ndillon40

Jamel Riley should be getting some low major, or at the very least D-II looks. Kid can play and is tremendously underrated. Did Brandon Housley not get any D-2 looks? Kid is a very nice athlete...

I played for Boone County, I've seen Boone and Holmes 10+ times this year each and I went to the State tournament for every game that Holmes played. I have zero reason to be biased in the favor of Holmes and against Boone. And I can say that I have serious doubts that Boone would have beaten Christian County and I'm extremely doubtful they could have beaten Lex Cath. When you play regional opponents you have a significant advantage in scouting your opponent (as opposed to teams across the state) and you have a much better idea of what the local teams like to do, how to stop them and how best to exploit their weaknesses for yourself to prosper. When you get to Rupp, it's basically 100% about player personnel and talent. It becomes less about strategy and more about who has the best players, not only because there is less knowledge of your opponent to be gained from seeing them play throughout the year, but once you get passed the first round you have less than 1 day to even prepare for said opponent, and of course in the finals you have less than 8 hours. Having said that, I don't really like this debate because it's waaaay too hypothetical. Who knows how well kids like Gabbard and McFarland would have handled the big stage and how much they would have stepped up (or not at all). They may have excelled there and played their best ball of the year or they may not have been able to handle it at all. Every single year you see teams underachieve and overachieve in Rupp, for various reasons. Boone had a very nice team this year, but I think looking at it on the surface they would have had a significant athletic disadvantage against teams like Christian Co and Lex Cath.

Thanks for posting it!

OlDog, I am not doubting you have this picture for one second because I know this happened, but could you please scan it and post it so I can have it? I've been trying to prove this to people and I can't find the picture anywhere on the internet. Thanks!

I was there, great game! Way to go Dawgs! :dancingpa

Awful.

Jaylen Beckham, while only a frosh, can play with anybody in the country. Kid is an elite talent. I do agree Holmes has superior personnel and should win this game though...

to all the "stall ball", whiner posts. Yeah, Boone wasn't running down and jacking up quick shots, but neither was Holmes. Holmes did nothing to push the pace of the game until about 2-3 minutes to go in the contest when they finally started utilizing their superior athleticism with a full-court trapping defense. Does Henley even employ an offensive scheme? There were 5-6 possessions on the night where Holmes simply passed the ball around the perimeter for 40+ seconds without making a single pick or cut. Still not sure I ever saw any possessions resembling any type of offensive execution. 90% of their offense was simply penetrating and either taking it up or kicking it out for a shot. Boone, conversely, had purpose in their halfcourt sets and executed them very well; getting open look after open look on baseline screens and UCLA cuts. Gabbard controlled the ball very well against Holmes' pressure. Yeah, Boone flourished in the halfcourt game, but they didn't "stall" it anymore than Holmes did- that's a homer excuse. "Stalling" the ball is running the ole Dean Smith 4 corners or just dribble and kicking it out all night while passing on open looks, Boone did none of that. Boone simply played with poise and out executed Holmes. End of story.

George Fant of Warren Central. 6'6", real nice athlete.

Pittman is visiting UK this weekend, any chance an offer comes?