russellrooter

Not one of Russell's best performances but it's hard to argue with a 20 point win. Russell had 3 in double figures led by Gill with 24 pts 10 rebounds, VanHoose 17 and Robinson with 14. Hoose hit some big 3's and Gill had a couple of strong dunks off good assists. Blair had solid game with 6 pts, 6 assists and 4 steals. Russell has big game Fri against Rowan who is off huge win with Greenup County. Will need big effort to win and keep up top Cubster's Poll!

IMO, this was one of Russell's best efforts of the season. When you can beat a quality out of Region opponent by double figures with your best player (VanHoose) scoring 11, your showing the balance it takes to be a very good team. I thought key to the game was defense in 2nd half by Russell. Played zone all 1st half, went to man to man, Gill shut down their point guard scorer, also great team help defense by everyone. Robinson's energy, as usual, was contagious as he wouldn't be denied and Gill's work on the offensive boards with several putbacks were key. Like the fact that Gill seems to be back on track where he's had 3 of 4 games with 15 or more. Blair played his usual stellar game at the point with few turnovers and strong rebounding.

I've been watching 16th Region games for many years. I can live with any of the Refs that I've seen up to this point, even though they call too many touch fouls and they are way to big a part of the game for my taste. The one guy that needs to go or get more training or something, is the young guy that called this game. While it's true he was consistently bad for both teams, his "phantom calls" became the focal point of this game and that should never be. I saw the TV version of this game and he was an embarrassment. I'm sure he's a fine young man and I'd like to say he just had a bad game, but this is consistent with other games I've seen him Ref. He he owes Gill (played 8 minutes), Turner (phantom tech), and McDavid (fouled all night) an apology and I hope I see him at the Freshman games getting a tune-up.

Scott Gill from Russell had an awesome dunk against South Laurel at Rupp Arena during the "preview" tournament in December. It was on a perfect out of bounds "alley oop" pass from VanHoose over a 6 9" center who didn't see it coming! I'll try to post the link to this one.

Fairview was up by 4 early in the 2nd half 33-29 and Barker had 12. Didn't catch the end of the game though, anyone have an update?

IMO, Russell has no ongoing player issues. The one game suspensions of 2 players in Lexington were a 1 time thing for very "minor" team violations. Nonetheless, the coach dealt with it and it's now behind the team. This is not an "ongoing" problem and IMO, the team will benefit from this because "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger". Building character is good thing for all of us. As for Blair, I don't believe there's anything going on with him.

While we may never know how this game would have turned out with Russell's regulars playing, I watched St X twice in this tourny and I thought Russell would have matched up well against them. St X had a very athletic 6'3" forward that Gill matched up well against. St X only started one player over 6' 5" so Russell fared well there. St X had 3 quick guards much like Russell. It looked like the one advantage that St X had was there bench where they had a couple of other 6'5" ers to rotate in. As I said, we may never know.............

When I posted this thread, I didn't mean to say that the 16th region reps were necessarily bad refs. My intention was to point out an enormous difference in the way games are called in the 16th Reg vs what I saw over 3 days in Lexington's 5/3 tourny. I would say that the 16th region Refs are consistent in how they call games (touch fouls, walks, charges) but I know for certain it is "different" (better or worse is open for debate) than the rest of the State.

Just for the record, two of Russell's starters did not play. These two players account for about 35 pts a game. Russell made it a game for the 1st quarter and then they began to turn the ball over against the press and St X was hitting their 3 pointers. Russell coach elected not to play any of the 3 regular starters for a good part of the first half and most of the 2nd half. He went with several players in the 2nd half that rarely see varisity action. My guess is that was part of the "character building" that needed to take place. IMO, the regular Russell team could have been very competitive with St X and very possibly won this game.

Speaking of unsung hero's, Austin Blair is "huge" for Russell. He has sacrificed getting his points to lead this team at the "point" position. During this tournament he set the tempo of the game by getting the ball out fast in transition and finding the open man. His defense is underated and he is a big reason why L'ville Central shot 23% and Miller only scored 16. Robinson has set the defensive tempo this entire tournament. He has his hand on every ball and ran the fast break as good as anyone I've seen in this tourny. Without him, Russell has a couple more losses this year easy. Gill quietly gets 12 points 10 rebounds just about every game and when he's not blocking shots (as he did a Darius Miller 3), he's altering them. Fun team to watch!

Is there a significant difference in the way Ref's call a game depending on what Region you are in? I noticed in the Sweet 16 at Rupp last year that the Ref's didn't call "touch fouls" and let the game be played very aggressively. They also didn't tend to call a lot of walks off the dribble. After watching 10 games or so over the last few days at the 5/3 tournament in Lexington , I noticed a huge difference in how these games are officiated versus the games in the 16th region. They let these kids play ball like they do in college. (I love it!). Someone said a Ref bases the way they call the game on the "athleticism" on the floor. Am I the only one that sees it this way?

Russell had the lead late in regulation and late in overtime. They couldn't sustain mainly because of turnovers against a very aggressive defense and missed free throws. One of the reasons I think Gill's defense was effective in the 2nd half against Miller is Miller didn't post up one time (that I can recall). He tried to take Gill off the dribble time after time and either ran into a quick Gill or good help defense. It didn't hurt that the refs allowed these kids to play very aggressive defense without the touch fouls the 16th Region refs call!

One of the most exciting high school games of the year. Russell led in 1st half 24 -23 on last second three. Gill had 10 in 1st half and VanHoose again played like a D-1 stud. Russell led the entire 2nd half except for last minute. Good defense on both sides of the ball. Gill guarded Miller the entire 2nd half and held him to a couple of field goals. Russell had a chance to win it at the buzzer with a good look at the three (ARob) that rimmed out. I like the way this Russell team played with emotion. Thanks to both teams for a great high school basketball memory!

SK was in control most of this game under Hester's leadership. He sat most of the 4th qtr with a bad ankle, not asthma. IMO, had he played, SK wins a tough, physical contest.

Russell was led by Vanhoose with 25 points 7 rebs, Gill with 15 pts and 8 rebs, Robinson 12 and 3 steals. Russell won by 16 with 27 Turnovers (Vanhoose and Blair w/17) because L'ville pressed the entire game. Russell got behind early but Dodd took 3 quick timeouts to get Russell settled down and Robinson set the tempo with early steals and transition baskets. As for Russell's defense, it looked like they were in a zone most of the game with good rebounding (44-39) and pressured most of L'ville's shots. This was a very athletic L'ville team that Russell "team ball" beat.

For month 1 of the season: Looking at the "total package", including points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks & defense, and having seen just about every team in the 16th thus far, here is my Top 10: My "Level 1" team has Vanhoose solidifying his #1 pre-season Ranking by leading his team to 9-0 so far with Euton & Jackson close behind. Ferguson, McDavid & Gill make up my "2nd Level". Daniels, Thomas, Barker, and Faulkner are at the next level rounding out my Top 10 thus far. It's early yet and I expect many kids capable of getting in the Top 10 to include: Robinson & Blair at Russell, Sparks at Raceland, Wolfenbarger & Brown at Greenup, Martin at Rowan, Hollingsworth at West, and Faulkner at Elliott. It's been a great Month 1!

I saw them last night in a tourny in eastern Ky. They beat one of our 16th Region teams (by 18) that is ranked in the middle of the pack. I thought they looked like a team that would be at or near the top of our region. They play my Russell Red Devils (top ranked team in 16th) tomorrow night which should be a good test for both teams.

Russell has strong 2nd half to up their record to 6-0. Led by 4 at half, went up by 20+ in the 2nd half. I didn't catch the exact stats but I'd guess VanHoose with 25 or so, Gill with 12, Blair and Robinson with close to 10 each, Turner 6. I caught a glimpse of what I thought Russell would look like this year in the 2nd half.:banana:

VanHoose had 28 pts & 10 boards, Gill had 12 points (5-11), 8 boards and 5 assists (set out quarter and half in foul trouble), Blair had 10 & 6, and Robinson 7pts. I've seen every Russell game but one and haven't seen them play anywhere near their capabilities. Maybe they'll put a great game together against a good team.

I can tell you that their big two "McDavid and Thomas" are as good as it gets in our Region and can match any other "twosome" around. Thomas is a lot stronger than last year and causes big matchup problems because of his quickness, nice 3 point shot, and ball handling. I look for him to be one of our Region's very best by tournament time. Drew McDavid is smart defensively and a workhorse around the basket. Has trouble guarding a "very big" or "very quick" post player, but don't we all. Wilcox is the question mark as he's inconsistent but plays hard all the time. I know Bonner is raw but he's a big banger. Don't know much about their 2 new faces that had the good game against Rock Hill.

Terrific 16th region contest. Elliott County plays harder than any team in our region, period!. They have tons of heart and I love their hustle and they could easily win it all in late Feb. That being said, Russell simply has more talent, more athletes, more depth and in the end, more "D-1 Hoose". Their new up tempo game is much more fun to watch and when they start making better decisions, they could be scary. Gill is a horse on the inside and has to get more touches: he's 8-10 & 6-9 in two games from the field. Blair has to stay out of foul trouble and he pushes the ball up the floor as good as anyone in the region and Robinson is learning the system. Great game!

I don't see defense discussed much in the threads on 16th Region teams but I believe it will the key to this game as well as who wins the Region this year. As much as I'm a fan of the "big 3" for Elliott, I like Russell in this one because of their defense. Hoose (long and lanky) & Blair (smart & deceptively quick) pose matchup problems. Throw in Gill (shot blocker, quick, and strong) & Robinson (all scrappy award) and I believe that will carry them regardless of what their offense is able to produce. A glaring weakness for Russell's defense is guarding a big post player and while Ferguson is special, he's not that big.

I watched 3 games of the KBA Showcase and while I don't have the exact score, here's a recap. Southwestern got beat by Warren East by a very close score, RoseHill beat Jackson County by 1 or 2 points (game in the 40's), Russell got beat by South Laurel by twenty some points. In the Rose Hill game, I thought Jackson and Euton looked like they will be legit D1's by the time they graduate. Rose Hill had a better supporting cast than I thought but and I would rate them a contender for the 16th Region but more likely a top 1/3 team. With Russell, Vanhoose solidified himself as a Top 25 player in the state as he was easilily one of the top players on the floor. Scott Gill started the game with one of the best dunks I"ve seen at the High School level and turned in a good defensive effort, but he "disappeared" at times. The rest of Russell's supporting cast struggled against a team with 3 D1 players and that will be contending for the state championship.

Actually Comet, you were right on when you look at the past couple of years where Russell has gotten off to a slow start for a number of reasons. Two years ago, they were more dependent on football players, Kasey Clark, to be specific. There were some early season suspensions to go along with that as well. Last year, Austin Blair doesn't start the season because of mono and there were a couple of football players Russell needed badly. This season will be the first in several years that Russell is a) not waiting (needing) football players immediately and b) everyone seems to be healthy. Should be interesting.

Russell does have a couple of players playing football but none of them are "anticipated" starters. Jacob Sizemore is one of them and he will definitely be a contributor once in basketball shape but he'll have a hard time displacing a new face on Russell's team, transfer Austin Robinson, as a starter. Kasey Clark may or may not come out but he wasn't on last year's Regional Champs anyway. Russell will be at full stride (whatever that means) when they play Elliott and it should be a great game. At the Russell intersquad scrimmage I saw the other night, Vanhoose looked D1 with his game, Gill's added about a half foot to his vertical along with more height and weight and was dunking the ball like a D1 player, 6' 6" Turner was running the court like a guard, Austin Blair was pushing the ball up the court like a man possesed, and Robinson was about as scrappy a player as I've seen in the 16th Region. I have a ton of respect for Elliott's players as I watched all 3 of their Regional games last year in Morehead, but I still like Russell's chances for at least one more year.