chardice

Derek Springate - Head coach at Henry County.

Taylor Martin of LexCath is D1 talent and will be worth watching. He already has one offer from a D1 school. He and Beckham will be a great tandem along with Schuette and others next year.

Springate has been on the Mercer County bench for many games this summer - if that means anything. You can also see a little more of what Wayne County will have this season when Gavin Dunagan suits up for the ICE this summer. He has added a lot to that team.

Agree about the role of a PG. They can score but they should lead the team - be the floor general. Beckham does that, Justice does that and Fucci does that. I haven't seen it from Jackson. He does possess a lot of the intangibles but he isn't a strong leader all the time. If you haven't seen Fucci play, get out to see him over the next 6 weeks. He really can do it all - shoot, defend, drive, distribute, lead, create, rebound, dunk and whatever else you need. He can score 40 or 8, depending on what his team needs in a game. It will be interesting to see some of these guys develop over the next year or so.

Yes, Derrick Springate is the assistant and many thought he would get it. He is a great coach but never had the head job. He will probably pop up some where as a head assistant again.

Kelly is the new man. Springate probably heading out unfortunately.

I also heard that SS 16U Pittman will only be playing 2 tournaments in July due to football. Any truth to that?

The Ice will be there in Cincy along with Eddie Ford's right after, then Battle at the Bluff, Harley in Morganton and AAU Nationals in Orlando.

The Ice were without Martin, Wilder, Helton and Shotwell (Scott Co) for most of the weekend. Dunagan played most of the weekend and will be playing with them throughout the summer. Kiesling had an unbelievable weekend and is developing nicely. Fucci had the play of the tournament - dunked on a very good 6'6" player from Progeny on a fastbreak. It was a one handed tomahawk that he got fouled on. Fucci is adding new dimensions to his game every time out (3 dunks this weekend). Barnett (2012) shot the lights out for the Ice this weekend as well. There were several good teams at this tournament in the 16U division, including the Hoyas Elite, Royal Family and St. Louis Majestics. This is going to be a fun July!

Royal Family had about 15 athletic players - not sure of who any of them are. Scott Co. did not play with much desire and lost in pool play. They are the #3 going into the tournament. They have their full roster as well. The Ice played well for the most part but only have 6 due to baseball, injury and sickness. They are in the final 4 at noon tomorrow. St. Louis has a nice team in the 16U as well. Should be a good day for hoops on Sunday.

BTW, the new big kid on the Ice is strong and will be a huge addition to that roster. They won going away against Team So. IN tonight, 93-64, and only had 6 players. Without Fucci, Martin and Shotwell, the Ice still looked very strong. I think they will be back as a top team in KY by July. They will make some noise on the AAU circuit.

Those guys are supposedly being strongly asked to play by their coaches because it will be their full high school team. I know that partly because Shotwell is not playing with the Ice because he was asked to only play with SCHS.

Big kid from the 12th - maybe Wayne Co. That's just the word but until they play it hasn't been confirmed.

Lexington ICE, Scott Co 17U (Gwyn, Euton and Jackson) and other teams from around the region will be at Hoops for the Stimulus Tournament. The Ice have a new big man that should help but it's yet to be seen. Scott Co is playing with their full team, coached by Matt Walls.

There are a lot of good teams playing at Hoops this weekend. There are teams from several states. Scott Co. HS will have a team in the 17U - with JAckson, Gwyn, Euton and Shotwell. The Ice are playing in the 16U - without Martin due to baseball - but with a new player yet to be seen. There are teams from Indy, MO, GA and other places. Should be a good weekend.

Who does Stauffer play for in AAU? High School team?

Based on conversations with a parent from the team, The Truth (Thunder) 16U team played with 3 illegal players in pool play. The Ice contacted their center about playing in a tournament and they were told he was 17, a current junior and about to turn 18. That was the case with at least 2 other players. They quit after pool play, realizing they were in a 16U tournament. If you notice, the Thunder got blown out in the 1st round of the tournament without those guys. I know KBA ran a good tournament but there has to be something done about this.

Fucci is sure fun to watch. It is a discussion that can't really be answered as to who the best is but he flat gets after it. Yes, Stenzel seems to play down to comp at times. He can shoot the lights out and is a good player. He took a hard shot on Sunday. For college looks at PG especially, you need to evaluate who can score and who makes their team better. Fucci, Abell and Shanklin do that well.

I agree about Fucci - there's no way to truly determine the best player. He sure is fun to watch though.

Martin played one of the pool play games and that was it. If Fucci got dunked on, I missed it. Stenzel is a good player but he seems to let up quite a bit. Remy Abell is very strong along with Shanklin but I think they are just slightly behind Fucci. I'd take him before the other guys but they obviously are some of the best in the state.

Higher Level is typically a fair team. It will be interesting to see who is on the WKY Elite since most of the good players from WKY are on DSAS. Looks like DSAS and SS with the Ice and Truth on their heels.

It's down to 4 and their interviewed this week - Stone, Coldiron, Allen and one more. No word on how the interviews went.

Taylor Martin - Lex Cath - he really shined even with Vee Sanford. Tanner Shotwell - Scott Co - sat out this year but his game has really developed.

He was let go and he is supposedly one of the final 4 candidates for the Lafayette job according to a player.