russellrooter

I'll throw a surpise name at you, Scott Gill. As measured by the first part of your criteria, you'd be hard pressed to find a more athletic specimen in the state of Kentucky. He's 6'4",200 lbs, chiseled, and is being recruited as a Decathalete by several major D1 programs. He can run the 100 in 11 secs, long jump 23 feet, and high jump 6 1/2 feet. Now, as far as taking over a game with his athleticism, he showed flashes of this during the 16th Region tourny, but needs to be more consistent his Senior Year to rank with some of these other studs. I will tell you that his HS Coach told me the other day that he had 4 alley oop dunks against some strong Russell competition in open gym recently.

I like Cubster's poll from top to bottom with the exception of West Carter and Fairview (I'd switch them in the poll). This year's Russell team has a chance to be one of the best teams the 16th Region has seen in quite a while. They have a Division 1 signee and 3 or 4 potential Division 2 or 3's. While Vanhoose is a given with his talent, Blair, Gill, Robinson, and Turner all could lead this team on a given night. Throw Sizemore & Ferguson in with this group and they have depth. Blair is perhaps the best all around skill player on this team but hasn't lived up to his potential with slow starts the last couple of years. Gill is much stronger this year and at 6'4", 200 should be more physical to go along with his athleticism and should benefit from his strong finish in the Regional Tourny. Robinson adds a bunch to this group with good passing, a 3 pointer, and "scrapability". I read somewhere that Turner may be the most improved big man in the Region (6'6") and I agree because of his improved "wind" and hardwork over the summer. All that being said, if this team doesn't bring unselfish, team ball to the court every night, they will lose a bunch of games like they did last year. If they come together as a team, I don't see them losing 5 games this year.

If memory serves (and it may not) the Ashland Team of 1977 had most of their team going to Division 1 programs. Jim Harkins to Miami of Ohio, Jeff Kovach to Tulsa, Dale Dummitt to Morehead, Mark Swift to Liberty (or was he 1976), Bill Henderson (College of Charleston). Am I leaving anyone out?

For those that followed the season all the way to the end of the Regional tournament, there were several 16th Region players whose "stock" greatly increased as the season progressed. At their age, the Regional tournament is like a "2nd season" and improvement here can't be overlooked: Based on that premise: 1. Vanhoose (will be dominant #1 this year after big summer) 2. Ferguson (still a year away from #1, but heir apparent to Vanhoose) 3. Gill (Russell's Regional MVP, best athlete in 16th, greatly improved) 4. Thomas (His extra football "bulk & strength" will help him in bball as well) 5. Euton (#1 center in Region period) 6. McDavid (most heart in Region, many have caught up with him in bball) 7. Daniels (could lead region in scoring, strong in fundamentals) 8. Blair (if he starts out healthy this year, could easily be top 5) 9. Jackson (depending on how hard he worked this summer, easy top 10) 10. Barker (Mr hustle in 16th, never say die) Also, I believe you have to look at more than points per game. Defense, rebounding, steals, and turnovers all should play a huge part in the ranking.

Here's my take on the officiating of the Russell - Elliott Co game. You may recall that as the first half closed, Elliott was making a run and was only down 7 or 9 pts. One of their players was driving to the basket and the ball went out of bounds (could've been a foul on Russell). One ref (Bobby) called it out on Russell and another ref(?) came over and changed the call (which was correct because it went out on the Elliott player - right in front of me). That resulted in a possible 7 point swing because a) Elliott lost the ball and didn't score b)a technical was called and 3)Russell hit a 3 at the buzzer to go up 16. My opinion is that Bobby felt like that should have been Elliotts ball and it took Elliott out of the game so he took it upon himself to get them back in the game. That's the only reason that I can guess that he was as "blatantly" anti Russell in that 2nd half. I've watched him all year all the way up to that 2nd half and he has been a good official.

Ferguson from Elliott is a nice player but in my opinion, he's one level away yet from Vanhoose or McDavid. I've seen him play 4 or 5 times and I love his hustle and heart, but he doesn't have the skills that these two players have. His stats compared to others are tempered by a weaker schedule which in no way is his fault. To Wireman's comment on not remembering Scott Gill, he's the one that led Russell in scoring and rebounding 2 of the 3 tourney games (including 18 pts 10 rebounds vs Elliott) and his inspired play with a major ankle sprain against Fairview, may have been what spurred his teammates on to the blowout.

Dodd at Russell. Who else lost their starting point guard and the best defender in the Region and still won the Region!

The team that showed up for Russell for these three games in Morehead was the team most people thought they would see all year to include: Coach Dodd "expertly" using 8 hard nosed, unselfish kids to each contribute in their own way. Led by Vanhoose with excellent ballhandling, outside shooting and "Riddick" like drives to the basket. Blair with his physical all around game. Gill, maybe the best athlete in the 16th region, playing with heart & pain to lead the devils in scoring and rebounding 2 of the 3 games, Lavender coming alive with energy on both ends of the floor, Sizemore's defense & "sweet looking" shot, Simpson's tenacious defense and senior leadership, Turner's presence in the post and nose for the ball, and Frazier's timely buckets under pressure. And the rest of those kids who leave it all on the floor in practice and truly make it a team sport. I for one am glad we got to see this group perform like the team they deserved to be! Let's go to Rupp

While I'm not sure he qualifies as a "top player" yet, I've been impressed with Gill, a Junior from Russell. This is his first year of varsity basketball and he's almost averaging a double double and is 2nd in the 16th Region in Field goal %. He's had strong games against good competion like Fern Creek, Seneca, Brossart, and Scott HS. He's not one of Russells big three (Vanhoose, Blair, and Clark) but has improved dramatically as the year as gone on. If he improves as much as a Senior as he has as a Junior, he will be a "top player"

Nothingbutnet, thanks for the clarification. I would agree that Russell would have "almost" no chance against Scott Co, although I would still holdhout the smallest of hopes for the upset. If the stars were lined up properly, you never know.......

As a "rookie" to this site, I was surprised to see how little someone can know, how loud they can be, and how wrong they can be. Nothingbutnet and play-2-win left no doubt that Russell didn't have a chance against Scott yet they won rather easily. While their bold predictions might be an expression of confidence in their own team, it is ignorance of the other team's capabilities. WTG Russell.

I for one appreciate your "evolving" viewpoint. It takes a big man to have lived through difficult situations regarding your own kids and actually learned from those situations. I for one always blasted the coach when my son didn't get playing time but I knew in my heart of hearts that my son wasn't getting it done in practice. 99.9% of coaches want to win, period. If our kids get it done in practice they will be on the floor. We love them so much that our pain of watching them set the bench clouds our vision. Thanks for speaking out!

Other KHSAA stat "list makers" in the 16th region Vanhoose Russell 3pointers Black Fairview Rebounds Mitchell Greenup Co Field Goal % Gill Russell Field Goal % Ferguson Elliott Co Field Goal %

You are right about Blanton's defense. I've always thought he was one of the Region's most underrated players. Also, there's no question that Vanhoose, Blair, and Clark are the go to guys for Russell. My point is that unless Russell can replace Derek Sloan in the post, Russell doesn't have a chance in the Region. Gill, Lavender, or Turner has to step up and take some pressure off the outside game or Russell will be an underachiever. Gill has been the most consistent and his 26 pt game against Raceland at least shows what he might be able to do if he get's some touches. I think he's shooting over 70% this year but only shoots 5 or 6 times a game!

As for Russell's performance against Boyd Co, I agree with Red Shift and BucksFan. Russell has to establish an inside game or they will find themselves in the same situation that UK did against Kansas. When you have no one to go inside, that puts to much pressure on the outside game. Gill worked his tail off to get open all night and I think he had 3 or 4 touches in the paint. That won't get it done in the Regionals. I think most of that was due to Kasey not being in the lineup because he is an intelligent passer and he gets the ball to the open player.

Scott Gill, a Junior from Russell along with Owens from Boyd County are probably the two best dunkers in the 16th Region. Gill has only had a couple of game dunks but this is only his first year of varsity ball. We should see more from him as he gains confidence as the year goes on.

1. Fairview 2. Russell 3. Ashland 4. Boyd 5. Morgan Fairview's win over Russell would have happened even if Russell would have been full strength. I've seen Morgan twice and I just don't see them being there at the end of the year. I think Fairview's Black is better in the post that McGowen. Boyd and Ashland have a shot of jelling into the real thing with their athletes. No one else has much of a chance.

Russell looked very good at times and resembled a team I saw near the end of last year. They were especially effective in breaking the press for easy buckets. In their halfcourt offense, Gill did a good job of posting his man for some gimmies as well. Blair is on the verge of pulling it altogether and Clark is getting better each time out. I like what I saw tonight with ball movement, assists, and rebounding. They'll need all that and more against a tougher, more aggressive Boyd County team.

Russell by 5. Russell started its "winning ways" against Letcher by limiting their bigtime player (Eli W) to less than 20 pts. They'll get by a scrappy Raceland team thanks to a big game from Blair, solid team defense and team rebounding. The only way that Russell gets beat by Owens and BC is if they kill Russell on the boards which is very possible. Even in Russell's losses this year, they haven't been beaten by a "huge" game from one player, including Bryan Station, Dunbar, and Morgan County. Eli Warren from Letcher was "Owens like" but he wasn't a huge factor. Now that everyone's back and healthy, Russell loses to teams that crash the boards and gets a ton of putbacks or when they don't get into their offense. While both these are possible agains BC, January is a new month.

I just noticed that a team that Russell beat in the Bryan Station tournament, Fern Creek, beat Elizabethtown, one of the top rated teams in the state. That goes to show that on any given night, anything can happen.

Russell, with an enrollment of approx 600, took it to two large L'ville schools over the last two nights. Seneca, with approx 1700 students, and Fern Creek with 1200, were no match for this small school from eastern Ky. The stats for the Fern creek game were as follows: Vanhoose 16 pts 7 rebounds K. Clark 16 pts 5 rebounds Gill 12 pts 8 rebounds Blair 7 pts 4 rebounds Turner 7 pts 4 rebounds This should answer some of the critics who thought Russell wouldn't be a solid contender for the 16th region even with everyone healthy. Go RDs............