Old School Dr.

Yes, they were up 62-40 with a little over 4 minutes to go and subbed heavily while M'boro pressed till the buzzer sounded resulting in the 66-55 final.

What exactly is it you question about the freedom of Leisge? Are you saying that he has too much freedom or not enough freedom? I really dont understand you, it appears as though you are taking shots at him and that is unfortunate considering what he has meant to this program the last 4 years.

Dont get carried away, just because South caught Corbin flat and handled them a week or two ago doesnt all of a sudden mean they are head and shoulders above everyone else in the Region. All teams have their highs and lows with South looking currently like they have improved a lot, but dont even try to tell us they are head and shoulders better than anyone else in the Region, that is just not true.

It should be a very good game, depending on how Pineville handles Bardstown's pressure. If they can handle the pressure reasonably well they could win the game, if they have 16 or more turnovers they will lose IMO. I am pulling for Pineville so I will say Pineville 58 Bardstown 57. The winner gets a nice prize (a probable game with Paintsville) that will be tough!

You make some very good points sir, a better accountability system needs to be in place for sure. The All A tournament needs to be looked at also IMO, this tournament is a big event for Single A schools and the regional tournaments are called by officials from within their own region and hand picked by a select few people from what I understand which includes a coach or two from teams that are participating in the tournament. This just doesnt seem fair to me, Touchstone Energy should appoint a committee in each region and there should be a representative from each school on that committee and be involved in the overall organization of the tournament. This committee should if at all possible get officials from outside their own region to call these games just like the KHSAA does for the regional tournaments in March.

Pineville actually shot 26 free throws to Cumberland's 7 and as for the blood issue, Day was never removed from the game when his nose was bleeding, they let him whipe it off and play on. Cumberland still was in great position to win the game however, but they just didnt that night get it done. They will move on like all great teams do and learn from it I do believe

Cumberland's top 3 scorers (Wilson, Johnson and Leisge) were a combined 9 for 35 Thursday night with Leisge having the worst night 3 for 17. 9 for 35 is 23%, how often do you believe that is going to happen? and the thing is they still had a 5 point lead with 4 minutes to go in the game and didnt score another point, how often do you think that will happen? I dont agree with your reasoning on all of this, but that is what makes this a great country we all have the right to our own opinion, bottom line is it really doesnt matter where you have them in your poll because what happens on the floor the rest of the year will speak for itself. As for putting Knox Central #1 after struggling against Cawood and Middlesboro how do you really explain that?? Are you just trying to get your poll to match Cantrall or Litkenhaus, polls that reward teams for running scores up on weaker teams, something Cumberland has not done one time this year, but the exact opposite, they have taken it easy on teams every time they have beaten a team bad by going DEEP into their bench early and often! Cumberland is down to 10 players now due to injuries and players quitting, but they had 15 dressing for most of the year and they all played in every blowout win taking potential 30 to 40 point wins and turning them into 15 to 18 point wins and therefore killing their ranking in the power polls! having said all of that, I do realize the Skins have got to get their act together soon or they will be home again in March earlier than they want to be

It actually didnt make any sense ranking Knox Central number one this week, considering they struggled the way they did last week with single digit wins at home against 2 mediocre teams (Cawood and Middlesboro) Move Cumberland to 4th after blowing Cawood, Bell and Harlan out recently and now the Skins loose by 2 to an ecellent 18-2 Pineville team in overtime and all of a sudden they are the 6th best team in the region?The WYMT crew has Cumberland 7th in the Mountains and if they had been able to hold on to 4th quarter leads (Hazard and Pineville) they might be as high as 2nd or 3rd in the WYMT poll. Cumberland was in position in the 4th quarter of both games to win after not even coming close to playing their best basketball so even though they let a couple get away there are a lot of teams that wont want to have to play the Skins come March.

I dont recall Cumberland fans whining about it, as for myself I have said on numerous occasions that their weak schedule has been a detriment to their development and to their ranking in the statewide polls. When you look at the Cal preps rankings Cumberland is ranked 49th in the state and of those 49 teams Cumberland's schedule is ranked the weakest and that is just very unfortunate for these kids. I dont know why their schedule is what it is, I really wanted to see them schedule a couple games in Lexington and play in the 5th/3rd tournament down there also. Having said this however, they may have their work cut out for them, but I do believe their coaches and players will continue to work hard and learn from their mistakes and will still be prepared to make a strong run at the 13th region title. As for this loss to Pineville, it is absolutely not anything to be ashamed of, Pineville is an excellent team. There have been 3 region favorites already knocked out of this tournament (Elliot, Shelby Valley and Cumberland) and I am sure this will be something that will be a motivating factor that will drive these teams for the remainder of this year and into March. Keep your heads up Skins, you are still a great team capable of big things!!

Absolutely, put him on the block and get him the ball like they did in the regional game against Clay County last year,make him go to work and if he cant get it done in there then Cumberland will not beat good teams. Look at Cumberland's two biggest games against the two best teams they have played this year: Johnson scored 5 against Hazard and 10 against Pineville, an average of 7.5 a game. That is just not getting it done, if they dont put him on the block for the entire game and challenge him to get it done like a top 3 player in the region is supposed to they will not get it done as a team. If you are 6'5" and more athletic than most kids you are playing against it is a must that you get it done In The Paint!!! Where do all the great players get it done? In The Paint At The Rim!!!

I agree with you there Les.

Elliot County was rated #1 in their Region and #5 in the Cantrall rating and they got beat in their All A region also, does that make them a really bad team????? or is it just a tough loss, just like Cumberland's loss last night or like the Corbin loss to SL, I mean does this make Cumberland a weak team just because they lost a game to an 18-2 Pineville team that probably wanted this game so bad they could taste it and have been looking to this game for a long time. If you remember last year Les you dropped Cumberland down a few spots and constantly spoke negatively about them and they played great in the District and Regional and almost knocked off the mighty SL team in the Region Semi-finals. So just live it up bashing on the Redskins pal I believe they can take it and I believe they will rise back up before this year is over and show what they are truly made of!!!

Just a note about the game: Pineville shot 26 free throws to Cumberlands 7. I think that in regulation play there was only 6 total fouls called on Pineville, I could be wrong there, but I think that is the correct number. In the 4th quarter with around 4 minutes left Pineville only had 3 fouls and was down 5 and at this point they became very aggressive on the defensive end and actually looked like they were trying to give some fouls and they still were not called, then after they made a couple steals they went down on the other end and wound up on the foul line themselves and scored almost all of their points in the 4th and overtime from the line. These stats just seem to be a little lopsided dont some of you think???? Even with all of that to overcome the Skins still should have won the game, but I will give credit to the Lions for battling their tails off to get the win. Those of you people that want to kick a dog when he is down and write the Redskins off that is your right, myself I dont think you have heard the last of Cumberland by a long shot!!!!!

Cumberland is 6-1 in the their last 7 with their only loss being to a team (Hazard) that is currently ranked higher in all of the power polls than anyone in the 13th and they drop from 1st to 4th in this poll?

Turnovers and Free Throw Shooting set a very bad tone in this game early and continued throughout for Cumberland in what very easily could have been a win. These things will improve without a doubt, they need more games against top competition to get them ready for the stretch run later this year. Cumberland's weak schedule has obviously had a negative effect on their overall development this year.

Cumberland will start to show how strong they really are in this one and move on to the Championship round. They missed some free throws last night in the 4th quarter, but they are normally a very good free throw shooting team. Cumberland 60 Hazard 50

1. Cumberland (best kept secret in the state) 2. Shelby Valley 3. Elliot County 4. UHA 5. JBS

You make no sense pal!!! You are saying that KCC is at the top of the 14th and Cumberland took their best shot as KCC shot 60 % on their home floor in the first half, and Cumberland shot around 30% from the free throw line for the game and still got the solid win.

They have actually played two games in the past 8 or 9 days, one against a pretty athletic, solid team from West Virginia and one against Cawood in which they looked pretty dominant. Knott is a solid team that will probably be a tough out on their home floor.

I am not real sure that you do know what this team is all about? Like I said get out and watch them a time or two and then tell me what you think! As for the AAU circuit, look back the last few years and you will see that the teams that were successful in AAU have been the same teams that have success in March. As for your what if scenarios, you and I could both come up with a lot of what if's for everyone in the state. Quality teams dont worry about what if's they just play basketball. I, myself personally would have liked to seen the Skins play a couple tournaments with the top teams in the state because I believe they can hold their own with the best. Having said all of that I think I will let this issue rest with you sir and just see what happens on the floor the next few weeks and months.

You must obviously agree with me that Cumberland could and should be ranked higher than they are in this and the other power polls by referring to them as one of the top 2 teams in the 13th. In regard to playing Corbin, they have had a one game series with them the last several years rotating the location with Cumberland being the location this year, but Corbin chose to not play the game! Cumberland has competed with the top teams in the state the last two years in various tournaments and summer AAU and have shown each and everytime that they are a quality team. There schedule is going to get much tougher this month with games against top 25 teams so why dont you get out and watch them play a game or two and you might see what I have been talking about.

I actually think these rankings are very accurate. I just believe that there is a team or two outside the top 25 that later on this year will prove that they belong.

It's not like Cumberland had a choice of whether or not to play Evarts, they are in the same District, 2 games is mandatory and the 3rd was a blind draw for the All A. Cumberland has the potential to meet up with some of the top 25 teams this month, so IMO I believe you along with a lot of people will find out they are for real. These rankings do not determine who are the best teams in the state, that fortunately is done on the court.

This poll looks a lot more legitimate than Litkenhaus. Mason County is the best team in Kentucky, with several teams nipping at their heals. Cumberland High is not as high in this poll as they could be due to the lack of quality opponents, but they will have a chance this month against some very good competition to show what kind of team they really are. I really believe they are one of the best 25 teams in Kentucky, but I understand that strength of schedule is a big factor along with margin of victory in a poll like this. Cumberland has shown a lot of class and been generous in the 4th quarter of a lot of their games going deep in to their bench. Lookout for the Redskins they are on the rise!!

Very good analysis, I think you could be right on the money. Cumberland is hungry for some good competition and I believe they will be ready to show how strong they are.