wildcatfan

In half of Boone's losses (Highlands, Newport, and St. Henry), they did not hit their free throws well.

As I have said before, Boone is very balanced. 8 different players have led them in scoring this year, and 7 of those multiple times. It was a good team effort. Cotton had a good game shooting and had a couple of nice blocks. Popp came off the bench in the last minute of the game to hit 6 straight free throws to seal it. I thought that Montgomery, Lay, Schulze, Brown, Earls, Popp, Cotton all made nice contributions at different times for Boone. Gabbard had a quiet game and had to leave for awhile with a cut. Earls left the game early with an ankle sprain.

Close game throughout.

Chase Stanley for Boone.

I think every one of these kids has led Boone multiple times in scoring at some point this year, and that all of them are averaging between about 7 to 10 points a game. Pretty good balance/depth. Each one has stepped up at different times in the season. Not one of these kids will carry Boone by themselves, but if they play well as a team and stay consistent/focused, they can be a regional contender.

Brown played great on offense especially. Lays and Brown stay on the blocks where they can be very efficient. Nothing spectacular but getting the job done. 99.9% of their points come from 2-3 feet away from the basket, but hey, if it is working and the other team's bigs can't stop it, no need to take as many outside shots! Brown has very soft hands and once he gets his hands on the ball, it's hard to get it away from his grip. I think he catches entry passes much better than Earls does for Boone, and he rebounds his own misses pretty well. Popp played some pretty good D on the perimeter. Lays and Gabbard had most of their points in the first half, and Brown was the scorer in the second half. Montgomery also played pretty well. I thought that Boone's inside players were more physical than Conner's last night. Brown's wide, strong body is a definite asset that he uses to make up for his height disadvantage against taller post players. He is probably Boone's best scorer. When he catches it, he goes up with it. Overall, it was a good team effort by Boone. Boone went 7-8 deep in this game, and I thought all contributed well. One of the refs told me that there was a lot of hand checking. They called more fouls in the first half and let it go more in the second.

I thought that both district games now counted in district seedings, as of last year.

Just a guess

Boone won handily the first time, so Conner would have to beat Boone by a lot and hope Boone loses to Ryle.

Boone got the winner of Heritage and Cooper last year.

Yes, just like last year.

Gabbard is very physically strong for his size and has worked hard to get there. Looks very muscular.

I think Boone would have to lose 2 of its remaining 3 district games to not win its district and get the #1 seed. They still have games at home vs. Conner, Ryle, and Cooper. #1 seed would mean a first round game against the winner of Heritage/Cooper, like last year, and a guaranteed spot in the regional tournament if they won that game.

Good question. The game was well in hand by the start of the 4th quarter.

It wasn't just that. Boone seemed to win the battle of the boards too, and Cov Cath big men were only effective inside with the ball a couple times when they got it.

Boone had their way inside in this game. Score might have been slightly different but result the same.

Would not have mattered, IMO. Could not hit shots when they had them, and Boone's inside game totally outplayed them.

Boone outplayed CCH in every facet and phase of the game. Huge gap between these two teams.

I think Conner will be one of the top teams next year.

Some good points, but I have to disagree on one part. You can have a floor leader, but the overall leader is the coach of the team, and if a coach doesn't notice a floor leader, then the coach needs to. Boone's team captains appear to be Gabbard and Cotton. In general in any sport, upperclassmen don't take leadership well from underclassmen. McFarland took that role last year, but the couple of years before that saw no player doing this. The point guard is a natural floor leader because the offensive plays start with him and he calls the plays out, or at least relays them to the team from the coach.

BTW, what in the world are you talking about and where did that come from? Whether to choose to leave or not??? :idunno:

I haven't noticed that to be a problem this year at Boone. It appears to me that the players are giving their best. The players seem to get along fine. I know Gabbard, Popp, and Earls have played together for years, and Cotton and Gabbard have played together since middle school, and Schulze and Popp have too.

If there needs to be player leaders on the floor, the starting seniors could even lead by committee. However, it has to be seniors that see a lot of PT. I think the underclassmen respect the experience/ability of the seniors and do defer to them/wait for their lead. Earls was 3-12 in the Highlands game. Started OK but did not play well afterward.

Gabbard actually took quite a few shots against Highlands (13) He was 0-5 against Cooper and 2-13 against Highlands. He just wasn't hitting. Gabbard and Cotton probably have taken the most shots on Boone, and those two are the ones who have played the most minutes so far. Boone has been led in scoring by Gabbard, Earls, Cotton, Popp, Brown, Crabtree, Montgomery and maybe others (Lay?) at various times. I don't think Boone can rely on any one person as a go-to scorer. They need to play well as a team, share the ball, and if someone is hot, get it to them, and the coach needs to leave him in. Popp missed the Cooper game from illness this week and consequently only played about a quarter of the Highlands game total (few minutes here and there), and his shot wasn't falling when he came in off the bench. Brown also played only about a quarter. Boone needs some continuity and teamwork. The points will come if they play good team ball and if everybody isn't worried about who is getting the most points.

I haven't noticed Montgomery being very vocal in the past or this year. From the stands, Cotton appears to be vocal to his teammates at times, but it is hard to tell from there how inspirational/motivational his words are to them. However, it appears that overall the Boone players play hard, and effort isn't the main problem. Coaches can motivate players too. The quietness you see may be a reflection of the coaching style. He appears to be a pretty quiet coach and not a big "rah-rah" guy. Some players need that rah-rah support from teammates and/or their coach to play hard, and some don't because they have enough motivation from within. With a couple of exceptions, I've always thought that there is too much substitution at Boone, and it is hard for players to get into/stay in a rhythm. They go about 9 deep in every game. I say find your top 5 and play them and use 2 others to spell them. I still see not enough teamwork, and I notice certain players trying to get their points/stats by taking a bunch of shots, etc. Certain players don't seem to be able to see or be willing to pass to certain teammates when those players are open, etc. If Boone has any chance to do well, they need to work as a team, be motivated, and not worry about who has the best stats, or it will be an early exit in the post season.