24Rocks

With Driver locking down the middle Boyle could play those team’s three point shooters really tightly. Their only good strategy would be to go right at him to try to get him into foul trouble. He likes to block shots so it’s not a bad idea.

What happened in the West Jessamine/Somerset game? West 63-SHS 28? Was Somerset missing a key player or two?

It’s a little too early for the Massey ratings to tell us much but for what it’s worth here are the top 12th region teams and their rankings: DCA - 33 Southwestern - 74 Pulaski - 78 West Jess - 97 Wayne - 99 Lincoln - 103 Boyle - 126 Somerset - 130

Especially since it was a 3 point loss to a top 5 team.

What's going on with Farmer? Has he been injured? He missed the first game and played the second according to the KHSAA scoreboard.

Danville Christian Academy 84 Fairdale 76 DCA erased a 9 point halftime deficit by scoring 52 points in the second half to defeat Fairdale by 8.

DCA at Pulaski Streamed on the Maroon's Sports Network.

I already said that I didn't see the first quarter. In the rest of the game they didn't demonstrate that they have way more offense than Baird. If it wasn't for him they wouldn't have been in the game.

Bell County 64 Lincoln 59. I didn't see the first quarter but what I did see wasn't real impressive on either team's part. Lots of defensive lapses, fouls, missed shots, etc. They'll really need to tighten things up once the season starts. Lincoln's offense is about 80% Cash Baird driving to the basket.

They’ve not been posting the scores on HUDL. The only one I’ve heard was Pulaski over Barbourville by about 30.

There are several 12th region teams playing at South Laurel tonight and tomorrow. Southwestern plays tonight at 7:30 and Somerset Christian, Lincoln, and DCA all play tomorrow. It's per per view on HUDL.

That's a good, solid approach to scheduling. In my opinion, the main thing is to have your team peaking by district tournament time. I've seen way too many instances of coaches over-scheduling games and practices and the players are fatigued and definitely not at their peak by tournament time. In a sport like track, where there's objective data (the stopwatch doesn't lie......) it's a little more straightforward but it's possible in basketball if you know what you're looking for. Some factors to consider would be the bench depth you have, how old and experienced are your players, and how far you're traveling.

PC beat Garrard by 25. Fraley had surgery in the spring but is doing well so far. Anderson's injury was pretty bad, torn ACL, MCL, and PCL. That'll probably take a year to recover from.

I think Fraley had surgery and missed the summer games. From what I heard about Anderson's injury I would doubt if he'll be back. The report was that he'd torn about every ligament he had in his knee. It sounded pretty bad. I'll check with someone close to the PC program to see if I can finds out.

Pulaski is at Garrard tonight and at a tournament at South Laurel this Friday. I haven't heard about the other two.

What kind of size does Rockcastle have?

They started slow and weren't rotating well on defense so they only won the first quarter by 4. After they got that fixed they looked really good. Ben Mikels, the new player, is a real positive addition.

DCA over Washington County by 32 in a scrimmage.

Second generation Briar Jumper here. I played basketball, track and cross country (early 70’s) and my dad played football and track in the early 40’s. I could literally throw a rock and hit Clara Morrow field and grew up on Somerset sports. I heard that story from a very young age. As my dad and uncle (also a Jumper, late 30’s) told it, the forward pass had just been legalized and the Somerset coach bought in all the way. The Louisville coach, on the other hand, thought it was just a fad and didn’t prepare his defense to stop it. That was supposedly the reason for the lopsided score. Now, was there any truth to that? I have no idea since they were both known to embellish a story to make it more interesting.

In the DCA/Walton Verona game they reset the score after every quarter. DCA wound up winning the overall game by around 15 when you added the scores up.

I haven’t heard any yet.

I agree. Quisenberry was really important to their success. The year before she arrived they were susceptible to pressure. They had Danville beaten in the All A regional one of the years prior to her arrival and couldn't handle the pressure. I'd say they'll take their lumps this year but by next year Shuna will probably be a lot better and they have two young guards who are pretty athletic who should be good. Plus, Blackford will be a senior by then. This year will more than likely be a learning experience for them. They might sneak up on a team or two but I'd be surprised if they can compete with the top teams this year.

You’re right about guard play. Shuna is definitely a generational big, as you say, when it comes to size. She’s a legit 6-9 with a 7’ wingspan. Just her size alone will make DCA’s inside defense tough as long as she stays out of foul trouble. She’s not in Grace’s league when it comes to skill but she’s only going in to her sophomore year and she’s only played in 5 varsity games. I’ve heard reports that she’s come a long way so I’m looking forward to seeing her play.

In the 12th, DCA will be an interesting team to watch and possibly a tough matchup (or an easy win) for lots of teams. They lost 3 of their best players but they return Amauri Blackford, who's a strongly built 6-0 and one of the better returning players in the region. She benefitted from playing alongside Grace Mbugua the last couple of years so it will be interesting to see what she can do on her own. In addition to her they have a sophomore who is a legit 6-9 in Achan Deng (Shuna). She only played in a handful of games because she only became eligible near the end of the season. From the reports I've gotten she's added weight and is much stronger. There are only 2 other players with much experience and they have an extremely short bench so it will be a real challenge for the new coach, Cliff Berry. If they can keep Shuna out of foul trouble it will possibly be that their inside defense can make a difference.