Perfect Practice

Jody Demling is bias IMO. He only reports on the kids from Louisville or Lexington or Indiana. There were many many kids that performed extremely well this weekend from all parts of KY and he doesnt say anything about them. This is a shame IMO.

Before the AAU summer started, Jody Demling had Bobby Stauffer pegged as a young player to watch out for this summer. He has not disappointed in any game that I have seen him in. He just works hard and can do a lot on the floor. If he contintues to develop that 10-13 ft jump shot, he'll be hard to stop.

I do partially agree with you. Sometimes I think the switching teams after each tournament is ridiculous. I can somewhat understand playing with one team prior to the live period, and another team during the live period. But, where is the loyalty in basketball? If you play with a team, you should win with a team. Or, lose. You should have some since of loyalty. Changing from year to year is one thing, but from tournament to tournament is wrong.

I guess it would be Shining Star-Pittman. I just didnt know what they go by. Some of the Shining Stars teams go by "SS Blue" or "SS white" and some go by coaches names. I just didnt know this coaches name. I have seen them at a few tournaments and it does appear to be the same kids I have always seen, except Zeke Pike, who i believe usually plays for them. They're a good team. Anyone know if they won the 16's gold bracket?

I know that he plays for the NKY Bulldogs, and I think his number is 31. I dont really pay attention to the numbers in AAU basketball. I just look for local players that I have seen on a highschool team before. All though, I do think I recall his number being 31. The kid is a stud IMO.

I had a chance to see Bobby Stauffer again at the Eddie Ford HoopFest (which was a GREAT tournament) and he was doing really good things. Ryle coaches, players, and fans should be stoked about this kids ability and future. He was scoring, rebounding and defending well. He seems to have really learned how to put the ball on the floor and drive in and can really finish around the rim. HIs jumpshot seems to be improving rapidly also. Had a great game against the Derek Smith All-Stars, and led his team to a win. Someone also said that he seemed to be a "hot-head" of sorts, but that is incorrect. The boy just seems to have such a passion for the game. Lots of intensity and tenacity and that's what you want. Good for him. I hope he gets some looks.

There was a Shining Stars 16's in the Gold Bracket that I had a chance to see beat "Legion" today in the elite 8 of that bracket. Im not sure who the coach is, or if they are blue or white or any color, but I know that Scott Schuette (LexCatch), Jordan Gilbert (Mason County) and Treg Setty (Mason County) played on the team. Does anyone know how they finished?

I have heard this as well. I think KY has some really good stuff to offer right now (DSAS, Shining Stars, etc.), but I dont know how well these teams are known nationally (Like an Indy Elite organization). I have heard, and this may just be rumor, that there is going to be another basketball organization, or assembly of teams, starting up over the off-season and coming into next summer. I have heard its in the beginning stages and not much else was said. If this turns out to be the case, it would be great if the state of KY had a few fantastic organizations with players that can prove themselves and compete on a national level. After watching many games at the Adidas It Takes 5ive tournament and the Eddie Ford HoopFest, I thought all the KY teams showed pretty well. Keep up the great work players and coaches. We love our KY basketball.

How are the Shining Stars 16's doing? Who have they played?

DSAS 16U won the game against Common Bond by 17 from what I saw on the board. Great game between Common Bond and the United Celtics. 3 overtimes! The United Celtics won it.

A live video feed would be great. If you recieve anymore info on that, please share, I would like to tune in. I hope Team Kentucky does very well. Best of luck to them.

Does anyone know where Team Kentucky is this weekend? Thought I would see them at Hoopfest.

Its funny to me how people just cant wrap their heads around the fact that the DSAS lost a game. Much less to a team from NKY, that from what I know is made up of all kids that live close by, and arent pulled from all over the state. I guess thats what you get when a team is so well known and beloved because they represent so well. A congrats to the NKY Bulldogs is in order and that's all that needs to be said. Just like to any other team that wins a game. Surely the coaches dont use that as an excuse, or the players, and as fans we shouldn't either. We all know about DSAS. They are a very good team and a great group of talent. They will bounce back just fine. And, it amazes me that people talk about them needing Fant and Shanklin. You can say "no disrespect to anyone," but what disrespect that is to the other great talent on that team. Funny how saying "no disrespect, but..." always turns out to sound disrespectful. On another note: DSAS plays Common Bond tonight at 8:30pm. I will be watching and hope that they represent the state of KY very well, as they always do, and I'm sure will do again tonight.

If you were watching the game how did you not know who they were playing? The jersey's say BULLDOGS in big red letters. I guess Im not saying that you said they gave the NKY Bulldogs the game, it just seemed that way when you said they were missing guys, and only won by a few points. IMO a few points is 2 or 3, and this win was by 9. Plus, you stated that they were missing guys, like this makes a huge difference. Every player on that team is well-known in the state and is a good player. The Bulldogs looked short-handed as well, but not sure. Sorry if that was a mis-assumption.

Did the Shining Stars 16U team with Schuette, Smith, Gilbert, Pawsett etc., etc., win this morning? I saw they had a HUGE win yesterday, some 89-25. Wow. I also noticed that Zeke Pike isnt playing with them. I like his game. Where is he this weekend?

You make it seem like the Bulldogs didnt earn this win. Like it was given to them. I watched this game because I really like what DSAS does, plus that Bulldogs team gives many teams problems, and the NKY Bulldogs went out and took this game. I mean how many top 10 players do you need on one team to get the win? Fant and Shanklin take points away from other players on the floor in this game. And... I was keeping track of Stenzel, big fan, and hes a great player, absolutely no doubt. He did not finish with points in the 20's. He had 13, to 15 at the most.

For those of you who did not get to see the early 8am game between DSAS and the NKY Bulldogs, you missed a real good win for a local Northern Kentucky team. The NKY Bulldogs did not just win this game, they took it to the DSAS. They eventually won the game by 9 points i believe it was, but they led and were in control nearly the whole game.. The Bulldogs came out and did not look intimidated and really played fundamentally sound. They appeared well prepared and ready to play this game. In the game, and these stats are approximate... Bobby Stauffer (Ryle Highschool) was a force down low with 21-23 points. Jake Flesch (Conner Highschool) 10-11 pts and fantastic defense. Jack Stewart (Highlands Highschool) 10-12 points. Matt Trammel finished with 11 pts I believe and hit some key free throws late. Travis Montgomery (Boone County High) had a good first half with about 10 pts. Other notables were the whole team. All of the boys played very well and should keep their heads on straight and work really hard. That's what it's about. Really good team. The DSAS of course would not go laying down. They are obviously a very good team that everyone knows about and play with 6 or 7 of the top players in the state at their age level. Timmy Knipp was great in the first half with 18 points or so.He was then quieted in the second half with adjustments made, but he still made an impact early. Remy Abell was really good and has the ability to slash to the rim like few others can. He finished with 22 or so points and had a 3 or 4 very nice passes. Robbie Stenzel is also a really good player with a unique slashing ability and is a good shooter. He had 13 or so. This was a good early game, and I wish the best of luck to both teams from this point going forward. Im sure both teams will now look forward and put this one behind them.

Tonight CBIZ defeated Common Bond by 6 or 7 points. They are a very fundamentally sound team. A spectator told me that the kids are from different areas in Ohio, including: Peebles, Dayton, Findley, Cleveland and Toledo. Every kid on the team could shoot the ball if needed and they rebounded very soundly. Common Bond missed some critical shots late in the game, that they had made in an earlier game. Club Ohio also defeated a team known as Select. It appeared to be a very sloppy game and was low scoring. Club Ohio won by 3. Select had a chance late off of a turnover, but a last second 3 point try was blocked. Also, so im breaking news that I am hearing about. DSAS has made it into the tournament. A team known as "Mission" from Canada, has dropped out of the tournament after one game (a loss to CBIZ), and DSAS will be replacing them. They way I understand it and was told by one person was that DSAS will take a forfeit for the first game and will play against the NKY Bulldogs at 8am tomorrow morning. This should be quite a test for the Bulldogs. But, if they play DSAS like they do everyone else, they could compete. Though dont forget, DSAS is cream of the crop in KY right now. I hope everything is okay for the Mission team from Canada.

Yeah. I agree with you here. Coaches arent worried about any organization. You must prove yourself. Setty is a good player, but generally at this point in the summer, teams have allready developed a certain type of game. I guess he felt the SS would be good for him. He appeared to just be running up and down the floor in the game I saw the SS play Camp Daryll. Maybe they were just working him in though.

Chane Behanen played for the KY Blazer tonight? or Indy Elite?

After traveling down to Louisvill from the Adidas It Takes 5ive tournament, I was stoked to watch the teams from Kentucky and Cincinnati. The Shining Stars 16U was up really big in a game at Half Time against a team called Camp Daryl. The SS looked good in the first half, but since it was such a blowout, I left to watch other games. Scott Schuette was 3 of 4 from 3 point range while I was watching. This kid can really light it up. Jordan Gilbert also looked very solid, both shooting the ball and setting up his teammates. Kellen Smith had 2 or 3 nice looking passes from the break. The score was 39-10 at half time. I also saw a Treg Setty siting for the Shining Stars. Anyone know when they picked him up? I didnt see him with them in Cincinnati. Setty seems to have played with quite a few teams this summer. Anyone ever heard of this Camp Daryl team? Also saw the 16U Common Bond v. NKY Bulldogs. Another very close game for both teams. Both showed pretty well in Cincinnati at the Take Five, and both seemed to enjoy playing each other in this HoopFest tournament. Common Bond won by 3 at the end, but the NKY Bulldogs had a 12 point lead in the first half. A couple missed free throws in the game, otherwise your local NKY Bulldogs would have pulled this one out. The refing looks great here in louisville compared to the offsites in Cincinnati. Tyler Hodges of Conner looked great in the game with 12 points, 6 or 7 blocks, and 7 or 8 rebounds. This kid just keeps getting better. Bobby Stauffer also had a great game with about 16 points and probably 6 or 7 boards. 16U CBiz v. Mission 2 Canada played in a good game. Got to see the end of this game and CBiz (ohio) pulled this game out by 7. Good game overall from what I could see and both teams were very competitive. These were the games I saw early one. Had to leave to take care of some business. I'll be headed back tonight for more basketball watching and provide more updates later tonight.

Behanen did play from what I heard with OBC.

This is possible, but with Chane Behanen going to Bowling Green from Aiken in Ohio, I think if he plays his game, he'll be the number 1 player in the state of KY for 2011

Doesnt Jake Thelen also play for Shining Stars Price?

As on onlooker, and sitting behind some of the scorers tables, several of the book-keepers had asked the stat-keepers from different teams how many fouls they had on their books. Wow. This opens up for some major possibilities. I didnt like that. And, as you have allready stated, I saw some playing with cell phones. Unacceptable.