Kevin Estes, Ballard Memorial's girls' basketball coach, reports that his school's pre-Christmas tournament will expand from eight teams to 16 for next season, and with a very competitive field.
Several other area schools — Marshall County, Paducah Tilghman, Heath, Hickman County, Lyon County and Fulton City — will join the fray, as could a powerhouse program from Tennessee.
Knoxville Webb, which has won state titles in two of the last three seasons in Tennessee's private-school division, has verbally committed to play in the tournament but hasn't signed a contract yet. Also in the mix are Tennessee schools Lake County (a Class A quarterfinalist last year), Union City and Beech from suburban Nashville.
Also entered are Kentucky squads Allen County, Todd Central, Logan County, Hart County and Bourbon County. The tournament is scheduled from Dec. 21-23. It will be a standard bracket-style tournament with games played in both the high school and middle school gyms.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Area baseball products ...
Mother Nature interfered with today's trip to Bowling Green for the Kentucky-Western Kentucky baseball game, which would have given us a chance to catch up with the three Heath products on the UK roster — true freshman Chad Wright is starting in the outfield for the Bat 'Cats, and Clint Tilford is one of the key members of the bullpen.
Let's take a look at how some area products are faring on the Division I level:
Chad Wright is hitting .310 for UK while splitting time between the outfield corners. Brother Brock Wright had played sparingly, going hitless in two at-bats this spring. Clint Tilford is 1-2 with a 3.76 ERA, primarily being used in relief.
Gabriel Shaw is one of the bullpen stalwarts at Louisville, going 2-0 with a 3.70 ERA in 12 appearances.
His former St. Mary teammates, brothers Jonathan and Eric Roof, are regulars at Michigan State. Jonathan Roof, the Spartans' shortstop, is hitting .273 in 28 games. Eric Roof, the starting catcher, is hitting .311 with one homer and 18 RBI.
Former Reidland pitcher Chad Edwards is 4-0 with a 5.23 ERA at Middle Tennessee.
Let's take a look at how some area products are faring on the Division I level:
Chad Wright is hitting .310 for UK while splitting time between the outfield corners. Brother Brock Wright had played sparingly, going hitless in two at-bats this spring. Clint Tilford is 1-2 with a 3.76 ERA, primarily being used in relief.
Gabriel Shaw is one of the bullpen stalwarts at Louisville, going 2-0 with a 3.70 ERA in 12 appearances.
His former St. Mary teammates, brothers Jonathan and Eric Roof, are regulars at Michigan State. Jonathan Roof, the Spartans' shortstop, is hitting .273 in 28 games. Eric Roof, the starting catcher, is hitting .311 with one homer and 18 RBI.
Former Reidland pitcher Chad Edwards is 4-0 with a 5.23 ERA at Middle Tennessee.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Oak Hill vs. Findlay, finally ...
ESPN helped put together the National High School Invitational, which is being billed as a sort of an eight-team "national championship tournament" for high school squads.
Sunday's championship game, which will be televised live on ESPN, will feature Oak Hill Academy and Findlay Prep, the consensus Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the country.
Both teams played at Marshall County's Hoop Fest in December and were clearly the top two outfits in Draffenville — Oak Hill beat Duncanville (Texas) and Chicago Simeon and Findlay was very impressive in disposing of Florida-based Monteverde Academy.
Oak Hill is 39-0 and Findlay is 31-0, and both teams are actually a little more talented now than when they played at Hoop Fest. Oak Hill center Keith Gallon missed most of the event with a knee injury and Findlay has since picked up a talented transfer in Texas-bound junior Tristian Thompson, who played at St. Benedict's (N.J.) at Hoop Fest before having a falling out with coach Danny Hurley and transferring to Findlay, which is based in Las Vegas.
St. Benedict reached the semifinals, losing to Oak Hill. Findlay hammered Montrose Christian of Maryland to reach the title game.
Oak Hill has its usual assortment of Division I signees, including Oklahoma-bound Gallon and guard Lamont "Mo-Mo" Jones, a Virginia Tech signee, and several highly-rated juniors.
Findlay has a star-studded backcourt in Avery Bradley (Texas), D.J. Richardson (Illinois) and junior Cory Joseph, who is one of Louisville's top recruiting targets for next season. They complement Thompson and UNLV-bound big man Carlos Lopez.
The tournament is being played at Georgetown Prep in suburban Washington, D.C. Marshall County was contacted as a potential host two years ago, but ESPN opted to take the event somewhere else.
Sunday's championship game, which will be televised live on ESPN, will feature Oak Hill Academy and Findlay Prep, the consensus Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the country.
Both teams played at Marshall County's Hoop Fest in December and were clearly the top two outfits in Draffenville — Oak Hill beat Duncanville (Texas) and Chicago Simeon and Findlay was very impressive in disposing of Florida-based Monteverde Academy.
Oak Hill is 39-0 and Findlay is 31-0, and both teams are actually a little more talented now than when they played at Hoop Fest. Oak Hill center Keith Gallon missed most of the event with a knee injury and Findlay has since picked up a talented transfer in Texas-bound junior Tristian Thompson, who played at St. Benedict's (N.J.) at Hoop Fest before having a falling out with coach Danny Hurley and transferring to Findlay, which is based in Las Vegas.
St. Benedict reached the semifinals, losing to Oak Hill. Findlay hammered Montrose Christian of Maryland to reach the title game.
Oak Hill has its usual assortment of Division I signees, including Oklahoma-bound Gallon and guard Lamont "Mo-Mo" Jones, a Virginia Tech signee, and several highly-rated juniors.
Findlay has a star-studded backcourt in Avery Bradley (Texas), D.J. Richardson (Illinois) and junior Cory Joseph, who is one of Louisville's top recruiting targets for next season. They complement Thompson and UNLV-bound big man Carlos Lopez.
The tournament is being played at Georgetown Prep in suburban Washington, D.C. Marshall County was contacted as a potential host two years ago, but ESPN opted to take the event somewhere else.
Corey Robinson ... pushing at Troy?
Corey Robinson, Lone Oak's former record-setting quarterback and Kentucky's Mr. Football in 2007, is showing that he might be able to make an immediate contribution at Troy. Robinson, a freshman, was 8-for-10 for 102 yards and a touchdown in Troy's spring game last weekend.
Robinson will be considered a true freshman this fall after "grayshirting" in 2008, a move that didn't cost him any eligibility. Robinson paid his own way at Troy during the first semester and is now on scholarship, a process used by some Division I schools to stash an extra recruit or two — Kentucky often did it a few years ago as Rich Brooks' program had been penalized some scholarships by the NCAA.
Word is that the Trojans would like to redshirt Robinson, giving him four more seasons, but his performance in the spring game — his numbers were much better than those of projected starter Levi Brown — shows he might push for time this fall.
Robinson will be considered a true freshman this fall after "grayshirting" in 2008, a move that didn't cost him any eligibility. Robinson paid his own way at Troy during the first semester and is now on scholarship, a process used by some Division I schools to stash an extra recruit or two — Kentucky often did it a few years ago as Rich Brooks' program had been penalized some scholarships by the NCAA.
Word is that the Trojans would like to redshirt Robinson, giving him four more seasons, but his performance in the spring game — his numbers were much better than those of projected starter Levi Brown — shows he might push for time this fall.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Gillispie's commitments ...
"Wormer ... dead."
"Marmalard ... dead."
"Niedermeyer ... "
OK, forgive the "Animal House" reference, but that is what came to mind when I started thinking at how Kentucky will deal with all those future Billy Gillispie-ites. One by one, Gillispie's commitments figure to be relieved of their obligations as John Calipari settles in as Kentucky's new basketball coach.
Already, they're dropping like flies, and not unlike Dean Wormer and the Omega House snobs.
Texas guard G.J. Vilarino has "re-opened his recruitment," in the current parlance. So have junior college guard Konner Tucker and guard K.C. Ross-Miller. Now comes word that Dakotah Euton and Michael Avery, the California kid that committed to UK as an eighth-grader, have followed suit after seeing the handwriting on the wall.
No word on whether or not Vinny Zollo, who plays at Clark County (within a 30-minute drive of UK's campus) is scratched off the list, too. The same goes for Dominique Ferguson, a guard from Indianapolis.
I'll confess that I haven't seen Zollo play, although at the Sweet 16 someone that knows UK's program well thinks he could still have a future with the 'Cats. Even Calipari's dribble-drive offense can use a good back-to-the-basket player on occasion, and Zollo — a 6-9 sophomore that averaged 12 points and seven rebounds per game after moving in from Ohio to be closer to Lexington — has enough potential for Calipari to approach his recruitment with an open mind.
Euton, the former Rose Hill Christian star whose departure started a mass exodus to Scott County last spring (two of his Rose Hill teammates ended up there as well), had a questionable future at best with UK. He hasn't shown that kind of potential in two visits to Marshall County's Hoop Fest, and not many other knowledgable fans see it in their travels across the state, either.
A 6-8 junior, Euton is cast as a wing player. For him to succeed, he has to be a Dan Langhi-type product at the college level, but at the moment, he's a couple of inches shorter and lacking Langhi's mobility and ability to handle the basketball. He is a fair outside shooter, but his lack of athleticism figures to be a big problem for him on the defensive end.
"Marmalard ... dead."
"Niedermeyer ... "
OK, forgive the "Animal House" reference, but that is what came to mind when I started thinking at how Kentucky will deal with all those future Billy Gillispie-ites. One by one, Gillispie's commitments figure to be relieved of their obligations as John Calipari settles in as Kentucky's new basketball coach.
Already, they're dropping like flies, and not unlike Dean Wormer and the Omega House snobs.
Texas guard G.J. Vilarino has "re-opened his recruitment," in the current parlance. So have junior college guard Konner Tucker and guard K.C. Ross-Miller. Now comes word that Dakotah Euton and Michael Avery, the California kid that committed to UK as an eighth-grader, have followed suit after seeing the handwriting on the wall.
No word on whether or not Vinny Zollo, who plays at Clark County (within a 30-minute drive of UK's campus) is scratched off the list, too. The same goes for Dominique Ferguson, a guard from Indianapolis.
I'll confess that I haven't seen Zollo play, although at the Sweet 16 someone that knows UK's program well thinks he could still have a future with the 'Cats. Even Calipari's dribble-drive offense can use a good back-to-the-basket player on occasion, and Zollo — a 6-9 sophomore that averaged 12 points and seven rebounds per game after moving in from Ohio to be closer to Lexington — has enough potential for Calipari to approach his recruitment with an open mind.
Euton, the former Rose Hill Christian star whose departure started a mass exodus to Scott County last spring (two of his Rose Hill teammates ended up there as well), had a questionable future at best with UK. He hasn't shown that kind of potential in two visits to Marshall County's Hoop Fest, and not many other knowledgable fans see it in their travels across the state, either.
A 6-8 junior, Euton is cast as a wing player. For him to succeed, he has to be a Dan Langhi-type product at the college level, but at the moment, he's a couple of inches shorter and lacking Langhi's mobility and ability to handle the basketball. He is a fair outside shooter, but his lack of athleticism figures to be a big problem for him on the defensive end.
Calipari and recruiting ... culling the herd?
It's one of the more distasteful sides of college basketball — a new coach comes on board and starts jettisoning some of the previous regime's players to bring in his own recruits.
In most cases, it takes a year for the process to play itself out. At Kentucky, it may be John Calipari's first order of business.
Kentucky has 11 returning scholarship players, it appears, with three recruits signed in Madisonville's Jon Hood (named Kentucky's Mr. Basketball on Tuesday), Daniel Orton and G.J. Vilarino.
Suffice it to say that Billy Gillispie's staff had plans to whittle the number down to 13, whether it's to make transfer Matt Pilgrim a walk-on or the possibility of Michael Porter (now married with a child on the way) moving on to the rest of his life.
Ah, but what about the recruits that Calipari has on the hook? Four of them have already signed with Memphis, but each of them has an opt-out clause in the case Calipari left to take another job. Presumably, those guys are back on the market.
And there is the case of DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall, two elite-level seniors that are unsigned. Cousins had committed to Memphis and Wall was reportedly leaning that way.
What if any number of those six players wish to join Calipari at Kentucky? And if so, which players are culled from the herd to make room for them?
There are indications this may have been one of the points of negotiations between Calipari and Kentucky officials. It never looks good when a school nudges a player out the door (remember Rick Pitino and Rodrick Rhodes?), but the powers that be at Kentucky seem ready to take a little heat to help Calipari re-stock the roster.
Realistically, only Patrick Patterson, Jodie Meeks and Darius Miller appear certain to be spared the paring knife. Chances are Kentucky will concede to public relations and give next year's seniors (Porter, Kevin Galloway, Ramon Harris and Perry Stevenson) the opportunity to finish out their careers, but all bets are off on the likes of Josh Harrellson and Pilgrim and attitude questions like DeAndre Liggins and A.J. Stewart.
Suffice it to say, some Kentucky fans couldn't care less about the lesser players — the need to get back to the Final Four supersedes any other concerns. That's a shame. After all, these players did commit themselves to Kentucky, a program which wooed and recruited them.
Calipari could bite the bullet and publicly advise the Memphis players to stay with their commitment, but is that really fair to him or the players?
As for Gillispie's other commitments, we'll address those shortly.
Stay tuned ...
In most cases, it takes a year for the process to play itself out. At Kentucky, it may be John Calipari's first order of business.
Kentucky has 11 returning scholarship players, it appears, with three recruits signed in Madisonville's Jon Hood (named Kentucky's Mr. Basketball on Tuesday), Daniel Orton and G.J. Vilarino.
Suffice it to say that Billy Gillispie's staff had plans to whittle the number down to 13, whether it's to make transfer Matt Pilgrim a walk-on or the possibility of Michael Porter (now married with a child on the way) moving on to the rest of his life.
Ah, but what about the recruits that Calipari has on the hook? Four of them have already signed with Memphis, but each of them has an opt-out clause in the case Calipari left to take another job. Presumably, those guys are back on the market.
And there is the case of DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall, two elite-level seniors that are unsigned. Cousins had committed to Memphis and Wall was reportedly leaning that way.
What if any number of those six players wish to join Calipari at Kentucky? And if so, which players are culled from the herd to make room for them?
There are indications this may have been one of the points of negotiations between Calipari and Kentucky officials. It never looks good when a school nudges a player out the door (remember Rick Pitino and Rodrick Rhodes?), but the powers that be at Kentucky seem ready to take a little heat to help Calipari re-stock the roster.
Realistically, only Patrick Patterson, Jodie Meeks and Darius Miller appear certain to be spared the paring knife. Chances are Kentucky will concede to public relations and give next year's seniors (Porter, Kevin Galloway, Ramon Harris and Perry Stevenson) the opportunity to finish out their careers, but all bets are off on the likes of Josh Harrellson and Pilgrim and attitude questions like DeAndre Liggins and A.J. Stewart.
Suffice it to say, some Kentucky fans couldn't care less about the lesser players — the need to get back to the Final Four supersedes any other concerns. That's a shame. After all, these players did commit themselves to Kentucky, a program which wooed and recruited them.
Calipari could bite the bullet and publicly advise the Memphis players to stay with their commitment, but is that really fair to him or the players?
As for Gillispie's other commitments, we'll address those shortly.
Stay tuned ...
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Hoops leftovers ... part 1
Basketball-induced exhaustion overcame me for a few days, so over the next couple of days, I'll clean up some state tournament (Kentucky and Illinois) nuggets out of the notebook.
First of all, the awards:
Two of southern Illinois' top players were named to the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association's Class A-2A all-state squad. Byron Bailey, who led Massac County to a state runner-up finish in Class 2A, was a first-team selection, as was Meridian guard Isiah "Hoopy" Jones.
Massac guards Jarelle Johnson and Cory Ayala were honorable mention choices.
In Kentucky, Marshall County's Jessica Holder and Aaron Wilson of Fulton City were named the First Region players of the year by the Kentucky Basketball Coaches Association. The players automatically receive invitations to try out for the Kentucky-Indiana all-star series.
Carlisle County's Brian O'Neill won the boys' coaching award, as did Marshall County's Howard Beth for the girls. Caldwell County's Stephanie Crick won the girls' coaching award in the Second Region.
Several coaches with area ties were selected to join the KABC's "Court of Honor" — Barney Thweatt of Paducah Tilghman and Jim Wallace of Trigg County were the boys' picks from the First and Second regions. The 12th Region selection was Kirk Chiles, who also did wonderful work at Lyon County and Marshall County.
Mayfield's Lanny Lancaster was honored from the First Region at the girls' state tournament.
First of all, the awards:
Two of southern Illinois' top players were named to the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association's Class A-2A all-state squad. Byron Bailey, who led Massac County to a state runner-up finish in Class 2A, was a first-team selection, as was Meridian guard Isiah "Hoopy" Jones.
Massac guards Jarelle Johnson and Cory Ayala were honorable mention choices.
In Kentucky, Marshall County's Jessica Holder and Aaron Wilson of Fulton City were named the First Region players of the year by the Kentucky Basketball Coaches Association. The players automatically receive invitations to try out for the Kentucky-Indiana all-star series.
Carlisle County's Brian O'Neill won the boys' coaching award, as did Marshall County's Howard Beth for the girls. Caldwell County's Stephanie Crick won the girls' coaching award in the Second Region.
Several coaches with area ties were selected to join the KABC's "Court of Honor" — Barney Thweatt of Paducah Tilghman and Jim Wallace of Trigg County were the boys' picks from the First and Second regions. The 12th Region selection was Kirk Chiles, who also did wonderful work at Lyon County and Marshall County.
Mayfield's Lanny Lancaster was honored from the First Region at the girls' state tournament.
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