4pointplay

I see home about 10 times a season and saw him quite a bit on the summer circuit. In my opinion gives up way too many straight line drives to the basket when guarding other top guards. I feel he gambles a little too much and against better guards which he will face at the next level that puts your teammates at a disadvantage. He rarely goes against that type of guard in the 9th. I think Northern Kentucky is underrecruited so I root for kids like Ruthsatz to get that next D1 opportunity. That helps that next group of kids coming up thru the system like Bolden and the other sophs in this thread. It also helps when kids like Smith, Gabbard and Thelen have the type of success they are having at the next level

I will go a little more recent and compare Ruthsatz to Mikey Gabbard from Boone County and Kellen Smith of Scott both of who were recruited at a higher level than Jacobs and Hester. Both are enjoying a lot of success currently at the D2 level. Ruthsatz has a much more refined offensive game as far as scoring the basketball than both of those players but both are bigger, stronger, just as quick and have a more complete game. Ruthsatz ability to score the basketball will get him some opportunities. What gets him on the court at the next level will be his ability to adjust his game and show a little more commitment on the defensive side of the ball.

It only takes one D1 school to like you enough to make you a D1 player. There are a whole lot of very average D1 conference/schools where Ruthsatz could play. The opposite side to that is that there are a whole lot of very good D2 schools where Ruthsatz could be an impact player. Depends on what the student athlete and parent are looking for as far as playing time, ability to play for conference championships and play in NCAA tournament. With that being said I was able to watch Ruthsatz in an open gym environment against a current D2 PG and he struggled with the physicality and quickness. Ruthsatz is a very very good offensive player at the high school level but he is not very solid on the defensive side of the ball especially against guards who are just as quick or have more size. To play at the D1 level someone is going to have to ovelook his size and defensive liabilities. He is also a volume shooter from the PG position and you don't see a whole lot of 5'9" shoot first PG's at the D1 level.

Congrats to Coach Trame!!

Off the top of my head and I am rather Northern Kentucky centric so I am sure I will miss some players but at the D2 level right now: Mikey Gabbard (Boone Co), Casey Sorrell (Simon Kenton) and Corey Sorrell (Holy Cross) at Erskine Jake Thelen (Covington Catholic) & Vance Hall (Franklin Co) Bellarmine DeMarko Foster (Newport) University of Tampa Daniel O'Conner (Scott HS) Tusculum Scott Schuette (Lexington Catholic) Rollins College Bobby Stauffer (Ryle)Ohio Dominican Kellen Smith (Scott HS) Saginaw Valley State Most if not all of these players are starting and/or playing significant minutes at this level. Bellarmine has more players with Kentucky connections but I will let someone with a little more knowledge of that area add their names. I know I probably missed some kids but good start for players having D2 success

Time share with Holy Cross

Don't know if I have ever read a more misinformed statement on transition from one coach to another? A new coach is installing not only a new system but trying to change a culture. Even in a winning program transition is difficult to say the least but to say a coach just is playing out the previous coaches hand is grossly misinformed. I have seen it at the high school and the collegiate level and nothing could be further from the truth. It would be more accurate to state that a new staff gets a "honeymoon" type of year where wins and losses are are not as important as creating a winning environment and changing the culture in the lockerroom.

Zero problem with middle schoolers playing up. However, I do believe that playing up is a privilege and coaches have the right to move a student athlete back if they feel that the student athlete may not be 100 % committed to their program.

No obligation at all but I would bet that moving up this student athlete has been discussed with the family and in the planning stages for a couple of years. The staff has invested extra time and provided additional opportunites for the student athlete that were available because they recognized he has the ability to be a very good player in their program. You don't have the obligation to tell your boss you are job hunting but if he finds your resume in the fax machine you might lose some of the privileges and good will you have built up with that boss. Not to continue to beat that dead horse but he is still getting the opportunity/privilege to play up on the freshmen team.

Apples to oranges in my opinion as you are comparing the ability to play up one year on a middle school team to having the opportunity to play up two levels and play freshmen and JV ball at the high school level. He is still getting the opportunity to play up on the freshmen which does not happen at the bigger school level in Northern Kentucky that often. I think the staff is basically saying that his skill level has earned him the opportunity to play up one level but his commitment level will not allow them to take away the opportunity from another high school level athlete to work out, practice and develop with the JV & Varsity teams. If my info is correct they have not rescinded any offer to play up. He can play up on the freshmen team. Do you think the parents called Coach Steiner and told him about their plans to attend the open house? Did they tell the staff that they were still 100% committed to SK but the student athlete just wanted to hang with his AAU team at an open house for another school? Or did the staff find out thru the grapevine that a "member" of the team/family just happened to be at the open house for another school? Lot of variables we don't know about the families communication with the staff prior to attending the open house. Moving up a student athlete at this level is a big deal. These kids are typically in your camps from a very early age and are integrated into your culture and given opportunities that other kids don't get as far as access to your program. So when a kid does attend an open house for another school it is a big deal.

It is my understanding that he is still getting the opportunity to play up on the freshmen team. I applaud the staff at SK for making a tough call and setting a precedent. The best teams are family and you have to be all in to take advantage of the privilege of playing up. They are giving him a great opportunity to play up at the frosh level and get additional exposure to the way they do things at SK. I would never to play any middle school athlete up at any level unless I was 100% sure they were committed to my program. By choosing to attend an open house that shows me that they were less than 100% committed to SK. Family can't have it both ways and want the student athlete to have this great opportunity to play up but still be out there exploring other options. I think it is a good call by Coach Steiner and his staff.

McDonald and Pangallo played for Shining Star Sports coached by Mitch Shover

Left Miami (Ohio) to accept head coach position at Saginaw Valley State

I must have missed this one or it didn't get a lot of play on BGP but it seems like it would be a pretty good deal for Sheldon clark to get a former D2 head coach to accept the position. I guess my only concern is that he just started the position in WV and could not have made a whole lot of people happy when he left?

Hoop Dirt is reporting that Frankie Smith former head coach at Saginaw Valley State and assistant at Miami (Ohio) will be the new head coach at Sheldon Clark HS? He resigned at Saginaw Valley in the spring to take a HS job in West Virginia and is now moving to accept this position. I know nothing except what is being reported on Hoop Dirt??:confused:

Source told me that was no longer an option? Coach Bezold told him that they did not have space especially with a large incoming freshmen class.

With the absolute lack of officials in high school sports I don't think it would be possible to schedule a substitute official for every game. In addition that sub official would have to be paid just like the officials who take the field and with school sports budgets being what they are I can't see the AD's supporting additional dollars for an official to sit in the stands.

Not really surprised at anything that goes on in high school sports these days. Read an interesting article a few weeks back talking about the college basketball transfer epidemic and one of the main points was that why should anyone be surprised when the high school transfer rate is also growing at an alarming rate.

Isn't there a KHSAA rule against participating in any outside events once the first day of school is in session? I think that rule cost Matt Trammell from Dixie one or two games one season? Isn't it also why at the John Lucas event at Hoops a couple of years ago that Hicks was only able to participate because he was ineligible that high school season to play because of his transfer status?

Have to be talking about Scott Co and not Scott HS from the 10th Region? I don't think Scott HS has benefited from any high profile transfers over the past few years.

Scott has everyone returning and one of the top coaches in the 10th. Look for them to be much improved with their players having a full year on the varsity level in they system. I would think they would have to be a preseason top 3 in the region.

Yes....and while you don't see a whole lot of D1 caliber talent playing in that division the D2, D3 and NAIA coaches can find a whole lot of talent in that tourney

I am a believer that any coach whose style runs to an extreme (i.e. players coach or old school tough) has a shelf life before the message becomes stale. The "players coach" will eventually be called out for being too soft and losing control of the program and the old school tough coach hired to bring discipline will eventually be told he he is out of touch with the kids of today and he is running off players. I think it is more of a societal issue than any coaches style. Administrators are under a great deal of pressure some real and some percieved to make sure every student has the perfect high school experience. The days of seeing coaches staying in the profession for 20+ years and coaching at the same school are probably over. The coaches who will last are those that have the ability to walk the line somehere between players coach and tough old school disciplinarian and still win enough games to keep boosters happy. I am not too sure how many of those guys are walking around.

Maybe....but in my opinion the performance did not live up to the hype. While he may be an outstanding player down the road I can only base my opinion on what I saw him do last season in that system.