Perfect Practice

This year at UK... Wall, Cousins, Bledsoe are the exception, not the rule. I dont know that we will ever see this many GREATLY talented one and done players on one team. UK usually has guys that spend at least 2 seasons at the school.

Hood is a freshman at one of the greatest college basketball programs of all time. Did you expect him to start as a freshman? Sure Wall, Bledsoe, and Cousins all start, and Orton gets a lot of time, but Hood doesnt quite have that athleticism, speed or strength. His time will come at Kentucky. And... I combat your post with Darius Miller. He mad contributions last year as a freshman at Kentucky. Give Hood time. He will be a necessity at UK. He has been able to slightly produce when he gets his time.

Check the list above again... Rico Johnson is going to Ohio U. who just beat Georgetown in the NCAA tournament. Euton is going to Akron to play. Chad Jackson to James Madison. Elisha Justice to Louisville. These kids will be going to D1 schools. You may be able to question the tradition of some of these schools, but make no mistake. D1 is top level basketball.

Is Pittman still coaching a Stars team? Any ideas on who will be on that team from last year?

In the 17's out of KY I am sure you will see teams like SSS 16's from last year, now SSS-DSAS, Charlotte Court, Lex Ice, NKY Bulldogs, Team Kentucky, Hoyas, WKY Elite... much of the same I would think and hope. Some really good teams last year. I heard Team KY will have a new coach this year... Does this mean all new players as well? Anyone know...

How did this shake out? Will it be the exact same team? How will this play into the SSS 16's of last year with players like Schuette, Gilbert, Pawsat, Pike, and the NCC player.....

Ladies and Gentlemen, the time has come. Congrats to Elisha Justice and the entire Shelby Valley team, but it's time for Kentucky summer AAU ball. From what I have heard, there have been some major changes this year in regards to teams, players and tournaments. Anyone know of any big names changing teams? What about teams going away, or new teams coming forth? I heard the Eddie Ford Grassroots Shootout is no more. Sad. That was a good tournament IMO. Lets hear it! Happy AAU summer season to everyone and good luck!

Very possible. If the shooting continues the zone breaks down. If Highlands has to go man, they get beat. If Holmes shooting cools, then Highlands can do work. I agree.

If Highlands comes out of the zone, they get beat through the lane. Giving up 2's is better than giving up 3's though I guess. Defense is laxed for Highlands this year. Either way, it's Holmes all the way i think.

After watching Highlands get beat up by Conner, hearing about the Newport loss, and losing to Silver Grove. I dont see Highlands being much of a match for Holmes. Although, not many people thought Ryle would be much of a match. I think Holmes will be focused and wins by 12 to 18 points.

"National Attention", what is "National Attention?" I dont think you're going to be seeing them on ESPN anytime soon. You generally need to have a player or 3 that are ranked 4 and 5 star recruits going to big schools to get that kind of attention. I dont think GRC has that. Zollo is probably the most heard of because of his recruitment at Kentucky (and he is a nice player). Lets think about Holmes Highschool from last year... They won state, they have a D-1 commit on their team right now, and 2 other players who have gotten a lot of D-1 attention (Pittman, and J. Johnson), and they have recieved little attention regionally, much less nationally. Also think about Scott County, Chad Jackson (D-1 attention), Gelawn Guyn (D-1 commit at one time i believe), and Euton (UK verbal).... and yet no national attention. Sad to say, but "National Attention" is VERY hard to come by. If Scott County and Holmes arent getting it, hard to believe GRC would. If you dont have those 4 & 5 star recruits and big D-1 commits, it would be unlikely (unless you are highly touted a prep school).

I would certainly say that Gaines is every bit of 6'6". However, I would say that Abell (great player) is 6'1, or 6'2" at best, unless he has grown a lot in 2 or 3 months. The rest sound about right.

Attendance was very low. Nothing compared to a natural Friday night game. Or, even a Saturday night game. It was almost uncomfortably quiet at times. Thank the band!

From what I have heard... Grubbs is out for the season (foot), Grote just got back from an injury (back), and Kowolonek has bad knees (which is unconfirmed on my side). I attended this game to see what Highlands would bring to the table, and quite honestly, they didnt show much. Inconsistent shooters, not great with penetration and finishing when they did get inside, and were playing off of the shooters for Conner. Highlands inside game looked solid with Watson and Stewart (the junior who is coming into his own on this senior-heavy team), good for him. For Conner, Robinson and Lang did play well. Hodges also had about 6 points, but was a force defensively. This being said, Flesch is clearly the floor general. He makes the offense go. I think he may have gotten 45 seconds of game-time rest (if that). And, he is just able to completely take the other teams PG out of the game (I have seen him frustrate gabbard, mcleish, and now lother). Lang was knocking shots down from everywhere yesterday afternoon. The young man can pull it. Robinson was strong inside and has a nice move under the basket to get points. Conner is well-rounded and seems poised to make a run.

I curiously wander :confused: what meachem had to do get this deal done... DSAS (kids from all over KY) was thee top team in KY last year. The SSS (kids from several different areas) was 2nd to them, but it wasnt too close IMO. 3rd maybe being the WKY Elite or the NKY Bulldogs (all kids from one small area). Again, this is just for KY. So, will the SSS program have 2, 3, or 4 teams playing 17U? Combining those 2 teams could really be good for SSS and for the other AAU teams in the state. Which is great for the state of KY. The only thing I wander about is what happens to the players from the other SSS 16's from last year. Now they have to play second fiddle to the best in the state. I have heard that some of the kids that played for the SSS (pittman) team from last year will be leaving the team this year to play with a newly created organization. Is that really true? I cant imagine.

Not yet. Everything is deffered inside to Jake. They have nothing else on the perimeter. His numbers are good, but he has no one to compete with on his own team in the category. He has to score or they lack. Definitely a good player though.

Same goes for Conner. Terrible at keeping stats. I went to a game and personally counted the points, assts, steals, and boards of one of their guards, and they were severly incorrect on the enquire site.

I agree.

For seniors. There are lots of juniors that are allready getting looks in NKY. Some have taken visits, some will be taking visits soon. Legitimate looks and possible offers.

I personally wouldnt have Andy Earls in my top 10. He is a nice player, but top 10 in NKY is a slight stretch in my opinion. And, i think that if you mention Jake Geisler you have to mention Bobby Stauffer. And, Jake Thelen should be mention if Geisler and Stauffer are. He can score.

3 guys not getting enough pub that all play for Conner... Clay Robinson, Tyler Hodges and Jake Flesch. For juniors these three guys are pretty darn good. Not to mention, this is Flesch's first year of varsity. Look out for Conner later this season and next year.

Good ball club, still not to the level of Holmes. Tough season to be "for real." Holmes will go down state again. Newport is headed in the right direction though and thats good for them.

Hopefully CovCath can get this win. It would be good for NKY, and for the Colonels.

Hey paNDA, as a fan, the pics are great. I appreciate it, and Im sure the others do as well.

So then you admit that Thelen atleast thinks he is a combo player that can slide out.... Thelen can knock down the jumper. No knocks on the kid, he's a good player. He just seems to prefer to work from the outside (and by that I mean 10-12 feet), unless he receives an immediate pass down low.