Mojocat

On 4/28/2023 at 10:45 AM, DearToday said:

That's also what I've been told. He plans to gray shirt since he will be graduating at 17. 

I’m fairly sure he’ll be 18 in August.

4 hours ago, bugatti said:

I see this come up almost every year around this time. How many of these fit this billing?

Oh, my memory isn’t that good.  I shouldn’t have made it sound like I was affirming the point - just acknowledging it.  People always say that - that committing to Kentucky gives a kid an unfair advantage when it comes to Mr. Basketball/Football.  That may be true, I’d have to go back thru the winners lists and see who else of note was in each class.  The point I’m making is, however true that might be generally, I don’t think it is this year respecting Sheppard.  He’s a McDonald’s AA, a top 25 player in the class - he’s the best player in the state and presumably would’ve won this award no matter where he committed…..

33 minutes ago, LethalPG said:

I think Reed is much better than any of the most recent KY kids that have went to UK, but I guess time will tell.  Reed can impact the game in many different ways.  I think he got better as an outside shooter during his prep career, and that should suit him well with his great floor vision and instincts.

Yep, very much agreed.   He's legit, me thinks, as opposed to the Kentucky high school star that may or may not be a high D1 player and the fans pressure the coach into taking him at UK.  Also, there are years where a kid commits to UK and sows up the Mr. Basketball race, and you can legitimately claim he's not the best player, he only got it because he's going to Kentucky.  That's not the case this year, at least in my opinion.

I hadn't seen this thread, and it's interesting to me how the tone changed.  in the beginning, when folks were assuming he simply decommitted to better think through his options, that was met with favor.  but when the story changed and people realized Kentucky pulled his offer, that was met (at least most of the time) with scorn.  

As someone who's worked the game clock many, many times, I always say it's both the easiest and hardest thing to do, at the same time.  It's super easy - you literally have one job, and that's to flip a toggle to start the clock or to stop it.  A monkey could do it.  It's also super hard - it's very easy to just become engrossed in what's happening on the court and forget to flip the button.  Egg on face, I've done it plenty of times.  Once, had an opposing AAU coach literally want to fight me, he was so convinced I was trying to cheat his team (by not starting the clock when my team inbounded the ball with only a handful of seconds left - reasonable assumption I guess, but it was kind of out in the open.  If I was going to cheat, I'd try to be a little more slick!).

Anyway, point is, I can't imagine trying to manually re-start a shot clock every possession. But then, maybe most folks don't daydream like I apparently do.......

https://www.stadiumtalk.com/s/top-high-school-basketball-scorers-all-time-a5af7d7396864c40
 

interesting list here. Who knows what’s accurate, when you’re trying to understand all time scoring leaders across the country, I’m sure it’s hard to get good precise info.  If this list is accurate, Perry could conceivably finish as high as number 2 all time, if he scores an amount in his senior year similar to his junior year.  The number 1 guy has 6,700+ points, which I suspect is out of reach.  😊

two interesting things I’m reading.  One, the “national federation of high school” (whatever that is), doesn’t recognize points scored before 9th grade.  And two, of the top 100 scorers, 30 are from one state - Louisiana.  Apparently, the smallest schools in that state, class b and c, don’t play football.  Which means basketball starts in October, so they’ll have 70 or 80 game seasons.  

2 hours ago, Falcon Pride said:

We will see.

How does he do in AAU against taller guards? I know Defense not all out in AAU but that would give you some indication.

It will be an interesting case but surely ALL those High Major coaches couldn’t be wrong could they?

Recruiting misses happen all the time.  Devin Askew anyone?  We could make a list a mile long.  But, I want to appreciate Perry for the amazing high school player he’s been.  The college stuff will come later, and I hope the several posts in this thread making the point that if he goes to the right place and right situation he’ll succeed end up being exactly right.

9 minutes ago, Wildcat1993 said:

Woodford may have played better since district tournament but none those teams compare to Jtown. 

North Oldham was ranked in the top 5 most of the year, and is much better than J-town (or anyone else, possibly excepting Evangel, in the 6th in my opinion).  I didn’t see Western, so have to allow for that.

Brings up a larger topic - the relative strengths of the Regions.  I grew up in the 5th, and have lived in metro Louisville for 25+ years, so I’m reasonably familiar with the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th.  I guess overtime I’ve conditioned myself to think the 6th and 7th, and I’ll presume the 11th, are just head and shoulders above the other 13.  But as I’ve focused on it lately, I’m not sure that’s true. The 6th and 7th will typically be top heavy, and have one or two teams that other regions just can’t hope to compete with most nights.  First, that’s not always true, for example North Oldham this year or CCH most years can compete with those teams.  Once you get past Male/Ballard or Evangel/PRP (or whomever in a given year), there’s not a lot of difference between the next 6 or 8 teams in the 6th or 7th vs the 8th (my frame of reference).  And the teams at the bottom are just as bad if not worse.  There are some bad teams in the 8th - but I think Valley is worse than any of them.  

Anyway, would require a little bit of research to confirm or refute all of that. ……
 

4 hours ago, FB Head said:

Understand the comfort factor and it will be interesting to follow Travis at the next level.  I do agree he can still develop more in the paint but I have a hard time stating "He’s not very athletic".  If I recall, Travis Perry is the #1 rated junior in KY and #10 nationally as a PG per 247Sports.  The 4 star rating he currently has in not determined in his "small town"  and/or by his coach (dad).  I have a hard time believing he is not athletic.  6-2 is about average for a D1 PG although I think he is a better shooter/scorer and will probably transition to that in college.  Wish this young man nothing but good fortune at the next level. 

Me, too - will be pulling for him for sure!

I’ll be really interested to see how Perry’s game translates to the high D1 level.  He’s a tremendous shooter, has great feel, can play point (though his natural inclination and position is scorer).  He’s not very athletic, not very long, and has trouble against length.  The “comfort” factor can’t be discounted.  Meaning:  he is completely comfortable and confident in his current environment.  He is the man, and has been since the 7th grade.  Small community.  Dad is coach. Gets up over 20 shots a game.  Now, take that same kid, put him in a large university, undersized with mediocre athleticism, decidedly not the man, gets limited time and limited shots.  Comfort factor goes way down.  Very easy to go thru a shooting slump and lose confidence.  We’ve all seen some variation of this story multiple times. Some make it, most don’t.  He’s had a special special career so far.  We’ll see.

Is Duvall a good coach?  Hard to say.  Is Roger Harden a good coach?  Owen County and Carroll County are almost exactly the same in enrollment. Main difference is lightning remarkably struck twice in short order for OC in Carson Williams and Teagan Moore.  A kid that good obviously makes a difference - hence OC won 24 games and Carroll County won 7 this year.  A kid like Moore makes OC a lot better than CC - but that doesn’t mean OC can or should beat the best teams in the region. I saw the Owen County v Woodford County game, and I’m not sure what the OC coach could have done differently.  OC was up big in that game, and while that was due in part to their play, it was much more due to Woodford’s casual indifferent play. Once Woodford cranked up the defensive intensity, it was like watching a good varsity team play a freshman team, and the outcome was pretty easy to see coming.  Duvall might be good, mediocre or bad. It’s hard to say.

On 3/7/2023 at 10:25 AM, coachb110 said:

Yes DeSales people are sick! It was one of those things where you can see it coming but can't seem to avoid it.  Possible explanation: there were actually 3 turnovers from the 1:20 mark & J-Town capitalized on all of them. Plus, DeSales Will Gibson had turned an ankle after being fouled earlier, and returned after being taped up at around the 1:20 mark. His pain hampered him and he was not able to pull down a couple of crucial defensive rebounds that he normally would have gotten.  Tough break! We couldn't buy a D-rebound when we really needed it.  You can see a replay on YouTube at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VenUkRH-7gU 

 

Thanks for the link, coach.  I watched the last 5 minutes.  DeSales is up 54-48 with 68 seconds left, and really from that point just about everything that had to happen for them to lose happened.   Your two best ball handlers turn the ball over on successive possessions, and then on the third possessions the two bigs miscommunicate for another turnover.  And J-town makes good on those opportunities - a three, a layup and another layup.  On that last J-town possession, they got 3 shots, all right at the rim. So turnovers and not getting a rebound doomed DeSales. They got a good look at the end, just didn’t go down.  Maybe I’d like to see a ball fake and then go into the defender there, rather than a slight fadeaway, to try to get a foul.  But that’s risky, a lot of officials will absolutely swallow the whistle there.  Just an unfortunate ending……

45 minutes ago, Adrian Woj Burner said:

I just hope that the same defense shows up that we have seen the last 2 nights. Neither team has even scored 30 points 🤯

Yep, the defense they’ve played the last two games distinguishes WC, and would keep them in the game against just about anyone.  Again, they are young, and I worry about a no-show.  Surely in the State tournament that shouldn’t be an issue…..

Male coach must be pretty fair.

44-21 final.  Lopsided second half.  Be interested to see Collins final shooting stats…

That felt like a key stretch.  Collins with a 3 point play to cut it to 9.  Then had 3 separate shots at the rim, over 2 possessions, with chances to cut it it 7 or even 5.  Missed all 3.   Woodford County’s height and length bothering Collins…

Woodford woke up at the half, opened the 3rd with a 10-0 run….

12-10 Collins at the half.  
 

Woodford County not nearly as sharp tonight.  10-6 Titans with 3 minutes left in the half.  Crazy low scoring game..

John Adams is former NCAA head of officials.  Someone asked him about this particular call:

Just saw this tweet.   I thought Warren Central was the best team I saw this year - and the last few days have been good to them….

Really gutsy play by the defender there, and that’s a tough call to make in real time - but it looks to me like the kids feet are moving when contact is initiated.  Wasn’t set.  Block.

1 hour ago, ConverseAllStar said:

I would think Max Green, and Oldham County, would be district favorites next year. 

29th will be interesting next year for sure.  North loses a ton, with only Fisher and Neal back among regular rotation players.  OC will have a preseason Region POY candidate in Max - but losing Amburgey shouldn’t be discounted.  South has most players back, but it was the weakest of the 3. Interesting to watch unfold.

8 hours ago, coachb110 said:

Credit to J-Town for capitalizing on DeSales mistakes & fighting for all they were worth to get the win.  In my opinion, several things hurt DeSales in this game & in several other games this year. The biggest flaw in their game was free-throw shooting. That plus poor defense against the 3 & ill advised passes which led to unforced turnovers killed them in this game and several other games this season.  I can't for the life of me understand why so many basketball players at all levels are content to be such poor free-throw shooters.  Even some college & pro players have this unnecessary deficiency in their game.  Free-throw shooting is a repetitive motion skill.  It's like serving in tennis, or putting in golf, or shooting penalty kicks in soccer. If you study proper technique, have someone point out your flawed motions (film even), and then practice until you master the proper technique, your performance will improve greatly.  I think kids spend way too much time trying to dunk, and neglect to practice good free-throw shooting technique, and coaches let them get away with poor habits.  When I was coaching tennis, I would show players the proper motion of the serve. Their answer was "I can't do it that way."  And sure enough they couldn't serve very well.  DeSales as a team averaged about 50% from the line all year long. Only a few players used proper technique consistently.  If they hope to get to Rupp someday, they had better learn how to shoot properly & then Practice!! 

 

All of this makes sense - and yet, apparently DeSales was up 55-48 with 85 seconds to go. It’s hard to lose in that situation! I know they had the two turnovers, per the above, but I’d like to see that last minute and a half.  DeSales people have to be sick……

So, I’ve seen Woodford County twice this year, both times in the 8th Region tournament.  They couldn’t have been less impressive vs Owen County, and couldn’t have been more impressive tonight.  What does that imply?  Do they have a hard time showing up for each game?  Last year, the shoes were on opposing feet and North Oldham embarrassed WC - and Woodford openly said tonight was a game they’d been looking forward to for a year.  Mission accomplished.  Will there be a natural letdown the game after “the game”, especially for a team prone to taking nights off?  Could be.  And Collins is the sort of disciplined and athletic-enough team to take advantage of that.  The Woodford County I saw tonight would’ve beaten any 8th Region team, including Collins.  Can that team show up on consecutive nights?