ball_coach_4

7 - Bowling Green, Trinity, Doss, Dunbar, Mercer Co., Elliott Co., Taylor Co.

I wouldn't say this team is better than last year's. They ran into a much better ballard team last yearin the semis than this year. I think the 7th (and state) is worse this year than previous years overall period. This year's team shoots the ball extremely well. They share the ball on offense and keep 4 shooters on the floor. The also play good half court defense.

Keisler played very well. Didn't expect that from him. Coach Klein made some great adjustments and play calls as well throughout. I picked Eastern in this one. Proved me wrong. St. X defense was good as well.

:laugh:

They've also added their second best player since then. Clivonte Patterson (2nd team all-7th region) didn't start playing until after the break, and the football players had just started the week before.

I wouldn't say that they are better than any team in the 7th. I think Trinity, Eastern, or Ballard would give them problems. Trinity would give anyone fits with their discipline and shooting, and Ballard and Eastern could match up with them athletically. I am impressed with them though, and have watched a few of their games. I think the 3 or 4 teams' coaches in the 7th would give them issues schematically, and have the athletes to match, or close enough.

Central led pretty much throughout 90% of the game. They were up by 3 with 8 secs left in regulation. And cam snider was all alone somehow for 3 in the corner while they were bringing the ball up, and he drained it with 1 sec left to force ot. Ballard had a couple of key offensive rebounds and putbacks in OT. Wilson walked the ball down with 10 secs., and stuck a dagger pull up with a hand in his face at the buzzer. Both teams played extremely hard for 36 mins. Wilson stepped up big and took over in crunch time.

Louisville Central (District 25 Champs) vs Ballard (District 28 Runner-up): Central has had an up and down year, marred by injuries, and a key player becoming ineligible after the break. Coach Bibby seems to have them clicking now at the right time. They breezed through their district tourney, blowing out Portland Christian and Manual. They started the Manual game slow and was down 7 at the half, and them limited Manual to 1 field goal in the entire second half to win by 19. Ballard has surprised and been Ballard again all year. They had a big year winning the LIT, and have been in the top 4 in the region the entire second half of the season. Ballard started slow against Christian Academy, and was down after the 1st quarter, and only led by 3 at the half. However, they turned it on in the 3rd and took a big lead, and won that game by 16. They got down early to Eastern in the district championship game, and eventually got down 25. They stormed back again, but this proved too little too late. Prediction: I'm going to have my first upset of the week and pick Central over Ballard this game. Central is at home, and yes Ballard blew Central out a few weeks ago at home. I don't see the same focus in Ballard that I saw at tourney time last year. With the news of junior guard Antoine Darby being suspended for this game (6th man who plays a key role offensively and defensively for Ballard), and the way Ballard has been playing, I see them dropping this game close by 5 at Central. Trinity (27th District Champs) vs. Male (26th District Runner-Ups) Trinity lost starting junior guard Lucas Burkman to injury for the season a couple of weeks ago, but haven't lost since. They beat Atherton handily in the district semis, and then played Waggener in a very exciting back and forth affair that ended on a running game winning buzzer beater by Gabe Schmidt. Male surprised everyone, and has been the #1 team in the 7th region for about the past month. Male killed Brown in the semis, and probably played one of the most thrilling and exciting games in the post-season so far in their championship game against St. X. They played a back and forth game through regulation, and it came down to the end, and they ultimately lost in OT to the host Tigers. Prediction:This game really could go either way. Both teams are playing well, and this could be the best first round regional game in the state. I'm going to go with Trinity at home though. I think the shooting prowess of this team with ultimately prove too much, in a 3 point win. St. Xavier (26th District Champs) vs Waggener (27th District Runner Ups) St. X has surpassed everyone's preseason expectations by far. They are the one team that is hard to evaluate. They can beat anyone in the state on any given night, but can also lose to anyone on any given night. St. X breezed past Collegiate in their district semis, and then beat Male in an instant classic OT game for the district championship. Waggener was the preseason #1 in the region, and hasn't been close to living up to those expectations, but their talent was on full display last week. They breezed past host Seneca in their semi-final game, and then played Trinity down to the wire in the championship game. Trinity had an outstanding shooting night against contested shots, and a buzzer beater to win. I think this Wildcats squad will be dangerous this week. Prediction: I'm going with Waggener by 8. With starting junior guard Jacquess Hobbs' (albeit not 100%) return from injury, and the progressing play of guard Isaiah Knight, I see them pushing the ball in transition being too much for the Tigers. That combined with Waggener's size to limit second shot opportunities leads me to leaning with the Wildcats. St. X will need another 30 point effort from McKim to beat them. Eastern (28th District Champs) vs DuPont Manual (25th District Runner-Ups) The Eagles had an up and down week, and had the surprise upset of the week in the 7th. They started their district tourney by holding on in the end behind Chance Moore's clutch free throw shooting to secure a 5 point win against KCD. They then stormed out to a big lead on Ballard in the first half in the championship game. Ballard went on a huge run and got within 1 point after being down 25, but then Eastern held on in the end to secure the district championship. Manual killed Shawnee in their district semis round, but then lost big to Central in the championship game. Sr. guard Marcus McClendon was hobbled in this game with a badly sprained ankle (he sat out of the Shawnee game), so his health will be vital to their chances of winning tomorrow night. Prediction: These teams have played two thrillers, with their last match-up ending on a game winning buzzer beater put back by junior guard Javen Rushin in the LIT. They say it's hard to beat a team 3 times, and if this were on a neutral floor I may lean with the Crimsons, but I'm going to pick Eastern by 11 on their home floor. Favorites: Everyone. Will be like winning the power ball picking this region. I'm going to pick Trinity, but my gut wants me to go with a Central/Waggener final (everyone's preseason #1 and #2). I'm just excited to watch it unfold. Players to Watch in the 7th Region Tourney: 1. Connor McKim - St. X 2. Alex Cook - Male 3. Jacob King - Trinity 4. Jamil Wilson - Ballard 5. Chance Moore - Eastern 6. Dai'Von Thompson - Central 7. Brandon Wells - Central 8. Clivonte Patterson - Ballard 9. Gabe Schmidt - Trinity 10. Jalaam Hill - Waggener Regular Season Awards: Coach of the Year - Willie Feldhaus - Male Player of the Year - Connor McKim - St. X My All Region picks: 1st Team 1. Connor McKim - St. X 2. Alex Cook - Male 3. Jacob King - Trinity 4. Jamil Wilson - Ballard 5. Dai'Von Thompson - Central 2nd Team 1. JR Mathis - KCD 2. Gabe Schmidt - Trinity 3. Clivonte Patterson - Ballard 4. Brandon Wells - Central 5. Chance Moore - Eastern 3rd Team 1. Caleb Williams - Eastern 2. Devin Firman - Central 3. Kevin Kirby - Waggener 4. Jalaam Hill - Waggener 5. Parker Jones - CAL

This is true, but don't think it was true for last night's game. Waggener actually outplayed Trinity last night. Trinity probably shot 15/27 or something ridiculous from 3 last night. Anyone have the final stats on here? Hobbs missed a tough shot in the final seconds and Trinity got the rebound and sprinted down court for a last second running jumper at the buzzer. I don't think he's a great coach, but I don't think Waggener's coach did a bad job last night. But as for the entire season? Right there with you. They're going to be a tough out.

Or as a competitor he may want to take the challenge of him winning with less talent around him. Some people like that challenge. I know personally in college and especially during pick up games with teammates, I would take the more average players (as long as you could walk and chew gum) before I tried to stack my team. I got more satisfaction out of making my teammates better and winning with the "lesser" players and beating the loaded team. He may have felt what LSU brought back, him and Blakeney was enough to win the SEC and he was up for the challenge. Still going top 2 either way, at whatever school. I think it takes more pressure to put a team on your back night in and night out than play with a bunch of other stars. As a coach? Give me the stars. As a player? I wanna beat those stars.

Sorry for the late post guys. I’ve been under the weather this week and out of commission for the most part outside of work. Here are the last rankings through today. Tune in next Monday for my regional picks and end of year awards. Last week’s rankings are in parentheses (): 1. Male (25-4) (1) Male ends the regular season as my regional pick at #1. They beat Waggener last week in a close game. They then dropped a exciting game to their rival Manual. That one loss doesn’t move them from the top spot in my eyes though. The Bulldogs took care of Brown in the 26th District Semi-Finals, and have a highly anticipated meeting with St. X in the championship game tonight @ St. X. 2. Trinity (25-6) (2) Trinity suffered a huge blow losing Lucas Burkman to a broken foot for the rest of the year. They handled their business last week with blow outs of DeSales and Central on their home floor. They also notched a blowout against Atherton in the 27th District Semi-Finals, and have an interesting matchup with district foe Waggener in the championship tonight. 3. Ballard (21-9) (3) Ballard has went 3-0 since the last rankings. They beat Jeffersonville and Brebeuf Jesuit; both Indiana schools. They then made a huge 3rd quarter run to take care of Christian Academy in the Semis of the 28th District Tourney. They host Eastern for the Championship tomorrow night in a big rivalry match-up. 4. St. Xavier (20-9) (4) The Tigers took care of business last week by beating Fairdale and Butler in tighter than expected games. They also blew out Collegiate in the Semi-Finals of the 26th District tournament. They host #1 Male for a huge rematch for the championship tonight. 5. DuPont Manual (17-11) (6) The Crimsons have steadily risen up the rankings in the past couple of weeks. Last week they suffered a tough loss to a very good Doss team, but then rebounded well by beating their rival, #1 Male. They then crushed Shawnee last night in the 25th District Semi-Finals. The meet host Central for the district crown tomorrow night. 6. Waggener (15-11) (7) Waggener had a solid week going 1-1 last week. They dropped a close one to Male, and then got a good win over Eastern. They then went on and blew out Seneca in the 27th District Semi-Finals. I have a feeling it’s going to be a very close game tonight against Trinity tonight in the title game. 7. Eastern (15-11) (5) The Eagles had a tough week last week, suffering close losses to both Scott Co., and Waggener. They did notch a very scary win against KCD in the 28th District semis behind clutch free throw shooting in the 4th quarter from Junior swingman Chance Moore. They take on rival Ballard tomorrow night for the district crown. 8. Central (14-11) (9) Central handled Seneca in their first game last week, and then followed that up with an exciting win against Doss. However they were manhandled the next night by #2 Trinity. They crushed Portland Christian last night in the 25th District Semi-Finals, and host Manual for the district title tomorrow night. 9. Kentucky Country Day (14-10) (8) KCD went 2-1 last week with wins against Holy Cross and Fort Knox, and a single digit loss to North Hardin. They did made a great comeback in the second half of their game against Eastern, but ultimately lost by 5 in the end to end their season in the 28th District Semi-Finals. 10. Christian Academy (14-14) (10) CAL went 1-1 last week with a blowout of Iroquois, and a close 3 point loss to Collins. They looked as if they were poised to pull off the biggest upset in the state when they jumped out to an early double digit lead and was playing Ballard tight through halftime of the 28th District semis. Ballard went on a huge run in the 3rd, and it didn’t help that CAL’s starting big man got knocked out of the game in that same quarter. 11. Seneca (7-21) (11) They lost to Central, then Waggener in their district tourney. 12. Atherton (7-23) (12) Got a win against Shawnee in the final week, and lost big to Trinity in districts. 13. Portland Christian (11-17) (15) Went 2-1 last week. Beat St. Francis in a thrilling 1 point game in the first round of the 25th district tourney, and got blew out by Central in the semis. 14. Shawnee (5-24) (14) Lost to Beth Haven, Atherton, Western, & Valley last week. Lost big to Manual in district tourney play last night. 15. St. Francis (9-20) (16) Beat Christian Fellowship, and lost to Sayre and Frederick Fraize. Lost a late lead to Portland Christian in the first round of the 25th district tourney. 16. Collegiate (8-16) (13) Lost to Carroll County and Holy Cross by double digits last week. Got blown out by St. X in their district tourney this week. 17. Brown (7-16) (17) Lost to Hart County, Frederick Fraize, and big to Male in their district play. 18. Walden (6-16) (18) Lost to Burgin & Frederick Fraize, and picked up a win against Whitefield Academy in their final game of the season. District Predictions: 25th District: Central over Manual by 7. 26th District: St. X over Male by 4 27th District: Trinity over Waggener by 10 (Wouldn’t be surprised by an upset here though.) 28th District: Ballard over Eastern by 8.

He had assistants at a couple of Trinity's games in the past couple of years before Spalding committed. I remember vividly seeing Orlando Antigua his Jr. season at a game at Trinity, and then he was shouted out on the news showing that he was there. Snider and Spalding committed (then de-committed, committed somewhere else, and re-committed in Snider's case) before their senior seasons started, but I honestly wouldn't see him getting an offer when they already had Ullis, Hawkins, and the Harrisons in the fold at the time. It is always great to see in state kids at UK or UofL for that matter. There is one name to keep a look out for. He's in New Albany, but he is in Louisville all the time and that's Romeo Langford. Is a sophomore tearing it up in Indiana. He's top 20 nationally in his class. I think Cal is talking to him from what I'm hearing.

I wasn't arguing. I just wanted that key point to be made for other posters. :lol2: Yeah he's not that strong right now and is struggling, but his ceiling is much higher on any level than any of our in state kids coming out in this 2016 class. No knock on our kids. Just is what it is.

I agree. It's a tough call right now, but I'd go with McKim. They both are willing their teams to victories. I told someone the other day that Male is like a Manual with Alex Cook on it. I still believe he has more to work with than Connor McKim has at St. X, because like X the players surrounding Cook can shoot, but have more athleticism and speed than X's role players. Cook is a really good college prospect, and better than McKim ceiling wise, but McKim has had to do more this year. I think Connor McKim wins.

He showed flashes of this against lower level D1 competition, and in the Exhibition games. Same reason NBA scouts were so high on him. I also said in the following sentences that he's not physically ready yet, and he can't show that against stronger players on the high major level yet. Once he gets stronger, you'll get to see that. He's 19. Has to fill out and be able to take the pounding he gets against stronger players. Right now he gets manhandled physically, which takes away a lot. All in all, I'm still taking him over any KY kid this year.

I would like to re-visit this next week after districts are over. I think the regional draws will play a major factor in picks. Especially in the 7th, 9th, 11th, and 8th.

Priceless :laugh:

In reference to Xavier being better than UK, we have to realize that Xavier plays mostly college seniors (who developed over 4 years). Plus I'd wager that UK beats Xavier if they played now. I love Williams' game but these comparisons are outrageous. It's crazy that college FRESHMAN are labeled as busts and they haven't even completed their first year. I'm a not even a UK fan, I'm a basketball realist. Let's visit these players that Williams is compared to on here: Skal - 7 footer with range to the 3 point line and a deft touch around the rim. Skillset is very good. Just not strong enough physically to show everything that he can do yet. Once he gets stronger, and can play with the physicality he's facing we're talking about a top 5 pick and could have a very good NBA career. Briscoe - 6'3" PG who's very explosive and strong and can get to the rim either way at will. Can't shoot very well from deep. Happens to be playing out of his natural position, because he's playing alongside possibly the best PG in college bball in Ullis. Harrisons - both 6'6" Guards who were very strong and great at attacking body to body. I'm the first to say that they aren't top 5 worthy like projected, but we're still talking about two guards that had leading roles in a NCAA D1 Championship appearance, and a final four 38-1 season the very next year. I think they needed an extra year, but I wouldn't label their careers as busts either. Two final fours isn't bad (and they were starters with the ball in their hands most of the time) at the highest level. We're comparing these guys to a great kid, but one that is 6'7" and explosive around the basket. very strong, but not much of a perimeter game or ball handling, and isn't great with his left. He's a great HS bball player, and he will do phenomenal at NKU in the Horizon league in my opinion, but let's not get over board. We're comparing him to guys with better skill sets and higher ceilings. I wouldn't say he was better than Keelan Martin from Ballard in HS (who is having a solid career at Butler, and went where he needed to go, as Williams is doing), who was the same size with a much better skill set, jumper, and perimeter game. Also could jump; let alone these All-Americans and Larry Bird. Do I want two guards that can lead me to two final fours in their first two seasons, or a guy that "may possibly" crack the rotation in 3-4 years? Not even close.

There wasn’t a bunch of movement at the top of the rankings this past week. I look forward to it being an exciting week coming up before district play starts. Last week’s rankings are in parentheses (): 1. Male (23 -3) (1) Male stays at the top of the 7th with two blowouts against Brown and Shawnee, and a double overtime slugfest with regional opponent Eastern. They finish the regular season with regional games against Waggener and Manual. 2. Trinity (22-6) (2) Trinity seems to be clicking again just in time for the last week of the regular season. They manhandled E-Town and Owensboro, and had a solid double digit win over 11th region contender Lafayette. They hosts DeSales and Central this week. 3. Ballard (18-9) (4) The Bruins started the week off with a hot shooting night, and handled Central in rather convincing fashion. They also secured the #1 seed in the 28th district with a win over Eastern. Ballard heads to IN for the last week with two games against Jeffersonville, and Brebeuf Jesuit. 4. St. Xavier (17-9) (3) St. X started the week with a startling 1 point loss to Manual. The recovered nicely though with blowout wins over Brown and Holy Cross. The Tigers end the year with 6th region opponents Butler and Fairdale. 5. Eastern (15-9) (5) The Eagles go 2-2 on the week, and hold on to the 5th spot in the rankings. They boasted blow out victories over Shawnee and Seneca in their first and last games of the week. They lost a heart breaker in double OT to #1 Male, and settled in for the #2 seed in their district with a loss to #3 Ballard. They have Atherton, a tough game against Scott Co., and Waggener to end the week. 6. DuPont Manual (15-10) (9) Manual shoots up the rankings with a big week going 3-0. They beat St. X in a 1 point game early in the week. They also had two blowouts against Seneca and Atherton to finish out the week. They have a tough week with Doss, and finish the regular season against their rival, #1 Male. 7. Waggener (13-10) (7) The Wildcats split the week against tough competition. They lost their first game to a very talented Doss team. They also blew out Central without starting PG Jacquess Hobbs. 8. Kentucky Country Day (12-8) (8) KCD had two games scheduled against Western and North Hardin, but they must have been cancelled. I didn’t see any results on the KHSAA scoreboard for either game. They finish up with Holy Cross and Fort Knox this week. 9. Central (11-10) (6) The Yellow Jackets had a tough week this week, finishing 0-3. They lost handily to Ballard, had another OT loss to Fern Creek, and a blowout loss to Waggener, in which their top 3 scorers didn’t player and the other starters got spot minutes. They have another tough week ahead with Seneca, Doss, and Trinity. 10. Christian Academy (13-12) (10) CAL lost their only game of the week big to 8th region power Oldham County. The Centurions have a struggling Iroquois and a decent Collins squad this week. 11. Seneca (7-19) (11) Beat Shawnee, but lost big to Manual and Eastern. 12. Atherton (6-22) (13) Lost to Manual big, but picked up a win against Whitefield Academy. 13. Collegiate (8-13) (14) Beat Walden and lost to Beth Haven this past week. 14. Shawnee (5-19) (12) Went 0-3 against Eastern, Seneca, and Male. 15. Portland Christian (8-15) (16) Went 1-2 on the week. Did pick up a win against Calvary Christian. 16. St. Francis (8-17) (15) Got blown out by Beth Haven. 17. Brown (7-16) (17) Went 0-3 against Male, St. X, and Burgin. 18. Walden (5-15) (18) Lost to Collegiate big this week.

I would absolutely agree with a shot clock. I've seen teams go into a complete stall mode up 4 with 7 mins left. Very boring to watch. I've also watched teams lose games trying to stall when they weren't equipped to personnel wise. I'm okay with 35-40 secs. You can run 3 sets in that time, plus a one on one opportunity at the end of the possession. Discipline and running good offense is one thing, but slowing the game down and 1:30 possessions is a whole other world. I've seen teams try to lull the defense to sleep. Was very boring to watch.

Thanks for that update! I know he's undersized, but he's tough and can just flat out play. I think small D1, but he can play D1 for sure. Not saying he'd be a star, but a key piece down the line.

Dai'Von Thompson and Brandon Wells come to mind as well at Central. Both have been all 7th region multiple years and have no college interest at this point I'm hearing. Tony Washington at Fern Creek as well. It seems like you have to be on the EYBL or some circuit AAU teams for the most part to get that exposure. I personally watched Tyler Sharpe rip apart a Nike EYBL team from NYC to pieces for 34 points and AAU nationals last summer. And he wasn't being a ball hog. I don't know how a small D1 doesn't offer. Kid can play. Don't know how high his college ceiling is since he's likely done growing, but he's solid enough to play at an EKU type school to me. I know he has interest from smaller schools, but I think he's waaay under recruited.

Lewis is a baller. Nothing is great about his game skill wise, but he COMPETES! I love that about his game.

I think Tyler Sharpe is under recruited. I don't know of any D2 or D1 offers that he's had. I know KY State offered in the summer, but then he took an assistant coaching job at IUPUI. Does anyone know the latest on Tyler Sharpe's recruitment?

Posts like this are why I don't think that there's any question that Carson will win Mr. BBall. I haven't seen this much excitement and hype about a kid in some time. Comparisons to Larry Bird; someone said he's better than Skal and Briscoe in another post. It's great for his Mr. BBall Candidacy, but some isn't realistic. He's a GREAT high school player. Not all great high school players transition into great college players, let alone NBA players. I don't even see that ceiling for him, and I've watched him about 5 times this season. I see a great fundamental high school player with strength and athleticism. He is 6'7" though. Not 6'10". At 6'7" he could be an undersized PF at the D1 level (and could thrive if he works hard), or could be a SF. His ball handling isn't that of a college wing right not (not great handling with or using his left hand yet), or agility. Now he can work on that, and if he does will be scary at the next level. Great kid! Great HS player! Mr. BBall. KY HS hall of famer. Future NBA and Larry Bird comparisons? That's stretching it.