Grizzly33

When Lloyd plays NCC and Dixie and some tougher competition, does their hot start continue in do an upstart season? Like to hear from some people that have seen them play as I have not yet. Also, did anybody think Lloyd at the beginning of the year was a threat? Are they now?

I've heard Grieser, Stone, Mendenhall, and Sanford as applicants. Stone, Mendenhall, and Sanford all former Kelley assistants. These are just four names I've heard. Would think Starns and possibly Bordas from Bourbon would apply as well. My personal choice would be Greg Coldiron. I don't know where his interest level is, but I would love to see him back as a varsity head coach.

Yes, kid is red hot.

Teams 1. Holmes 2. Highlands 3. Boone 4. Conner 5. Ncc 6. Dixie 7. Ryle 8. CovCath 9. Newport 10. Dayton (yes, Dayton) Players 1. Elijah Pittman - Holmes 2. Ricardo Johnson - Holmes 3. Jeremiah Johnson - Holmes 4. Blake Bryan - Villa 5. Mike Gabbard - Boone 6. Grant Pangallo - NCC 7. Mitch McLeish - Ryle 8. Stephen Kowolonek - Highlands 9. Casey McDaniel - Newport 10. Shawn Eastin - Dayton I'm strongly thinking that Eastin and the Green Devils prove my guess right that they're going to be solid. Holmes dominates everything. Bryan, Gabbard, and McLeish are the only 3 I have that don't either play for Holmes or in the 36th district. I don't know what that means. I also know you might call me crazy for choosing McDaniel and Eastin.

Then they need to look downstate. Bring someone from a bigger stage. Damon Kelley, as I mentioned before, is a name I've been told is on the candidate list for sure. Who else from Lexington, Louisville, or other big stages could be interested?

Disagree with the short debate argument. Maybe I would change my tune if Holmes threepeats final four appearance. I think you have to throw in CovCath as an option. I'd probably still lean to Holmes but before 2005 it was all CovCath IMO. Highlands number 3, Boone number 4, NCC number 5.

According to nky.com, the Johnson brothers and Pittman all had over 200 boards for the year.

Heard from a really realiable source that you can add former Lafayette coach Damon Kelley to the list of candidates being considered by Highlands.

Lol. I like Feldmann alot. Butler I know has gotten at least one head coaching job offer in Ohio(can't recall the name, it was small), but he wouldn't be my choice. I just think they're going to want to look at their Ft. Thomas options first.

Pretty sure Principal Rowe likes Coach L alot. I would think that as a former basketball coach himself, Rowe understands the rough situation Coach L had with injuries this year. As the Highlands job go, yes, Mike Code is out. I'm getting that from not only here but other sources that I know are reliable. I would say look down state for a candidate or look in house. Two names I would throw out there are Josh Feldman and Terry Butler, although I don't know what they're teaching degree situation is.

I'm wondering who the two "others" are? I went J. Johnson because I think he is better built as a rebounding machine when compared to Pittman, though we all know how athletic Pittman is.

Poll should be up now.

Above are listed the top ten returning rebounding leaders as listed by the NKY Enquirer. Who will be the rebounding leader for the region next year? Why? How will this influence his team and his team's success? The players are listed in order they finished in rebounds for 2008-2009.

Young player, shots weren't falling against Holmes. Holmes was statistically the best defense in the state right? I think Popp did well outside that game, a game which had almost no offense. Popp is a kid that is still developing his all around game - including the part that will make it more possible for him to create his own shot. Connor at NewCath went through the same process. To my understanding, the term pure shooter means the kid's shot. He has that over Pangallo and Meyer IMO. Now, overall offensive threat is different discussion. Can't sway me off the pure shooter argument though. We're starting to get off topic though. My opinion Pangallo is best offensive threat out of anyone on Boone or NCC's teams. Gabbard will be assists leader though.

How'd I forgot about Andy? You can't miss him when he's on the court. You're right though, he's before Brown and better than Giesler now. I think we're going to have to agree to disagree on the best pure shooter. Popp's got a serious stroke. Pangallo and Meyer are too inconsistent IMO.

Boone returns athlete Cotton, shooter Popp, and big guy Brown(not the #24 who graduates) among others. NCC returns big guy Jake Giesler, scrappy stud Shaun Meyer, role player Derek Schmidt, will-be-sophomores Evan Morse(hoss) and Brady Hightchew(undersized but incredibly skilled guard), and a slew of this year's JV players who should contribute including Kyle Moore, Brian Doyle, and Tyler Lampe among others. I think Giesler is a better big man than Brown, Cotton is more athletic than Meyer though Shaun is the better shooter, and I think Popp is the best pure shooter in NKY. Pretty equal in the role player category from what I know.

Who threw in relief?

As far as NCC goes - Jake Cain should be your leader for UK. MVP will be RB/LB Chris Kelly who saw action this year sharing runs with his brother Mark. NCC has gotten lucky with skilled classes. This class has some great players, especially hard hitters like Garrett Brown and Jake Smith, but no explosive studs like Kues, M. Kelly, Brian Wrobleski from two years ago, and Michael Vicars from three years ago. Jake Giesler, though basketball more and more looks like his sport, should contribute greatly on the line with Brown, Smith, Paul Eviston, and a few others. Brennan Daunt and Brian Doyle will both be great as juniors, Daunt TE/LB and Doyle WR/DB. I'm leaving out alot of players probably but those are my highlights. Also unfortunate news is Michael Owen, who got some time as a sophomore as ILB, will not be returning. He would have contributed on defense the next two years but has been medically declared unable to play. He may not have started til his senior year and I don't know what impact he would have had, but I feel for the kid.

Sophomore Jake Cain should be cathcing, thats who you're probably talking about. Those of you who followed NCC football would remember him as the backup QB. He's got a cannon.

Wes Smith, the will-be-senior center, will make an excellent target for Trammel this year. He doesn't have the outside shooting ability of Pompilio, but he is a great athletic big man. I also think Raleigh will give Trammel substantial help in the backcourt. He won't have as an outstanding a year as I think Gabbard(my choice) and Pangallo will have, but by his senior year he might not only be the best PG in the region but the best overall guard as he also has decent scoring ability.

I agree Lother especially will make a run for it, but I kept it within the top ten leaders from this year. I also know Mayfield will probably be close to reaching Riley's success, but yet Riley wasn't the assists leader this year; Grant Pangallo was the overall leader in the 9th and second in the NKAC to Kellen Smith from Scott. Ricardo Johnson actually had 4 more assists than Riley, the duo finishing 5 and 6 respectively in the region. Remember all stats come from Enquirer.

Never mentioned PG. True, many of these listed are, but I'm asking for who will tally the most assists. I'm then asking how these players affect their team. Ricardo Johnson and Mitch McLeish are prime examples of players on this list who do not play PG.

Poll consists of the top 10 returning 9th region players in assists according to Northern Kentucky Enquirer. Vote for who you think sits atop the 9th Region assists leaderboard at the end of next season. Why? How does that particular player help his team? Will that players performance make his team successful?

I think if you can physically D up Holmes (very hard to do but happened this year a couple times at least, not all in Bulldogs losses), grind it out, and hope for offensive breakdowns, you have a chance. I think Highlands and Boone can both do this next year and I think the departure of PG Riley will be a huge factor. I think the Bulldog offense becomes a good deal more unstable without Riley standing in there. Highlands style fits into the equation of a hardnosed defensive minded team that could take Holmes to the wire. Shots would have to fall big time too though. As evident in the Region championship, Holmes will score against less talented NKY teams, but pace and physicality could play a huge role. (Also see competitive games with Ryle and Simon Kenton, two opponents with large deficits in athleticism when compared with Holmes.)

Boone might be the obvious choice but who knows? What other teams can prevent them from leaving the region? Why? What do they have to do? Can anyone touch them with the amount of talent they return?