Handy Manny

Brandon Ernstes has been starting in his place. Hodges has been getting plenty of time off the bench and until last night he was probably averaging 13 - 15 points a game. Coach Hicks was using Hodges on defense and Robinson on offense alot last night because Conner was trying to match Campbell with a four guard lineup. Conner is definately playing better as of late. It is good to see some passion and drive in the boys. Hopefully they spend some quality time at the free throw line over the next week before Ryle. This game could have been over in regulation had they made a few more free throws.

I agree. It looks like the 10 from Crabtree was the difference maker.

Congrats to Kellen Smith for scoring his 1000+ points. There shouldn't be a person out there that is surprised that Dixie lost a game finally. Scott matched up very well with them and had already lost to them once. It appears Coach Carr had figured it out. Congrats Eagles.

This region is very wide open. You still cannot count Conner out of the picture to turn it on come tourny time. They play Campbell tonight and will be a good test to see if they are really getting it together.

I realized my title needs work, but it was a little late. Can a mod please correct this for me?

Game has been postponed from Tuesday, but will be played at Conner on Thursday 1/13. This will be the their second meeting this season. The first was in the Lloyd tournament with the Camels coming out on top. Conner has won their last three games against lighter opponents. Does the streak continue or do the Camels take this one?

I think this game will really show how much Montgomery will be missed. I am going with NCC 62 - 56.

I feel like you have to go with what the team is doing currently. Who beat who early in the season means nothing. This looks like a pretty solid poll.

Conner struggled from the line also. Several front ends of 1 and 1's were missed. This was a hard faught game for the Cougars and good to pick up a win on the road against a very relentless St. Henry team.

I think alot of teams are truely underestimating this Cooper team. Coach Sullivan is a great coach and he has taken his lumps with this group, but they were young and now they are growing up. Look for Cooper to be a serious contender in a year or so.

Very unfortunate for a gifted athlete and great person. Travis is a model for the ideal student athlete. He excells in the classroom and on the court. He has a great head on his shoulders and hopefully this will not set him too far back from achieving his goals. As others have stated, it is just a bump in the road.

I agree officiating was horrible. Conner is picking their game up. They have made some adjustments that appear to be working. The Australia team was better than average. They had one big guy who was really good and a couple of shorter guards who were very scrappy. They played a rough aggressive game. They lack depth and their schedule doesn't benefit them either. I beleive they were in town for two days with two games and they leave this morning. That is hard to do and play your best. They would fit in nicely with the rest of the NKY teams in their ability to beat alot of teams on any given night.

Final from Hebron

Austrailian Travel, St. Henry. The next two. Ryle Cooper Boone starts district play.

It was effective against Newport. I would think that not all changes are permanent, but hope that some are.

Is Holy Cross really a top 10 yet? This was a nice win, but remember that Ryle is still without Vollet. He is a game changer. I am not taking away from the win at all, but just not sure about top 10. I am extremely happy to see Mr. Allen's name in the box score liek that. He is a great guy and a nice player.

Much needed win for the Cougars. A little confidence will go a long way with this group. Their upcoming schedule is pretty favorable and should allow them to hopefully work the kinks out before getting back into district play. Coach Hicks experimented a little last night and it paid off with a huge win. It's good to see some life back in Hebron. Albeit, it was Newport, but Conner beat them the way a good team should have which shows what they are capable of. Conner did not have a starter on the floor in the 4th quarter and still managed to grow the lead. Good signs for the bench. Congrats Cougars. Keep working.

I can rememeber a couple of years ago when Dixie Heights had a big big guy named Luke Mace. He used to touch the ball on every trip down the floor. As he should, but this years Dixie team I feel is more guard oriented and tends to focus more on perimeter shooting. This is jsut an example of adjusting to fit your strengths.

I think there are some who adjust.

Case in point. That is why I question why a high school coach would prefer to use a system that doesn't always benefit them from year to year. Coaches are the only constant on the team. One year you may have shooters, one year bigs, and one year horses. Do you always play the same style or do you play to your strengths.

And yet talent and potential are always the same. I have never said that Conner needs to play an AAU style of ball. I have said that Conner needs to utilize the strengths of their players as they were in AAU.

That I know of: Hodges and Flesch played for the NKY Bulldogs Robinson would have played, but was out most of the summer with a shoulder injury. Carter Byrns and Cody Huff played for the NKY Rhinos, but I am not sure how high level that was.

Exactly. I have seen these kids win and now I see them loose. Why not play to a team's strength and win than force them to play another way and loose. I will take wins all day.

No arguement here. Hodges has to be able to stay on the floor. 1 or 2 silly fouls coupled with 2 or 3 that he will earn are not getting it done. He needs to cut out the silly fouls 50 feet from the basket and learn how to defend the stronger guys in the paint to avoid the others.

Hodges and Flesch. Hodges is a not a back to the basket center. He is a 6'8" wing forward and needs to be played as such. He struggles to defend stronger opponents and would be better suited to use his 7'2" wingspan to deny the stronger players. He could easily be the biggest mismatch on the floor at any given time if he was able to play his game within their system. Flesch is one of the better point guards in the region and has the ability to create alot more than he does. I'm not sure if he has the green light to do so