ACE

I agree on all counts here. Harkins and I were in homeroom as sophomores when he first came to Blazer. (I thought Kovach was in the Ashland system all the way through, but I am not positive) My question is did Ward, who as Fastbreak said was physically advanced at this age, start for Putnam freshman team as an 8th grader?

You may be right, but my recollection was that Kevin Ward was the up and coming player at Putnam instead of Jeff and I thought Ward was the starter. I also recall as sophomores that Harkins was a starter and Kovach played virtually none at all. Then Kovach grew from something like 6'3" to 6'7" and immediately became a star on Harkins level as a Junior. I recall Jeff just went from being one of the guys and pretty much became an All State caliber player over a 12 month stretch. He was perfect for the Patterson system. Perhaps the phrase late bloomer should be replaced by sudden bloomer. Regardless, he became a super player and was a great guy also.

I think you are right on. Coach Pratt is a class act all the way.

Rose Hill is young and improving-they took West Carter to the buzzer yesterday and just came up short. No one can guard Owens. If he is on Boyd wins by 10 to 15. If he's off Boyd by just under 10. It should be loud in the Stew.

I have absolutely no idea why Clark would have left the team. But, with all due respect, how could leaving a team coming down the stretch better an individual. I have always believed that you do whatever it takes to honor your committments, regardless of the circumstances. If he was dismissed from the team then that looks bad on him. If he quit the team, that looks equally bad. The only good reason would be for health concerns which is probably not the case here. It's very disappointing to me to see any athlete leave his fellow teammates for any reason.

They played together at Rose Hill for a little over half a year. Walker left Rose Hill just before the All A Classic during OJ's 8th grade year. OJ was at RH for his 6th, 7th and 8th grade years. Walker was also at RH for some period during OJ's 6th grade year. I think this is correct. Some Rose Hill insider might want to verify.

Folks, hindsight is 20-20. It's easy to criticise after the fact. My opinion is that Fairview was the host and did nothing wrong. They have the right to host the tournament in the manner they choose. There is nothing wrong with having a sellout and turning away fans at the gate. This happens all the time at sporting events everywhere. The only problem I see is administration could have handled it better at the time especially for those who had advanced tickets. My guess is those who had unused tickets could surely get refunds from the Fairview office by returning the tickets. This was unfortunate, but a good problem for our area to have. (I think the whole thing is the fault of the Rose Hill fans. )

I saw in this mornings paper where he withdrew. Maybe he's swinging too hard on those 325 yard drives.

I will go with Perry #1(he's been a legit tour star the past 2 or 3 years), Holmes #2(lots of power and confidence) and Flesch #3(seems to have lost his edge). By the way can you be more specific on Flasch's personal issues?

One of the worst things to happen to Ashland basketball(and other sports) is when Verity Middle School was established in place of two junior high schools(Coles and Putnam-of course, Coles was superior to Putnam but that is a whole other thread :sssh: ) With two junior highs there were easily 30 kids were developing and participating in the two programs. Many times the "late bloomers" stayed in the program because of opportunity and when their time came they were ready to compete. Now those late bloomers are likely giving up as early as middle school because they haven't developed yet or lack of opportunity due to the "early bloomers" or "AAU professionals". The classic example of this is Jeff Kovach. If I recall correctly, Jeff didn't start at Putnam as a Freshman but was able to participate until he grew and developed. By his junior year he became a star under Coach Patterson and went on to become All State and a Ky Indiana All Star. It was nobodys fault, but when Ashland lost the 2 junior highs the playing filed was really leveled.

Folks, this was no upset. Right now Fairview was just the better team. Ashland jumped out to a 22-8 lead and, I think, must have let up a bit. Fairview teams of the past would have thrown in the towel, but not this one. Fairview deserved this win. The Fairview guards controlled the game, they beat Ashland off the dribble many times for easy layups. Another key was Fairview has the bigger, stonger inside players and they did a nice job on McDavid. Give Coach Cooksey and his staff credit they were ready for this game. That being said, if Ashland shoots well this is a different game,Flynn will make corrections and have the Tomcats ready down the stretch.

Ashland looked more comfortable in the up tempo pace last night. This one should be a track meet. Christian County is ultra quick. It may not be pretty, but it should be a fun one to watch.

I assume this is being played on the "big" court at LexCath. If I am not mistaken this is a college size court. If so, no wonder the girls(both teams) ran out of gas. One of the few times I saw Mayo worn out was on this court in 7th/8th grade. It's a great facility.

Bottom line is Raceland hit the big shots when they needed them and Rose Hill missed something like 8 free throws in a row in the second half. Raceland deserved this win. Rose Hill hasn't yet learned how to win. When they do learn they will be tough. Fraley has conducted himself with class throughout his tenure at Rose Hill. He is always very intense and into the game. I remember 2 years ago in his first year when Rose Hill was getting beat to death, down by 50 or more late in the game against Lawrence County, Fraley was coaching as hard then as he is now. He earned my respect then, I will now give him the benefit of the doubt.

For what it's worth, during the event he was on the leaderboard as "John B. Holmes". Obviously, some thought has been given to his name. Maybe he should go by "J.B. Holmes". Maybe they should just embrace it, kind of like OJ Mayo. I remember when OJ first got to Rose Hill, I wondered about "OJ" as a name. However, OJ quickly developed his own idenity, maybe Holmes can do the same thing. I hope so.

It's not been too many years that, if I recall correctly, there was no prize money at q-school. They were playing mearly for the opportunity at the tour. I could be wrong but I am fairly sure.

Agreed also, I would put Clark only slightly behind Holbrook. He was deserving. Seems like they give the benefit of the doubt to seniors, which is probably all right. Clark should definitely be there next year.

Wow! I was hoping Holbrook would make it but I wasn't really expecting it due to the media coverage in this part of the state. Ian was second team and Fidler was third team. McDavid and Davis were also second team and Gurule third team. Fantastic! Congratulations! Also Michael Horn and Drew Mell were second and third team, respectively. Kasey Clark was hororable mention, he will be all state next year.

Well said, I was trying to think of that "utility back" phrase but couldn't come up with it. :thumb:

I don't. But my guess is that there will be games, as there were this year, where he will make less than 5 catches. Nothing complicated, I just hope the staff devises a plan, and I think they will, where it's in his hand at least 10+ times a game. Maybe it won't be as quarterback, but accasionally as a runner, end around, etc.

No disagreements here, he just must be more involved. I can just imagine a game where the passing game just isn't there and he gets no catches, effectively rendering him a complete nonfactor in the game. Just imagine Holbrook being a nonfactor in any Ashland game this year(maybe not a true fair comparison but you know what I'm getting at). I do believe DM's best collegiate potential will be on the football field and perhaps as a receiver. It may be in his best interest to stay as a receiver but, not in the teams best interest in my most uneducated opinion.

With regard to McDavid, I believe I prefer him moving to a more prominant role on offense as a quarterback, running back, etc. He is without a doubt one of top, if not the top, athletes on the team. It seems like the ball will need to be in his hands a lot more next year for AHS to maximize their success and I don't think that can happen with DM as a receiver. The 'Cats could afford him to play a secondary role this year with Holbrook as the clear star performer. I think for him to be a receiver and touch the ball only 3 or 4 times a game would be a big mistake.

I am sorry Blue Blazer, I mean to quote "fanofkyfootball".

How many times have you watched Holbrook?? If most people are like me, they don't get to see too many other prospects, only the local teams. I am sure Burke, Fidler, etc. are the best college prospects no doubt. The only think I know I have watched Ashland football for about 40 years(I am getting old) and in my humble opinion, Holbrook is clearly the best all around quarter back Ashland has produced-not that Ashland has been a quarterback factory or anthing. Holbrook can throw short, deep, on the run and is extremely accurate-my guess would be about 60% to 65%, I don't know for sure. He is very fast running the ball-leads a 9-2 team in rushing, has been the strongest player on the team 2 years running and, I think may be a 4.0 caliber student. He is also all business, nothing in your face-a real pleasure to watch. He may not be top 10, but I certainly wouldn't bet against it. :thumb:

That's truly a great catch but, the best thing about this photo is the great RickyP is sitting on the top row in a black v-neck pullover directly above the defenders gold helmut. Rumor is he was there scouting for Rockcastle! Go RickyP!