Zoolander

Either you misunderstood me, or I'm not following you. I think we actually agree. :lol: My point is the hypocrisy of those “athletics officials” who try to convince us they actually believe that academic pursuits are somehow superior to athletic pursuits when their entire focus is upon athletics. If the KHSAA intends for their rules to "...keep the focus of educators and students on the fact that students attend schools to receive an education first, and participate in athletics second;” maybe our schools should be doing a better job in delivering excellence in math, science, language skills, etc. instead of worrying about where a few kids choose to play ball. If a classroom education truly is of paramount importance, and our schools deliver academic excellence, "academic advantage" should easily trump "athletic advantage". Athletics are about money pure and simple. Schools with successful programs bring in more revenue than schools with weak programs. Strong programs are built upon strong/talented athletes. That's why everyone wants good athletes at their school, and resents good athletes transferring to competing schools. This is less about what is best for the kids, and helping them make the most of their high school experience than it is about adults being selfish. :thumb:

Case BL-6-2 on page three of Bylaw 6 offers ten reasons that attempt to answer “Why is there a transfer rule?” Number six reads as follows: “6) these rules keep the focus of educators and students on the fact that students attend schools to receive an education first, and participate in athletics second;” If a classroom education is of paramount importance, why does an "athletic advantage" matter? Shouldn't our schools be attracting and retaining kids based upon their ability to deliver excellence in math, science, language skills, etc.?

The following quote from the article establishes a very clear timeline. “The Eutons bought a house in Georgetown this past weekend and Clay is scheduled to begin his new job on April 21.” The article was published March 17, meaning that the Eutons bought their house the weekend of March 15th. Dakotah was still enrolled at RHCS at that time. If Dakotah didn’t enroll at Scott Co. until May… the bona fide change of address had already occurred weeks prior. This is all about the dad talking to the Lexington Herald Leader about the move and the perception that it was motivated by athletics. If dad had quit his job to take a new one, a reasonable case might be made. He lost his job and had to relocate to get a similar one. They made a good choice in where they wanted to send their son to school... case closed. The KHSAA insisting that parents not consider athletics in any similar move is absurd. If no recruiting is involved, why shouldn't parents be free in America to consider anything they want, and be honest about it?

Excellent points Clyde… :thumb: My hat's off to Mr. Euton for being honest instead of "crafty" and dishonest. He lost his job of 20 years through no fault of his own and had to relocate… period. That was the motive for the family’s move. Anyone who has a 6' 8" son that has already committed to a major D-1 program that says he does not consider where and how his son will develop and compete athletically his final two years of high school is either a liar or a moron. For the KHSAA to have a rule prohibiting the honest evaluation of schools by parents in this situation is entirely out of touch with reality, and what is genuinely in the best interests of individual student athletes. Dad Euton was simply honest. All the KHSAA is doing with this ruling is encouraging others in similar circumstances to lie and conceal… which in the long run defeats the purpose of the rules and ultimately makes their job of policing transfers much more difficult. If the KHSAA can determine that Dad Euton lost his job on purpose, just so he could relocate and get his son in another school, or can prove that Scott County “recruited” the family then they have a strong case. Otherwise, this just appears to be an attempt to enforce an absurd and arbitrary rule.

Thanks Dawg, and my apologies to the next dozen kids I didn’t list. These are just the top baker’s dozen I’ve seen in action over the past couple of seasons. Nine of them earned significant varsity minutes as freshmen for their school teams, and I believe that over half on my list are grade exceptions. It shows in their mental maturity on the court. The best part is that only about six of them are showing real signs of physical maturity, so there should be plenty of room for growth and development as these kids mature. This will be a fun class to watch for sure.

You all will have to excuse me, but I thought Euton, Jackson and Guyn were all going to be juniors in the class of 2010. Fantastic talents to be sure, but a year ahead of the boys in this thread. As far as the class of 2011 it would be hard to go wrong with Ryan Fucci, Marcellus Barksdale, Robbie Barber, Robbie Stenzel, Scott Schuette, Neal Pawsatt, Jake Geisler, Timmy Knipp, Jordan Gilbert, Treg Setty, Tony Kimbro, Kyle and Luke King. I don’t doubt that other names will bubble to the top over the next couple of seasons, but I honestly believe that every one of the boys listed above have the potential to play beyond high school.

You're not my mother-in-law are you? :lol: :lol: :lol: She's the only person I know that after a dysfunctional family knockdown drag out at Thanksgiving can turn right around and brag about how tight we are as a family unit. :lol: :lol: :lol: Look, I've got nothing against the 16th Region. I have some really good friends up that way, and know some outstanding young athletes from that region. But you can't possibly be serious about arguing that more 16th Region threads get shut down than any other region. That's not an insult... if anything it's a testament to the passion you all have for your teams. You guys take it seriously. :thumb:

I love the 16th region. You guys (and gals) have as much passion about your teams as any region in the state. I enjoy reading your threads ( at least until they get shut down. :lol: ) The season is almost over, so I can't resist posting at least one more time in a 16th region thread, so here goes: This will be a great game. IMO, this should have been the championship game to determine who gets to represent the region at Rupp. I got to see Elliott play Cov Cath in the 5th/3rd back in December. They appeared to be a pretty mature team, but struggled against CC before falling by 14. I’ve seen Rose Hill play several times this season, in the King of the Bluegrass, the Nissan Shootout and against Boone County. They are a young team, with lots of sophs and freshmen on the floor. They have matured a lot since December. At this point in the year, both teams are equally seasoned, so experience will not be the factor it might have been for Elliott earlier in the year. Ferguson is a scoring machine for the Lions. He can drop ‘em in from 30 feet, and hit ‘em falling backwards inside. He has great hops and is hard to guard. The twins are perpetual motion machines all over the floor. Maynard is in range when he steps off the bus. Timmy Knipp can shoot. Elliott will not quit until the final horn sounds. The problem for the Lions is Rose Hill has a definite advantage in size, at least where it counts. This game comes down to Euton and Jackson for the Hill. Elliott does not have a single answer for Euton. The Knipp kid is long, but gives up about 50 lbs to Euton. The last time these two played, Euton racked up about 23 points and 17 boards. The only way to contain him is to double him up. Jackson is the second unstoppable element for the Hill. Elliott does not have a single player who can consistently stop Jackson. He’s too big and too quick. The last time these two matched up, Jackson had something like 17 points and 11 boards. Euton and Jackson will require double team pressure from Elliott all night just to slow them down. The problem there is the Barber kid is among the best shooters in the state anywhere out to 28 feet, Arthur is deadly inside of 18 feet, Davis can get up and down the floor for a 6’ 4” kid, and can finish in flurries, Gambill and Malloy can knock down shots out to 20+ feet. Even the Bush boy can’t be left wide open or he’ll pop you. Rose Hill has come a long way since December and even since these two met in January. Elliott is a very good team, but I have to go with the Hill in a close one.

I understand. That was implied in my previous post, but good luck to you fellas... :thumb:

Well fellas, here’s where we stand: Holmes 78 Bellvue 32 Cov Cath 60 Highlands 56 Dixie 46 Conner 41 St. Henry 59 Villa 56 With my boys from Boone out before it started, I’m going to take: Cov Cath over St. Henry and Holmes over Dixie. With Cov Cath over Holmes in the showdown for the title.

Now that you boys have that settled, I'm going with Cov Cath over Holmes in the final.

From what I've seen, if Rose Hill wins by less than 20 it will be a lot closer than a lot think. :eek: According to the KHSAA website, Rose Hill has won by 18 and 33 points already this season. Emotion and tradition are motivators, but tradition doesn't score points over a 6' 8" cat with skills, or stop a 6' 5" lightning quick guard from getting to the rim, or stop a 6' 2" sharpshooter from knocking the bottom out from 25' or stopping a 6' 4" sprinter from running down the floor and finishing. I've watched this team play in Lexington and Louisville. They're hungry, and have too many weapons. I'll take them by 20.

Bath is a lot better than anyone predicted early in the season, and better than they get credit for even now. Metz is a beast, Clemens is a force of nature with the ball in his hands, Trusty is a load in the paint. The problem for Bath is that Rose Hill is a much improved team since they last met up before Christmas. This will be a fantastic high school basketball game, with all the All A marbles at stake. I'll take Rose Hill by enough points to earn a trip to Richmond. :thumb:

I have no axe to grind with anybody in Greenup. One lemon in the coaching spot every now and then is understandable. Three or four in a row starts to look less like a problem with the coach and more a sign of problems elsewhere. Maybe you can convince me that GCHS is just on a string of bad luck. But Hicks, Sutton, Hampton and Leach are all decent coaches and good men. Looking in from the outside, it's really hard to believe the trouble is just with the coaches.

Leach left over a week ago. Whoever they get needs a five year contract, with a no interference clause to prevent parents and administrators from micro-managing him to the point of insanity, quitting... or both.

I'm all for a healthy debate, I just don't like being misquoted or taken out of context to say something negative against a fine team of quality young men. In this case that goes for both the Rose Hill and the Elliott County kids. This makes my 30th post. You can go back and read all of them and won't find one negative comment about a player, coach or team.

I wonder how Hicks would look with a ponytail? :lol:

The Tub? :lol:

I added #2 because that's exactly what some of Elliott County's big city critics have had to say about them, and #3 because if as some Elliott County fans seem to be saying, Rose Hill didn't play especially good, Elliott County just had an off night, it is the only reasonable conclusion. If #1 is true, Elliott County fans need to step up and say "good game" and move on instead of making excuses that make #3 sound more likely. It doesn't matter now anyway. Good luck the rest of the season.

Criminy, that's not even close to what I'm saying here. Either: 1) Elliott County deserved their high ranking before, during and after the game. Which I fully believe they did and do, and just happened to run into a very motivated Rose Hill team that did enough right to pull out a win on a given night. OR 2) They've just been running up the score on a bunch of cupcakes only to fold against opponents who are able to compete with them. OR 3) They simply overlooked Rose Hill by not getting pumped up to deliver their best effort for four quarters, in which case they probably didn't deserve their high ranking in the first place. Some would call options 2 and 3 being "overrated." For the record, lest anyone misunderstand. I (The Mole) do no believe Elliott County is now or ever has been overrated by the media or other coaches statewide. They have earned every accolade they have received outside of Sandy Hook. They represent the finest spirit of Kentucky high school basketball. The small school from the small town competing with the big schools in the bigger cities. My point is that either Rose Hill ( a much smaller school by the way with about a quarter of the students Elliott County has ) is improving and much better than anyone seems to be giving them credit for, and just played a great game against another great team, (which I believe) OR the critics have been right all along and maybe Elliott County and Rose Hill weren't all that good to begin with. Why some of the Elliott County posters can't simply say, "Great effort Rose Hill. Good game" and move on boggles my mind. Making excuses only minimizes the Elliott team, not the Rose Hill team. By now though, any complement that has to be outlined, detailed and requested, isn't worth having anyway. I hope we get to play again in March.

You missed my jab back at happyolddad entirely, and twisted it the opposite direction. He was suggesting that the All A is not a true regional tournament like the kind Ashland and the real BIG SCHOOLS get to compete in. He was insulting all of us All A size schools. The fact that Rose Hill with about 90 kids in their school and Elliott County with 300 and some are competing in the All A makes them both PUNY in the eyes of the Ashlands, Russells, Boyd Countys and other big public schools. Elliott County and Rose Hill are in that boat together. I'd be mad at me too if I was saying what you thought I said, but I didn't. You can't find one post I've made that has insulted Elliott County. I do believe they are a top 5 team. I still believe they are the top team in this region. I believe that the Ferguson kid and the Faulkner boys are amazing athletes who deserve to play college ball somewhere. Many of their opponents haven't respected them by giving them so many open looks. Do you have a problem with any of that? All I've said is that Rose Hill showed up ready to play. They did. That's not an insult to Elliott County. The insult would be to say that Rose Hill gave a halfhearted effort, showing no respect for Elliott County as an opponent. (What it sounds like you're doing to Rose Hill) If you can't tell Rose Hill good game without making excuses for why Elliott County didn't dominate them that's fine, but a top 5 team doesn't show up anywhere not ready to play and adjust if shots aren't falling. To deny that the Rose Hill kids played better defense than most of your opponents have this season is an insult to the hard work of some great kids that weren't wearing your teams colors Monday night. I say the polls are right and Elliott County is a top 5 team. Either they got outplayed on this one night by a very good opponent, or you're the one saying they didn't play their best and were beat by an inferior team so maybe they don't deserve the high ranking afterall. Which is it?

Maybe not a "real" regional tournament like the kind you BIG schools with all your tradition are so proud about hanging banners from your illustrious past. But the All A is a legitimate regional tournament for little puny schools that have no business seriously competing with the BIG boys. Do you work at being condescending or is it just a gift? :lol:

A true top five team doesn’t show up with a potential regional title on the line and take the night off. I don’t think Elliott slacked at all. The Elliott kids played their tails off. Rose Hill was just not intimidated by a number 5 ranking, and flat out took it to Elliott. RH had just played a top five team from Georgia to a two point margin, and the number 2 team from Mississippi to a 10 point game. It’s hard to be intimidated by 6-1s and 6-2s when you’ve been playing 6-5s and 6-7s that play hard too and can jump out of the gym. RH broke the EC press and pressure with enough proficiency to control the ball and the pace. RH was able to play EC in a tough man defense that frustrated EC. RH did what it took to win. EC is a very good team. They learn from this loss and improve. RH has been learning from losses to very good teams all season, maybe they can start learning from wins too.

This game is not a case of overestimating Elliott County as much as it has been a case of underestimating Rose Hill. Elliott is a very good team. They play team ball as well as any other team in the state. They didn’t get to be an AP Top 5 team in Kentucky by having off nights. There’s some good reasons for shots not falling that normally do, or an offense being off balance. Tim Fraley is a gambler. He put together an insane schedule that could have completely demoralized his team, or gradually made them better, even if it meant hitting the second half of the season with a really ugly record. Apparently, Rose Hill isn’t broken. It turns out Fraley hasn’t just been bluffing with a weak hand. Rose Hill is not even close to being the same team they were in December – or even the first week of January. When you think about it, this kind of growth isn’t unusual for a team that starts three sophs and a freshman. When it comes right down to it, nothing of significance was decided last night. The real payoff game is Friday. This was just a great high school basketball game between two hardnosed and talented teams. I predict that both will regroup quickly and continue to tear up the 16th. I for one look forward to a rematch in March.

I just heard Coach Biggs' pregame show on B97FM and his exact quote regarding the Rose Hill, Fairview and Boyd County games was: "These six district games are the most important on our schedule." I guess HE wasn't overlooking Rose Hill afterall... :lol: