GoHardITP

This one started out 13-0 after the 1st quarter. Fern Creek came out so tight and then lost some confidence after the goose egg in the first quarter. Score at half was 28-9. End of third quarter was 37-22. Fern Creek made an attempt to get under 10, but never did and the benches for both teams cleared with about 2 minutes to go. Never in doubt who controlled the game from the tip to the final. I have seen Central now several times and they will not wow you or overly leave you the impression they are a dominating team. However, you must give Coach Bibby credit because they are always ready to play and they fear nobody. The best way to describe them is they play hard, they play smart, and they are fearless. Coach Bibby has them on a string. Whatever he calls, they simply react and execute. Of course they have been scored upon, but they usually defend in almost a pack like line of defense with an extended defense on the key shooters. The key is to have enough outside shooters to make them pay with their sagging and if you do get penetration be able to hit pull up jumpers. Also credit the kids, they play hard and are a team.

I would agree conventional wisdom would seem to indicate that could very well happen. Central as odd as it sounds is probably a bit underrated if that could even be for a team who has beat Trinity and battled Ballard to a close game. The coaches have as friendly a relationship as opposing coaches normally have. If it gets to be a game that Central has their way will Bibby take his foot off the gas, or will he make a statement? I would not call it an upset of epic times, but it would be a game that would surprise most if Fern Creek could go into Central's gym and leave with a win. Fern Creek almost did that early in the season at Hopkinsville, but Central is a much better defensive team and more disciplined from what I have seen of both teams.

Forgot to add it is a 6th versus 7th region match-up. Each team is just outside the top 2-3 teams in their region so it makes for a good comparison of the 6th and 7th just beyond the top tier teams. I think the 7th is stronger at the top and Central is closer to being in the top of the 7th with a win over Trinity than Fern Creek at the top of the 6th, so Central is the likely favorite in this one from what I would project.

Two friendly coaches with contrasting teams and styles. The rookie (2nd year) coach in Schooler with a younger team lacking much experience versus the veteran coach in Bibby with an experienced team who has played with each other in his system. Central and Fern Creek each have 15 wins on the season, but Central has played a tougher schedule gaining those 15 wins. It should be a fun gamer and the lone marquee match-up played in Metro Louisville tonight. Game is at 7:30 @ Central so it will be interesting to see how the crowd comes out on a Thursday night.

Here in Metro Louisville the best game played in the city on a Thursday night that should draw a nice crowd is Fern Creek at Central. 15-9 Fern Creek coached by James Schooler visiting 15-7 Central coached by Doug Bibby. These two coaches have mutual respect for each other and would be considered as highly respected coaches by most. Schooler is a young coach with a young team and Bibby is an experienced coach with an experienced team. Central has played the tougher schedule and has beaten better teams. It will be a interesting game if Fern Creek can keep Central from getting many transition opportunities.

I feel they both are teams that are capable of beating each other on any given night making this really a toss-up. Each have very good wins and each have some losses that should not have happened. I like LCA based on what I saw from them at the All "A" Classic against NCC. NCC is a very tough team and recently I just like what LCA has been able to string together with contributions from many different people. I also think Matt Rose is that one player that can be counted upon night in and night out much like Tanner for LC. I just think if they equal each other, then LCA has more sources for other scoring to take them over the top.

yes

KCD beat CAL this season and unless I am mistaken they will play Eastern and CAL plays Ballard. Watch for an upset by KCD, it could happen if Eastern is off.

You have essentially summarized what this year is, an odd season at best. Some may call it parity, while others call it a down year. Fairdale did lose their core and several prolific scorers, and for the most part are rebuilding. Doss does struggle with the fallout and they likely are bored right now until the districts start. Doss is still the favorite to advance to Rupp in my opinion. DeSales and Bullitt East are the best shooting teams and could challenge if they shoot the ball exceptionally well at tournament time. DeSales has not achieved that marquee win to your point. PRP is not as good in years past, but you can not underestimate the staff come tournament time. Iroquois, J'Town, and Butler all need to rebuild and will need to rely on development of their younger players. Valley did beat Butler and both of those teams are lacking upperclassmen. It is a very odd season and the funny part is that next season could be even more odd.

Fern Creek @ Central St. Xavier @ PRP @ Doss

This game was a battle of two teams just outside the Top 4 teams in the 6th region (Doss, Bullitt East, DeSales, & PRP). Fairdale unfortunately had to play DeSales the previous night where they suffered a 65-47 loss and tonight they tired at the end. Fairdale battled late into the 2nd half, but could not get back to even despite several runs they made. Key free throw shooting by Fern Creek helped stretch the win into double digits. Fern Creek pulled ahead with a strong 4th quarter. Fern Creek was led in points by Anthony Wales with 16, Ahmad Price with 14, and Tony Washington with 13. Fairdale was led by their own freshman star, Glenn Queen, who led all scorers with 19. At one time late in the 4th quarter with the game still in the balance, Fern Creek had all freshmen on the court. With Queen leading Fairdale the entire game, it was a high school varsity game with the very best freshmen from Jefferson county sharing the stage. Queen is going to be a really good one for Fairdale in the years to come.

Final from Fairdale

I saw that you said "current", but you are missing my point because when you use the term current it is not "complete or likely accurate" information. You cannot possibly know what the "current" roster is because that is not something you or anyone else not affiliated would know. By mentioning they could add (2) 7' footers, what if they already exist? So if there are others on the roster playing in the post does it render your assertion as meaningless? I have no idea who they have lined up to play the post, but why provide speculation about another program if I lack the information to give an informed opinion. That is my simple point, but you could prove to be a great guesser. If so, Ben could still play the 3 or the stretch 4 and he will be a special player with his skill set to do so many things for his team.

Coastal Carolina is a nice school that has had some recent history of making the NCAA March Madness. Boston University is a great place to get an education and what a city to spend your college age within. I saw Ben at the All "A" Classic and really believe he could play at either of these schools. I like his ability to play inside and outside. In the right system at the D1 level he will thrive. I look forward to seeing him develop over the summer and compete against the best basketball prospects in the country.

Respectfully I might add that many AAU programs will not post a "roster" until closer to the season starts. Some kids are known to be with a team, but others not. Lot's of jockeying for final roster spots taking place now and in the next month with elite travel teams. It is always likely that programs have some commits that simply do not get known to "outsiders" no matter how hard people try to find that information. I am not speaking specifically of the Travelers roster, just in general that unless you are associated with a program it is likely that making statements about another team's roster is not going to be complete or entirely accurate. I am not disagreeing with your comment, just pointing it out that it is an assumption based on speculation.

I've got my beard working like Pitino, but that is about it. I have coached a little bit, but too old for the high school game. I admire those that work in high school coaching. It is a young man's game because to keep up with the things kids get into these days is exhausting. I really have a ton of respect for an older coaches like Mabry and his staff at PRP. The kids that a school like PRP draws from are from are going to have some disadvantages that you must be prepared to help them through. He and his staff remain consistent and in control, yet the kids know they care. Like at other schools, many of us would be surprised at some of the things that go on with the young men who walk through those locker room doors. Not only does he teach them the game of basketball, but he is very good at trying to do more for their development beyond the game itself. He is one of my favorites and he is humble while doing so.

Not sure if anyone expected the score to be an 18 point game, but DeSales played well and simply executed so much better than Fairdale. I had heard Fairdale had let go of some Senior players (2), and it did appear that was the case as it showed some out there tonight. I think both of the departed players started, one for sure did when I last watched them play. I have no idea of the infraction or if they just decided to quit this late in the season. Whatever the circumstances, I get the feeling Fairdale is really focusing on the future and next season when they should be pretty good. They have a few nice junior players such as Tre' Richardson and an exceptionally strong freshman PG, Glenn Queen, who will only get better by playing major minutes now that he is starting at the end of this season. He probably had close to 20 tonight.

Thanks, the younger guys are my favorite to be around and work with. The 2021-2024 teams are all really good. I feel their success rubs off among each other. None of the teams want to be the one's that let the other teams down.

Fairdale and Fern Creek each are sort of alike in that they are lurking just outside the Top 4 teams with respectable records, but are they good enough to be in the conversation with Doss, Bullitt East, DeSales, and PRP. Both FC & Fairdale have a challenging week and to top it off they play each other tomorrow night at Fairdale. After playing Fairdale on Tuesday night Fern Creek must finish the season with Central, St. X, PRP, and Doss. So like Fairdale they will either inject themselves into the conversation of teams at the top or fall back with some separation if they do not finish 3-2 or better.

This is a great way to start the week off with two 6th region teams facing off. DeSales has stayed as one of the Top 4 teams in the region throughout the season. Fairdale has surprised many by becoming a solid team just outside the Top 5 in the region. They have four big games this week against 6th region teams and can either stake a claim as one of the Top 5 or they will fall back a bit by reaffirming they are not yet a contender. This opener is a perfect way for Fairdale to make a statement they belong in the conversation.

Fern Creek has a 6'8" 300 pound plus Senior Center who never has played varsity BB until this season, but Coach Schooler inserted him into the lineup and makes sure the offense works inside to get him touches. In fact, the young man now is likely to get an offer somewhere to go to college at the D2 or D3 level. He literally went from never playing varsity basketball to likely playing college basketball. I have never figured out why a coach would not make sure his big post players do not touch the ball, regardless of how good the guards and wings can score. It creates balance and it is unfair to expect a big post to run the floor only to rebound and play defense. Pretty soon the big who does not touch the ball on offense loses interest and who could blame them.

Again the 6th region did not have a very good week as it related to teams stringing victories. The only team in the Top 10 that made it through the week without a loss was Bullitt East. Has Bullitt East found their groove at the right time? They have strung together 3 victories in a row and losing 5 of 6 games right before that. Doss continues to beat 6th region teams, but lost to Lexington Dunbar in the Jock Sutherland Classic. After a strong LIT showing that made it within reason to suggest there was not a lot of separation between the 7th & 6th, there now appears to be a growing opinion that the 7th is significantly stronger top to bottom. Top 10 1.) Doss Doss is undefeated in 6th region play with a 10-0 record and 19-6 overall. DuJuanta Weaver may be the best point guard in Jefferson County, for sure in the 6th region. He continues to be the steady player on a team that is best described as very up and down. One person who has seen them recently said they did not seem to be that interested in playing. The grind on the team with all the controversy just seems to be taking a toll. They won two games in the week, but one of those victories was a 3 point margin over Iroquois that has only 6 wins on the season. They ended the week losing to a dangerous Dunbar team in overtime. This week they have Bardstown and Moore which should be victories. They are closing to wrapping up a regular season without any loss to a 6th region team. 2.) Bullitt East Just when you get close to counting out Bullitt East, they come storming back. After overreacting to their rough spot losing 5 out of 6 games and placing them 5th, they delivered a statement with three consecutive wins over Shelby County, Jeffersontown, and CAL in rather easy victories. Only the JTown game was close and they won that by 8 pulling away in the 4th quarter. They play a respectable Dixie Heights team from the 9th region at home before they travel to rival North Bullitt to end the week with their upcoming games. They are now 16-9 and 4-3 in the region. 3.) DeSales 18-6 with a 8-2 record in the region, but they lost their only game last week to John Hardin by the score of 64-73. Given the DeSales respectable record, the loss will only result in a slight drop to the third spot in the rankings, but John Hardin has only 2 wins in Region 5 which makes this a bit of a surprise to see the loss to a team not even highly ranked in the 5th. DeSales has three games this week beginning with 6th region opponents Fairdale and Whitefield Academy. They end the week with Collins. 4.) PRP PRP has only a single win in their last 4 games and that was a two point win on a layup with less than 5 seconds remaining. The win was over Moore who has only 6 wins on the season. They lost last week to Shroder (OH) who is not known to be a stronger OH team this season. Still they are 7-1 in the region and 14-7 overall which places them firmly in the 4th spot. They play Iroquois and Fairdale this week in 6th region match-ups that will give some insight into whether PRP is going to be a factor late in the season. 5.) Fern Creek After going 1-1 last week, the Tigers are now 14-9 and 7-3 in the region which is probably where they were expected to be at this point in the season. Quite a few of the losses leave you wondering how close this could have been to a very special season as 5 losses have come from a total of 8 points. The inability to win most of their close games leaves them just outside the top teams in the region. They had a chance to win both games last week, but lost to Whitefield on the road on a last second shot resulting in one of those close 1 point losses. They finished the week with one of their best victories, an 18 point win over Iroquois. Three tough games are on the schedule for this week, Fairdale, Central, and St. X. which will provide some insight to determine if Fern Creek can make some noise in the post season. 6.) Fairdale Fairdale stays in the 6th spot after going 1-1, including a big win over 6th Region foe, Butler by 12. They however had a 15 point loss to Atherton from the 7th region. They are now 11-11 and also 8-1 in regional play, with 4 games this coming week. Tre Richardson has really been playing well for the Bulldogs with his toughness around the basket. Fairdale will need a big week from him as they play all 6th region foes in DeSales, Fern Creek, PRP, and Iroquois. If Fairdale can emerge with 3 or even 4 victories then they will obviously rise in the rankings. 7.) Western Western did nothing to drop or rise from their 7th spot. They took care of their rival, Butler, with an 8 point victory. However, they lost to 7th region power Trinity in a 54-78 score. Western has not had many games compared to most teas, and unfortunately they also had a win last week, but it came from a forfeit when Walden opted to not play their scheduled game with Western. They are 9-8 and 5-3 in the region. 8.) Whitefield Academy Whitefield jumps back in to the rankings on the heels of three consecutive wins last week, including a win over district rival, Fern Creek. That 46-45 win was on the back of their 6'7" Senior Center, Kyle Jackson. Jackson was all over the court blocking shots and throwing down dunks with strong moves to the basket. Whitefield is now 14-11 and 3-4 in the region. They have 6th region games with DeSales and Valley this week. 9.) North Bullitt North Bullitt stays at the 9th spot going 2-1 last week. They suffered a bad loss to Central Hardin by the score of 81-55. North is beating the teams they should beat, but is not able to beat the teams on their schedule that are the more competitive games they must win to advance in the rankings. They get that chance this week when they play Bullitt East who is the lone remaining team to offer them that challenge. They are 14-9 and 5-2 within their regional schedule. 10.) Holy Cross With a win last week over previously #10 ranked Bullitt Central, they deserve the final spot with a 12-13 record and 4-7 in the region. Holy Cross has stepped up and played a challenging schedule which deserves recognition and they are for the most part staying competitive when they do. They play St. X and Western this week. Top Player(s) Without a shadow of the doubt the honor goes to Brandon Johnson from Jeffersontown. The honor is long overdue, but playing on a team that has not had many wins is likely the reason for the oversight. However, Brandon is not the reason for the losses piling up. It is sad that this senior has had to exit his great career on such a sour note. He has been part of many victories over the past several seasons and this year he just does not have any complementing players able to share the load. He is doing his part. Recent games have recorded 43, 37, & 34 point games. Even facing defenses that are focused to stop him, he rarely has had a game lower than 25 points in the past few weeks. Hats off to this great scorer and despite the team's lack of success, he is a winner.

Wow, that is a monster stat line from the big guy. Looks like that blocked shot record in a season is going to be broken at Graves County. Little brother going to get that record from big brother.

Yes and his brother (I believe they are brothers) coaches Manual boys HS.

Josh Leslie the Head Coach at Eastern High School would be somebody that could do a great job at Male. He has some great experience and is a current head girls coach in Jefferson County that would be a viable prospect. His team is 13-4 this season so obviously doing something right with his team.