Perfect Practice

For those of you who have not had a chance to get out and watch the Adidas It Takes 5ive tournament in Cincinnati I just wanted to let you know about 2 Connor players. Tyler Hodges had 2 really good games. One against Gateway basketball club (St. Louis) in which he must have had 7 or 8 blocks. He also scored 10-12 points and was doing it from inside the paint and from about 15-16 feet. He was able to put the ball on the floor with relative confidence without turning the ball over or putting himself in a compromising position. The only flaw I saw in his game in this particular game was that he did foul out with a few minutes to go in a close game. All though this is not a good thing, I attribute it to the passion he played with in this game. He seemed to have a fire about him. In the second game I saw, it was against Club Ohio and he did much the same thing, but didnt appear to be in foul trouble. I didnt get to see this whole game, but he did have a NICE 2-handed jam off of an open break. The second guy is Jake Flesch. He is going to be a really nice PG for Conner this coming season. His defense is inferior to no one, and he has the ability to guard anyone who is 6'5" and under and flesch is only 5"10" or so. He also is very secure with the basketball. I have only seen him turn the ball over 1 time in two games, and it was on an outlet pass that just overshot his target. Flesch is extremely efficient as a PG and loves to get his teammates involved. I have also seen him in some other tournaments where he has a unique ability to score and adjust his shot in mid-air. The only flaw I saw with him in this tournament was he sometimes hesitates to pull the trigger. He is constantly looking for his teammates. Take that shot young man! You can hit it. Anyways, just thought I'd give the Conner faithful something to look forward too. You have two very nice Junior-to-be players on the way.

I saw this game as well. The refs were not nearly as bad in this game as it was in the NKY Bulldogs v. Club Ohio game. The whistles did go silent in the Ice game, on both sides though, generally speaking. In the Bulldogs game I watched they only went silent on the Bulldogs side. Not to mention, to start the game the refs were in the huddle with the Club Ohio coaches and cracking up with the players during the game. Im not saying they were cheating, but it didnt look right. Also, in the Lex Ice v. Club Ohio game, the refs were just letting the clock run and run and run, when it was supposed to be a stop & go clock. I actually heard a ref say "there is nothing i can do about it" to a fan who spoke up. Im sorry, but as a ref, you have a whistle and you have the power to stop the game, so... there is something he can do about it. Either way, I am very happy for the ice, Fucci had a fantastic game, as did number 32 (not sure of his name), a kid that didnt have an ice jersey on played really well (Taylor Martin, maybe), and Cabitt Hagan is such a big time hustle guy. The Ice were fun to watch and I hope they win that bracket!

I did stop in and get to see a small portion of this game and the officiating was absolutely terrible. It appeared to be 1-sided in heavy favor of Club Ohio. I also left the game because Club Ohio began to stall the basketball with about 9 or 10 minutes left and it was like a 3 point game. HOW BORING??? I have never seen a team do that in an AAU style game. Where is the confidence in the team? (and, the 5 second call? I saw about 10 should-be calls, but no whistle, lol) On another note, I did see tonight at NKU that Shining Stars 16U Has made it to the finals in the silver bracket. Albeit, the silver bracket, but hey, they are winning and thats fantastic for them. They will be playing Charlotte Court tomorrow afternoon for the silver bracket championship. Does anyone know if Marcellus Barkesdale is back playing with the Court? Lastly, I saw Ryan Fucci (stud) and Taylor Martin (stud) and the Lexington Ice play in a really good game against Club Ohio. All of you NKY Bulldogs fans would probably be happy to hear that the Ice handled Club Ohio with fair ease. It got close at the end, bu the ice were up 16 at one point. Oh yeah, I saw SS 15U playing Club Ohio 15U,they were tied 19-19 in the first half at about 9:30pm tonight. Let us know the outcome.

Being a spectator at the ItTakes5 tournament today put on by Adidas, it was cool to see guys like Roy Williams, John Calipari, Billy Donovan, John Thompson lll, Walter McCarty, Danny Manning, Bob Huggins, Mick Cronin, etc. etc. These are guys that many people see on T.V. and they put them on a pedistool because they coach major college programs, but when you are around them and see how they act and react to public situations, you see that they are just regular guys (albeit with big wallets), but very cool. They were all cool, calm, collect and just doing what they do. I spent the majority of time in the rec center watching the more local teams like the Indy Elite, OBC, Kentucky Gators etc. One team I was a bit interested in was the NKY Bulldogs. This is a team that I see popping up in more and more high level tournaments and they never seem to disappoint. They dont always win, but they always battle, and they win their fair share. You can certainly expect to see a really good game if you watch them play against any opponent. Number 24 for the Bulldogs who I believe to be (hear say) Zach Barnett of St. Henry High School is really playing well (The kid can shoot the lights out). Also, the pick-up of Travis Montgomery out of Boone County, has proven to be big. He scored 16 points, that I saw, in a big win against the St. Louis Gateway basketball club. Does anyone know how the Shining Stars 15-17's did in this tournament? Well I hope. I didnt see the 16's in the rec center, were they located elsewhere? As for the 17's, I read that Sewell has selected Miami (Oh.) as his school of choice. Very cool and congrats to the kid! I also saw the Lex Ice in the rec, but I didnt get to see them play much. How did they do? I hope all the local teams perform well!

This is exactly what I have heard as well. Leaving basketball for the summer for football.

I agree with you about Gilbert. He is quick, sees the floor well, has good penetration, can shoot the ball, and is a solid leader. He will have to be able to defend a lot of good PG's. He should have a good season and I hope he does.

IMO Eastern is going to battle many good teams to try and be the best team in the state. They have such a good young group of guys. The 3 juniors are absolutely outstanding: Arman Marks, Remy Abel, and Lionell Gaines. Its not surprising to me that they put up a fight against Scott Co.

Your top 5 PG's in the state are these guys??? Not a bad list, but... where is Ryan Fucci? He is definitely one of the best PG's in the state

Great to hear. Keep them coming.

You do make a valid point.

I wouldnt root against this team as a whole throughout an entire season. Maybe when they are playing a team I have a particular interest in. I think Holmes represents NKY quite well.

I agree with you here. I think Conner will need to get really strong play out of the three Juniors Jake Flesch, Tyler Hodges, and Clay Robinson. This is of course if Avery does leave, but now instead of his senior leadership, Flesch as the PG will have to step in and be that leader and the extension of the coach. Which is what he would have to do anyway. I think he is quite capable of that. Plus they'll have Stephens as a Senior. With Robinson in the post banging, I think he could take some pressure off Hodges to be that guy, and hopefully he'll be able to roam a little bit and play some 3/4 combo. I understand Liechty is a real hustle guy and plays good defense. I think Conner will be okay, these younger bucks are resilient and just wanna play ball.

Yeah, lots of solid bigger guys from NKY this season. Got to love it.

He does. The KY Players.

Agreed 100%

When I first read the post about Avery to Holmes, I was somewhat stunned. Apparently there is some truth to this rumor. Unsuspecting to me. Guess we'll see how it plays out.

I dont disagree.

Wow. You heard a rumor of Avery going to Holmes... Why would he want to do that??? I cant see him leaving Conner where he will be a stud, to possibly sit on the bench behind J. Johnson.

To say that Gabbard is just a solid guard is an understatement. He is one of the best in NKY. Boone will have solid post play with Earls and if T. Brown steps into his role. I dont underestimate Highlands by any means, I think they will be very good. It is my opinion that those of you who seem to really like Highlands are underestimating Boone County. Lets not forget that Highlands will have a new coach to learn under too, which likely means adjustments. How will those kids respond? (Im sure they'll do just fine, but thats another thing to think about)

Granted Trevan Brown is more of a PF, I think he could step in and put up the same numbers as Andrew Brown. I know McFarland is a loss for this team, but IMO Popp will step in this year and have big numbers for Boone (if he stays put). Also, Montgomery should see some good minutes and he is a solid 6'3" if not 6'4" and he can shoot the ball and defend the ball (by this I mean get up and block some shots and maybe poke a few steals). I know Highlands will be good and I respect your opinion, but IMO that number 2 spot will be more tightly contested than you think. Ronald Cotton will also play a key role. They have guys that can step in and supplement for what McFarland did. McFarland was really good at "being the guy" though. Someone for Boone will have to step into that role this year. I think it should be Gabbard.

The kid you may be referring to is Zach Barnett. This kid plays for St. Henry. He is quick and can fill it up in a hurry. He is a junior and has the potential to be a very nice player for St. Henry's varsity this year.

Yeah, but all 11 or so seniors wont get much playing time. The 2 Juniors I can think of that should really get some playing time are Brown and Montgomery. I would think Cooper gets some time in the mid to late season in big wins. Just my opinion that it's smart to get the future some sort of experience in the Sophomore season so it's not much of a transition from JV to Varsity.

I know they have some Seniors and some older guys, but at some point you have to give the young man a sniff at varsity time. Up big in games, or down big in games (doubt this will happen often or at all this season). When you have the opportunity, you have to work on developing younger guys as well.

This is fantastic to hear! I hope to see a good year out of Walton Verona. How did Vance Sullivan look?

I hope so. I think Dixie has a good foundation.