GoHardITP

Congrats TBC Elite, one thing about Championship photos is if all the kids are smiling than you get a hint everyone is happy. Then again many kids just never smile for pictures and in this one nobody was. I counted 9 players, unless the kid to the far left of #15 who was in street clothes was injured from weekend play. Either that or he was a great photo bomber. By the looks of him I am guessing they only had 9 that weekend like was referenced above and this kid photo bombed with the best of them..

Two years, but the departing coach was an assistant before that. Sometimes the assistant being promoted seems to be the safe choice in lieu of taking an outside look but safe is not always best. There were quire a few transfers, many that were very good players that didn't help.

This is a great place for a great player and young man. Good luck to Brandon, he will be a really good college player.

I am late to the party and this will stir the pot with the issue about the debate of kids who transfer taking clock away from kids who are grew up in the school system. That is a long and complicated discussion that has merits both ways. I always think it becomes the coaches call and if they are supportive then the fan base either gets behind it or you basically cause a rift that doesn't do any good for anyone. By the time the decision has been made and the shipped has sailed you are better off backing the entire team, including the transfer who is taking minutes from the hometown kids. It hurts if you are the player or the parent of one who sits due to it, but a coach should play the best players on the roster. In the case of Boyle County if Bell is not on the team it is open to debate whether they would have made it out of district, much less regional play. No knock on the rest of the team, but he formed part of the trio of superstar players that was without doubt the reason Boyle was so great this year. No Bell, no state tournament in my opinion.

Well based on other Region 2 players you listed going D1, then perhaps the exposure has been there in order for him to get the D1 offer without playing with a significant travel ball circuit team. I honestly feel there is nothing wrong with going to a top D2 program over some lower D1 schools. Bellarmine for example has better crowds, goes to NCAA tournaments, even probably has equal talent, and a full ride gives you about a $50K tuition break/year. My advice would not be too focused on the pride of being a D1 player over a D2 school. I just think the offers that any player gets to get a free education is a blessing to be thankful for.

Until it is official I would not chalk it up, but I have heard several kids say it is Roy Sutton that will be the new Moore HS varsity coach replacing Lemon. Roy is a great young coach who works well with kids on and off the court. His recent coaching experience has been at Fern Creek as an assistant the past two years with Coach Schooler.

Who did he play his live certified events with and where? If he received plenty of exposure with Henderson's high school team and also his travel ball team then he should get a good look from both D1 and D2 schools. I wish him luck, it always reflects good for the state to place as many kids as we can in D1 schools. It drives more awareness and in turn the state is recruited harder. I have never seen him play so based on what I heard with his elite athleticism, character, and assuming he has good grades he should have a good chance at a D1 school providing he got the proper exposure needed for many kids who play in areas that traditionally do not produce many D1 college prospects.

Kids are saying new Coach at Moore will be announced soon officially, but they have made their selection.

3-2 or 1-2-2 or some zone defense that places your defense in position to stop dribble penetration is how you must defend Doss. Weaver and Gray in particular are very good finding gaps in a 2-3 or getting by their defenders on man to man. Stopping them in transition and working the zone to stop penetration with a key eye on the baseline short corner man is the best way. Sounds like Cov Catholic realized that.

I am not saying Doss will win this game, but the talent is there to win this game and all weekend long for that matter. They were the dominant team in the 6th region. They never lost a game to 6th region teams and only loss 6 games all year. The losses were to Ballard twice and Trinity in a blowout. They also lost to Taylor and Christian County along with Dunbar. Those are all either really good teams or at least respectable teams. They are deep, but the rotations have shortened here in the end with the three senior starters all playing most of the game. The other two starters are sophomores and they share minutes with two really good players off the bench. Dujuanta Weaver is a D1 player, but with an injury last summer his recruiting slowed. Tyler Jefferson in a D1 football player (WKU) and can be a beast down low. The other senior, Terrell Gray, is likely not a D1 player, but he is very athletic and can flat out play. The two starting sophomores, Delvonte McCloud & Jaylon Hall, have D1 potential. They are big with 3 of the Top 7 guys at least 6'5". It would not be surprising to me if Doss was playing on Sunday. That said, there are advantages with Covington Catholic so it comes down to who plays their best. If they both play their best ball it is a toss-up.

I agree 100% with you. I have been fooled as a coach using a player with false documentation. I finally got the kid and his parents to admit to me that a birth certificate given to me at the beginning of the season was not the real age of their son. That was in 5th grade, so I know firsthand how it can be a situation the coaches may not be at fault. Obviously when I found out for myself what was true it was the last time he played for me. I agree with your position and that of Cordia that until proven differently you must go with what you have in front of you.

I agree with you about being a fan and what a story it could be. On the other hand to be candid, it could turn around on a dime if the allegations on Oumar's actual age are true. That drama to me is the biggest issue facing the Cordia story and I would feel betrayed if my support was undermined by the controversial debate that has re-surfaced again with someone in Texas claiming to know personally that he is of college age. The closest analogy I can think of is a false accusation like the Duke Lacrosse case. If the allegation is true, then all the people that support the Cordia cause may very well turn their support around feeling betrayed. If the allegation is false, then it is a shame that the story ever surfaced to cause people to form an unfair opinion when nothing wrong ever happened. I am torn, but I choose to continue to support Cordia. But one big mistake like this if true would really hurt the cause of the genuine nature of being in it to help those needing the help.

I suspect you misquoted "Woods" as a regular starter when you meant to have put "Sloan". By far and away the best two players on this Taylor team are Sloan and Goodin. They make the rest of the players much better which is what makes good players great. If those two have to sit significant periods in the game or have really bad games then anyone in the Sweet 16 can beat them. Not a knock on any of the other kids, but the straw that stirs that drink is Goodin & Sloan. If they are not on this team, we would not be hearing much about Taylor County statewide.

DOSS DRAGONS PREVIEW Head Coach: Tony Williams Region: 6th District: 22nd Doss and PRP were the two pre-season favorites to win the 6th regional title and they opened their seasons by playing each other. Doss led that game for the most part, but did have to withstand a last minute rally to win by one. From that game forward, Doss has always shown they are the team to beat from the 6th region and been the likely favorite to play in the State Tournament. The Dejuanta Weaver-led Dragons beat every team in the region that they played. Here’s How They Got To The Sweet 16: 22nd District Tournament: Doss would play Butler in the first round of the 22nd district tournament and like many of their games this season, it would appear they could blow the Butler team away, but they only won 66-53. Doss then beat DeSales for the District Championship which would be their third game against each other of the season. After beating DeSales by 12 in the 1st game and by 22 in a second game, this game was closer because DeSales came back strong in the 4th quarter in a 55-51 game. 6th Region Tournament: Doss would face the runner-up in the 21st district, Holy Cross, in a game of mismatched opponents. Doss easily won 78-46. Doss would next play against Bullitt East to see who would go on to final of the 6th Region Championship. The score was a 65-61 win in overtime, but it was an especially hard fought victory for the Dragons who had to survive a last second miss in regulation that could have ended their season. Doss and DeSales would square off again for the 4th time this season, this time to see who would go to the Sweet 16 in Rupp Arena. The game would be a good first half but the second half Doss started to pull away until the Colts mounted a comeback which fell short in a 55-49 victory for the Dragons. The Dragons are led in scoring by Dujuanta Weaver who comes into the KHSAA Sweet 16 averaging almost 17 points a game, shooting 44% from the field and 33% from 3. Tyler Jefferson is a big contributor down low, averaging 13 PPG and 7 rebounds. Terrell Gray is the third senior leader and has a 15 point average. Besides those three seniors, the Dragons have several underclassmen that they can hurt you with. Jaylon Hall, a sophomore is one of the best three point shooters on the team and Delvonte McCloud is another starter with the ability to score in bunches. Nick Anderson, Ramon Collins, and Dajon McCarley also all see action to provide depth. The Dragons will open up the Sweet 16 against Williamsburg, region 13 winner on Wednesday night at 8 PM EST.

I thought that was the hint at your post, and I agree that DeSales being able to do it differently is unique to the Big 2 of Catholic HS's. It is much easier in BB when your roster is so much smaller. What I found a bit interesting is the big kid at DeSales comes from a family that seems to do well financially (Doctor and Bellarmine grads) and even a father as a Trinity Alum, yet ended up at DeSales. I think his brother also went there. That was interesting they did not follow in Dad's footsteps given the pedigree.

I resemble that fat coach remark, but I know you and I are on opposite ends of where we see this situation on your other points. I just think you have double standards if we are going to call this cheating if there is nothing illegal going on. Is Coach Call doing anything illegal, I doubt he is which is why I would not characterize UK a cheating program. Players want to come play for him and the same can be said about Coach Gatewood. I am not saying Coach Gatewood is the HS version of Coach Cal, but like Cal all high school coaches attract players to their schools. It has been going on for years in such places like Scott County, Ballard, and other schools where kids want to play. So Berry made a legal move back home for his senior year, and Sloan has become a legal family member of the Gatewood home, and yes he took a job that was vacant which he was selected to fill that had a good player. What makes any of that a cheating program? You obviously would not say that about your favorite college team would you? Seems like double standards to me.

Moving back home to Campbellsville which is located in Taylor County required his family to consider choice of school options. That was not a tough choice given this young man could likely increase his chances for getting his college paid for by the exposure his HS basketball career delivers. I agree with this post that the fact he lives in the district and plays for Taylor County is quite natural. There is not any conspiracy with either Sloan or Berry while suggesting there is comes across as sour grapes. Complain about Coach Gatewoods antics if you want, that is fair game. But the implication these kids or their families have done anything wrong is baseless.

Agree, it may be the best coaching Renner has done given the unexpected departures. Ballard is getting contributions from many different players and they have a 6'9" post who does allow their defensive scheme to work well with pressure out top. If you come into the lane, Douglas is doing a very good job altering shots at the rim. I feel he is very key to their ability to win it all. If he plays aggressive and plays his best ball of his career from here out, he could be the one who carries them over the top.

I was talking about that yesterday with someone and we were trying to figure it out. It was an odd set of circumstances. What we recalled was his wife took a job up here and the family moved with the anticipation he was going to be the Head Coach at BE. For some reason at the last minute that changed. This was all before the season prior to this season. My understanding is that the family still lives there and Feldhaus travels back to his old job several hours away. Someone from Bullitt County probably knows more and maybe even can correct me if I have it wrong. What is interesting is Blackburn was AD after his first coaching stint there and Barr was the Coach. Then Barr became AD and Blackburn became coach a 2nd time. Why Feldhaus never ended up the Coach is a mystery given the family even made the move as I was told.

I am not as shocked or find that unbelievable. I guess the Trinity model of pulling in a few non-catholic school athletes has given a perception you must do that in order to succeed if you are a parochial school. I bet DeSales through the years where they have been very good at times has always had that make-up of players. Just curious, but what makes that so unbelievable and special? I am not trying to be a wise guy, just I do not see it that noteworthy where it makes me a huge fan just because of that.

If Ballard plays like they did against Trinity in their most recent game and Manual plays like they did against Waggener in their most recent game it will be a double digit win for Ballard. But it is a new day and should Ballard struggle shooting three's which can happen, then Manual has a chance. Manual must get an unbelievable performance from Sutton. He may be the best player in the 7th region, but he will need to carry his team on his back by getting a 30 point night in order for Manual to win. He can do it, but the Bruins have much more depth even within the starting lineups of players capable of having solid contributing scoring nights.

I am going to agree with CoachQ on this and you are able to feel the way you choose. But I do want to throw another perspective. First off, Coach Gatewwod is very animated and emotional. That can be a double edge sword. Bobby Knight comes to mind and he is a great basketball coach that opposing Big 10 fans could not stand, but Indiana fans loved. Outside of the Big 10 you had people in both camps. You could call coaches like that polarizing to a degree. He sought the job at Taylor County knowing Goodin was a young player with tons of potential. But any Coach who took that job would have gained that advantage so that can't be held against him. What if he did not develop as expected or what if Gatewood has been a part of his development? Whatever way it went, he would either get the blame or he should get some of the credit. The Louisville kids are very different situations. Coach Gatewood has been a major part of David Sloan's life for a long time. He coached David's brother at Moore and was close with David well before he approached high school. David is part of the Gatewood family and anyone who knows how well that has been for David that cares about him is grateful for the care & love the Gatewood family has given him. Berry's family is from Taylor County and returned "home". That he got two Louisville transfers one part of his family and one a kid returning to his families home makes them sort of locals anyway.

Well I will shoot down my own prediction on Bullitt East and Blackburn. I now heard Coach told the kids yesterday he is coming back next season.

In the Open Coaching thread, I alluded to a possible coaching change at BE. I know there were some who thought the staff was not on the same page and I had heard from a distant source that they may want to go after a "long haul" coach. I knew a coach who interviewed when they went with Blackburn Round #2 and he just had the feeling they wanted to play it safe for an interim time with the cast of players they had returning. With the way the season went, I wonder if they may want to go for a longer term coach now and the ability to land a really good coach goes up when he has the opportunity to win big in his initial year there. After that Junior class leaves there is not the same firepower in younger classes.

I did not think of that fact those 4 coaches were all early in their stints, but it was mentioned to me from somebody who could potentially have some insight and it was just a hunch they had. Since they are done after last night I will throw it out there as just a hunch, nothing more than scuttlebutt talk. Could Bullitt East go with a more long term coach? As mentioned this was stint #2 for Blackburn and I personally think he is a fine coach. I just suspect he came in this second time to hold the fort down long enough to find a longer haul coach. I know that Bullitt East will be perhaps the likely favorite to win the 6th region next year. The HC job is more appealing to a potential coach they may want to attract for the long haul if they could coach the team next season. If there is somebody the administration wants badly enough, it might be the right time to attract them.