coachlee

By now everyone is well aware that the big news of this past week is about the games that were not played rather than the results of those that were played. The LIT is supposed to crown the mythical City Champ at the halfway point of the season but this year we just have to wait a bit longer as the weekend snow and ice postponed the Final Four to next Saturday where it is moved to Manual to be completed. We did gain some insight as two rounds were completed. The 6th region had 11 teams participating which seems like a record of some sort, but only 4 advanced to the 2nd round (Fern Creek #2 seed, Doss #3, Butler #5 and Bullitt East #10). Fern Creek, Doss, and Butler all advanced to the semi-finals as the Chargers dropped out after losing to the Tigers. For now there is a distinct top 3, but the next grouping of teams (4-9) has little separation between them. So here are the rankings for now..... 1. Fern Creek (14-3): Fern Creek continues to sit at the top as they now have went 21 straight games without losing to another 6th region program, but there is no question that they are flirting with a loss which gets more likely as they have Butler & Doss coming up this week. They beat Southern by 22 in game one by jumping out early, but never delivered that KO punch. In game two they escaped with a two point victory over Bullitt East as they were torched for 31 points by the Charger's Luke Ezell. During the first half their own PG, Anthony Wales, rolled an ankle to miss most of the game. Their other top scorer, Ahmad Price, only had 7 points in the game during which he wore 3 different jerseys due to suffering a bloody nose and a cut on his head that required several stitches after the game. But they just seem out of sync and need to regroup as a team. They will need to do so quickly or that first loss in a long time may be this week when they travel to Butler on Tuesday night or the LIT game versus Doss on Saturday. 2. Doss (14-4): The Dragons won both LIT games, beating Iroquois by 10 and then Waggener by 18. That strong showing continues their trend of playing well as they seem to be more comfortable with their new coach, Blake Stone, each time out. They are starting to get more balanced scoring as well. They deserve the 2nd spot in the rankings and the LIT semi-final matchup with Fern Creek could be the opportunity to switch spots at the top. Doss plays Ballard on Tuesday in a great game between the 6th and 7th regions powers. 3. Butler (16-1): For now Butler is 3rd with a region loss to DeSales being their only blemish on the season. Butler rebounded after their first loss of the season by winning two games in the LIT against 7th region opponents, St. Xavier and Ballard. The Ballard win was without a doubt the best win on the season for the Bears as they recovered from a double digit halftime deficit to advance to a semi-final meeting with Trinity. A big week ahead with Fern Creek on Tuesday and Iroquois in a District 22 game. Balance for the Bears is also making them very hard to stop with a gameplan to shut a single player down. Big man Michael Burns is the key to a strong inside game with his ability to potentially get a triple double in points, rebounds, and blocked shots as he continues to improve. 4. Pleasure Ridge Park (11-5): The Panthers hold their spot despite losing a first round game in the LIT to Bullitt East by the score 64-66. PRP held a 17 point lead at one time in the game, but could not hold on as they gave way at the end. PRP did rebound with a win over Southern later in the week 88-68. When the Panthers are healthy they still are a threat to win on any given night against anybody. A big 21st District game is on the line for PRP as they host Fairdale this week. 5. Valley (8-6): The Vikings get the good fortune of playing the LIT and the 6th Region finals at home but against Male they lost on a last second layup after tying the score with just seconds left. This was the second consecutive loss since the Holiday events ended, but Valley's schedule gets much more friendly as they play Western this week and continue to have an easy road until they get their rematch with Male again at home on January 26. They should not lose for a while until they get into late January. 6. Bullitt East (10-8): The Chargers get moved up after they came very close to crashing the LIT final four with a close loss to Fern Creek 50-52. They did upset Pleasure Ridge Park in the first round and after a really slow start the Chargers are showing as much improvement as anyone in the region. It doesn't hurt to have one of the most dynamic players in the region leading your team, Luke Ezell. He was simply unstoppable in the LIT game versus Fern Creek finishing with 31 points. If you have not watched him play, take the time to find a game and have a great seat to watch him give you everything he has in the tank. He is very skilled. The Chargers have a game against 8th region opponent, South Oldham, this week. 7. Iroquois (11-6): The Raiders only had a single game in the LIT as they lost a second time to District 22 foe, Doss 60-70. It was a close game until Doss pulled away at the end. Iroquois gets a shot at another District 22 rival, Butler, later this week. Iroquois is 11-6 on the season, but only 1-3 in the region and 0-2 in the tough 22nd District. 8. Fairdale (8-7): The Bulldogs drop to the 8th spot as they have now lost 4 games in a row, but only two of those games were to Kentucky competition. After losing to Doss before the LIT, Fairdale lost in the first round to Waggener 61-75. A very big district game looms on January 19th as the Bulldogs travel to Pleasure Ridge Park where a victory would put Fairdale at 2-0 in district play to tie Valley for the lead. 9. DeSales (8-8): After the Colts upset Butler they came into the LIT as a dangerous team winning their last 4 times out, and 7 of their last 9 games. Trinity did not leave unimpressed as the Colts gave them all they wanted before falling 52-62. Next they play St. X this week as they look to stay above .500. 10. Jeffersontown (10-6): Jeffersontown had a good opportunity to make a statement under their first year leader, Coach Duncan. However, Ballard was never seriously threatened and the final score was 57-79 as the Chargers missed out. Jeffersontown did rebound with a win over CAL 66-43. This week they have games against Southern and also a chance to upset Fern Creek. 11. Holy Cross (10-6): After going 1-1 against two teams in the 7th region that traditionally field solid teams it appears Holy Cross is finding success this season versus teams they have not in the past. They beat Eastern and lost to Manual. They are off this week. 12. Southern (7-8): The Trojans took a first round exit in the LIT after falling to Fern Creek 34-56. They also traveled to PRP where they again lost by 20. Southern has a chance this week to make some noise and bring forth an argument to rise in the rankings should they beat Jeffersontown. 13. North Bullitt (7-9): North Bullitt won their only game in an out of region contest. A big district game is played this week as they take on Moore. 14. Moore (5-10): Moore lost to Seneca last week, but has a chance to flip with North Bullitt in the rankings as they play this week. 15. Bullitt Central (12-6): Went 2-0 last week, but they face 6th region opponents this week in both Iroquois & Southern. If they want to rise in the rankings despite a glossy record, they must beat 6th region opponents ranked in front of them. 16. Whitefield Academy (9-6): Soundly beat Evangel Christian last week and open the 7th Region All "A" Classic in a rematch with Brown on January 16th. They beat Brown by 16 in early December. 17. Western (1-15): Lost to Central 62-77 and it does not get any easier playing Doss and Valley this week. 18. Beth Haven (5-9): Beat Walden last week and play in the 6th Region All "A" Classic this week 19. Evangel Christian (1-11): Lost to Whitefield Academy last week and play in the 6th Region All "A" Classic this week.

Yes, for those that have watched Luke for any period of time, he is a great competitor who is very good at controlling a game. I was not surprised at all, but I do think he is underrated if you have not seen him play. He can flat out play. Fern Creek has a good defense and rotate a lot of people, but nobody could slow him down that night. I was looking forward to him and Wales for Fern Creek going at it all game as they are two of the best PGs in the 6th. Wales never came back after injuring his ankle in the 2nd qtr, but there is a regular season rematch coming sometime in January and they will play likely in the district final. Luke was not on the court alone obviously, but for Bullitt East to beat Fern Creek he needs that kind of game where he just goes off like he did.

Why they would not reschedule for next weekend with the same schedule instead of just canceling it surprises me. Trinity plays at Moore next Saturday, but everyone else is open. Moore would take some gate percentage and be happy not to face Trinity. Line them up another opponent and let them play before the LIT games if they want another game. The girls LIT does not start for another two weeks so Valley should be open next week. That is at least a way to get the event a true Champion given weather concerns. I agree it is bad to just cancel it when it could be rescheduled.

I hear what you are saying, but it is not optional for the players, many of them who drive or ride with other players to the school where they ride a bus to Valley. Odds are nobody would be involved in an accident, but in the event they were the AD who made the call would face all sort of trouble, including guilt if someone were seriously injured. So despite the kids wanting to assume the risk, as silo 11 said it is not easy to make the call. As a parent if your young son wanted to hop in the car and go to the movies would you let them go? If it was all clear roads, probably so. If there were back roads you lived on that were not clear, then maybe not. The AD had to make the call knowing that probably not all kids were living on clear streets.

The JCPS AD said it is the concern of secondary roads. It may sound lame, but the money loss would not make them cancel unless there is a valid concern. People live on secondary roads and if a fan, coach, or player were to have had an accident traveling to the game it would have been a regret not to cancel. They errored if you want to call it that on the side of caution.

And the KOB champs, so not wanting Trinity to win it again does not make much sense. In fact, this is a decision only about the concern of people related to the weather. The LIT is a money maker for JCPS Athletics and all the schools who play. They split the gate if they are playing in the session and if anything is accurate, nobody walks away from funding for their programs. Having Trinity play in a session is a good thing because of the crowd they draw. This is not a decision they made lightly, but the welfare of those who attend, players, coaches, & fans drove this decision.

Was the head coach on the bench wearing a stocking cap? Talk about two odd looking images on the same clip. At least the referee was not intending to have it happen. I am not a fan of a coach wearing any kind of hat unless there is some reason to do so.

I hope he doesn't have anyone pressuring him to play when he is not 100%. There are times kids need to tough it out and then there are times when rest to get over an injury is the right thing for a young man's future. Playing injured and less than your best as you are attempting to land a D1 offer can work against you. Getting healthy and coming back for a Post grad year could very well be the best approach for his future. Best of luck to this young man who everyone has a good thing to say about.

Fern Creek has 3 from the 2021 class that play in the rotation of a team that has been in the top 5 most of the year and one recently cracked the starting lineup, Jaden Rogers. Rogers is an excellent PG that is very poised for a freshman playing in the 6th region. Devin Franklin is another 2021 guard who is a strong body who can score on all three levels, and the one with perhaps the most upside is 2021 post player, 6'6" Darius Washington. If Darius continues to grow he could be a major problem for the state as he reminds some of a young Ray Spalding.

The only controversy (if that is what you want to define it as) would be after the game had ended Bullitt East Coach (Jason Couch) was yelling at the ref who blew the whistle on a traveling violation before the final shot attempt to tie the score. The player was in the motion of shooting and the shot did not go in so the game would have ended had not a whistle was blown. Perhaps the Coach wanted a foul in lieu of a traveling call. But that ref then walked over to the scorer's table and made sure to note a technical was given. As the ref was at the scorers table Coach Couch went over there still giving the ref an earful and since he was close to the microphone of the public address system could be heard throughout the gym. It was sort of funny but at the same time Coach Couch was probably a bit embarrassed that the words were blast over the entire gym even though he was yelling at the ref pretty loud regardless. He is a great coach with a lot of passion and stuff happens like that to the best of coaches. The game was not well called for either team. It seemed one ref was calling all close calls Bullitt East way and then another started feeling that he needed to even the calls giving more Fern Creek way. The third ref seemed to be the one in the middle, but he was the one who made the final travel call and technical after the game was over oddly enough. Injuries are part of every team's drama this time of the year especially. Fern Creek had Price with two different injuries in the game that shed blood requiring multiple jersey changes and Wales goes down early in the 2nd quarter and never returns with an ankle injury that will keep him sidelined for a week or two likely. But they are not what you would call controversial, just the technical at the end may have been.

It just seems so many teams are facing illness and injuries around this time of the season. It is really a common thing right now to see people out.

Yes, it seems like since the KOB they have not got back in gear. Last Friday was a bad outing against Manual with a 2 point victory. 1st round in the LIT against Southern was better, but not great. Tonight was just a grind, several factors including...... >Bullitt East's Luke Ezell was outstanding with 31 points >Ahmad Price for Fern Creek wore 3 different jerseys #s due to his own blood loss from two different injuries. Once from a hit in the nose on a drive to the rim and another time on a rebound from an elbow that split his forehead open. He seemed bothered as he had an off shooting night. > Anthony Wales was fouled on a drive to the rim early in the 2nd quarter and came down on a foot rolling his ankle. He never returned and is questionable for the Doss game. But they gutted out a win even with the adversity and in the LIT you just want to win and advance for the next round. The Tigers were led by Tony Rogers with 14 and Clint Wickliffe also scored in double figures with 13.

I hear that, but this high rated ref would somehow get the attention of the team who has 6 players and tell them to remove the extra player before putting the ball in play? Why have the rule?

Colonel Pops, not trying to be a know it all and we each can have different thoughts on this and be right in our own mind. My theory would still be true because they can't blow the whistle after they hand over the ball. By rule the clock and violation would not occur until the ball is thrown in and touched by a player from either team, not when the ref hands it over to be thrown in. The clock starts after being touched on the throw in. That is when the whistle has to be blown and not before. I have been an assistant and given the responsibility to count players after time outs and quarters begin. As a rule that should always be delegated and someone doing that. Mistakes happen and these are kids so I put more blame on the staff than anyone, but they make mistakes too. I also blame the team's fans behind the bench. Somebody should have been noticing it and hollering like crazy so the staff could have corrected it. I have been the fan that did that and perhaps saved my favorite team the technical. The head coach sort of looked at me weird, but it did not look like anyone on his staff or team were calling the extra kid off so I figure he should have thanked me. If the refs had notified Cooper kids or coaching staff to avoid the technical, as the opposing coach I would have been upset and thought it was not right they did so. Again, just my opinion and we can each feel differently.

The exception is if they see a kid running to get off the court and they decide to put the ball in play just to blow the whistle. That would be on the refs. But they should not give a heads up the team has too many players or sit around and wait until it is recognized. What was the case with Cooper? Was a kid trying to hustle off and they put it in play just to assess the technical?

I disagree, but more on principal than what really happens. If the refs are counting, it is not to remind any team they have too many players. I would expect them to count so if as the ball is put in play and one team has 6 players they make the right call to assess a technical. To me, that is all on the coaching staff and players. The refs should take no blame unless they fail to make the appropriate call of too many players on the court. They should NOT in my opinion be a safety net for the staff or any of the teams. Just my thoughts, maybe in games they actually provide that safety net. I just don't feel they should.

That is one heck of a payload for a team to deliver. Wow, that will be a hard trifecta for anyone to ever repeat.

This past week was just supposed to be a tune up week for many teams with predictable outcomes. The players had to adjust being back in school after playing their most recent games during the Holiday break. However, there were several fireworks that went off resulting with a few surprises. This past week has further opened up what already was a pretty wide open race in the 6th. 1. Fern Creek (12-3): For one week in December (16th-23rd) Fern Creek looked as if they would be able to run through the region and perhaps the state much like they did last season when they won over 20 games in a row and all 16 region games. But after the last four games (2-2) this does not appear to be the case. The worst showing for the Tigers was likely their win last week against 7th region opponent, Manual. A 2 point home victory against (6-9) Manual can only be described as a chink in the armor. Fern Creek still has not been beaten by a 6th region program dating back to last season, and perhaps they can get back on track this week at the LIT when they would face 3 consecutive 6th region teams should the seedings hold (Southern, PRP, & Doss). Still, the 2 point margin victory last week must have given all future opponents considerable confidence as they face the Tigers. 2. Doss (12-4): The Dragons won their only game this week in convincing fashion as they beat a very good Fairdale team by a score of 71-54. Solid production from PG Stephon Franklin and former Henderson County scorer Taye Calloway have allowed the Dragons to ride the high scoring guard tandem to another really good start of a season that continues to show promise. The Dragons open the LIT with Iroquois who they beat early in the season 74-71. Expect a much improved Doss team this time around as they have had 15 games to get use to a new coach and teammate. A potential semi-final match-up with Fern Creek looms if both teams advance. 3. Butler (14-1): Butler suffered their first loss of the season as they dropped a 53-62 surprise to district foe DeSales who got over the .500 mark with the upset. To Butler's credit they bounced back right away with a 18 point win over North Oldham. The question mark with Butler is whether the schedule has prepared them for the LIT and tougher games which follow. The game against DeSales might have been a good thing for Butler as they got a wake up call before the LIT. A potential matchup with Ballard is an intriguing game if the seeding prevails in the quarterfinals. Butler is a good team, we will learn the next 10 days just how good they really are. They may surprise us and could be sitting atop the rankings soon. 4. Pleasure Ridge Park (10-4): The Panthers drop a spot after losing their only game last week to Ballard by the score of 68-88, but not too much can be learned from that game with PRP missing key starters. Gerald Gray, the leading scorer, and Trey Hill, their versatile playmaker, each sat with injuries that hope to be healed in time for the LIT. What was learned is that without both it will be hard for PRP to beat the elite teams. These two have so much experience and provide the scoring punch in addition to other things that will be missed if they fail to return to the lineup for the LIT. Bullitt East is the 1st round game and then a likely rematch with Fern Creek would be played on Wednesday if they beat Bullitt East. 5. Fairdale (8-6): The Bulldogs had a great chance to move up in the rankings with a game against Doss last week that turned out to be more lopsided that expected in a 54-71 loss. Doss is playing really good and the shots might not have been falling for Fairdale, but it did cause a question of whether the Bulldogs are a serious threat to win the 6th region. Up to this game they had only lost to 3 in state teams and those were very respectable losses as two came from Cooper and Ballard. Still, the slip versus Doss is more of a lost opportunity to notch a very big regional win. Fairdale plays Waggener on Tuesday in one of the best 1st round matchups of the LIT. Waggener is recognized as the 3rd best team in the 7th region and a Fairdale win would bode well for the strength of the 6th. 6. Valley (8-5): Valley has now lost 3 of their last 5 games after winning 6 games in a row. The most recent loss this past week was on the road at North Oldham, 47-63. Valley can beat very good teams as they have proven when the beat PRP and also having beaten Mayfield twice, who is one of the better teams in the 1st region. They also have some losses to teams that Valley was likely favored to beat, Henry Clay & North Oldham. Male is Valley's first round opponent at the LIT which is played on Valley's home court. The winner gets to take on #1 seed Trinity on Wednesday. 7. Iroquois (11-5): The Raiders went 2-0 with two easy victories against opponents that did not figure to challenge them. But they did take care of business convincingly and as this team learns to win they become more and more dangerous. They face District 22 rival, Doss, in the opener of their LIT game on Monday. This will be a 2nd meeting this season as their initial meeting resulted in a close Doss victory. 8. Jeffersontown (9-5): The Chargers stay put at the 8th ranking spot although they lost to Waggener this past week. It was a very good showing as Waggener is one of the better 7th region teams and had to hold on to gain a 6 point victory over the Chargers. If anything has become known this season, Coach Duncan is a formidable leader over on the sideline. He has proven he is a very worthy Head Coach in the city as he looks to pull off an upset in his first LIT as a Head Coach when the Chargers face Ballard. 9. Bullitt East (9-7): Bullitt East continued their winning ways last week with another win over an out of state school. The last game they played against Kentucky competition was a 60-68 loss to Owensboro before Christmas. The game prior to that they beat Apollo by 12. PRP awaits in a first round LIT matchup on Tuesday. The winner likely plays Fern Creek. 10. DeSales (8-7): DeSales is now above .500 as they won two games last week. The Colts probably deserve to move ahead in the rankings after beating Moore 62-52 and more importantly a 62-53 upset win over previously undefeated Butler. If they can upset Trinity who they play in the first round of the LIT they will skyrocket up the rankings. 11. Southern (7-6): Southern is below DeSales in the rankings, but actually is the 15 seed in the LIT, one seed above DeSales. Their first round opponent is Fern Creek. The last two game to start the New Year were not productive as they lost to both Male and Atherton. 12. Holy Cross (9-5): Holy Cross missed out on the LIT, but scheduled two good games against traditionally solid teams over in the 7th region who also did not get invites for the LIT this season, Eastern & Manual. Those will be great victories for Holy Cross if they can notch them both. 13. North Bullitt (6-9): Expect North Bullitt to possibly climb in future rankings as the last two games show solid improvement. Even though they lost to West Jessamine, it was close 47-52. West Jessamine is 11-1 and one of the better teams in Region 12. They also beat rival Bullitt Central last week by a score of 62-51. 14. Moore (4-9): Lost by 9 to DeSales last week and they have Seneca set for this week as both teams failed to earn LIT invites. 15. Bullitt Central (10-6): Rough start to the New Year as Bullitt Central lost to both Meade County and rival North Bullitt last week. 16. Whitefield Academy (8-6): Started 2018 with a nice 51-50 win over St. Francis and almost got the win over Christian Academy of Louisville in a close loss 61-66 at the event they host, the Whitefield Down Syndrome Classic that was held on January 6th. This is a great event held for a great cause where multiple games were held throughout the day. The highlight of the event is a very special game held between teams made up with Down Syndrome players. This is such a great opportunity to see basketball and participate in a great cause. Hats off to Whitefield's program for hosting this event. 17. Western (1-14): Almost beat Seneca last week in a 91-92 loss. They play Central this week looking for their 2nd win of the season. 18. Beth Haven (4-9): Solidified their ranking ahead of Evangel with a 74-53 win on January 4th. 19. Evangel Christian (1-10): After losing a second time to Beth Haven, it does not look like Evangel Christian will get a chance to exit the bottom of the rankings unless they can upset Whitefield Academy on January 11th.

Yes, but I also see what Colonel Pops is saying to about NCC never having a roster that went really deep with players. At a smaller school you may just end up having a smaller bench with a small rotation which it sounds like this year. The thing most can agree on is that within the rotation you do play there is a lack of players like McDonald & Weyer. Nobody on that roster looks or plays like them, they were big difference makers with their talent level.

When you lose a Ben Weyer and Drew McDonald who roamed those halls between the two of them for quite a while, they are very hard to replace. They each are having outstanding college careers and were guys who both scored, rebounded, and defended well. They were different players obviously, but they were dominant players and for awhile they played together.

Since the turn of the century I count this breakdown of championships: Trinity - 4 Ballard - 4 Eastern - 4 Pleasure Ridge Park - 2 Male - 1 Seneca - 1 Manual - 1 Fern Creek - 1 In the last 18 years beginning in 2000 this event has been fairly dominated by 3 different schools; Eastern, Trinity, & Ballard who are all from the 7th region. They have won the event 2 out of every 3 years. PRP is the only other school that has won more than once. PRP and Fern Creek are the only two 6th regions schools to have won since 2000. I had thought Butler had won the LIT in the recent past, but I guess not. What a great event and it will be exciting to see if Trinity or Ballard can add another title or could it be someone who has never won it like Fern Creek did last year for the first time? Next week at this time the 2018 champion will be known. Who is your favorite to emerge as the next LIT champion?

Does anyone have a listing of the past winners of the LIT, say even since 2000?

Late to report, but did not see anything. This is obviously a case of a "bad" win for Fern Creek. Not sure what to make of this other than Fern Creek is obviously capable of beating anyone and also could very easily lose to just about anyone. No offense to Manual, but their record speaks for itself and they had the last possession down 2 and missed several shots to tie. Had they went for a 3 they could have pulled one of the biggest upsets on the season. Fern Creek has many seniors and adequate depth, but several in particular need to score every night. I do not have the stats, but only Price was scoring at his regular clip. Wales did not have his shot falling in the 1st half and decided to just pass in the 2nd half which resulted in a low scoring night for him. Wickliffe fared better, but was not shooting at his normal clip either. Fern Creek escaped, but they looked very bad last night. Credit to Manual for fighting hard and being competitive, but Fern Creek looked very vulnerable last night.

JJ Reed and Ware making a strong case of being the 2 best seniors out in Western KY. That had to be fun watching them go at it.

Without Gray that hurts PRP considerably. Really good player. Anyone know what kept Gray from playing? PRP needs him back for the LIT to make a good run.