systemqb

Not a West fan here. A fan of Damon, and I'm sure he'll make sure they're not overlooking anyone.

Casey also hasn't played anyone of consequence in the 12th region since West. West is not the same team Casey faced either. Don't know who will win, but West has a good shot to be playing in the regional championship.

Everyone should feel good right now. I was speaking strictly from West's point of view. Would rather face teams I have beaten in the past, than teams I have not. Confidence goes a long way.

I agree that there are 3 teams that can make a run. The difference between this year and last year is that Mercer is on the top tier on their own. Southwestern and Wayne are not far behind on the next tier, and West is your Mercer from last year (probably can't win it but can beat any of the teams ahead of them). Last year it seemed like Southwestern, Boyle, Lincoln, and Wayne were all dead even.

Great draw for West Jessamine! They won't have an easy game, but they get three teams on their side of the bracket they have defeated. I could see them making it to the finals.

Are you saying that Boyle should be using a deeper rotation, or that Lincoln has more players to use in their rotation? You can't always play 9 guys just to have a deep bench. If you don't have the players capable of coming off the bench, then you have to go with a shorter rotation. It's evident that the starters are having a difficult time taking care of the basketball, so I'm going to assume that it would get worse the further down the bench you go. Coach Adams is a smart guy. He knows what he's doing. If 7 is all he's playing, then 7 is all he's got. Adams has more information about his team than anyone else. I remember this conversation on here from last year. Worked out pretty good for Boyle then.

I don't think there's been a single comment about him personally, just as an official.

Fair enough.

I don't doubt one bit that it's a very difficult job. Referees will miss calls just like players will miss shots or make turnovers and coaches make the wrong play call or sub the wrong player. It's part of the game. Not in my worst nightmare would I ever want to be a referee. There's no reward and all the criticism. They don't get paid nearly enough to put up with the abuse they take. I will not attack a referee personally. Most of them I know, including the little I know personally about Kyle, are good people. I just wish he went about officiating a little differently. It doesn't make me right or him wrong. Just a difference in opinion. I prefer officials to be more subdued and not so animated like the people are there to watch them. He was that way when he first started officiating, and I like that version of him better.

Not about Kyle. I think it's a consensus that the officiating played no part in the result of the game. I'm sure he's a good guy... just a questionable official.

Did this happen after the Lincoln or Southwestern game?

It'll be interesting to see this team's growth over the next month. It's understandable for them to be up and down over the next week or so trying to integrate the Saterfields into the game. They may be a team you don't want to see in the regional tournament.

Agreed, both are well coached. Lincoln is usually a tough out come tournament time, and if Boyle can keep their turnovers below 15 they'll be tough to beat. Their field goal percentage is really good most games, but they have fewer field goal attempts than their opponent a lot of games because of turnovers. If Boyle takes care of the ball, they can be a really good team.

Bottoms has regressed as an official over the last few years. His ego gets in the way of his ability to call a game. He never makes a wrong call, and he thinks he is the show. However, it appears as though the officiating had very little to do with the result of this game. I believe Mercer is the better team, they plays a style of basketball that is more consistent than Wayne. Wayne's style of play lends itself to a higher variance. They shoot a lot of threes, and if they're knocking them down they're going to be tough to beat. If they're not, then they'll have a tough time beating a quality opponent like Mercer. I was shocked to see that they shot so poorly, and they only lost by 10 points. The question that's going to answer whether Wayne has a shot to beat Mercer is: Was the inept shooting just a bad shooting night, or was it a result of Mercer's defense bothering Wayne. If it's just a bad shooting night, then Mercer has reason for concern come March. If it was Mercer's ability to force tough shots, then the result will be similar, if not worse for Wayne. It appears as though there are three teams in the top tier in the 12th region. The next 4-5 teams you can scramble and place as you like in the next tier. Barring an upset, Mercer will have to play the other top two teams (Wayne and SW) in the regional tournament to make it to Rupp. They will earn their way. It should be an advantage to the team out of the 48th district that finds themselves in the opposite bracket as Mercer and the other 48th district team.

Agreed

I'm honored. I like Stephen A.

And they would be?

If you're proving your point with the list of teams you gave earlier, (Scott, Woodford, Nicholas, ect.) it doesn't offer much support. Those teams have inflated their record with other bad teams. Congratulations on being 8-3. From the looks of your schedule your record will continue to improve. Only 4 of the 18 games left look to challenge GRC. Lawrence County, Mason County, LCA, and maybe Henry Clay are the only tough teams left on the schedule.

I stand behind that statement. GRC and the rest of West Jessamine's opponents have inflated their record with lesser opponents. There is one solid team West has played, Clay County, and they were without a very important player.

I'm not saying I think anyone other than the top 4 will make it to Rupp. I fully expect one of those teams to represent the 12th. I'm saying that it would be a shame if the regional draw made it so it was impossible to have all 4 in the semifinals.

It would just be a shame if the draw pitted the districts against each other in the first round. Imagine the winner of Wayne/SW playing the loser of Boyle/Lincoln or the other way around.

I'll take any of the coaches of the top 4 teams. I don't think Woods is any better than the other three or Kelley at West. Appears as though you're implying certain things about other coaches not named Rodney Woods...

So who are the quality teams? I see a Dixie Heights team (a loss) who won a tournament where the teams they beat have a combined record of 15-21, one team with a winning record (7-5 Holy Cross Covington). An 11-2 Owen County team, while having a GREAT player, haven't beaten anyone you could consider a quality team. A loss to a Madison Central team, who may not be a bad team, but they certainly aren't the same type of team they were in the recent past. Woodford is down and hasn't beaten anyone, and the same can be said about Johnson Central. West Jessamine beat a 5-7 Lewis County, a 7-5 Tates Creek team who lick their chops when they can play a game against someone outside Lexington, an 8-3 GRC team who, despite the list, haven't beaten anyone of consequence, and a 12-1 quality Clay County team that was without their second leading scorer and leading rebounder. I guess winning a tournament, no matter the quality of competition you play, means you're a really good team.

I guess you can say that West has beaten several teams with winning records, but those teams inflated their win total with games against lesser opponents. Clay is still probably a quality win, but it's probably a totally different game with Clay's second leading scorer and leading rebounder. Mercer has 2 wins against teams with winning records: Russell (5-4) and West Jessamine. You might be able to chalk up Mercer's early losses to the players getting use to a new coach and him getting use to new players. The health issues you brought up may be crucial for both teams. Hager and Faulkner are by far the best players for Mercer. Having them at 100% will help tremendously. Ely is really important to West as well.

The 12th's top 4 are strong. Southwestern has the best claim to the crown so far in that region with some high quality wins and one let down against East Jessamine after a big win against Wayne. Lincoln is right behind SW, followed by Wayne (mostly because they have been region champs two years running) who lost a close one to Lincoln at Lincoln. Although Lincoln closes out that game easily of they make free throws. Boyle would be 4th on that list. They had a lot of easy games early, had a couple of quality wins in Lexington, but they still have the most to prove out of those top 4. The second half of the season will tell us more about Boyle than the first half. Nobody else in the 12th has proven they deserve to be included in the conversation with those teams. The next tier of teams in the 12th (Mercer, West, Pulaski, ect.) have proven they can beat up on lesser competition but struggle to beat anyone average or above. Personally I think Mercer is poised to join that party at the top of the 12th region, but they need to get that signature win, preferably against one of those top 4. I believe they play 3 of those 4, and those might be the only games they have against high quality opponents the rest of the way until the regional tournament. If anyone outside those top four are going make it to the regional finals, it will be Mercer. But they will need to beat someone of significance before I put them in the conversation with the quality teams in that region.