LoudenSwain

Never thought I’d take on the Guru himself. Fingers crossed! Here are my thoughts. Weak? No. Right move for kids. Find an opponent On your level you can build your teams success. Experiencing a beatdown before the season starts would be demoralizing and hard to overcome. Now, let’s make lemons into lemonade.... Both schools should carry on the cause, just against different opponents. CCH still has ties because coach’s brother, NCC because he is alum. Double down the love. Heck, see if other schools want to join in. Just my thoughts, but I see all sides. Unfortunately the level of dominance catches up, and with NCC struggles, not a good idea.

You take Green off CCH and they are sitting at home, with Holy Cross in the 9th region. Lol. All kidding aside, with highly touted talent all around him, he consistently puts up double doubles and outworks others under the basket to get his team the W. Definitely not the most talented kid, and I have no dog in fight. But the most deserving player in this region IMO, and his performance backs it up.

He has been all year IMO. Best player on that team!

BBTEA nails it. My key to game here. If Green is allowed to do his thing under the basket, no one stops Colonels. For all the talent, all the hype around other players, this young man is this team’s MVP IMO. If not for him, they very well could have not made it past Holy Cross in the 35th.... Good luck to both. Should be a great Championship.

I also agree with the two comments above. Dixie has some promising young talent and I thought they got better each week. Can’t wait to See this Geraci kid Next two years. Played great Saturday night, doing all the “little things” to show high basketball IQ. Add to that his obvious skill / talent, put him on your watch list next two years. On another note, Highlands was once again very impressive. Dixie went toe to toe, just didn’t have the horsepower. But effort was never in question.

Think this is pretty spot on. I’m just looking for a good game. Hopefully the Cru can contain Green and keep the rebounding even. Good luck to both!

Some of these comments are funny. I saw Beechwood numerous times this year. People need to GET OFF Drauds back. Kid does shoot a lot. But IMO because everyone else But Rylee STANDS on the 3 point line. Move, back door cut, get open. You want the ball, go to the bucket. Rebounding and lack of ability to handle pressure is why BW gets beat when I’ve been there. Rebounding Margin is very lopsided. Conner, super impressed. Saw them three times this year. Hard playing every second, every play. Good luck Cougars!

Gonna upset Some folks here, but AAU Style ball and culture keeps invading The HS game IMO, empowering kids and parents to act above the team/school/game. Very sad to hear and see this happening, but fear this won’t be the last time something like this occurs in today’s age of “me” and “my kid is great” basketball. Not saying that is what happened here, Hope it wasn’t. I don’t know details or have a dog in fight, but sounds like a scene from a crappy AAU tournament game, not a HS district tournament game representing a school and community. On to what matters, Congrats to the young Colonels for holding it together during a tough season. Some good talent on that team. Way to persevere and good luck in Regions!

http://http://mixlr.com/beechwood-sports-radio-network

Any word on Rylee’s return for Beechwood?

Don’t even know how to respond to this Comment. So I guess we just award CovCath as the greatest every year and cancel the 35th? Everyone else doesn’t matter? Guess Holy Cross didn’t get that memo tonight, which is why ALL these games are played. Wow. Give credit to ALL these teams in this district, even the ones “playing for 2nd”. LOL. Great district.

No way, hard no for me. Game already getting too sloppy IMO. Encouraging kids to run and turning these games into track meets will just ruin the overall experience. Kids need to learn good defense gives you a chance to win against superior opponents.

You just asked the biggest question no one is addressing here. Without Rylee playing, should be a very interesting matchup and I say Holmes has a great shot at upset IF they can keep composure. Last trip to Ft Mitchell they did not. With Rylee playing, even just coming back, I give edge to BW. Kid is very talented and just changes the game in the paint. Good luck to both. This district is just brutal.

Agree. Beechwood really has to be on top of its game to get through without Mitchell Rylee. They’ve done great so far, hopefully they can continue to cover his absence until he can come back. Gonna be a fun week In the 35th for sure.

Any word on Rylee’s injury? Very impressive that BW stepped up and covered his absence. McClendon kid is a beast. Agree with both comments above.

Not bad, I can see your justifications. But here is my top 10 now that Ive seen them all: 1. CovCath - No justification needed. Is what it is folks. And IMO, Green is what makes them special. No disrespect to the others, all very good players. but you dont win without a kid like Green working down low. And in this age of “4 out” b-ball, youngsters need to learn that. To even have a chance at CovCath, you gotta neutralize Green and eliminate 2nd chance points. And hope many get into foul trouble. 2. Highlands - #1 of the rest IMO, and not getting enough love either. Coached by a winner. Just having one of those special years and has the talent and resume to back it up. Combo of Vinson/Muller gonna be tough to handle for anyone. 3. St Henry - similar to Highlands, but just a step behind. I look for the Cru to continue to do whats needed to win, by playing TEAM basketball. Its impressive to watch. Ive seen them a couple times and someone else always seems to step up. 4. Conner - talented, but did way too much talking during the game i saw. just play ball and they could make an impressive March run. But aside from Hicks kid, you can tell others on team have not been there in a winning sense. 5. Beechwood - so much talent, and should be right with CovCath, but just not impressed. Draud gets a bad wrap. Kid drives to bucket and aside from Rylee, no one else will enter paint. Until rebounding margin swings their way, season gonna end early. And with two 6’7” kids, a 6’6” and 6’3”/6’4” in starting lineup, no excuse not to own the offensive end. 6. Holy Cross - peaking at right time. With Freshman Meyer leading and getting seasoned (played Varsity for Scott as 8th grader), McClendon as his running mate, Niehaus outside, and Hicks owning the paint, I really like what Grammer has going on in his 2nd year in Latonia. Only thing holding them back IMO is depth an& turnovers, but if you cant get them in foul trouble, you’re gonna have a long night. 7. New Cath - Lots of talent and right with HC. Seem to be putting it together at the right time of year, and Pangallo kid has the talent to do something special. Solid coaching never hurts either. 8. Cooper - COACHING COACHING COACHING. Sully is in a rebounding year and putting together a respectable season. No way I want to face Cooper in March. 9. Holmes - talent is there, just seems like they cant find the rhythm. if it clicks, look out. Also go5 too distracted with emotions in games Ive seem. gotta keep youre cool and avoid the self inflicted wounds. 10. Lloyd - similar to Holmes, just have not shown steady success. Cody kid can be a difference maker, just need others to step up and find their identity.

Big win!

Love that CovCath televises games on YouTube. Wish all schools had the means to do so. Very cool and nice to watch from the comfort of your coach. And BTW, Whale of a game by Neil Green. I’ve seen so much love for Others on this team throughout the year. Where is the love for this big guy who works tirelessly down low? I’ve seen mentions but nowhere near what he deserves. Made the Talent Loaded machine roll tonight. Great effort and game Young man.

Can totally happen. Watched the CovCath / BW game tonight on YouTube. Beechwood is gonna have a tough matchup with Holy Cross. In particular, from what I’ve seen, HC’s Meyer and McClendon are gonna have a field day outside. Flat footed defense will not stop them. And Neil Green’s Interior effort tonight against BW can be duplicated by Hicks from HC. Should be an interesting matchup next Saturday night......

Very sorry I missed this game in lieu of watching Beechwood/Conner. Great game by all accounts for all involved. And HC is still my dark horse for this year.......

So sick of seeing people call out Draud. Kid plays his heart out and for the games I’ve seen them, he drives to the rim every other possession. He takes shots cuz others are standing on 3 pt line not getting open. Period. Rylee has become a beast. Still a lot to learn, but without, this team may not even be in conversations for .500. Goetz is not problem IMo, but he needs to make some changes also IMO. Hergott should be on floor and some others need to be tried until you find people willing to go to the hole with Draud and Rylee. I’ve seen most all of 9th region at this point, Others need to realize games are not won in the bunny line before refs come out, or on the 3 pt line. Beechwood is way too easy to guard right now, and I can’t even begin to imagine how lopsided offensive rebounds are with this team. Hope they figure it out quick cuz next two days will be a very good measuring stick for if they even make it out of districts......

Not disrespecting Disken, solid player, one of the best. But HsBBallfan1212 is right. Vinson is killing it with much less. I’d have to say he takes honors IMO, but can’t go wrong with either.

The rules changed 1/1/2019. People who think you can easily do what’s been done in past may be in for a surprise. You have to move and provide all kinds of information. No Dillon Panthers “put a mailbox up on a vacant lot” stuff either. Lol. Biggest win for kids was you can play Varsity in any other sport other than the one you had Varsity experience in. And in the sport with Varsity experience, you can play JV. Neither of these were true pre 2019. If you had Varsity experience you had to sit all sports for 1 year. Now it’s just the sport you played in. 1 year from last Varsity experience. I looked it up. Article 6. And from what is online, you can expect to sit because “exceptions” would/could prove as precedent setting, and from people I talked to, the KHSAA changed the rule to get away from exceptions. And if you don’t have the school “losing” the players consent, you can forget about it. So, good luck to those who take the chance. It may not play out like you think........

To set off this anti-Draud debate, you must have been in a different gym than I was, or just Draud haters. Draud scored going to the rim mostly In this one. Used his height and drove to basket. What I saw as the problem was besides Rylee, the others just standing on the 3 pt line not moving without the ball. I grew in in a different era I guess. You always get the ball to your best player, let them create. What I saw Was a lot of standing around. Don’t know if there is an internal dysfunction (pouting) going on or not, but as a coach once told me when pouting About not getting the ball, get your butt in there and rebound because even the best shooters miss half their shots. Also IMO, you got some talent on thIs team, but outside Draud, no one can create when defensive pressure is on. I was also at SK game by chance, and SK pressured and the rest of team crumbed there too. Point? Draud wants the ball. Others don’t appear too when pressure hits. Not hating, just pointing out observations from my 2 games. If I’m Goetz, I do same thing. Scotty, go. But I Also personally start rotating guys in until I find five That will go with him. A lot of people on this thread are giving Beechwood far too much credit for being deep and talented. Just not so from what I’ve seen. Nice team, but no way I take ball out of his hands by telling him intentionally until others start moving without the ball. Heck, FT aside, BW coulda one this game on backdoor cuts if they did a couple here and there. Bottom line, Draud is not the problem.

Went out and watched. What an atmosphere. Just awesome. And Couldn’t agree more with this take. Nothing more evident than when Bessler re-entered the game with about 3/4 minutes left, with 4 fouls, and Beechwood couldn’t get one look for Rylee under the basket. It was unreal. Add to it that BW was in the bonus for the last day 11:00 minutes of game and couldn’t get to line, it was baffling. Only Draud would drive. Add to that the abysmal FT shooting by both teams, and well, you got a sloppy game IMO. Bottom line. Beechwood has 3 players 6’6” and taller, and they think they are a 3 point shooting team. It’s maddening to watch. Draud got most of his points by going to basket. Until otherS figure out you got to drive to the rack To open up 3’s, it’s gonna be a long season. KISS. Drive, use height to advantage, crash boards, score down low, kick out for open 3. it’s easy to contest and guard the 3s right now. BW just chucks them from further back right now. Credit to the Cru. They deserved this win. They knew the weakness, they exploited it. They outworked BW. Others will repeat until BW figures it out.