coachlee

Back & forth banter is all in good fun, I agree. But on the contrary, I am excited for Spencer County to turn it around and like to see young teams take their growing pains to prepare for the future. I feel it is a good strategy if your young kids can survive without losing confidence and Spencer seems to have done that with a Coach willing to take that risk. It take good coaching and some good older kids who embrace a shift to the younger kids taking a bigger role. That is exciting and you should be pumped up. I like to see your enthusiasm and keep promoting them. My only comment is that by overhyping up an opponent actually makes me more suspect on how good they might really be. Strength of schedule is what it is, and you can't put lipstick on the pig to call it pretty all the time. At this time the CAL win over Eastern is not as strong. Not sure what is wrong at Eastern. Lost 5 out of the last 6 and 3 in a row, including a loss to Atherton. Lost to Ballard by over 30 recently and their last game by over 40 to Scott County.

Anyone hearing a coaching change might be happening or can confirm? I don't want to post what I heard because I have no validation. Just checking if anyone else has heard anything?

I agree with Dog. If Bethlehem is a good team, then setting the bar to be considered good is pretty low. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but calling out Bethlehem as a good team comes across as inflating the Spencer win more than what it really was. If Spencer was gritty and got the OT win despite a dose of massive home cooking, that is accomplishment in and of itself. Adding more to it actually has a reverse effect for me because it seems like you have to pump up their accomplishments. They are doing great and the future looks bright, just sometimes the effort to boost some of the opponents (CAL & Bethlehem come to mind) has an opposite effect. Btw..CAL lost to Iroquois last night who is not even a top 10 team in the 6th region. They did beat Oldham, but losing to Iroquois shows they are a bit up & down to be considered a really good team.

The District Final assuming FC and BE face off (which is highly likely) is at BE this year and should be a good rematch from the early January game won by FC on their home court. These two teams would not play again after that until a potential Regional final if they both advance. The District final will be an exciting game. Last year FC upset BE in that game and I am sure BE would like to return the favor this season.

By the way I have BE #2 and I thought I mentioned them being healthy as the question mark for them. In no way was it intended to be a slight on the Chargers mentioning that Valley was missing one of their top players and not mentioning it with BE. As many games as that has been the case with BE, I would be mentioning it most of the time. Besides if their backcourt is there, that is what makes BE go, the duo of Ezell & Osborne in my opinion is the strength of BE.

It is hard to compare the points in defeats with common opponents, but as comparison purpose both Fern Creek and Trinity from the 6th & 7th beat Taylor County by close to 30 points. In FC's game, it was held on TC's home court. I would say that AC could be very good, but the record itself doesn't tell the entire story as they have not really faced a tough schedule as noted by everyone. That said, Coach Breeze is a very good coach and some great players who many played for him in the past on the AAU circuit in middle school. So they have a lot going for them. Congrats on a great season.

This is an early edition of the 6th region recap, but all of the past week games are in. It was a wild week with many of the top teams losing to make this week's groupings look a little different to account for who is getting hot at the right time. Only one week in the regular season is left and most teams have a pair of games. The big question now is if Fern Creek can run the table against 6th region opponents. The only teams left in their way of an undefeated regular season in the 6th region are PRP & Moore. Both of those teams are capable of producing an upset if Fern Creek does not play their best, but the consistency of the Tigers is what has carried them this far. This week rankings.... 1) Fern Creek (26-2)- After dealing Fairdale a 15 point loss which looks pretty good considering that Fairdale played very well the rest of the week, the Tigers had their big matchup with Valley on Friday night. Valley was without one of their top players, Eric George, but the Tigers dismantled the Vikings so easily it probably did not matter. As often the case, 5 Tigers reached double figures. Led by Anthony Wales with 20, Chance Moore with 16, Clint Wickliffe 15, Ahmad Price 14, and Smooth Jones 10, the Tigers also had a team total of 24 assists. Both of their remaining games are going to be at Fern Creek where the Tigers are really tough. 2-4) Top Challengers are Bullitt East (19-8), PRP (14-9), & Valley (19-6)- Bullitt East and PRP jump into the top tier behind Fern Creek while Valley hangs on despite their blowout loss. Bullitt East has won 3 in a row, including two this past week despite getting pushed to overtime versus Fairdale. They only have a single game remaining in the regular season and it should not be a tough one. Their question mark is if they can get healthy in time for the post season. PRP may be the hottest team in the region after Fern Creek. They have also won 3 in a row and 5 of their last 6. They beat Iroquois and Jeffersontown last week. Now they play Fern Creek on Tuesday which is a game that can further validate if the Panthers are a threat to become the region champs. Valley has to pick up the pieces and go forward looking to learn from the loss they suffered to Fern Creek. 5-7) DeSales (15-9), Moore (18-9), & Doss (15-10)- The big story of the week is the two losses suffered by Doss in 2 games. First they lost in overtime to Fairdale, but then also lost by double digits to Owensboro Catholic. They have only 3 wins out of their last 8 games. They can still get a run going, but time is running out. DeSales went 1-1 losing to Oldham County before beating Collins. However, the Colts have barely a winning record in the 6th going 6-5 this season prior to their game this evening against Holy Cross. Moore had an 18 point win over Jeffersontown, but lost by 5 to Butler. They finish the season against Western and Fern Creek this week. 8-10) Butler (15-10), Southern (13-12), and Fairdale (11-15)- Butler lost to Valley by 6, but had a big 5 point win over Moore. They are on the bubble of whether they can get through district, but they could make a postseason charge. Southern has quietly won 5 games in a row and are now over .500 for the season. The challenge will be if they can beat the tougher teams as their competition level recently has not been high. Still they have a district that enables them to advance pretty easily to the regional tourney. Fairdale is on the biggest upswing as they took two teams that are at the top of the region to overtime coming away with a win against Doss, and a loss to Bullitt East. If they continue to play well they could crash the party. 11) Iroquois (13-15) 12) Western (8-13) 13) Jeffersontown (9-16) 14) Holy Cross (13-11) 15) Bullitt Central (8-15) 16) North Bullitt (7-20) 17) Beth Haven (11-13) 18) Whitefield Academy (6-16) 19) Evangel Christian (5-19)

They also lost to Bullitt East & DeSales from the 6th, but both of those teams are two of the better 6th region teams. They went 2-2 in what I considered a stretch of 5 games that would tell a little more about them. I threw the Franklin County game out as that should not have been a competitive game although it turned out to be a very close game. They could make some noise and that District game against Eastern would be one where I actually feel CAL is the favorite to make the Regionals.

Foot meet mouth..... What was the chant after the game is the million dollar question? Taveion please be my daddy! Opposing fans should learn you do not poke the bear, it backfires way too often.

I saw this Ike Roby mystery man this week when Fairdale played Fern Creek and was very impressed. He is just what Fairdale needed and along with the good coaching Fairdale has they might just be a sleeper pick to make a little post-season noise. Coach Hicks does a great job and that was a good week. They actually played Fern Creek pretty well too.

Agree the future is bright and what makes it fun to cheer for him is that he is a really special kid off the floor who works hard. He could have a really high ceiling with his skills and work ethic.

Just read posts above you...lol=laughing out loud

Fern Creek jumped out in the beginning and never was threatened. Again five double figure scores for the Tigers (Wales 20, Moore 16, Wickliffe 15, Price 14, and Smooth Jones 10). Curt Lewis led Valley with 27. Eric George from Valley did not play due to a school incident.

Mental illness is not a laughing matter. Praying for the young man. Not an easy thing for anyone to have to go through.

You might be right, the tiers could have been lumped into one big tier in the 2-7 spots because at times they all have looked good and times not. Moore beat DeSales in late January, but lost to Iroquois. The reason for BE was the bad loss to Bryan Station. BS is not a good BB team over in Lexington this season. I think they were missing players as mentioned, but that is also a concern with BE. Will they ever be healthy before the post season. That plays a role.

Fern Creek was mentioned a couple times above and the backcourt duo of PG Anthony Wales & Ahmad Price starting in Metro Louisville as freshmen and now leading a top ranked team in their junior seasons deserve serious consideration. Wales is the PG mentioned above whose PPG is not gaudy, but he makes those around him better on a very balanced team. His shooting percentages are very high across the board and he is the 2nd leading scorer. He was 1st team All Sixth Region as a sophomore. Price is not your typical shooting guard in the sense he is a knock down 3 point shooter but he just gets things done with his high energy and toughness. He may be one of the best rebounding guards in the state. He was 2nd team All 6th Region last year. And despite being 6'6", Chance Moore is a wing player that could be considered a shooting guard in the system Fern Creek plays to throw in good measure. I will say in the one game FC and Hoptown played the Hoptown guards outplayed FC's that day. That would be a great rematch if they each make it to state and it likely will come down to which team's guards outplay the other's. Both of those teams have top backcourts. Doss has a very nice backcourt as well with Franklin and Hall. Very good duo, if not exceptional. Bullitt East also in Ezell and Osborne. I see the 6th region teams the most, so I am listing those that I have watched.

Final, I would not say it was a stellar performance by the Tigers, but all 5 starters (Wales, Price, Rogers, Moore, and Smooth Jones) scored in double figures with everyone between 12-14 points. Fairdale was at home and played scrappy, next up for the Tigers is Valley at the site Regionals will be played.

The finish line is getting closer and each week mixes in a surprise or two just when you think you have it figured out. The one thing that remains clear is currently Fern Creek continues to hold up as the region favorite while building their record to a very impressive 24-2 on the season. Their last 4 games will match them against 6th region opponents who will all be lining up to give the Tigers their first regional loss. This week rankings will continue with the tier groupings as a way of identifying the top challengers to Fern Creek, those that have a chance to contend, and then the next tier of teams that are likely on the outside looking in when regionals begin. 1) Fern Creek (24-2)- Fern Creek has never had a season like this one and the excitement is at a fever pitch around the Bardstown Road Community School. They must go on the road this week to Fairdale and then a highly anticipated game at Valley. Valley and Fern Creek played a scrimmage game in the pre-season at Western HS with the Tigers coming out on top. That was a long time ago and this time the stakes are much higher. It should be a great game. 2-4) Top Challengers are Valley (18-5), Doss (15-8), & Moore (17-8)- Moore jumps into the picture with a 7 point win over Valley and has quietly won 5 of their last 6 with only a loss to Male keeping them from a 6 game winning streak. Each of these three teams only have two losses in the region. They all are also the likely team to come out of their district as the #1 seeds for the Regional Championship. Doss is still the defending champ and they have had some time in between games to get back to their post season form. They will still be a very tough team to knock from their 6th region throne. 5-7) Bullitt East (17-8), PRP (12-9), DeSales (14-8)- All three of these teams could win their district final and make some noise with a chance to get through to Rupp, but each of them have games that they have lost recently which make you pause a bit. DeSales is only 2-4 in their last 6 games against 6th region teams. PRP is 4-3 in their most recent 6th region games, but two of those wins came over Holy Cross & Beth Haven in that time. Bullitt East has only played one 6th region team in their last 8 games and that was a 5 point win over a Jeffersontown team short on victories. They also are 2-2 in their most recent four games including a bad loss to a down Bryan Station team from Lexington. 8-10) Butler (14-9), Iroquois (13-13), and Southern (11-12)- Southern should make the Regional Championship in large part due to the lack of competition in District 23. Butler may also make the Regional and is likely the best of this tier of teams looking to at least advance from districts. Iroquois is also in the tough 22nd district and would have to knock out DeSales or Butler to move on. 11) Fairdale (10-13) 12) Jeffersontown (9-14) 13) Western (8-12) 14) Holy Cross (11-10) 15) Bullitt Central (8-13) 16) North Bullitt (6-19) 17) Beth Haven (10-12) 18) Whitefield Academy (6-15) 19) Evangel Christian (4-18)

Assuming the top ranked team from within a region based on this week's rankings wins their regional tournament...you could have these 1st round match-ups at Rupp #1 Fern Creek vs #6 Hopkinsville #2 Bowling Green vs 1st region Non-Ranked team #3 Covington Cath vs 3rd Region Non-Ranked team #4 Trinity vs #12 Adair County #5 Scott County vs #20 Pulaski #14 Oldham County vs 16th Region Non-Ranked #16 Perry County Central vs 15th Region Non-Ranked #17 Campbell County vs 13th Region Non-Ranked Couple of observations from that little pairing exercise of Top 20.... 9 of the Top 20 teams will not make it to Rupp, including 4 of the Top 10. The draw was especially good for #2 BG, #3 CC, #14 OC, #16 PCC, and #17 Campbell County who all would face Non-Ranked opponents. The teams who did not get any favors would be #1 FC & #6 Hopkinsville where one of those highly ranked teams would be finished after their game. Needless to say is this could change in two weeks as there will be upsets in the Regional Championships and teams have to first win their regional to get a shot at who might be facing them.

Somebody sent me that to me as well so congrats to Magic program for gaining that circuit opportunity. It is almost a given Romeo's team will be gold obviously so it is good for the state to have at least 2 programs competing at the highest level with Adidas. Not familiar with Adidas, but what difference is there between Silver & Gold other than the caliber of teams?

CAL had a chance to probably get their best win of the season against a Top Tier team, Bullitt East, from the 6th region and lost by 10 one night after getting a 12 point win over Eastern. Bullitt East with the win has you scratching your head after what happened to them the night before. It is really hard to explain a 30 point loss to a Bryan Station team who had lost 6 of their last 7 games and they bounce back the next night to beat CAL. Lost opportunity for CAL to build on one of their better seasons in recent years.

Does anyone know what KY based teams are on gold and who is on silver for Adidas Gauntlet? No KY based teams on the NIKE EYBL or Under Armor Association that I am aware.

I said the next 5 games would tell more about how good they are and this was one of those games to watch as they may have never beaten Eastern that I recall. Again, CAL is much better than they usually are and Eastern is down from normal. Ther 7th is down in general, but Eastern was a team I had in front of CAL. So hats off to CAL and the margin was much higher than I expected. I would love to see either CAL or KCD make the regionals this year. It is hard competing with Eastern & Ballard every year to get out of that district.

Final Fern Creek captures the District title and sets up a rematch with Whitefield Academy in a few weeks with an opening district round rematch. Game was over pretty quickly and the starters rested after a few minutes of play in the 2nd half. Chance Moore still scored 25 in limited minutes with Anthony Wales & Ahmad Price scoring 10 each. Tigers are now 24-2 with 4 remaining games against 6th region opponents...Fairdale, Valley, PRP, and Moore.

Yes, that loss does add perspective that has surfaced by some and now will be hard to ignore.