titan101

I saw the 7 on 7 at Mercer. I thought Danville, Mercer and Highlands were all pretty even throughout the day. There were certain series where one team would out play the other team but I don't think any of those teams dominated each other. I thought Mason looked to be a little below those 3 but just my take.

What are their chances in District and Region?

Ok makes sense with GC. Can Sebastian not play point or handle it good enough if need be? They really struggled taking care of the ball and getting the ball up the court and he never really brings the ball up. I know he can score but with his size he isn't really a post player.

Is Garrard and West Jessamine playing with a full roster this summer?

Stats and style of play from last year really contradict what you are saying. Gillis took the 5th most shots on the team last year. He was one of the best post scorers in the region. He should have taken the 2nd most shots on the team and it wasn't close. Mercer had the best roster in the region last year and they laid an egg. Drakeford was their 2nd leading scorer last summer and got offered and recruited all of July with AAU and was 4th on the team in shots taken last year. Mercer's pg took the 2nd most shots on the team. Trevon bailed them out of so many games last year. Coaching staff will have to step it up as they will not have the best roster in the region this year. Mercer never reached its full potential last year due to not getting anyone involved other then Trevon and Baughman. It will be the same result this year unless the coaching staff makes some changes.

Baughman will probably be the leading scorer as he will take the majority of the shots but I am not sure that is really what you want your point guard doing. For Mercer to be successful they will need to get some other scoring. Baughman at 5"9 can't take games over like Trevon did. He has a great outside shot but isn't going to get to the rim and finish like Trevon. Hopefully coach Hamlin is smarter than this and will not play that style or it will be a long frustrating season.

Yeast is so strong hopefully he can bang down low for the titans some this year. Baughman is a really good player but I don't think you will see box and 1 with him. I don't think we saw that much with Trevon last year he was 6'5. An athletic guard with length is what opposing teams will use if they have them as he is only 5'9

I think Lewis lead Mercer in scoring a few of those games. Drakeford DNP due to injury. Sebastian has put up some good numbers in aau this spring

Collins beat Mercer by 5. Mercer was without one of their leading scorers and another starter. Mcnight is really good and I see him being a mid major D-1 player. The other guard I'm not really sold on so much. They have a solid team though. It's always hard to tell with summer ball. Not sure if Mercer is better than I thought or Collins not as impressive. I thought Collins would be one of teh 8th region favorites I would probably go Walton Verona with a healthy Miles though. Mercer played WV in the king of the bluegrass and i thought they were the best defensive team we played all year.

So you are saying without a doubt the Defenders are better than Matt's Mustangs and CKY Magic? Do you think in a 7 game series they could win 4 against both teams? I think the Defenders are a solid team and well coached but I thought the talent was a lot higher for both of the other teams. They were the better team in a one game scenario Sunday but I don't think without a doubt they were the best team.

I don't know that I would put Mercer top 5 as they have some holes to fill but they got beat by Collins 34-28 in the playoffs and threw a pick in the endzone as time expired that would have won the game. Collins only got beat by Franklin Simpson 42-38 so they were close last year.

Yeah I agree with 9th and 11th grade. I thought CKY Magic and Matt's Mustangs were two best teams in 10th. They met in 2nd round of tourney with CKY Magic winning easy by 14-15 points. Give Defenders credit though they won the whole thing and deserved it

My only complaint was it was extremely hot in there. A lot of the complaints about referees were by teams that got beat and need an excuse other than they are overrated.

Who do they have coming back besides Rode?

Who are the favorites in each division?

Pulaski has 3-4 juniors to be that will be good just haven't got much playing time due to the seniors above them. It will be hard for Mercer losing Trevon. Gunnar was a big in the post with his rebounding but was Mercer's 5th leading scorer. Somerset has a good group of Sophomores to be and will be a solid team. It will be somewhat of a changing of the guard in the 12th region becuase multiple teams are losing key players that they relied on for multiple years.

So you think they lose their leading scorer, return one player in double figures, were 13-18 last year and will jump up as a contender? They are always tough and I am like you I don't see a clear cut favorite in the 12th. Boyle can definitly be there in the mix. They have a good junior class to be. Pulaski will still be a good team also even with losing Fitz and Butt.

Any Transfers coming in or going out of the 12th region? I saw Garrard early in the year last year and I think they probably improved a ton throughout the season but i wasn't really impressed with them. Do they have a point guard?

Sorry by young talent I mean they have some sophomores/juniors to be that didn't play varsity last year that have some potential. Bell, Wood, Price. Hayden played and showed he can be good.

Who does Garrard have coming back other than Sebastian? I think Danville will have a lot talent the next two years but I thought they had a lot of talent and athleticism this year also and they had a losing record. When was the last time Danville won region? I think they will have the talent to be a region contender the next two years I guess I will just have to see translate to wins and losses and post season success first.

I agree with you on Wayne. I am not sure about West. Bruner will probably be best player in the region but they lost everybody other than him off last years team. I don't know that I would put West over Mercer. They will be pretty even.

Yes Baughman and Drakeford are the only two returning starters and top two returning scorers. Nobody can replace Trevon but hopefully they can do it as a team. Most all of the top 12th Region teams lost key starters and will be relying on new people to step up. Who does everyone think will be the pre season favorites in the 12th region?

He also lost 3 of the 4 games you posted about above. Sometimes one guy taking the majority of the shots doesn't help their team win. The best players get their points, get the rest of the team involved and get the win. The game he took the least amount of shots in is the only game they won. They played Mercer closer without him. Shooting 35 times and onlys scoring 41 points is a negative not a positive.

I would say Mercer would have loved to have had that shot again from any of the 3 players that were wide open on the last play or a lay up from Gillis who was open on the last possession instead of a turnover at the top of the key with nobody back. The shot from the corner was probably the best look they had in the last 3 minutes of the game. Everything else in the last 3 minutes was 1 on 5 contested shots but a microcosm of their entire season. Faulkner only passed to the corner because he got bottled up and was on the verge of walking for the 2nd time in the last 3 possessions. Where was Baughman the last 4 minutes he didn't seem to want the ball like he had the rest of the tourney. Faulkner and Baughman took 79% of Mercer's shots for the season per KHSAA. I don't blame the kids for that they will only do what a coach allows them to do. Mercer had better starters 1-5 and it wasn't close. SW had a much better team and shared the ball so much better. It's a good lesson for everyone involved of the importance of team instead of individuals.

I guess. if that's the case maybe we need to send our players to acting school instead of working on skills.