Rolls-Royce

Saying Lofton is not overly athletic was not meant to be knock, in fact it is a testament to his drive and work ethic. Why else do you think UNC, DUKE, UK etc. were not recruiting him? It wasn't because he couldnt shoot the ball that is for sure. I am as big of a Lofton fan as the next guy, but he is not overly athletic as far as running/jumping etc. I did not say unathletic. Get a grip. Chris' own coach says Chris is not the most athletic kid in the world, but he is athletic ENOUGH to be a great player. 3rd team all-american as a sophomore to be exact. Now compared to the regular Joe, Lofton is a Cheetah. Playing football against Fleming County, sure he is heads and shoulders against those types of kids. But compared to elite NBA point guards Lofton is a step slow. BUT, he has a jump shot, a huge heart and intangibles that more than make up for it. And as for me being uniformed..... I don't think so.

Let's see how many Pendleton Co. fans travel to the Fieldhouse next year. Pendleton does bring a good crowd, but they will not come out in the droves like they did this year when they were ranked in the top ten in the state and expected to win the region.

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agreed.

I am going to say this one comes down to a last second shot. Last team to have the ball wins.

Sports Mojo, Colleges do not recruit on how good a high school player is. If that was the case how would you explain Jared Carter having scholarship offers from Illinois, UNC and Kentucky but Chris Lofton being left out in the cold by elite programs. Lofton was and probably will be the best player to every come out of Mason County. One of the best the state has ever produced. But, he was undersized and not overly athletic. That is why he was not a big time national recruit (though heavily recruited). Miller is 6'6 and has a great skill set. He already has the big schools watching him and I don't think it will be too long before the offers start to roll in. Playing for a rural school in Kentucky will be the only thing holding him back on the national level as far as exposure goes. If he were at Oak Hill Academy he would probably be recieving even more attention.

I hope that people who are lobbying to move the tournament out of Mason County are making "off the cuff" statements. Because if you think about it, and take all things into consideration (as those who make these decisions have) you will see there is no other option right now.

I think in the past everyone raved about Miller's potential not his production. What had he actually proven on the court until this past weekend? After tournament play, he established himself as a great player who has came up big in big games. I am not sure if the average fan knows who D. Miller is yet, but he will be a big time national recruit. I know UK is keeping him on their radar and I suspect he will have more options than just them.

Maybe you guys should think critically before you make off the cuff comments. Where else could the tournament be played in the tenth region?

Gold Sunrise, You seem to be a very coordial and knowledgeable poster. I know you did not knock Mason County. I just don't want the 'homecourt advantage' thing to take away from a great game and great execution by Mason. I am in favor of the Mason/Montgomery tournament rotation. If they can hold it. If the attendance (money) does not slip drastically and if it does not create undo hardships on the NKY teams. Those are all big ifs.

I don't think anyone would say that Mason Co. does not benefit from hosting the tournament every year. The fact of the matter is there currently is no other facility in the region that can host the tournament. Complaining about a problem with no solution is a waste of time. Has this historically been an advantage in the outcome of the tournament in Mason's favor? Probably not. Did the advantage help them against Clark? Very well could have. At the same time, claiming homecourt advantage as the culprit of Clark's defeat is under valuing the guts, teamwork and poise that Mason Co. showed. They are a very young team, with a Freshman point guard. Furthermore, they played most of the game without Turner, who is their second best player, best low block defender, only physical presence and the senior/inspirational leader.

Excuses are for losers. The goals are the same distance and the same size at all gyms, trust me on this one. Clark Co. missed their free throws because they had poor free throw shooters at the line. The Jones kid is a terrible free throw shooter. Mason Co. just had more guts in this one. I call it like I see it.

1996, I assume you are being facetious. And Wells had two other All-Staters in Litzinger and Grutza too. And very nice complimentary players in Jones and Tibbs.

Which are actually considered Mountain Regions? What teams will be representing these regions and who is their first round match up? I would assume the Mountain teams are always going to have less talent pools to draw from because they are rural counties with low populations. This is probably the reason they get beat up on in the State Tournament. I don't think it is jitters but rather being outmanned. Comparatively speaking, any given year, there are 6-8 teams from each of the 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th and possibly 4th regions that would win the 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th regions. But that is what makes the state tournament so much fun.

I agree Chief Smoke. Those who did not feel that O'Hearn, the regional coach of the year, did not do a tremendous job last season are either biased or uninformed. Coach O'Hearn has done something that no other coach at Mason Co. has EVER done. That is win a Tenth Region tournament when Mason Co. was not the favorite. In fact, they were, by all accounts, the third best team in the tournament behind Clark Co. and Pendleton Co. Everyone knows how great a coach Kelly Wells was/is. But he never could win a regional as an underdog (0 for 2). It was not until he had overwhelming talent did he win it.

You do not have the crowd sizes to deal with in the 14th region like there is in the 10th. Switching the tournament to another gym in the tenth right now would eliminate potentially 1-2 thousand people from watching the semifinals and finals. For those of you who do not know, the tenth region is widely considered the most attended and best regional tournament in the state. Not by the talent of the teams, but by the atmosphere, tradition and balance the region has.

Can someone give me the rundown of Central. Who are the starters? Heights? Best players? Style of play?

Pastor Henry, If you think that a team could have beaten Mason Co. during the Chris Lofton years, on any court, you do not know the game of basketball very well. Remeber the state title? The state runner-up? As for last night, Mason Co., for the first time, was not the dominant, overwhelming favorite that they have always been when they won the regional tournament. As a result, I don't think anyone can claim homecourt was not potentially an advantage. With that said, where else could the game be played? Sour Grapes.

I think the cat may get out the bag next Thursday when he shows up in Rupp.

Having watched the tenth region semi-finals and finals, I must say I was very impressed with the skill set this young man has. To be 6'6 and handle the ball , shoot and pass like he does is very impressive. He was unstoppable when he had the ball in his hands and was definitely the MVP of the tenth region tournament as a sophomore. I think he has the potential to play Division 1 basketball at the highest level if he continues to improve and fill out. Maybe Tubby can finally work out a trip to Maysville next year to see him play. Hopefully he has learned from his mistakes. Does anyone know which schools are after Miller now?

Historically, the tenth region has not had an official all-tournament team. Over the last three or four years they might have started it though.

Troy Cooper. That's his name. You are out of your mind if you think he would start for any of those three teams. Geez. Take off the green glasses. Pendleton, Mason and GRC all have all-region players at those positions too. And this argument is bunk anyway. All region does not make you a better player comparatively to other teams. For example, do you think the kid at Deming or Augusta who makes all-region is better than a starter for Pendleton Co. who is ranked in the top 5 in the state. Based on your past comments, you probably do, but 9 out of ten unbiased fans would not agree with you. I am not bashing Mr. Cooper, I loved watching him play. I was just trying to make a point about the talent at Brossart being very, very low and they showed great courage to almost win that game.

BGGREEN, My comments are certainly controversial but not off based. The only player who would have a chance to start for Mason, Pendleton or Clark Co. is the big, wide kid they had (forget his name). He is a very solid player and gets the most out of his potential. You tell me who he could start over at the 4 or 5 for either of these three teams. Your loyalty jeopardizes your ability to be objective, I understand. But this is just obvious. Sorry.

Why in the world would Bishop Brossart's coach choose to sit right in front of the Mason County cheering section? I guess he is thinking "it will throw off Mason County being on the other end". That is ridiculous, what was he thinking? In that case, I applaud the creativity of the Mason kids for giving them an ear full every timeout. It got so bad they had to pick up the seats and move them out on the floor during timeouts so the coach could talk with his players. At the time I felt bad for the fellow. But knowing he chose to sit there makes me question his competency as a coach. Kudos to Mason Co. students, you may have had a small effect on the outcome of that game.

I thought the refs did a nice job overall last night. They did miss a few calls, but that is to be expected. FWIW, Brossart got away with numerous handchecks and I can think of four blatantly bad calls that went against Mason Co. too. I stand by my earlier statement. That BB team was the least talented Brossart team I have seen in the last 7 or 8 years. That is obvious. If you read my post, I did not bash them, I applauded them. They had a lot of heart, I was very impressed by them. With that said, they do not have 1 player on their team who would start for either Mason County, Clark County or Pendleton. To me, that shows how undermanned they are. And what was wrong with the student sections? I thought Mason's and Brossart's were very exciting and did their job.