QueenoftheSouth

West is cruising at this point, up 17 after 3.

In my opinion, the two best coaches in the region will play in the second round when Lincoln plays West. It’ll be a low scoring game so I’m going to say Lincoln by around 10. I will say that I think Woods has done one of his better coaching jobs this year (in a long time). That team has been better than their talent would indicate and I think he deserves a lot of credit for that.

That seems about right. I think West is poised to make it to Rupp. They have a few players that, if on a weaker team, could put up much higher numbers. Relative to other 12th region teams, I don’t see that they have a weakness 1 through 5.

You’re a wealth of info. Thank you! But it really sounds like the 2nd region is the only one that’s really like the 12th in that it is rotated between two teams that are generally highly competitive year in and year out. The 5th region rotates among several; the 6th/7th is hosted by a team that’s rarely (at least that I can remember) in contention; and the 8th region - while I don’t like one school hosting it every year, they’re not typically a regional contender. The 14th rotates among several and I assume that’s based on gym size. So, it is unusual to let regional powerhouses host the tourney every year. I like the district rotation idea. Take the biggest gym in each district and do it that way. Has to be better than letting two regular contenders rotate hosting it. That’s just not a fair way to do it, period.

The way I see it, if a school is in the region, they’re in the region. It should be rotated with some sort of requirement of minimum gym capacity. It’s an absolute shame that Mercer hasn’t been able to host. It’s the best venue in the region given its size and age, and it has ample parking. It only adds fuel to the fire that Lincoln and Pulaski are always in the hunt and are getting home court advantage every other year. Are there other regions that limit it to one or two schools hosting region?

Lincoln got the worst draw possible! Probably the toughest first game they could’ve had and their reward would be to face West! So the top 2 teams will likely play in the second round.

Well, watching Lincoln was like watching a coaching clinic. They just did everything right. Great game plan and it was flawlessly executed. Such a balanced, unselfish team that’s good on both sides of the ball. Every player on the floor for them, at all times, can score. They are playing well heading into region. Boyle just didn’t have the firepower. That’s been an issue for them all year and it really hurt them tonight. It’ll be tough for them to score enough points to beat a Lincoln or a West Jessamine.

It seems like Lincoln has a whole team full of role players. I don’t mean any disrespect to Alcorn or Ralston in saying that because I know that they can score 20+ on any given night. I mean that as compliment to their whole rotation, to their overall unselfishness and to Jackson’s system. As I was watching Sims hit that corner three to basically win the game against Danville, I just knew he would hit it. I would just as soon have had him take it as anyone on that roster. And he was one that was referenced above as being a role player.

Danville gave them all they wanted and then some. That 3 by Sims was CLUTCH! Well, so was Barnes’ three’ at the end of regulation. Great environment at Lincoln, like always. Has to be one of the best fan bases in the state.

I think that’s pretty spot on. The two ball handlers sat some while in foul trouble and then ended up fouling out. It kind of felt like Garrard was going to hang on until that point. They couldn’t handle Boyle’s pressure without those two in. Also, McPherson’s defense on Cooper was excellent. When he guarded Cooper, Cooper struggled to get quality looks.

Lincoln by 11.

I do think Boyle goes deeper than Garrard. Boyle by 10.

Congrats to Danville for pulling it out! It’s hard to believe that a team with the pieces that DCA had won’t be playing in region. I did not see that coming. They lose a starter and a very productive 6th man on a team with very little depth so I think it gets tougher for them next year.

Nice write-up. I think there are two teams that are better than the rest, and you’ve ranked them as your top two. After that, there are handful of teams that could get it done if the draw works in their favor. Said another way, if these were playoff series, I feel very confident that Lincoln or West would win the region. They’d win a series against any other regional team. The reasons for that: balanced scoring; good defense; they’ve played by far the toughest schedules in the region; and they have high level coaches with proven track records. I do think that West has the best talent 1-5, but Lincoln has the home court advantage. Anyother team winning region would require a lot of luck. DCA may have the next best talent but played better in December than they have down the stretch. A PG like Quisenberry, if he’s at his best, gives Boyle an outside chance, and he seems to be playing his best ball right now. Plus Tarter’s 15 rebounds per game. However, they haven’t played a very challengimg schedule, which is less than ideal heading into the postseason. Likewise for Pulaski. I’m also not sure that Pulaski has enough talent 1-5 to get it done without a lot of help. I do think teams should fear Wayne, Somerset (if healthy) and Danville. Somerset’s guard play makes them tough and Wayne’s tempo gives them a chance to beat any team on a given night. Plus they have a very good freshman who plays more like a junior. If Danville shoots the ball well on a given night, they’re a tough out. I look forward to district play and to seeing the regional draws!

DCA by 8. Garrard by whatever amount they want it to be.

Trevor Ellis of Mercer should've made the team. He’s a top 10 player. Averaged 17 & 9 while shooting almost 70%. He’s just a sophomore so he will only improve over the next two years and will likely get more recognition if the team can improve. Which they should.

Don’t forget West. Arguably the best team in the region but no worse than second.

I believe that list of coaches is a little generous. Who has over achieved relative to their talent OR who was predicted to be at the top and has lived up to that expectation? As far as that list of teams, I think those teams could all beat each other on a given night but sone of those are unlikely to be able to string together enough quality wins to win region.

I wouldn’t blame Tarter’s rebounding success on the zone. Looks like he had 16 to 17 boards against a 7 footer last night in man to man!

Agreed. It’s a dangerous thing in a way. The three ball is not a recipe for them winning night in and night out. If you look at their stats, they’re shooting about 26% from deep on the year. That’s not how they’re going to make a run. One good night doesn’t change that reality. DCA also played them man. With Quisenberry at PG, that did Boyle a huge favor. Because of him, they’re much harder to beat when they face man. No one can guard him one on one and that changes the game. A zone neutralizes him (and Tarter), and makes Boyle look completely different on offense.

Lincoln hasn’t been playing great but this isn’t a bad loss. Lex Cath is legit. A 7 point loss to them is nothing to be ashamed of.

So he won’t have to sit out the full 12 months? And is the 6’6” you are referring to Dut and the 6’3” Boyd?

From? When will he be eligible?

This was basically a must win for DCA tonight. DCA IS 4-9 in 2023 and 2-9 in their last 11. They’ve now put themselves in the position of having to beat Danville then Lincoln (at Lincoln) just to get out of district. I really expected them to have about as good of a chance to win region as anyone but they’ve been in a tailspin for some time now. Not at all how I expected things to turn out for them. They’ll be lucky to finish .500 and pribably won’t get out of district. Boyle is 8-7 in 2023, but only has one “good” win (home against Lincoln). They have losses to Wayne and Madison Southern, both games I would’ve expected them to win. I’m curious to see how they do against Pulaski later in the week. That should tell us more about where they really are in terms of a chance to compete in the regional tournament. But with the win tonight, they get the district matchup I think they’d prefer in Garrard. If they beat Garrard, they make it out of district, and they’ve beaten Garrard twice this year. Like Boyle, Garrard doesn’t have a lot of size and is a good matchup for Boyle.

So my post will argue both for and against both sides. As far as strength of districts (using Sevens’ most recent ranking, which I think was pretty accurate), 45th is definitely the strongest. Here they are in order: 45th - has the #1, 4, 7 & 11 teams. 47th - has 3, 6, 10 & 14. 48th - has 5, 9, 12 & 17. 46th - has 2, 13, 15 & 16. But this thread was originally about coach of the year for the region. I believe Young, Davis, Kelley & Fraley all deserve consideration, and probably Jackson as well. That’s a combination of blue bloods and newer guys but all have merit. It doesn’t matter which district they play in determining that honor.