GoHardITP

Not from me, I think you and I are in complete agreement that if the conversation is around gaining a D1 offer that playing on a "second" team (call it whatever term) would not be something that really projects the exposure or perception you would want. As it relates to any exposure to other divisions or levels of college I think the "fit" is most important and it could be a second team provides that "fit".

Moore became the 2nd District champion to go down in the 6th (PRP as well) as they were down 20 at half and ended up losing big to Fern Creek. Fern Creek now moves on to play DeSales on Friday.

Rival game that did not come close to an upset. As expected Bullitt East moves on to face Doss on Friday.

No surprise here. The expected match up between Bullitt East and Doss on Friday is on.

You have a great point. There are 16 regions. It makes perfect sense that everybody rotates and it is easier to accomplish with an even number of teams. Obviously one other region also did not get a rotation. That seems to be a really bad miss from whomever is in charge.

1st Round 7 PM Tuesday 3/3 at various sites North Bullitt at Bullitt East Bullitt East easily wins this one and begins their journey to return to Rupp. Problem is they must face Doss in round two. Holy Cross at Doss This is an easy one for Doss who can name the score. It gets interesting in round two with the rematch against Bullitt East. Doss won the first game at Valley in a LIT game. Doss is the favorite in this one as well and if they play their game advance to the final. Fern Creek at Moore Fern Creek should win this one as they beat Moore by 12 in a very early season game. Moore is the weakest of the 6th Region District Champions. The winner plays the winner of DeSales and PRP. Fern Creek can be dangerous and should be playing on Friday night. It will be tougher for the young Tiger club to advance to the Finals. DeSales at PRP Home game for PRP and also a tournament game where Coach Mabrey and staff simply excel. But 6th Region COY Tom Crews also has a fair amount of success himself come tourney time. PRP has the athletic advantage, but DeSales has better shooters. This will be a close game, but PRP seems to manufacture wins in March which should propel them to a Friday night game against Fern Creek. Predictions for Semi-Finals Bullitt East vs. Doss Fern Creek vs. PRP Predictions for Final Doss vs. Fern Creek Prediction for trip to Rupp Doss

Yes and as NKyBFAST said it is about "fit". My comments are really directed at those seeking to make Division 1 as their playing goal in college. I also think that at 16 & 17 age group the reality whether right or wrong is that kids already have began to be recruited as a D1 prospect or not. You can still come out of nowhere and get in the running, but perceptions on D1 prospects have been formed by recruiters and college staffs. It is beneficial to be on teams chock full of other D1 prospects if you "fit" and can play enough to be getting exposure with those othr D1 prospects. That is my basis or where my comments are rooted, at the D1 level.

It may not be fair cause one game is a small sample, but I watched both Waggener & St. X play a common opponent, Fern Creek. The contrast of the respective results when each team played Fern Creek makes me question the Waggener comment about one and done and then St. X as a possible Region 6 winner. Waggener beat FC by 2 and St. X lost by double digits. Unless those games were flukes, I see a very close game that either team could win when they play in round 1. Granted St. X beat Waggener by 10 about 30 days ago, but I see two teams that either could win that initial game.

Any of the three from Graves, Murray, or Tilghman would not surprise me. Whomever gets hot and has the breaks would be my answer. If Tilghman turns teams over and controls a fast tempo I like them. If Vogt stays out of foul trouble and plays big getting 15 points, 10 plus rebounds with 5 or so blocks each game I like Graves, and if James Boones gets off going for 20 plus per game I like Murray. I think those are the X factors for each team.

I prefer waiting to do what you suggest until teams actually start playing and then it is not just speculating on rosters. After the April Live periods we can actually look and should there even be any program fielding two teams in the 16U & 17U age groups my experience tells me that one of those teams will clearly have the best players who are the major D1 prospects. My comments are limited to the age level where most college coaches focus, 16U & 17U. I am not saying that the other team is a "B" team with marginal talent. They could be as talented as any other team in the state perhaps, but they will not have the number of D1 prospects as the roster of the "marquee" team of that program. Programs only have one "marquee" team that is loaded with their top prospects and only that team participates in certain exclusive events. They do not load balance their D1 prospects to deliver parity. Key to my point is an existing perception of who is a D1 prospect already and who is not. If you are not on the team of clearly identifiable D1 prospects the perception that may be assumed is that you are not a D1 prospect. KY in particular has so few D1 prospects it is imperative those few D1 prospects play together. My best example to prove what I am saying is just looking at the teams that either play in the NIKE EYBL, Adidas Gauntlet, or Under Armor Association 17U circuits. The programs that make up the teams from those circuits produce more Mid & Higher level D1 players than all the grassroots teams put together. It is an exclusive circuit of events that are invite only with roughly 40 teams in each respective circuit. That is 120 teams and I cannot think of one program that has multiple teams in their respective circuits except for 1 in Indiana. So at the top level, 1 program out of 120 actually fields two marquee teams competing on the elite circuit of events.

Agree it should be a wild shootout in the bottom where Graves, Tilghman, or Murray could emerge to play Calloway. I thought it was interesting to note the lack of a post with Tilghman hurting their chances, just think if Chris Vogt from Graves was on the Tilghman team. Talk about a team that could make some noise.

Interesting rematch of the Regional final from last season in the bottom of the brackets quarterfinal with Corbin & Clay. My darkhorse prediction is Corbin if they get past Clay. It appears Williamsburg received a nice path to the finals, but I feel the winner will emerge from the bottom half of the bracket (Corbin, Clay, or Knox Central)

The proverbial 3rd time could be the charm. It actually is very tough to beat a team three times in a season if there is not a complete mismatch of talent. Two teams with near equal talent tend to eventually have a different result the more they play, it is just the odds or nature of the game. The fact that BG is on a hot shooting streak can be a double edged sword. What happens is the game of basketball will deal a night that shots just do not fall and BG could be off a bit? What if the open looks turn into challenged shots or the up and down game produces tired legs. I have no idea if they play a third time who will win, but to write it off as a waltz because they beat WC by double digits in two previous meetings seems wishful thinking. I doubt the coach or players will enter a third rematch with that approach and if they do it could spell trouble. They should be confident, but not taking a third game as a matter of formality.

I do not know the back story, but not sure what you mean by if it is not too late. How many other D1 offers does he have? If this is one of his early D1 offers, why would it be too late given nobody else is ahead of them in offering?

Thanks Q & Broadcaster. Next question if you know is how many points was Clem averaging his last two years. I am curious how high up the list he was even though he did it in only two seasons. If you know, thanks.

Agree 100% and when an upstart that traditionally does not have that built in advantage makes a run I really find myself pulling for them. Waggener sort of fits that mold in the 7th and to a degree Fern Creek the same in the 6th. I do not think either of those teams have ever been to Rupp and truth be told they would not likely make it this year with both being pretty young. But they have shots in upcoming years if they continue to improve.

Does anybody know if the previous #1 scorer was Clem Haskins? I know Clem played his HS ball there and we all know what a successful pro career he had. I was just wondering if that was who it was and if he was at the game to share his congratulations with Q? Regardless scoring more than Clem Haskins puts him above elite company in that regard.

I am a big fan of Ben and the fact he keeps getting better and works hard assures him success wherever he ends up in college. Playing D1 with a full ride near your family and fans is about as good as it gets. If that is what he desires than what more can he ask for and any additional offers are icing on the cake. I guess the only question is to see at what level of D1 does he want to aspire to play at and can he get offers from Mid to Higher level schools if that is what he wants. As been discussed on this forum before, his size if he is done growing at a higher D1 level is typically a wing or "3". At those higher levels the wing position will require defending quicker and more athletic guys his same size. Offensively he must be able to play out on the wing and beat those same type players facing the basket. I feel herein will be the real test for Ben to either prove he can do that or is he more of a system player that is versatile enough to be the "3"/"4" combo that programs at D1 can leverage. He will get his chance this year competing against some of the most elite college prospects in the country where all levels of D1 coaches will be able to make that call for themselves. Congrats on already securing a great D1 college offer that could be the ideal place for him regardless who else offers.

You nailed it about the same I see it playing out BigDuke. With Tyler Jefferson back it solidifies Doss as the likely favorite, but I'm pretty sure he was there when BE played them the first time. BE has the size to compete with Doss, the key will be whether Weaver can be contained. He just finishes around the rim and scores so easily. When I watch BE that is what I see as their potential downfall against Doss. If Doss can make it an up and down game they should win because the Twin Towers at BE may not get down the court in time to challenge at the rim. If it turns into a half court game I feel BE has a great shot if Sharpe and Rakes are both hitting. Sharpe has to be a factor IMO. If you take away the 70 foot buzzer beater vs Fern Creek, they played exceptional defense on him holding his point total to 7 and a single 3 point basket. I feel he must score at his average or 20 plus in order to beat Doss.

I can understand those reasons, but where or what region would work better? 5th or 8th would be the obvious placement and the same would be true when a majority of their games still played against regional opponents wouldn't it? Not sure I followed that point you were making, but it almost always get down to money somehow. As to the level playing field with open enrollment it cuts many ways. In some ways it is almost needed when you have the private schools so competitive i.e. Trinity & St. X (especially in football). I would agree that the traditional powers who draw kids from the programs they have built generally stay strong. That is why representing the 6th and in particular 7th region at Rupp is an outstanding accomplishment. Year in and year out there are very few regions in the state that have the overall strength of teams these regions do. It is interesting debate that if the (3) Bullitt County schools were to be reassigned, where would they go and who would trade places if they were to be replaced.

I could see that being the case for North & Central, but not so sure about Bullitt East. Bullitt East has shown to be very competitive and actually has won their district 6 consecutive years now with a trip to Rupp in both 2011 & 2012. It seems to be working okay for them. Now for both North Bullitt and Bullitt Central I could see the desire to get out of a competitive 6th region into another that gives them a better chance. However, both North & Central are in the 23rd district with 2 Jefferson County schools that typically are not regarded as the elite basketball programs of the region, so they at least have good chances to get to the regional tournament.

The 7th region really has a top heavy bracket with Central, Trinity, & Ballard but the 6th is a bit more balanced. Doss & Bullitt East are almost locks to play in the semi-finals and the bottom has PRP, Desales and Fern Creek to battle it out with Moore the possible darkhorse. The best early round game is DeSales visiting PRP on Tuesday. I suspect PRP was hoping for a better draw and possibly Bullitt East is not real happy either after gaining their district #1 seed in the victory over Fern Creek. Even though Bullitt East won their district the draw aligns them with a semi-final battle with Doss after a 1st round game versus rival North Bullitt which is not much more appealing than facing Moore, if better at all.

I sort of chuckle a bit when we try to play the "semantics" game and avoid using the "B" team connotation. Even with younger age groups there is a more savvy way to place a name with a second team than A, B, or even C teams. Black & Orange, Red & White, Blue & Gold.....it really does not matter when you have multiple teams what the semantic term you apply. I have seen "Elite" or "Select" and even Coaches names. My point here is that if a program has multiple teams in an age group, especially in the older groups of programs that hit the national scene there is a big difference in the Top team and any other teams of the same age group in a program. The name you call the team doesn't change that. That said, being on the additional team of a program still may be as good or better if the "fit" is right. It is all about the "fit" and realistic expectations. NKyBFAST said it best on his post above on 2/23 @11:34. He makes excellent points. From my experiences, any program whether here in KY or other states there are distinct advantages being on the top team of a program than on the "other" team. Any program will want to field their best team with the best prospects, it doesn't make sense not to. That team will be funded better, will get more exposure because event organizers schedule accordingly even if they play at the same events, higher level college coaches and more of them will be attracted to watch the elite team of a program, and there will always be a perception (fairly or not) that if you are not on the elite team of a program that you are not as good of a prospect as the players who are. In our state which historically does not produce many D-1 scholarship players, it may have a negative impact to settle for being on a "second" team if that is your goal. I think if you have the talent to be a D1 signee and are a legit prospect who wants to go D1 it would cause me to pause and rethink being on a second team for those reasons above. Perhaps their are examples of D1 signees who played on a 2nd team of a program, but few who actually play on the elite teams even make it from our state. Now if you are talking D2, D3, Juco, or NAIA then you look for a best "fit" which could very easily include being on a second team and there is nothing wrong with that.

Here is the thing about Tyler Sharpe, he finds a way to just help his team win. Fern Creek had a plan to stop him all game, he drew their best defender assignment. He really did not have a great scoring/shooting game, but still finished with 10 points which is 7 below his average. But in one moment he makes an incredible shot that had a huge impact on the momentum of the game. The game was close all first half and ended with a 1 point margin. Bullitt East comes out and scores the first nine points of the 2nd half on three point shots, 2 from Bailey Rakes, to go up 10 points. The rest of the quarter Fern Creek chipped away and with what should have been the last possession could have cut the lead to 3 or even 2 since the lead was 5. Fern Creek took out the ball under their basket after a jump ball arrow gave them possession on a tie up with 3 .1 seconds left. Fern Creek shot their long three from the corner on the catch of an out of bounds play. That shot came off long and Tyler catches the rebound and gets the shot off before the horn. He absolutely got the ball off before the horn, but I really think that the scorer's table was slow starting the clock (unintentionally) because it is virtually impossible for (2) three points shots to be taken in a span of 3.1 seconds after an in bound pass. So instead of a 5 point lead, the lead is 8. That really was a punch in the gut for the Fern Creek team and even though they made some runs in the 4th Q it changed the game considerably. Give Tyler credit for hitting that big shot because it was so improbable to see that sequence unfold. Had Fern Creek hit their 3 from the corner on the in bounds play it could have been a 2 point game going into the 4th. If, buts, shoulda and coulda...lol

Sorry for the copy cat thread to the 7th region poll, but I liked a spot to have people weigh in as next week approaches with regional games. District championships mean much to the schools and teams, but also are are about seeding/placement for the draws that follow tomorrow. The path to winning the region can be interesting. In the 6th with Doss being undefeated they must be the overwhelming favorite. But they have had close games with teams from the 6th, including their district championship win over DeSales last night. With Tyler Jefferson's return, that will make them very tough to beat. Who you got?