Bluechipper14

This is a huge shocker for me..... Connor banged out a strong squad here...... Due tell.....

Sounds like a nice little tourney in the patty dome. I'm assuming saints we're in the final?

hmmmmmmmm Probably a closer game than what people think. KnottCOCEN could beat Bracken by 50, but most likely end score will be 20-25 at least the polar bears can take some cash home for the long trip up

Randy can you shed some light on if everything is going ok down in Deming? I was looking for those guys to compete a little better than the last 2 games. I can somewhat understand Augusta, but I am not following the loss to Villa. 26 for the Schutz is good scoring, but..... Help me understand. Also Nicholas and GRC - I am really shocked about the lopsidedness.

Bracken at home will be a lot tougher. Crawford should get his but limited to low percentage shots. Montgomery is too big in the paint....... Montco by 25+. Not sure anyone else for bracken can mount the points against the Indians. Tough first 2 games for this bunch.

Potential now....... Division 1 Kentucky Wildcat, no Division 1 Eastern Kentucky Colonel, heck yea In 2 years..... Sky is the limit if Miles does his job. Rumor is he's grooming him for Happy or Wells. That would be a travesty. Baffled by the ignorance as well. He has a slew of letters and scouts knocking down his door. He doesn't need to transfer that whole district is wide open. It's a coaches game between those schools in the 69th over the next 5 years. Each school has the athletes if the coaches develop them.

Does anyone have a clue where Harrison County scrimmages or Scott County?

Green up County is my pick to win the 16th and I think they will put it together In a way that will surprise some of you. The top 5 teams are equal contenders. Fleming is your sleeper if they get their bearings straight with guard play. People forget they have the guys back that guarded burns and crew for 4 years......

Greenup County will shock the 16th Region. They are tough this season.

No they have been greatly overlooked. They will be fast and they will get their guard play execution through Williams. I see them as a post season top 5 Fairview is the kicker for me. I cannot see how they are ranked above Raceland. I must be missing some intel.

They still have their big guy.... a ton of quick athletic guards to play through.... Wilder is essential for their success. I think they are contenders still. Lamont Taylor has a nice approach to the game and will get those guys firing. Best of luck!

Brandon Baker always gets his guards ready for action down there. He is an excellent guard development Coach. Look forward to seeing success for his program. I believe that region is a little more open than normal.

They are fixated on defensive play.... time and time again on offense there are players getting away with extending their forearms to gain an advantage.... Both offense and defense need to be points of emphasis...

Dawson Cooper stood out in the regional opener against Augusta. He has beefed up and grown an inch over the last 6-7 months. He will be playing with a chip on his shoulder this year. Watch out.

Rick Bolus runs a good outfit, yes it is a money vacuum, but so are all the AAU teams that people put together to claim they have the best approach to coaching and connecting kids to the next level. If you have a kid that can play next level ball and you don't have a high school coach marketing them, then your only options are to put highlight film together and push it out to college coaches. Blue Chip venue is the best place in central KY to get EYES on prospects. The best form of scouting is done with the naked eye. Keep in mind that Rick Bolus hires a staff that sees the ability in ball players too. They are obligated to annotate and document the abilities of specific athletes. The system is not flawed, but their are some minor flaws. Now, is Calipari there.... no, is Chris Mack from Xavier there, No.... is Bob Huggins there, no.... but he has been in the business long enough to know how to run one and to give credit where credit is due. I personally scout for Division 1 coaches and I have to say that there are only about 7-10 natural prospects on that whole list. There are a ton of NAIA and D-2 kids. The overwhelming wake up call is this.... Kids are not applying themselves academically.... there are more prop 48 situations on that list that I can name. College Coaches at the Division 1 and 2 levels have no interested in losing scholarship dollars and assistance. The mentality and attitude dispositions of these kids are not representative of the cultures at the next level. The camp is set up to glorify the elite. if the elite don't perform, they lose ranking. If someone stands out that is not on the list, then they get recognized, but consistency is key here. It all starts with the Junior High Blue Chips. Kids need to be in the systems of Five Star and Blue Chip at an early age. They cant just start showing up when they are Juniors. Bolus is well respected and runs a tight ship. If you had a bad experience or your child didn't get chosen, then you need to assess the high school and junior high school coaches that they play for and invest more time in placing them in the proper hands. Bolus doesn't make players he markets them. For some its their only shot at recognition. If their time to shine is solely dependent on 1 week of Blue Chip, then Blue Chip camp never was a good option for that kid. The instruction and speeches and player education facilitated at the camp is worth 300$ alone. He spends money on professionals in the business to educate players on how to market themselves and how to position themselves and how to be better players. Kids just don't have the same discipline. Excuses are made and values have been lost over time. And parents are enabling those behaviors. Parents go to these camps and exert their parental coaching dominance... this is a huge turn off for scouts, and unfortunately coaches (some) know the name of the game. Basketball is a tough business where everyone thinks that they know more and are better than what they really are. If resumes check out, then the person you are dealing with is more than likely credible. Everyone is trying to sell something better in this basketball society. Rick Bolus and his camp is a great asset to the Ky Basketball Athlete. There isn't a better localized camp for Ky. you have to travel to major cities to get it done for your STUDENT-athlete. Emphasis on STUDENT, unless you have a phenom. For the record, there is not a phenom on that list. The top 12 players are solid prospects. I would be willing to bet only 5 of those 12 make it at the D-1 level. My buck in on the Trinity kid (Spaulding) and the Parker kid from Male. Those two stood out leagues above the rest.

Coaches job.... Love their players. Believe in everyone of them. Push them regardless of their disposition for hard work. Keep them accountable for their role on the team. Treat them like a person. Build value where value is not present. Get the most out of them. Success is never measured by the win/loss column. Players job.... Love each other. Respect the coach. That simple. Parents job..... Read Mike Matheny's Letter to Parents online...... this is exactly what parents need to recognize.

Settling for mediocrity is a cancer.... Not instilling a will to win and compete at your best and be your best is cancerous and can set your child up for failure later in life.... making them less likely to win the race for a job or care about that patient or client the way they need to. Times have really changed. Parents are (and not all) settle for mediocrity. Just getting by and just doing enough..... This lets teammates down and lets the individual down.

A wise man once told me (Hall of Fame Coach) to develop a team perception test and require all the student athletes to take it. This test highlights their personal thoughts on: Who the best shooter is, who the best hustler is, who the best defensive player is, hardest worker, best attitude, etc.... also questions worst attitude, least committed, least encouraging, etc.... This test alone helps the student athletes assess their counterparts anonymously and allows the coaches to gauge who's who and use it as motivational material... Now, when upset parents are whining about little Johnny not playing for whatever reason.... Coaches can say "Little Johnny's teammates disagree" "Little Johnny is clear on what Little Johnny needs to work on, and he has not worked on it." Good Coaches will create expectations early and will hold their players accountable for their progression.

They will be tough this year.... they will be where they need to be.... Competing for the title!!

So what's next for Crawford.... Being a potential D-1 prospect?...... or is it now he's being groomed for UPIKE and KWC?? Coach Miles should market this kid..... He can play D-1 small ball if developed. And yes, he is a STUD. Best Sophomore in the region hands down and no doubt a top 10 player... The greatest player in Bracken Co. History....

I would imagine if I knew anything about that region and what it stands for, Coach Roderick will never get out of that region..... refs wont let him, coaches wont let, politics wont let, and KHSAA has no jurisdiction down in those parts. Stay or go, he could recruit McDonalds ALL Americans and go 30-0, but by the regional final....... Cordia won't win. Reason is obvious....

That's a travesty!!! Austin Crawford is the single best Sophmore in the 10th. He may be a top 10 in the state. If not his coach needs to market him... Heard Miles is a solid coach but if Austin Crawford ends up in UPIKE or Kentucky Wesleyan...... that would be a huge disappointment to that kids true potential and ability. This kid should be small D-1 ball prospect right now. Watch Miles work him into Happy Osbornes rotation and program over the next 2 years...... Mark my words.... Crawford deserves better.... he should have transferred to a coach that would market him. Someone with D-1 experience.... Heck O'hearn is 15 minutes up the road and if that isn't good enough you got Taylor at St. Pat.... These guys have a D-1 network established.... rumor was he was considering Cov Cath, that would have been an option too, but I get it.....Kid will break Bracken Co. scoring records and will be immortalized. So the best ever Bracken County Player headlines will read.... "Signs with UPIKE or KWC"....... Crawford is an athlete and deserves the best opportunity. UPIKE and KWC or St. CAT, just isn't sufficient. Unless settling for mediocrity is his personal goal. Set your goals high young man!!!

Swolsky 6'4" is a freak of nature - Plays like a guard and his wingspan makes him about 6'9". Pure athlete. There is room down there at that little school for talented kids that get passed up by those Royals. That Coach knows what the heck he is doing. Those kids could barely dribble when he got there. Mason is Loaded too... Perkins has reported some issues with back and bone. He could be way better than Johnson.... Hope he stays healthy. Garrison and Dunaway are nice supporters. Makes it easy knowing you can drive and shoot with a big guy collecting the fare.... Paris has a nice QUICK incoming freshman not sure of the name, but showed lock down defense performances. This kid really has some quickness. the best I saw all summer. Cannot remember his name to save my life. Gilkey kid for Harrison is rumored to have a nasty second gear and gets to the hole.... Burdon for robertson co. is a Bull and can fill it up from the perimeter.... right hand dominate could limit his progression. automatic spot up shooter and will get so much better with cooper leading him!!! This kid could set some Robertson Co. records under Brown. There will be some neat matchups and breakouts for this class of Freshman

Well whats really nice about the SAINTS is that they have been in the weight room and have dedicated their summer to Coach Taylor and his philosophy...... True they lose 5 seniors but they lose uncommitted seniors. Addition by Subtraction. This team will get better simply because they had poor senior leadership this past year..... Coach Taylor and his staff have impeccable experience and basketball knowledge and those older guys were way too used to the old system...... I would be willing to bet that with their Solid big man (Sticklen) and much improved and invested PG (Bauer) they will be a tough wrangle. Plus Freshman Swolsky has grown to 6'4" and lets not forget the Burton kid who averaged 18 ppg over 4 games before becoming ill. He lost weight and step and never fully recovered during the latter part of the season. Bailey Jodrey was rumored out for the majority of the summer while they went on a tear. Heard They have 3 transfers adding depth and bounce. I look for Taylor and crew to run platoon style defense and offense 5 on 5 off every 4 minutes or so with Bauer and Sticklen. They can go big, small, quick, defense based and if they figure out their shooting woes....... watch out. They have 2 lock down defenders on their ball club in McCall and Jodrey that would run through a wall for Coach Taylor. look for Bauer to really distribute the ball for about 8 apg and 10 ppg and 2 T/Opg. If they nail another ball handler down they will be a top 7 maybe 6 region competitor.... Starters rumored: PG Bauer - projected avg - 10ppg SG Burton - projected avg - 12 ppg SF McCall - projected avg - 10 ppg SF Jodrey - projected avg - 10 ppg F/C Sticklen - projected avg - 22 ppg Reserves Transfer 1 - ? Transfer 2 - ? Transfer 3 - ? 6'4" Swolsky - projected as MUST watch freshman - 8 ppg 6'0" Thompson - Chips in 4 ppg 5'8" Cress - chips in 2 ppg

Sticklen registered in at a solid 6'6" barefooted at Rick Bolus Blue Chip. He made Top 40 Blue Chip Honors and MVP accolades for league play and made the Blue Chip All Star team. He has stepped up his game and hit some much needed weights according to Maysville sources. Rumor is Lindsey Wilson, Transy, UC Clermont, & small D-1 Liberty is scouting him hard after his 22 ppg and 16 rpg summer averages.