scooterbob

Ashland runs a fine tournament. In its earlier years, when it was one of the only holiday tournaments, the AIT attracted some of the top teams in the state. That is no longer the case because there are now many more tournaments at that time of year. For those of you who are "historians", the tournament was first called the Greenbo Invitational Tournament and held at the Ashland National Guard Armory. Nonetheless, the AIT still attracts a decent group of schools including more local teams than in the early years. The pairings are for obvious and sound reasons. Financially, it needs Ashland to be successful as much as possible in order to keep local interest and to keep locals in attendance. I think that any unhappiness from area fans comes from the fact that the other local teams always receive a much tougher path to the finals than does Ashland. That should be expected and, if they don't like the way it is set up, they can refuse the invitation. As a Rose Hill supporter, I feel certain that Rose Hill will never be invited to participate and I think that is best for both schools. On the other hand, a Rose Hill invitation would probably bring invitations to Mater Dei, OHA, and DeMatha- all three of which would be in Rose Hill's bracket. It would still be a good tournament with Ashland and OHA playing for the championship and Lewis County and Mater Dei fighting for third place.

Excellent and factual post, BR549. Our boys at Ashland are finished but we still have Fairview and Russell active.

I believe you hit the nail on the head, All Tell. You can rest assured that the exceptions and waivers will be public oriented.

As the tournament season heats up and as coaches of losing teams are roasted by their former supporters, I thought a little region trivia might lighten matters up a little. We all know that Kelly Coleman (Wayland) is the all-time leading scorer in the Commonwealth with 4,337. However, Chris Harrison (Tollesboro) is fourth with 3,542 and Bert Greene (Olive Hill) is fifteenth with 3,172. "Cyclone" Charlie Osborne (Flat Gap) is second with 3,647. Coach Marvin Meredith (Russell) ranks as twelfth in career wins with 608 and Ashland has the most team wins with 1,691. Paducah Tilghman is second with 1,632 with now defunct Central City third with 1,578. Actually, the winningest (best winning percentage) team in the Commonwealth is Central City with a winning percentage of 73.95. Tilghman has a winning percentage of 71.45 with Ashland at 70.55. Ashland has played 113 more games than has Tilghman. Henry Clay and Lafayette have each won six state championships with Ashland tied with St. Xavier, Male, and Manuel with four each. The highest total points in a game was scored in 1953 when Boyd County defeated Blaine 170-87. Boyd's 170 ranks third all-time. In 1969, Russell defeated McKell 107-104 in a battle of Greenup County teams. The 1967 Russell team averaged 92.2 points per game. We often don't get that many as a total for both teams now. Marques Dawson (Rose Hill) still holds the single game record for steals with 16 against West Carter in 2003. Fred Simpson (Holy Family) is fourth with 12. Danny Cornett (Breckenridge Training) holds the region scoring record for a single game with 87 against Carter City in 1964. Chris Harrison (Tollesboro) scored 1,182 points in one season. Ashland collected 87 rebounds against Grayson County in 1961. Most must have been on the defensive board because that Ashland team didn't miss too many shots with Conley, Sergent, Hilton, et als. The Sixteenth Region has never had a Mr. Basketball. The award started in 1956 and the winner was Kelly Coleman (Wayland). Surprisingly, the winner in 1961 was Randy Embry (Owensboro). This played a part in Coach Rupp recruiting Embry over Harold Sergent (Ashland). Coach Rupp made a bad mistake in that one. If you will excuse a partisan opinion, Harold should have been Mr. Basketball in 1961. As for this region, the team with the best winning percentage in regional tournament games (20 or more games) is Clark County. The highest winning percentage regardless of number of games played in the tournament is Rose Hill. Ashland has by far the most tournament wins but they also have the most losses. I hope some of you find something of interest in this post. At least, if you read it all, it will be a long break from coach bashing.

My side of the fence is the one that expects the referees to make consistent calls and to do so on both ends of the court. Nothing more and nothing less. Do you seriously doubt my observation that West Carter got an easier draw than did Rose Hill or Russell? I feel sure that Rose Hill and Russell would gladly trade places with West Carter in the brackets. Raceland has nothing to do with it. The advantage is that both of the other top teams are in the opposite bracket from the Lady Comets.

And Rose Hill must defeat Fleming County. The losses suffered by Morgan County and Ashland in the boys's tournament should be good lessons to Rose Hill and to Russell. You must win today to play tomorrow.

I would recommend that you keep the gymnasium doors open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week if you want to compete successfully in the next five years. Even with that, you are probably starting somewhat from behind. AAU has sure changed the scenery around here.

Tough loss for Ashland. However, the truth is that neither a missed foul shot nor a phantom no call beat them. Personally, I would have liked to have seen Matt Thomas shoot three foul shots at the end. I would have bet that he would have hit all three. Without his play in the district, Ashland might well have not been playing last night. Overall, with Elliott County's poor play in the first half and Ashland's nice lead in the third quarter, the game was Ashland's to win or lose and, for a number of reasons, they lost. No one has pointed out that, as usual, Elliott County was led by three ninth graders. That is something for Ashland and other 16th Region teams to think about.

Tossup between Rose Hill (Will the referees nitpick in calling fouls?), West Carter (They got the easiet draw of the big three.), or Russell (How physical will Okora be allowed to play without fouls being called?). Talentwise, this is a far better field overall than exists in the boys's tournament.

Good win for Greenup County. Good luck in reaching finals. If Greenup County wins the region, surely they will beg coach Hicks to stay on as coach. He has done a remarkable job, win or lose.

West Carter did not win the draw by drawing Raceland. They won the draw because they will not be forced to face the other two top teams on straight nights. Both Rose Hill and Russell will have to beat both of the other top three teams on straight nights to get to Bowling Green. Therefore, since one of the three will win the region, the draw clearly was a big win for West Carter. No slight whatsoever intended at Raceland. The semifinals are a week from Monday and the championship is the next night.

West Carter got the draw. Could be an upset or two.

I think a better question might be in regard to the future at Greenup County of Coach Hicks. It is often reported that the "powers" that run matters in Greenup County (those from the very western end of the county, I believe) are wanting to rid themselves of Coach Hicks. However, I would think that Coach Hick's record this season (63rd District championship, three wins over archrival Russell, best overall record (by far) in the district and one of the better records in the region) deserves the respect of those "powers". If they were as successful in running a school system as Hicks is as a coach, all of Greenup County would benefit. I don't know Coach Hicks. However, I tip my hat to him.

We should also leave "Tomcat Nation" out of any posts because it may well be confused with "Maroon Mafia, Inc." which is a duly registered entity owned and operated by Rickyp.

Good point, gopack21. However, with maturity and added strength, the rebounds should be there. As an example, when playing with their own grade or even a grade or two higher (like, for example, in freshmen tournaments), Euton, Jackson, and Bair dominate their opponents. The same can be said of Kyle Bush in elementary school games.

Good thread. Many snips but no bombs. As I said earlier, it was a "win" for both sides. Ashland, as expected, won the game. Rose Hill, as expected, sent a definite message about the very near future. It is always a good sign when 8th graders are being compared favorably with 11th and 12th graders. Rose Hill hasn't had that luxury since 2003.

The paid attendance last night was 768. Add in the passes that were used (including the players, coaches, and pep band), the workers, and the referees, and it appears that the crowd would have fit in Charles Stewart Gymnasium (Some may remember that Rose Hill wanted to host its opening game in its facility but was voted down by the two "big" schools). Wonder what might have happened if the venue were different? Maybe nothing, maybe something, but it is a good hypothetical for discussion. It sure beats complaining about imagined mistakes from the referees.

"Questionable calls" are usually in the eyes of the beholder. I haven't seen such claims from the Rose Hill side although I feel sure the same claims can be made (42 foul shots is a goodly number under any circumstance). I think the game was much closer than Ashland and its followers anticipated. I also think that it is possible that their foulshooters did not perform in the fourth quarter because of the pressure (That is, at least, a valid consideration, don't you think?). Ashland won this game. However, I believe that its supporters feel the footsteps quickly approaching from behind- actually much closer than they wanted to believe. Those middleschoolers, freshmen, and sophomores are, it must be admitted, for real. Of all of the above posts, Nothingbutnet's post about Matt is clearly the most relevant. Ashland won the game. Rose Hill sent a message. Actually, it was a "win" for both camps. Hopefully, they will have a regular season game before 2012 as is now, from what I hear, the first possible "open" date. Good luck to Ashland as it moves on to Morehead. With the happenings of the last few weeks, I would have to tab them as the favorites to go to Rupp Arena- at least for this year.

I see no posts from the 63rd District or the 64th District so I'll add few: Rose Hill- Ovinton Mayo Ashland- probably Larry Conley but an argument could be made for Harold Sergent. Holy Family- Fred Simpson Fairview- Jeff Hall Russell- Mickey Sydenstricker Greenup County- Steve Skaggs McKell- Don Gullett BTW- Marshall Banks

I'm so sorry, ZoneBuster23, but someone from Lincoln, Nebraska called for the numbers before you posted your request.

Uneducated. but honest, opinion: 2006: Ashland 2007: Tossup 2008: Rose Hill 2009: Rose Hill 2010: Rose Hill 2011: Tossup 2012: Who knows? Of course, this projection assumes no defections from Rose Hill and no major influx of talent for Ashland.

Actually, it was meant to be "tongue in cheek nice. The message was that Ashland will have absolutely no problem in winning its fourth straight game and it should be by a margin larger than that of the previous three wins added together. These wins are giving your boys some confidence as tournament time approaches. Now, I'd call that playing nice, wouldn't you?

Right now, I would have a hard time choosing one from among Kala, Emily, and Laura. The big three middle school boys will have their day. However, for this year, I'll take the girls.

Frances and I apparently agree that the animousity between Ashland and Rose Hill will continue for the foreseeable future. However, I disagree that levels of maturity, or lack thereof, have much to do with it. The maturity angle is an easy answer but it is merely a small ingredient in the mix. I firmly believe that the basis of the impasse is a mutual lack of trust and respect. That is not likely to change because both camps are controlled by people with strong personalities, strong loyalties, strong beliefs, and long memories. Therefore, I still wholeheartedly support the disassociation. Neither school remotely needs the other.

It is nice of Nets to mention the fact that Ashland can never seem to find a place on its schedule for Morgan County. Wait until the Cougars are down, Nets. You will be invited to the AIT to play Ashland in the first round. Until then, don't anticipate any contact.