HoopDreamsCoachQ

Bottom line is that officiating will play a large part in determining the game. If the refs call hand checks, Dunbar is doomed because they have no bench and they are used to being able to put their hands on offensive players in the 11th, where hand checking is a myth. Mercer will likely play a lot of zone (fewer fouls) and have 7-8 kids in the rotation who can play. If Dunbar gets in foul trouble like Wayne did last year they'll be in danger.

Was at a Sheldon Clark vs GRC game last season and he was 7/12 from deep with 36 total points. He was pulling from the volleyball line and beyond. Really impressive.

Currently Open Head Coaching Positions in the Commonwealth: 1. Harlan 2. Lee County 3. Russell 4. Woodford County

Saw on Twitter that Dontaie Allen is playing with Hoop Dreams this year.

Open Jobs: 1. Lee County 2. Woodford County

I wholeheartedly agree with your post. I did not start this thread to shame parents for their kids transferring. I hope that's not what people think I was doing here. I was simply trying to stimulate discussion. Apparently that ruffled feathers.

Last time I checked, no one has owned anyone in America since the Emancipation Proclamation.

Mercer had a schedule in place before the Dylan James transfer. Had they known he was coming, I'm sure the schedule would be tougher. I do think they would be right in the mix with Dunbar, Clay and Scott County at the top of the 11th. I do think they would destroy the teams like Woodford, Franklin, Madison Southern. But I think those same type of teams would be similar to a Rockcastle county or a Casey county in the 12th. At the end of the day, Mercer is in the 12th, not the 11th and they will play Dunbar in what should be the best game in the opening round of the Sweet 16. I am looking forward to that game

You think Bullitt East is my favorite team? Comical. I live in Lexington, cover the 11th for BGP and have seen one BE game all year (at KOB). I'm not sure I even have a favorite team these days. I do think it's fun to watch Mercer, Dunbar, Lexington Catholic and Henry Clay. Those are the 4 teams I saw the most this year. Trinity has had several transfers across multiple sports. I do understand that many of their kids are not a true transfer because they go to some JCPS middle school and then enroll at Trinity for high school. Sorry if I offended you

Direct quote from his mother to me "We moved because he was going to have to go to Bryan Station." They lived in Masterson Station and that subdivision is literally cut in half so that half go to Bryan Station and half go to Dunbar. All those kids would go to Leestown then they are split for high school.

Well "Chief" sorry to have offended you. And I didn't label it an article. Someone did that after I had posted and there were already a couple of responses to the original post. I suppose you would rather every thread be about the 9th region or comparing Carson Williams to various white hall of fame basketball players? The intent behind my post was to stimulate discussion since there is no basketball to be played for a week. Some people have done that here. I don't sample popcorn at the games I go to and I got a 27 on my ACT. If you'd like to start either thread I'll chime in with that info.

Why? Just trying to stimulate some discussion while we wait a week for games to resume.

Valid and funny comment. When Lawrence County played summer ball, he left and played for a school in WV. Then he returned to Lawrence County and played this season. I doubt he ever enrolled at that school because it was summer ball but he did go and play for another school then come back. Sort of like when Quentin Snider played summer ball before his freshman year with Eastern then showed up at Ballard when school started. Obviously different circumstances but hopefully that's a decent example.

Robert Dalton left last summer, played all summer ball with a school in WV then came back

The big kid from Cov Cath getting any better? Brennan Hall has impressed me repeatedly over the last year or so. Big fan of his game.

Those are the best rumors

As I was looking over the Sweet 16 bracket, I was struck by how many teams have impact players who have transferred into the schools who will be at Rupp next week. Just going in order of the games played: Buckhorn (Don't know of any but not well educated on Buckhorn) Murray - Zach Flener (formerly of West Jessamine. Transferred when his dad got a position in the district) Trinity (no idea but probably a safe assumption there are several transfers on their roster. Newport Central Catholic (ditto for Trinity above) Bowling Green - Thomas Booker (moved in before this season) Elliot County (Don't know of any but not well educated on Elliott) Dunbar - Taveion Hollingsworth (moved from Bryan Station district before high school) Believe Dontell Brown did also but don't know that for sure. Mercer County - Malik Dow (Moved from Ballard to Mercer before last season) - Dylan James (Moved from Sheldon Clark before season started when his dad got a job in the district) Lawrence County - Dalton brothers moved over from West Virginia a couple of years ago. Doss - Have several transfers (both into and out of the program for the last year) South Laurel - Caleb Taylor (from small school before last season) Christian County - Jaylen Sebree (from UHA before this season) Mason County (Don't know of any but not well educated on Mason) Taylor County - David Sloan (Moved with Coach Gatewood 2 years ago). Dylan Gaines (moved from Warren East before the season) South Oldham/Owensboro Catholic (know nothing about either team) My point being, at least 9 of the 16 teams have impact players who are transfers into their school over the last 1-3 year period. At this point, do you think this is a trend that will inevitably continue? Who is to blame for all of these transfers? Parents? Coaches recruiting? Kids wanting to play with friends? Evil AAU coaches? Or am I just crazy and this season is an outlier? Hopefully this can bring some good discussion.

I've only seen Adam Sizemore. Haven't seen any other names. Paging @Wireman for insight.

My understanding was that he was only coming back until his kid graduates (which is this year). Will Danville ever get the kind of stud athletes they used to have?

Most high schools are done now. Any roster moves?

Mercer by 20+

At the rate KHSAA decides on appeals, Kyran may be cleared of wrongdoing by August

BE vs Doss is likely an up and down track meet. CCH vs NCC is probably more of a grinding half court game. Whichever you prefer is where I would go.

13 (If I counted correctly). I missed Berea, Woodford, Model and Sayre.

Some Random thoughts before handing out some imaginary awards: • Would have been interested to see how good Bryan Station would have been with a healthy Dishman all season. • Impressive coaching job by Nate Valentine at LCA to have success with mostly freshmen and sophomores. If Trevor Hill and Tre King had been consistent, LCA would have had a realistic shot to make the region for the first time ever. • Disappointed with Frankfort this season. The senior heavy team failed to make the regional for another year. • I don’t think anyone realized just how bad of shape Tates Creek was in. They were consistently bad all year long and their only quality win of the season came in December against Russell County. • Imagine how different the 11th would have looked if Luke Johnson stayed at Lafayette instead of going back to Catholic…… • Model consistently overachieves. If their district were seeded instead of drawn, they likely play at game in the regional tournament. Kudos to their coaching staff. • Sayre was much worse than I expected. Take Jake Duby off that roster and they’re probably not better than the Henry Clay freshman team. I’m not sure Sayre will ever be a regional contender. Before previewing the 11th Region Title Game, here’s a quick rundown of regular season awards as awarded by the one person committee of me. Most Outstanding Player: Taveion Hollingsworth, Dunbar. The best player on the best team in the region, Tay has had some monster scoring nights and is as consistent as you will find in the region. He averaged 20.9 PPG on 53.7% shooting with 35% from 3 and nearly 80% from the line. He also chipped in 5.3 rebounds per game. If you watched Tay play, you likely came away impressed with his consistency and never forcing shots. Without a doubt, he was the most outstanding player in the 11th this season. Most Valuable Player: Luke Johnson, Lexington Catholic. I watched several Lex Cath games this year. Whether it was in person or online, one thing was very clear. If you take Johnson off that roster, Lex Cath would be a good JV team at best and would be near the bottom of the region all season long. Where Hollingsworth has Darius Williams and Jordan Lewis to help, Luke had to do it all for the Knights. Coach of the Year: Billy Hicks, Scott County. Yes he’s been around for a million years and sure he has approximately 45 assistant coaches, but no one expected Scott County to seriously compete this year and no one thought they could lead the region in wins and be ranked in the state most of the season. Coach Hicks was able to enjoy a lot of success while relying on Freshmen and Sophomores. The Cardinals will compete Monday night for a regional championship and look to be the favorites for the next 3 years. 11th Region First Team (No Particular Order): Taveion Hollingsworth, Dunbar Darius Williams, Dunbar Luke Johnson, Lexington Catholic Pun Tisdale, Henry Clay Ross Jenkins, Lafayette 11th Region Second Team (No Particular Order): Michael Moreno, Scott County Kyle Rode, Lexington Christian Demarcus Kennedy, Franklin County Jordan Lewis, Dunbar Leander Ridgeway, Henry Clay 11th Region Championship Preview: Scott County (29-5) vs. Paul Laurence Dunbar (28-6) 2 of the top 3 teams since the season started, the Cardinals and the Bulldogs are on a collision course for Monday night at EKU. Two and a half weeks ago, Dunbar ran Scott County off their home court, winning 81-51. That was one of the more shocking results of the regular season. Matchups: Backcourt – Dunbar holds a big advantage here as Darius Williams, Jordan Lewis and Taveion Hollingsworth are the best backcourt in the area and possibly the state. While Cooper Robb, Bryce Long, Glenn Covington and the rest of the Cardinal guards are very good, Dunbar has the backcourt advantage over almost every team in the state. Frontcourt – Advantage to Scott County here as Michael Moreno and Cooper Watts are, in my opinion, considerably better than Dontell Brown, Tre Homer and whoever else the Bulldogs run out there on Monday. Moreno is skilled and Watts is tough while Brown is mainly only a garbage man around the rim. Coaching – Billy Hicks against Scott Chalk may seem like a good matchup on paper, but I am not a Chalk fan and think he does less with more than any coach at a big school in the state. If the game comes down to Xs and Os and adjustments, I’ll take Billy Hicks over Chalk every time. And I’m not a Coach Hicks fan. X-Factor – Pace. Dunbar likes to run and Scott County will too, but if they’ve watched the tape from Dunbar’s losses, they’ll notice that if you can keep the Bulldogs at 60 points or less, they have a good shot at beating them. Dunbar failed to break 60 in 3 of their 6 losses and only scored 63 in another loss. If Scott can make the game be about half court execution, their chances of victory increase exponentially. Prediction: Dunbar 72, Scott County 62 Thanks for reading all season! Hopefully the 11th will be well represented at Rupp by either Scott County or Dunbar.