Region2 Hype Man

That is a win of a mentally tough team. Long was out and it was one of those "trap games" late on a Saturday night. They blew a big lead, but found a way to win despite not playing their best game. Big week of ball ahead. UHA look good against BG. Tuesday could be the last Ware/Tandy matchup we every get to see, and it will be in a gym where everyone will have a seat haha.

Ware had a dunk that shut the gym down. Hoptown did not have an answer. With Nicholas out, they have no answer inside. He will be back Monday. County is the Region favorite and Ware is the best player in the region right now

Heights will go as far as Tandy will take them. They can do well in the Western part of the state, but they just are not disciplined enough on defense nor do they run any type of half-court offense. Tandy is a special player. He will be back and maybe Heights will get a better draw next All-A. His next path is to carry his team to state and get to shine at Rupp.

I'm guessing LCA has a player that can play solid defense on Tandy. It says a lot for their team if they can hold a player of his caliber to such a low point total.

Mayfield is the real deal. I have seen them play 3 times this season and they are a talented and well coached group. Lex Christian may be the favorite in my mind.

I also will say I felt bad for the Graves coach tonight when he got his technical. I do not think he was over the top at all. I try not to call out officials because it is a hard job, but that guy tonight was too hard on the Graves bench.

Cager hasn't missed a beat. Looked way better from where he was at the end of last year. Johnson seems to be recovering from his injury, you can tell he's not at 100% but even at 75% he's a great player. Tolliver is still battling a hand injury, but had a nice dunk at the end. Burks was sick tonight, he needs to be good if they want to win Saturday. Saturday will be the big test. Hoptown has a big edge in depth and guard play, but County is very physical and plays that patented Stovall press thats hard to prepare for on any night. Hoptown has the makings of an elite team in the state, but they still have a ways to go.

Hennegan did an amazing job of defending him last year in the tournaments. I think he was really the key to their 2 wins over County just because he gave Ware no room. Nicolas probably has the lateral speed advantage over Tolliver who is really just a post player. Burks also has done a solid job this season on the boards and playing defense.

Per Chris Jung Cager had "15 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 6 steals in under 17 minutes on the floor." Jalen Johnson had 20. I think Cager back will help him thrive more playing off the ball and not having to put too much pressure on his body Not only does Cager give Hoptown their best scorer and ball handler, but he's probably the best at applying pressure that is a strong characteristic of the Haworth teams. I wonder who will be guarding Ware for them on Saturday?

40 points is a big margin on any team. Is Ohio a decent team or was this a usual result for them? Cager being back changes region 2. Tough game tomorrow with Graves County and then the rivalry game Saturday night.

Tournament play is the most fun thing to watch. This will give a bunch of other teams who are too small and in decent sized, but not 1A small, type schools a chance to compete for something. It is good for the kids and a good showcase for basketball in the state. It also can get rid of the pressure to class basketball...the small schools have something to play for all the while keeping the Sweet 16 tradition alive! Oh, and play the championship rounds (Sweet 16?) at Murray State...the CFSB Center is a great arena that not many in the state get to come see and only R1 tournament games are played there...it would give the Purchase Region/WKY a showcase tournament.

It is a shame because he will go down as one of the greatest all-around athletes in school history and has missed out on his best year. He was amazing to watch on the gridiron and set many school records and we missed out on that and he was already in the 1,000 point club. The Cager/Johnson duo put up great numbers on both teams for 3 years, heck Hoptown was just a few plays away from beating the state champs in football...who knows what they could have added for Coach Clayton. Hopefully he gets to go out on top and sign his D1 offer that Ive heard he picked up.

From what I was told, his injury requires a minutes limit to build back up strength. If you recall, he went through a similar injury last Christmas and it took a bit for him to be back at full strength.

I think the worry was their bench depth beyond their 4 top guys, but this stretch has helped them build some solid depth and give their role players confidence to be on the court. They've also played a pretty tough schedule.

It was a complicated matter with the school board and their policies. The KHSAA and the school have him cleared, it was the School Board that ruled him ineligible right before he season. They've also been without Jalen Johnson and 2-4 other starters/rotation guys with injuries too.

Last year he was probably the most impressive performer during the season. I've watched his brother and him play since they were younger and they are fun to watch on the court, so I'm a biased Cager fan haha He's probably the 3rd or on some days 2nd best player in the region. Can handle the ball and run the floor with lighting speed, he's a pest to deal with on defense, and has deep range from 3 (40%+ from 3 last year). Adding him to a lineup can take pressure of the injured players for Hoptown and give them an elite scorer to run with Tandy and Ware. Hoptown is a very deep team if they have Johnson, Nicolas, Tolliver, and Govan all healthy too. The freshman point guard in his place, Watts, now gives them a great option of the bench too. Also, it will be interesting to see if time is on their side for chemistry.

Twitter Game will resume next Wednesday at 7pm

You're welcome. I think I will add more to why it was called. They refs had to keep stopping play to wipe the floor at the request of players and coaches. Players were beginning to slip. With the cold weather of the last few weeks combined with the rain outside warming things up today, oh and the gym was crammed with people too, it just led to there being too much moisture on the floor. The coaches met at half and then they decided to call the game. Whoever the man was for UHA that grabbed the microphone to make the announcement was pretty rude. He started with yelling in a rude tone "Everyone needs to listen and you're gonna want to listen closely"

Was a fun game to watch. When I was a blazer a few moons ago, we did not host district games other than Fort Campbell and I always thought we'd get a bigger gym. Its embarrassing that the gym is not able to hold many people for a big time contest. It is a safety concern having all the people jammed in there and tonight's floor-gate is just another issue. It is too small to host big time games. County came out with the energy and played tough defense. County looked like they were about to pull away until they ran out of gas and UHA started converting in the fast break. Ware and Tandy were pretty silent until Tandy came alive at the end of the half. Sad that it ended because Ware was due to come alive and Tandy was heating up for a special performance. It definitely was not a pretty game for offensive sets, it was all about the pace and turnovers. Stovall wanted to set that gritty grind-it-out tone and it was working, but Tandy was scoring and Ware had not found his groove and they let UHA back in the game. Cory Trice is back and looked amazing. County is a much different team with him on the floor. He is a Stovall player and is the key to their postseason success. Trice and Long are just two tough (football players) athletes that can make you uncomfortable. Heights starts and ends with Tandy and how far he can carry them. I think this team has more talent outside of Tandy, but I just don't see them running any plays at all. I'll admit I am harder on them because they are my home school, but they just are not reaching their potential like I think they should. I'll end with this, KyKy Tandy is a special player and if you get a chance please go watch him play.

This is a possible Sweet 16 matchup between two top programs in WKY. What a difference a year can make. Last season Warren Central was out in the 1st round of district and Hoptown had a Region title with most of the team back. Now it looks like both teams are trending in different directions. I remember Hoptown running WC out of the gym last season, but they had Potter who was very special to watch. It seems like WC may be the favorites in the 4th region? I have not seen them play, but it seems they have a solid resume and have played a good schedule. Maybe some R4 and BG folks can fill me in on WC because I am not too familiar. Hoptown has had transfer, suspensions, appeals, and injuries all take out 6 of their varsity players at one time or another this season. They have made strides, but with one step forward they have had two steps back has been the story all season. I think they are about at full strength body wise, but they are not 100% healthy from their injuries even though they are playing. They will not have their best player in Cager back for another few days either. The key for Hoptown will be the health of Jalen Johnson. With Cager gone, the D1 prospect is the primary scorer and ball handler...they will go as far as he can take them. James Nicolas is the other player to watch. Hard to compare the two based on schedules. Both played and beat Marshall in close games. I'll say that Hoptown still is not ready to beat a talented/well-coached team like this yet. I still think Hoptown can reach the Sweet 16 if they get their full roster...but there are too many if's and maybes right now. WC 78 HHS 62

Definite hot take.. That UHA team won the All-A State Tournament. With 6'4 PG in Edmonson and 6'8 5 star top 10 McD's All-American in Hopson, I do not think this Heights team could even come close to guarding them in the least bit. Kyky is also carrying the team because of his talent, but Kyky is nowhere near Scotty at this point in time. This team I don't think can compete at a state level. They have beaten the teams they are supposed to beat, but I do not see them even coming close to the "big boys". And the Region is way down this season. Hoptown was supposed to be the team that would compete at the high level, but they have had many issues and don't look so hot right now. Henderson was right up there until they had their 3 leading scorers transfer. County lost a lot too from a top 10 team in the state. No team in R2 now is even in the top 20 I do not believe. UHA in 2008 played a pretty tough slate of games and were highly regarded around the state. And district 8 was tougher than you think that year. Hoptown had a really good (albeit inconsistent) team that beat UHA in the regular season and choked away the game in district. Also, Madisonville had Jon Hood...but he did not get to play in the region tournament...actually I do not believe he played in the tournament his Junior or Senior year.

But these County players (Long, Trice, Ware) are a bit more experienced in the press than the lineup Hoptown put out there as well. If you have a player or players who can match Tandy in putting up points, then the press can work. CCHS is good enough to push the pace. Eventually, it can/will wear Heights down and they will start reaching. That is the long range strategy anyways. Heck who here remembers the 2008 UHA Blazers with Hopson and Edmonson. Stovall had a team with a bunch of freshman and sophomores with a losing record (did not even have Hickey yet) and he made the Blazers uncomfortable in region and districts that year. Stovall will have a good long term strategy in place.

I think I am buying high on Trice because he is a "Stovall" guy. I think he plans to use Cory like he used Bubba Tandy for 4 years as his designated athlete. (Coincidentally Bubba Tandy is on staff this year for the Cols) Frankie tried to implement a style that those kids were not used to, Stovall's aggressive defensive style is suited for Cory's skills, but with his injury I don't know how far he can improve in such a short time.

Cory Trice being back for County is a game changer for sure. County has relied heavily on Ware to score 30+ every night for them to be able to win ball games and Trice should be able to lighten the load. Cory gives them a very versatile player because of his athleticism and ball handling skills. He can score, run the point, rebound, and defend at pretty good levels. But, I do not know if he is 100% yet. Heights is way more skilled and talented, but County and that Stovall press is going to be physicality they have not seen yet this season. County is still adjusting to new players and Stovall's style, so I would give the edge to Heights in this round. If County is to win, they need to use their physicality to their advantage and get Heights into foul trouble. Jaquan Long and Trice have to be able to use their defensive presence to slow the Blazers down. By district I could see County being a tough matchup for the Blazers, but for now I don't see County being able to put up the points to match them unless Ware goes for 50 and makes my analysis useless Ware and Tandy are going to try and out-do each other...it has the makings of those Mack/Pulley and Hood/Hopson matchups. UHA 88 CCHS 79

Tandy just gets better with every game he plays. He always had the skills and put up the numbers, but his leadership is growing with every day that passes. I think it took a bit to adjust his style w/o Tray Hollowell on the court with him, but now I think the team has its style set around him. I question their ability to compete at the state level because of coaching/depth, but Tandy is good enough to carry them to a region title and maybe a deep run at All-A state. If you are within driving distance, I encourage everyone that can drive to Christian County high make it to the game tomorrow between CCHS and UHA. This may be the only chance to watch Ware and Tandy play in a big gym because Heights is too small to host a big crowd and they may not face off in district.