Shotwhisperer75

Below is a full 16-region MVP efficiency board using the True Shooting % numbers. No estimates. No fluff. ? Mr. Basketball — Full Efficiency + Production Board ? Tier 1 — ELITE (65%+ TS) Spurlock (Boyd County – RPI #7) 27.8 PPG | 9.0 RPG | 67.6% TS Woodfork High-volume scorer | 67.2% TS McGillis (Cov Cath – RPI #3) 22.9 PPG | 5.2 APG | 55/40/80 splits | 66.0% TS Feldhaus (Madison Central – RPI #2) 20.5 PPG | 65.8% TS Moss 23.8 PPG | 65.5% TS ? This is the true separation tier statistically. ? Tier 2 — VERY STRONG (63–64.9% TS) Phillips — 64.4% Kirk — 63.8% Sparrow — 63.8% Jackson — 63.6% Johnson — 63.0% Davidson — 62.4% High-level Mr. Basketball seasons. Just slightly behind the elite band. ? Tier 3 — GOOD PRODUCTION (58–62% TS) Crane — ~61% Mason — ~60% Harrison — ~59% Ashford — ~59% Caudill — 56.5% Volume is there for some. Efficiency separates them from Tier 1. ? Results When You Apply RPI + Winning Context Now add team RPI to Tier 1: • Madison Central — #2 • Cov Cath — #3 • Boyd County — #7 When you combine: ✔ Elite efficiency (65%+) ✔ Real scoring volume ✔ Team strength (RPI) ✔ Role/impact The true narrowed group becomes: -Spurlock -McGillis -Feldhaus Woodfork and Moss are elite scorers — but don’t have the same RPI leverage. ? Bottom Line If the award is: • Pure scoring dominance → Spurlock • Complete offensive impact + winning → McGillis • Best player on highest RPI team → Feldhaus ? What This Really Means If the award is: • Best scorer in Kentucky → Spurlock • Best all-around offensive engine on elite team → McGillis • Best player on highest RPI team → Feldhaus That’s the clean breakdown. Now here’s the honest truth: -Spurlock has the volume edge. -Feldhaus has the RPI edge. -McGillis has the efficiency + playmaking + team strength combo. And historically? Mr. Basketball often tilts toward: Elite team + elite efficiency + deep March run. Which means.... State titles finish arguments.

Blaackar had a great year — no question. He’s a really good player, even greater young man, and put up strong numbers. That said, context matters. McGillis played roughly 2.5 quarters in the majority of games this season and still averaged 22.8, 5 APG, 3 RPG while running the point for the top team in the State. He wasn’t just scoring — he was the primary decision maker, averaging 5 assists per game and controlling tempo against high-level competition. In the two losses to Top-5 teams (Male and Madison Central), he had 35 & 6 rebounds vs Male and led the team with 20 vs Madison Central.. And that was when others struggled. Those are big-stage performances. I'm happy the award wasn’t diluted with a co-MVP. A few years back Ipsaro was a Co with Jacob Meyer, and I thought the same thing. The scehdule was tougher for CCH, stats didn't tell everything and in my opinion, Ipsaro was the clear winner and should have been the only MVP. Alot of parallels to the 2022-2023 season comparison of those two, as Meyer was the only scorer on that Holy Cross team. He had a great year but like I said, nobody was a better competitor that year than Ipsaro... Statewide! Coaches and writers voted, and there was one MVP. That doesn’t take away from anyone else’s season - but suggesting co-deserving after the vote tends to diminish the one who earned it. Numbers without context can be misleading. Role, schedule, usage, efficiency, and impact on winning all matter. Good debate though. That’s what these boards are for.

Myrick was shooting the lights out. Teaching defenses to not play Zone against him. McGillis with 20 assists in the last 2 games. 10 assists and 8 rebounds in this one. Courtney played great tonight also. If he continued to play big on the boards he could help CCH on the way to Rupp in a big way.

Love Blaackar’s game — he’s talented and fun to watch. But if we’re being honest and looking at real numbers + real competition + real defensive attention, the Region 9 MVP debate isn’t close. SEASON AVERAGES (Last Year): Athens McGillis: ~20 PPG Blaackar: ~15 PPG And Athens put those numbers up while being the defensive focal point for every team — face-guarded, doubled, boxed-and-one, full scouting reports built just to slow him down. Last year at Lloyd, the focal point was EJ, not Blaackar. Completely different defensive treatment. Now look at the games that actually matter — the ones that decide seeding, reputation, and who steps up under pressure: HEAD-TO-HEAD vs Cov Cath (Last 2 years): Athens: 23 last year, 32 the year before Blaackar: 4 points vs Cov Cath last year VS GREAT CROSSING: Athens: 28 and 21 Blaackar: 4 points VS COOPER (9th Region postseason): Athens: 29 Blaackar: 6 These aren’t opinions — these are region-defining games. Athens dominated every single one. STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: Cov Cath plays one of the toughest schedules in Kentucky. Lloyd absolutely does not see that level of competition. Stats only matter when they’re earned against real competition. DEFENSIVE ATTENTION: Here’s where the comparison really breaks: If Blaackar gets the same defensive attention Athens has gotten his whole life, he’s not responding the way people think he will. Athens has been game-planned for since middle school — and still averaged 20 a night. That’s impact that translates everywhere. So when you compare: Season averages Strength of schedule Defensive attention Production in big games Head-to-head matchups Postseason performance AAU résumé Leadership & intangibles It’s not close. This isn’t about emotion — it’s about basketball.If Region 9 MVP is based on facts, the answer is: Athens McGillis. Is 9th MVP

Do you have the Stat line? Who played well for Cov Cath?

I had the opportunity to watch this one online. The disparity in foul calls was huge in this one for Cooper and when you can stop and pause the video you can easily see the poor reffing of the game. At the end of the day, you can't blame the refs for the loss as Cov Cath had plenty of opportunities to pull this one out. What was clear to me was watching Cov Cath's Big 3 really struggle. Bradshaw couldn't buy an open bucket, and McGillis and Harney were being aggressive but didn't shoot very well from the field. Between the 3 of them, they were 21 for 54. It appeared Harney was given 5 or more points that Stava hit, and he ended up with 22 points and not 29 as they have posted. Sorry Stava. What is more concerning for me and Cov Cath is their lack of running an offense that helps their Big 3. It was high ball screens and one on one over and over. Any coach watching Cov Cath, can develop a game plan to make it tough for Cov Cath to win. In OT Harney had several pull up 3's in transition without zero passes, and McGillis had a couple that he typically hits, but still nothing was being ran on Offense to put them in a position to win. They had 5 players who scored, and zero points from their bench. Huge problem. I enjoy watching the Colonels run and gun but this will not get them deep in the Regionals IMO. I'm hoping Thelen figures this out and gets these boys more disciplined, because as of late it's looking like a free for all. One guard shoots, the next guard goes down and shoots, and repeat. Cov Cath is the better team, although they didn't shoot the ball well and are struggling as a "team" right now. Hopefully they figure it out.

Great analysis. I have waited for EJ to play like that for the last 4 years. He finally used his body and frame to score and if they would have given it to him more in the post I am not sure Cov Cath would have had an answer to it. He was fatigued and he will need to remedy that before going to South Carolina. The Colonels definitely have the best back court in NKY Greater Cincinnati. Although they drop off a lot after the Big 3 pretty significantly outside of the grittiness and hustle of Ruthsatz. Their guards, the rest of the roster struggle to manage the ball under pressure. Against Lloyd their bench did come up big and quite honestly that was the first time all year IMO. I hope they could do it more. I did notice that McGillis only touched and shot the ball 3 times in the 4th quarter. I'm not sure if this was by design and I think they are lucky it worked. He was on fire in the 3rd and then he scored early in the 4th and never got the ball back. Harney had 4 pts going into the 4th and helped win it at the charity stripe but I'm not sure I would allow my top scorer to cool off and stand away from the ball. I agree McGillis is a walking bucket and the most talented player on the team and he appeared frustrated. It appears sometimes that the ball seems to stick sometimes in the other guards hands. In order to continue to be successful Coach Thelen must make the boys aware of the pecking order. Basketball and sports in general is not an equal opportunity sport. Both Harney and McGillis have played high level AAU their whole life. They have experience with pressure moments and big time basketball. They need to have the ball and the other players must always be looking for them. My two cents. A couple of strong wins for the Colonels this weekend. Congrats.

All decent points but the optics aren't great. You can ask a few questions. 1. Is he the 6th man on the team? No he is the top 2 or 3 players on the team. So no question he is on the floor. 2. Is he at position that is critical for success of the team. Yes, he is the only Forward on the entire team. And leading the team in Rebounds. 3. Is he a star leader? Yes he is leading the team in Rebounds and top 3 in ppg. Also leading in FG%. Maybe he isn't working hard in practice? Grades? Not a great teammate? Sure there are other intangibles but I would say he probably checks the boxes in these areas. Hands down he should be a starter and in at the end of the games.

The tireless trio for Cov Cath continue to do their thing! From the highlights it looked like a fun one to watch. I heard from a friend at the game that Donovan Bradshaw is still not in the starting lineup? Is there any reason for that as it looks like he is the top 2 or 3 players on the team and their only height on the team? Curious what the strategy is or if anyone knows.

In the couple scrimmages and game I watched versus Lex Cath, Thelen runs a similar type of offense but I haven't seen him run as many sets that Ruthsatz has ran in the past. Harney and McGillis can get points on their own but against strong teams who are big, physical, and can play defense, the ISO play will only go so far and effective sets will be needed. I have also seen a huge drop off like last year in Guards able to handle pressure outside of Harney and McGillis. The other guards struggle to manage the basketball under pressure and their IQ isn't there which will create an issue later in the season due to minute load management for those two. I believe both Harney and McGillis play the majority of the game at a high intensity. Personally I'm not sure they can sustain those amount of minutes over the long hall but we will see. When the pressure turns up McGillis is the only true PG able to handle it just like last year. I have also seen many players have the green light to shoot the three or other shots without discipline. Thelen is new, and I would say under Ruthsatz if you didn't hit 3s consistently in practice you were definitely not shooting them in games. I think this will also change over the course of the season. Harney and McGillis are creating a lot of shots for themselves and the team needs to understand the hierarchy and get them the ball when they are open. I felt like this was a must in the Ruthsatz System and isn't happening with Thelen yet. Lastly, Bradshaw has experience playing with Harney and McGillis and Cov Cath needs to quickly maximize this chemistry and start Bradshaw. They all play so well together and this will be the big 3 that will help them win Regionals. Plus he is the only true size on the team and he is averaging 8 RPG only playing 60% of the game. In short, Thelen isn't as meticulous yet as Ruthsatz was but has a different approach and rapport with his players that hypes his players up and gives them confidence. Thelen will only continue to get better as the season goes on and I think the Colonels will only get better and better as the season ticks along. Although small, they are scrappy and will cause a lot of team's problems.

Would have to disagree as Jeremiah being the best on the court as McGillis for Cov Cath ended up with 33 and didn't have any supporting cast like Jeremiah did. 5 of Cov Cathy's top 8 players are still playing football which made it tough. McGillis was guarded full court and was double and triple teamed the entire game. Although I will say Jeremiah played great and shot the ball well. He is definitely going to be a force in the state this year. I was very impressed with how well he shot the 3.

Looking forward to the scrimmages at Simon Kenton this weekend. I have the Colonels winning the Region this year. Newport losing Kinney sealed their fate. I think the Cov Cath guards in McGillis, Harney, and Ruthsatz is going to be too hard to deal with. Lots of fire power coming from this trio! Who are the other players not on this Top 10 list that we should be watching for this year? What team on this list will surprise everyone the most?

I think most folks don't know about the level of experience of the CCH guards. 2 of the 3 are scoring over 15 with Miller scoring the other 15+. Underestimating them because I feel most aren't giving CCH the chance in this one and it will be the guard play of both teams that will decide this game.

I've been following these players for years and I think you all are underestimating the guard play of Cov Cath and their experience in tough games. Both Harney and McGillis feel zero pressure in games like these as they have both played at a high level and have beat the best teams in the country. Cov Cath will have three players score over 15 points and they will win the match up. Yamil and Johnson are tough for Cooper and I love to watch them play. And I agree, the Cooper coach has our number. But with that all said.... I think that Cov Cath takes this one by 6 in a close one. Let's go Colonels.

Yes I went to the game. Stood at ground level behind the bleachers about 20 feet from the court. Absolutely embarrassing setup. I talked to someone from Darell Peterson's camp and they were appalled and said they are never coming back.