budman0209

Who are the better players on the Franklin County team?

Names?

#1 Covington Catholic #2 Highlands #3 Boone County #4 Holmes

Chris Bondick will do a good job with dribble penetration. He finishes well at the basket and will set up shooters on the perimeter. Mitch Shover will also suprise you with his ability to get to the basket. He is slight of build but does a great job protecting the ball and getting deep into the lane. This will not be a problem with this group this year.

What class will he be in?

Give us the scoop on the rest of the incoming sophomores. What type of player is Tyler Grubbs?

Nic Simpson has one of the purest strokes in Northern Kentucky. He can fill it up from behind the arc.

I totally agree with this assessment. There was a lot more depth last year. When you get past the top 5 this year, you start adding names that wouldn't have been in the top 20 last year.

The July schedule is now complete. Which players helped themselves in the month of July? For the Shining Star Sports 17u teams: Mike Sparks-He tore it up during the month of July. While at the Showcase and D-1 Nationals in Orlando he averaged over 20pts per game. May be one of the better July performances. The thing that amazes me about Mike is how consistant he is. He has been the top scorer and top rebounder for the Shining Star team all year. He is going to have a huge senior year. The new coach at Tates Creek will have a player that he can count on every night. Arrez Henderson-Very solid July. Not to many kids with his athletisism and ability to guard. He is fun to watch. If he can continue to shoot the ball well from outside the arc he will be a dominant player. Nic Simpson-Very solid July. When he is in the zone their are not to many players that can put up offensive numbers with him.

Austin Hill was probably the only D-1 talent last year but his grades and test scores didn't allow for that to happen.

I would love to have a better opinion concerning Luke. He had a fantastic sophomore season and will be a huge part of the Covington Catholic team this season. I came on staff at the beggining of June but have yet to see him play because of baseball. I understand that he is a stud on the baseball field. If he springboards off of his sophomore year he would be #6 or #7 on my list. He is going to be fun to watch.

The 9th will be down big time this year. A lot of good players have and will move on the past two years. It will be very interesting to see some of the players that step up and make a difference in the region. This list is very poor compared to the list last year.

I love your top 5. I think that you are dead on. 6. Luke Mace (Dixie) 7. Greg McGraw (Highlands) 8. Josh Nelson (Holmes) 9. John Maley (Ryle) 10. Eric Thomas (Conner)

Congrats to Alex Hall. His ability to shoot the ball was amazing to watch at times. He was a great addition to the Shining Star Sports family.

That is awesome. The kids got to meet the legend. How did they re-act?

I thought that Courtney Anderson had left Conner. Is that not true?

I really like Corey Sorrell and think that his best basketball is still ahead of him. I think that NKU did a good job in getting him in. He is a deadly shooter and has great length. Tough guy to guard. Mike Grimes is also one of the top players in the 9th region. He is going to play on a team that is very deep and balanced. He will not put up the numbers that Arrez and Nic will. Mike will have a good chance of playing in the Sweet 16 and that is more important than the overall numbers. Great player. I am lucky to have the opportunity to be involved with him this year at Cov Cath and with Shining Star Sports. Steven "Diddy" McFarland is going to make a lot of noise this season. He will be the player of the year in the 9th next year. He will put up very solid numbers and will be the MVP of the Boone County squad. I spent a lot of time with him at Boone and enjoyed watching him play. He is a great kid with a ton of upside. All three of these guys are very good players but I don't think that they will have a very good chance of beating out Arrez or Nic for the POY in the 9th.

One of the players that I think is going to suprise a lot of people is Chris Roll. He is going to get his first real opportunity to play at the varsity level. He is probably the best perimeter shooter on the roster and has a motor that never stops. He is going to be someone who gives the Cov Cath team a big lift. He may not put up huge numbers because this team is going to be very balanced and deep, but he will be someone who can put up points in a hurry. Keep an eye on this kid.

You only need to know two names: Arrez Henderson and Nic Simpson.

Sorry, have been away from the computer. Shining Star Sports-Ponzer is still playing in the tournament bracket at the Nationals. They did not play as well as they would have liked in pool play. They only have eight kids in Orlando and Nic Simpson got hurt twice during pool play. He sprained an ankle and then cut a nasty gash on his forehead. They play again tonight in the classic bracket of the tourney. They are hoping to make a run to finish the season. This team has played well all year. Arrez Henderson, Nic Simpson and Mike Sparks are getting a ton of attention and have really helped themselves with a solid July. It is nice being able to get the updates from all of the teams in Kentucky. Shooter, congrats to all of your teams. Way to represent!!

If the kid that is being rumored comes to Holmes then things change a little bit. He is a very good player and would help them a great deal. Last time I spoke with him he indicated that he was staying at Taft. The transfer would make them a much better team. That would give them two very good players. We will have to wait and see.

I love Arrez, he has been one of the top players in our AAU orginization this summer. He is a top notch young man that I think has a very bright future ahead of him. The problem is that he can't do it by himself. They other players that you mentioned are average at best. Josh and Terrance will give them the ability to rebound the ball at times but they are both offensively challenged. They don't have a good second option and will struggle to score. I think they will be very good on the defensive end but will have a hard time keeping up on the offensive end.

1. Covington Catholic- Probably a little bias at this point but Cov Cath will have the deepest team in the 9th region for the 2008 season. One of the toughest schedules in the 9th region will prepare them for tournament play. This will be an exciting year at Covington Catholic. Very good guards with Bondick, Roll and Shover. Good size with Noll, Lampl and Wellbrock. Powerful players with Schmerge, Maile, Isler and Counts. The top team in the region for 2008. 2. Boone County- One of the top players in the 9th with Steven McFarland and a very good crop of youngsters. Gabbard and Flannery will be two of the top sophomores in Northern Kentucky. Earls can provide decent post play but they don't have much depth behind him. Question is whether or not they will play the style of basketball that will allow this talented group to be successful. 3. Highlands- Nic Simpson is one of the top two players in the 9th region. He is the best scorer and is capable of being a dominating force on the defensive end. With the return of McGraw they will have one of the top scoring combo's in the region. If Simpson and McGraw both stay healthy they will be a force. 4. Holmes-They loose to much to be one of the top two. Arrez Henderson may be the top player in the region and will benefit from the deperture of last years seniors, but he will not have a good enough supporting cast to challenge for the 9th region crown. Guard play will be a big question mark for the Bulldogs. Arrez will keep them among the top teams and will put on a show each time he steps on the floor. 5. Dixie Heights- Luke Mace will be a major force around the basket and will present a major mismatch for a lot of teams in the region. I expect Kyle Kendell to have a nice senior year and rebound from a subpar junior year. Jake Lawson will be a nice player and should be fun to watch.

Your not being negative. I love to get feedback and thoughts from others. Our kids have played in front of a ton of college coaches this week and will play in front of even more for the 17u National tourney this week. It is a decision that we have made as an orginization that we feel benefits our kids. Our scouting director has communicated with a lot of the coaches that have and will recruit our kids and Orlando seems to be the best situation for them. I don't think that you can go wrong with any of these tourneys. I assume that it is different for each team and each orginization. It is nice to see the state of Kentucky represented all over the country. I wish the best for all of these kids. The Vegas tourneys are a huge draw for the college coaches. Great opportunity for the kids that are there. I have yet to attend the tourney in Los Angles. Don't know much about the tourney. I am sure that it is a top notch tourney as well. In the future we may do the Vegas tourney and then go to Orlando for the Nationals.

In their third round bracket game in the 17u Super Showcase: Shining Star Sports-Ponzer 47 Georgia Star 49 The Shining Star Sports team finishes 4 wins and 2 losses for the tourney. They lose by two in the elite 8 of the bracket. Two of the Shining Star Sports teams from Ohio are now in the final four. If they both win this evening they will play for the Silver bracket championship tomorrow at 10am. To this point the Shining Star teams have 14 wins and 4 losses. Nice showing by the S3 teams.