B-Ball-fan

I will be at the BOK for a good number of the boys 9th & 10th Region sessions. I am a huge fan of the 9th Region and would watch the tournament no matter where it was held. Truly the only thing good about the games being held at the BOK is for the players to get college floor experience before heading off to Rupp, but other than that I don't see any other good reasons. Everyone is hyped about what a great place the BOK is. It's brand new and looks clean, but other than that it's pretty much just a generic anytown U.S.A. arena that will be charging ridiculous prices for a bottle of water or any of the other overpriced unhealthy choices of high sodium and fat items on their menu. A dog and a pop is gonna cost you 8 or 9 dollars as apposed to maybe 3 bucks at either Holmes, Conner, or Ryle. Try having a conversation with the person sitting next to you during a time out and see if the speakers above your head don't drown out your conversation by trying to sell you something that you don't need. To me the whole corporate experience is annoying, sterile and void of any heart and soul. To each his own, but I think we're a junk food society that's in a trance through constant advertising and can be lead to just about anything that we're told is 'AWESOME' (highly overused word in society especially since quite often it is exaggeratingly misused). I'll take back the old style regional tournament that doesn't stink of corporate bull do-do in a heartbeat. :ohbrother:

Current seniors for Holmes that were on that team in 06/07 and 07/08 as sophs and juniors are Riley, D. Johnson, and Rice. Riley played probably 5 mpg as a soph and right around 12 mpg as a junior. He was a key piece to the puzzle during Holmes region championship run last year and was the primary pg last year during the state tournament, with Avery moving over to the 2 a lot, so Holmes could have a shooter on the floor..

 

You've gotta be kidding me though, saying EC has more experience than either Scott Co or Holmes. Both senior classes have made an appearance in the state championship and have played in more sweet 16 games in ONE YEAR, than EC has in both of their trips. If anything, Holmes has more hunger for the simple fact that they've "been there, done that" and came up short in the state title game, and Scott County seniors should be hungry for another championship. Let's not forget that Holmes returns 3 starters from last year's state championship game, and Phares was a key member of that 07 state title team for SC. I'd say they both have ALOT of experience. I don't think some realize how much playing in the state championship drives a team to get back the following year.

 

I believe the EC boys have the desire and hunger to get there, but let's not overexaggerate and say they have more hunger and experience than any other team, cause that's simply not true.

This will be the 3rd straight trip for 4 of the 5 starters on Elloitt's team. Neither Holmes or Scott Co. can say that. Sure, their programs can boast many visits or games, but not exactly the same players. Sure, their programs are hungry, but not all the same players. My original question to you was what present seniors were on the 2007 Bulldogs team because you were commenting that this would be the seniors' 3rd trip to the Sweet 16, but I'm thinking that other than last year with Riley, the claim can't be made for the present seniors that they really have had much floor experience at Rupp like Elliott does except for pre-game warmups. Then to make it sound like the present Bulldogs team is loaded with Sweet 16 experience you threw in last years team, who aside from Henderson, was really most of the teams first time at Rupp. Before last year it was pretty much the Jefferson, Hill, Rice, Henderson show. Sure it couldn't hurt that the program is experienced and hungry, but as far as the exact players are concerned, Elliott has the edge over both Holmes and Scott Co. I believe the Holmes boys have the desire and hunger to get there, but let's not overexaggerate and say they have more hunger and experience than Elliott's team, cause that's simply not true. :ohbrother:

I really don't see why a team would throw a game just to avoid a certain team in the first round. Honestly there's a 75% chance (3 out of 4) that they don't even meet up with them, if for whatever reason Holmes or Boone were to lose in the district championship. I like my odds in that situation.

I know it's knit-picky but I think your math is off with the chances. As you know there are 4 winners and 4 runner-ups. Since you can't face your own district until the finals, that leaves 1 of 3 runner-ups that you can get in the 1st round if you are a district winner. That's a 33.333333% chance of getting Holmes in the 1st round of regionals if they were to happen to be a runner-up or a 66.666666% chance of not getting them. If you already know the outcome of that game, you can turn your chances into a 0% chance of meeting them in the 1st round if you throw your district championship game.

Let me lay an example out and why logically a team may want to throw their game.

Let's say on Friday night it goes down like this. Not likely to happen but not completely impossible.

Beechwood beats Holmes

Ryle beats Boone

Dixie beats St. Henry

So Highlands plays on Saturday and they know if they win they stand the chance of meeting either Holmes, Boone or St. Henry in the 1st round. Some great reward for winning their district. If they throw game, they'll either get Beechwood, Ryle, or Dixie. Sure, ultimately they might have to face Holmes or Boone in the Semis or Finals, but they could at least let some other team take their stab at them first, opening up the possibility of another upset that could help them avoid either Boone or Holmes altogether. I realize that this year a lot of miracles would have to happen for Holmes or Boone to lose in the district finals and also in early rounds of the regionals, but when you play all district finals on the same night at the same time, there is a 0% chance of a team even considering throwing their game since they wouldn't have any idea if it was a good idea or not. Of course in the Highlands scenario, you could also have NewCath do the same and what an ugly game that could be with both teams purposely trying to lose. I just think it keeps the district finals pure if they're all played on the same night at the same time. Of course in this situation with modern technology someone could easily text/call someone else pretty easily at a different game to alert them of a possible Holmes or Boone upset giving them a chance to throw their game in the 4th quarter even after they played to win up until that point of their game.

Yadda Yadda Yadda...O.K. I know I've wrung out the rag as much as I possiby can, but I just don't think you want to open the door for any of this to happen. I do understand as a fan the desire to be able to take in more than one district championship game, but since they are pretty much just a seeding tool, they're kind of anti-climatic anyway. You still know that both teams are advancing.

I agree....but assuming they both make it, it's going to be awfully hard to knock either off. Scott Co's seniors have already tasted one championship on top of having the motivation to get revenge for their only loss to a KY team (Holmes).

 

Holmes senior class would be making their 3rd straight trip to Rupp and have a bad taste in their mouth from coming up short two years in a row, losing in the semi's their soph year and finals their junior year.

 

Anything can happen, but people can't deny that those two are probably the favorites heading in, as long as both make it out of the district and region tourneys.

 

After those two, I'd put Elliott or Shelby Valley as the next heavy favorite to cut down the nets. :thumb:

My memory escapes me. What present seniors were on the Bulldog's team in 2007 at Rupp and how much playing time did they get? These Elliott boys started as sophomores and have the most experience playing in the Sweet 16 than any team coming to the dance. No doubt, the Bulldogs are hungry, but as far as experinece and hunger goes, the Lions have an edge there on both Holmes and Scott Co. Whether that translates to them winning the Sweet 16 is still to be seen, but they certainly don't need to take a back seat to any team they will face as they charge on.

I have always said to have the Districts at other Districts. For example, the 35th would play at Ryle and the 33rd could play at Holmes.

Not a bad idea. :thumb: I've really never thought of that before, but it would take away home court advantage which could very fairly take that element out of the equation.

What if just the district championships were held there? That might not be a bad idea. Have all of the district semi's at the host schools around NKY during the week, then have the finals for both girls and boys on Fri, Sat, and Sun.

With the districts championships meaning not much more than a game that helps determine the seeding for the regional tourney, I like that all 4 games are played on the same night at the same time in different locations making every team think nothing more than to win their respective games instead of perhaps throwing theirs if they already know the outcome of another game. Let's say in some freak of nature Holmes plays first and loses. What team wouldn't now consider the advantages of losing their district championship game to increase their chances of avoiding Holmes in the 1st round of the regionals? May sound kooky, but not completely impossible. If you have all 4 games at the same place and possibly stretched out over a couple of nights, then you increase the chances of this kind of thing happening. It keeps the district finals more pure if you keep them separate and on the same night at the same time.

-Can they?: Yes.

-Will they?: I don't know. :idunno:

-Are they a talented cohesive team?: Yes.

-Are they experienced?: Yes.

-Will this be their 3rd consecutive trip to the Sweet 16?: Yes.

-Does that matter?: You Bet it does.

-Are they driven?: Completely.

-Can they run with anyone?: They ran with Ballard, that's good enough for me.

-Do they play with a purpose?: Every time they step foot on the court.

-Do they have a winner mentality?: One of the best examples of one.

-Do they want it bad?: You know they do.

-Can they put up some points?: Highest average in the state.

-Can they look to next year?: There is no next year.

-Do they have any small town self-doubt?: Not in the least.

-Do they ever show much in the ways of lapses in games or throughout the season?: Not that I've ever seen mentioned.

I don't know, they seem like a really well oiled machine to me with a lot of never say die attitude, with a serious amount of talent to back it up.

-Do I want them to win the Sweet 16?: Down deep, I think I really do. It's a great story and makes for some great memorable basketball.

One thing for sure is that they won't go down easy so it's not so much who they have to get by, it's who has to get by them. :thumb:

Hindsight is 20/20, but if there have been successful tourneys around the state under similar circumstances like Diddle etc... why, when this event was being planned, weren't inquiries made then to ensure that we would model ourselves after those who have already learned how to do it right? When tickets went on sale, Sportsguy41017 was right on and ahead of the game in questioning and hoping that they would make most of the event General Admission, which they did not. (Of course, that's just one of the many concerns and condundrums that have evolved out of this whole mess), but this type of event is much different than what most arena events are all about. The Stars of the show are bringing all the excitement to their mothers, fathers, friends, classmates, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, grandpas, grandmas, alumni, and the whole general local community. Not exactly the same kind of scenario that most arena events bring. It's an unwritten story line where the players are 'still to be determined' and 'too be continued' throughout the whole tournament. Some folks may go to every game, but some just may follow their team as far as they go. Trying to model it in various ways, along with other contractual flaws, along with other types of arena events is just shortsighted. You gotta be on the pulse of what the event's about before you make decisions on how the event needs to be handled. Reserved seating for this event is just one good example of a bad idea for multitudes of reasons that others have already spelled out. I hope they can clear all of this up before the tourney starts, but if not, hopefully they'll do better research on this for perhaps a really nice smoothly run event in the not too distant years to come. Like next year for starters. :ohbrother:

I noticed on khsaa.org that on Monday night Feb. 23 & Tuesday night Feb. 24th there will be both a boys and girls district game at Holy Cross. Since Holy Cross can get pretty tightly packed, I'm wondering if they plan on clearing the gym after the 1st game each night to allow room for the fans of the 2nd game.

Sure, even if they don't, there still might be a grand exit after the 1st games just because, but since it's the districts I'm still expecting a giant line outside before the games and a possible situation with fans being turned away. Personally, I want to see the 8:15 p.m. game between CovCath and Beechwood, but the 6:00 p.m. game before it is Notre Dame and Beechwood. Likely to be a lot of the same fans for both games, but not entirely because some follow boys more closely and other follow girls more closely. I'm still thinking that if they don't clear the gym, I'll have to get in line about 5:00 p.m. just to see an 8:15 p.m. game. Does anyone know how they plan on handling this so I know what game plan I have to use to make sure I don't get locked out of the game that I want to see? I know it's not all about 'me', but I'm sure this question might soon come up with a lot of other people too. :idunno:

It was the '80/'81 season when Dayton beat Holmes in overtime. Dicky Beal and company had already graduated. Starters on this Holmes team was: Sharp, Slavey, Works, Thompson and Sebastin. Holmes had a decent lead and then they got a little cold and Dayton started making some shots. This game was at the old gym and fans from Dayton were saying racial remarks to the Holmes players and even a few spit on the Holmes players since the bleachers were very close to the floor. Coach Flynn of Holmes told Stan Steidel he would never play Dayton again because of the fans that night. The refs of course didn't give any calls towards Holmes. Worst officiated game I probably ever seen.

Wow sounds radical. Thanks for the tidbits. I'm remembering now that the feeling in general for the 9th Region was that this was going to be a down year since Beal was gone and no one had much faith in whatever team the 9th was going to be sending to Rupp. Simon Kenton, Walton Verona, & Covington Catholic were the front runners and low and behold we all know that the rest is history with Simon Kenton winning the Sweet 16. In the few years before that we all expected some greatness from the 9th, but we were settling for the back seat again in '81 thinking that the cupboard was bare. I think that's one thing that made it so exciting because no one really expected it.

I'm thinking that Kentonman's question marks might be because he's thinking that the refs probably would have had to work way too hard to keep it close between Dayton and Holmes and that maybe Dayton played well and perhaps Holmes overlooked them with a little bit of help from the refs or... all of the above. Not sure? He highlighted the 'lost' part of the quote, so I think he might've been thinking that the 'lost' (to Dayton) part was somehow remarkable that they even got as far as an overtime game with the Bulldogs and perhaps noteworthy enough to point out, but maybe perplexed by the uncertainty of it's validity because of 'the rest of the story' that you pointed out to let us know that it might not have been a valid loss. Not sure. I do recall it being a shocker it seems. I wonder if it was the '80/'81 season or the '81/'82 season and who the players were on either team when it happened. With it being a regular season game, I'm not sure if it was early or late season. I'm probably the only one who really cares. Some Dayton graduates have probably already forgotten about it. I don't recall Dayton having too much success in basketball in the last 30 years or so, if not longer, so it would seem that it would've been quite a big win for them when it happened. Why I find it interesting? I do not know. I probably have too much time on my hands. But thanks for the info, because for awhile there I was thinking that I must've dreamed it until you helped me see that it really did happen. These might've been a few of the things that Kentonman was thinking. Not Sure? Do you know who the players were at the time? :thumb: :jump: :confused: :idunno:

9th & 10th Region High School Tournament Getting Closer

Tickets On Sale Now, Other Details

 

Highland Heights, KY – The Bank of Kentucky Center (an SMG managed facility) at Northern Kentucky University is extremely excited to be in partnership with both the 9th and 10th Regions to host their respective high school basketball tournaments, March 2-10, 2009.

 

In this joint venture, a financial commitment has been made by The Bank of Kentucky Center to each participating school from 10th Region and every school within the 9th Region will receive funds.

 

In order to ensure and maximize the funds to each participating school, The Bank of Kentucky Center, after consulting with representatives from each region, has made the decision to restrict the broadcasting of these games. Participating schools that reside outside a 30-mile radius from the Center will be given the opportunity to broadcast (via radio only) their respective school’s games. Should any of the 9th or 10th region games individually sell-out, one week prior to date of play, the Center will allow for that game to be broadcast via radio, Internet and/or television.

 

“The Bank of Kentucky Center is excited to host both regions’” said Molly Pascucci, general manager of The Bank of Kentucky Center, “We are very proud, for the first time ever, to offer a financial commitment back to the students of each participating school.”

 

For radio stations that meet the requirements for broadcast, please contact The Bank of Kentucky Center at (859) 442-2652 or via e-mail at info@bankofkentuckycenter.com

 

Tickets for the tournaments are on sale now and are priced at $8 for each day’s session (see schedule below).

 

Patrons can also purchase a $12 ticket that will allow for re-entry for the 10th Region Boys Quarterfinals on Saturday, March 7. This will give patrons an all-day pass for that day only for all four games.

 

Please note that the Center will be emptied at the conclusion of the 10th Region Boys Quarterfinals and patrons will need to purchase a separate ticket for the 9th Region Girls final on Saturday, March 7 at 8 p.m. All tickets may be subject to applicable fees. Tickets can be purchased at The Bank of Kentucky Center Box Office at Northern Kentucky University, all Ticketmaster outlets including select Kroger stores, charge by phone at (513) 562-4949 or on-line at http://www.ticketmaster.com

 

9th Region Boys and Girls Tournament Schedule

3/2/09 -Girls Quarterfinal at 6pm and 8pm

3/3/09 -Girls Quarterfinal at 6pm and 8pm

3/4/09 -Boys Quarterfinal at 6pm and 8pm

3/5/09 -Boys Quarterfinal at 6pm and 8pm

3/6/09 -Girls Semifinal at 6pm and 8pm

3/7/09 -Girls Final at 8pm

3/8/09 -Boys Semifinal at 2pm and 4pm

3/10/09 -Boys 10th Final at 6:30pm & 9th Final at 8:30pm

10th Region Tournament Schedule

3/7/09 -Boys Quarterfinal at 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm

3/9/09 -Boys Semifinal at 6:00pm and 8:00pm

3/10/09 -Boys 10th Final at 6:00pm & 9th Final at 8:30pm For more information, please visit http://www.bankofkentuckycenter.com

 

As of right now, there are no games sold out. Looks like 8th Region for me.

I might be fooling myself, but I honestly don't think that the money made at this event would be much different whether it was broadcast or not. If anything, they might turn more people away by how this is being conducted. They say: In order to ensure and maximize the funds to each participating school...

If this is some sort of contractual thing that can't be backed out, I wonder if there's any sort of way you can convince all participating schools to sign some sort of waiver stating that they'll take their chances with a possible less take of the purse if the BOK would go ahead and allow this event to be broadcasted without all the red tape. I don't know... maybe I'm just crazy and asking for the moon. :idunno:

Per Google maps, these are the driving distances in miles from the 10th region schools to the BOKC. I used the street addresses of the high schools. I know that there is probably a closer route from Montgomery County; the distance listed is the one that Google gave me:

 

Silver Grove 5.3

Scott 6.4

Bishop Brossart 7.0

Calvary Christian 8.1

Campbell County 9.7

Pendleton County 28.4

 

Augusta 35.2

Bracken County 35.2

Harrison County 50.7

St. Patrick 56.9

Deming 57.1

Mason County 58.9

Paris 64.4

Bourbon County 64.7

Nicholas County 67.9

Clark County 98.8

Montgomery County 112

I pretty much echo all the complaints that have been mentioned in this thread. Not much more I can add to that than to say that it's all downright stupid and illogical and somewhere along the way greed has motivated a lot of this mess. Sure it's exciting for 9th Region teams to be playing in an arena atmosphere, but a lot of the past regional charm is about to disappear it seems. There's really no logical reason at all that the 10th was included in this (other than more ticket sales and more overpriced hot dogs sales) when only about 4 or 5 teams are truly from this area. The fact that a team like Montgomery Co. would have to drive 112 miles to their own regional tournament is just plain absurd. Personally I was kind of excited about going to the games for something different, but I'm not so sure now that different means good. It sure has put a black cloud over the whole event and is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. :irked:

My memory is very foggy about this, but didn't Dayton very unexpectedly beat Holmes in about 1980 when the Green Devils were about the last team anyone would expect would take down the mighty Bulldogs??? Maybe someone can help me out here on this one. The memory is vague, but it seems like something like that happened. :idunno:

The more I think about it the more it really seems like this happened. I can't find any reference online to it anywhere so I'll have to make a trip to the library to see if I can locate an archive newspaper article in the Post or something. I do know that it was on a Friday night because I was at the Boys Club the next morning keeping score for the pee wee games and everybody was talking about it and shocked. I hope I find something on it because it's only fair that Dayton gets their due on something so fantastic that everyone has forgotten. Maybe some Dayton fan out there can remember something and share what they know. It was just a regular season game but still impressive over a hot team such as the Bulldogs with Beal and Company that nobody in the 9th could top. :idunno:

Where do you find stats? NCC has a one of the best free throw shooters around with Connor. Curious to know his %

It seems that Stephens from Conner is and Popp from Boone seem to be solid as well.

From http://www.kentucky.com

TOP 15 FREE THROWS LEADERS

(playing a minimum of 14 games)

(more than 3 attempts/game and ranked by percentage)

Player School Gms Made Att Pct

Aaron Watts McCreary Central 14 68 76 89.5

Jordan McElwain Muhlenberg North 16 48 55 87.3

Nick Fudge Adair County 25 149 173 86.1

Jack Heyburn Kentucky Country Day 23 107 125 85.6

Jonathan King Trigg County 21 112 132 84.8

Zack Irvine Burgin 15 39 46 84.8

Chase Cox Taylor County 22 149 177 84.2

Kyle King Deming 15 70 84 83.3

Zak Metz Bath County 17 87 105 82.9

Joe Gabbard Muhlenberg North 20 53 64 82.8

Will Yager Carroll County 17 64 78 82.1

Bennett Skaggs Grayson County 18 90 110 81.8

Jo Whitaker Johnson Central 21 71 87 81.6

Aaron Cosby Jeffersontown 15 62 76 81.6

Dj Wilson Clay County 21 60 74 81.1

TOP 15 FREE THROW LEADERS

(playing a minimum of 14 games)

(ranked by percentage)

School Gms Made Att Pct

McCreary Central 14 179 240 74.6

Adair County 25 420 574 73.2

Russell County 23 353 482 73.2

Elliott County 23 382 529 72.2

Muhlenberg North 20 273 382 71.5

Kentucky Country Day 23 244 344 70.9

Grayson County 18 269 380 70.8

Bath County 17 313 444 70.5

Carroll County 17 225 320 70.3

Grant County 16 153 218 70.2

Fleming County 14 164 235 69.8

Wayne County 24 282 406 69.5

Ashland Blazer 22 307 442 69.5

Lex. Christian 20 242 349 69.3

Wolfe County 15 194 281 69.0

Being a 9th Region supporter, I'm glad to see Boone Co. find their way into so many polls' top ten. There's a lot about them that I'm impressed with, but in other ways not so much. I've only seen them play twice (Highland & Holmes) and in neither game did they actually show me much in the ways of shooting (in the field or at the foul line) or posting up as strong or smooth to the basket as I think they should with the height that they have . Of course both the Bluebird's and the Bulldog's defense had a lot to do with that. I do like that they seem to play smart with a 'never-say-die' attitude. They make up for their weaknesses by hustling hard after every loose ball, getting tough around the boards, muscling in a lot of 2nd and 3rd chance shots and they get down and dirty with some strong tight 'D' and can be feisty ball thieves. They showed some decent versatility in their style by being able to run with a team like Ballard and only lose by 2. This team does play with a lot of smarts and heart and I think they'll go as far as those two facets of their game will take them. If they are actually faster than another team, they will get some good scoring in transition because of their great hustle. If they give it all they've got the rest of the season like they did against Holmes, I can see them being a darkhorse to surprise a lot of teams. Take away any of the fight in them (which at this point in the season, I don't think you can), then some of the games in the districts and regionals could be a coin toss. It's going to be interesting to see if they can get past Holmes again in the event that the two shall meet again.

I read this morning that former NKU ace shooter Paul Cluxton (94 for 94 his last year) has put out an instructional video per the request of an association in Cincinnati.

Wow! How cool and timely is that? Ask and ye shall receive. Cluxton was amazing! Since he's well known in the Northern Kentucky area, perhaps some 9th Region coaches will jump on that to try to get their guys more interested in perfecting their shot. :thumb:

1967 was my senior year, what a change it was going to the new gym that seats roughly 2500. I believe the old gym might have held 500 people?? You could literally hang over the balcony on each end and alter a shot that caromed a little high off the rim. I will say this that it was a great view of play under the basket. I don't remember any others like it.

I never got a chance to see the old Holmes gym. Sounds interesting. I wonder if there's any pictures floating around. I'll have to check the online photos page at the Kenton County Public Library's website.

Although it's not a high school, the gym at The Covington Turners Hall has something similar to what you are describing with a balcony where at one end of the court you also have an interesting view of the game from overtop the basket. I haven't been there in awhile, but I sure have great memories of playing there as a kid. The place was awesome. I'll never forget how exciting it was to either play or see a game there. Does anyone remember how smokey the place got with all the smokin' and drinkin' going on? It's really a hoot when I think about drunk parents hanging over the balcony during their B league 8:00 P.M Christmas Tournament Finals on Saturday night back in the early 70's, screaming at the refs over bad calls. The place was a trip and I only have fantastic memories of the whole experience. I know you'll never see anything like that again (and understandably so), but it was another time, and at times, quite alright. Just like smoking on planes, or folks who used to drink their lunch on the job and think nothing of it. But it was what it was, when it was, and it was fun, and also funny to think back on. :lol: It was also the place an awful lot of future 9th Region stars cut their teeth. It was a great place to play and learn the game of basketball. The refs were always good with us and helped with the teaching as well as the coaches. :thumb:

Wouldn't it be something if the Colonels after having such a dismal season with so many unfortunate setbacks could, with a string of good luck and good effort, pull it together just in the knick of time to have a serious run through the post season? Sure, it would be a tall order for them to win the region, but to make it to the 9th Region Tournament and possibly even advance some there is not completely out of the question. I'm sure most realize that they do have talented players and a great coach, and that they're really not as awful as their 6-18 record would suggest. They're running out of time, but if they can finally gel and get some fire and desire in em', just maybe their season won't end as soon as everybody thinks and they can end it on a high note leading them into next year. You'd think that a lot of underclassmen are getting a lot of experience this year that they didn't expect to that could possibly lead to better things for the Colonel's future. Let's sure hope so. Just how much more bad luck can they endure or withstand? :idunno:

I think too that if the 'Colonel Crazies' could give these guys a little more support and not just be fair weather fans, it sure could help their confidence and help them know that their buddies have their back even in hard times. Sometimes that '6th man' can really make a big difference in helping a team rise to the occasion. With CovCath's rich tradition, who can deny that their fanbase in the past has been one ultimate force that has often given the Colonels a big lift in tight games? For the sake of preserving such a great tradition and helping their team give it one last big effort before season's end, it's time for the 'Crazies' to 'Rally 'round and fill the valley with the mighty sound, there's a job to be done by the blue and white and success can be won if we fight fight fight, with a spirit that will not die and the pledge of our loyalty we will fight for Covington Catholic High and go onward to victory...RAH RAH RAH!!!

Go Colonels!!! :dancingpa

There's got to be some good instructional videos out there that could make it a pleasure to learn and follow. If I were a coach, I'd hand out a copy to all of my players and make sure I didn't rush through the end of a tough practice, and end it with a nice relaxing session of real focused free throw training. I would think that every player would enjoy making free throw shooting a high priority and become real good at it if not for anything else but their pride of achieving excellence is a seemingly easy task that just becomes easier with good technique, focus and lots of practice. Who doesn't like to get a good flow going and develop the confidence in knowing that they can be a pretty sure thing from the line. I'm sure there's even grandmas and grandpas out there that still get a rush out of tossing up a nice swish through the nets. :thumb:

I'm probably kidding myself, but for me, shooting free throws as a kid became pretty second nature like riding a bike or tying my shoe. I wasn't that great of a player, but I feel like shooting a free throw is so deep rooted in me that even with not having shot for about 6 month or so I usually can get the rhythm back with about 10 minutes of warm up. I went to sleep at night shooting foul shots in my head instead of counting sheep. If I wasn't going to produce that much during a game I felt the least I could do was make an unblocked foul shot. I realize there's a big difference to shooting when you're relaxed than when you're winded and tired, but have kids stopped dreaming about making foul shot because they can't get the video games out of their heads that they've been playing for hours at a time? I don't know? Different generation with different priorities, I guess. :idunno: One thing I have noticed is that there seems to be a misunderstanding of putting a nice smooth rotation and back spin on the ball and that a lot are just tossing up a misguided brick with no real flow to it. :idunno: I'd really like to see more coaches see to it that their players really understand the fundamentals of shooting a consistent foul shot and really make it a high priority to perfect it. I can't say enough about the importance of it to the outcome of a game.

It's been on my mind a lot lately of how dreadful a lot of teams are at the foul line. I probably have a short memory, but it just seems that what used to almost seem like sure points during a game has become anything but. Sometimes it seems that the games lately come down to who doesn't blow it at the line the worst wins with neither team really lighting it up from the freebie line. I know there's a few guys out there who are money from the line, but it just seems like overall teams' averages have dropped in recent years. It might just be my imagination, but what's your feeling on this? What players are a sure thing and what could be the reason for weaker overall appearances at the line? Sure, practice practice practice is a true key to improving your chances, but does anyone get the feeling that not many are putting in the hours of practice to perfect their free throw shooting?

Who are the teams this year that seem to have the line licked and what is the secret to their success? What coaches really emphasize foul shooting and what methods does anyone know about that has consistently worked for any particular coach? If there's a real good plan out there I wouldn't see why every coach wouldn't make it a high priority to execute it. We all know how important making foul shots are to winning games. What could be the reason/reasons for the good, the bad, and the downright ugliness of it all. It seems to make the game a whole lot more interesting when the team you're following wins because all facets of their games are clicking, not just part of it.

Is it just me who's been frustrated by this. Has good free throw shooting become a lost art? What are your thoughts. :confused: :idunno:

My memory is very foggy about this, but didn't Dayton very unexpectedly beat Holmes in about 1980 when the Green Devils were about the last team anyone would expect would take down the mighty Bulldogs??? Maybe someone can help me out here on this one. The memory is vague, but it seems like something like that happened. :idunno:

Just curious if the 11th Region faithful think that Scott Co. is a sure thing to make it to Rupp or will Lex Cath have something to say about that? As 11th Region teams are progressing as they head into post season play, what teams do you think other than Scott Co. have a REAL shot at winning the region? I follow the 9th pretty closely, but haven't had much in-person view of 11th Region teams. Just wonderin' what your gut tells you is REALLY possible. :idunno:

What's up with that??? Smells a little sexist if you ask me. She'd probably kick any of your butts in a game of 1 on 1 and until any of you are refs... then she a better ref than any of you. Kudos to her for getting out there and busting her tail and for having a 'set' that most of you obviously don't to ref a guys game. Go Lori. :thumb: