chucktaylors

Riley will not play. Howe is doubtful. With the wins/losses in district to this point this game would not really impact the seeding. If Grant was to pull the upset, then Grant and Simon Kenton would draw to see who would be #1 and who would be #2. If Walton beats Williamstown at Walton, both of them would be tied for #3 and #4 so they would have to draw for who is #3 and who is #4. The only way that this plays out without a draw is Simon beats Grant and Williamstown beats Walton. Then it would be SK #1, Grant #2, Williamstown #3 and W-V #4. With Grant sweeping Walton and Williamstown the Braves have assured themselves to be in the opposite bracket from SK in the district tourney. Therefore, Coach Kinmon will probably rest Boston and allow him to heal before getting back to action next Friday against Anderson Co. That will be a 10 day layoff. Riley will be back then also. Getting the bench substantial minutes would be good for Grant's preparation for the district.

Scott County was dominant from 95-2000. So was UK. Times change and regional opponents adjusted to Scott's style of play. Having said that, a few comments on this year in the 8th. First, Grant has played Simon Kenton, Oldham County, Shelby County, and South Oldham. Therefore, some first hand knowledge as to styles of play and personnel. Clearly, Shelby has the best team. They are very athletic, big and skilled. Having said that, they are not invincible. They do not play hard at all times. They seem to play to the competition and then turn it up for a brief period of time to get in control and then coast. A J Slaughter is as good as advertised. Will probably be a very good player at the next level. Wade dominates with his physical presence. He had a block against Grant that might have been goal tending but I think it even caught the refs by suprprise as he was above the square. They can shut down an inside game with Chambers (6'7" 245) guarding the post and allowing Wade to patrol the lane from the weakside. They also made 9 threes against Grant's zone. Grant could not match up in man to man. They have the #1(Slaughter), #2(Wade) and #5 (White) preseason rated players in the region. Simon is next in both talent and teamwork. Hester can handle the pressure of Shelby. The question is what about the remaining four on the floor. When Shelby turns it up, it is impressive. The pressure comes from everywhere. When they get it going the scoring comes in bunches. Put on an 18-0 run against Boyle and after Grant closed it to 39-38 with about 3 minutes to go in the 3rd, they went on 17-2 run to end the quarter. They made 3s, hit the offensive glass, and scored out of press. Simon does have the personnel to cause Shelby problems if Simon plays well and Shelby coasts. Oldham County is the best coached team in the region. Forrest has been around for years and understands the game and the competition. Usually Oldham is bigger in the post with solid guards. They are young and are gaining confidence. Grant lost to them by 1 in the Henry County Tourney. Oldham made free throw with less than 5 seconds to go for the win. South Oldham is down a little. When Grant played them Howe did not play for the Braves because of sprained ankle. Both teams seemed a little uninspired at an afternoon 5th place game 3 days before Christmas. With both teams at full strength, Grant and South are pretty equal. However, South did get the win that day. It is Shelby's to lose. However, for the past five years the same thing was said for Scott County. Oldham beat them in 01, 02; Grant beat them in 03; Bullitt East beat them in 05. Should be fun!

Grant visits Conner on 1/12. Grant is 2-1 since losing point guard Blackburn for the season. They clinched 2nd seed in 32nd district with wins over Walton and Williamstown. Conner's record not great but looks to have played well against several good teams. Any thoughts?

It was Walton's turn under the old alignment. I would say that still stands as it is rotated each year. Williamstown had it last year. Grant in 2004. Owen in 2003. Scott in 2002.

Torn acl. He is out for the year.

Grant County went to 3-1 in District play to assure no less than a 3rd seed in the 32nd district tourney. With a win at Williamstown on Tuesday the Braves would be assured no less than a 2nd seed, leaving their home game with Simon Kenton later this month to determine the #1 seed. Grant's first district game without Blackburn. The final score really doesn't reflect the way that Grant handled Walton. Howe got Grant off to a hot start scoring 11 in 1st quarter on 5-6 shooting. Grant cruised to a 16 point halftime lead where it stayed until late in the 4th when W-V closed to within 10. Howe then hit a contested 15 foot jumper and the Braves closed it out on the free throw line. Braves went 21-25 on free throw line for the game. Braves had balanced attack with Howe scoring 18, Adam Riley with 15, Nathan Koebcke with 14 and Bailey Tabor with 10. Jon Livengood did nice job at point in Blackburn's absence. Braves should get Lucas Sharp back next week after missing a month with broken hand. Lucas was starting before his injury and had 11 against W-V in their first meeting.

Injuries have hit Grant County hard in the holiday tourneys. First, they were missing starting forward Lucas Sharp after breaking his hand on December 10th game with Williamstown, now their backcourt is injured. Boston Howe sprained his ankle in the first quarter of the Owen County game at the Christmas tourney in Henry County after scoring 23 against Oldham County (8-1) the night before. He missed the South Oldham game which the Braves lost. Boston back to about 75-80%. Roger Blackburn may have suffered the worst injury when he went down in the 1st quarter of the 3rd place game at the holiday tourney in Phoenix with a knee injury. Will have MRI on Tuesday to determine if sprain or tear. Grant played well in Phoenix Cactus Jam although going 1-2. Beat Alameda California which has enrollment of about 2000 kids and a nice team. Lost to eventual tourney champs St. Mary's of California by 2 in semifinals. St. Mary's made two free throws with 5.2 seconds to go for the win. Grant missed a 3 at the buzzer for the win. St. Mary's is Division IV state runner-up from last year. They do not rebuild they reload. Looked alot like the current Holmes team. Last year sent 2 players to DI and 1 to D2, including Larry Gurganeous who plays about 10 minutes a game for Gonzaga as a freshman. Grant lost the 3rd place game to Mercyhurst Prep out of Pennsylvania a strong parochial school. Grant was up 16 - 6 when Blackburn went out. Roger and Boston had scored 12 of Grant's first 16 when he went down. Although losing Roger, Grant was down only by 3 with under 2 minutes to go. Mercyhurst held on for the 6 point win.