007

I haven't seen a lot of SC games this season, but this is the first game I've seen SC come out with a fire in their belly and take care of business in the first quarter. They didn't fool around and let the Defenders hang with them and gain confidence. The last lead the Defenders enjoyed was 6-3 about a minute and a half into the first quarter. Then the Cards went on a roll to finish the 1st Q with a 25-8 lead. The Defenders never had a chance to recover. This is a very different SC team than the one I saw play Holmes in early December. If they continue this style of play, I do like them at the top of the polls. :thumb: Richie Phares was a beast. He was dominant with 25 points and 8 rebounds in 2 1/2 quarters until he took a bad fall on a dunk and had to sit the rest of the game. He was on course to score 40 and pull down 13.

SC has a habit of playing just as good as they need to play for any given opponent. This is a problem against good teams. If they played four quarters the way they typically play their third quarter, (after they've allowed a weaker team to hang in with them for the first half and they need to come out and put them away) there aren't many teams in the state that would truly compete with them. If Coach Hicks can get his guys to this level of four quarter team play, I really like SC Saturday night in Rupp. If not, there's a lot of teams with less individual talent that will give the Cards fits. SC could win this game by 20, but are more likely to squeak out an ugly 10.

By "all their players" you must mean Ralph Beard, Michael Bush, Larry O'Bannon, Winston Bennett and Darrell Griffith in addiditon to the kids on the floor tonight. Male may get another crack at SC in January at the Toyota Classic... or they can win the 7th and maybe meet up with them in March.

I'm not a paid spokesman for the family. If so, they could do a lot better than me. :lol: As far as minimal playing time at Boone, I don't know where that's coming from. Flannery started often and played significant minutes throughout the season. I know for a fact that he started against Rose Hill and put up a solid performance. In regard to dad's job, he doesn't just work in Richmond, he does a lot of work in Eastern KY accessed by I-64. During tax season from January through March, he's in Campton almost every day... currently a 280 mile roundtrip. From that standpoint Georgetown and Richmond are nearly equidistant. If mom will still be working in Boone County, a residence in Scott County is the better choice for her. Who truly knows? The bottom line is why does it matter the reasons a family moves to a new county as long as no recruiting by the school is involved?

No doubt that East and Elliott would be good choices, but why do you say that the one team Barber will help is Fairview?

At the time of this posting, the poll is 44 -11 in favor of Rose Hill winning tonight. This 8 out of 10 ratio is about what should happen if Rose Hill and Ashland played 10 times. Rose Hill should win 8 of 10. The problem for RH tonight is that even though that "TOMCATS" logo on those maroon jerseys may not be all that intimidating to the Rose Hill boys, it will be a big motivator for the Ashland boys. 80 years of pride and tradition is a lot to shoulder at tournament time. If the Hill comes out and takes care of business early, this one could be over halfway through the 3rd quarter. If RH comes in with low intensity, this one could go to the wire.

Cody brings a lot to the table for the Tomcats. It's great he's bounced back so quickly... (although I'm sure it didn't seem so quick for him.) He's a great kid. The 007 crew wish him the very best. :thumb:

Rowe is a good kid who's faced some difficult circumstances in his young life. This is unfortunate for him.

I watched the Rose Hill / Moss Point broadcast on Wazoo Sports in the Nissan Shoot Out last weekend. According to the broadcast, three RH players carded double figures and three MS players had double figures. Euton and Jackson delivered as billed, but the big surprise was how the unbilled supporting cast stepped up against the #2 team from MS. The Davis kid was something like 4-4 inside on dishes and putbacks. The Barber kid knocked down three threes, but made some nice moves at the basket and hit 2's inside and out. He's more versatile than I was led to believe. Arthur and Bush are irritating defenders for opposing players. The shooters for RH averaged 50% from the field, inside or out. They don't waste a lot of shots. Coming into the game I think they said the Rascoe kid from MS was averaging 23+ ppg. RH held him to something like 11 pts. I do remember that no one on the MS team scored over 14, the same number recorded by the #2 scorer for RH. Ashland has no answer for Euton, and Thomas will have his hands full with Jackson. I don't think this is the same team that lost to Bath County. Ashland will have their hands full period. RH 68- ASH 54

May be... but he'd better be one of the best magicians in the state if he plans on staying in Ashland very long... :lol: Sad thing is, it won't be his fault. Matt Thomas is an outstanding athlete, but Ashland needs another one or two of him to succeed this season.

I haven't heard anything about any kids from Huntington or Columbus, but I did hear that Vin Diesel was working out with the Hill in preparation for an upcoming movie role. According to my sources, he runs a nice point, and is adept at no-look passes.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: That has to be one of the funniest descriptions I've ever heard... :lol: Old Porter just hasn't been the same since Dolly went solo... :lol:

No offense intended, really. I agree that tradition is a great thing, but if you spend too much time looking at what's in the rearview mirror, you may not see what's coming at you. It's been said that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it It seems to me that those who expend so much energy trumpeting their history are very unlikely to repeat it. I wish Ashland and her athletes the best, but without a significant influx of new jobs and new families to the community, there's just too much parity developing across the region.

"was" But their time of domination is behind them. Morgan County racked up better numbers than anyone in the 16th for five years. Last season Russell stepped up, and it looks like they may again this year. Elliott County is on the rise. Rose Hill is improving. Unless Ashland gets another steel mill or other large industry with lots of decent paying jobs like Toyota in Scott County, the days of maroon domination are no more. Sad but true.

Wow, I hope the Cats will be able to cope with not being the dominant team in the 16th for the next few years. :eek: