Lovemyball240

Rumor is Danville has a stud athlete in Macon. Heard Mercer County had to replace their rims after the game. I believe he's committed to play football at UK.

Go watch Elliot County and find out...

Agree and Disagree. Agree that subing just to sub so that you look like you know what you're doing is counter-productive. You must play the players that give you the best chance to win while also keeping in mind conditioning, legs, decision-making when tired, and heart. I listed heart because players without heart at the end of a game will get you beat. Heart leads me to my disagreement. Those players in practice that don't practice well, are constantly hurt and sitting out, or don't bust their butts every minute are evaluated on a daily bases. Think of practice and the season in terms of being a marathon, not a sprint. Those that have individually good practices here and there are going to let you down come the fourth quarter. You CAN'T turn it on and off. Players must earn their spots over a sustained period of time. That time is in practice.

I'll go with Clay by 20...Spurlock works those boys hard. He'll have them ready to go!

Montgomery by 20. They will need to keep Ferguson under control, he had 30against a good Elliot County Friday night.

Scott County has a 6'6'' Junior, Richie Phares who was able to practice against the number one team in the state all season. He will be asked to step up this season as a major contributor. There are two players from Montgomery that are not well known but will make a major impact. 6'8'' 215 lb. Jordan Stephens will be a major force in the middle and 6'4'' Brandon Rash is a lock down defender, with confidence on the offensive end and a new up tempo style they will both be known very soon.

Scenario 1: Team has already received possession of the ball. Therefore, the arrow has switched...whatever happens thereafter will be considered a different play and be called accordingly...out of bounds same teams possession. Scenario 2: The guy on the ball should never touch the ball...if he does then that is a technical. Coach should either praise him for being smart enough to get a tech on other team or kick his butt for the 5 second call he's about to receive. Let me pose a scenario (I saw it happen this summer). Team A was down 1 and pressing with 4 seconds remaining. Team B is thinking they are going to hold the ball out of bounds and let the time run out but Team A player guarding the ball jumps out of bounds towards team B's inbounder. What's the call?

I look forward to seeing what some of these "unheralded" kids like Lee, Adams, Hundley, Portwood, Burchfield, and Phares are going to do now that it is their time to shine. Adams and Portwood can flat fill it up, Lee and Phares are a perfect high low tandem, Burchfield is a tough gutty kid that brings it every night, Hundley might have an argument for the MVP of the State Tournament last year, and don't forget the X-factor that is Guyn. This group has been together (with the exception of Guyn) for a long time and I think that some of their offensive abilities have been overlooked because of Matt and Bud taking the majority of the shots at times. My personal opinion is that they are still the top team in their region and in the state, I would also not be surprised at all to see them repeat. Seeing these kids evolve as a group this year will be a real treat to watch, will they take their lumps, absolutely, are they gonna surprise some people, we'll see...

Word on the street is there could be some movement at one of the Lexington schools that did so well last year...

Mark my words early...everyone will need to watch for Brandon Rash and Blane Stull from Montgomery County. Rash is a stat stuffer who loves to play defense and with Griesser's up tempo play he will be perfect for this style ball. Same can be said for Stull who will have the green light this year. Stull got sleeper in the around 400 player Blue Chip camp at Georgetown College. Filled it up one game with 8, 3's including the game winner.

The fact of the matter is no one will ever know why the kid transfered, we can make assumptions, but we all know what happens when we do that. Truth be told, if his family has moved into Scott Co. and lives there full time then he will be eligible to play ball for the Cardinals...period.

A.W. is one of my all time favorites...he conducted himself very well and there is not one person in the state that worked harder than him. I can remember playing one on one till 4 in the morning with him multiple times. He will be a great head coach some day because he wants to be. That will also be a very good camp b/c he is a student of the game. Good luck A.W.

Any word on how some of the states top players are performing? Any sleepers emerging?

I was very impressed with the Slone kid when I saw him at the AAU State. He has a great handle, strong build, good shot, and good decision making. He is a package player...not sure how tall maybe 6'2 or 6'3. He may be in the top 15 of the state. I thought he should have been in at the end of the game in the semi's...he is stronger and better with the ball than the Stepp kid. That said, the DS team is a very talented team but I think they stuck with the zone too much...not many of those kids are used to playing zone let alone a 1-3-1 and with Novosel, Hundley, Slone, Thomas, and Smart in there they can rebound the ball.

Who is Jordan Lee playing with this summer? I don't remember seeing him at the AAU State.

You may be right waterboy he didn't play that well in the season. I guess I based my decision on what I have seen him be able to do not necessarily the output. He may be a scratch but I would keep Stephens and Phares on the list just because of their summer play...they have both stepped up and shown their abilities in these summer league games. Both looked agile and quick for their size, not to mention the way they have finished.

I am interested in hearing everyone's opinions on who are the top 25 players out there, regardless of class, that are the best in the state. Here are my votes in no order other than the top 3: Darius Miller Bud Mackey Scotty Hopson Shelvin Mack Arrez Henderson Aaron Morris Nathan Novosel Landon Sloan Matt ? (Ashland) Dakota Euton Sparks (Tates Creek) Cameron Hundley Tyler Portwood Jordan Lee Clark Stepp Jaron Jones Jenkins (Manuel) Victor Moses Aaron Boyd Smart (Catholic) Elliot County Twins Jordan Stephens Richie Phares Let's see who everyone thinks may be their picks to be included in the list come the end of summer and preseason next year. Let the games begin!

I attended the AAU state tourney at the KBA this weekend and watched the semifinals but was unable to watch the finals. What I saw was a great performance from quite a few players...Arrez Henderson was everywhere both offensively and defensively. He is one of the most underrated players in the state...He's not on the same level as Miller, Mackey, and Hopson but he is right behind them (height hurts him a little...but he makes up for it in other ways). I I liked a Matt something from Ashland...I thought he was a very strong and talented player. He needs to work on being that player the whole game but he does have the talent. Was not impressed with Clark Stepp what so ever...totally overrated b/c he has a very unorthodox shot that he rarely makes and dribbles the ball entirely too much. I can see where he would be good in the mountains though...I was more impressed with Landon Sloan than Stepp. I saw two hardnosed players in Nathan Novosel and Cameron Hundley who seem to do the things that no one else wants to do...they also score well Novosel has very good feet and hands in the post. Hundley is improving his perimeter ball handling skills and is starting to knock down jumpers. I like the Elliot County guards including the twins and Maynard. They have a deadly backcourt...if they can find a post that can alleviate some of the pressure they will be a tought team to beat. The twins are very charismatic and I really enjoy watching them and wanting them to do well. Montgomery County has a center that has a lot of upside. He seems to run well, have good hands, and finish well. If he works on his post moves and using both hands he will be a force. These are all just my opinions...please add or reply to these comments.

There has been talk about the Ky All-Stars scrimmaging the Derek Smith AAU team (seniors to be). There are some tough nosed kids on the Derek Smith AAU team with Nathan Novosel (Lex. Cath), Cameron Hundley (Scott Co.), and Landon Sloan (Paintsville) to name a few. This might be good for the Ky All-Stars to face a tough, fundamental ball team that has played together rather than pulling kids from anywhere and tossing the ball up. Does anyone know where they might have this game? I would pay admission to see them play.

I have also had the opportunity to see these two players up close. Nathan Novosel- Very hard worker and physical player. Needs to work on his outside game to make it as a D-1 player at the next level. 6'4 or 6'5 is a shooting guard nowadays. I do think he can do this and accompanied with his ability to rebound and find positioning he will make it. Taylor Stewart- Very gifted ball player, 6'5 shooting guard with the ability to break you down off the dribble. Has had looks from UMass and Travis Ford. Needs to be able to step back and make the three point shot smoother, however, he is able to make the 15 footer very consistently. 11th region with all of these players will be very dangerous next year...Scott Co. will have their work cut out for them if they want to repeat.

I have had the opportunity to see up close each one of these kids play. Aaron Morris- long, athletic, and has improved his stock by taking his game outside to hit the jump shot. He will turn heads this summer on the AAU scene. Tyler Brown- Has the uncanny ability to get to the basket and make plays. Didn't hear a lot from him this season but had a good state tourney 2 years ago and played very well in the summer for Eddie Ford's Kentucky Hoopstars. Victor Moses-This kid will be a steal for whoever picks him up. He has great hands and a big body. Doesn't seem to use all of his talent, not sure if he has bad knees or just won't. If he gets agressive this season and plays up to his potential he will make Henry Clay very difficult to beat.

It seems like next year will have the most D-1 players of any class for a long time. What players will be D-1 Players? This is not limited to next years class. So far I have... Bud Mackey (Scott co.) = Indiana Darius Miller (Mason co.) = Wherever he wants Scotty Hopson (UHA) = Mississippi State? Shelvin Mack (Bryan Station) = Jacob Jenkins (Manual) = I know I'm missing some...help me out here.

AAU is like anything in this world...it can be done right or abused. Think about it, it is great for kids to get exposure and be seen by multiple college coaches. However, it is often at the expense of team concepts (mostly one on one ball). It gets taken advantage of when coaches are trying to ride players coat tails and get kickbacks from taking the big players to signing day with a particular college...this does happen. College coaches will make contact with AAU coaches often before the parents. Like it or not one good day on the AAU circuit could pull in a $100, 000 scholarship so the advantage is HUGE. This isn't new, soccer has had select team for years and that is where athletes get their scholarships...school ball for soccer has been rendered obsolete. Like it or not AAU is a perminant fixture.

Thanks Strike. Do you think it's an advantage for those schools like Mason Co. who have the region at their place every year? Will Montgomery be pushing to have it at their place since they spent like $8 Million on their new gym?

I was just curious how each region does their Regional tournaments. I know for example the 8th is held at Henry County every year and the 11th rotates between Frankfort and EKU. How do all other regions host? How big of an advantage is it to have a tournament hosted at a high school in the region? Is it fair?