crazy8s

I had a tough time with question and went with Spencer Co primarily because they have a core group that have been together for 4 years and if they are ever going to make a run, it will be this year. Marshall is a nice post player and I hope that they have a good run this year. I did not go with South Oldham because the players appear to lack the desire and competitive spirit to win the region IMO. They do have talent though, with most of it in the freshman class outside of McGuffin, but simply lack the leadsrship to get the job done unless someone rises to the challenge. I am not so sure about any of the other schools, except maybe Oldham who could have a shot at it. Even with the openess of the region this year, I do not think a dark horse will stand a chance of winning, although I would like to see it happen.

Our practices are closed and parents wait in their cars outside the gym doors and read a book, talk on their cell phones, or each other. Players need practice time to focus and when your parents are there it does cause distractions.

I agree 100%! So true.

Agree with all Colonel Mike's observations on the game last night. Franklin Co. was a very nice team, well coached and discilpined. Although South got killed on the offensive boards all night, they were at times getting 4 or 5 put backs, they were competitive and in a position to win the game in the 4th quarter. Several quick shots really hurt them down the stretch along with some costly late turnovers. The ability to finish when it counts will be something that they will need to improve on to win games against quality opppnents. As for player rotation, they are playing all 11 but there are some deficiencies that at times.

I agree- Franklin Co was very impressive Saturday and really got up and down the floor. South's guards will need to slow down # 22 if they want to have any success. She was running that team like a finely tuned engine and she had some very nice players to get the ball to that could finish. BIG TEST for the Lady Dragons tonight. Good luck to both teams.

Good to see the lady dragons get on track last night. They came out ready to play and jumped on them early. Jasmine and Jordann played very well together and will only continue to get better as the season progresses. North has a nice freshman player who did a good job for them - she was # 33 but I cannot recall her name.

Good point and I agree 100%. Freshman who play significant varsity minutes should not be playing any freshman ball. Unless they start varsity, I do think that they should play jv when appropriate but again it should be about developing young talent. As for triple headers, I understand the economic reasons but don't really like them because very few programs have enough players to field separate teams. I hate to see schools eliminate freshman teams because of low numbers - most freshman teams in Oldham county have more middle school players than true freshman and it appears to be a trend in alot of schools today.

Very tragic story - saw it on the news and I could not help but think of how many of us send our kids out every am to school and never want to imagine that it can happen. So young- what a loss to the family, school. and community. Our prayers are with you all.

This should be an interesting game as both teams have new looks this year. South played fairly well against CAL for their season opener which was a loss and Shelby needed a terrific 4th quarter to put Carroll Co away. Shelby will be looking for revenge from the loss last year at Region so they may have the emotional edge. I am picking South on their home floor tonight though - by 8.

Avery Jones from Manual should be top 5 - IMO she is ahead of Alex Jones - she runs the floor better, has a better mid-range game. She has also has great hands- both can rebound well and are the main go to's for their respective teams. She will have much success in the OVC.

Good for TC- sounds like they are off to a good start and with young players that is great for them!

That in a nutshell will be the key for SK- if Tolliver does not have someone to help take the heat off of her, she will not be as effective. It is easy to know who you need to stop and she will be "the target" for them. She is a great player and we are going to find out just how great she will be. Does anyone know where she is looking to play college ball? If I remember correctly from last fall, someone said she was going to go big- early signing period has come and gone and I haven't heard a thing....anyone know anything?

I am not in agreement with the last three- not sure if they deserve to be ahead of McGuffin from South Oldham. I realize that there are others that will disagree with me on this but McGuffin should be top 10 IMO. Are Dixon and Jones seniors?

I agree 100%- very well said! Kids will push you as far as you let them and once they know that they cannot or that there are consequences, that really changes things.

It is the unkowns that keep us all so interested.....that is the fun of it all!!

From what I hear there is a talented 8th grader at Shelby West Middle School that will be a big impact player for Shelby Co High this year- perhaps even starting..... any rumors to that?

That is the key phrase...when - that may be his toughest task. He definitely has the knowledge and the right staff - it just may take a year to get that all under control. Melton was huge for them last year and they do not have anyone significant to replace her right away. I still say that South Oldham could be the big surpise this year .......again all speculation , as Colonel Mike says, but they have tons of freshman talent. They may be a year away but who knows............

I am not sure that I would rank Beaudrie # 3 - she can get to the rim but her outside shot is pretty inconsistent- and the one thing that really hurts her IMO is her mental game. She appears moody and sometimes pouts quite a bit during the game. As for LeCompte, I would agree with your assessment. She has a beautiful jumpt shot and was pretty efffective out there especially with most of the defenses keying on Gray, it really allowed her to be a threat from the outside. Not sure how well she will do with everyone keying on her and I am not sure how comfortable she is with driving it to the basket. It makes such a huge difference to be the key player that the other team is trying to stop. I think the same thing will happen to McGuffin at South Oldham- she now will be the key player to concentrate on from a defensive perspective for them. Defenses always keyed on Jones and Gray, which allowed the other players some freedom, I think this year it will be interesting to see how all the players deal with their different roles and how effective they will be.

When you/cats' pause talk about top ten players at this point it is not taking into consideration the incoming freshman class . Since the talent is not as deep this year, I think that there may be one or two that could be in the top ten at the seasons end when the region coaches vote.

I agree with you - I do not see her being in the top 10 players in the region. She is a nice player but not top ten and I also do not see LeCompte being the # 3 player either.

Very well said!

Thanks for the info

You might be correct about Oldham being higher than South Oldham but even with the loss of the key seniors last year, South has a very talented freshman player who will make some noise and I look for them to be a more balanced team than every before. They have several players who can score and with their running style of play this year, they will surprise some teams who are expecting them to be down. I am still not sure who the talented juniors are for this year for Oldham? I know of Lape (jr) and the rest besides Beaudrie(sr) are sophomores this year. I must be missing someone?

Not sure if you are thinking more about their freshman class which really came through for them in the district championship last year against South Oldham- only one soph comes to mind from that game(Lape), others were freshman, ....just curious who you are thinking of? I would agree that Larry Just is a fine coach - it will intersting to see how the girls adjust to his style and if they will be effective or if the parents will make things difficult. Sometimes that first year is the hardest for a new coach.