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Biggest smile in Kentucky right now: Darrin Horn. What a steal he got with Slaughter. Overall the talent level in Ky senior class is down but that kid can play on the same level as those kids from Indiana and last night it was obvious that he was the only one. What a sham that he didn't win Mr. Basketball.

They will have a tough time trying to trap Shelby's guards. Their point is jet quick and then there is Slaughter. Should be a good game but Shelby's size and a one AJ Slaughter will probably lead them to victory.

Shelby's gym has been revamped since those days.

I have read the post(s) that Steelcurtain is referring too. It was in a thread about the All 8th Region Team. There were a few who bashed Wade based on an attitude he displayed during his days at Carroll. I, for one, believe Wade has added a great deal to Shelby's team. He isn't a very skilled offensive player but he can score from in around the basket. The best thing for Wade is that he doesn't have to worry about scoring. The Chambers kid on the opposite block can put points up in bunches which allows Wade to save his energy for rebouning and returning opposing shots to sender. I also like Shelby's chances at state. I also think teams in the Sweet Sixteen will change defenses against Shelby and force them to run some half court sets. I was surprised that Simon played man-to-man defense the entire game. I would guess, Neerfan, that you do also since you seemed to be the rare bread of objective fan. :thumb: I just think that puts to much pressure on your defender to have to stop Slaughter, especially in a tight game situation. I am not "coaching from the crowd" here just wondering out loud.

Nobody from SK could slow him down. He got in the paint whenever he wanted.

Shelby did successfully take away Hester until late in the game. He made some quick moves in the first half but Shelby just kept running different defenders at him all night. I don't know if I have ever saw a team with so many kids that can guard like they do on the perimeter.

I don't think that shows a lack of class by Shelby's players. After all you are talking about them saying something to the student section. It would be my guess that the student section also had some words for Shelby's players throughout the course of the game. My whole thing is if you are going to dish it out then you have to take it. Had the players said something to the adults in the crowd that would be different but to take some verbal jabs at a student section that has been mouthing all game is just part of the game. Your assesment of the game is pretty much dead on. Simon played a heck of a ball game and actually had a three or four point lead early in the third. Shelby went on a little spurt to go up the four points you mentioned and changed defenses at the start of the 4th which really broke the rhytm of SK's offense. In the end the size of Shelby's interior and Slaughter was the difference. SK tried but they just didn't have anybody that could stay in front of him.

I definitely agree with that. On offense Shelby scored when they wanted and on defense they didn't give North much room to operate. It should be a good championship game although I will say if Shelby plays with that same level of intensity and focus tonight they should be playing in Rupp next week.

EKU, it seems as if your problem with Wade is much more of a personal matter. By the way you follow Carroll, evidenced from posts on different subjects, it would seem to me that you are upset at his move to Shelby. There is really no comparison between Wade's game/attitude last year and this year. He has improved his attitude a great deal and his game has also has improved. He has faired well against drastically better competition. I would guess his numbers from last year and this year are somewhat similar. He probably doesn't average as many points but Shelby has enough guys that can put the ball in the basket. I don't know about getting a dunk blocked but that isn't that big a deal what I do know is that Shelby won that matchup by 25+.

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Wade has improved his game. He blocks or changes almost every shot around the rim. Who cares if the kid can score in bunches defensively he is a game changer. He may have burned to many bridges with his move to Shelby to get the votes needed to make the all region team. In the end I don't know if it will even matter to him because he has a chance to do something special this season with the Rockets. You are right that Shelby would still be very good without Wade but they would not be 25-3.

I am befuddled at the fact that Shelby is 25-3 this season and their coach doesn't win Coach of the Year. All respect due to Gallatin's coach but that just seems strange to me. I understand Shelby's team is extremely good but someone has to be there to put that talent into positions to win ball games.

Wade had to settle into a new role at Shelby this year. He hasn't put up great numbers at Shelby but he definitely added talent to the roster. I have watched Shelby play this year and Wade is a much better player this year. He changes a number of shots on defense and plays above the rim on offense. Having said that if I had to pick one of the two post players from Shelby to put on the 8th team I would choose Chambers also. He is probably the most skilled post player in the 8th. That being said there are a number of players out there that could have made this team.

I would say Shelby is top 5 and without a doubt top 10. I was at this game and Shelby played without the services of one of their big men. Wade did not play in this game because he was disqualified from their last one, (according to some fairly upset Shelby fans). HHS came out strong and actually held a two point lead at half. In the second half HHS could not contain Shelby's point guard who continued to break their defense down off the dribble. To answer your question Slaughter was amazing. HHS did all they could to try and stop him but that failed. Along with his play Shelby's other big man came to life in the second half and the Birds simply had no answer. Shelby was up by ten with about four minutes to play and never relinquished the lead. HHS hit some incredible threes down the stretch but they couldn't do enough to win the game. HHS is a good team and probably the best in the 9th but they blew an opportunity to beat Shelby when they were without one of their big men. I would be interested to know who your top five or top ten would include but both, IMO, should include Shelby.

I would have to say that Scott did a nice job of shutting Hester down. He did have a handful of assists and a few steals but in order for the Pioneers to win he needs to play much better. Scott played straight man on him and there really wasn't much he could do to shake free. This loss can't fair well from Simon Kenton who was obviously looking to build momentum before the post season begins.

Shelby's fall from the rankings probably has more to do with their lack of blowout victories. Their schedule over the second half of the season has not been as strong and they have, if you follow the scores, been doing just enough to win. It is impossible to argue against the ability that Shelby possesses and the "potential" that they have. I have only watched them play a few times and it seems their biggest problem is lack of a vocal leader on the floor. I have saw Wade, on occassion, try to get his team inspired to play but, in my opinion (for what its worth), I believe the team would respond better to Slaughter. I think Slaughter has to step up and be more vocal in order for Shelby to reach their full potential. I just can't see the other kids on that team not responding if their best, and possibly the state's best player, challenged them to do so. If I were coaching at Shelby, to note I am not nor am I a fan of those who try to coach from the bleachers, I would have Slaughter seek out the Chambers kid before every game and get him pumped up to play. I have saw a number of the state's post players this year and I can only think of a handful that possess the same skill set for a kid that size. I have saw him take over a few games on offense and if he and Slaughter pick up their intensity levels at this point in the season there won't be anyway that Shelby could be overlooked.

It really just depends on the ability of the player. If you look at the elite programs in the state you rarely see many freshmen on the Varsity roster. The JV roster will sometimes include some of the better freshmen to fill out the bench and some of the more skilled and mature players actually play some JV minutes. I can see how some programs would treat moving up to the JV-Varsity level as a reward for consistent play and ultimately this helps to create more of a bond between the sport and the athlete.

You don't have to play on three straight nights to win the 8th region. The format, unless it has changed, is Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Championship Saturday. My hope, not to knock any other team, is to see Oldham and Shelby play for the trip to Rupp. If that happens the electric atmosphere at Henry County won't be loss on the departure of B. East and Scott Co.

I think you took my assessment of the game the wrong way. Franklin did play hard but Shelby built an early 10 -12 point lead and the kids from Franklin did a good job of keeping them from running away early. Franklin was able to keep getting the lead down to around 6 points which is what they trailed by at half. In the third quarter both teams maintained the same level of hard play but Shelby's overall athleticism and talent took over. Franklin had no answer for either of Shelby's post play which is where the game was really decided. Wade, Chambers and Patterson dominated the Flyers in the post. There was dunk after dunk and easy lay ups for all of Shelby's post players. I am not saying Franklin is a bad team but there are a very long way from making any noise in the 11th. I am glad to see the Flyers didn't throw in the towel but suggesting they should feel good about coming close suggests that you don't believe, as I stated, that they are on the same level as Shelby.

That was a gutsy effort by the Flyers over the final 4:30 seconds of the game. It seemed like Shelby just quit playing when they got the lead into the mid 20's. I agree that Franklin would be a force if they could play that way for the entire game instead of half of a quarter. At the same time we can't forget that despite Franklin's gutsy fourth they still were beaten. For as impressive as Franklin's four minutes were Shelby's first 28 minutes were even more impressive and at times amazing. They showed the folks in Franklin for three and half quarters, that when they were playing hard, that the Flyers were just not on the same level. I believe that is Shelby's biggest problem is that they tend to coast when things are getting to easy for them. Had Shelby kept playing with the same focus the game would have been a 20 - 30 point blow out but high school kids have a hard time realizing that they must keep playing even though they are dominating the other team. I would be interested to find out what Slaughter's stat line was for the game. He had to have scored at least 20, he also grabbed a number of rebounds, deflected and stole at least six to seven passes and dished out at least 5-6 assists. I don't know this for sure but I would like to know what he did.

Mr. Basketball isn't decided on talent if it was Slaughter would win it hands down. It is more of a popularity contest in which coaches vote for the player they like the best or have seen play. As far as overall skill Slaughter is better than any of the other candidates. Allen will win because he is the sentimental favorite and all the schools in the upper regions will vote for him while the other schools will waiver between Dunaway and Slaughter. Talent level alone should decide this award but it doesn't and never has. I agree coaches do recruit based on need but if Allen was truly that skilled of a player, meaning more than Slaughter, coaches would be all over him. On that same note Slaughter and Dunaway, in high school, play the same position making that argument almost void since Slaughter was obviously recruited over him. All that being said we have already seen that the Mr. Basketball Award doesn't really mean much at the next level.

I really don't think ranking these region is worth the time it would take. Shelby is sitting at the top and it will take a collapse by the Rockets not to walk through this regional tournament. I know that some of the other teams are traditionally good but this year youth and inexperience will probably spell doom for the other region foes. Simon Kenton is the new face in the region and is currently ranked second but this is all a formality. If Shelby plays they are going to Rupp. It has been a long time since anyone was able to call the 8th so early because it hasn't been this lopsided in a long time.

Bryan Station -5 Simon Kenton - 3 Holmes - 3 Powell County Lexington Catholic Owensboro Catholic Harlan Saint Xavier Ashland Blazer Anderson County 148

I for one believe Trinity deserve this victory. I bet anyone would be hard pressed to find a better sub .500 basketball team. I know they have eight losses but lets look at that list: Male, Covington Holmes, Shelby (2x), Owensboro Catholic, Manual, Moore, Pine Christian Florida. Looking at that list and knowing they lost these games by a total of 37 points, including the 13 point loss to Catholic. Take away that game and no other team has beaten them by more than six points. At the same time I think that shows just how scrappy, well coached and determined the Dragons from Warren Central are. A 29-4 run !!! There aren't many teams that could do that versus the Shamrocks.

I think his first name is Robert but whatever the case is he is a good player. The kids around him are not great but they can do some things that allow Buckner to really benefit fron his abilities. I know Eastern has a Slaughter on their team, is he any relation to Shelby's Slaughter? Wasn't it Eastern vs. Shelby in the Fifth Third Finals?