TruBlu

Oh I beg to differ on the Elliott Co. remark by old shooter. I was disapponted that match didn't occur. A team can only improve when they play better competition. Certanly Elliott would have been dominant. Dodging bullits is not what Ashland is all about. We are definitely in a rebuilding phase and it will be a couple of years before we pull out of this slump.

Actually Clark Co. didn't have as easy a time as some posters think. I didn't expect Ashland to win but Clark didn't look overly outstanding and they wouldn't have won Mason if not for the stupid last second foul by the Mason Co. player. No disrespect to their team or coach. They are a very solid team but I was not as impressed as I thought I would be. Clearly they were more athletic than Ashland but Ashland never quit and once again, if you were there, you would have seen how easily this could have been an upset.

Considering Ashland was only down by three in the 4th I would say Ashland has definitely improved. This Clark County team was much bigger, and more athletic. However the T-Cats didn't embarrass themselves or the fans - they played hard. If just a couple of the in and out shots had fallen it would have been a different story. Biggs got a technical early but in his postion I feel I would have veen every bit as intense at arguing that point. He has gone up consideraly in my estimation of late. Good job T-Cats and Coach Biggs.

If anything, I would have to say that GC looked better than they did in Dec.

Well, Ashland all but doesn't have a student section. Very poor attendance and lackluster interest of those who are there. Is it kids these days or what?

Once the T-Cats got going they looked pretty sharp. Glad to see the win!! Will Skaggs never quit in a hard fought contest and was in my opinion the glue that held it together. :thumb:

I totally agree Cheapsnate. I knew I couldn't remember ever seeing that at Ashland. JV is just dress rehearsal for varsity and if there is no where for the senior to go then whats the point? My opinion

With the impending storm, when will we know if this game is still on? Elliott is out of school again today.

Well I have never seen this happen in any sport in my area that I can remember. (16th region) Therefore I just assumed that seniors couldn't play JV. If this has happened in my region recently could someone please give an example?:idunno:

I would say Elliott will be ready to avenge the recent loss so Ashland will be the sounding board. Elliott by 30.

I can only speak for Ashland and I don't hear the parents yelling anything except opposition to the refs calls, which have been somewhat questionable this year. There is one dad who does yell "shoot it" once in awhile but thats pretty rare. Honestly, I think most parents are pretty supportive there.

And wow! Lbbc your knowledge of the situation at Pendleton is impressive. Thanks for sharing.

The juniors at Ashland are Skaggs, Conner Swift, Drew Royalty and Jimmy Alexander if my program is correct.

hahahaha that is funny! I do think parents would be better off encouraging the kids to support and respect the coaches overall and not getting involved in being critical of their playing time.

I agree with you Over and Back about not quitting in the middle. However, since it's happened several times...I doubt it is the young men. It's also a shame that others have decided not to return. Losing too many = a problem and personality problems if it were just once, well ok, but numerous times??? Go figure.

Hopefully, Ashland will not continue to lose players. I think it's in the programs best interest to develop and encourage the kids they have. There is more talent there than you think. Coach Biggs is only playing 7-8 boys and his plan was to play 10. kids can't improve without "pt". He might be surprised at some of his bench strength if he would only trust it and give them a couple of min to get comfortable on the floor. I take exception with posters implying that there is little talent coming up in Ashland. I disagree with that opinion. No, there are no Timmy Knipps, but honestly how many of those are there?? We do have boys who can play ball.

Weighing in again on the Ashland situation. Yes, all who most recently threw in the towel were starters, Bowling, Rowe, JD Adams and all are good kids and hard workers. So the "pt" theory doesn't work here. John Baldock wasn't given much of a chance as a junior so he hung it up at the end of last year. This makes the only remaining senior - Ryan Bonner. I do think Biggs is knowledgable of the game, works the kids hard and of course wants to win. However, it has been suggested to me that he may not be the best communicator where youth is concerned and the young men find it difficult to relate to him. When that many kids who have played basketball their entire life just give up their dreams within a short period of time....something is wrong. People, we don't see the practices and noone can comment on those except for the kids and coaches involved. I doubt there will be any clear cut answers to the problems anytime soon, if ever, so I say push ahead......work with what you have and get the feeder system going in the right direction. This year may not be a total loss. As some have said, losing by 1 point doesn't make you a bad team. Don't give up on them yet!!

Another point to be made is that in Ohio and WV kids play on 8.5 foot baskets but in KY they play on 10 foot baskets which automatically sets a young kid up for shooting incorrectly. Thats why in my opinion the shooters from WV and OH are better when they reach highschool and beyond than they are from Ashland.

Well I agree with chuckbarkley99 too many kids aren't being taught properly in the feeder system. With the most recent changes in the elementary program I'm sure there were some glitches and disappointments surrounding practice time, etc. I wish a younger man wirh energy and entusiasm would find the time to take over the program and implement some real training techniques instead of just playing games. Us old guys just don't have what it takes anymore, sadly. Just my opinion

I totally agree that fundamentals are not being taught correctly. Nothing makes me cringe more than a dad proudly sticking out his chest when 12 yr old little "junior" hits a 3 with the ugliest shot imaginable pushed out of 2 hands. If I had a nickel for everytime a dad has looked at me and said, "he can do that all day long...". I want to say, "why?". Incorrect shooting and kids catching the ball & bringing it down to their waist to push it up before they shoot is quite common in highschool sports. I won't comment further on the "powers that be" in the Ashland program except to say that it has less to do with those fellas than people think. I could name all the Boosters and tell you that they are every bit as bewildered by the problem as those out of the loop. Noone wants to see hardworking kids quit.

The 6th grade is still ie. Poage Pioneers, Hager Wildcats, Oakview Comets, etc. but the 4th and 5th grade teams are now mixed up with kids from each elementary and go by other names ie. "Cardinals", etc. They aren't affiliated with the gradeschools any longer. Its more of a draft system this year.

I do remember a few years ago hearing that on the elementary level the youth league would not allow gradeschool players to be on another league other than the Ashland Youth Basketball League. I knew then of a few kids who were on both a Huntington league and the youth league but they had to keep their participation quiet. I believe Rannie Cooper was over the youth league at that time. Does anyone know if those rules have changed with the new youth system in effect?

Well, with all the open gyms (supposedly voluntary) and basketball camps Ashland players are required to attend as a team the only period Ashland is down is the required dead period. Like football, basketball is almost a year around endeavor at Blazer. There aren't many players who play only basketball though. Most play football and a handful play soccer or baseball. I have no idea where the adversity to AAU comes from but it was that way when Flynn was there as well.

Several of the current crop of Ashland varsity and JV players did play AAU in grade school and middle school.

You are right. It should have been a win...but Ashland didn't rebound well at all...again weakness under the basket.