americanman

I don't want anyone to get their feathers ruffled. Let me just say that I think Madison Johnson is one of the best young players that I've seen this year. I read Coach P's comment in the Times today about Johnson being the best freshman in the state. Has anyone watched Aaron Watts of McCreary County play? He is only a freshman and has already scored 1000 points. This child is truly underrated. If he was in the 13th District, he would give Crawford and Johnson a run for their money. Lets all remember that Crawford is a 17 year old sophmore playing against other sophmores in his district that are only 15. When these kids are 17 they will be seniors. 2 years makes alot of difference in size and maturity. I believe that Crawford will turn 19 in December of his senior year. Teague from Williamsburg will turn 17 the summer before his senior year, Prewitt from Whitley turns 18 the spring before his senior year, Petitt from Williamsburg will be a 17 year old senior. We often forget that there is a big age difference between players. I wonder if you put these players together at the same age if the talent would be closer?

no, no ... I knew Coach Strickland was coach because I covered them when they went to all a state ... I was just saying Coach Connell was a good coach ... , but so is Strickland ... Yeah, South won the region last year and returns everyone other than Philpot back and Ty Proffitt is playing, I believe and doesn't the Jackets return everyone? I know Corbin will be tough, too.

I thought that you would have known Coach Stricklin. I've heard that Coach Connell was a good coach. I've never had a kid play for him but he certainly is a nice person. No, Williamsburg doesn't have everyone returning from last year. We lost three of our starters... Cody Harrell, David Smith, and Chase Fields and a couple of players that didn't start. I think we lost 5 total. Harrell, Smith, and Fields were great players and will be missed but we should be fine. Yes, Corbin will be good. Hopefully, it will be an interesting season. I looking forward to it starting. By the way, our 1st. game is on March 26th.(Hint, Hint) You could meet most of the basketball team at the baseball field. Mark your calender! All of the basketball loving people are going to run us off this thread.

I'm always up to meet new kids and get to know them ... as for baseball, W'burg always has a great program ... I always liked coach connell and I guess you would have to say Middlesboro and South are the teams to beat?

We are definately going to have to discuss baseball, Les. It's Coach Stricklin now and Middlesboro and South???? Oh my. I'll see you in the Baseball threads when basketball is over.

First off, good post ... secondly, as for putting a face with a name or articles ... I run a column (with my picture) almost religiously and fear 'les' forecast (with my picture) ... And, I try my darndest to cover at least every team in my coverage area (16 teams (boys and girls) at least three or four times in a season.

 

I don't blame the fans for being upset at coach Wright, but then again, I really don't blame coach Wright for saying what he said.

I do respect what you're saying though.

Les:thumb:

Thank you. I realize that you have a large area to cover and I commend you covering the entire area and not just part of it. I'm sure that keeps you hopping from one game to another all season. Your picture is a good one but it doesn't do you justice. I'm sure the boys would like to meet you sometime. By the way, how do you feel about Baseball? I know a lot about Baseball. :banana:

Not being touchy just expressing my opinion ... isn't that what's good about Blegrass Preps? How do I know South's kids so well? Well, I've covered them from middle school up and anytime they see me they greet me as Mr. Dixon and start a conversation ... they'r good kids along with kids from Knox, Williamsburg, North, Whitley, Corbin and Lynn Camp.

You are one of my favorite posters, Les. I love to exchange opinions with you. I think that it is great that you know the teams so well that you cover and are quick to defend them when you feel that they have been wronged. All of the players returning to Williamsburgs' team next year have played ball since middle school and I don't think that any of them would be able to recognize you. You have mentioned them in a lot of your articles and it would be nice if they could put a face with your name. Maybe if you got to know the team a little better then you would understand why the fans found Coach Wrights comment so offensive.

How can you say a little too much (confidence) coming into the region tournament? And, how can you question the kids respect for the other teams they are going to face?

Believe me, the South kids respect everyone and will not overlook anyone. They have more experience than most of any other team in the STATE.

I guess you're still upset with what Wright said after his team's win over Williamsburg. Oh well, everyone has their opinions.

Lighten up a little, Les. I think South has a great team. Notice I said they had good reason to be confident. They will most likely win the regional tournament. I just like rooting for the underdog. Maybe I didn't make myself clear. Yes, I am still upset with Coach Wright. Not because of South's win over Williamsburg but because of his odd comments after the game. It's over and done with though and I wish the players the best of luck. Like I said, it would be great to have a team from our area play at Rupp.

South is coming into the Regionals with a lot of confidence, well deserved confidence, but maybe a little too much after their wins over Corbin and Williamsburg. IMO, it is always wise to have a reasonable amount of respect for your opponents and not take anything for granted. Corbin is capable of beating any of the other teams in the tournament but I'm just not sure that they can pull it together to make that possible this time around but, watch out for them next year. With that said, I'm going to go with Bell. Best of luck to everyone. It will be nice to see any team from our area playing at Rupp.

The bottom line is: WRIGHT was WRONG!!!

Well said. Straight to the point.

 

 

 

That is a Horr-i Burr-ble quote on the gas money thingie...lol

You are exactly right. It was a horr-i-Burr-ble thing to say. You're good, Bubba. I think the coaches were trying to get the maxeymum point across.

Hey at least he is not Mike Deaton.....degrading his OWN team. LOL[/QUO

I don't find this to be funny. I don't think that there is any reason a coach should degrade his own team. IMO, you can't get a player to reach his potential unless he has respect for the person he is playing for. I heard of a coach that once told his team that they weren't worth the gas money that it took for the bus ride to the game. A coaches job is to teach and part of that is to teach the players to believe in themselves. How can you do that and make comments like that?

I would say you are only hearing half the story, I have never known Steve Wright to be anything but a class act. I guess the truth hurts sometimes, I gon't disagree with anyting he said. (Sorry if you disagree) I am sure that there is more to this story, but anyone who thinks that He did not tell the truth saying that his team was WAY better than Williamsburg needs a refresher course in basketball 101. Yes Williamsburg is improved, but it is not Steve Wrights job to promote Williamsburg Basketball, and if Williamsburg is into moral victories that may be all they get.........

I think that somehow you have missed the point here, Apex. No one that I know of has questioned the talent of the South Laurel team nor do we claim to be at the same level of play at the moment. (Notice I ended the sentence with "at the moment") I do not consider it to be promoting when you simply recognize an opponents effort. It is called Sportsmanship.

Please excuse me for not knowing this stuff. So, there is still a chance that Corbin and South Laurel could meet again? How do they pick who plays who? Do all the district champs play one another first?

How many teams will play in the regionals?

Any thoughts on who will win? South looks great as always but Bell played them closer than anyone else as far as I know. Corbin is much better than they played last night. I still have hope for them in the regionals.

Who is in the 13th. Regional tournament as of right now?

Knox Central, South Laurel, Harlan....?

This may be a stupid question but, has Bell played yet? What district are they in?

Maybe he needs to Coach at a school like Williamsburg (and play schools with 5 times the numbers, or with Notre Dame recruits)to really test his coaching skills out.

 

Humble Pie is pretty bitter I hear.

Coach Wright has been blessed to have an older, experienced, talented group of players. I cannot take one thing away from his team. They have always conducted themselves with respect on and off the court as far as I could see. I was shocked and truly disappointed by Coach Wrights comments after the Will./S.L. game. He had a good chance to say something positive to a young coach and a young team who had struggled earlier in the season, but instead he choose to be demeaning and down right rude. It wasn't called for. It was mean. Not that it matters to anyone but me, but Coach Wright has definately lost my vote for COY. A true coach does not raise his team by knocking others down. He raises his team higher through kind words to teams that have not experienced the same level play as his team has. Not for his kids sake, but for his own, I hope that his comments come back around to bite his prideful little bottom. If not, I'll be sure to file his little interview in the paper away for future uses. Who knows, maybe I can give to back to him myself some day.

I didn't watch the game but I listened on the radio. The radio didn"t describe what was happening very well? What went on with Corbin in order for South to get such a led? I really figured that this game would be much, much closer with Corbin maybe winning? The reporters at one point said that there was a medical emergency in the stands? Sounds like there was a lot going on outside the game?

Each of the coaches that have been listed in this thread could be worthy of COY depending on what factors you take into consideration and place the most importance on. Do you rate a coach with an established program, that includes experienced players, and has a better record, higher than a coach who starts with a so-so team and builds it up to a region contender? I like to look at which coach has had the most challenges set before him and has rose to the occasion. IMO it would be easier to coach say a team like South, who has experienced, talented, older players who have been contenders for years than for a coach to take a young program and build on it.

South 86

Corbin 71

I think he was saying he controlled the game and kept the score as close as it ended up not the Williamsburg kids. Maybe Coach Wright was tired of being accused of running up the score and wanted to let people know that he did not run the score up in this one. That would be my guess, but who knows. I would not think he had an axe to grind with anyone in Jacket Land.

I agree that there shouldn't be any reason why he would be upset with Williamsburgs' basketball team. The intent of his comment may have very well been to show people that he can play with restraint. For whatever reasons he made the comments they were mean and uncalled for. He could have just as easily complimented Williamsburg on their effort and left it at that. The comment came off making him look a little full of himself and a bit overconfident. We all sometimes forget that the players read the sports sections of the Newpapers front to back and they read the comments Wright made. I think that for the comment "We didn't play all that well, but then again, we didn't have to.". he should have to apologize to the team. Those boys went through a lot this Summer & Fall and they worked very hard to get where they are today, even if it's not on the same level as Coach Wright. I didn't see Coach P get on his high horse after their game with Whitley. His comments were classy. unlike Coach Wright's.

Boys Top 5

 

1. South Laurel (24-5 overall, 12-0 vs. 13th Region)

What’s the scoop: Steve Wright’s South Laurel Cardinals are winners of 14 straight and haven’t lost since their 83-63 loss to Marietta High School on Jan. 6.

To make things worse, the other teams that have hopes of knocking off the Cardinals in post-season, have to worry about the fact South Laurel is 12-0 against 13th Region opponents this season and 30-0 dating back to February of 2004.

Who’s the last 13th Region team to have beaten the Cardinals?

You guessed it ... Tony Pietrowski’s Corbin Redhounds. The same team that will be squaring off with South Laurel for the 50th District title Friday.

 

Surprise, surprise: A lot of people were surprised the Cardinals only beat Williamsburg by 23 points (83-60) in the semifinals of the 50th District Tournament.

During the two teams’ regular season match-ups, South Laurel knocked off the Yellow Jackets by 49 and 52 points.

This is what Wright had to say after his team’s win over Williamsburg.

“A lot of times, teams don’t want to give anybody else credit,” he said. “They just want to talk about how well they played or how bad they played.

“I think they had nothing to lose and they came in and played better than they did when we played them before, but at the same time I subbed and played 15 guys and a bunch of their kids never did get in,” he added. “We could have left ours in, but we didn’t and I chose not to. There are still times when we beat them by 40 or more and we still played all 15 guys.

“That may concern people and give them something to talk about, but I think we were going to beat them if we had our best game or an average game. It’s tough to coach a game like that, but in the end, I would rather be on our end of it than their end of it.”

 

What’s ahead: South Laurel will host Corbin in the finals of the 50th District Tournament Friday. The Cardinals won the first two meetings between the teams 86-68 and 67-60.

 

2. Bell County (22-4, 15-2)

What’s the scoop: The Bobcats will be guaranteed a spot in the 13th Region Tournament if they can find a way to knock off rival Middlesboro today.

 

Surprise, surprise: Bell County held its own against South Laurel last week. The Bobcats dropped a 56-55 decision at home, but proved they can play with the defending 13th Region champions.

 

What’s ahead: Bell County has a match-up with Middlesboro in the 52nd District Tournament today.

 

3. Corbin (22-6, 15-4)

What’s the scoop: The Redhounds continue to roll.

Corbin struggled against Whitley County during the semifinals of the 50th District Tournament - trailed by one at halftime - but the Redhounds prevailed and ran their win streak to 10 games, while winning 16 of their last 18 games.

Despite the struggles against the Colonels, Corbin coach Tony Pietrowski said he was happy his team was able to pull through and get the win.

“I thought the big thing was that it was a physical game and we kind of got frustrated at times,” he said. “We knew this would be that way and we let that affect the way we played in the first half. I challenged my kids at halftime to just go out there and do the things we had been doing the last 15 games and not get caught up in everything else.

“I thought we did a much better job of that in the second half,” he added. “I felt like Josh Crawford did a good job for us and showed why he is one of the best players in the 13th Region.”

 

Surprise, surprise: Josh Crawford stepped up and led the way against Whitley County with a 26-point effort and don’t be surprised to see the sophomore continue to dominate on offense and defense the remainder of the post-season.

 

What’s ahead: Corbin has a 50th District Tournament final match-up against rival South Laurel Friday. The Redhounds are the last 13th Region team to beat the Cardinals and have the talent to do the same Friday.

 

4. Pineville (15-11, 13-7)

What’s the scoop: The Mountain Lions are winners of four straight and picked up an impressive 79-63 win over Lynn Camp Tuesday to solidify Pineville a spot in the 13th Region Tournament.

 

Surprise, surprise: When Pineville needs a spark, who steps to the forefront? Both James Strange and Dustin Day.

The two players combined to score 42 points during the Mountain Lions’ 16-point win over Lynn Camp.

When those two players are clicking, Pineville is a hard team to beat.

 

What’s ahead: Pineville will try and unseat Barbourville as 51st District champions. The two teams square-off against each other Friday at Knox Central High School.

 

5. Knox Central (14-12, 10-7)

What’s the scoop: Brandon Elam’s Knox Central Panthers look like they have hit stride after dismantling Barbourville at home in the semifinals of the 51st District Tournament.

I was really impressed with the way Knox Central played, espcially on defense. Elam had his squad ready.

 

Surprise, surprise: Knox Central had its way with Barbourville after surviving a minor scare late in the first half. The Panthers domianted on the boards and limited the Tigers to only one 3-pointer.

That was key.

 

What’s ahead: Elam’s Panthers will play against Pineville Friday to see who will be crowned champion in the 51st District.

 

 

The Best of the Rest

 

No. 6 Clay County (19-8, 10-4)

What’s the scoop: The Tigers are still struggling, but can be a dangerous team.

 

No. 7 Cumberland (19-9, 13-7)

What’s the scoop: The Redskins are still struggling.

 

No. 8 Harlan (12-13, 10-11)

What’s the scoop: The Green Dragons have improved tremendously since the beginning of the season. Harlan’s John Smith is finally getting some offensive help.

 

No. 9 Barbourville (17-10, 12-8)

What’s the scoop: Phipps’ magic came to an end against Knox Central.

 

No. 10 Red Bird (14-11, 4-11)

What’s the scoop: Red Bird moves into the Top 10 after defeating North Laurel.

Les, What do you think Coach Wright was meaning by his comments made after the S.L. / Williamsburg game Momday night?

First of all I would like to congratulate Whitley County and Coach Deaton on a great effort. There is nothing I like more than watching a Mike Deaton team run and gun. If he sticks around next year, with the experience Whitley has returning, you could very well see Whitley in the region because they could play with Corbin or South Laurel.

 

As Coach Pietrowski said on the radio show, although they looked a little flat, you have to credit Whitley for making them look flatter. You could tell by the end of the first half that Corbin seemed to be looking ahead to South a little and Whitley was playing for their chance at region. The Hounds got a wakeup call and came out playing better in the second half. Crawford was just a man among boys and showed why many say he is the best player in the region despite being only a sophomre. Does anyone have any stats for him other than points? I know of 5 assist and 7 blocks to go along with the 26 points and plus 12 rebounds.

 

No team should overlook any team but you should especially not overlook a team coached by Mike Deaton. There is not another coach in this region that can make you pay like he can.

 

Congrats again Colonels on a valiant effort and Good luck to the Hounds on Friday night. I guarentee you will see the Hounds come out of that locker room with lighting shooting out their tails. If they aren't fired up for this one, they need to stay at the house. It'll be a dandy.

Very well said, Hound82. Great comments on both teams.

Sounds like Williamsburg is into moral victories.......I bet the coach and players could care less!!! And his comments might have something to do with williamsburg dropping out of the district last year and leaving these other teams out to dry.......

With all due respect, Cat-n-the-Hat, you are mistaken. The coaches, players, and fans care greatly when it comes to Williamsburgs' team. The current coaches, nor the players, had anything to do with last years decision not to play in any district games. I don't think that had anything to do with Coach Wrights' statement. This years team, the one Coach Wrights' comments were made about, played hard last night and gave it their all. He could have just as easily recognized the team for their effort and left it at that. We teach our players to lose gracefully, some people need to learn how to win gracefully.

A wise man understands that it is never smart to under estimate your opponents abilities or over estimate your own. I would like to think that Coach Wright spoke before thinking. We've all been there. Comments like his often have a way of coming back around. Maybe some time in the near future a coach will be quoted as saying the same thing about his team.