crazy8s

This is a great topic and one that everyone seems to have an opinion on. The biggest thing that I have seen as both a parent and a coach is that a foul on one end is not a foul on the other end. Drives me crazy- it is understandable though becuase as the ref's rotate up and down the floor they change positions and each ref sees it differently. Body fouls, pushing from behind & holding are rampant - you cannot hold someone and I see it almost every game where the other team has a hold of the jersery -usually of the better player for the other team. There is no defense there but these kids are "taught" how to do it and they do it well and the majority of the time they do not get caught. Very rarely is that called by the offiicals and I don't understand why- especially when it is done right in fromt of them. I have heard numerous times by refs that it is not a foul by unless the other player "gets an advantage" - they will call an offensive player fighting for position with their body a charge but the defender is shoving like crazy from behind and it is a no call. Officiating is very inconsistent, especially with girls bball. Why girls don't get as good as officials as the boys do. I know that there is someone that assigns that but it would be nice to have the better officials for the varsity girls- there are some good ones out there but when they are paired up with the bad ones it makes them look bad too. Officiating is a thankless job but a poorly officiated game can make a difference especially when a team thrives in that type of environment. This year I have seen so many poorly officiated games, more than I have seen in over the last ten years. You have to call the fouls early to set the tone of the game- I think that some officials don't want to call them because it makes the game longer. It would just be nice if there was some consistency on both ends- the girls deserve it!

Kelsey is a very nice post player is is very under-rated. She does many things well. Congrats Kelsey!

It appears to me that this doesn't really reflect all the games that have been played to date. I know that Henderson Co has lost 2 games but it shows them 5-0, along with Manual only losing one- I think that they have lost two. It says as of 12 /31/07 on the above link...how often do they do this? I think that the LIT ratings put too much emphasis on high scoring games which only encoruages team to schedule easier teams and run up the score so they have a higher point margin- you see this alot early in the season. I have conistently seen teams within a region be rated higher because of this - has never really made much sense and I know that you have to come up with something, I am just wondering if they need to update their formula. Does anyone know how close these ratings have been to the teams that really make it to the sweet sixteeen? Still may not pan out though as several regions have more than one top team.

5- Hopkins Central 3- Manual 3- Rockcastle 1- Fulton 1- Franklin Co 1- S. Laurel 1- S. Oldham 1- Grant Co. 1- Mason Co 1- East Jessamine Tiebreaker - 105

This will be a very good matchup and I am curious to see who prevails. I will take Anderson with the upset by 5!

Carroll Co. by 5

Nothing against Ludlow as I haven't seen them play this year but Owen has pretty good guard play - they can hit the three. I see Williams for them as a bigger threat for most teams- she can post up, has a nice jumper and plays pretty good post defense. I think they are at there best when they utilize an inside- out type game.

Meade Co. plays a physical/aggressive defense and it really afffects the shooting of most teams. Sounds like Carroll hung tough though.

Does anyone know who won yesterday? I saw only one game in the paper today and that was for Iroquois-who won easily. was wondering how Bullitt East did?

I would love to see Carroll win this one but I am wondering about Meade Co.- could be a tough game for Carroll to win. Meade Co may present some matchup issues....

Region runner-up to Shelby Co last year in the 8th region. They lost no one from this team. Have 5 seniors- go about 8 deep. Pretty tall- have a- 6'2 & 2 -5"10's in the starting lineup. Jones leads them in scoring but has help from several key players- Conniff, McMullen, Reynolds, and McGuffin aall are capable of putting up good numbers. Pretty good defensively- mix it up with man and zone. When they are on- they are quite good- when they are not- it is pretty ugly. They have been somewaht inconsistient this year- lost some games that they should have won but seem to be going in the right direction for now. Just avenged a early season loss to North Bullitt last week. What do you know about any of the other teams?

This has been an intersting post to read. I was not aware of how the coaching change came about two years ago and I do find it surprising to remove a winning coach though. I am not real familiar with the players on the team and have watched them a few times. One thing that I want to throw out is that success two years ago does not necessarily mean success today. I believe people expect the success to be there but are not aware that other programs may just be catching up to them. Every year you age in high school, it gets tougher to continue to improve your skills. Other programs who have younger players will see the most improvement- they will catch up so to speak. Upper classman can have a tendacy to think that they "have arrived" and have earned their spot and don't have to work as hard. If there is no one(other players) to push them, most don't have the self-motivation to push themselves to get better. There are alot of distractions as well- boyfriends, driving, work, etc. that take away from the time required to improve your skills. It takes more than practice during the season to add to your game- it takes a big time committment in the off-season. I do believe that the coach has to find a way to "raise the bar" and challenge the players to do better. That can be an extremely difficult task. It is easy to always blame the coach and they do bear the responsiblity of finding a way to do that. The players also have to share in that as well because it is "their" season too. It is what they make of it and they will look back one day and wonder what could have happened if I did this or that. Ultimately, the players need to get better too! One other point to consider is that when you have success at a young age then other teams also learn what to do to beat you or how to defend your best players, etc. When another team knows your strenghts, it makes it easier to create a game plan against you so if you have not improved your skills, like I mentioned earlier, they will have the advantage. I am not familiar with the players- their character, etc so I in no way mean to offend anyone- just giving you some outside perspective.

Just know the teams playing in the event: Fleming Co South Oldham Grayson Co. Boyle Co Don't know much about any of the teams except South Oldham- everyone plays eachother over the next three days.

I will break my down by point, 2 guard , and 3 which is a larger guard. Point Guard- Raechelle Gray without a doubt is the best point in the region. She has a complete game- scoring, passing, defending. She is the best guard and overall player in the region as well IMO. 2 Guard- Chelsea Tolliver - great outside shooter and can drive as well. She is a pretty good defender- quick and physical. She can play the point as well but I don't think she can handle the ball as well as Gray can. 3 Guard- Lauren Jones - @ 5'10 she creates matchup problems for smaller guards who she then posts up. She can shoot the three, mid- range jumper, or drive it. Great free throw shooter- a very smart player who finds a way.

Well I have been thinking about this for a few days now.... My thoughts are this: The best 12 in the state may not be the best "overall" players. It is all perception of what someone "percieives" to be best-that is so subjective. I only get the opportunity to see the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th regions play the most. As for the state, I know some names but not all regions. More questions: Are you looking at who can score some points, who is the most athletic, who can defend, who can pass- what is the deciding factor? Do they need to play D1? I am looking at overall, consistent talent, attitude, and how valuable they are to their team. I would agree with Sarah Rowe- she is a tremendous player who gets very little PR- Does anyone know where she is going to play in college? At one time, I heard that she had some D1 schools looking? Lacy Cline and Desareee Chambers are both nice players. I am not familiar with the other names. From the 6th/7th: (in no particualr order) Brittany Wilson- signed with Dayton Whitney Hanley- signed with Austin Peay Adia Matheis-- jr. Cierra Rickets- signed with Arkansas Monique Reed- signed with Uof L Tia Gibbs- signed with Vandy From the 8th/9th: ( in no particular order) Raechelle Gray- signed with Marshall Lauren Jones- signed with Austin Peay Chelsea Tolliver- jr.- Katie Behrens- not sure? Whitney Cundiff- not sure ? Most of you may have heard of these names, some of them you may not have. The Lousiville players get more PR but there are some very good players in the 8th region who don't get much PR statewide- Gray is probably one of the best point guards that I have seen- she is fundamentally sound, has great control, can drive, shoot the 3 at long range. Jones is big for a guard, can shoot or drive and has led her team in scoring all 4 years. She is averaging over 22 ppg this year - avg 21 last year and gets mugged every time she plays but finds a way. No one thought she would go D1 but she did. Tolliver is just a junior and keeps gettting better every time I see her.

I agree with you 24SMOM- the officiating has been marginal at best in the 8th region this year. Not sure as to why but it seems that the games that I have watched have been called very poorly and it is not always the same official. They seem to take turns, one has a bad call then another. One of my biggest complaints is nooooooooo consistency- what is a foul on one end is not on the other - drives me crazy!!!!! The other thing that you would think would be better is that three officials would call a better game than two officials. Not the case as I have seen it. Seems like the boys get the better officials as well....is that me or does anyone else see that?

Yea for Lacey!dancingpa She can shoot with the best of them- great range! Congrats to her and her parents too.....wonderful people!!

Crutcher had her tonsils out and will miss the first 6 games- she will make a HUGE difference for them. Overcash is a nice player but she is not playing where she is at her best until Crutcher comes back.

I agree that there is a differnce between coaching and attacking- coach stowers is a very intense coach, most girls teams could not even function with him. I read something the other day about being positive when things are not going so well and more critical when they are going well as players are more open to listening. When you have a veteran player or talented player, you expect them not to make mistakes, and unfortunately, everyone does. When that happens, all the frustrations of everything else that have gone wrong can come out and it will generally get taken out one of those players because the coach expects them to be able to handle it. I wasn't at the game last night but I was at the regional semi last year where the melt down occurred. It is easy to say that you should be able to handle it , not let it get to you, and move on, but ulitmately, the biggest dffference between coaching boys and girls, is that girls take things more personally(they are more sensitive) and don't handle things as well when they are not going their way. Sounds immature, I know, but they don't always handle failure like they should. We are still talking about hormonal teen-age girls who can over-react to just about anything- not that it is not justified. There is a way to get your point across without embarassing or humiliatiing someone. My advice is for the players to work on their own mental toughness- you cannot control your coach but you can control how you are going to react to it. By withdrawing, you have let someone else control your fate. You won't always be playing for that coach but you can learm how to not let it affect you in a negative way.

24Smom- I would have to say there are a few things- height is huge (pardon my pun there) along with scoring, and lastly, the team they play on as it relates to competiiton. You can have fantastic stats but not be on a very good team and that probably won't help you too much. Defense is also a factor, however, at the high school level, most girls are not taught defense(help, rotating with the ball,etc.) like they are in the college game so although they might not be as good at defense, it is something that can be taught more easily than to be a great shooter. IMO man to man defense is a great way to evaluate a persons ability to be a good defender and will tell you a lot about that player. With all that being said, coaches ask other coaches who are the best players or who do you need to stop to beat them. It doesn't take a college coach who is scouting a game very long to figure out if a player is what they are looking for. The stats get them noticed or too the game, but their play gets them the scholarship. Also, I have to agree with REH5- athleticism is over-stated. It drives me nuts when I will see extremely athletic players get to the rim but cannot finish because they are out of control or are attempting some half-funky crazy move- it doesn't serve them well. It may in high school but when they get to the college level it becomes much more difficult to get away with that. Athleticism is important, don't get me wrong, but it should not the biggest consideration and I believe that it can be, especially for NCAA D1. No magic answers here, I just think that so much of todays game is on the flashy stuff- when we really should be looking at the fundamental skills, their willingness to be coached, and their abilitity to get better every year.

24Smom- I would have to agree with you on the stats- it is interpreted differently even by coaches on the same team let alone a parent volunteer or a student. There is some "fudging" that goes on, I am sure, but in the end when it comes down to it, a college coach will make that call for themsleves and they will be judged by their overall play and contributions to the game not just the statline! The things that you cannot measure on the stat sheet that are equally important: attitude, commitment, desisre, work ethic- how can you evaluate that? College coaches are looking for all that as well and there is no stat line for that!

That too is true- I have heard the college coaches look for more than just scoring as well - defense is huge and along with that, the knowledge of the game. Unfortunately though, unless a kid is on a big time AAU team or 6'2, most coaches won't hear about them unless they are a big scorer. Shouldn't be that way but it is- scoring gets them noticed and ranked higher as a player within their region and those top player names get sent out/read by the scouting services and college ccoaches.

I believe that there are times when coaches say things without thinking of the "mental" effect that it can cause the player. With that being said, sometimes things are said to be a movitator to the player to get them mad at the coach and respond with better play. Sometimes that works and sometimes that doesn't- especially if that player already has confidence issues. Hard part with girls is that they tend to take things more personally and get their feelings hurt with harsh comments like ..." you suck." I don't agree with some of the things that coaches say and based on the situation, you will sometimes get more response with positive comments dished out appropriately. Constant negativity can be a BIG problem and can cause players to get "numb" to it and not respond well. Hopefully, this was an isolated incident- people say things and don't always realize how they sound. I like the idea of the letter and going to the assistant - it is somtimes hard to approach your head coach with these types of things because they don't see why it is a big deal. If it becomes a habit, you might need to call a meeting with the coaching staff. If so, be prepared and have things documented.

FYI....She signed her National Letter of Intent back during the early signing period in November to play for Austin Peay State which is a member of the OVC along with EKU, Morehead St., and Murray St. here in KY.- shame to lose her out of state though. She is probably one of 15:dancingpa or so KY players that signed early - maybe not even that many. I have heard from their fans that she could have gotten an full academic scholarship anywhere- she is in the top two or threee of her class, great role model, etc. Nice to see a kid that is both a good student and athlete get rewarded for all their hard work. Don't see that all too often today. What a great success story for their team, coach, school, and for her. Congrats Lauren! :dancingpa

This a a great topic and I would have to say that if you read what it is the papers every day it is biased toward scoring which is unfortunate. I think that Larry Bird said it best on an interview when he was discussing the success of his Indiana State team- " ...We were successful because the players understood their roles and abilities and played within themselves. They didn't try to do something they were not as good at - not everyone can be a scorer but they can be the best at passing, dribbling, defense, or rebounding. " That is not word for word but it was a great interview. I think we need to stress all the apsects of the game-that it takes a team of 5 out there functioning as one unit to achieve a goal- winning the game. Everyone who is out there has an impact on that whether it is defense, assists, passing, etc. It seems to me today that we(society) are all consumed with "who gets the credit individually" verses what true team work it is. Teamwork is all about sacrifice without worrying about who gets the individual credit. To me that is where we are lacking- that can come from the parents as much as anything. I agree with 24SMOM, it is what they do on both ends that counts. When a parent is all consumed with their kid scoring points, that causes a kid to feel that way. Bottom line, it is the coaches responsibilty to communicate what they need from each player to ensure overall team success and maybe recoginze the top categories besides scoring- assists, rebounds, charges, etc and parents need to remind their kids that it takes all aspects of the game to win.