GoHardITP

We have completed games almost at the mid point of the season and here in the 6th region we also have the most recent performance of teams from last week's LIT which hosts the best of the 6th & 7th regions in a mid season invitational. This body of work gives ample opportunity to provide the rankings which are slightly changed from last reporting. Interesting of note is that during LIT week, (3) Region Six teams made the Elite Eight to (5) Region Seven teams. The semi-finals were even with (2) from both regions, and of course the champion, Ballard, was from Region 7. That indicates a fairly equal Region 6 and Region 7 representation at the top. Of course Region 7 is a bit deeper and tougher at the very top, but both regions were well represented showing a degree of parity in the County. It was a good showing by Doss, Bullitt East, and also DeSales all making the quarterfinal round of 8. Top 10 1.) Doss Now 15-3 and winners of all their 6 regional games make Doss the overwhelming #1 team where they have been starting week #2 of this Insider Report. Since the last ranking they made it to the final of the LIT. Along the way they beat two 6th region top teams, DeSales by 12 and Bullitt East by 7. Tyler Jefferson and DuJuanta Weaver each made the All-LIT team. 2.) Bullitt East 12-5 on the season and 3-2 in the Region. They made the Final Four of the LIT by defeating Seneca and a very tough Manual team, both from Region 7. Tyler Sharpe continues to lead the team and hits the timely baskets as he is a hard nose competitor capable of leading his team during hard times in the game. Gaining the Final Four pushes them in front of a PRP team which lost in a 1st round upset. They must also play Manual tonight in a rematch of their win on Friday in the LIT. 3.) DeSales 14-4 with a 7-1 record in the region keeps DeSales at the #3 spot. DeSales beat 6th region foe, Fairdale, in the 1st round game. They then followed that win with their 12 point loss to Doss to go 1-1. In a scheduling coincidence they have a rematch with Doss tonight to give us a further look into how close they may be to the top. 4.) PRP 12-4 and 5-1 in the region keep PRP near the top, with the first round loss in the LIT to Central it was the catalyst to swap places with Bullitt East who made it to the Final Four. Obviously the loss to Central does not appear to be that bad of a loss given how well Central played, including an upset over Trinity. The PRP schedule aligns favorably the remainder of the regular season and they should be favored in almost every game. If they continue to win they will very likely rebound to the top of the region. 5.) Fern Creek 10-7 and 4-2 in the region keep Fern Creek at the 5th position, but outside of the 4 teams in the upper tier of the 6th. They lost in the first round of the LIT in their rematch with Eastern who they had beat during a holiday tourney. Had they beaten Eastern they may have been able to make a claim they belong in the upper tier and a contender once regional play begins. However, they must now prove they belong at the top of the second tier of teams which includes North Bullitt, Fairdale and Western. Tonight they play Jeffersontown, a district opponent. Fern Creek must win this game to stay just outside the top teams and remain a threat to contend for the title. 6.) North Bullitt 10-6 on the season, 4-1 within the 6th region, and 3-0 in district play with a close defeat to St. X in the LIT is enough to keep them in the 6th spot of the rankings. However, the regional wins have come against Bullitt Central (twice), Moore, and Iroquois. Those wins are not over any quality 6th region opponent and the loss came to Holy Cross who has not proven to be a top ranked team in the region either. They play Southern tonight who is near the bottom of the Top 10 teams in the region. This game will also be a must win for North Bullitt to stay ranked where they currently reside. 7.) Western Western stays put again in the 7th spot as they went 1-1 in the LIT with a win over Butler and a loss to Manual. They are 6-6 on the season overall, and 3-3 in the region. They next play Jeffersontown later in the week. 8.) Fairdale Fairdale is slightly below.500 on the season with a 7-8 record after losing to DeSales in a first round LIT game last week. They are now at 5-1 and 2-0 in district play. They play St. X tonight in a tough match up with a 7th region team. 9.) Whitefield Academy Whitefield Academy is above.500 with a 10-8 record and is 1-2 in regional play. But a win over Southern who previously was in the ninth spot caused the switch to move them into the Top 10. Five of the next 6 opponents will be tougher than anyone they have currently played with the exception from their 33 point loss to Bullitt East, so we will know much more about this team in the next two weeks. 10.) Beth Haven BH continues to get the final spot because they are now 13-1. However, they are 0-1 in regional play with a loss to Valley who does not sit inside the Top 10. They play Holy Cross tonight which will be a good test and go a long way to determine if they stay in the Top 10. Top Player DuJuanta Weaver made the All-LIT team and continues to lead his Doss Dragons night in and night out with his exciting brand of basketball. If you have not watched him play, he may be the most under rated point guard in the state.

The best and most simple coaching lesson any basketball player can heed to regardless of skill level is to shake or nod your head "yes" when you are receiving coaching in a game or as you are pulled out of a game/timeout. In the middle of a game a head coach many times will snap or bark out a point he is trying to make which even if you disagree should not be challenged or worse yet an excuse delivered back. Just take the message being sent and nod your head or reply with "I hear you Coach, I got it". Body language and showing your displeasure receiving a coaching moment is a bad habit to have. Talk to your assistant coach while on the bench or approach your head coach at halftime or when the game is over to go if you must disagree and are bent out of shape you were on the receiving end of coaching critique. If I am a parent of a young man, I would appreciate the head coach going to an extreme to teach that lesson early.

No problem in asking and I was not suggesting you should not have asked the question. After all, that is exactly what a message board is intended for. I am more surprised it was passing around. The game he missed was the 1st round LIT loss to Eastern and perhaps that is why it even was noticed. Trey is a great kid, and the lesson was learned. I saw a similar type of coaching decision from Coach P at Corbin in the Whitley game where young phenom Andrew Taylor was sat most of a game that Corbin lost as well. Andrew is a great kid too, sometimes a coach just needs to set the stage for the long term development versus a short term win. I applaud both coaches if they are making kids sit for a valuable lesson.

Yes, Emphatically yes. Like with many young good players, a good head coach will need to make a decision to help them mature which may include using the bench to teach. A good coach will even sacrifice a win to grow a player who needs to experience a teaching lesson. It is not a big deal he sat down a half of basketball and missed a single game. Surprised this even made news, but I value a coach who sees the big picture.

Sounds like somebody was mad that Central crashed the party and sent Trinity home. Unless we were there nobody knows who was wrong in the way the situation was handled. I am sure even though I was not there that the "authorities" had no business making a big deal of a player bringing food into the facility. That is plain ignorant and somebody trying to insert their control & power which Coach Bibby challenged. Regardless how he did so does not make him a low character guy.

I have seen the young man a few times this summer in a local gym and it could not have happened to a nicer kid. He is very deserving and it is great when good things happen to good people. His mother should be commended for her dedication and examples she is setting. Coach Davenport is a great ambassador for the game of basketball. This is not the first special thing he has done to show how caring for people he is. Great story and thanks for sharing.

Excellent defense or some other reason? Is this not the guy who holds the school points record twice?

I don't doubt this is what you were told and may be exactly what is going on which I too would applaud the staff for not backing down just for wins. But it may not be as simple as that because if I am the staff that is exactly what I would tell the administration and anyone else not in the locker room or gym. As I said, it could very well be that is the case, but maybe the staff has a bit of culpability as well. Discipline is a very dynamic issue. It is not as simple as the boss laying down the rules. As a parent I think we all can agree it does not always work that way with kids. Why do some kids accept it and others not. Why do some coaches receive it and others do not. Part of it is the ability to motivate kids to "buy in" to discipline. Not every coach is a good disciplinarian just because they remove players from their program. Coaches will have a side of the story, kids impacted will have a side, and then the kids remaining may have a side. Truth is probably somewhere in between.

My guess is the reporter made it sound as if the loss of players happened over the holiday break and it may have. But I think the coach was stating they have lost a total of 6 players they expected to have playing this year, but not specifically all at the same time during break. I do know they lost William Johnson at the holiday break. I also know they loss the Bell kid over the summer to Boyle County. They loss a kid named Eddie Murphy who went somewhere out in the state as well I believe. There is another guard who would have been playing who is now with Seneca or someone inside Jefferson County because I have seen him and somebody said he was formerly at Butler last season. So that is 4 solid players who left (3 before the season began). If it indeed was 6 different players during holiday break then that makes a total of 9 leaving the program. I would guess somebody is beginning to ask questions about what is going on. This staff for the most part is holdover from the previous staff so it is not like a whole new regime has came in and needed to clean house. Just think it is counting the 3 from before the season when they say 6 in the paper. That would mean 3 since the season had began joined the 3 from before.

Agree with Ball Coach but would put Gaines 1A in the 6th. Toss up in the 7th and I believe you have to add Raymond in the mix. That system will prevent high scoring numbers from any single player. If you take Raymond from Trinity they are just another good team, but not the powerhouse they appear to be.

Does anyone have any comments from watching the young Chris Vogt post player for Graves? I have heard great things about his potential and wondering if he has been playing exceptionally well.

That is a good point, and any given night if the better team has an off night where the ball just does not fall and the lesser team hits everything they put up all bets are off on who may win or how close a game is played. I just know that Iroquois is getting beat badly by middle of the road teams in the 6th region and they have not even played the top tier teams like Doss or PRP yet. They beat Augusta by about 10 or so I believe. Perhaps the 6th is that much better top to bottom or somebody had a really good night and somebody a relly poor night to explain that one.

I have not seen Augusta and in fact do not have a dog in the hunt. However, I know the 6th region very well and I understand Mason is pretty good. The loss Augusta had to Iroquois has me thinking that Augusta struggles against an athletic team. That is really all Iroquois has going for them. They have won 2 games against 6th or 7th region public schools. I think they may have 5 wins total. Both of those wins were to the bottom teams in the region. They are getting beat soundly against everyone else. They just are not a very good basketball team. That loss would be a hard one to understand and explain away unless multiple starters were out for me to believe Augusta would be competitive versus Mason or any other top 10th region team. I do not think the disparity of the 6th and 10th is that great for a bottom team in the 6th to win against a top tier 10th region team.

Not sure whose decision, but he and the coaching staff have parted ways is what I heard.

They (KCD) are much better than they usually are. Three really good players including Anthony Mathis who is one of the Top 2017 guards in the state, Malik McCray, and another player in Ferguson. They lost to Eastern by 5, DeSales by 3, and were within 3 points of Ballard with a minute to go while eventually losing by 10. They could be a threat to win the All "A" Classic in Frankfort. So yes, I would consider that a good win, but maybe not as good a win over Bullitt East obviously.

We are 10 days into the New Year and have had some games this past week that helped shape up the rankings. The best of the 6th Region begins playing in the LIT this week along with the best of the 7th Region. LIT performance helps make a statement on where you belong in the order of best teams from the Louisville Area. Favorable match-ups help, but if you make the quarterfinals of the LIT you have earned the right to claim being among the best. Top 10 1.) Doss 12-2 and winners of their past 6 games make Doss the overwhelming #1 team where they have been since an opening week win over pre-season favorite PRP. Since the New Year, they beat LCA at the Clem Haskins Classic by 12 and then easily beat Butler. Their most recent victory was a 10 point win over a Jeffersontown team that does not have many victories. Perhaps they were taking that game lightly, but it did show that Doss can be beaten as that game was close in the final minute before they surged to a 10 point win. But as long as Weaver, Gray, and Jefferson play solid games this is a team that will be tough to knock out of the front of the pack. 2.) PRP 12-3 on the season and winners of their last three. Since the last report they had a game against East Jassimine canceled at the Clem Haskins Classic, however, they won 3 games by large margins against some of the lighter opponents on their schedule. Richard Gaines continues to be a one man wrecking crew and has shown to be the favorite for the 6th region POY. 3.) DeSales 13-3 with a 2-1 record since the Holiday break keeps DeSales at the #3 spot. An overtime lost to St. X started the New Year off rough, but they bounced back with a win over a tough Western team and also a surprisingly competitive KCD team on the road as well. DeSales plays Fairdale in their 1st round LIT game and should be moving on to the quarterfinals unless Fairdale can pull the upset. 4.) Bullitt East 10-4 and winners of three in a row, with two of those recent wins coming since the last report. One of those wins was against district opponent Fern Creek which positions BE to be the #1 seed in district play. It was a close two point margin that was determined after a three point miss at the buzzer by Fern Creek hit the back of the rim and came out. Not much separates DeSales, BE, or Fern Creek for that matter, but BE remains in the Top 4 of the 6th region by virtue of their victory over Fern Creek. Tyler Sharpe continues to lead Bullitt East with his all around toughness and sharp shooting. 5.) Fern Creek 10-6 and winners of four of their last five games. Since the New Year, Fern Creek is 1-1 with the loss being a close two point heart breaker to district foe Bullitt East. In addition to the close loss to BE, they have another 2 point loss to Hopkinsville and a single point loss to Seneca that haunt them as they struggle to win the tight ballgames. They could very easily be 13-3 if they could capitalize on final possessions. It could be their lack of experience and also relying on a lineup that has 3 freshmen starters who form the nucleus of what appears to be a very bright future. But can they win now? Their have a Tuesday LIT rematch with Eastern, who they beat in late December. If they succeed over Eastern again, a quarterfinal game against Ballard would really test this young team and give us a measure of if they can win against the elite teams now. 6.) North Bullitt 10-5 on the season, 4-1 within the 6th region, and 3-0 in district play requires a bump in the ranking for North Bullitt. However, the regional wins have come against Bullitt Central (twice), Moore, and Iroquois. Those wins are not over any quality 6th region opponent and the loss came to Holy Cross who has not proven to be a top ranked team in the region either. They play St. X from the 7th region in a first round game of the LIT on Monday. Unless they beat or play St. X close, they will likely drop several spots, and it will be hard to move up in the rankings as the season goes on since they do not have many more tough games on the schedule. St. X did beat DeSales last week, so should the Eagles beat St. X they would have to be given more credit than their schedule has been preventing them from receiving so far. 7.) Western Western stays put again in the 7th spot as they went 1-1 since the last report. They played DeSales rather close on the road despite losing by 7, and blew out Valley by 25. They open the LIT on Monday with a sliding Butler team who is struggling so there will likely be a chance to play a tough opponent in the 2nd round. 8.) Fairdale Fairdale is .500 on the season with a 7-7 record. They boast being undefeated in the region at 5-0 and 2-0 in district play. However, only a victory over Western early in December is over a team ranked higher than them. They also have only won 2 out of their last 6 games since Christmas. In 2015 they have only beat Valley which was a 71-65 victory. They were on the losing end of two blowouts to 7th region teams Eastern & Manual. Both of those are good teams, but Fairdale has struggled beating any team that would be considered better than them. Until they get one of those signature wins, they likely will be around the 8-10th spot in the 6th region. 9.) Southern Southern is also .500 with a 7-7 record like Fairdale, but has not done as well in regional play. But 2 of those losses were to DeSales and to Fern Creek so they are 3-2 in the 6th aside from those games. They had also won 4 out of their last 5 games until they played Fern Creek this past week. Despite being down by 26 at the half of that game and then down 25 after three quarters, the Trojans did not quit. Rather they fought, clawed, and scratched their way until the final buzzer cutting the margin to 6 on a final buzzer beating three pointer. This is a team that fights until the end. 10.) Beth Haven BH continues to get the final spot because they are now 13-1. However, they are 0-1 in regional play with a loss to Valley who does not sit inside the Top 10. They also only play a single member of the 6th region the rest of the season until district play begins. They play Holy Cross on 1/20 and again on 2/3. Holy Cross is not ranked inside the Top 10 either which makes it impossible to give the Beth Haven team any higher ranking than the 10th spot they now enjoy. Any future loss will drop them out of the consideration of being in the Top 10, but for now they will get that spot. Top Player Richard Gaines is yet again recognized for his recent efforts and seasonal excellence. He is averaging 22 PPG, shooting close to 60% from the field, 71% from the free throw line, and with almost 12 rebounds per game. He is so much more athletic than most kids making him exciting to watch and capable of making plays that leave you shaking your head in disbelief. As long as Gaines is getting touches and fed by his teammates, the Panthers will remain a threat to win the 6th region.

Not sure if it was as big an impact as it appears on paper. They were 2-5 with him and have been 2-6 without. A win over Bullitt East with him, and a win over KCD without. I suspect short term they may lose more games without him this season. However, I would suggest the staff looked at it as it being a move made with long term benefits.

I have never seen him play, but would he compare to the older Braxton Beverly in his ability or style of play? Just hearing him described that is who I think of. Anyone seen them both and think that is a good comparison? Just a guess on my part.

Butler (4-11) takes on fellow 6th region opponent Western (5-5) in a 1st round game in the LIT which begins Monday. Butler has lost 4 straight, but the final two have come against the Top ranked teams in the 6th region in Doss & PRP. Those losses were not close games, but this game should be much closer. Who wins?

No we cannot judge him by his HS team record. They have no supporting cast for the most part. This young man played as a significant starter on The Ville 17U AAU National Championship team with Raymond Spalding and others. I do not know the answer why he is not getting D1 looks, but his high school team record bears no reflection on his abilities.

I assume the freshman, Bayley Rice, will draw the defensive assignment to stop the ball coming in the post. I like his chances to contain the middle. Not sure what NL is running in terms of a defense, but Bayley is a very good defender and can hold his own with the older players. Not many will be stronger or bigger than him and he moves well on his feet.

The thing about predicting JV team success onto varsity success is tricky. The obvious impacting factor is that many of the elite younger players never play JV. They go straight to varsity and forego any JV time. If a particular school has several if not more kids in this situation they may not have a solid JV team, but could be very good in the future regardless. Depending on the school and coaching staff, I have seen JV rosters or games used for kids that in large part will never move on to significant varsity contribution. Other programs traditionally have a JV team that in a year or two will be the varsity team. I guess it just depends on each situation. It would be interesting to see some stats of JV records and subsequent varsity records of programs to see if any trends are strong enough to predict future success from JV success.

North needs this one after what would have to be described as a "lackluster" start given the sub 500 record with high expectations coming into the season. I would have to think they have taken the break after the Holiday to try to right the ship. I am going with the premise that Coach Sizemore is going to have them ready for a strong kick in January with a big win over South Laurel.

The thing about Coach Bibby is that he is not a good fit for every player that comes through his gym door. Some may suggest he even keeps the cuffs on some kids or is a bit too controlling. To his credit he does not give some kids free reigns while others must comply. He treats them all the same. Years back when he was at Eastern, he had Rondo until he went to Prep School and they remain close to this very day.

Ohmer out of Scott. Can anyone give some thoughts on him despite not being in the 9th? I hear he can score in bunches. Does he do it against stronger competition as well?