Hoopoop

Looks like we'll find out soon enough. CCH tonight followed by Dixie, HHS then Ryle.

They might not have given up 35 but they did take a loss to the Camels. I'd rather give up 35.

Missed the quote button. Just curious, thanks for the reply.

Who would you consider to be the other "questionable" hires?

Any starting QB at HHS this year not named Benke would be surprising. There is some young talent there for sure, but this lesson should have been learned last year. There could/should be reps there for younger guys, but not at starter and not in meaningful minutes.

Just bumping the bracket to the top for times. Is there a way to pin the bracket somewhere for these 4 days?

I agree on the athleticism, but I think "terrific depth" is pretty big stretch. I would say depth is probably their biggest weakness. That being said, I think Newport has a nice shot at moving on.

Newport/Lyon County is going to be really interesting. For a young team Newport has shown nice pace and defensive discipline in stretches. They are also extremely athletic at all 5 spots. Scrolling through the Lyon County schedule, I don't see anyone that will challenge them athletically like Newport. I also won't claim to know every team on their schedule very well. Lyon county is an obvious contender and I don't think I'd put Newport in that same category , but I definitely wouldn't want to play them in a season-on-the-line game either. I'm admittedly partial to the 9th, but am curious if anyone else has thoughts on this game or has seen both teams play.

Agree on Vinny... Really sparked the second half run with intensity on defense and scrappy play. Kudos to Vinson and Ryan for aggressive downhill play as well. Teams are going to try to take away Herald and others will have to be more aggressive.

8th grade is 3:15, should be a good one.

It is possible to play defense and score at a high rate. The state championship team was a much better defensive team because they had much better length and versatility. They had 2 guys capable of guarding anyone on the floor and 4 of the 5 starters were over 6 feet with good length. I would argue that they did lock teams down, but they scored so well that teams got way more possessions than typical in a 32 minute game so they would still score more than the 40s or 50s that you mention. There may be an opponents points per possession stat out there somewhere that proves be wrong, but I seriously doubt it. If you look back the team averaged 74 ppg in Lexington and held every opponent to their lowest scoring game of the tourney with nobody breaking 60.

I think teams that don't have a size advantage or strong interior player(s) are going to struggle with CCH, they are likely one of the best of the small ball teams.

These are the two teams that have the potential to come together and make a serious push in Lex. There are several other teams that could have really good seasons and even take the region, but IMO these are the two with the highest ceiling.

Final was 32-8. I only saw one instance, where HMS QB made a bad throw and got frustrated. Multiple coaches pulled him aside and talked to him. Who's to say how the coaches address similar issues at practice. From my observation, this has not been an issue on the 8th grade team this season.

To downplay the loss of Starks and Rylee is crazy. They were hugely impactful to how teams had to play against CCH. They were the top two rebounders, nobody else averaged even 3 rpg. They were also the 2nd and 3rd leading scorers on the team. In total they averaged ~26 ppg and ~17 rpg and clogged the lane like nobody else in the state was capable of doing. They were probably the best big man combo in the state as well. Not to mention they brought toughness, especially Starks. I loved to watch that kid play even though he was a "rival." Most everything else you mention is pretty subjective; hardest playing, best coached, etc. Talent level is more even this year than it has been in a while, I guess we'll see how much the superior talent has been masking.

The Birds do seem to be coming on at the right time after a slower start under the new coach. Hard to put them above Dixie for me, but it's closer than the records indicate. Also Birds had a couple of players injured in the game last night, hopefully nothing serious.

I guess others aren't as high on Lloyd. Hard to imagine 2 D1 kids on the same team in NKY and they're not the favorites in the region, but they will need some help I suppose. What does Cov Cath have coming back besides Ipsaro? Size has to be a concern. To quote Road House, "I thought you'd be bigger"

I think Lloyd has to be the favorites, but I like Cooper a lot this year too. Definitely wide open though as CCH and HHS will both be strong. The shooters at Conner will be dangerous, as will the youngsters in Newport.

This seems a harsh reaction to a coach getting booted from a single game. Is there more to Frank's sentiment than just the happenings of this game? Personally, I think refs are going to miss calls because they're human, but being out of position is unacceptable at the varsity level. I wasn't at the game so just going by your recap, which I GREATLY appreciate for all the games.

This is the content I'm here for. Can we open a deli meat forum? Might be a nice distraction for us HHS fans. I'm a Southside Deli guy myself.

Can someone please post a link to the data feed.

I think this is right except that I think North Laurel is in a similar category with Warren Central, but probably has a better chance because of draw.

Cov Cath v Ashland and Warren Central v Male are both huge first round games. That lower bracket is stacked. Even though they potentially play in the second round NL and GRC got very favorable draws.

I think tipoff is at 2:30 not 5:30

They'd have to meet in the championship. That would be a BIG accomplishment for the Indians.