Shadrach

Whataboutthis clarified for me. I was simply using 10% as an example because the math is much easier. The percentage does stay the same for a particular sport. Each sport has different percentages although I do not know what those are.

I have heard that they are trying to get the head coaches in the building. This seems to eliminate both Garnett and Pittman as they are both PE teachers and from what I gather from the list of teachers already hired, there is not a teaching position in that area still available. I think there is still a business position open, which opens the door for Sullivan from Holmes. I have heard he would be interested and I think he would be a good choice. Noel Williams is already hired as a teacher, and if he is interested in being a head coach again, he might fit. Carr from Scott was interviewed for the Ryle position, from what I understand he lives near Conner, so I would venture to say he would be interested in Cooper. I am not sure what he teaches though. Again, I think they want to hire a coach that is a teacher in the building and with all of the transfers and repositioning of teachers within the county, this may limit the possibilities. On the other issue. In Boone County, coaches are paid a percentage of a Rank III teacher salary according to the number of years they have coached. For example, a coach who has coached 10 years might be paid 10% of a 10 year teacher's Rank III salary. If that salary is 30,000, they would make 3,000 to coach that team. All coaches are on one year extra-duty contracts that are signed at the beginning of the school year they are coaching. I am not sure if there is a specific date that coaches have to be informed they are not rehired, but most principals would make that decision soon after the season so they could hire someone else. So basically, Niemi would have still been the coach if he had not resigned in July. My sources tell me that no one forced him out and that he had full support of Mr. Cooper as well as Mr. Turner when he became principal in July. Enough on that topic.

This is interesting comment. There was NO new principal on April 15th since Mr. Cooper was still the principal at that time and would be until his unfortunate death later in May. I am pretty sure that TEACHING contracts are due by April 15th and since Niemi was at the school for 11 years he had tenure and therefore would be employed. I do not think coaching positions have the same time frame because how could you not rehire, for example, a baseball coach before April 15th when they are in the beginning stages of the season. Although I think parental pressures play too heavily into coaching dismissals, I do not think parental pressure to have Niemi ousted would have had much merit if he had decided to stay and coach. He had a strong following and strong administrative support, which should be obvious since the new administration hired him as assistant principal. The implication that Ferguson(?) or any other parent would have that type of influence in this case seems to lack credence.

Let me start by saying that it sounds like you know a lot about basketball and have probably played or coached at some level. Maybe you even want the Boone head coaching position. I think however that you may, probably unintentionally, be creating a problem for your Boone County Rebels. I am sure there are boone players who get on here and you are second guessing the coaches ability and decisions. If you indeed have been a coach, you know that coaches try and get kids to accept roles on the team. Some roles are less glamerous than others, but no less valuable. These kids may now think, my coach doesn't know what he is talking about, I should be doing this or that. This happens with a lot of parents in their conversations with their kids and is why coaches have a difficult time developing good team unity. It reminds me of what I heard about John Messmer at Highlands many years ago. The year before they won their first Regional Title under his tutelage, there were many disgruntled people. As a matter of fact the returning seniors parents that year tried unsuccessfully to get him fired. The administration backed him. I am sure those senior players did not exhibit much faith in his coaching because his parents were very outspoken about it. After a fairly successful, but no region title year, that senior class(and their parents) were gone, Highlands won three regional titles in a row and 4 out of 6. Pretty impressive for a coach who many thought was inadequate for the job. Another point is that you have some definite philosophical ideas on how the game should be played. But who is to say your way is the best way. As I watch high school, college and professional basketball, there are multiple philosophies that are successful. I look at some ninth region teams I have seen over the years. Scott High school was very successful under Jeff Trame. I can remember when they had Jessie Jett, their offense was designed around his ability to penetrate the lane. It did not seem like they ran many plays, but there team was very difficult to stop. Kenny Shields had Scott Draud, who from what others have told me-shot the ball a lot, even when he had two or three guys on him, yet they were successful. St. Henry in 2003 had no Div. I players, yet were difficult to stop because all the players had the ability to score and understood their roles as they passed the ball very well. Cov. Cath plays a lot of full court press and utilizes a large number of players and have been very successful in the "colonel way" as Mike likes to say. The point is all have different philosophies that can be successful, as does Coach McQuery. It has obviously shown some success as they are ranked in the top 5 in the region and have some good wins. But if his players are hearing all the time that he does not know what he is doing, it can certainly detract from his ability to get his team to play together, an area that I think is very difficult for coaches today to do because of all the outside opinions. I hope for your Rebels, that they disregard your comments and listen to the coach and believe in the system he is implementing. If they do that, they have the ability to win the regional title. If they doubt the coaches ability, they may take matters in their own hand, which unless they are undoubtedly the most talented players on the floor, will probably end in a loss.

Ryle made regional tournament in 2006, after Doellman. Highlands makes it to the regional tournament every year because they have to beat Bellevue or Dayton or Newport to get into the region-- doesn't actually compare to having to beat Conner, St. H or Boone (SK in old district). There have been many years where 3 or 4 teams in the 33rd district were top ten in the region and some years where they were two or three teams in top 25 of state. Highlands has a quality program,but to say they have a better program because they have been to regional last 10 years speaks more about their district than the strength of the program.

Officials are assigned by Tom Haas. I am sue Ryle would like three man crew every game, but I would guess they do not have enough officials to go around for every game.

They lost to Highlands in the final.

Well he should be very close to the top if not at the top.

I agree with your assessment. Sometimes players (HS, college, and Pros) make bad decisions in the heat of battle. I am sure Coach Mullins will handle the poor decisions of his players internally. Hopefully the players will learn from it and be better in the long run. Sometimes coaches even lose their cool in games and receive technicals. It does not necessarily reflect that the coach is a bad character person.

I like the information. Obviously it is a judgement call by the official on whether the kid intentionally slapped the backboard. It could not have been because the ball did not go in because the ball did go in. Most of the time, there is no call or a goal tend call. But the official decided, he did intentionally slap it, so issues a technical. the kid then out of frustration slams the ball down on floor, but ball never gets higher than his waist. The other official from behind issues the technical. Again a judgement call on Referee. Some officials call it some don't. It was a bad decision on players part as he compounds a bad play with another. Now, a player who was issued two technicals and is ejected from game must sit out the next game-in this case a district game vs. St. Henry. Anyone know if a slap the backboard T would be considered differently than technicals for unsportsmanlike conduct-like slamming ball down or pushing another player? This might allow the player to play the next game?? I doubt it, but was just wondering.

Anyone surprised by the good record so far this year? The coach seems to have them playing well. Will this continue when they get into conference play?

Good ball game. Biggest difference in game is the free throw situation. Ryle is struggling to make free throws. They were probably under 50% for the game and quite possibly could be under 50% for the YEAR. This makes it hard to win close games, therefore they are 1-4. Officiating was fair both ways, that is to say there were missed calls on both sides. It definitely was not the difference in the game. The craziest one is when Maley helps off his man and skies to block a shot at it's highest point (almost could have been called a goaltend on a 12 foot jumper) and AFTER blocking the shot, he and the shooter collided on the GROUND and they called the foul on the shot! The Raiders had two wide open threes by Ahern and Porter (whose rolled around the rim and then out) in the last 3 minutes that had they gone in, might have propelled them to victory. Anyway, the Raiders have a big upside and if they continue to work hard and play together, they could be factor late in the year. I thought Cov Cath looked very solid. They are will coached and have the confidence to win close games. Coach Listeman does a good job with them. But if Ryle is the 8-10th ranked team in the region, there is not a lot of difference from top to bottom. It should make for an exciting year as always!

Maley did not get too many scoring opportunities against Boone. He does tend to get frustrated, but has definitely improved from last season in this regards. Helmer was hot, but then he got tired and got out of control and turned the ball over, took a bad contested shot and made a reversal pass by leaving the ground and trying to throw a no-look cross court pass that was stolen. Until he can prove his production will stay consistent over longer stretches, you have to relieve him to keep from losing ground. I love Lamping's energy on defense. He definitely was making McFarland work for his opportunities. He is liability on offense right now. Maybe when he gets more basketball under him that will get better.

I think your wrong about the coaches decision on Ahern. He probably is one of the most consistently hard workers on the team and is unselfish to a fault. I would agree that he needs to look for his shot more but he wants to involve his teammates, which is a sign of a good leader and point guard. I would rather have that situation than the other situation where a point guard is all about himself and how his production is more important than the team concept. Something that Ryle had with the point guards who were playing previous to Ahern. I would agree that Russell has underperformed and it may be due to lack of committment to get better. If he doesn't turn it around soon, he may find himself sitting the bench more often. Obviously he started all of last year and was a key member of the freshman championship team, but he does not seem to be getting any stronger or better-- probably because he did not work hard in the offseason. It would be unfortunate to start McLeish and Nichols and write the year off. If they earn those positions, which they might, then so be it. But on the high school level, how can you just write kids off for the sake of a future??? If McLeish and Nichols do not give them the best chance to win NOW, then you shouldn't sacrifice an upperclassman's year just to hopefully gain victories in the future.

If you mean solid defense, team concept, limit turnovers, good shot selection and being coachable--then I would say yes they probably are similar. Of course I do not think Mullins will use the four corner offense like you seem to think Niemi used.

This was a very competitive game between these two teams. They both should be much improved by their next meeting. Boone is missing some players and Ryle has a lot of inexperience right now. I do not think the officials were a factor in the game. Ryle did foul alot because Boone did a good job of taking the ball to basket to draw fouls. McFarland is good player who drew fouls in the post and on drives to the basket. I question his leadership skills, but I am not too familiar with the inner workings of the team. I thought the point guard for Boone was shaky, although I did not realize he was only a sophomoe so he should get better. 35 was a good three point shooter and Earls is going to be hard to stop over the next three years. Ryle needs to get Maley some opportunities like McFarland- isolation on block for post moves or driving opportunities. Some general observations on Ryle: 1. Russell needs to finish better.He has missed a ton of two foot shots in all three games he has played. He did not make a field goal last night and probably missed 4-6 shots in the paint. 2. Fourth quarter breakdowns. Too many turnovers and missed shots. 3. Ahern needs to look for shot more often- he is capable of hitting them. 4. Helmer is great in small portions. If he plays too long he gets tired and then he makes too many bad decisions. 5. Nichols is going to be a factor this season. 6. Porter is good defensive player, but limited offensively. 7. Coleman is going to earn more minutes as the year goes on. He has a good understanding of the game and will continue to help his team. 8. Maley needs to show good leadership and be more consistent offensively. He should be always scoring in double figures and close to double figures in rebounds. 9 McLeish shows signs of being a valuable asset- should continue to get minutes if he does what coaches tell him. Lampl would not help this team. He did not get much playing time at Cov. Cath and is not any better than any of the 4 or 5's Ryle is playing right now. Keep your head up Raiders- it is a long season and the goal should be to learn from this and get better.

Word on the street is the colors will be maroon and gold. The mascot has yet to be determined but they are supposed to be soliciting votes after the new district is decided. This was supposed to be done at tonight's board meeting. My understanding is they are going to be competing in 6A football and trying to offer all the varsity sports the three other high schools currently offer.

You are correct about Casey Maley. He definitely did some growing up by his senior year and was a major factor in winning the region. The big difference is that Casey did not have to carry the load for a team that had Feagan and Doellman-- although his role was indispensable to the team because his defense was incredible- just ask the Bain kid from Cov. Cath. However, John will have to carry much of the offensive role as well as leadership role. This might prove too difficult for him to handle. But I haven't lost faith in him, because when you become a senior you are apt to have the lightbulb go off and realize that this is your last year and it is time to put it all on the line. I am looking forward to watching!

He had the inside track. Coach Niemi resigned late in the summer, it probably limited some movement by other qualified coaches from around the area. He was already an employee of Boone County as a school psychologist working specifically at Ryle. He had experience as a JV coach at Boone County H.S. as well as Freshman coach at Ryle. I think you will see much improvement over last season, as a coach usually is better after the first year of being a head coach. He will also benefit from the cleaning out of some problems inherited from previous season. He has hired an experience assistant (Noel Williams) to help him. Coach Williams is highly respected as a teacher and should fit in very well in his role as assistant.

If this is true, that would be great news for the Raiders as leadership is always important. Especially if it is good leadership coming from your senior class and one of your best players.

No way he will be playing center once the season begins. He is too versatile to be in the paint only. Although he does need to utilize that skill, expecially when matched up with smaller players.

agreed!

Ahern is solid, not flashy. I would take him in the clutch situation at the free throw line. As a freshman he carried them to championship by hitting many free throws down the stretch of big games. He did struggle some with man to man, pressure, but I think his teammates did not help him in their ability to get open. Many times turnovers are a result of bad team execution and not just the point guard. But a year getting stronger should help.

Maley has the talent to be top 10. The mental toughness on a day to day basis will be the difference on whether he fulfills that potential or just is a good high school player.