GoHardITP

From my experience the more elite teams tend to not really post a roster until they have started the season and then people who watch them can also post who they saw out there so it may not even be the team that puts a roster out. Right now every team has a few cards up their sleeves which they like to keep to themselves. Anyone posting rosters on a message board is attempting to pull together pieces of what has been seen on twitter, scuttlebutt, or simply guessing on returning players and such. With so few spots on elite teams many great players may not get invited and it should not be reflective of anything except another great player landed one of the coveted few spots for a particular position. It is sort of like the NBA All Star roster, arguments can be made about who is left off, but then it is hard to pick out who should have been removed. It is just a realty that in each class only about 1 or at most 2 players in the same position will be invited. I saw a Cooper game and agree McNeil is a heck of a player. What position do you feel he would project to play in college?

MONDAY, MARCH 9 @ VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL · Boys’ 7th Region Semifinal – Ballard vs. Trinity @ 6:00 pm · Boys’ 7th Region Semifinal – Waggener vs. duPont Manual @ 7:30 pm TUESDAY, MARCH 10 @ VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL · Boys’ 6th Region Semifinal – Bullitt East vs. Doss @ 6:00 pm · Boys’ 6th Region Semifinal – Fern Creek vs. DeSales @ 7:30 pm THURSDAY, MARCH 12 @ VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL · Boys’ 7th Region Final @ 6:00 pm · Boys’ 6th Region Final @ 8:00 pm

I am not commenting on players I have no affiliation with, but as it relates to "hearing" about any player, Trace Young or anyone else, that is leaving from and joining another team there is a single rule to follow....don't believe everything you hear. Until a player or parent or reputable reporting service announces it, don't consider what you hear factual. Even if there is a player announcement, it is subject to change as kids change their minds. That is the nature of travel ball world of team rosters. They are fluid and not static. But never put much stock in what you hear because programs/teams will at times throw out names of kids about to come over just to get other players to commit, so it comes down to a smoke screen effect many times.

Ditto on all of the above. Especially aligning the kid and program needs or "fit" along with being honest in player feedback. I would add one more thought that is just the nature of the beast. As a parent, especially those of elite level players (game changers) there will be many coaches that try to get in your ear basically recruiting your son to come to their team. Most of these elite kids already play for someone else or are being recruited by another program. I have always tried when recruiting kids to a team that I coached follow a rule that I consider "doing it the right way"...... Never talk bad about another program or coach, just talk about the virtues of my team or program. I try to never let the words of another team ever leave my lips. I may have had moments or lapses or I may be directly asked about another team, but I do not like to ever talk about other teams, coaches, or programs because it is not the right way to do things imo.

Yes Q, Trey had a huge game and in particular the 2nd half. After 3 1st half FTs, he finished with 15 points, including 2 dunks (1 hand & 2 hand throwdowns). He also had 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and a block. Ahmad Price had a stat stuffing game. He had 9 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. Anthony Wales started out on fire scoring 7 of the team's first 10 points in the game and shot 83% for the game scoring 11 total points. He left the game in the 2nd half due to an illegal pick that frankly was a dirty play out of frustration from one of the Moore players. Was taken to the locker room for concussion like symptoms and never returned. He also had 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and one block before he was injured. These three all averaged around 10 points for the season which on surface is not high popping. However, they combined to deliver 50% of the teams points & rebounds, and over 60% of the steals, assists, and blocks. They focus on winning and not scoring points with a defensive value rarely seen in so many good players. It is what makes them each special in that they do not focus on scoring, but winning. Rarely do they shoot more than 10 shots/game, but they seem to get an equal share of shots due to sharing the ball well.

Only player I reference in this post is Goodin since he was mentioned earlier in the post as playing for the Travelers and joining HD, but that is not accurate. He played for NIKE EYBL St. Louis Eagles. He likely wanted to play for a KY based team his final year of travel ball or perhaps he left the St. Louis Eagles for another reason. At one point since that time, he indicated he was going to join Braxton Beverly in the backcourt and play with the Travelers. However, as I always say until the season starts kids and parents may change their mind and that obviously is what happened. He will be fun to watch with Eli on that HD 17U team and adding him as the PG solidifies a solid backcourt. I can see why it was a good fit for both him & the team. It will be an exciting year for the 17U Hoop Dreams team. However, Goodin never played for the Travelers that I am aware of as he just announced or told a scouting service before changing his mind.

First off it was not a surprise to me personally that Waggener won after watching both teams play a common opponent, Fern Creek. I saw Waggener win a 2 point game versus Creek and St. X get beat by double figures. Comparing opponents does not always work, but in the case of watching both teams I thought the game would be close which is obviously was. Tough loss when leading by 16 or whatever it was, but we often see the tale of two halves with evenly matched teams. It sounds like Cooper got hot in the end and he is very capable of scoring points in a hurry. I could see that would be a match-up problem for St. X. Waggener is missing PG Hobbs, a sophomore, who is the one who runs that team as a PG should. Also hurts to have PF/C Kirby out so they are doing a great job to advance missing two starters. IMO Cooper is a prototypical SG because he is wired to score in bunches and put up shots. He can handle the ball well, but if he is playing PG it is only out of need. He can handle the ball and penetrate, but playing him as a PG complicates ball movement because he is a prolific scorer. I saw him miss 15 shots in a row out at LIT against Doss, but he never lost confidence or stopped shooting. He had a poor shooting night, but still hit big shots (deep 3's) in final minutes to almost bring his team back to only lose by 1. I have no idea about the coaching on the sideline or even behind the bench as referenced, but the injuries in my mind will keep Waggener from getting past Manual. If Manual can put someone on Hill down low and allow Sutton to guard Cooper that match-up will contain Cooper more than anyone St. X could put on him. It is hard to zone him as he shoots so deep and quick release. Great player, just having to use him as a PG will make the team easier to defend and there will be less ball movement with more one on one action.

Yes, I missed that projection but I knew it would be close. I just thought at home it would go PRP way, however, DeSales winning is not a shocker at all. DeSales could end up the Region Champion and it would not surprise me. I suspect the tourney will be postponed and the girls will get those dates due to the earlier state tourney for them. Should be a wild 6th Boys Regional the night they do play.

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.