Padukacat

I saw a link where the Danville vs Murray game will be on youtube at 10:30 central time I believe. you can find it on Murray high twitter page.

Murray and Danville puts two of my top 4 in the first game against each other which is a shame. I actually think murray could win it all. At one time they had the top ranked defense in the state I believe.

I always tend to feel that the team with the best player (assuming the supporting cast is good 2-7) will likely be the favorite to win a tournament. Mercer was deep but Robbins seemed to be the best player in the state. Although I haven't seen any of them I get the vibe that Ryle has the best player in the state in Maddie Scheer and their #2 in Schwartz must be really good too if shes a miss basketball top 5 candidate. How can anyone overcome that unless the supporting cast for those two isn't as solid as other teams. Is Scheer not the most dominant player in the state? Her offer list and ranking seems to say as much. It seems to take 5-6 college level players on a team to win it all, maybe the 3-5 are not at that level and Ryle just doesn't have the balance others have. Would love to hear from some who have seen them and others.

Emma king from Lincoln has to be the favorite if they finish like they are playing now right? Lauren Schwartz is right there. Wheeler is also there if the team finishes strong and probably the leading scorer in the state right? My guess is unless wheeler or king make a deep run then it would go to Schwartz if Ryle wins it all.

I believe Marshall County plays Simon Kenton in a few weeks, but honestly I don't see where many region 1 teams have played against top 25 teams outside of the area. There are a few mutual opponent type of games that lead me to believe the rest of the state is currently that much better.

I have not seen them play this year but they are ranked in the top 25 in the coaches poll after having lost three girls to Murray State last year. I think he only has two big contributors back and at one time had one of the top 5 defenses in the state, that sounds pretty good. Like I said though, I haven't seen them, was impressed he could do this well with a new group.

I'm not sure Lamelo Ball footage is really the best footage they will get from players on that team. Lamelo did put on a freak passing display and nice speed and handles at the McCracken hoopfest, but on night 2 he was more human and struggled. I'm honestly not sure after watching him whether he will play in the NBA or is a low level D1 player. I'd have to watch him in a real game first, because he plays like a clown half the time and no way he could do that in a high level D1 setting. Kids got some skill though, and its entertainment.

I've got to admit, now that i'm following girls basketball closely with a child that plays, its really disappointing there aren't better teams down in Western Kentucky that can be in these discussions. I would love to tell you the publicity just isn't there because we are forgotten down here is west ky, but that's just not the case. Now don't get me wrong, there are some really solid teams and some programs that know how to coach basketball. I just think the population density and demographic of the area along with a lack of basketball tradition (minus Marshall County) has really led to basketball that is a step below the rest of the state. Murray High seems to have a nice program now with Turner then Foust. Marshall is definitely on the rise with Langhi taking over and a really good core. Graves has a good core and program, Paducah Tilghman has some really good 8th graders coming up, and Calloway has Settles and a pretty good young core. Region 2 fields some solid teams as well, but about the same level. Seems like a large part of the state with Region 1 and 2 being what I consider to be Western Kentucky, and really there is not 1 dominant team this year. Maybe i'm off, maybe the out of sight out of mind mentality has put some of those teams on a higher pedestal than they deserve, but I think I've seen enough basketball to know. What say ye?

Maybe its just me...but I agree with your logic. I actually have the two teams switched and I have South Laurel 16th and South Laurel 19th.

Only watched the second half of MCcracken game but Graves just outplayed them and was quicker and stronger. I figured they may get Mccracken tonight. Sivills only had 5 points, the two guards however played pretty well for us. Odd game.

Meant to mention, I watched University Heights yesterday and they are a solid team but I believe McCracken would beat them and feel they are likely not the 4th best team in the state. Probably depends on what Tandy does, as they do not have a lot behind him and could have easily lost to Murray High yesterday. They will win their region i'm sure, so it will depend on what Tandy does at the state tourney. If he has an off night they lose, if he takes a game over they could probably beat anyone. He can fly, but could use some work on his motor.

The region tourney is going to be must see TV, as I have seen them all but Tilghman this year and there is very little separation in the top 6. I would say McCracken has a bit of an edge on everyone due to Sivills and some depth and size. I would go Graves next because they really have a nice top 3 and really run their offense well. I would say Mayfield next, then Murray and Marshall are dead even, and lastly Tilghman until I see them. I believe Tilghman is on the rise. Meat of the schedule is coming up so things are fixing to get interesting.

It was a really good game. Much better basketball than the Lamelo Ball show the game prior, ha. Elliott was small but scrappy, I like their 8th grade kid he can play but didn’t score a lot. Sivills came up big in the end with a big rebound and got fouled with .8 seconds and sank the free throws. He probably should have had 40 tonight.

That I’m not sure, I know there are some really good ones in that class, and the girl at Mercer May be the best. The Ky premier folks would have to weigh in as they have seen them all in person as I know at least Lind and thomas play on the same team for premier. Lots of talent in 7th and 8th coming up, KENTUCKY is a pretty strong state for girls hoops now if you ask me.

The Whitney Lind girl seems to be one of, if not, the most highly rated recruit in that 8th Grade class from what I have seen. I know she has attended some high level camps in Ohio and was a standout, and I believe she was the "best player" on a really good KY Premier team last summer. The reason I have followed her was because I kept track of Destiny Thomas from Paducah, who was on the same team and is also one of the best 10 or so in her class I would guess. Both are averaging similar numbers in Highschool, as I believe Thomas is averaging around 19 and 10 as an 8th grader. Both are on young teams that are struggling I believe, for now.

In Western Ky I follow the young group pretty close because I have one in 7th grade. Most only play high school after middle school ball is over in January unless their high school team is really weak and they pull a kid away from middle school. That has been very taboo for some reason until recent years. That being said, Tilgman has three 8th graders starting, with one being Destiny Thomas who is averaging about 18 and 10. Really good player who played for Ky premier and will play d1 ball. They have a guard named Diamond Gray who is starting and averaging about 13 a game or so. Like Destiny, her parent played d1 ball. Coached them when they were all little and playing church league rec ball so I love watching these kids develop. We have an 8th grader that will start varsity at Mccracken next year I think, Caroline Sivills, the daughter of Scott who played for Murray State and who’s son is Jackson is a highly rated Junior. She will be a really good player. Marshall county has Dan Halls daughter who is really solid and a few others. Beyond that I really don’t remember any others out west that look like college players in that class, which saddens me a bit.

McCracken is getting ready to play a tough team in Florida at 5 cst I believe, I have a feeling they may suffer their first loss. It will be shown online.

Murray is a definite surprise. I’m not really surprised by McCracken, they have a d1 talent in Sivills and the Dumas kid has been stellar at times. I’m surprised Tilghman is struggling as bad as they are I suppose, but they’ve done this in recent years and the region has improved as a whole.

I've been following them, they seem to have a really good team. My sister taught at Muhlenberg years ago thus the connection.

The worse the team, the more they foul in general due to just poor fundamentals and trying to use their strength to overcome their lack of skill. This is what I see in the girls game. It tends to get better the older they get as you start to lose the kids that haven't played a lot of basketball.

Down in the western part of the state I must say i'm surprised how well Murray is playing after losing 3 players to a D1 school who have played all of their minutes for years. That being said I believe Foust is a really good coach, and the Turley girl who went to Murray State has a younger sister who is obviously a good sophomore. They look like the team to beat in Region 1.

I have seen McCracken a lot this year since we have season tickets. I like the team, not completely sold yet in regard to top ten status but they will keep getting better. I think Bowling Green was probably a better team than McCracken on most nights, but Sivills was the best player on the floor and they couldn't stop him. I've also seen Mayfield, which I know came back and made a game of it with McCracken but I really don't think they are as good as some think. They are really solid, and a notch below McCracken, but definitely a level below Bowling Green imo. I really liked the Bowling Green team a lot. I will likely see UHA at some point during the season.

My guess is that you have to fill the schedule with someone, and there were probably a lot of people asking considering three schools combined, two of which were typically playing a weak schedule in Reidland and Heath. Lone oak was a fairly small school at one time as well, but they did have some success in basketball. That’s my guess on the scheduling. Lots of small, rural schools that are typically weak at basketball about 4 out of 5 years.

I agree, if he had more players to set up he would be deadly. They face guarded him all night but if he got the ball something was gonna happen. Great range, speed with the ball is High level, now just has to hope Mother Nature gives him about 3 more inches of growth.

Saw the Perry boy play last night, he is the real deal folks. I’m impressed.