GoHardITP

IMG is the Penthouse of Prep Schools. The price tag is high, but the amenities and resources to be successful are second to none. It had to be hard to walk away, but it is not a perfect fit for everyone and perhaps Eli just did not like it for some reason.

According to Coach Hinson, Air Force will be at Bracken County High School tomorrow morning to work out the junior guard.

I do not think you intended to indicate that the Air Force Coach was going to work out Austin, but it sort of reads like that to me. College Coaches stop in gyms at this time to "watch" work outs that the kids are having with their high school coaching staffs. For the most part HS coaches do a good job on those days to insure the player being watched is put in a position to showcase their skills.

I have heard of stories when a college coach stops by and the HS staff never even rolls a ball out on the floor because they had conditioning planned for that practice. But for the most part these are typically set up to go good.

Good for Coach Bibby. He has been a good role model for his kids and in this instance where he was defending one of his kids it was portrayed that he was causing trouble. I think the verdict speaks for itself and 14 minutes is not much deliberation indicating this was a pretty easy case to strike down the charge. Surprised it even went this far to be honest, unless Coach Bibby wanted his name cleared.

Everyone is sleeping on Jerryd Jones at Montgomery.

is Montgomery a new school for Jerryd?

Keep prayers going for this young man. I had heard of encouraging signs, but it apparently is a very serious injury. I am praying for God to be in control of this situation and that everyone receive more power from his Holy Spirit to have faith that God will provide healing for this young man. Amen.

Sebree at Graves or Marshall? That is the first I have heard him mentioned to that area.

Prayers for Aaron offered up.

Some offers especially when players are really young are signals of interest that has some ambiguity of it being an offer or not but nobody is policing what is reported as offers or not. If a school does not continue to show interest or recruit said player by staying in contact that indicates the offer does not really exist any longer, if it really did in the first place. Verbal offers are seldom going to be rescinded with a verbal communication, they just end staying in contact with you. Sort of like telling a girl in school you want to date and make her your girlfriend, but never asking her out again.

What makes Ahmad really special is the complete package or elements that he brings. Like all kids there is room for improvements in all areas, but he is a pretty complete package for a combo guard. He scores in all three ways...terrific slasher and finisher at the rim, great mid range jumper, and an ever increasing threat from the 3 point line. He see the court exceptionally well and has a very high BB IQ making him an elite passer. His handles with the ball and being able to get past pressure defense is very good and improving. He may be the best rebounder in his class regardless of size and that is not an exaggeration given he is only 6'2". Great competitor and unselfish. He can play with other great players and make them better which many top kids struggle when they must fit in with a team of solid players. But most importantly as I look at some of the other top kids is that his defense has improved and he is actually able to sit down and guard with pressure elite guards who are quick and athletic. Many of the kids in our state falter in that area and Ahmad is vastly improved in defending elite guards.

Taylor - UTA and Stetson

Fitzgerald - Tennessee Tech

Reed - Samford

Price - WKU and Samford

Wales - Samford

 

I think Tre Hill may also hold an offer from WKU from a year or so ago. Perhaps @GoHardITP can confirm or deny.

I think you are right and the Lex Catholic player, TC Price, transfer from West Virginia may hold a Toledo offer if I recall correctly.

The Oumar Keita question on his lack of any offers is indeed interesting. I have no idea why he does not have some offer given his size and athletic ability alone makes him stand out in a state like KY. It is not for lack of exposure as he has played on the elite Spring and Summer circuits. I would have expected an offer unless there are other issues that are impacting a lack of recruiting interest. I wonder if the rumors or controversy surrounding his age play a role? I am not advocating there is any substance to the rumors, just wondering if the controversy at all has a role.

Maybe Donald has insight if that comes into play with colleges or if they just need to see him more before interest heats up. He is 6'10" with good motor skills so I expect him to play division 1 basketball in the future.

Good to hear that Andrew continues to pick up offers and interest as he will continue to do so no doubt. He is surely in the small group of players at the top of 2018 class. As with fine wine, one's personal best is just that though...their own personal "best" choice. Very seldom do you find a consensus best because people have differing opinions of what constitutes the best skill set to be considered the best overall. Is it shooting, rebounding, passing, defense, etc.....?

I point at the experts, the NBA GMs and scouts for teams. It seems like every draft there is the debate going on about "who" to draft with the #1 pick and who is the best. Even when the selection is made the debate continues as all you have to remember is that these experts drafted Sam Bowie before Michael Jordan and thought Greg Oden was better than Kevin Durant.

I just know kids should ignore the best title and focus on being in love with the process of improvement. It doesn't hurt for Coaches (especially when they admit their bias) to promote their players as the best, but in the end it doesn't matter who is the best. I just want to see as many KY HS kids reach their dreams about playing on the highest level they can achieve, especially if they can get their college education paid for from the gifts God has blessed them with.

I just don't get the Trinity under achieved because Raymond could not handle physical play from smaller guys. Almost everyone he played in HS was much smaller than him. He played well against physical players in games during Elite Spring/Summer ball and now at U of L that obviously matched up in size with him. But why would smaller guys who got physical be a difference and not guys his same size? Seems odd to me, but I am not arguing that may be the case.

I have much respect for Trinity - kids who play there are taught to work hard and get a quality education. However, I am not as convinced about what the evidence shows as to how Trinity does with a lot of talent v. not as much talent.

 

In the ten seasons from 2001-02 through 2010-11, when Trinity had less talent than in the recent years, Trinity won one regional title (2003-04). In the five years prior to the 2011-12 season, Trinity made it to the regional tournament 3 times and won only one regional tournament game (Trinity 47 Moore 45 in the 2008-09 7th Region first round).

 

Trinity won the state tournament in 2011-12. On that team was Mr. Basketball Nathan Deudonne along with several other quality players such as Charles Foster and Darryl Hicks, plus another outstanding athlete in James Quick.

 

In the three years since, when Trinity had Raymond Spalding plus several other D1, D2 and D3 players, Trinity has won the regional tournament once (2013-14).

 

Thus, to the extent Trinity has been successful, it largely has been when they have had more talent. And that is not a criticism. That generally is how things turn out.

I am not talking in absolutes, and I always agree that I would prefer to have a talented roster that is complimented by coaching versus talented coaching complimented by lesser talented players. On paper Trinity is not near as strong as last year, and there is not any Raymond Spalding coming out of the locker room door. But, it will be interesting to see how the Trinity system and solid coaching can compensate for that drop off. I do think they should be considered a darkhorse who can contend for the region title.

I think he does more with less....essentially he takes kids that may not be super talented and makes them better as a team than individually. However, the same may be opposite when he has super talented kids that seem to do less than what would be expected. Case in point Raymond last year. By many accounts the kid could be in the NBA in four years, but I am not sure he really shined in his final year of high school as one would expect. I really think the system trumps the talent at Trinity and there is nothing wrong with that as he obviously is in play to win the region year after year.

I disagree that his body is built to absorb contact. After the multiple concussions he's suffered, I fear the next one might be the one that sends him to the sidelines. I can count four episodes...

Point well taken, forgot about those episodes. I know you can get concussions playing BB as well, but football contact puts you at more risk.

Malik loves to get in foul trouble. But if you ask him, he's never committed a foul. Ever.

To my point of being able to play high level football even without the benefit of much HS experience.....he loves contact and his body is built to absorb it. I do not know how much he loves the game of football as he does basketball, but he has all the physical tools to be playing the game of football on Sundays. I feel he can make a college career in basketball too, but his ceiling is higher in football if he chooses to follow that path in my opinion.

Big guy has a heck of a future on multiple fronts. His best basketball is ahead of him, lots of skill growth over the summer and he is still only 17 years old.

His first cousin is DeVante Parker now in the NFL as a wide receiver. Malik could be a Division 1 football player as well if he wanted. I heard he had a long TD reception for Mercer on Friday. Even though he has not played FB all four years of HS, he has the raw talent to be a D1 WR just like his cousin was at UL. Not saying he will go that route, but it is not beyond the realm of possibility.

In my opinion the X alumni is not in favor of allowing no catholic kids in at the rate as others. A very prominent X grad and supporter said, " if my son gets passed over for a team, I will raise all kinds of issues and stop my support." X is more selective. I could be wrong just what I hear from alumni that I know.

I second this train of thought. I think they are more worried of the backlash that would happen internally if too many kids that they "go after" overshadow kids that come through the parochial school system, especially when there is the need to supplement their cost of attending. But to another posters point, that doesn't stop them from shaking the tree to see what might fall should there be interest in some top notch 8th graders from the area. I am also not suggesting they are doing anything wrong by doing so. Any Coach in Jefferson County who just checks in on first day of class to see who showed up will not be coaching long.

Tc is 6'3--- he's 15- his release will get will get quicker. Love is IQ and over all game.

He has a knack for getting the ball to go in the rim on his shot and that is what many young players lack. With age and strength gains he will polish that shot. I can see how he has a high BB IQ as well. At 6'3" and only 15, you probably think he could grow to 6'5" or 6'6" even. I have no idea on the size of his parents which can shed some light into his potential to still grow, but my guess is that recruiters see him getting to that size. If he does, I see a nice SF that can handle the ball on the wing well. If he stays at 6'3", the question will be his ability to defend and be defended on the wing by much more athletic and quicker defenders that are also 6'3". But shooters are hard to find, and I like his ability to knock down shots. Look out if he continues to grow, could be a really good one from what I project down the road.

Congrats to the Weyer family! I was thinking Ben was good enough to go D1 somewhere when I saw him play. But if your thinking about getting a good education to prepare for life then it's not always about getting into the best school athletic-wise. Great decision, great school, great player

Hands down education wise and setting the foundation for after school there is no doubt Bellarmine has advantages over a considerable number of D1 schools. Also remember that D1 & D2 schools can scholarship to the same degree.

But I will suggest whether you can play D1 or not, Bellarmine is a better school athletic wise than a considerable number of D1 basketball programs. From crowd size, to competition, to championship playing seasons, to coaching, to facilities, to budget, and to creating opportunities to play professional basketball after college. If you stood Bellarmine up to a considerable number of D1 schools they would be a better choice athletic wise as well. Great choice Ben and kudos for not falling for the D1 label trap.

This will be interesting to see, when Taylor County was being investigated in the summer this was one of the players along with Compton from Green County they were being looked at on

Even if that was the case (I am not suggesting it is), what investigation power does KHSAA have to uncover anything. The mighty NCAA with ample resources and money cannot compel people to turn over financial records. If a family moves into a school district there is not any investigation that will turn over any smoking gun. Besides, many school districts place employees & teams have favorite landlord resources in this state where that would hardly be uncommon. I do not see any story here at all as long as the parents moved with the young man.

I follow Ballard and I have no idea who this guy is?? Fern Creek plays as hard as their coach teaches. They need size badly.

Was a freshmen at Ballard last season and likely did not play any varsity basketball. Does bring some of the size you refer to as a need. He is about 6'5" and looks like he would make a good football player with his big body. He will play many minutes and could even start potentially.

Wickliffe was who I was thinking of. I should have said transfer (singular), not transfers (plural).

Understood, many schools have the good fortune of striking it rich with multiple transfers, but more importantly is the quality of who may transfer in. I think Wickliffe could be a really good one with a diverse skill set for a big body like he is. If he gets in tremendous condition and plays with a nasty streak, look out for him.

Fans of F-S should be in for a treat getting to watch Junior Tavin Lovan this season. Last year he missed many games due to injury, but a healthy Lovan should insure a strong season because he is so well rounded in his game and makes his teammates better who play around him. He could be a future Mr. Basketball in 2017. Great young man who understands the game very well and is unselfish almost to a fault.