tezzyrice

And of the teams you mentioned, Cedar Hill is the only team that has the size and athleticism to play with Holmes. I've seen where several posters on here from South Carolina, who have lived there all their lives and grew up witnessing it, have said SC basketball was very weak and baseball and football were their two stengths. I also would wouldn't say Ballard is more athletic than Holmes either...that was evident when they tried to run against Holmes and were held to just 41 points. BTW, Pittman sat out the WHOLE 1st half of that game as he picked up two fouls within the first 2 minutes. I think when you see Holmes next Thurs you'll realize where a lot of us are coming from.

I'll be the first to go on record as saying Holmes is the most athletic team in the state...and that's not an overexaggeration. Anyone who has seen them in person will likely agree with this. IF EC and Holmes meet in the semi's, I guarantee you they will be the most athletic team EC has faced to date. Their size, quickness, and length offensively and defensively is matched by NOBODY in the state. Unless you see them in person, you'll truly never understand where we're coming from. Pittman is a prime example though...6'7 with an 84" wingspan. He doesn't play above the rim...he plays above the square...again, no exaggeration. I'm like you though Wireman. I too look forward to watching some great basketball this week and hope both of our respective teams advance to the point where the kids can settle all of our arguments on the court. :thumb:

Elliott plays no where near the defense of Holmes and that's evident by their scores. Elliott gives up almost 60 ppg. Holmes on the year is giving up just 46 ppg and throughout the postseason are only giving up an average of 34 ppg. Elliott will have to play defense if they want to beat a team like Holmes. They won't be able to run and gun against them and Holmes won't press which will force them to run half court offense which isn't their strength against teams with good size. (See Cedar Hill and Shelby Valley)

They also lost twice in the season to that same team...it's very tough to beat a team as good as Eastern 3 times in the same season which was evident from last night. Let's not forget the FACTS that Eastern was still 1-2 against J'town though. J'town also isn't as big as a Shelby Valley or Holmes.

Smart coaches and teams will slow the ball down against EC and force them to beat them with half court sets. It's teams like Mason Co and Ballard, who press the whole game, that get beat by Elliott Co. Teams like Shelby Valley and Cedar Hill, who have good halfcourt offense and pound the ball inside, will beat EC every time. It's just common sense. EC isn't going to be able to run against every team in this tournament. Eventually they're going to have to develop a good half court offense against teams like Holmes and Shelby Valley if they want to win the state title.

I'd say a lot of that has to do with the fact that 9th region teams play much better defense than other regions around the state. Teams run over a minute off the clock with every possession against Holmes because of how good their offense can be if you give them a lot of possessions. There's a reason teams don't try to run against Holmes and they slow it down. They tried to run with the Dogs at the beginning of the year and were getting ran off the floor...just ask Scott Co, Bryan Station, Ballard, Franklin Co, or any other top 20 team who has played against Holmes. You have to capitalize on offense and be smart with your possessions because if not, Holmes defense will wear you down and you'll find yourself down 15+ real quick because you're giving them so many offensive opportunities. I think those saying Holmes can't score are in for a real treat when they see this bunch play. They have won playing EVERY style there is out there. They have beaten teams like Scott Co and Bryan Station while playing uptempo and scoring in the 70's. And then they've beaten teams like Ballard (another run and gun team) by playing a slow tempo and only scoring in the 40's. If I remember correctly a lot of people were saying the same thing about Holmes last year heading in to their games with Paintsville and Lexcath and all Holmes did was hold both teams to their lowest outputs of the season on their way to the state title game. Again...offense sells tickets, defense wins championships.

Holmes at #5 behind Elliott Co, Shelby Valley, Eastern, and Lexcath? Come on Wireman...we all know Holmes and Eastern are the two best teams and favorites coming in to the tournament to unbiased neutral fans. To have either Lexcath or Shelby Valley as bigger favorites than either of those two is funny IMO. I can guarantee you teams would rather play Lexcath or Shelby Valley rather than Holmes and Eastern. Both have avenged their only two losses of the season...there's a reason these two teams are 32-2 and 30-2 playing the schedules they played.

I wouldn't say Reeves or Trinity's big man are on the same level as Pittman though. He had his way against Ballard and from what I've heard, Eastern is very comparable to Ballard.

A few more highlights from last night's game: http://www.clipsyndicate.com/publish/video/866115/boone_county_29_holmes_32?cpt=8&wpid=1277

I agree. Eastern is a mirror image of Holmes, but I think their lack of a big man could hurt them if they meet Holmes, Shelby Valley, or Elliott County in the finals. A team will have to have solid guard play and a good big man to win the sweet 16. Very rarely does a team with all guards win the state title. You have to have size and some depth.

I agree. I just think several Boone fans set the bar too high for last years' team. Just because their 10' class was successful against their peers doesn't mean that will translate to success at the varsity level when you're playing against the best of all different age levels. As you said, they have improved TREMENDOUSLY since last year and it was shown as this team went from losing to Holmes by 20 last year to beating them by 7 and losing by 3 this year. Boone has proved those people right that they would contend for a region title in 09, as they just played in the region championship last night. If there is anyone who now doubts Boone's coach though, I don't think they truly understand how good that team was that they played last night. They have a very good chance at winning it all this year.

Dead on Bigmark. People down state are in for a real treat when they see this Holmes team. A lot think Holmes can't score but at Rupp I don't see many teams running a whole minute off the clock during one possession. Holmes has shown they can win playing ANY style whether it be slowing it down or playing uptempo. They've beaten teams by scoring in the 70's and they've beaten teams by scoring in the 30's and 40's. Holmes schedule has prepared them greatly for a run at Rupp as they've faced pretty much every style out there multiple times.

I've been to Mason Co several times in years past and no way they would have had that big of a crowd last night had it been at the fieldhouse or been able to hold that many fans. There was every bit of 7000+ there by halftime. Having it at the BOKC also brings out more casual fans that rarely attend the HS games. IMO the 10th region will be there every year that the 37th hosts the tournament. You also have to remember if the 10th were to have a long term contract with the BOKC, such as the 9th, they'd be able to work something out where they rotated the 9th/10th double header for each to play in the "primetime" slot every other year...or they could just play them on separate nights. IMO the double header brings out a lot more fans though.

Holmes has also been 3 years in a row and 4 of the past 5. :thumb: They've been to the state semi's and state championship the past two years...If things continue to progress they way they have (considering they've advanced one round farther each of the last two years), this is the year the Dogs cut down the nets and bring the state title back to the 9th region. I do agree that IF EC and Holmes meet in the semi's, the winner takes the big trophy home.

I agree. Tough not to have Highlands in that #2 spot considering they beat Boone already this year and return everyone for next season. Highlands and Holmes will be the two best teams in nky next year. Boone loses too much with Mcfarland, Brown, and Spaulding.

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I agree. :thumb: Elliott Co also has a much tougher road to the semi's as well IMO. I think they'll have a tough first round match up with Anderson Co and then meet either Mason Co or Shelby Valley again in the second round. If they're fortunate enough to get past those first two rounds, they'll then run in to Holmes, who IMO is the best defensive team down there. Again, offense sells tickets, defense wins championships.

I agree with Dawgs28. Holmes defense will carry them to the state title. Offense sells tickets, defense wins championships. Holmes is also the most experienced group down there, having played in the state title last year, which I feel will be a huge factor. They know what it's going to take to get back to the state title and win it this time. They have unfinished business to settle.

I agree with 5throundball, but if I had to rank them based on chances to win the sweet 16: 1. Holmes 2. Eastern 3. Corbin 4. Elliott Co 5. Shelby Valley 6. Lexcath 7. Mason Co 8. Anderson Co 9. Christian Co 10. Adair Co 11. Bowling Green 12. Hazard 13. West Jessamine 14. Central 15. Grayson Co 16. Graves Co

These two teams have two common opponents: Bryan Station 86 Holmes 72 @ Tates Creek Holmes 74 Bryan Station 56 @ Bryan Station Bryan Station 83 Christian Co 78 @ Christian Co Holmes 55 Henderson Co 42 @ Lloyd Christian Co 76 Henderson Co 62 @ Christian Co Christian Co 95 Henderson Co 82 @ Hopkinsville

I agree. Key match up in this game IMO is Wilson v R. Johnson. It will be interesting to see how Christian Co handles Holmes' defensive pressure. I don't think they've played a team yet that gets after it defensively the way Holmes will.

I disagree. They are playing much better defensively right now than earlier in the year. If you haven't noticed, the more points Holmes scores the worse their defense is. Also, Holmes offense is actually best when they're running sets and moving around offensively. I expect Holmes' offense to pick up a little at the state tourney. Teams aren't going to play as good of defense down there as teams in the 9th do...especially Holmes' first round opponent, Christian Co.

Match ups: 6'0 Riley v 6'1 Lewis 6'2 D. Johnson v 6'1 Wilford 6'4 J. Johnson v 6'3 Murden 6'5 R. Johnson v 6'4 Wilson 6'7 Pittman v 6'4 Kates

Same song, different day. Haven't nky folks been saying this the past month?? Holmes defense will be the difference in this one. They've given up an average of just 33 ppg the last 6 games. Looking at the Christian Co scores, it doesn't look like they play much defense which will hurt them against Holmes. The more offensive possessions you give them the worse it's going to get. I see Holmes getting the W. Holmes 65 Christian Co 52

I was surprised when Riley missed that free throw. He has been money from the line this year. Pittman did a great job grabbing the rebound over Earls though. BTW, he was 2 rebounds short of a double double...finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds.