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Conner snaps losing skid against Ryle

The Conner D vs other team's "bigs" isn't quite the concern for me as it was at the beginning of the year. They did a really good job against Cooper being in the correct position with help side defense on the post. This eliminated any lob attempts and they were quick to help and double when the ball went to the post. Now, this could be a different story when they face a team with 2-3 quality big men, but for tonight I think they will be fine, even if Stockwell plays. I'll take Conner tonight. Too much quickness and depth for Boone to overcome. Look for Scott to bounce back from his off night at Cooper.

I've seen all 3 of Conner's games and they have surprised me starting strong at 3-0. I think the backcourts are evenly matched in terms of skill, athleticism, and speed. The difference is going to be in the frontcourt. Conner let Kunstek from St. Henry have a big night and were still able to win the game. If I'm Sully, I'm making sure the offense runs through Hawthorn, because I'm not sure Conner has someone that can guard him straight up. Look for Conner to try and push the ball, press full-court, and shoot a lot of 3's. I'm not sure the Cooper D will be as successful pressuring the Conner guards as they've been in the past. Guard play looks to be the strength of this team, essentially running a 4 guard set with rotations of the 2 Scotts, Barnes, Hemmerich, Padgett, Watts, and Garnett. They run these guys in and out and have essentially worn teams down in the 4th quarter, coming from behind late in 2 of their 3 wins. This is always a fun one to watch and it sounds like there should be a great crowd tomorrow.

Let them back in it, or let them win it as was the case in the District game last year?

Obviously, a high scoring, fast-paced game that was fun to watch. Conner was down 9-0 right out of the gate and got down by as many as 12 in the 1H. Conner pulled all 5 starters 2 minutes into the game as a wake up call. Conner kept chipping away and finally grabbed the lead in the 4th qtr and pulled away late by converting their free throws. LC made 9 3 pt goals, Conner made 8. Michael Scott led Conner in scoring for the third game with 24 points. Alec Garnett had 19 and received the Player of the Game award. Neither team is very big. Both teams wanted to run and the high scoring was a result of that. LC has some very good shooters and a couple kids who are very athletic and can play above the rim. Conner just seems to play very well together and an unselfish style of basketball. And they play EXTREMELY hard. Great win for Conner to move to 3-0. They have a big one on Tuesday vs district rival Cooper. Final note: Jacob Barnes went down with an ankle injury and had to be helped off the court. Hope he's ok and has a speedy recovery, because he's been lights out from behind the arc this season.

I watched two pretty evenly matched teams play extremely hard. Fun game to watch!

Conner moved the ball efficiently and at-will at times last night. However, penalties and dropped balls stalled several drives inside the red zone. How about Trosper going for it on 4th and 13 from his own 7 yard line in the first half? Yowza. (They did convert). Congrats to Scott on the win. Agree with an earlier post that it's a wide open region once the playoffs start. Anything can happen and probably will.

Nice job, Cougars. Beating Highlands and CCH in consecutive weeks is noteworthy. The Conner coaches must have played the "right" players in the "right" positions" for the "right" amount of playing time. Sarcasm implied.

I would have agreed with you 100% 3 weeks ago that Conner was a win. The way things have gone for both teams the past few weeks I'm not so sure it's a "lock" anymore.

Kyler Padgett, Conner QB, has been nominated for the WLWT Beacon Orthopaedic Primetime Performer Award for 10/10. Vote for the Beacon Orthopaedics Primetime Performer for Oct. 10 | Sports - Home

Case in point, the JV game for today has just been cancelled due to field conditions.

Recognizing their meaningless, but does this win get Conner back in the rankings of the coaches poll? I've said it before, the improvemet and resolve this team has shown this season has been impressive and fun to watch. Last night's game was played in an absolute monsoon on a grass field. I believe Conner only has one more home game, the finale vs CCH, but that field is wrecked.

Always tough to travel to and play at South Olham. Too early to refresh our memories on the rules of a 3-way tiebreaker scenario, as was the case 2 years ago?

Know the McGinness family well. Ryan is a great kid who works very hard. Happy to see him step up when an opportunity presented itself.

Agree, completely. Should get a win on Friday, then have an opportunity to get on a little roll with their next game vs Grant Co and a "winnable" game vs Scott. Hopefully, they respond on Friday being the favorite for the first time this season, do not take things lightly, and handle their business.

I'd like to throw some kudos out to the Conner student body. They've been criticized in the past for not showing up for games and being less than enthusiastic when they do attend. They have shown up in full force this year and have supported their team win or lose. Hopefully, that continues throughout the season and carries over into the winter and spring sports. Good to finally see some Cougar school spirit!!

OK. Now what if the runner wasn't stealing? Just took an aggressive secondary while waiting to see where the ball ended up? Or, didn't see the ball bounce away and was heading back to 2B. Does that change the ruling?

Here's another scenario I saw this last weekend in a fall game. Runner on 2B. 1 out. Pitch gets away from catcher and bounces out towards 3B dugout. Runner heads toward 3B. Before he reaches 3B the on-deck batter picks up the ball and tosses it back to the pitcher. Make the call.

The level of improvement Conner has shown in 4 short weeks is remarkable,on both sides of the ball. As mentioned, penalties were the story tonight.

New season, Cougs. 1-0. Keep getting better.

And that's why you keep grinding. Very nice job, Cougars.

Or, in Conner's case, the starters and younger players should play as much as possible to gain experience, confidence, reps, and familiarity with each other. Irregardless, of the score.

I agree 100% with everything you just said. Except the part about every kid should play. This is competitive, high-school, varsity sports. The kids who produce and put forth the effort in practice will play. Simple concept. If you refuse to listen to the coaches, can't grasp the concept, and/or don't want to give 100% you will sit. And sometimes, you might do all of that and the simple fact is someone might outperform you. It's called....LIFE. And life ain't all peaches and rainbows. And sometimes, you can learn more about life by not getting what you want, or in this case, was supposedly expected without ever being earned.

What if the parents of the person who quit are the main instigators of the public criticism of certain players? Submitting posts on this site ripping other kids (see BigC11) in social media as you say. Also, sitting in the stands yelling at other players and coaches week in and week out. Their actions have been undermining the current players, team, and coaching staff the entire season. You might want to start with them and displace your frustration at them. No one is bashing a kid on here. I would never do that. I simply questioned the judgement and the decision, and as a parent myself, would never allow my kid to quit something halfway through. Terrible precedent.

If a kid quits before the season, for whatever reason, that's excusable. But to quit DURING the season, especially your senior year, there's no justification. Boo hoo Little Johnny didn't get his playing time. Deal with it, get tougher, support the team, and enjoy the privilege of being a part of a varsity football team. Shame on the parents for not taking advantage of this situation to teach their son a valuable life lesson. But we know, it's always someone else's fault, especially the coaches, right?