Cobb18MKG14

Ashland had 9 at halftime!!!!!! I could chuck shots from halfcourt for 16 minutes and score 9 points. This is historically bad, like can they even beat Rose Hill at this point? I think the Kittens would beat them by 20.

I think the Day twins were really good middle school players at Verity but never played in high school, played soccer I think.

Something has to change at Ashland. In 8 or so years Biggs has nothing but runner-up finishes at best, granted he has been close to a couple region titles. But it is evident to anyone with two eyes that he has run the program into the ground. Starting in 7th grade kids give up on basketball because they know what type of coach is waiting for them at Blazer. Over the years there have been many good athletes who have played one year, part of a year, or not played at all simply because of Biggs. Sam Hunter - 1 year, Quinton Baker - played beginning parts of 2 seasons and quit, Malik Massey - never played because of Biggs dumb rule about hair length, Cade O'Bryan - played 9th grade but no more. Cody Bowling - quit mid way through senior year. Tyler Rose - played 9th & 10th then quit. Dikembe Dixson & Cousin - left. Daniel McDavid - 9th grade then quit. Blake Mcloud - 9th grade then quit. John Baldock - did not play senior year. Also, look at the turnover on the coaching staff - Whitlock - gone, Mike Polley - gone, Mo Mullins - Gone. I bet the Kittens could beat the Tomcats this year. Its sad...and not necessary.

I would think a split with Russell and Fairview is likely. The Tomcats have had little luck historically against Ironton and Spring Valley. Could they really be looking at winning less than 5 games?! Unbelievable.

True, not since the days of Surgalski and Beach in the early 2000's.

Yes

Its a shame that Ashland has resorted to hoping to get in the region tournament.

Not enough kids want to play basketball. I could go on and on about the kids who are good middle school players or play on the freshman team but have no desire to play varsity. I think it has a lot to do with Biggs and his reputation for how he "runs" practices, emphasis on run. Just look at the rosters from year to year and see how many kids will play one year then never come back. How many seniors are on this team?? I know Nick Miller is one, are there any others? 0-6, come on man.

Little doubt that GC wins this one.

True, they always have to gain experience. But in my opinion that soph. class simply lacks athletes...I could be wrong but....

I understand what you mean about the Jr. class. But what you might want to consider is the sophomore class, who will be relied upon heavily to contribute on the varsity level next year. Outside of Noah Roberts there are not many players with legit varsity experience.....

I have no idea what next season's schedule looks like...but if it includes Ironton, JC, Russell, and George Washington those are all teams Ashland lost to this season, and I don't think Ashland will be better after losing Long and breaking in a new QB next year.

You might be right, I don't have any clue.

Flynn went to Rupp twice I think....

Outside of Baker and O'Bryan who do they have?

That's true. Elliott and Rowan did have a strangle hold on the region for several years. I think the really talented players...Corey Gregg, Dylan Delaney, Will Skaggs etc. would play and excel for just about any coach, because they are talented and love the game. I see the problem in that Biggs' style, practice routines etc. turn off the average role player from playing. Over the last few years Ashland had little to no depth. I believe that is because the kids who do not play very much don't see the point in playing for a coach who in my opinion runs his teams into the ground. I would prefer someone who seems to be more of a players coach, gets kids wanting to play basketball, and creates positivity and enthusiasm. I just don't get that vibe...

I could post a list of names of students who have chosen not to play for Biggs, many names might not be known because after their 8th grade or freshman season they didn't play again. It would be a pretty good list. Even when he did have the players...McDavid, Thomas, Withrow, Bonner, Whetsel, Skaggs, Delaney, Dixson etc. he never won more than a district championship....which isn't saying much when Rose Hill, Fairview, and BC have been underwhelming in recent years. If you look at Ashland basketball over several years you can notice several talented athletes who will maybe play 1 season then not return, or even quit mid-year. I could list several names, but I don't want it to reflect negatively on any kids. You can certainly disagree with me, but I have been around the block a time or two and believe my assessment is accurate.

I'm more concerned with the ZERO trips to Rupp during his tenure at Ashland...and the many good players he has ran off from playing basketball. Sorry if I'm not impressed with being a runner-up at just about everything for nearly a decade.

As much as I hate to say it, probably a losing record for the Tomcats next season.

Biggs is killing the Tomcats. Time for a change.

I think you play your best players as much as you can. Ashland simply doesn't have the numbers or enough really talented kids to have only offensive and only defensive players. Baker and Long are D1 kids, which don't grow on trees in Eastern KY, you have to play them as many snaps as you can. Improved depth would be a nice plus, but comparing Ashland/Highlands in those terms is apples and oranges. For Ashland to be successful atleast in the near future they have no choice but to play their best athletes two ways. If there is some population increase in Ashland over the next few years or just an abundance of good athletes come up through the ranks things will not change. I don't think there is enough focus on identifying young talent in JFL and middle school, then developing a training/learning program for those students. I attend JFL games and it is very easy to spot the 2-3 kids on each team that have the ability to become good players. It would be nice for those kids to receive some attention from the high school coaches, might inspire them to work harder as the move towards Blazer.

Not if you think you have atleast a decent backup. Lets say you have O'Bryan, Bradley, or Tate Dowdy a viable option at QB....I say you go with the best one at QB let them play D. Hunter Prince played a lot of DB as a soph but not any as a JR or SR...probably because there was no legit backup QB. Couldn't risk it the last 2 years...

I think the Tomcats might want to look at Drew O'Bryan or Josh Bradley at QB. Drew took snaps at QB as a freshman I believe, and Bradley was QB in middle school. Both might offer a player who is more physically able/ready to be the starting QB.

Should be a good one! This Tomcat fan will be pulling for Raceland!

I'm really proud of how the Tomcats went on the road and made it a really close game. Hopefully this is a building block for next season.