Boyd_Blue

I was at that game and I'm 99% sure I know which parents/family you are referring to. They are good people that fully support Woods and staff. They are guilty of sometimes vocalizing what they should probably keep to themselves but they support the team in a number of ways. A person can be critical of in game decisions but still fully support a program. I have seen some posts on social media blaming disgruntled parents/family and I can say with 100% confidence that this is simply not the case in this situation. The overwhelming sentiment among the players is that next year they had a real shot at winning region and now that's been ripped from them.

The Woods rumor has been rumored all season in Wayne County circles. It's not voluntary. Wayne recently hired a new superintendent after the other one was forced out. He was not on the list given by the superintendent screening committee and it was all suspicious in how it went down. If true, it was a superintendent decision and not a principal or AD decision.

The 12th Region Sports video shows it best. Dut got him with the lower body before Dumphord even landed and was moving towards Dumphord instead of straight up. Dumphord did kind of kick his legs forward but it didn't seem he was trying to do it to draw a foul. More like he was trying to get a shot off over a good defender and getting as high as he could. Like I said, Wayne shouldn't have let it get to that point. To the non biased observer, it's probably a good no call. Honestly, Dumphord might have gotten away with a push off before the shot.

I said from the beginning of the year that I thought Wayne was a year away. I thought Wayne hurt themselves with some poor shot selections and inconsistency down the stretch while Boyd made some tough ones for DCA. I heard grumblings in the stands last night that Dumphord got fouled on the last shot in regulation and I think maybe he did, but honestly Wayne shouldn't have let it get to that point. It can be hard to get that call to end a region game. I think this game was closer to how these teams really match up as opposed to the game three weeks ago. Farmer getting hurt in that first quarter of the regular season game made him ineffective (props to him playing through a broken thumb) for that game and threw off the whole flow for Wayne. I honestly think if you play last night's game 10 times, they probably split the series. Wayne losing Kayden Phillips will hurt for sure, but I really like the Bell kid coming off the bench. Kid can play and will be a sophomore next year and should fill that starting spot in an impactful way. The other kid off the bench for Wayne has shown some flashes this year and plays solid basketball when he gets in so Wayne should be in the mix again next year since they return everyone else.

Farmer taped up last night and played. The injury is on his shooting hand but he logged several minutes. I'm not sure about the junior's role but the freshman came off the bench for Farmer for most of his minutes. He's also a football player that doesn't care to bang down low.

Titus Boyd embraced the defensive role against Wayne the other night. Gave them fits. Heard this morning that Farmer for Wayne, broke his thumb in the 1st quarter of that game. I don't think that makes a difference as far as who wins the game but it does probably affect the final score. Farmer didn't score a point going 0-5. To go along with Farmer, there is also a junior with a torn ACL and a freshman with a broken foot for Wayne. Not ideal going into the post season.

DCA caused Wayne to be out of any kind of offensive flow the whole game and kept both Phillips boys in check from outside. Shots that normally fall just didn't go down and as the game progressed, the misses got worse. Wayne may have only hit one 3 (not sure on that) and it was in garbage time. Game over for Wayne. Credit to DCA for playing aggressive and controlling the game on both ends. Side note: The JV game beforehand was one of the better ones I've seen in a while. Double overtime win for Wayne who starts a 7th grader, 8th grader, 2 freshman and a sophomore.

I can't put my finger on Wayne. They have all the pieces to make a deep run but they could also lose in the first round of district. Wayne plays hard and they seem to have high IQ basketball players but something is off at times. I still think they are a year away from being top 1-3 in the 12th region.

All starters played and 3 subs. Wayne shot 4-20 from 3 and let a kid put up 45 on them. It was a bad loss.

Talked to some family over the holiday and was told Wayne had a meet the team thing the other night and Dumphord made it to the final round in the 3pt contest. Apparently his outside shot is somewhat improved. Tries to murder the rim at every dunk opportunity. Ryder Bell, a freshman, will be a guy coming off the bench and a name to remember. Very high motor, decent shot and a great competitor. He's still very thin but not afraid to mix it up. Played well over the summer. Dunked in a summer game. There are a couple other guys off the bench that could contribute but are young. Phillips, Farmer and Phillips are who they are. Thought Farmer's footwork and body control had improved quite a bit over last year. Varsity football has been good for the freshman point guard Edwards. Looks stronger and shot looks improved. Hoping for a strong 2nd year at point. I know you can't tell a lot from these meet the team things but it sounds like Wayne has the pieces they haven't had in a few years. I still think they are a year or two away though.

I do think Wayne is another year away from ball handling being something that other teams pick at. The point guard, Edwards, was an 8th grader last year and the game plan from other teams seemed to be to go at him. He's a year older now and also has the experience of being the starting quarterback on the football team as a freshman so it will be interesting how that experience plays out. I know that talent changes as kids mature and teams change from middle to high school, but when the sophomores and freshman were in middle school, you didn't press either team. I saw them absolutely drill some good teams that tried to run with them. Will that ever translate to high school? Who knows. Dumphord is the key. I saw him few times this summer and he was a double double machine. Very engaged and active on both ends of the court. Will he do the same in the regular season grind is a valid question.

I know that Dumpford played summer ball and I've heard from some close to the program that he is playing. Wayne also has some young upcoming talent that could possibly contribute by season's end that could help give some tired legs some rest.

LethalPG, now that you put it that way...solid hire maybe? I think Cooper can coach and the kids seem to like him but I would like to see how he does without the dynamic of coaching his son. I honestly could see him being a better coach without that dynamic.

The real question that would have to be answered is what is the potential Mary Kay customer base in Russell County for Kelly. kidding... The Coopers are good people. Great hire if it happens.

I hated to see Kyle Stephens lose (and go out like that on that last foul) but I would have hated to see Barek Williams lose too. No win for me last night haha. Those two were two of my favorite seniors to watch this year. Congrats to Stephens on a tremendous career and good luck to Williams as he chases a region championship.

As far as Lincoln's first game, Wayne had 10 points at the half last night against McCreary. There were no substitutions in their game on Wednesday so maybe their legs were shot last night but 10 points? Of course, Woods has a few days to prepare and the starters have time to recover before Wednesday.