tezzyrice

After seeing Justice in the All "A" semi's and finals, I'd say he's the best pure pg in this tourney. Kid does it all.

I think Rico could make a legitimate argument about who was the best pure athlete on the floor.

I agree...I think regardless of who won the 9th, whether it be Holmes or Boone, we would have seen our rep in the second round.

Last time they got out and ran was against Beechwood in the district championship. Beechwood wanted to run but Holmes was too quick and got back on D which forced the Tigers in to some bad shots. Holmes ended up winning by 21, 64-43. I've heard several people in this thread talk about Wilson and Wilford. Let's not forget Holmes has quite a few studs themselves. Looking at CC's schedule, I'm fairly confident Wilford and Wilson haven't gone up against a team that had players like Rico, JJ, Riley, and Pittman. From what I remember of Wilson, he is tall but very lanky and skinny. I think Rico's strength and size is going to give him a lot of problems. Same with Wilford. D. Johnson plays the best man to man defense on Holmes' team IMO. He's very physical on that end of the floor and I see that frustrating Wilford and taking him out of his game. It may be close for a while, but Holmes will eventually pull away...too many weapons for CC to shut down.

Thanks. How does Christian Co compare to Henderson Co? I seem to remember Henderson hitting a lot of 3's against Holmes as well, but their lack of an inside presence hurting them, as Pittman had I believe 26 or 27 against them.

We all know Wilson and Wilford are studs, but how do you see Kates, Murden, and Lewis matching up with Holmes? What are their strengths/weaknesses? I see Murden or Kates, whoever guards him, having a lot of trouble with Pittman down low as he will have atleast a 2 or 3 inch advantage over both.

Elijah Pittman of Holmes had a coming out party last year in the sweet 16 as a soph and was the second most productive player in the tournament behind only Mr. Miller of Mason Co. He returns a year later 3 inches taller, 25 lbs heavier, and with an all around better game...I like the odds of him putting on a show again this year.

Which is something Christian Co's own coach has been quoted as saying they need to do a better job of doing...controlling their emotions on and off the floor. I think Holmes defense will frustrate them as well. Christian Co is going to need more than Wilson and Wilford to beat this Holmes team. I really see Holmes' size with Pittman down low being the difference in this one.

Didn't notice I mentioned him twice...my bad. I've heard great things about Barksdale. Is he of any relation to the Barksdale at Tates Creek? I doubt ANYONE is sleeping on Wilford. He and Wilson form one of the best 1-2 combos in the state. I'm very interested in seeing them against Holmes and how Wilson does against Rico, and vice versa.

No problem. Mayfield usually only plays the last minute of the first and second quarters for defensive purposes to keep Riley from picking up silly fouls. With Rico running the point a lot lately, they've been going with the following combinations: 6'5 R. Johnson, 6'0 Riley, 6'4 J. Johnson, 6'6 Rice, 6'7 Pittman 6'5 R. Johnson, 6'2 D. Johnson, 6'2 Housely, 6'6 Rice, 6'7 Pittman 6'5 R. Johnson, 6'2 Housely, 6'4 J. Johnson, 6'6 Rice, 6'7 Pittman

6'0 Riley 6'2 D. Johnson 6'4 J. Johnson 6'5 R. Johnson 6'7 Pittman Off the bench: 6'6 K. Rice 6'2 B. Housely 5'10 P. Mayfield

Wow...maybe Holmes shouldn't even show up then since Catholic is going to win and face Christian Co in the second round.

Ballard is a very athletic team, but they don't have the size to give EC problems. They start two guards under 6'0 and their biggest player on the floor is 6'4. IF they meet up with a team like Holmes who is big AND has athleticism, it causes alot more match ups problems. BTW...I'm pretty sure they WON'T be playing Lexcath. :thumb: Low scoring defensive games will make people think that. In reality they're playing their best ball right now. They're playing the best defense they've played all year and their two best players are carrying them, which is what they're going to need at Rupp.

Here is a perfect example of why teams don't try to get in an uptempo, fast paced game with Holmes:

Christian Co: 6'4 Shaq Wilson, 6'1 Corey Wilford Holmes: 6'5 Ricardo Johnson, 6'7 Elijah Pittman, 6'4 Jeremiah Johnson Lexcath: 6'4 Vee Sandord Elliott Co: 6'2 Jonathon Ferguson, 6'1 Ev. Faulkner, 6'1 Et. Faulkner Anderson Co: 6'5 CJ Penny Shelby Valley: 5'11 Elijah Justice, 6'6 Ashley Hatfield Mason Co: 6'3 Russ Middleton Eastern: 6'3 Chris Dowe, 5'11 Delquan Thomas Hazard: 6'1 Josh Whitaker Corbin: 6'5 Josh Crawford Adair Co: 6'7 Darren Ballou Hazard- 6'1 Josh Whitaker

I agree if they met neither would get out ahead of one another too far. I think the final would be within 5-7 either way. I just really think IF they meet, EC will have a tough time with Holmes length and size defensively. I don't think some realize who haven't seen them in person how much space they take up. As far as Holmes holding Elliott Co to 30, I find that very unlikely as well. I don't think EC would score more than 65 though.

First Round 1 Hazard 1 Adair County 1 Central 1 Eastern 1 Lexcath 1 Holmes 1 Shelby Valley 1 Elliott County Semi-Final Round 2 Adair County 2 Eastern 2 Holmes 2 Elliott County Championship Game 3 Eastern 3 Holmes 2009 KHSAA Sweet 16 Champion 5 Holmes Tiebreaker 111

Holmes beat Ballard by 3 on a NEUTRAL COURT and without their leading scorer playing the whole first half. EC beat Ballard at home by 14 while also giving up 34 more points to them than Holmes did without their leading scorer and big man playing a lot...big difference there. And yes I have watched EC in person. Saw them multiple times over the summer, in the state tournament against MC last year, and in the 5/3rd at Lexcath last year against Covcath. I've also watched them several times on the internet when their games were broadcast this year. I'll return the question back at ya...have you actually watched Holmes in person?

J'town beat Ballard in the region semi's..

Just wondering but what makes you think Lexcath has a better chance to beat Holmes than Holmes does Lexcath? If LC wins in the first round and so does Holmes, they'd then meet in the second round.

The only way for Holmes to force tempo is to press and honestly they don't have the depth to do that...that's why you see teams able to slow the ball down against them.

Don't get too caught up in how many points a team averages. It hasn't seemed to matter this year against Holmes. Scott Co averages in the low 80's on the year and was held to 65 by Holmes. Bryan Station averages in the low 80's as well and was held to 56. Ballard averages in the high 60's, low 70's and was held to 41, and last but not least, Boone averages 62 ppg and was held to 45 and 29 against Holmes. How many of those teams are still playing? Again, offense sells tickets, defense wins championships. I heard these same comments last year before Holmes played high scoring Paintsville and Lexcath...all Holmes did in those two games was hold both to season lows offensively on their way to the state title game....where they also held a loaded Mason County team to their third lowest output of the year.

Ballard isn't exactly a big team. They have nobody over 6'4 and both of their starting guards are under 6'0. Holmes starts 3 kids who are 6'4 or bigger and at times you'll see 6'2 Housely/D. Johnson, 6'4 J. Johnson, 6'5 R. Johnson, 6'6 Rice, and 6'7 Pittman in there. Mason also isn't that athletic either. Barner and Middleton are but other than that they aren't a team that's going to run and gun. Mason gets by on playing tough defense and forcing turnovers by using their depth and pressing. Mason is a decent size team though.

You failed to mention that same Maxpreps poll has undefeated Oak Hill and Findlay Prep (widely regarded as the two best teams in the country) ranked numbers 6 and 7. I wouldn't put too much stock in computer polls like the one from maxpreps that you're referring to. In the Maxpreps Xcellent 25 (computer and human input) Holmes is ranked I believe either #21 or #22 in the country and Cedar Hill in the teens somewhere. Rankings mean nothing at this point in the season.

:lol: Holmes isn't playing well but they've won 31 of their last 32. Not bad for a team who isn't playing well. Teams have switched up their game plans and stategies against Holmes in February and now March which is why there's been so many low scoring games. This is still the same team that walked through their district less than two weeks ago by 21 points each game. I disagree that Pittman hasn't done much lately. He averaged double digits throughout the region tourney and close to a double double. Holmes and their opponents are being more patient with their offense which is why you're not seeing Riley, Pittman, Rico, JJ, or any other Holmes player put up huge scoring numbers. Teams aren't going to be able to go in to Rupp and play "their style" and be successful. It just won't happen. Teams are going to have to adapt to be successful as the teams are just too good at this point. Holmes has played every style imaginable over the past two weeks and came out unscathed. Holy Cross played stall ball and got beat by 21. Beechwood tried to run and got beat by 21 and held to 43 points. Ryle tried to "out physical" Holmes and ended up being worn down by the 4th quarter because of their quickness which allowed Holmes to pull away. Newcath tried to beat Holmes by slowing it down and with outside shooting and again, was worn down by 4th quarter which allowed Holmes to pull away. Boone tried to win with tough defense and being patient on offense and again were beaten with THEIR gameplan. Bottom line is this...only two teams have figured out how to beat Holmes this year and both times Holmes played in a rematch they won, which shows their ability to adapt. At this point in the season it's about doing the little things to advance...not style points that get you high rankings from computer polls.