dolamite

Glad to see Cam getting all of these high level D1 looks. Watched him play a handful of games as an 8th grader at East Ridge and he was very good then. Even at that age he more than held his own against older, stronger boys and a lot of times was the best player on the court. He has only continued to get better so sky is the limit for him (in terms of being a mountain kid).

Wow big win for the Travelers. Oakland Soldiers won the Peach Jam last season, so to pick up a win over them is huge.

Yeah he was supposed to be a Sophomore but the only way he could get eligible was as a Junior.

He played in EKY instead of Central Kentucky, but other than that pretty much the same. I say that because EKY schools will fight each other to the death to keep a rival from getting an elite transfer eligible, on the otherhand Scott County seems to always get their kids eligible so I doubt there will be too much of a problem.

Ouch tough draw. Especially with Tyus Jones and Howard Pulley and even more grim with Oakland Soliders. Meanstreets and CP3 also not bad, tough pool.

Sorry, thought Scott was a 2.

When looking at the PG situation though did they even really look at Burke? Or were they all in on Craft? I get not adding Burke over Scott, I was just looking at it from a PG perspective. I guess it's similar to the UK/Lofton situation, pass on an in state talent and take the more highly touted national recruit at a different position.

Yeah I've often wondered how much that one had to sting. Burke and Sullinger were tight pals so I'm surprised they let him go. Craft is a great player in his own right and at the time I understand he was the more highly touted recruit. However can't have a guy like that in your back yard and say thanks but no thanks. Craft can play d and run a team but give me Burke any day of the week. Felt that way then, definitely feel that way now. It's easy to be a Monday morning QB but Thad got burned on that one.

Me too, really wanted to see him in blue and white. Surprised he committed this early I thought he was going to be a late signee. Hopefully Cal can land Booker or Vaughn if not BBN may have a meltdown for not wanting the KY kid.

:lol2:

Exactly!

Nice offer. Kentucky has a lot of D1 high school talent right now, most I can ever really remember.

What about Josh Perkins? I've heard he's in the mix to transfer into Huntington Prep to play point guard?

Doesn't surprise me, id say it would have been tough to near impossible for him to qualify. Any word on which prep he's looking at?

Anybody know where Ray Kasongo (Pikeville) is going to end up? I know last year he had offers from Depaul and a few other pretty good D1's, just haven't heard much in terms of his recruiting this year.

Thought he may have been playing with the Travelers, or same team as Cam Justice and Justin Johnson. Not 100% on that though, but thats what I'm wanting to say....

Beats By Dre are obviously the Rolls Royce of headphones nowadays, but I'm cool with my standard iPhone ear buds. The ones that came with the 5 aren't than bad, although I know you can likely purchase much better.

Pikeville vs. Lawerence County this Saturday (1/19) @ East Ky Expo Center, for 15th Region "All-A" crown. Pikeville beat Paintsville 66-59 last night to advance, while Lawerence coasted by Allen Central. Very intriguing matchup. We accepted Pikeville as one of the teams likely to cut the nets before the tournament started, but Lawerence County without a doubt has been the surprise. The young Bulldogs have five guys who average over double figure scoring, so their balance could be enough to topple the inside out duo of Kasongo and Rowe for Pikeville. Pikeville has beated East Ridge, Prestonsburg, and Paintsville on route to the title game while Lawerence has wins over Maggoffin County, Shelby Valley, and Allen Central on their way.

edit....

Top 10 Rankings 1.) Betsy Layne 2.) Johnson Central 3.) Pikeville 4.) Sheldon Clark 5.) Lawerence County 6.) Paintsville 7.) East Ridge 8.) Belfry 9.) Prestonsburg 10.)Pike County Central

With only a couple of teams not playing in the 15th Region "All A" Classic, the past week or so has really gave us a chance to see where the region stacks up against one another a little over midway through the season. One of the surging teams of late has been the Pikeville Panthers, a team that has been up and down in our rankings this season. After the Ray Kasongo eligibility ruling was over turned on appeal we instantly dubbed Pikeville as a top 3 team, then they went on a skid losing six of seven. Recently they have started to trend upwards once again as they have won four straight against quality regional opponents(East Ridge, Belfry, Prestonsburg, Shelby Valley). Now they sit as the likely favorite to come out of the 15th Region for the All-A, they play a semi-final game tonight against Trevor Tiller and the Paintsville Tigers. A big part of the recent success for Pikeville has to do with the inside out duo of Kasongo and Ethan Rowe finally starting to get things going. Kasongo is now averaging 15 a game on the season, while Rowe is scoring over 20+ (22.7ppg). Kasongo is also pulling 9.4 boards a game which has him dangerously close to averaging a double double on the season. If they can continue their recent play he will achieve that double double average sooner rather than later, and Pikeville will continue to be a contender instead of a pretender. Pikeville is now 10-7 on the season. As Pikeville is on the up and up, another 59th district team is on the ropes. After sitting in our top 3 all season, Shelby Valley's young Wildcats are now searching for answers after dropping two straight in region to Pikeville and Lawerence County. Shelby Valley will still be okay at seasons end, but right now the two losses and early exit from the "All-A" is likely enough for them to forefeit their top 3-5 spot in our rankings. Shelby Valley has a chance to avenge both losses later on in the schedule, both on the road. Currently they sit at 9-8 on the season. Another team of note in the region is our #1, the Johnson Central Golden Eagles. After sitting at the top spot since pre season, JC has had to deal with the injury bug all season long. As Shane Hall still tries to get to 100% coming off of an ankle injury, JC is still trying to justify itself as tops in the region. At 10-7 the record doesn't seem to indicate one of the regions top teams, however, the only losses in region are to Sheldon Clark early, and then more recently Lawerence County who clipped them 78-76 last Tuesday. Once healthy, fully expect Johnson Central to be in the mix to defend their regional crown. Arguably the hottest team of late has been the Bulldogs of Lawerence County. After a forgettable 1-6 start, they now sit at 11-7 on the season with a three point loss to Lee County in the Red River Classic their only blemish since. With recent wins over Shelby Valley, Johnson Central, Maggoffin County, and Prestonsburg, Lawerence County is ready to prove they are for real. They get their chance tonight in the "All-A" semi's as they square off with Allen Central for a spot in the "All-A" championship. Leading the young balanced attack for Lawerence has been Robert Dalton, Timmy Dalton, Grant Kiser, Brandon Richardson, and Austin Chaffin, all averaging more than ten points per game. It is apparent after the slow start that it took a little time for these young guys to gel, and more importantly get football in the rearview.

In the second game of the night the tourney favorite, Betsy Layne, almost got knocked out by South Floyd. Betsy Layne had beat them 20+ earlier in the season, but had to squeak this one out in OT. Just goes to show you that the 15th Region is always a crap shoot. Hat's off to South Floyd on the effort as they appear to be a much better team than what they were just a few weeks ago. In another game down to the wire, Dalton Richardson hits one practically at the buzzer to advance Shelby Valley over Sheldon Clark, the final score 47-45. This game IMO showed that both Valley and Sheldon Clark are going to be in the hunt for the regional championship. Sheldon Clark already has a win over Johnson Central, and this morning shows they can compete with anyone in the region. Shelby Valley made some mistakes late to keep SC hanging around, but ultimately they pulled it out. Shaping up to be an exciting tournament, especially if the first round is any indication.

Some great games thus far! Tournament started off right with a serious grudge match against district rivals Pikeville and East Ridge. I alluded to the fact earlier in the thread that national top 150 recruit Ray Kasongo transferred to Pikeville from East Ridge before the start of the season. That certainty added to the rivalry and lead to some back and forth between the two sides. In the end though it was Pikeville with the edge, Ethan Rowe stepping up huge for them. Just to show you how much both sides were into the game, here's a video I found online of an East Ridge player (Christian Hagy) swatting one of Kasongo's shots. A foul gets called on the play but it was called on another player down below. Show's how much back and forth was going on in this game, at the end you can will notice Kasongo getting in on the taunting as he acknowledges the East Ridge crowd. Pikeville won the first matchup, but these two teams haven't saw the last of each other. Both will be vying for a spot (along with Shelby Valley) in the regional tournament coming out of the 59th district. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=452215288175123&set=p.452215288175123&type=2&theater

So far through Saturday.... Shelby Valley 47 Sheldon Clark 45 Lawerence County 70 Maggoffin County 48

Scores from last night... Pikeville 62 East Ridge 53 Betsy Layne 66 South Floyd 64