GoHardITP

On to the game.....Anthony Nelson is a very good player for Cordia. He is a strong CG that when he is allowed to go left is almost always going to score or go to the line. He had 28 and 12 rebounds with 10 of those points coming from the line. Shot great from the FT line and was the Game MVP chosen for Cordia.

Fern Creek made 11 3 point shots. Anthony Wales was 5/9 and Tony Washington was 3/6. Washington scored 13, Sophomore Ahmad Price had 11, and Sophomore Anthony Wales had 25 in the win. Wales was chosen for the Game MVP for Fern Creek. Fern Creek plays Trinity this coming Saturday which could come down to which team hits the most 3's as they both shoot the long ball well.

Sort of an odd situation in that Fern Creek was scheduled to play in the event, even having it on their KHSAA Riherds schedule. They won the inaugural event last season and planned to return to defend the title only to find out at the time the schedule was released that they were not invited back to defend. Home teams have the right to select their competition, that is why they call them holiday invitationals.

Running clock started 4 minutes into 2nd half. Balanced scoring from Fern Creek. 4 returning starters, Tony Washington, Anthony Wales, Trey Hill, & Ahmad Price all in double figures with Washington leading the way.

39 or 40 point lead and the clock keeps running

Many coaches are hesitant to hold too many spots for football players unless those football players are really better than the kids already out who do not play football. Maybe it is as simple that there are enough basketball only kids that the additional kids coming from the football team do not bring enough upside to replace kids already out and practicing.

Waiting for kids, especially at DeSales who plays well into the playoffs, can hurt the progression of a team. I see nothing unusual if the news is many football players are not playing basketball this year. They may not excel in both sports.

Guys...read my post as I was careful to say "one of the best" not the "best ever". Braxton is without question one of the best and has proven that over & over competing and outplaying some of the best players who are high major prospects and elite college players today. I am sure there are others in recent times that qualify for "one of the best". At this stage, I just believe Andrew will prove out to be a very special player that goes on to enjoy a nice college career at the Division 1 level that not many kids from his area realize.

I think Andrew is one of the best to come out of the Eastern part of the state in a long time. Playing close at EKU could be a perfect fit if he prefers to stay closer to home. I am sure more options will be available, but for some young men the chance to play in front of family trumps bigger name schools. See no further than Carson Williams in the 2016 class, there is something to be said for representing one of the public universities in your home state.

I can promise you Middle Tennessee is hard after him. They invited him down 3 or 4 weeks ago to the Vanderbilt football game. They introduced him at half time of the game and really rolled out the red carpet. The head coach calls him at minimum 2 times per week. The head coach told me that he was their number 1 target nation wide. This kid is the real deal. The MTSU coach says he expects him to blow up over the next year and he thinks if they don't get him early they won't have a chance. I know some on her will probably think I am blowing smoke but I am telling you this boy is on the same level as quinton goodin or David slone from Taylor co. He is 6'4" with a 6'8" wing span. That measurement was taken at a MTSU camp he went to back in the spring. He is head and shoulders above anyone in the 14th and I don't mean that to put anyone else down that is just a fact. They will be playing several games in Lexington and louisville this year don't take my word for it come out and see for yourself.

I have no reason to doubt anything you say, but be careful to put everything on a message board to prove your point. Introducing a basketball visit prospect at a football game is a NCAA violation. Can you imagine the influence a crowd of 50,000 at Commonwealth stadium would have on a 5 star recruit at UK? Rolling out the red carpet, no problem it happens everywhere. Introducing him at the half time of the game could cause the end of his recruitment at that school if reported. Let's hope you got it mixed up because I highly doubt that mistake was made.

I agree it helps get a wider area of looks. I do believe Treyvon has some interest already,or trip to Louisville to eat for free. You need to be really good to pay the fees these teams ask! Hotels,food, and whatever else. I just say for some it may help,others it won't.Be careful and not get your hopes up. That is all I'm saying.

The thing to remember is 15U which is what he played is not the end all of college recruiting. Go to one of the major certified events with college coaches attending and many times the 15U games are not even in the same gyms as 16U & 17U. Sometimes the 16U is not even in the same facility as 17U. Do coaches watch 15U, yes. More go to watch 16U, and they all watch 17U. 17U is the prime year. There is nothing wrong to get seen early, but the young Mr. Faulkner will be just fine and has two more years where he will get plenty of coaches watching him. I am sure of it, he will be fine. The recruiting process for these young men is a marathon, not a sprint.

Reading the last few posts it seems the references mention boys basketball teams. I feel some are missing a major impact in this new alliance or merger which is the platform the Nike Girls EYBL stage provides and the potential for fielding a more talented team representing KY. Ky Premier is a Girls Nike EYBL program and should benefit by having a larger pool of affiliated players from the combined programs. As girls come up the ranks of the program regardless of which team, they are in a pipeline for selection to be on an elite Nike EYBL team made from the best girl sophomores & juniors. That is a strategy employed by many shoe sponsored Boys & Girls programs who have many affiliated younger clubs across a state or region. Its a win win for all the girls as the most talented eventually come together at the biggest stage of girls travel ball.

There are also advantages on the boys side and the non-EYBL girls teams as there are still benefits and synergy by combining programs, but the dynamics on the girls side is unique from having a high school age team that competes in the Nike Girls EYBL circuit.

There is no Brandon Johnson walking through that door. Kid kept them in so many ball games last season and like it is everywhere, you sometimes have to reload without the firepower that carried you in the past. With a good chance of there being a favorable ruling with several of the transfers the team will still be a dangerous team to play. McCloud is very talented.

They also have a former doss and brown player a point guard will jay something.

Correct, two Doss transfers and McCloud played major minutes for a State tournament team so he obviously is the player they would like to see eligible. My understanding is both Doss players were initially ruled ineligible and have went the route of getting a lawyer even if it means going to court.

I have seen here earlier that if you retain an attorney and go through the courts you are almost assured of being eligible. Hope it works for these two if they are taking those steps.

Is Justice still there coaching? I heard the two big guys that had moved into school there have now left for another state. Can anyone confirm? That will hurt the team quite a bit if so.

The two top or best transfers would be 2017 Delvonte McCloud, 6'5" SF. He started at times and was part of the rotation in the Doss lineup that made it to state last season. I have heard nothing official, but was told he was not ruled eligible at first go around, but is appealing and expected to be eligible.

The other player not on the team last year that would become one of the better players is 2016/17 Juneathean or "Peanut" Cunningham, 6'1" SG. He is very strong, athletic guard that will defend and slash. He was in the Louisville area before, but then moved out on the West Coast with family. He has moved back, but there is some question as to what grade classification he would be and whether he will be eligible in the 1st semester. Should be able to play in 2nd semester and will be a nice addition.

Congrats to both the KY Premier and what formerly was known as SSS girls and boys KY program. I know we had some posts that appear to be deleted now that discussed the actual impact and this is very clear and concise. Is it just the 2020, 2025, & 2026 boys programs moving over? Not sure if there were other boys teams of different ages that are not moving over and perhaps stayed part of SSS?

Just to also note is that Nike has a separate infrastructure for Girls and Boys EYBL status. There are numerous programs which have teams of Boys & Girls playing in their respective Nike EYBL. But many other programs are just either participating in Boys or Girls, but not both. That is the case here in KY where KY Premier is in the Girls EYBL & Travelers in the Boys EYBL. The Boys EYBL has 40 programs and then another dozen or so that are Nike sponsored but called Friends of Nike as they do not play in the EYBL. However, some programs will be part of the Girls 32 EYBL teams and the Boys 40 EYBL and carry the same program name such as Boo Williams out of VA.

It sure sounds that it will be a win win for two outstanding programs like KY Premier and SSS (KY side).

What ? How is a site intended to showcase him for a scholarship an indication that he lacks humility?

Agree, this is not a site to send his friends and fans to feed a strong self-ego. This is a site to drive coaches and scouts to get easy access information to create interest as a potential recruit. Big difference....the kid seems very humble to me and I have been around him enough in settings with other kids to know for a fact that he is not some ego driven kid.

I agree with your Top 5 and especially agree on paper the #1 favorite should be Waggener. I would not count out Ballard from ending the season higher than #5. I believe they got a nice transfer from Male that is going to help them inside some. The younger guys will provide ample depth for the Renner system. Agree Central will be very solid and capable of a Rupp run at the end. Eastern has enough to win the 7th and I think the surprise player not mentioned is Chance Moore who has grown to be close to 6'6" and he can score in many ways.

Different from last year with Raymond at Trinity, Moses at Eastern, and Douglas at Ballard there was very good size, but this year the region will not have the high profile size players as it had last year. Somebody gave you a generous size with the St. X big man, I would say he is much closer to 6'6" than 6'9", but he still will be one of the best bigs in the region for sure. Just a note of observation that the region lacks the profile players like those three last season who all were 6'9" or bigger.

Apples to oranges when we talk donations/donors or fundraising and this situation. This is a sponsorship deal, not a donation. UA is providing the gear in return for promotional value as a business expense just as if they purchased a billboard or media advertising. This is not a "no strings attached" donation of free gear. You can bet that the program will not be having any player wear any Nike or Adidas shoes or anything else when they are representing Cov Cath in an official capacity.

It's all in who you are. If this were cordia having this deal the whole state would be on the brink of all out war. When cordia got in trouble on their trumped up charges the khsaa found cordia guilty on something that a private independent 3rd party individual-orgizanation did. I don't see how this is any different. The khsaa said they had violated whatever number bylaw it was that the basketball players can't get any special treatment that was not offered to the rest of the student body. I know everyone can't play basketball but cordia was told if their ball team went on a trip and somebody bought a kid a big Mac that was a violation. Come on man! It looks like to me somebody got their palms greased(khsaa). I am happy for the kids but I don't see how that's fair.

I admire your support of the situation at Cordia. I actually agree with you to an extent that the official compliance issue being used to penalize Cordia seems flawed and applied unevenly.

My opinion is that the KHSAA is doing what the government did to Capone. They could not convict on what they believed to be true, but used tax evasion charges to catch him with something.

I am not saying Cordia has done anything wrong as I know nothing about their situation. I just sense the situation at hand causing the problems with other schools pushing the KHSAA is unrelated to the actual bylaw being used to put them on probation.

The Redbook has a section dealing specifically with donations that would seem to allow this type of activity.

I see no issue whatsoever with this situation. A donation is just that...donation which could be a tax deduction if the entity is a 501©3. But this is a sponsorship which is a business expense for UA. They are not claiming this as a donation or tax deduction. They are doing it as an advertising benefit where the sponsorship is of value to their business. This is not under a donation category, this is a business deal struck up with the cost of doing business, i.e free gear, bringing benefit to UA. That is why being selected is such a big deal, your program has value in the eyes of UA.

A domain name is about $10 a year.

True, but there are hosting costs of an active website with content that will cost more than $10/year. However, it by no means is going to price most families out of doing so. It just takes the innovation and will to get it done along with being a bit technical as well.

I think this is something we'll see more and more often as online PR options become increasingly numerous and sophisticated. Part of me worries that it creates a less-than-level playing field for families who lack the finances to engage those options, but I certainly can't begrudge those who can afford to promote a player the right to do so.

It is not that much if you are doing it yourself. GoDaddy.com can get you a domain name and website for likely less than $100/year. If you can manage the content and follow instructions to build a site it is a lot less than one would think to do. Kudos to the family for investing the time, effort, and money but it is not something that only a kid who comes from a wealthy family could do.

Just a guess, but this may even mean additional type of program benefits in the future. I could see UA wanting to put on a holiday tournament bringing all their UA programs together from across the country to participate and likely pay the travel expenses to do so. That is just an example of what they may roll out. Nike by far and away has owned the Elite HS Travel ball scene in Spring and Summer. They set the bar for the others to follow.

However, UA may see this HS sponsored program of elite HS teams in season as a way to be the trend setter and out in front of the pack. Just guessing, but it is not the normal average sponsored team package. HS teams will usually deal directly with identified sporting good companies who the Nike, UA, Adidas, and Russell distribute through. The deal varies based on a % discount such as 40%. Then there is a cash back like deal that 15% of everything purchased is accumulated as available credit for merchandise purchase. Many coaches use that amount to get their staff looking good.

My guess is college coaches recruiting or interested in recruiting Cole actually like it quite a bit. They receive the link in a text or quick email, click on it and boom....everything they need is right there.

How much advantage or assistance it provides is probably minimal. It will be Cole's skill set and how they evaluate him that will determine whether a school recruits him or not. But for convenience and making things easy for coaches to learn more about him it likely helps in getting them to take a first look or putting him on their list to follow.

Different level of a school showing they want you when the head coach drops by. Good news for Cole.