NKYBOY1487

I have known Brad Carr for a long long time. He's been very influential in my coaching. I might have the same inensity as him but he taught me very early on that you must be accountable for your actions and players must be held accountable also. With that said, I've never seen him cross the line or be out of line while coaching. If he was to step down for family reasons then that would make more sense. But if he's asked to leave at Scott, it won't take long for them to be "just average" again. He's building a very nice program there at Scott.

Its great to read about stuff in this thread. Im a guy that started following KY HS bball when I was about a 7th or 8th grader. I don't know much about the history Newport. My dad tells me that Newport used to always be one of the top teams. I do remember when I first started paying attention to HS bball, a pretty good Newport team that had Johnny Bonner and Pete Green on it. But Im not sure how they faired in Regional play since NCC, Highlands, SK, and CCH were all very good back then. I also played against a very good Newport alum. I was talking to a former teammate of mine today and trying to recall his name. Thomas Petty I believe??? But keep this up, reading this stuff from the "Golden Days" really helps me with the tradition of this program.

I just remembered this little nugget as I left the game and thought I'd share it. I was waiting by the restrooms and I see many many dissappointed Holmes fans walking out of the arena. One little boy caught my eye. I would say he was 9 or 10 years old. He was walking out with his Holmes T-Shirt on and next to him was I assume his grandmother and his father. His grandmother was giving him a good lesson as they walked out of the arena. I overheard her say: "now you listen to me young man. don't you ever ever act like that boy did down there. you take losing just like you taking winning. you act like you've been there before whether you win or lose." and then she looked him in the eye and said "YOU UNDERSTAND ME??" I walked out of that building absolutley satisfied with what I paid for tickets today.

I don't care what anyone says. The best TEAM won. Newport plays like a team. They play TEAM BASKETBALL as well as any 9th Region Champ in recent memory. They kinda remind me of the St Henry team in 03'. They pass the ball very well. They handle pressure very well. They aren't scared of anyone. Many of us knew Holmes had issues. But it took a game like today to just prove it. They didn't respond well to adversity. They played sluggish and then 2 guys even got "thugish". They weren't hitting from the outside and Elijiah was more worried about running his mouth rather than working the paint. Sorry to say it, but Ricardo and Jeremiah's shots seemed very flat today. Not sure if they were fatigued or just and off day. The Dynasty is over....back to chaos in the 9th for a few years.

I know NKU has to be interested after watching him close in the 9th Region Tournament. But haven't heard anything official.

Just like I predicted, except for the blow out. Newport is just a better team!

Totally agree with your words on Ricardo. A first class act he is. I really believe he deserves Mr Basketball this season.

Ok I might be crazy but Im going out on a limb. I really think that Newport will win. And not just because of Holmes having pressure or Holmes having some bad luck or a bad game. I think that NEWPORT IS THE BETTER TEAM AND PLAYS BETTER TEAM BASKETBALL. They pass the ball very well. They defend very well. Whether its in a zone, man to man or even when they press. The biggest problem for Newport in my opinion is the depth. They really are only 6 deep and not any deep than that at all. Foul trouble could potentially be a problem. But they have a few good shooters. The two bigs are physical and also are very solid around the basket. As for what I've seen from Holmes. They definetly are streaking and have potential to just dominate. But I was very dissappointed with the 3rd qtr play of Pittman and the 3rd qtr game plan of Coach Henley. Lots of standing around by Pittman. Lots of bad passes. Not much penetration, and when they did penetrate they used floaters and mid range jumpers. Thats exactly how Boone got back into the game. They didn't handle Boone's physicallity very well that 3rd qtr. And I think Newports "bigs" will frustrate Pittman and make every one of his touches tough. Thats why I believe foul trouble will be HUGE in the is game. Either way Im looking forward to this one. I think we have the best 2 teams squaring off in the 9th again and I think we have the chance to see a classic tonight. Good Luck to both teams! NEWPORT by a 3!!

This wasn't too hard to call. The first half wa close due to some great defense and Newport just not getting some easy looks to fall. But that all changed in the 3rd qtr with the play of Foster and Sizemore. I love watching this Newport team when they are clicking. As for CovCath. Same old story. Make this teams shoot from the outside and you will win. Am I correct in saying that they were 1-17 from 3pt range this week?

I think Newport is out to prove a point. After playing well in the Ryle game, I think they are our to stun the entire state actually. Im not going to go as far as saying they will win the region, yet. But I think they have there way with CovCath. And will battle with Holmes in the finals. CovCath is an awful shooting team. From the FT line and the 3pt line. This is perfect for a team like Newport who doesn't mind sitting in 3 types of zones and making a bad shooting team shoot. So unless CovCath is shooting into a swimming pool instead of a basket, I think Newport wins by double digits. P.S. I think the heart and sole of this Newport team is Casey McDaniel. This kid is so underrated under the basket its not even funny.

Mitch and I got to know each other through coaching against each other and through a mutual friend. We became great friends on and off the court. I got the news this morning at my desk and almost lost it. Mitch was a great coach and great person. I spoke to him last week before his team played in the diocesane tournament. He wanted a quick scouting report. He always wanted to make sure his boys were 110% prepared no matter what. And without thinking he'd always shoot me an email or send me a text to say good luck or see how things were going with my team. Mitch and I were a lot alike and thats why we became close friends. We both came from great programs. We both love the game of the basketball. We enjoyed the kids we've got to work with and people we got to associate with. Basketball wasn't Mitch's life, but it was a very big part of it. I believe he was a member of BGP and enjoyed reading "hot topics". I always tried to nudge him into posting more, but he always said it wasn't for him. For those that never got to meet Mitch Orth, they really missed out. He was a first class individual. A first class coach. A first class teammate. A great student. And one heck of a person!! Im really going to miss you buddy!!!!

This was an entertaining game. I was very impressed with Sean Meyer tonight and Jake Geisler. From the Boone side, I thought Earls looked good and then bad in that order. Both teams wanted this win very bad and you could tell by the amount of huslte and hard play. 5 Things: And to prove Im not biased towards either team, I can tell you before the game I actually asked "is it possible both teams can lose???" 1) 0-10???? I think it was more like 0-13 or so. Heck he shot 3 3's and missed all 3 in about 8 seconds. 2) The 3pt shooting in the tourn (outside of Newports #22) has been awful. This has to be for 2 reason in my opinion. a)Players getting used to the scenery and depth percetption. b)I have maybe seen 1 or 2 guys the entire tournament actually shoot from the HS 3pt line. Every shooter is shooting from the college line or even further out. 3) HJA, The lady you sat behind tonight has to be the same lady I sat behind last year. The entire game she spent yelling and I mean really yelling at the officials, Boone's coaches, and even at times opposing players. It was awufl. 4) With that said. The lady I complained about couldn't have complained more than NCC coaches. Truthfully, I thought this game was the best officiated game of the tournament so far. I think the 16th region refs have done a really good job. And NCC was whinning about every single call or no call. That block by Cotton was not a goal tend. A fabulous play by a very athletic player. 5) Not only was the complaining bad. The coaching was just about as bad. With a 1pt lead and about 1min left, why was NCC even trying to move the ball inside or enter the 3pt cirlce. They had fouls to give and Boone had to fould twice just to get NCC into the bonus and shooting freethrows. Then they don't foul with 7sec left and a foul to give on the defensive end. Not to even mention that Boone was having fits with Geisler on the inside. Not many plays were drawn up for the big man on the post. Instead they just continued to jack up 3's. I think Pangallo plays really hard, and at times is a very good point guard. But over the 3yrs I've seen him on varsity. I would never think of him as a consistant 3pt threat. But he just kept shooting.

Yeah no doubt it was a goaltending and they got it right. But how bout the speed, athleticism of Benny Bessler. He just WOWs me when I watch him. He never sits out a play when he's on the floor. He gives so much effort. I can't imagine how tired I would have been if I'd give that effort 100% of the time when I played sports.

Deleted my original post.....PM me if you saw it and want to discuss.

Its kinda fun to see a NEW"CAT" in the fight for the regional title. This team has what it takes to cause some problems for the Dogs and even some teams down at the Sweet 16. Good Luck to my new favorite team, NEWPORT....now that my CRU is out with a tough loss to CCH.

Crusaders struggled early but in the 2nd half they got back in it with great D and much better rebounding in the 4th qtr. 2 things Coach Faust demands with his teams. Surprisingly this Crusader team usually puts up good numbers in the pts column by making 3pters and pushing the ball up and down the floor. Tonight just too many turnovers kept them from scoring "early and often". One note I'd like to make. Heroic effort by Ryan Anderson tonight. I've been saying for 2years Ryan is one the of most underrated players in the region and I think after tonight some will finally agree with me. And besides that Ryan is a first class student athlete on and off the floor that comes from a great family. Hope he continues getting better and would love see him playing ball in college next year. One BGPer knows where I'd like to see him do that at Last but most important. I want to say congrats and thank you to this years fabulous group of seniors at St Henry. You showed us this season what St Henry basketball is about. You played extremely hard every game. Gave your all and represented the St Henry program with lots of class. Im proud to say I coached most of you for 1 or 2 summers and got to know you each individually. You all are great young men on and off the basketball floor. Ryan Anderson Ben Bessler Will Gulla Jake Hils Tyler Jordan Danny Seifried Alex Thorburn Louie Tobertge

I don't think CovCath will beat Newport. I think Newport has the big bodies to match up w/ CovCath. I think Newport has much more talent. But with that said, Newport never really blew out St Henry in 2 matchups this year. Newport vs Holmes in the Finals

Not only did Newport win by this large margin. I thought almost every call went in Ryle's favor. Even some easy ones went the other way. Could have been worse.....

I guess I should have been specific and said they should improve on FT% and 3pt%. Just because you can't shoot much worse than that.

Im sure CovCath will improve on these shooting stats from the first game. COVCATH Field Goal %: 40.4 3 Point %: 14.3 Free Throw %: 43.8

Could easily see this happening. I think most people would agree these are all the favorites to win these games right now. But it makes the most sense and I would believe this is most likely out come. But every year we seem to be amazed by something.

2 comments real quick: 1) If Thelen is anywhere near guarding Bessler, Benny should go right around him. Bessler is way too fast to even need to shoot over Thelen. Bessler needs to be careful and stay out of foul trouble, but St Henry usually does a good job attacking big men and getting them in foul trouble also. Part of their game plan with a small team. 2) NCC is a whole new team since the CovCath game. They have since went 13-2. 1 loss was a 3pt loss to Holmes and the other a close loss in the ALL A Finals to Newport.

Lets talk about game plans real quick. CovCath: There is no doubt in my mind that Coach L is planning on pounding the ball inside to Thelen and Wellbrock. Especially Thelen! St Henry doesn't really have an answer for him on the post. Defensively I see CovCath trying to press a little bit, but mostly play straight up man to man. St Henry: The gameplan for them doesn't really change from game to game defensively. Coach Faust knows he doesn't have any height, but what he expects from his team is for them to compete and make every shot CovCath takes a difficult one. And if they do get an easy attempt to put the Colonels on the free throw line, where they really seem to struggle. Offensively this Crusader team, unlike others of the past, really strives on pushing the ball up the floor and getting quick easy buckets. I expect this will be the offesive game plan again Wednesday night. OUTCOME: I worry about the size difference for St Henry. Thelen is a beast and scored bunches in Game 1. But as for CovCath Id have to worry about becoming "one dimensional". I think Coach L could almost become obsessed with the size difference and that could lead to some struggles. Lets remember this, St Henry has been undersized all season. So this is nothing new for them. They are going to rely on speed and quickness to get on top. Bessler and Barnett almost have another gear that most players don't have. All in all I see this coming down to 2 things. 1. St Henry's 3pt shooting 2. CovCaths Free Throw shooting. If St Henry shoots the 3ball anywhere near the way the did against Dixie, Crusaders head to the final 4. CovCath will get to the line often I believe because of the size difference. If the Colonels can shoot better than 65-70%, I see them on top of this "Recent Rival".

Not a real big deal but looks like CCH is padding the height a little bit. Talked to some people from CovCath who told me its more like Wellbrock 6'3", Thelen 6'4", Connelly 6'3"

Aaah what the heck, no one else is picking my Crusaders, lets make a run Cru!!!!: Ryle over Newport St Henry over CovCath Holmes over Dixie Boone over NCC St Henry over Ryle Holmes over Boone Holmes over St Henry