bigmarc78

I am about to stop looking at Cantrell's poll lol. If you can honestly, consistantly tell me Scott Co is better than Holmes after the Dawgs dominated them on a nuetral court I do not think I can take the poll seriously lol....

Have they contacted though or are they just watching him? Go UC lol. sorry about that all my UK and UofL fans he threw it out there so I had to say something.

I didn't see this one being this close. Has Dixie really turned it on or has Highlands taken the foot off the gas. Struggled with Dixie, Campbell Co., and lost to Beechwood in 3 of the last 4. I think they are number 2 or 3 in N.Ky but they don't have that killer instinct. They are letting teams hang around or beat them. How good is Dixie really, are they really coming on? They have played close to Highlands twice and they beat Scott but they are 9-9 with no real big wins. I think Highlands beating them by 3 is more of a let down from highlands than dixie turning the corner.

Bad season for CCH, I am not suprised that they lost this season no matter who they play. I have seen them twice vs. Highlands as NKU and vs. Holmes they dont impress me or even show me upside this season at all.

I have seen both schools play against Holmes, with what I have seen I will take Scott Co. by 15

GT who have you heard? Just a curious because I am still haven't heard much. Are they keeping and eye on him or have they contacted him and coaches?

Feb 6, 09 Highlands home 7:30 PM Feb 7, 09 Hazard home 7:30 PM Feb 10, 09 Boone County away 7:30 PM I think if it happens this is the stretch where you could see it. Three solid opponets in 5 days. Hazard the day after Highlands is a scary game to me.

I agree with you. JJ can eventually get there because he has a little time but I don't think he is there yet. Develop an outside and mid-range game over the summer and improve handling the ball and he is there but not quite yet. Pittman has unlimited upside and Rico is a player.

I agree that if he continues getting better he could possibly be a mid-major guy, but you have to agree that as of January 25th, 2009 he isn't. The good thing is he doesn't have to be today, he still has an entire year to get there. I know for a fact however the coaching staff at Miami OH (a MAC school) has called him a 6'4 post player, that there were not interested in at this time. As far as other coaching staff's and other MAC schools I am not sure, he may be on there radar, not sure, but have they contacted the staff at Holmes about him yet? But yes I agree that he can get there.

If he improves it is possible but today he is not a d-1 player. I have watched them a ton, I was at the Lloyd Memorial for all the games there, I was at the second Bryan Station game, I was at the Ballard game, I was at the Scott Co game, watched Largo on TV, and I will be there monday again. I keep up with this team. Also if you would have read my earlier post I said everyone from 2-5 on this team is interchangable. I said on this Holmes team he would have to be considered the 4 though due to the players roles. They don't have a true post player on they roster (Pittman is closet thing and he plays away from the basket alot to be considered a true post player at this point), they all move with out the ball, they all handle the ball at some point, they all can get shots off the dribble.

I was at the game, and I am not doubting what he brings to the table, the kid is a very good player. There are a lot of really good players in the country though. I love the kid and wanna see him do well but I don't think he is ready for Major of Mid-Major consideration right now. I have seem him and Holmes play several times this year, I am familiar with his skills, as well as the rest of the guys.

Trust me I know about the talent that lands in the MAC, I know quite a bit about the game and I just don't think JJ is going to land there. Not unless something changes from this year to next. I can tell I am not very popular on this subject but just know I am trying to be 100% honest. I like JJ, I want him, Eli, and Rico to all play big time ball somewhere but the reality of the topic is he is not being recuited by Miami right now and he is not on they radar, as far as Akron and Wright St I dunno, if his AAU coach says he is then maybe they have reached out to him for information on him and maybe they are interested. But from the information I have obtained he is not being recruited by any major or mid-majors currently for the reason's I have previously mentioned. Hopefully I am wrong

Why would a mid-major recruit a kid at a position that is not natural and that he hasn't shown that he can produce from yet when they can recruit a kid that plays that position naturally? Its a gamble, he may get that look but he isn't getting those looks as of right now from the information I have obtained. I would love to see him get that chance but honestly I don't see him getting that look from those schools. Small D-1 maybe, D-1AA more than likely but MAC or anything bigger is a little bit of a reach IMO.

He is already 6'7 and he is 16 years old. He has potential to be in the 6'8 to 6'10 range. Also his has come a long way since last year, yes he is a Jr. but he didn't play much last year until the state tournament. He has about 20-25 games of real varsity experience. He is still maturing as a player.

I agree they are 2 different things but right now his abilities and skill sets are those as a post player. Until he show's he is more versitile the mid-majors and D-1's are going to stay away from him. Why recruit a 6-4 kid with the same skill set as a 6-7 or 6-8 kid you can get at that level. Trust me I like the kid, I like him alot but right now he is not a big or mid-major division 1 ball player.

His ball handling skills are not good enough yet to play the 2 in college. Especially at a Major or even mid-major D-1. Rico plays the just about anywhere on the court but the 5, and Dom is listed as the 2 man on Holmes team this year. Rico is more involved in bringing the ball up and things of that nature there for I would label him the 3, and JJ's skill set is defending and on the glass, that is typically a post players skill set IMO. He rarely handles the ball. In Holmes offense though everyone is a slasher and they are so athletic they all look like wing players. But at the end of the day JJ plays more of the 4 role on that team IMO. Other than Riley I think they are all interchangeable to an extent though, you can label whoever you want the 2-5 guy on that team.

:confused: that is very humble coming from you :lol: I was expecting 30+ coming from you. I like the modest approach though.

Ok, because thats the first I have heard about any of that. AAU is a good outlet for the kids to expose the kids on the court abilities against other top players. At some point the real recruiting process would have to take place through the school though. If there is real interest they eventually have to go through the school to find out what kind of STUDENT/athlete the kid is. Obviously the athlete part is there but that's only half of recuiting. Not at all saying he isn't a good student but that would be varified by admin. at the school, Henley and his staff, or someone inside of the high school. Plus being a 6-4 post player doesn't help him with major or even mid-major D-1's. He is undersized for his particular skill set right now. I can see maybe small D-1 or D-1AA showing some interest right now unless he his a growth spurt.

Is he recieving your typical recruiting letters? The come look at our program mail or is it actual interest? Alot of colleges send letters and flyers to players with no real interest or very minimal interest just to get on that kids radar. I am curious of the interest of these programs because this is the first I have heard of any MAC school taking serious interest in him. I do however know Miami U has had some moderate interest in Elijah Pittman and Ricardo Johnson.

If I was a betting man, I would put money on Holmes running the table the rest of the regular season well before I put money on them dropping a game. This team in tough, they are battle tested to an extent with wins over Scott Co, Bryan Station, Ballard, Largo, and handling a solid Franklin Co. team with ease. It is hard for me seeing Ryle or anyone else from N.Ky beating then this season. With that being said I will say I am taking Holmes by 20. Hopefully some highlights as well, because I will be in attendence. :lol:

If Pittman continues developing at the pace he has been that list will grow really, really fast. Rico is a smart basketball player and he can get to the basket whenever he wants, he doesn't press the issue and lets the game come to him, there is a reason you are seeing some decent D-1's on his list, he is a player. Riley is a great shooter, he as well lets the game come to him and any JUCO or small school would be lucky to have him. I am also interested in what JJ's recruiting process is looking like currently :confused:. He is 6'4 or 6'5 but grabs boards like a 6'8 or 6'9 kid, he is a great on the ball defender, and he isn't a top scorer but if called upon he can fill it up as well.

I watched the whole game, at times he did play good defense which lets you know that he is capable of getting it done, but at times he slacked off. I wish he would have had that intensity on defense the entire game rather than turning it on and off at different times in the game. I know Ricardo and his brother are excellent defenders as well as pittman and the rest of the guys but he didn't keep up the energy on that side of the ball for the full 32 minutes tonight IMO. Again it could have been because of the early foul issues but that is one of the things I noticed through out the course of the game.

Congrats to the Vikings, that is a huge win for them. I would love to see a Princeton vs Holmes match up. Let them go at it on a nuetral court. I would be there for sure. :popcorn:

Back to the game though, it was televised locally here in N.KY so it was a good chance for area high school fans to see a really good Holmes team play without leaving there couch. I was impressed with Pittman early, he is a big that can put the ball on the floor and get to the basket, he can step out and knock down a jump shot, he plays the boards well, and he is long and contests many shots. He looked really good. Ricardo Johnson showed he can get to the rim and get to the line pretty much whenever he wanted too. He looked good putting his head down and driving to the basket all night. On defense however it seemed like he at times just wasn't active. He stood under the rim, not contesting shots, ect. Could have to do with the early foul trouble he was in but I would have liked to see him a little more active down low. Jamel Riley if I am not mistaken went 2-4 from downtown, and in the closing minutes got some easy buckets in the paint because Largo seemed to be more focused on the other weapons that Holmes brings to the table so I am sure his stat line looked nice at the end of the night as well. JJ was however the only one who showed up on the glass and Arnold played well off the bench. Other than the second quarter it was a solid game for one of the states best teams. The got beat up on the boards a little bit and got sloppy at times but managed to battle back and pull off a win against a solid out of state challenger.

There are a number of reasons a D-1 prospect would go to a smaller school. One of which is that if you would be an average player at a small D-1 but a big time guy at a smaller school you may want to be that big fish in a small pond. Another reason is grades or test scores. The NCAA has rules and regulations set up that if you don't have a certain GPA coupled with a certain ACT/SAT score you will be what they call a partial qualifier. In that case you have to make the choice to either sit out at a D-1 for at least a year, go to a JUCO, or head to a NAIA or D-2 school.