Drunk Johnny

Congrats to WJ. Having to beat Boyle Co. then come back and go on the road to beat an excellent NDA team. They look to be peaking at the right time. Goes from the frying pan into the fire with the next game against the #1 team in the state in Sacred Heart. Brutal path to get to the final four, while other teams don't have to beat a top 50 team in the state to get the final four.

I played at the NAIA level so got some money for football, but paid less than half of the amount of the total tuition.

The first year at college for a freshman playing any sport, especially football, is not very fun. You go from being the big dog in high school, to some scout teamer that is getting the snot knocked out of them on a daily basis. Some can stick it out, some say enough is enough and decide it is not for them. Not knocking either decision. I played football in college and played all the way through, but many times had thoughts about hanging it up before I graduated.

There have been many good points to this thread about playing at the next level. I would say many small schools use this to boost enrollment, and some players simply do not have the talent to play at the college level. They may have been the star on their high school team, but that does not mean they can play in college. Also, the demand on time is huge and the physical demand cannot be understated. If a player sees the writing on the wall they will not get any playing time, and most small schools are much more expensive than a larger state school, it leads to a very high turnover rate.

The have lost 4 games this year, so I think they have been test at some point. Last year Etown was supposed to walk through the tourney and bring home the gold, but got knocked out in the elite 8 by Holy Cross. We will see. That's why they play the game.

The bottom line last night is that Ncc had help scoring besides Weyer, (who was in beast mode). Cov Cath, besides CVH just couldn't make a shot. I have seen Polar votexs warmer than the rest of CCH offensively, outside of CVH that was keeping them in the game in the second half. I was surprised at the end of the game that CCH didn't put the ball in CVH hands every time to try in score. Possibly he was running on fumes at that point, don't know, but he played a heck of a game. As far as the block total on Weyer, it was posted he had 7. The only thing I can think of is they quit counting after 7. I didn't count them, but it sure seemed more like 10 or better. He was serving out more stuffing than grandma at Thanksgiving. Good luck to the Bred's at Rupp, and bring the gold back to the 9th region!

Ryle is playing very good right now. Holmes is as well. However, Ryle has the size and depth to win the region. Holmes only plays about 6 players. Ryle pulls it out in the end to win the region.

Congrats Trimble County, continue to shock the state. Way to go!!!!

Before the draw I though Highlands would have a good chance to cut down the nets. However, with who they have to play, HC, probably Ryle, then probably Holmes, a very tough row to hoe. The Birds lost to all three of these teams earlier in the season, but they are playing with a lot of confidence now. Also, how last year ended for them in the region, I think they have been waiting a long time to get back.

That would be Big Chief. Congrats!

The Mustangs had an unblemished record in the Sy dome this year. Don't think it was the stripes that decided the game. It was the Stangs protecting home turf.

I would says at this point Holmes is still the top "Dawg" in the 9th region, but Ryle is close. Highlands looks like they have righted the ship and do not be surprised if they content for the regional title. They have a lot of talent on that team and most of it Seniors. Also the winner of HC and ND to get to the region can make some noise.

Very nice win by Franklin Co. It's why they play them game.

Be careful about that. Remember last year the same thing was being said about Etown bringing home the gold, and Holy Cross ended up taking home the hardware. That's why they play the game.

Was surprised at ND's offensive plan or lack there of, was the 15 pass minimum before a shot on purpose, or just rust for the long lay off. It is difficult in high school basketball to pass the ball around for an extended amount of time without turning it over, and you lose big mo. Once Ncc got the lead, ND looked like they rushed things offensively and never got into a flow. Bottom line, Ncc continues to improve and gets ready for the All A tourney starting Wednesday. As for the Panda's, chalk it up as a bad night, burn the film and move on.

At the beginning this looked like it would be a blowout. At one point in the first half Ryle was up 18 to 2. However, give credit to Ncc for not rolling over, and fighting like crazy to get back into the game. Ncc cut Ryle's lead to 52 to 48 with a little under 3 minutes to go in the game, then Ryle made some back door cuts and free throws to close it out. Coach Stoll did a heck of a coaching job to get the Breds back in it.

It would stand to reason that if the other girls have not shown they can do what the coach ask, he would try to get them in the game and get them to develop their skills when Mercer is up by 20, instead of being up 30+ or more, half way through the fourth quarter then sub. What goes around usually comes around. Mercer is a very good team, this is not on the players.

Cooper had no inside game last night. Tough to win shooting the three's all night. They did make a nice run at the end of the first half, but when the outside shots went cold in the second half, they could not stay with the Breds.

I agree that getting rid of Stoops just continues the same old same old. Look at the Cleveland Browns as a roll model for instability = continual losing seasons. Let him continue to build. Yes this year was expected that the Cats would take the next step, but that didn't happen. You can bring in the best OC and DC in the country, but it comes down to EXECUTION. The offensive line struggled this year and that is being very polite. The defense was way too thin on overall talent, and worn down in just about every game. Until these issues get upgraded, I don't see it getting much better anytime soon. It sounds like most of these guys were younger, so hopefully a good recruiting class and another year of seasoning will help UK take the next step next year. Getting rid of Stoops, and they are back to square one. And I agree, Les Miles or any other big name isn't coming through the door. You have to build it up before the big names come calling.

This year has to be Brian Kelly's best year as far as coaching. ND has been decimated by injuries and the two loses are by 2 teams in the top ten on the road. Would have been a huge win at Stanford, but give the Cardinal credit coming back with a field goal in the last 30 seconds to win. I would think the Irish will be in a big six bowl.

Not sure why all the bashing on the SK schedule. A couple of the teams they played this year were down, but it is hard to project how good they will be when you schedule for the most part. If you looked at it the beginning of the year, it looks pretty solid. Sure there are no T or X, (except for the scrimmage), and not many people are ringing the phone off the hook to go get blasted by a GCL power, but overall I would put that schedule up against about anyone in the state. I will give Lafayette credit for beating Scott County and SK in back to back weeks, not easy to do. Simon every year in the playoffs really struggle with teams with good speed, and not sure what they can do to give them a better chance to win. However, give credit to the coaching staff for bringing this program from a team that could not win a playoff game in the past, to making deep playoff runs every year.

I stated that you cannot build a team completely out of home state talent. But 33 out of 100 players or more is not very much. Like a said, unless you are the Alabama's or Notre Dame's of the world, you need to "win" your state with talent, and add on to it from other football "hotbeds", i.e. Florida, Texas, Ohio, Michigan.

In any college football program, unless you are a super elite team that the coach walks through the door and get a five star recruit to sign up, it is critical to build from as much home grown talent as possible, and add pieces to the team from the outside. Not sure if EKU recently just couldn't find the talent in state, but it seems like they were not looking much in their back yard. Yes you cannot have a team just full of home grown players, but having a majority of your team from out of state, they don't have that home sense of pride. Character, not characters build programs. Plus talent.

Simon at home should punch their ticket to Bowling Green. Lafayette giving up too many points. Hard to continue to outscore teams every week especially the deeper in the playoffs you advance.

Campbell County should easily be top four or three. They have almost everyone coming back from a very good team last year. Brossart also has plenty of talent back and should be in the top 10 as well. The good thing is it will work itself out pretty soon.