4pointplay

Pike has done a good job being in the right places in front of the right people. There is some truth that marketing now plays a role in an athletes ability to play at that next level. Not sure if Towles has been on the same circuit as Pike. Very similar measureables as far as height, weight and athletic ability. Towles does not have the textbook release that Pike has at this time.

Scott 70 Knox Central 56 Scott 17 10 19 24 70 Knox Central 16 11 13 16 56 Republic Bank Classic at Lexington Catholic Scott (5-6) -- Roberts 4, Haynes 15, Smith 22, Stivers 14, Farris 6, Jackson 7. Knox Central (3-7) -- Kelly 5, Merida 2, Barger 19, Travis Canady 11, Achenjang 9, Jeffery Canady 4, Stewart 3,Barrett 1, Wilburn 2.

Mason County has played a tougher schedule to this point. They also beat Scott by 10 on Scott's home floor. Having seen both Mason Co and Dixie this season I think they are comparable at this time. Good matchups with Trammell and Gilbert at the point. Dixie and Mason County have similar size but I think Dixie has a deeper bench right now. Setty would be a tough match up for Dixie. When Mason County gets Pawsatt back that will provide a huge boost to that team. Comparable teams at this time but when Pawsatt comes back I give Mason County the edge on the starting five. If Dixie can keep improving they could very well be top 20 team in state by mid January.

Going to show my Northern Kentucky bias but with the start that they have had I think you need to include McGovney and Losey in top 10. I would drop King from Deming and Monroe from Pendleton. Have no problem with Jaylen Daniel in top 10. I think he is extremely talented. Think you would have to include Cameron Haynes from Scott in the Honorable Mention category.

I think Chambers is an outstanding player and he will only get better as the season goes on. Smith is just a tough matchup for him on both sides of the ball. Smith just has a years experience and a little more quickness at this time. Two very good players and a fun matchup to watch.

:thumb: Hicks is a good coach. Players need to look in the mirror and make sure they are playing for the name on the front of the jersey. If you win games things like college opportunities and player rankings take care of themselves.

Final from Taylor Mill. Sets up a Dixie/Scott Final Wednesday night.

With all of the high major offers he currently holds I don't think it has been an issue with any of the college coaches. Zeke has made major gains over the past few years in his matuity and attitude and everyone wants to focus on his slip ups. He is a competitor and wants to win as bad as any kid I have seen recently. Coaches love a kid with passion and just give them an opportunity to coach him up on how he reacts.

It's a long season and Conner will have an opportunity to turn things around. Coach Hicks has a reputation for having his teams play better in February and March. With that being said Conner is just not playing hard and with any passion right now. I have watched two games and the effort just does not seem to be there. If a coach has to coach effort with a lineup with that many seniors that is not a recipe for success. I thought the #1 ranking was a little high in preseason but still a top 5 team in a parity laden 9th. What I have seen in two games is not a top 5 team.

Going by the box score above HC 21/36 58% Scott 21/33 64%

Smith split two defenders on the final shot and got the shot off in a crowd. If his toes were on the line the official who signaled two was the one guy who didn't have the right angle to make the call. He was in a straight line behind the play. No way he sees the 3 point line or can even tell whose toes were on the line. Bad basket interference call against Holy Cross early in second half and more mystery traveling calls than I have ever seen against both teams. There is just no depth in 9th rRegion officiating and this was definitely not a top of the line crew.

Walter, You can't put the stat line out there and discount when someone elses stats are better. You don't get to have it both ways. You made the claim that Chris Hayes was the best all around guard, not a 2 guard so you have to include PG's as well in your discussion. When you say all around I think you have to include stats like assists and I think you need to discuss things like intangibles as well. All players have to sit in games because of foul trouble, blowouts, injuries, etc. To sya someone's stats would be better if they played more wouldn't that be true of all players, not just Hayes? I actually tend to discount stat lines players put up in games where the score ends up something like 88-44. To me what you do in a blowout doesn't tell me what kind of player you are. Corey Pelle put up those stat lines on a regular basis and he singlehandedly made Silver Grove relevant on a nightly basis. He was doing this against the Scott and Bishop Brossart when their sole focus was on stopping him. Just because Holmes is in a 2 3 zone you still have to rebound the basketball whether you are a guard or interior player. With Holmes playing uptempo there is actually more possessions so more opportunities to rebound! Guards actually get a lot of rebounding opportunites in the zone because long shots produce long rebounds. I like Hayes! Think he is going to have a monster year in that system. Season is a marathon and not a sprint and one great stat line doesn't make me think Hayes is better than Smith, Trammell Hatton or Flesch at this time. By March I might have him as my player of the year but not after 3 games over guys who have a history of being very good at the varsity level. As far as questioning the credibility of my posts??? WELL.........I can live with that!

Hayes is a good player who is playing in a great system for his skill set but what are you basing overall and all around? Hayes is averaging 18 ppg and Smith around 15 ppg. Smith will average significantly more assists which means he is contributing more to the teams total points by percentage. Not to mention that at this point in the season he has more steals and rebounds per game than Hayes? Before you anoint Hayes the next great player from Holmes lets let an entire season play out. He put up a great stat line against a severely depleted St Henry team. Without Barnett St Henry is really going to struggle at the guard position. Hayes is going to get an opportunity to go against some good guards in Smith, Trammell and Flesch in this area. If he puts up those numbers against the better guards all year then he will get the recognition. Until that time I will go with the guys who have already done it consistently on the big stages in their career.

There might be a guard in Taylor Mill you might want to consider.

Throw Campbell County or Simon Kenton at the 10 spot and this looks good to me! :banana:

Beechwood won by about 20

Scott had no answer for Setty or Black on the inside. Scott is undersized and doesn't really have a lot of talent but they fly around and scratch and claw and somehow make things interesting against good teams.

Don't think you will see them matched up head to head very much. Scott will need to scramble and trap and hope Mason Co takes quick shots and has a bad shooting night. If its a half court game Mason Co has way too much size and skilled players. Setty is a bad matchup for a lot of teams.

Mason Co. is a tough match up no matter when you play them but this is a Scott team without a lot of big game experience. Traditionally Scott does not fare well in early season match ups but tends to really improve from january forward. Mason Co will also improve once they get Pawsett back in January. I think Mason Co wins comfortably and Coach Carr uses this an attention getter for some of his younger players. Will be a much better match up in the post season!

Campbell County might win the game but I pretty comfortable saying they will not score 77 points. I am going with Brossart in a slugfest 59-50!

Congrats to Coach Carr. Very nice milestone.

:confused:I am a big proponent of AAU but these guys that cost these kids games and put schools behind the eight ball are the one of the reasons that AAU is a four letter word to high school coaches. Happens every year it seems. Just because it's a dumb rule doesn't mean you shouldn't know it.:taz:

Go with Scott 69-55. If HC guards struggled with SK pressure then it's not going to get any easier going against Scott defense.

Not a knock on Jefferson or coaching staff but if he doesn't have some interest from the summer AAU season there isn't going to be a whole lot that his play at the high school level is going to do raise his profile. Good player but with the Bracken Co schedule they aren't going to be playing in a lot of high profile games.

Just don't see Scott being able to rebound with GRC. If GRC has an off shooting night coming back from game with Christian Co then maybe Scott can hang around if they can keep GRC from playing volleyball on the backboard. If Scott can fly around and force GRC into bad shots then maybe a close game for awhile. Just think GRC size will wear Scott down.