OldhamOldie

Any shot by Bouvet is a good look. That kid can shoot the ball from anywhere. Williams is also a good shooter with great range.

Owen County now 26-3, South Oldham 21-4. Owen County closing in on a 30-win season. Their last loss was a buzzer beater at the hands of Murray at the All-A. They have won 16 of their past 17 games.

Bo Davenport, the Edmonson County magician who guided them to that 1976 title! I think Lyle Dunbar was the coach at Christian County that year. I know Abernathy was at Shawnee and Prewitt was at Henry Clay.

I was not sure how many dunks he ended up with, sounds about right. I think South Oldham has an edge over Oldham, but not by much. If Owen County gets out of the 8th Region, it would be fun to see a Edmonson County-type run in the Sweet 16 exactly 40 years later.

Thank you for the statistics! Wow, what a performance in a huge game. I thought he had more than 15 rebounds, but I'm an old timer who counts uncontrolled tips as rebounds. My friends always tell me nowadays you have to have complete control for it to be a rebound, but I'll argue the times tonight Carson was playing volleyball by tipping the ball repeatedly each tip should be a rebounds. But I know that is not the case in official stats!

Would be a fantastic regional championship game. Will be an overflow crowd at Henry County if it happens.

If that's the case, someone missed a few tips along the way!

Does anyone have Carson Williams official rebound totals? I told my buddies I guessed near 25 or so.

It was indeed a fantastic atmosphere, the intensity of the players was outstanding! The fans were loud and made it a lot of fun. Both schools should be very proud tonight.

South Oldham is very good, as their 20+ wins indicate. I believe this squad could be better than the one that went to the Sweet 16 a couple years ago. Teams can not leave their perimeter players open for a second. They also penetrate and hit the open man very well. I would not be surprised if we see this same matchup in the 8th Region tournament championship game. I know Oldham County will have something to say about that.

Williams was tremendous, as were the shooters from South Oldham. Williams knows how to play the game, has an instinct for being in great position, and passing to open teammates. You can't teach the intangibles he brings to the game. He has great physical gifts, and knows how to use them.

That is correct. Meanwhile, LSU's Dale Brown hired Shawnee's Ron Abernathy as an assistant to join all-stater Durand Macklin in Baton Rogue. It went on back then, too!

I wanted to add South Oldham is most definitely worthy of consideration for mention in the state poll. They are very good, well coached and one of the best shooting teams you will see in the state.

What a game! Both teams were outstanding. Carson Williams should have wrapped up Mr. Basketball this evening. I thought he was near 40 points and 25 rebounds or near it. South Oldham did everything possible to defend Carson, but what a performance. South Oldham is a very good team. Watch out for the Dragons in 8th Region tournament play. Congratulations to both teams tonight, and the crowd was electric. Great atmosphere and fantastic game!

I think the South Oldham people are going to show up in heavy numbers. They might have to close the doors on this one before tip off!

The funny part of this Sports Illustrated story is that Durand Macklin from Shawnee that same year was considered by some as the most talented player in the state. One other funny item: Neither Griffith nor Macklin seriously considered UK as a college choice. How times have changed!

How tough was it to win the Sweet 16 in 1976? Read this about Louisville Male from Sports Illustrated that year. Male did not even reach the Sweet 16, but they were led by a future NBA star. Bundles of mail for a Male man

The Henry Clay and Christian County upsets over the two Louisville schools paved the way for a magical finish. Henry Clay was loaded with talent, but Ballard had Jeff Lamp and Lee Raker. Shawnee had so many great players on that team including Durand Macklin, but Christian County pulled off a great upset. I agree with you about them being tired because they had to then beat Henry Clay the following day, but Edmonson also had to get by a fine Shelby County team. What a fantastic Sweet 16 that was in 1976.

I have seen South Oldham play seven times this season, Owen County five or six times. The contrasting styles will make this a good one. South has one of the best shooters in the state and several others who can knock down shots from deep. I also like their ability to play different tempos and the motion in their offense. Owen County has the favorite for Mr. Basketball with Carson Williams. It will be interesting to see how South Oldham chooses to defend Williams. Some philosophies say to play hard man-to-man and let the big scorer get his points, but limit the other players. I think that might be South's best strategy because Williams scores against double and triple teams with no problem. I see a close game, but I do think Owen County at home in the "O-Zone" as they are calling their gym, gets the win in a possible preview of the 8th Region Tournament championship game.

The showdown is Saturday at Owen County. South Oldham is one of the state's best three-point shooting teams, Owen County has a dominant inside game. Who wins this one? I think it will be close. Owen County 67, South Oldham 64. Packed Gym. Get there early!

And that is also ridiculous. Money outweighs everything in this sad world, though.

I had never heard of Edmonson County prior to that state title run they made, so you are correct. Everyone assumed Shawnee would win the state that year since Male had been upset in the regional. Some thought Henry Clay had a chance, or maybe Shelby County. Christian County was very good, but going into the Sweet 16 I gave them zero chance at winning it. I thought Holmes was playing well enough in 1976 to make a run, but they ran into Henry Clay in the first round of the Sweet 16. Edmonson had a very good draw, and that helped. But their run was remarkable.

I recall the 1976 9th Region tournament championship game at Conner High School between Holy Cross and Holmes. Holy Cross had Mike "Turkey" Jones, and Holmes had a young Doug Schloemer and the two fast guards Morris and Moore. The crowd was packed in that night, totally filled. Same thing the following year when Holmes played Newport in the Holmes gym. Sorry to hear the 9th has become so corporate.

That is very sad. Sounds like money rules everything, even in high school basketball. I can't fathom paying $5.00 to park for a high school basketball game. That is ridiculous. As for the atmosphere, a packed high school gymnasium is what I love to see. I have been to some regular-season tournaments in college venues down south and if you have 1,000 people in a 12,000 seat arena, it is lifeless. It sounds like that is what the 9th Region has with its regional tournament. Very sad to hear it.

That is correct. There was more emphasis on shooting and teamwork in those days of the 1970s. Coaches also let players enjoy the game, rarely saw a coach stall an entire game like today. It was a totally different game in 1976 than today. Winning was the goal for most as a team. Today, many of the coaches are just interested in getting notches on their resumes so they can look for a better opportunity for their careers. Not that the same thing did not happen in the 1970s (the Shawnee head coach went with Durand Macklin to LSU as an assistant to Dale Brown), but it happened with less frequency. In those days, a coach might stay at a high school as coach for 30 years. Today, if you see one that is at the same school for 10 years it is an accomplishment.