NKYSportsfan41

Exactly, Coach L is a passionate, strong, family-oriented educator and coach. He has been all of these things for many, many years. He has been a teacher, father-figure and mentor to many CCH graduates. I hope he is able to go out when he decides and with great dignity.

Here's are my odds after seeing all teams likely to contend: 4-1 Dixie - They've proven they can beat almost any NKY team. The teams they lost to (i.e. Holmes) are not bad matchups for them. They have great guard play with a senior point guard in Trammel and an outstanding shooting guard who can end scoring slumps. They can rebound with NCC and Boone and they have a decent bench that has improved throughout the year. 6-1 NCC/Boone - These teams create the biggest matchup problems. They both have inexperienced, young point guards, but they have several scoring options including a big guy who can score at will. Both teams play good team defense, they handle the press well and rebound well at both ends of the court. 8-1 Holmes - This team goes two ways - a. high energy and good shooting or b. slow, methodical and trouble putting the ball in the basket. They struggle with matchups agains Boone, NCC and Ryle, who handled the press well and had the size to disrupt the Holmes offense. 10-1 Ryle/CCH - Both teams have good scoring big men, play solid half court defense and can create offense with their defense. They both lack solid guard play and don't score as well from the perimeter. There are matchups that favor these teams, but it will take a solid three games to get out of the region. 15-1 Holy Cross/Conner/Highlands - Not enough 50-1 The rest of the field (Lloyd, St. Henry, Cooper, Beechwood........)

I agree with a NCC/CCH final. St. Henry has a nice team, but CCH's size and depth should push them to the finals. NCC is playing very well right now and matches up with the Dixie bigs. Dixie will have to shoot very well to advance past NCC. Should be two good, well-coached semifinal games.

The quarterfinals begin tonight with CovCath vs Scott at 6:30 followed by St. Henry vs Highlands at 7:45. Wed: NCC vs Boone at 6:30 and Dixie vs. Ludlow at 7:45. CCH vs Scott: CCH won by 30 the first time these teams played. Should be a closer matchup as both are well coached and match-up fairly well. St. Henry vs. Highlands: Both teams like an uptempo game with full court defense and attacking offenses. NCC vs. Boone: These teams matchup well size-wise. The shooting performance from outside by both teams will decide this game. Dixie vs. Ludlow: Ludlow won this matchup during the regular season. Ludlow has the size and athleticism to match-up with anyone in the tournament.

I think the expectations are a little too high. Highlands has had some success over the last 10 years, despite not winning the region since the Ross/Gino year. No different than Conner, Ryle, Boone Co, St. Henry, Dixie, etc... The Drauds, Lorenzens, Smiths, Neltners don't come along every year. Last year's senior group was very talented but were derailed by injuries to Grubbs and Grote. This year's team is average, Top 10 in NKY if at full strength, but the injury to Stewart has caused the issues mentioned in the NCC thread (guarding the post, changing shots with his height and added scoring threats). His presence opens the offense for the standstill shooters in Egan and Lewis, takes the scoring onus off Crowley and allows Dean to penetrate and dish. The other issue is depth. An 8 man rotation would be better, but you've got to trust 8 guys to get it done. Coach Flynn obviously doesn't have that comfort level with the Sophs yet. Highlands, like most of the teams mentioned above, will have years that they are very successful based on the talent, but for a football school to succeed on the hardwood they need some basketball-only guys to carry the team with their court awareness and basketball knowledge, they need to avoid the injuries of the last two years and Coach Flynn has to sell the right football players to continue to come out.

Not only does NCC have a favorable draw, but they have a big man in Giesler that the other 9th region "A" teams can't match up with and they are hosting the tournament. While HC, Beechwood and Lloyd have played good games throughout the season, it will be a major upset if the Breds don't easily win the All "A". That said, the presumed Tuesday matchup of Holy Cross vs. Beechwood should give us an idea of how next week's district game will play out. The loser will most likely be the 4th seed and face Holmes.

Beechwood will not lose a DIII game this year. None of the games have been close.

I think you will see the Cru press most of the game and this could give Dean, Crowley and Egan trouble in the backcourt and prevent Stewart from being as effective. I think it will be close with the Birds prevailing in the end. HHS 52 St. Henry 45

I think this is a great hire for the girl's program. They'll get a good X and O guy as well as an advocate for the school and demand for doing things the right way. His work ethic, passion and character will be a good addition to the Brossart community.

This is a great group of young men. All three colleges are getting good basketball players and good students. The whole Highlands senior group was a blast to watch and handle themselves with class and poise. Good luck to all of them in their future endeavors.

I believe Virgie won the 7th grade championship and lost in the semifinals of the 8th grade state championship to Highlands, who went on to win the championship. Glad to see them finish their high school careers with the state championship.

That's why you have to respect Willie Schlarman's decision last season. He had a "potential" 9th region contender and good returning talent, but left on his terms for his family. However, this probably happens a decent number of times, but if the coach is retiring on his own terms why wouldn't he want to go out on top. Good classes come every couple of years at most schools. Retiring on a good note, star player or not, should not be frowned upon.

Congrats to Coach Sorrell and the Tigers. While the community didn't show to support the team, the girls will remember playing in BoK for the rest of their lives. While I don't necessarily agree with the blind draw, the opportunity to play in a college facility and be a part of the regional tournament will stay with those girls forever.

I'd take Ben Watson (Highlands) over at least have of the DII players. It would have been nice to see him included.

This is certainly a tough way to go out for a great group of seniors. Those guys had a tough task of fight through major injuries while also adjusting to a new coaching staff in their senior year. They are great young men and will have success on and off the court in the future. I thought they got great looks in the early going, but continued to run the same continuity offense throughout the game. Once NCC adjusted to this, Highlands really struggled to get good looks. NCC took advantage of thier quickness advantage with Pangallo and Hightchew and got better looks the last 3 qtrs. Great game by Pangallo. He controls the floor as well as any point guard at the high school level and shot tremendous from the outside. Good game for the Birds by Watson, Smith-Keller and Lother.

These two teams are very well coached. It should be a good matchup. I assume the JV game precedes this?

33rd - Boone over Ryle 34th - Dixie over St. Henry 35th - Holmes over Cov. Cath. 36th - Newport over Highlands Region Matchups (for fun): Ryle/Holmes rematch Newport/St. Henry (All A rematch) Boone/Highlands rematch CovCath/Dixie (battle of Dixie Hwy) Setting up good: Holmes/Newport and Boone/CovCath matchups. Boone over Holmes in an upset for the region.

Beechwood won the two 7th grade (4-5) games. Tough tasks tomorrow night.

Is tomorrow really senior night? On KHSAA, it looks like they have another home game next week?

Who are the favorites in the game tomorrow? Are Highlands and Boone the top teams in that side of the Bracket?

In almost any scenario, Newport would have to play one or the other to reach the region, but under the blind draw the possibility, as this year, to avoid both and assuring a good chance at the region. That's not to say they couldn't or wouldn't have beaten one or both this year, but not seeding benefits them in any year. I expect Highlands to beat NCC in this year's district. Dayton will fight hard in the first round matchup and this should benefit the Birds a few nights later.

And again, this is why Newport will never vote to seed.

Grubbs is a great young man and I'm really sorry to hear he'll be out. This is a young man who came to play the day after the football state championship. He has a tremendous personality, passion for basketball and is a beast in the post. I wish him the best at Miami!

The paper said that Newport hadn't won in the nine years that Russell has been the coach. Wow. I'm shocked by the margin of victory.

I thought that the Brossart coaches had a good game plan and adjusted well. Highlands should have more offensive firepower/sets, than they showed Sat. night. I realize the two missing players are the best offensive threats, but others including Watson, can contribute more if given the opportunity. At one point in the second quarter, they ran the same offensive set at least 8 times in a row without success. I hope as the season goes on they diversify the offense and get out faster with good outlet passes.