The_Generals_Soldier

I think that you are thinking of Walt Allen.

The last time the 16th had Pre-Season prominence was in 2000. That season in the Pre-Season Coaches Poll in the Lex. Herald Leader Boyd County, Greenup County and Ashland were all voted in the Top 25 with West Carter receiving votes as well. Of course when Rose Hill and Morgan County had there battles in the early 2000's they were getting recognition across the state as well. The 90's were good for the 16th Region, but since then overall the region has been weak.

Ohio also has a cap of 20 regular season games for every team.

A an outside observer of the GC program, I have one question. Why is that it seems that GC has had stellar Freshmen teams in the past and it doesn't seem to translate over to the Varsity level in a big way? I remember in the past 5-10 years that the young Musketeers have even had freshmen teams that have gone undefeated, what gives? Is it that players quit after their freshmen year, coaching, lack of discipline, what?

That should be Coal Grove, but that could be just a slip since that is all they do is RUN the ball.

Coal Grove is a small school, but they do have athletes. Like I said earlier, its not their skill position guys as much as their line that's killing the Hornets this season. I think that if Newport can contain Delawder (CG Fullback) then Newport will be alright, but if he breaks loose for 120 yards or more then Newport is in trouble.

Coal Grove is actually on a bit of down turn so far this season as they'll enter the game with Newport with a record of 1-3, their lone win came 2 weeks ago at Lucasville Valley. The Hornets graduated the bulk of their offensive line from last season's conference championship team, thus the running game is struggling. However, Fullback Frank DeLawder (Jr.) is a load to handle in the backfield, but with little help on the O-Line he pretty much has to carry defenders on his back. Coach Dave Lucas' Hornets have struggled with discipline as well this season, as they have been heavily flagged in their games. Needless to say the Hornet fans have been pretty restless with this season so far. A win over Newport (Homecoming game by the way) would be a big win for the Hornets, who are really struggling. I would predict a close win by The Grove, but if they play like they did last week getting shutout at Minford, it could easily go the other way.

Oh yeah it was down hill for the 20 years that Ward was at the reigns. Yes '74 was a great year, but how can you discredit the kids and staff that worked to put up all the numbers on those district championship and region championship banners. I agree that GC has been going severely downhill for awhile, but to trash 20 years of accomplishments from 1980-2000 is too much.

Well when you build a program it is generally with your own talent and when you "build" a program the talent comes from elsewhere. I respect the heck out of Billy Hick's and can say that he is a top notch coach, but I really respect those coaches who work hard at the smaller schools, with less advantages and manage to get it done.

Truly a horrible event when you lose a loved one. I remember watching Jason as we were the same age, but from rival high schools. He was an outstanding back for the Tomcats and I send a host full of condolences to the Nichols family and the Tomcat Nation. If I'm not mistaken I think he had a younger brother or cousin nicknamed "Pee-Wee" who also played for the Tomcats as well?

I believe that he may be making a reference to one of the GC players father, who I guess some people believe he may have had influence on who was chosen as the GC coach. I don't have a dog in this fight, but I think that Coach Fraley is and was the best choice for the coaching position at GC.

Things got tougher for the Eagles with the departure of top scorer Cameron Hall as he followed his father (Former Louisville Cardinals/Fairview standout Jeff Hall) to Glasgow High. Coach Rex Cooksey always does a good job with Fairview so I expect the Eagles to be in the mix in the 64th District, but any hope of being a top caliber team in the region took a hard hit with the loss of a player who was capable of scoring 20 plus points a game on top of him being one of the main ball handlers on the team. Fairview will be disciplined and effective in most games, but will struggle to find its identity after the loss of Hall.

The bottom line is Ohio has more metropolitan areas (Dayton, Cincy, Columbus, Cleveland, Akron, Toledo, etc.), where as KY has two really large population bases, Lexington-Fayette and Louisville-Jefferson. One could also include the ever-growing Northern KY area as well in this debate, but in reality Ohio schools have a larger population base to draw higher caliber athletes from. Year in year out Ohio just has better athletes overall, but that doesn't mean some of Kentucky's better teams can't compete. What Billy Hick's has "built" at Scott County is a program that can be looked at as a top-notch program not only in the bluegrass, but the nation. Ohio doesn't seem to have the top-notch long-term programs in basketball like they do in football that draw national recognition for the long haul. That might be the one thing that KY may have on our neighbors to the North?

GC will be much improved and I believe Coach Fraley will have them going in the right direction. Year in year out GC should be a top 3 program in the 16th Region and with a talented sophomore class, the future looks like they could be moving back up to the top. I expect this team to take a few lumps here and there this season, but by the end of the year could be a team that plays spoiler for some team in the postseason. Good Luck to the Musketeers and their coaching staff.

Final.

If he wants it I think Pete Fraley should have a shot. He has given many years to the girls program at BC and really deserves a shot at the boys job to show what he could do.

Good overall camps, but its summer basketball, take it for what it is worth. In some ways I believe that some coaches are taking this summer stuff a little too seriously, while others you can tell are just trying to get experience for his team. In my opinion there are some teams that can peak early due to the way there coaches are preparing them, Bath County is a good example. Coach Hicks is not only in mid-season form his team is as well and personally I don't think that can be all that good. It's almost seemed as if the Wildcats had all their offensive sets in and haven't stopped practicing since their loss in the 16th Region Tournament in March. But, his Wildcats will be a for sure contender. Here is my report of the other teams I saw. Fairview: Tough bunch with good guard play will be much better this season. Lewis County: Always gritty Lions have a nice guard in Witten and added size in the middle with a transfer center. Russell: Devils seem to still be bitten by youth and inexperience, but Kidwell seems to have the Devils playing much harder than last season. Raceland: Coach Floyd's Ramblers are little down from last season, but Boyles is a scoring threat against anyone. Look for the Rams to struggle early, but play tougher as the year goes along. Lawrence County: Randy Anderson's bunch in three words PHYSICAL, PHYSICAL, PHYSICAL. Tough Bulldogs will give some teams in the 15th all they want on the inside, but must find some better guard play. Rose Hill: Could be a sleeper in the 16th with young Royals looking better in spurts. Michael Terry (Brother of former Lady Royal Laura Terry and current Louisville Lady Card player) could be one of the top underclassman in the state. Greenup County: Improved over last season, but still lacking fundamentals to go with athletic ability. I am sure this something new coach Tim Fraley is woking on big time. Like Raceland a team that will be much better as the season goes along. Look for young Musketeers Trey Williams and Dustin Lithicum (sp.?) to be stellar players in the 16th Region for years to come. East Carter: Could be the second best team in the region behind Elliott County, but have the misfortune of playing in the same district as the Lions. Raiders have all the tools to be a contender with top notch guard play and a big post presence in Barnhill in the middle. Other teams: Coal Grove, Ohio: What an improvement over last year at this time, Coach Randy Ward has the Hornets playing much better ball. The Hornets didn't have their full squad like many teams, but finished 2-2 in two days with only 6 players who logged significant minutes. As one official I talked to said, "Coal Grove could be a contender in the 16th Region." We'll see as the Hornets play 3-4 16th Region teams this season. Ripley, Ohio: Gritty tough nosed team, with an absolutely bruising post player, but like many teams lacked steady guard play. Thats all the teams I've seem so far I missed seeing Ashland, Boyd County and West Carter I believe. Overall a really good field of teams at Fairview. Rex Cooksey and company do a pretty good job keeping things going. Running a large team camp like this is really difficult and I think this is a great time for teams to play and maybe more important for fans to get a taste of things to come.

I went to college with Josh at good ol' MSU and I wish him the very best with his first head football coaching position.

In what way has your school honored their past coaches. I know it has become a trend as of late with many schools to name their gyms, gym floors, etc.. after their top coaches. If you were to honor a coach from your school what would be the best way or better yet who would you honor??

I've waited awhile to post on this thread and I just think that in reality this is all ridiculous, as every school of impact in the 16th Region has had their share of transfers or defectors to other schools. Sometimes transfers can be a positive other times they can have a negative effect. As far as impact we in the 16th have seen our share in the last few years, but the trend has more history than just recent years. I go by the old statement that I learned a long time ago, "Every time that you point a finger, you have three more pointed back at you."

It is that time a year again as the school year is winding down and summer hoops will be here real soon. There are many summer shoot-outs throughout the state, but I was just wondering what everyone's summer schedule looks like this year. Summer is where players are made, as far as I am concerned, and it is a lot of fun for coaches just to see what they have and get an early gauge on what their teams will look like.

I know Bobby Fleet and His Band With A Beat tore up Mayberry and really did a bang up job in Mount Pilot. It would be great to see them put on a show somewhere in the Tri-State area.

I'm not implying I just was wondering??? I always thought that Russell was an odd choice for a coach from nearly the opposite end of the state to choose (Lindsey Wilson is about 220 miles from Russell). Maybe it was just the chance to be with his kids I just found it an odd choice for a highly successful coach at the college level to leave to take on a high school job.

Greenup County has some nice younger talent. Sophomore to be Trey Williams is a player to watch for sure and with Coach Fraley in place I believe the young Muskies will be moving out of the cellar quicker than expected. Boyd County will not be down long as well. Coach Zornes would not come back to a program that would stay in that shape forever. The Lions will be back I'm sure.

Does anyone think that is weird that Dodd left a successful college coaching career to begin with??? Is there more to this than some people may think?? I've heard a few rumblings about why this may have happened, but nothing concrete. I wish Coach Dodd luck wherever he may land.