Pops

Well have to say I am surprised at the Eastern/Clay City score. Looks like Coach Hudson has his kids finally buying in to what he is trying to do. I expected a much tighter game. Linton/Bloomfield was about what you would expect. Linton made some small adjustments here and there but pretty well played them the same as they did in the GCI. Cardinals were intent on taking Kip and Lincoln away and did a decent job early but it was nice to see Hart, and Cook step up and Pyne had a great game. If they get that balance in scoring they will be a hard out for anyone. Was really surprised that Bloomfield didn't look to get Graf more involved. If Royal is going to have to take 24 shots a game to score 31, they are going to have a tough time against good teams. They need to find 3 consistent double figure scorers.

Three conference games on tap this weekend. All on Friday night. Clay City at Eastern Greene----I have seen the Eels one time vs Linton, but they sit at 5-5 now going up against a Thunderbird(4-7) team that broke a 4 game skid in their last game with a win against Eminence. Clay City has won four in a row and I would have to give them the edge on the road against Eastern. Both scrappy teams, so it should be a good game. Shakamak at North Daviess ---- This game will come down to how healthy Jack Townsend is. If he is near 100% I think the Cougars win by double digits. If not, the Lakers have a chance if they shoot well and take care of the ball Linton at Bloomfield --- This is the Big One for the conference. Most likely the winner Friday night will win the conference, although ND might think otherwise. The winner will certainly sit in the drivers seat. If the Miners can weather the initial emotion and energy that a packed house at Bloomfield will bring I think they come away the winner. However, I can see this being another OT game or a double digit win for either team depending on how each team makes adjustments from Saturday. Two good coaches and two good teams. This is the proverbial toss up game or chess match if you prefer. Should be a good one! Better get there early!

Yes, I noticed going back to football season as well. The coverage is late many times. I don't want to wait 2-3 days to read it in the paper or online. By that time I have seen stats and details elsewhere. Terry was very good and devoted a lot of time to it. He is surely missed. I don't know these other two, and I know they don't get paid a lot, but it needs to be better. This was two ranked local teams that deserved better. Also, There are no quotes from players or coaches of either team.

GC Coach, I came away feeling the same way. I feel like Eastern is really trying to find an identity and I know Coach Hudson will get that in place in time, but from watching them they are going to struggle this year until they find it. In some ways the Eastern program needs to be rebuilt from the ground up and that will take some time. WRV, North Central and Shakamak are all in the same boat. My goodness they are all like Jekyll and Hyde. They play some good basketball at times and in stretches, but they play some bad ball too. I felt like North Central was giving Bloomfield a good game as they were up 17-14 with about 4 minutes to go in Q2 and then poor shot selection and bad defense and they are down double digits and never recover. Same with the other two. I will say this, if they get things worked out before sectional upsets are not out of the question although I believe Bloomfield will win that one. I know WRV and NC both think they can upset the Cardinals in March. The championship game between Bloomfield and Linton was an exciting game. I felt like Linton had a chance to run and hide coming out for the 2nd half, but Bloomfield scores the 1st six and the momentum swings. The Cardinals are a scrappy bunch, playing with a lot of heart and pride. Linton, is still struggling with help side defense and rebounding. We got caught standing on Graf's putback to tie it. Linton still needs to find a consistent 3rd scorer. I felt like Robertson and Hart disappeared a bit in the championship game, but that is a Frosh and an inexperienced Sr playing in a big game. They didn't hurt us, just didn't play as well as I think they have been. Bloomfield is scrappy. Dean, Ross, Sherard, Oliphant, Pegg....they all play hard. Was really impressed with Ross and Dean. Dean's shot to win it was 2" short of being a winner. I thought it was good. Turner and Graf did what you would expect them to in a big game. Much like Hale and Fougerousse did for Linton. I will say this if Linton is going to win Friday night at Bloomfield they will have to play much better than they did. It will be rocking and this is an important SWIAC conference game. I am anxious to see what adjustments each coach makes. Who are they going to take away? Who will step up? Going to be a good one for sure.

Agreed! The Barr Reeve game was a good glimpse into what the Miners can be. The first half they were really good defensively and moved the ball well on offense and got some great looks. The 2nd half we saw the little things show up that cost them, but overall it was a good weekend with a nice bounce back win against a pretty good Christian Academy team. I felt like they got better during the last half of the THN game and these two games. Hopefully they will continue to build on that. How far they go will depend on those little things. Yes, I am guilty of that as well. I think the bar has been raised so much higher than anyone could have expected. It wasn't that long ago we were just hoping for a sectional title.....a state title wasn't even in the conversation.

Watching Linton at the Wabash Valley has exposed some of the concerns I had about them. Listen, they are a good team, but they don't do the little things real well. Youth and inexperience is part of it. I watched it all tourney and this will get them beat against the really good teams and the more disciplined teams. That happened tonight against Terre Haute North. We gave up ten 3 point FGs'! Many were wide open because we are slow to rotate. Slow rotations on defense led to easy buckets on the weak side inside as well. No offensive rebounding. Too many perimeters shooters and no real post players on this team. Nobody to replace the Robbins twins, which is a big ask, but someone needs to be in the post more. Not sure why Frady didn't play tonight. He is the only one that can really help there. We miss Slover too in a big way. Shot selection was poor all night tonight and especially when we cut it to 3 points late. Settled for too many 3FG attempts, especially in 2nd half tonight when they had THN in the bonus with 6 minutes to go in the 4th. These are all things that Joey can get corrected if the players buy in. Joey mentioned early in a preseason interview that his team was pretty and how good they end up being will be determined by their willingness to defend and rebound and do the little things that last years team did. I would say that is a very true statement. With Barr Reeve coming up this weekend and and Christian Academy or Southridge in the 2nd game they better get it fixed quickly or they could add 2 more the L column. Whatever switch North Daviess flipped on in the last 2-3 weeks they need to make sure it stays on! Wow.. They are playing some good ball now. Had Barr Reeve on the ropes Saturday night in the ONB Classic. They have won 5 out of the last 6 and certainly have found that groove. They come to Linton on Jan 24th and that could be a big game in determining the SWIAC champion. Bloomfield will have something to say about that on the 17th. So Linton has back to back games against the two other strongest teams in the conference. That seven day stretch will have a lot to say about who is in the drivers seat for the conference championship. The GCI starts next week. Looking forward to seeing some of the other conference teams in person for the first time. Should be some good games and a few stinkers, but hey its HS Basketball so you gotta love it!

I don't pay too much attention to the SAGS.....too many numbers make my brain hurt LOL

I am still sticking with my original prediction of BR by double digits and if Hopf is eligible by then it will be more than 15. I hope I am wrong, but I think our youth and inexperience will be a problem. The Hopf court hearing was Friday and the judge should rule this week on Thursday or Friday. That little tourney on the 4th has Southridge, Barr Reeve and Christian Academy who lost by 1 point to Floyd Central. The same FC that nearly beat Bloomington South this past weekend. All 4 of those games will be tourney atmosphere games and a really good team may come our of there 0-2. I think we will have a better idea about the Miners after the Wabash Valley Classic.

Well after this weekends games I am surprised at some outcomes. Still hard to get a gauge on Linton based on their opponents. I thought Shakamak did a good job early of controlling tempo against Linton Friday night, but a few quick shots and silly turnovers and you look up at scoreboard and it is double digits. Linton can score quickly and in bunches. After watching Shakamak Friday night I felt like they were young, but scrappy and had some kids that can play. Felt like they would compete with many on their schedule. Then they go up and get beat double digits by Eminence? Still shaking my head on that score. I watched the Bloomfield/WRV game and was not impressed with Bloomfield. WRV should have won that game. Hats off to Bloomfield freshman Sherrard for winning that game at FT line for them. WRV just fell apart the last 3 minutes against pressure. North Daviess seems to have righted the ship some. We will see how they do in the ONB classic. N. Central still surprising me and Eastern as well. Clay City took a couple L's this week although one was in OT. I think the SWIAC has 3-4 teams that on any given night could surprise some better teams, but inconsistencies keep them on a rollercoaster. Looking forward to the WV Classic. Linton got a good draw and should win their first two games. The upper bracket is loaded with good teams. Two of them undefeated. Of course with South and North their records don't mean much when you play the type of teams they have on their schedule. Should be some good games.

I would say that a lot of questions will be answered over the next 3 weeks. It will be interesting to see how some of the younger players respond on some big stages and atmospheres. Lot of coaches trying to figure out rotations with new faces. No better way to find out than to pay the games.

I think Bloomfield and Linton win their sectionals rather easily this year. The things you bring up regarding ball distribution is what I believe will be their Achilles heel this year. Slover was invaluable that way and unless someone really steps up I think they will have issues with teams like BR and some of the better teams in the WV Classic. No doubt Linton can score points in bunches but can they win a game in the 40's and 50's where you have to value the ball and play possession basketball? They haven't had to yet but I would say we will find out in the next 2-3 weeks. I don't see a true leader on this team yet either. Slover was that last year, but Lincoln and Kip really didn't have to be that. More reps and games will help with all of that. Speaking of Holiday basektball, I would like to get down and see if Luke Brown at Blackford is the real deal and how they match up with some of the teams at that tournament. Lots of good basketball in our area the next several weeks!

Bloomfield and Linton are ranked where they are because of last years finish and teams losing in front of them. Neither have lost and neither have played anyone yet. They are both top 10 but not legit 1 and 3. I hope I am wrong about the 15 points but this is an exceptional BR team. Defensively they are much better than last year.

After this weekend, Bloomfield may be a little better than previously thought. A nice win vs Edgewood and four in double figures vs Clay City means the young guys are stepping up. Before the OV game I thought Linton would run away with it, but the OV zone created some issues. It was nice to see them adjust, but there are still too many times that the inexperience shows. It is going to take some time and they still need to find a 3rd consistent double figure scorer to add to Hale and Fougerousse. I hope I am wrong but I don't see any way that Linton stays within 15 points of Barr Reeve on the 4th. BR is really good and experienced and if the Hopf family wins an injunction in their lawsuit this week and he is immediately eligible I don't see it being that close. That is not a knock on Linton. That is an acknowledgement on how good BR is. Overall, the conference isn't super strong, with a 12-12 record overall (8 wins between Bloomfield and Linton) but there should be some very competitive games between the other 6 schools as I think they are all pretty evenly matched.

Linton by far is the strongest team in the SWIAC but it is going to take some time to get this team to gel. Lot's of potential and new faces to add to the mix. Several of those getting their first significant varsity action. I would say we will have a good feel for how they stack up statewide by mid January. #1 Rating is nice, but we all know preseason rankings are based on last year. They will definitely be a threat to continue their 20 win season streak. With Bloomfield I just don't see what some of the others see in them. Royal is a nice player and Graf is playing well, but they lost a lot of leadership and they aren't very deep. JB will do a good job with them and put them in position to win in games so it will be interesting to see how they progress. I do think they are the second best team in the conference, but unless they play Brett Ball and take the air out of it, they can't keep up with Linton. WRV is like a rollercoaster right now and hard to get a handle on. They have some talent but they are up and down right now. I suppose we will find out if they are for real or not on the 21st when they play Bloomfield. The two teams that I can't figure out yet are North Daviess (0-4) and N.Central (2-1). I guess we will know a little more this weekend after they play each other, but I expected ND to be at least 2-2 to start this season. At N. Central, after going 5-21 last year they start off 2-1. Vance is a good coach, but I didn't think their 8th grade was that strong last season, so did they get any move ins or have they improved that much in the offseason? Vance will make them competitive but I am surprised at their start. Clay City is a scrappy bunch and will win some games. They didn't back down from Linton the other night, they just didn't have the firepower, but they are a competitive group. It will be interesting to see how Coach Hudson does with the once strong Eastern program. It will take some time there to rebuild it. Shakamak is a young team with not a lot of bigs. They are quick and have outside shooting. They are going to have to push pace and score in transition to have a good year, but they will surprise some people I think. I am going to go with; 1. Linton (undefeated) 2. Bloomfield 3. North Daviess 4. Clay City 5. WRV 6. North Central 7.Shakamak 8. Eastern