The Messenger

Has Frankfort Independent names a new boys basketball coach yet?

I wish Coach Hammond the best. I hope he does well at Bryan Station. BS is a great job. My point was AAU coaching and scholastic coaching are completely different. Great talent in AAU ball but the coaching does not come close to scholastic coaching. I had a son participate in both and the quality of coaching for and against in AAU was not close to the coaching he rexperienced at the middle school and high school levels. And “Yes” he was involved with a decent AAU program. No critiism of Coach Hammond. Strictly stating my opinion!!

I agree. Basketball is not rocket science! But AAU ball is not even close to scholastic basketball. In AAU ball you coach a team. In scholastic ball you coach a team AND serve as a CEO of the entire program. Coach Hammonds might do a good job of coaching his team but it is yet to be seen if he is a good CEO of the program. I wish him much success. With the above mentioned philosophy, Sunday school teachers should be hired as school teachers. They are teachers and have a proven resume.

This is an interesting hire. Somewhat surprised that they would give this high profile position to somebody with no head coaching experience. Nimbo was a very good player and I believe runs some club teams. But Bryan Station is a much different job than a club program. I’m a big believer that scholastic team are best run by educators. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Best of luck to Nimbo.

Any word on how interviews are going?

I agree! It is hard to believe a job of this much prestige does not have more chatter than what there is. Makes you believe they have their man and just waiting to get approval.

JDEaston, I agree 100%. Coach Howell built the program back up to where it is really to win a Regional title. Mays is a great hire and will probably get them back to Rupp. But I believe Coach Howell would have got them back to Rupp as well. Regardless, now is the time to sit back and enjoy.

I agree that a coach probably has a better chance of winning a regional title at Mason Co. than at Henry Clay. But I still think Henry Clay is a great job. HC has two regional titles ('05, '03) in the past 20 years and 1 regional runner-up ('14). So "Yes" it is difficult winning regional titles at Henry Clay, but I wouldn't consider it impossible.

Coach Danny Brown is as good as there is but I can’t see him leaving Henry Clay. HC is just too good of job.

I agree! This is a big-time hire. Good Luck Tomcats! The cupboards are full and with this hire, Ashland should be the dominate team in the region again.

That would be a great hire for Ashland if it is true.

The word through the grapevine is they are interviewing today for the position. I’m sure whoever they do hire he will be a very good coach.

Any word on candidates and when they will start interviewing?

Is most of this past year’s team returning?

Will they open this job up or stay in house?

I’m amazed there has been no movement on this job. The job opened up in late March. I have not even heard of candidates. As far as I know there has been no interviews yet. I’m sure there are many outstanding coaches interested in this position. I think it is time to get a new coach in place and move forward.

Fayette County jobs are usually very political. So getting the right person for this position is critical. With the success Coach Johnson experienced I think it will be difficult for the next coach unless Coach Johnson is on board. With Coach Johnson still teaching in the school and having contact with the kids, I believe the hire will need to be somebody he thinks highly of. Station is a great job but it will take the right person.

I would think this coming week we will hear something about potential candidates. I’m sure there are many outstanding coaches interested in this position but I believe Ashland will go with a veteran coach. I just think they will want to know what they are getting before they get it.

I know there are close ties between Station and Frederick Douglas but I believe if they hire an assistant they will stay within their staff to hire.

There is a lot of ties between Station and Frederick Douglas but I would be surprised if that happens. I believe if they hire an assistant then they will hire within.

On paper it sounds like a very good hire but I’m not sold on college coaches coming back to the high school level. I have seen to many times where it has not worked out. Not because of their basketball knowledge or their ability to teach the game but because they don’t understand the dynamics of high school athletics. College coaches are use to recruiting talented kids that are super motivated on being great basketball players. At the high school level a lot of times basketball is a 2nd or 3rd sport to kids in high school. Sometimes they might be working on earning a scholarship in another sport but are still a good basketball player. They may play because they are a good athlete or for social reasons. Kids like that are usually foreign to college coaches. In most cases college coaches have not dealt with kids like that. You hope the best for Coach Newton. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

I have been wondering about candidates myself. I have heard absolutely nothing about this job. It is hard to believe the Ashland Basketball job doesn't draw more attention than what it is.

On paper Coach Amis seems to be a good fit for Greenup Co. Now you hope the natives will give him a chance to implement his program. His 15-15 record this year at Eminence is the 2nd highest win total at Eminence in the past 10 years. With 4 of the top 5 scorers for Eminence returning next year, you would think next year would have been even better. He obviously had things headed in the right direction. I'm hoping the best for Coach Amis and the Musketeers!

Any word on the candidates for this position? I’m not sure there is a quick fix for GC. There is a lot of work to be done if they are going to get back to a player in the 16th Region. Over the past 4 or 5 years there hasn’t been a lot of attention given to the feeder programs. Is Coach Kidwell interested in the job?

I can’t argue that there seems to be a lot of craziness around the program right now. Or should I say Craziness for the past 4 years. But I still think there will be good coaches going after this job. I’m just curious to see what direction they go from here. Personally I have not heard any names so that is why I was asking.