Perfect Practice

Who would you have ahead? Behind?

They are going to need Smith to be able to distribute the ball. He will have to step up and play defense as well. They would seem to need to get 12 or 13 pts and 5.5 to 6 assists a game from him (which would be progressing from last season), and some other guys to step up to be able to compete like they did last year. That's asking a lot out of Smith though. I think he will be one of the leaders, if not the leader of this team. Scott may go as Smith goes. If he struggles, they may struggle. He's a good player and should be interesting to watch this season. Glad to hear he did well the other night.

How did Dixie compete against Scott? How did Scott look?

Absent meaning not there? Or non-existent in the game for Dixie?

You act as though this is personal against Bryan. It's not. Bryan is a great scorer. But, most people think that he doesnt play defense as well as he could. He also scores a lot because he shoots the ball a lot, and Villa only had one other scorer in Schuh. Not to mention, He doesnt have to play the likes of Ryle, Conner, Scott, Holmes, Holy Cross, Cov Cath, NCC (one of the better smaller schools), and Boone County night in, and night out. Or the teams down south such as Lex. Cath, Scott County, GRC & so on/so forth. Blake is a very nice player in the division he plays in. Heck, no one else is doing it like him. Kudos to him. But, when you talk about the 9th region area, it's hard to consider him one of the "best" players when he doesnt play the best teams on a regular basis. Interesting stat: He scored over 30 points in 14 games last season. Villa only won 5 of those games. It's worth mentioning. I dont think the argument is necessarily against Bryan as a player or person, but Bryan in the 9th region area compared to other players.

So we know that S. Stars 15/16/17U was invited to the tournament. Does anyone know any other teams that got in? I figured Indy Elite would be there. They are co-host of the tournament arent they? I am sure that DSAS will be there as well. Will some of the other teams from Kentucky like Charlotte Court, WKY Elite, Royal Family, NKY Bulldogs, BA Hoyas or KY Players be there?

Wow, I am surprised to hear Zeke was at the camp. Well just surprised it wasnt Pawsett I guess. I heard that Pawsett is one of the better football players in the state at his age level. Yeah, sorry to hear bout Gray. He's a solid player. Hopefully he'll be able to work through it.

I think getting time on varsity last year will really speed up Hatton's learning curve. He should get more time next season. By the time the kid actually gets to highschool he should be a force to be wreckoned with as long as he continues to develop. Dixie will be a good 9th region team who will be able to play with a lot of teams.

I have heard the same thing. I heard this tournament is for some of the best. Isnt it by invitation?

I am guessing the QB camp at UK was for Pawsett. I hear he is one of the better QB's in the state. The fact that he is a 2 sport athlete, and very good in both of them, says something about the kid. Does anyone know who has the injury for the S. Stars? Nothing to serious I would hope.

I think Dixie Heights will improve their record and play from last season. I think that Zeke Pike and Matt Trammel will be the overall leaders of this squad. Zeke is strong and has the ability to score in the paint. I think if he continues to develop from 12-15 ft he'll be one of the better big men in No. KY. Pike did shoot 32 three pointers though and was only 21.9%, so I think if they keep him inside the perimeter line he'll be very effective. His FT percentage (47%) does need to improve, but I think it will with practice and probably more opportunities at the stripe this season. Overall, I believe he will be a much improved player and will help Dixie a lot. Matt Trammel is one of the best in NKY at his age and position IMO. He averaged 9 pts a game as a sophomore and I think his ability to push the ball and score will only improve. IMO he does have to look to make the guys around him better by creating more shots for teammates with assists, he only average about 2.5 last season. In the tournaments I have seen him in over the summer his jump shot and 3 are beginning to improve. He is also really strong at getting into the middle of the lane and floating it off the backboard. A decent FT shooter (64% last year), but will likely improve next season. I also like Josh Riley on this team because he is a worker. Like Zeke Pike, he has a certain toughness about him. He isnt afraid to put his body on the floor to save a ball for his team. He also has a wide body that can get into the lane. He is a scrappy player that will go after rebounds and 50/50 balls. I understand he is also a football player, so a little contact doesnt affect him. My player to keep an eye on.... Brandon Hatton. We all know that Trammel and Pike will be really big contributors on this team. I want to watch the 8th grader take his shot. He had minimal minutes last season (as to be expected with a 7th grader), but he did score 10 pts in the Dixie win against Scott Highschool. With him continuing to improve and working hard over the summer he should be able to contribute a bit more for Dixie. Also shot 85% from the FT line (albeit, only 20 tries), but still solid. Dixie should be able to hang with a lot of teams this year, maybe a lot of nail-biters. Should be fun to watch.

I have heard many kids are missing out right now to study for school exams. It is good that the kids get time to study. Good grades are essential and importnat. Maybe this is why SS missed some players. The S. Stars are still fully intact as they were in Lexington for the state tournament correct? Just curious because they went about 10 deep there, I think.

Where did some of the other local teams play this weekend and how did they do? Shining Stars DS Allstars WKY Elite BA Hoyas KY Players Royal Family (I hear they are back strong) Indy Elite And any others...

It was my pleasure SportsGuy, lol. I just wanted to add my thoughts of the weekend. One team I did forget to mention was the D-1 Greyhounds. I only saw one of their games against Team Kentucky. Team Kentucky won that game by 10 or 11 and they did appear to be short handed. The Greyhounds were a very athletic team and had some nice post players that could step outside the paint, but their guards seemed to be overmatched at times. They are a good team, who from what I have heard, have won a tournament or two at Sportsville this year. This just wasnt their weekend.It was brought to my attention that many of these players are out of W. Virginia and are considered some of the better players they have. Kudos to them and they should keep working and playing hard. For Team Kentucky, I did see Zach Perkins with a wrist brace on, is he okay? How long will the young man be out? Good luck to him.

The NKY Bulldogs may have one of the best big man triple tandems in Kentucky AAU basketball. Bobby Stauffer, Tyler Hodges and Jack Stewart are really good players. After the tournament I saw at Sportsville in No. KY this weekend, I have seen the Bulldogs in 4 tournaments now this summer. These 3 players work well together. I think Bobby Stauffers play speaks for itself. The kid is just a really hard working player that can score, rebound and defend. But, Tyler Hodges (Connor) and Jack Stewart (Highlands) are 2 players that are really developing and coming along. Hodges has seemed to get more aggressive with each tournament that passes that I've seen. He also has a nice jumper. Jack Stewart also appears to be getting stronger in the post and has a nice spin move. Both players also have the ability to rebound and block the basketball. Keep working hard young men.

This appeared to be a good tournament with some good talent. I was able to see a lot of Jalyn Daniels for Team Kentucky, Bobby Stauffer for the NKY Bulldogs, Josh Riley for the NKY Heat, Travis Montgomery for the Bulldogs, and the Clay & Fleming county squads, and CovCaths up and comers who played with the KY Colonels. What I saw is: Clay County was a great team. From what I heard this was there Varsity squad. Most of the kids were 17 and I believe one was maybe 18 (If I'm wrong here, I apologize, this is just what I heard from talking to folks). They did a nice job of getting to the rim against Team Kentucky, who seemed to be missing some of their bigs, in the final four. I believe Clay County ended up winning that game by 20. Clay County also beat the NKY Bulldogs in a big win going away. The first half and 2 minutes of the second half was a good close game. Clay County wasnt really able to get into the paint and do damage against the NKY Bulldogs, but they didnt seem to miss a shot in the 2nd half. Clay County had some boys (#35, and others) that could just fill it up from 12 feet to the perimeter. And, they hit a bigtime 3 pointer (#23) from near half court to end the first half. That was really big. Sorry I dont have many names for the athletes on this team, but if I did, I would certainly applaud them. The NKY Bulldogs (who seemed to be missing some players) had a great tournament from what I saw. They went 4-1 winning by double figures in every game except for the championship game against Clay County which they lost big. I didnt see the final score. But, from what I heard all of these kids are 16U, so I thought they played well against the older kids. I had heard that Travis Montgomery (Boone County) was a new addition for them and he really seemed to pay dividends. I counted 6 blocks in a game on Saturday night and this kid can really slash to the rim and score. Bobby Stauffer (Ryle Highschool) also had a great tournament. I had read on here at times, that people said he doesnt pass well out of the post and he doesnt have a jump shot. If this was true at all, he certainly has improved his game. He was making 15 and 16 footers with relative ease. He was also constantly double-teamed and passed out of it well for the most part. Matt Trammel (Dixie Heights) also did a great job for this team, really good FT shooter and gets to the rim. Jack Stewart (Highland Heights), Tyler Hodges (Connor) and Jake Flesch (Connor) also played well. The NKY Heat appeared to be overmatched in many of their games, but kudos to the kids. They played their butts off and they never gave up. This was fun to see. Josh Riley (Dixie Heights) is very scrappy. The kid never scores an easy basket, but he does score. He works very hard and isnt afraid to get that jersey dirty when diving after a loose ball. I liked his game and he hustled the whole game. Team Kentucky (w/o Setty and Washington) had a solid weekend. I believe they lost 2 games, one in pool play and one in the final four. But, they have a really good shooter in # 25. The kid hit a lot of shots and a few 3's from what I saw. I dont know his name, but he is a solid player. Fangman (Beechwood) (who played his first tournament with Team KY) had a solid game with three 3-pointers that I saw in this game. Jalyn Daniels is a really good player, but he seemed a little out of it on Sunday. He played down in the corner a lot, maybe waiting for the kick and a big dunk. I didnt see him score much, but he is very athletic and the kid can get up! Team KY also played a good PG who I believe is Will Skaggs. Team KY is also nicely coached and will continue to make noise this summer. The KY Colonels, who were made up of all kids from CovCath really played their butts off. I believe they won 1 game against the MBA elite (i could be wrong here), but these kids hustled well. Upstanding kids. Keeping working and playing hard. Fleming county and MBA Elite were good squads, but appeared to be a little over matched. They also didnt go very deep so maybe they were just worn out. Keep playing hard young men. Good good tournament. Champions= Clay County Runners Up= NKY Bulldogs

So we know Clay Co., Team KY, and D1... What other teams will be in the field. Team Kentucky will be tough Im sure. Good luck to them. Does anyone know who is playing for D1 (does Setty play for them?).

I heard that the 16U's and 17U's are going to be combined this weekend at Sportsville. Is this true? If so, the field should be pretty good.

Where will everyone be this weekend in regards to the tournaments teams will be in?

St. Henry has a good junior guard named Zach Barnett. He didnt get a lot of varsity last year, just some minutes when they were up or down big in certain games. But, this kid can really fill it up from the 3 point line. He is also very quick and is improving on driving to the basket and playing defense. I think he could make some difference for St. Henry next year if he continues to improve and gets the minutes.

Can someone who has a little knowledge about Connor basketball provide the site with a projected line-up for the Connor team next season. I know many things can happen, Im just curious. Will the 3 juniors (Flesch, Hodges & Robinson) get the nod to start? What about liechty. The only sure starter I know is Avery.

I agree with you here on size and strength. But that doesnt just have to do with defense. They want these big boys to bang in the paint and score some points as well. Being big and strong has nothing to do with being a more well rounded player. You have to be coachable and want to learn how to use your God given physical attributes.

I agree. I want to see this kid go somewhere. He is so talented and has a good basketball mind. I hope that he is doing it in the classroom so that he can go to work on the court (and classroom) at a bigtime D1 school. He'll continue to improve and he can get it done.

Some of what you say is correct IMO, but I dont think points scored per game is the last stat they look at. So, i think that information is wrong. The reason I say this is simply because if they looked at defense and defensive intensity there are many, MANY good highschool players that wouldnt get looks from a D1 school. Sure, defense is a great quality in a young man and coaches love to have that, but if you're a kid scoring 30 points a game and you can make it happen on the floor, many coaches will bypass a defensive flaw. Just look at many of the college players now, and those same college players that went on to play in the NBA. Many kids dont play much defense, they work extra hard on offense though. To the flip side of my opinion, I think that kids that play phenominal defense, but dont score a lot also get looks, simply because they are lock down defenders. It goes both ways. Coaches wanna score. And, I believe it was the great George Gervin that said: "A great offense will beat a great defense anyday."

Absolutely. I was just pointing out that one instance. If he cant hang close with Pittman, he may struggle in a major D1 conference, or at a big time D1 school. He may be able to play on that level, just not the SEC, you are right. All though, i would like to see him do work this upcoming season. He is a very solid player in the state of KY, and I wish the best for him.