. Nor was Holmes' boys' basketball coach complaining about returning to the regional tournament. .....Henley was pleased with his team's defensive effort. After all, the Bulldogs held Holy Cross to eight second-half points, including no field goals in the fourth quarter. Rest of story: http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20090225/SPT0302/902250378/

You got that right! :ylsuper::thumb:

I agree. FC has all the right ingrediants to come out of the 11th. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see them at Rupp.

Congrats to Barrett...from what I've seen, he really is a great ball player, but an even better kid. I'm sure his father Brad is very proud. :thumb:

I agree. From what I remember Beechwood played a lot of man to man, but did mix in some match up zone from time to time in the first meeting. Beechwood likes to get out and run though, so I'm not sure they play much zone in this one.

JJ was 7-8 from the field in the first game against Beechwood and had 15 points. He was 2 for 2 tonight against HC from behind the arc. HC let him have two wide open 3's and he knocked both down. After his second trey, Schumate made the comment to Pohlgeers and Hall, "We can't give him open shots like that.." I doubt he'll have anyone sag off of JJ. I feel pretty confident that we'll see Smith v Pittman and Pohlgeers/Snyder v JJ. That's the only way Beechwood can match up with Holmes without getting killed on the boards or giving Holmes a significant height advantage.

And I'd assume those coaches either aren't coaching anymore or aren't very successful. Winning district is the first big step to winning the region tournament, as it allows you for a better draw the majority of the time, unless there's one district that has the top two teams in the region, which isn't the case this year.

Snyder won't guard Pittman...HUGE mismatch as Pittman has a good 4 inches on him. Smith won't guard JJ because JJ is too quick off the dribble and would get Smith in foul trouble quick. We'll likely see JJ v Snyder and Pittman v Smith. That's the way they matched up in the first game.

Not viewed as a big deal?!? You're kidding, right? Winning the district championship is a huge deal. It automatically guarantees you face a district runner up (likely to be Dixie, Ryle/Conner, or Newcath) and avoid a district champion (Boone and Highlands in particular) until atleast the semi's or potentially finals of region. I'd say Coach Henley and Holmes is taking this game very seriously.

Congrats to Robert on his 1000 point!! Glad to see the Cards pick up the W. A little closer than expected, but like Goldie said, "survive and advance." Zollo with 22 and 12? He's really stepped up his game since the beginning of the season.

I doubt they'll be looking ahead to the regional tournament. Beechwood is a good team and Henley will hammer that in their heads over the next two days in practice.

I think you might be right. I believe Riley lit them up for 16 in the first half, so second half they changed up their defense to try and stop him.

I agree. Rico did a pretty good job on Romes in the first half of the first game which allowed Holmes to not have to rely on help D since he'd just end up in traffic, but eventually Romes started driving the baseline which forced Holmes to trap and left Beuttel wide open for 3's. Beechwood's offense is good enough to keep the game close...it's their defense that is going to have to step it up. Holmes scored at will at times in the first match up, as Beechwood just wasn't athletic enough to stop them from penetrating and getting in the lane.

Did Beechwood play zone against Holmes in the first meeting? I really can't recall whether they did or not.

The key to this game for Holmes is their perimeter defense. Beuttel lit them up from outside in the first game and it doesn't seem like he's slowed down any after his performance last night against Covcath. Offensively, Pittman and Rico have to get going....Riley pretty much carried the Dogs in the first meeting. I expect Smith and Pittman to battle down low. They jawed a lot at eachother in the first meeting between the two. Pittman needs to be aggressive and play smart. With him on the floor, Beechwood really struggled in the first game. With that being said, I don't think Beechwood can play good enough defense to beat Holmes: Holmes 64 Beechwood 47

Match Ups: 6'0 Riley v 6'1 Beuttel 6'2 D. Johnson v 6'2 Pohlgeers 6'4 J. Johnson v 6'2 Snyder 6'5 R. Johnson v 6'3 Romes 6'7 Pittman v 6'7 Smith