Greene County Coach

The game was a great battle between 2 good football teams. Of course... in such a tight game... we could knit pick at it all day. I think the first score of MD and the last hurt the most. Both were mental mistakes in the defensive backfield that allowed wide open receivers to score. You have to make good teams work for it. Maybe they still make the play... but we weren't even within 5 yards to make it tough. I felt like Linton won the battle up front. That is saying something because Ralph & Co. are the real deal on defense. Ralph made most of his plays when we pulled the man in front of him, failed to reach block him, or on passing downs. He also was pancaked a time or two, which doesn't happen very often from what I have seen over the last 3 years. We also got good pressure on the QB on defense. Personally, I felt like the officials we determined not to throw a holding flag on either team with maybe 2 exceptions. Rewatching the game... there were plenty to call each time either team passed the ball. The run game was cleaner. It wasn't until a Linton player showed an official their ripped jersey late in the 3rd/early 4th that we got a call in our favor. The only other holding call went against us on an extra point, which was a bad call... especially considering the nature of how they called the rest of the game. For MD, I felt like Wunderlich was really good at not making a big mistake with pressure. He hit open receivers on 3rd and long with pressure. On 2 separate screens we had a DE ready to make a play on the pass... instead he tucked it on one and threw the other to a WR (the lineman downfield penalty). I've watched him make those throws in previous games and turn it over. And when it is all said and done... 1 turnover robbed the Miners of a potential 1st half score. Great game... just wish it was a 1 point win our way. Good luck to Mater Dei and North Posey in the Sectional Championship. As for recruiting... open borders and the emergence of travel/aau loyalties have changed the landscape of HS sports. Neither school has control over the AAU scene or the perception of some parents looking to further their kids athletic prospects (we have lost quite a few kids because they could play earlier elsewhere... less so in football). Both schools go after good kids to attend their schools... that often means picking up good athletes. In the case of Linton, most of those kids from other schools... they move into the district. That is a rural/small town school's issue with getting kids to come to their school. The drive can be a killer. We also have gained great kids when Dugger closed their doors as a public school and reopened as a struggling charter school... Of course, so have other schools. I'm guessing that is our highest number of students who don't live within our district. Currently, we have a lot of successful athletic programs and academic opportunities.. so kids come to Linton. We lose some too... just like everyone else. That is the name of the game these days... go after kids to attend your school... or prepare to close your doors. My one question to most P/P is the type of kids they have walking the halls. I realize not everyone plays a sport, but public schools get everyone in their district. That usually means some kids that just drive up your enrollment and provide very little to the school outside of $ to schools. That isn't to say public schools aren't working to get those kids involved and turn them into success stories, but we are often working against some difficult outside factors. I can't imagine P/P having the same percentage of those type of kids with their cost of tuition. BTW... I don't know of any parents that admit they are moving their kid for sports.... even the ones who with out a doubt moved for athletics. Not to say it would be #1... but it is always a factor for any family that has a student athlete. Now for the 2021 Miners... this was a special group of guys. An undefeated season is always nice, but a deep tournament run was their goal. I know there is disappointment, but this group has a lot to be proud of. I'm sure a 2nd round loss will keep them from overtaking the 2015 and 2016 teams in the minds of some of the Miner faithful, but being a small part of both... It would be a whale of a game if those guys squared up against each other. Those teams may have had a few individuals that were better, but from top to bottom... 2021 would more than hold their own. In 1A, this team makes a deep run into the tournament... maybe even a State Title. Next year's team will have to replace some great Seniors, but they also will have almost the whole line back and 3 of the top 5 tacklers on the team.

Yes... they will likely play. They will be in the mix of the 7-8 varsity guys. If this summer is an indicator of this Winter... it will be a team effort. The ones listed played most of if not all of the 30+ Summer games. Riggleman and Fields both missed quite a bit due to work schedules. My mistake 🙂

Wrigley Franklin (G/DE) qualified for Regionals in the Discus as a Sophomore. He would have out thrown the MD guys as well. Linton had 4 guys that threw 42'+ in the shot put. I'm a little shocked the Ralph kid doesn't throw... his explosive power seems a natural fit for shot put. Gennicks and Lynn were good hurdlers... both were injured for track sectionals. Both would have had a chance of advancing. Smith, Franklin, Gennicks, and Webb should be big pieces for what looks to be a really good Miner basketball team this Winter. Personally, I love to see multi-sport guys. It is a major accomplishment for these young men who can commit the time to all these sports and still be contributors.

If you really watch the NV game... that was a bit of a "trap" game performance. We didn't really play well... forgot the score and watch for the little things... it was not our best. Not a shock, but hopefully it was the hiccup after 3 solid games to open. I don't think this group will look past Boonville. With only a couple seniors last year... most of the guys playing this year were contributing in our close loss at Boonville. I'd say they would like to make a statement. We will also be a little closer to full strength. As for the matchup, they bring a couple stud athletes every year. Bottling up their RB last year was a chore and great experience... the year before they brought 2 stud lineman. Park Heritage will be solid with Johnson at QB next year... I'm sure they will spread it out and throw. That will be good for our schedule next year. It gives us a look we don't see as often. Christian is a stud athlete at the QB spot, so he will provide some challenges. I think his favorite targets are graduating.... but if there is any level of talent around him... it could be a really good game for week 1. Who knows for the years after.

Summer basketball is in full swing with multi sport athletes being pulled in all directions. With the exception of WRV and North Central... I think I have seen everyone play at least once. Linton- Whoa... this team may shock people after the style of basketball they played with Lincoln Hale as the alpha dog. Everyone handles the ball... everyone plays defense (good defense)... The ball moves until a good shot or match up is taken advantage of. Joey Hart no longer looks like he is trying to figure out how to co-exist with Hale. He is a legit D1 player. Logan Webb at 6'3" is a bully in the post with the ability to take his match up outside. Braden Walters and Drew Smith still act as pseudo point guards, but it is helped by Wrigley Franklin and Hunter Gennicks who are willing passers who play defense. Nathan Frady is an effective post player with a 3 point shot. Smith has also become a good 3rd option to score. Walters has also looked to score more. They are starting 6'5", 6'4", 6'3", 6'2", and 6'1". The last two are football guys who add to the physical nature of Webb (who also looks to be a football guy). Jaxon Walker, Ayden Riggleman, and Bracey Brenneman have logged some time. All bring some things to the table once they play enough. North Daviess- They will be very good. Mullens is really good as a lead guard. The Wilson twins are good wings. I think the X-Factor may be the Britton kid. Good shooter who can fill it up if he is allowed to get going. They have some other solid guards/wings. I just don't see much size. The one kid with size is rail thin and shoots 3's. Bloomfield- They looked good in the game I watched. They were without Sherrard, but Combs looks taller and stronger. If Combs has become more physical with his added overall size, they will be improved from an already strong team. Skomp looks to be better to add with a strong senior class. They will be in the mix. Shakamak- Tough to know without 4-5 baseball boys there. May is a shooter, but he is asked to do a lot. Gilbert is still rocking an old school look with the hair... He is a solid wing player. Will Miller could be ready for varsity action, but he needs physical strength. They did get Tyler Vivian playing basketball again. Now they will need to get back Guyler Gorby. The rest are a lot of guys that didn't look ready to contribute. There was a incoming 8th grader who looked really good against Eastern... Johnson. Clay City- They will be led by a solid junior class. They still don't have much size. Eastern- This will be an interesting group for Coach Hudson to coach. He has 2 big returns in Rippy and Valentine... and then a bunch of sophomores and freshmen. His JV wasn't strong... the 8th grade was average last year. The 2 returning seniors will have to be really good until the young ones can get up to speed. WRV- New coach... I think they have played some games the last week or so... but the word is their new coach wanted time to see his team before playing games. North Central- No idea... I can't imagine Coach Edmondson doesn't have them playing some games.

Unique.. Dugger Union was always interesting... folks could just back their truck up within a few feet of the field. Pike Central mid 1990's- I remember the crown on the field was so high... you couldn't see below the knee at the 50. Best... Linton's Roy Williams Field is a pretty good place to watch a big game. I may be a little partial. Other thoughts... I like North Vermillion's field... the grass always seems to be in top notch condition Vincennes has a mixture of history/new facilities... I'm glad to see it is still being used after years of rumors to move them to the HS. Eastern Hancock- The coldest I have ever been standing on top of a press box was there. It was semi-state... cold... and really windy. Reitz Bowl- Really cool atmosphere with it sunken in around a whole neighborhood. It would be amazing with a grass field. The turf seems out of place and is in poor condition. Bosse's Enlow FIeld- We have only had scrimmages there, but it is a cool place. Grass would fit the atmosphere, but their turf is in good shape. Tell City is an interesting setting in the middle of town... sort of reminded me of Linton with fans outside of the stadium playing a role in the atmosphere.

Outstanding group of unselfish ladies who just want to win... they have been a lot of fun to watch.

What an interesting week for the SWIAC teams in their sectionals... Sectional 63 ... The lone conference team was the SWIAC Champion North Daviess Cougars... who had the hardest road to a sectional crown. A first game against Barr-Reeve followed by a potential championship game against Loogootee. Unfortunately, the Cougars lost 40-38 to the Vikings. The winner of this sectional will be expected to make a deep run. Barr-Reeve ended up defeating the Lions. Sectional 57... WRV was able to play 2 games which ended up being a big deal for Andrew Ellett who scored his 1,000 point. A first round win was nice for the Wolverines, but the Shakamak Lakers put them out in round 2. Bloomfield was probably favored to win the sectional... they took care of business against Clay City in round 1. The semi final round was against possibly the only team that seemed to have the horses to play with the Cardinals. I thought it was a long shot, but at least a possibility. The T-Birds not only beat the Cardinals, but by double digits. Word was Clark had a big game for North Central. Shakamak came into the sectional playing better basketball, but they still were a longshot. WRV in the semifinal was not a given. WRV posed potential problems if Ellett had a big game. I still don't think the Lakers would have any chance to defeat Bloomfield... but North Central... maybe. Matchups matter... and the Lakers got their perfect Championship game. Congratulations on the Lakers for a great Sectional title. Congratulations to the Lakers as they will travel to Martinsville to take on Indianapolis Tindley Sectional 47... Linton was the favorite, but also had the toughest road. South Knox, Eastern, and North Knox were on the slate to win their 3rd straight crown. Each team was capable of beating the Miners. South Knox played out the way it should have earlier in the year. The Miners shot better and put the Spartans away with some great defense, which hasn't always been their forte this season. The semi final matchup against Eastern would give Lincoln Hale a chance to show the T Birds how big of a difference he makes.... Oddly, it was their defense that was the deciding factor. For 2nd game in a row... Braden Walters made an Evan Slover level of effort on the defensive end. Not too many guys can dictate the direction of a game without the ball in their hands. North Knox on Saturday night was a trap game. The Warriors have steadily improved and play physical defense. If they could patiently move the ball and hit shots, they had a good chance to win. That is exactly what they did for the first 20 minutes of the game. If not for some big shots by Hale and some great defensive/hustle plays by Drew Smith, Josh Pyne, and Walters... the Miners could have been down double digits. The Miners did not match the physicality of the Warriors early on... then Pyne got a little worked up. Walters, Pyne, and Smith seemed to be the 1st to step up. Walters was a game changer on defense, while Hale started to attack the basket. I know there was talk about the number of fouls called in the 2nd half, but watching the game... it was pretty simple. The Warriors didn't take the ball to the basket in the 2nd half, while the Miners/Hale went to the basket. In defense of the Warriors, they were struggling against the Miner 1-3-1 defense and hitting lots of 3 pointers. Congratulations to the Miners as they will travel to Huntingburg to face of against Southwestern Hanover.

A lot of games in just a week or so with the season winding down. This past weekend cemented some of the standings within the conference. Friday night... Linton @ North Daviess- The Miner faithful started the evening watching their JV hand North Daviess JV their first loss of the season on a last second shot. The Miners were up, but turnovers, a couple dumb fouls, and a few made shots by the Cougars made the game closer than it should have been. It was an entertaining start to the evening. As for the varsity contest, this was for a share of the conference title. The Cougars seemed to take a page out of the book of Eastern and Greencastle... move the ball around on offense... hit 3 pointers play physical defense. In all 3 of those games, those teams moved the ball well and hit open 3 pointers. In each of those games the Miners saw teams hit 8+ three pointers. Although the Miners have some good individual defenders... they are not really a very good team defense. They don't rotate well to the next guy while in their man defense... they are often out of position when in their 1-3-1. Nobody cares when you are making steals, but all 3 of those games... teams were patient and made shots. Sort of odd considering the Linton JV is really solid on defense, but struggles to score. Either way... the Cougars had a plan and executed it well. On offense, Jaylen Mullen drove a kicked out to open shooters... he hit three 3 pointers of his own. He was outstanding the whole night. Defensively, they put athletes on Hale and Hart who were going to hand check them all over the floor. I was mildly impressed with their ability to grab a jersey without an official seeing it. Throughout the year... both of those guys have had mixed results when physical defenders are allowed to bumo them. Sometimes officials call that... they never call those type of fouls at North Daviess. Pyne and Smith seemed to be the only Miners ready for a physical battle. After all... when in Rome?? Oddly, the JV game was similar... The Cougars were aggressive on defense... its just the Miners start 3 guys that are 215+ and don't get pushed around easily... in fact... they seem to enjoy the contact. They also bring in an all state free safety in off the bench 😉 The varsity contest was a good win for the Cougars... they took what they knew about Linton's weaknesses and exploited them. If the Miners want to make a deep run... they need to figure out how to play through physical play and rotate better on the defensive end. Bloomfield over Greencastle- Good win for the Cardinals. I really liked Greencastle's stud guard. He was really good in the Wabash Valley Tournament. Saturday night... Bloomfield lost to New Albany- We don't get to see 80-73 games very often these days. Losses are losses, but this seems like a loss that would help the Cardinals for the postseason. Linton defeats North Central... again- North Central is solid... the Miners played uninspired basketball for most of the game. Everytime the Miners would extend the lead to 10+ points... the T-Birds would come back. I think it was as close as 1 point in the 4th quarter. Tough to beat a team 3 times in a season, but the Miners seemed to move on defense with the same lack of purpose as the night before. They also did a poor job rebounding and coming away with those 50/50 balls. Maybe it was 2 games in 15 hours, but they just seemed uninterested. Lincoln Hale became the leader scorer in Greene county basketball history surpassing AJ Graves. Nice company to be in. The Miners will need to be better for TH South and North Putnam this week. North Daviess defeated Bloomington Lighthouse- Not a shocker Eastern loss a close match up with Paoli- Paoli has a strong senior big man... I'm sure they are the mix to win their sectional. Shakamak over WRV- Good win for the Lakers. Sort of sad that WRV couldn't score 30 points. I figured this would be a game Ellett would have his way around the basket. I guess not.

Last Friday ... Linton at Shakamak- This wasn't close at any point. JT May struggled to get his shot off... he may have had 8 points... Most were late when the Miners played a 2-3 zone. The rest of his team didn't help him much. Tough spot for a young player. One Shakamak player even seemed to take himself out. The JV game was at least close for a half until the Miners pulled away... I think they won by 25+. North Central at Clay City - This was closer than I expected. North Central looks to have a winning season with just 2 games left. CC doesn't win games, but they play teams closer than expected. North Knox at North Daviess- This game was really close. Washington at Bloomfield- Is Washington down? Bloomfield won this by a sizable margin WRV at Springs Valley- I thought this might be a game WRV could squeeze out. Last Saturday... Bloomington South at Bloomfield- Bloomington South is a good team... and haven't lost in 2021. Clay City at Shakamak- Shakamak should have won this game... and did. Owen Valley at WRV- Atkinson & Co. had to be too much for the Wolverines. West Vigo at North Central- Nice win for the T-Birds

Thursday's games.. Eastern won easily over WRV... Not that a win should be a shock. After last night, It looks like Eastern could be the biggest threat to the Miners their sectional. North Central easily won over Washington Catholic. It looks like Shakamak played with West Vigo. Maybe the Lakers are starting to live up to some of my preseason expectations. North Daviess over Bloomfield by 18 was a little unexpected. I figured it would be a closer game. This means the Cougars control their own SWIAC chances. I'm curious to know what happened to lead to such a big margin of victory. Linton defeats South Knox 47-40- This game got as close as 3 or 4 points late, yet it never really felt like the Miners would lose. For most of the game Linton played great defense. Unfortunately, they were inconsistent shooting the ball. The Miners missed a lot of layups/close shots. To SK's credit... they kept plugging away until they hit a few shots. Saturday's games... Linton over WRV by a lot... Not much of a game. The Miners missed a lot of layups and still won be 30+ points. Max Hostetter will be a solid player, but he was struggling against the pressure the Miners put on the young guard. Outside of that... a lot of young varsity players who would struggle to find time on Linton's JV... the older varsity guys seem like they have not improved or even regressed over the last year or two. North Central 55... Shakamak 49- North Central is clearly in the middle of the pack by themselves, but Shakamak has separated themselves from the bottom of the conference too. North Daviess over Washington- The Cougars seem to be hitting their stride. I'm looking forward to the matchup with Linton in a few weeks. South Vermillion over Clay City- This game was closer than I thought it would be. CC seems to play hard... they just don't have much talent. Northview over Bloomfield- Word was former Linton guard, Drew Cook, lit them up for 20+ points. The kid can shoot and it seemed like he was developing a pull up jumper this summer. That was not a strength while at Linton... it was deep 3 or a layup. Even with that... I figured Bloomfield would know the scouting report on him. It isn't an awful loss for the Cardinals... Northview has no bad losses. They have played some good teams close. Of course, Bloomfield has lost 3 of the last 5 with less than expected point differentials in their 2 wins. The road ahead is a mixed bag with Bloomington South, Sullivan, and Barr-Reeve coming up over the final stretch.

This week's games will be played on unusual days and times due to the Girls Sectionals. Thursday night... Linton travels to South Knox- The first question is about the Miners health. Hale missed last week's loss against Eastern. Walters and Webb also seemed to be a little banged up. South Knox seems to be a solid team. They played Bloomfield and Eastern close... if Hale is out and the other guys aren't 100%... The Miners will need to shoot better than they did at Eastern to win. I also expect a lower scoring affair unless SK is hitting everything they shoot. Eastern at WRV- Maybe there is some let down after beating Linton and playing Sullivan fairly close... outside of that... I can't imagine this game is close. WRV just isn't very good. I like watching Hostetter... there is potential there. I'll always root for the former Miners suiting up for the Wolverines, but I don't see this game as winnable. North Central at Washington Catholic- NC by a lot... Great opportunity to play everyone. West Vigo at Shakamak- I watched a little bit of West Vigo earlier in the year... I watched a couple games of Shakamak. WV looks like a solid team. I think Shakamak could be better, but they didn't look like a good defensive team and their offense isn't good enough for that. They are relatively young, so growth will be big for the Lakers. North Daviess at Bloomfield- This should be a good game assuming everyone is healthy. The Cougars are leading the conference, while Bloomfield's only loss is to the Miners. I don't know what the bylaws are for the conference championship, but A Cougar loss will put Bloomfield in the driver's seat with the Linton/ND matchup in February important to the Cardinal chances on winning the conference. I would assume a one loss Miner team beats out the Cardinals, while a one loss Cougar team puts Bloomfield at the top. Of Course, if the Cougars win... the Linton/ND match up could be for the conference. Saturday Afternoon... Shakamak at North Central- This was a 4 point game in the GCI on a neutral court. I would expect the T-Birds to win, but a Laker upset isn't impossible. Bloomfield at Northview- This should be a great game. Northview has some solid players. I'd hate to pick against the Cardinals, but they are likely to have their hands full with the Knights. I think this will likely be a single digit game throughout. South Vermillion at Clay City- CC will struggle to defend SV's size. SV seemed to settle for a lot of outside shots, so a poor shooting game could give the Eels a chance to keep it close. Washington at North Daviess- I don't know a lot about the Hatchets. I know they start at least one Sophomore. I'm guessing another young guy plays varsity. Both played close games with Loogootee and Gibson Southern, so it may be close. The Barr-Reeve game may suggest Washington isn't in the same class as ND. I'm guessing the Cougars win the game by single digits. WRV at Linton- I don't see this game being close. This might be a good game to rest guys and play younger guys. I don't foresee it being close with or without the banged up guys.

I would agree... Eastern played well... hit a lot of open shots. Executed the game plan well. I think they put themselves in a position to win regardless of officiating. I'm just not sure they were 10-14 points better (which is the margin for most of the 4th quarter). Linton did themselves no favors with poor shooting and missed opportunities. I doubt they hit any 3 pointers... and we seemed to settle for jumpshots rather than attacking the rim. It will be a good learning tool for the Miners. Friday nights team will be a chunk of next year's varsity squad. No Lincoln and a less than 100% Pyne will be part of the mix next year. It can be a learning tool for next year when a couple JV guys join the mix. That mix will have to win games differently than the 2020-2021 Miners. My biggest officiating issue was it seemed 2-3 calls would go against the Miners every time they made a run to extend the lead early or catch up later in the game. Most were questionable calls or inconsistent to the way that same official called things on the other end. Throw in the fact the guy seemed to want to be the star of the game... it was a problem for me.

What a weekend... Bloomfield won against North Central and WRV, which should have been expected. They are 5-1 in the conference with only North Daviess left on the schedule. They have a legitimate chance at winning the conference. I'm not sure what the by laws are on the amount of games required to be eligible. Years ago Linton lost a football conference championship due to losing a game to a cancellation. Looks like the Cardinals won't have that to worry about. WRV lost both games, which shouldn't be a shock. I heard rumblings about their game against Bloomfield, but I can't imagine the Cardinals losing regardless of other factors. North Daviess went 1-1, but a close loss to Orleans isn't an awful loss. So... the big upset was Eastern over Linton on Friday night.... I'm not sure how to approach this... being respectful to those deserving of respect. I'll approach as an Eastern fan and a Miner fan Here it goes... Eastern- Coach Hudson had a good game plan predicated on ball movement and utilizing their big man to open up their shooters. They executed the plan well. Rippy was tough around the basket... he didn't hit everything, but he required attention and an extra defender hanging nearby to help. Creager, Rees, and Valentine were outstanding at moving the ball and hitting open shots. I'm guessing they hit 8-10 three pointers for the game. I can't count how many times they hit shots when the Miners made a run. They had to be very happy with how they played. Regardless of how the next two paragraphs go... they played well... well enough to win Friday night. Linton- First, Linton was without Lincoln Hale. He looked to get dressed... then he was back in his warm ups. Knowing Eastern was a formidable opponent... this had me a little worried. Especially with Josh Pyne back at well below 100% and Logan Webb and Braden Walters a little banged up (Logan looked to have a head injury last week, while Braden's back needs special attention by the trainer). Joey Hart and Drew Smith kept the Miners in it early, but they still didn't seem to be hitting open looks. As the game progressed, Eastern became better at forcing Hart into tougher shots. If Hart was hitting open 3 pointers... this game goes down to the wire. I think the Miners would have been better served to keep pushing it down low to Webb, Walters, and Smith. It was a growing pain game for the Miners. After all... they are pretty young. On a good note... the Miner JV demolished Eastern's JV... so the future of the series looks good for the Miners. Now for my less than respectable opinion of the game... Officiating robbed everyone in attendance of a barn burner. By officiating... I mean one official. I'll leave it at that. Personally, I still think Linton would have been in real danger of losing, but it was a shame to see an official become the star of the show.

Last week... WRV- They notched their 1st victory against Washington Catholic, but they were beat easily by North Daviess and Sullivan. I'm not sure North Daviess was even full strength. There are a couple games down the line that are winnable. Clay City- They lost to TH North by 20, which was less than I expected. They only lost to Cloverdale by 13. I think they play hard... just not much talent there. CC is a great example of how a bad feeder program can make life tough on a varsity coach. I don't see their problems changing anytime soon. a solid Sophomore class might allow them to have better teams next year and the year after. Shakamak- No games last week and tomorrow's game against Linton has been posponed. I'm assuming they are quarantined. Eastern- They lost a close game against Bloomfield on Friday night then won a close game with South Knox. They gave Bloomfield a match up problem with Rippy, but the gap may not be quite as big as I thought between Eastern and the top 3 conference teams. Friday night's matchup with the Miners could give a little more insight of how close they are to the top 3 teams. North Central- They 1-1 on the weekend... I was expecting a 2-0 showing. Maybe Riverton Parke is a little better than I thought. They are clearly the 5th place team... the gap may be bigger than I thought between them and the top 4. Bloomfield- A close win over Eastern was better than a loss, but I'm sure they are glad to be done playing the T-Birds. Saturday night was a close loss against Loogootee. The Lions are a good team. I felt like the Cardinals posed some problems for the Lions, but they same could be said for the problems that Lions would give Bloomfield. I only heard the first few minutes of the game... at that time the Lions seemed to be in control. Regardless, games like that will help make a team better. North Daviess- We might be talking about the Linton vs. North Daviess result, but they moved it back to later in the season. I heard ND was to be without 2 of their best players. They handled WRV easily... even more impressive if they were without a couple key players. Linton- The Miners traveled to the old gym in Huntingburg to face off with South Decatur. SD came in scoring 75+ ppg. I guessed the Miners might take the air out of the ball a little to keep the game in the 50's or 60's. I was wrong... the 1st quarter was a track meet. SD hit 4 or 5 three pointers in the 1st quarter. I was a little concerned with the pace, but everybody seemed to be scoring. I think it was 27-24 at the end of the 1st quarter. Foul trouble slowed down the Miners a little bit, but for the most part... they scored at will. As good as South Decatur was on offense, their team defense was lacking. Help side defenders seemed to be foreign to them. I was a little concerned with the pace, but the Miners out gunned SD. Oddly, they couldn't keep the scoring pace. The Miners ended up scoring 97 points and slowed it down in the 4th quarter. Lincoln Hale broke the single game scoring record with 48 points. Rick Crynes held the previous record since 1973. South Decatur has some good scorers... Johnson was really impressive. He cooled off in the 2nd half, but kept them in the game early. Their other 25 ppg guy, Laudenbaugh(sp?), struggled. I'm not sure if SD will win a sectional or not. Playing at a pace hoping other teams simply can't score enough points is an interesting way of winning games. It was more enjoyable than the 35-34 barnburners played around here. For the Miners, it was good to see them moving the ball around and scoring from multiple positions. As the game went on, Hale looked more and more to score... oddly... it never really felt like he was forcing up shots.

This weekend will provide some great games to see where some teams fit in their post season runs. Friday Night... Bloomfield @ Eastern- The 1st meeting was closer than some people might have anticipated. Eastern has a solid big man who gave them trouble in the GCI. I think Rippy has to have 25+ points for the T-Birds to have a chance. That will require Eastern to handle the Bloomfield pressure (something they didn't do late against the Cardinals in round 1) and make an effort to feed their big man the ball. At times he seems to float and not be in positions where he can do damage. I still think the Cardinals win this by double digits, but I think it could be tight in spots. Clay City @ TH North- There is no way anyone outside of family would want to witness this game. I don't expect it to be close. North Central @ Riverton Parke- I'm going with the T-Birds here. I think they will have a good weekend. Shakamak @ WRV- I would bet on the Lakers, but not my savings. Shakamak beats bad teams, but WRV isn't quite as bad as their winless record would indicate. I could see this game being really close. Correction... this game is showing up as postponed... I wonder why. WRV had their head coach and a player or two out a few weeks ago, but they should be ready to return (well the coach... players have to get in practices). Saturday Night... Lighthouse Christian @ North Daviess- I have no doubt the Cougars will win... but by how much? Coach Dal seems to love those low scoring affairs. I'm guessing the Cougars put up a score in the 60's. Might be nice to let some of those younger guys get up and go... I've seen them do it. Cloverdale @ Clay City- I haven't seen much of Cloverdale. They had a Thomas kid (Kyle??) who was really good last year as a Sophomore. I'm guessing he is a 20+ ppg guy under Coach Rady. He probably has free reign to shoot whenever he wants like the good players they've had over the last few years. Cloverdale wins this... unless Rady's run and gun gets outcoached. Linton vs. South Decatur (@ Southridge)- South Decatur looks like they like to get up and go offensively. They won 24 games last year, and their losses this year were to good teams. This might be a fun game to watch. SD has some big time scorers... Johnson and Lauderbaugh come in scoring in the mid 20 ppg. The latter is listed at 6'7" and seems to handle the ball a little bit. Johnson has a smooth jumpshot. As a group they attack on offense looking to score quickly. Their freshman PG looks solid as well. I'll be interested to see how they play in a slower game. I would imagine Coach Hart will want a game in the 50's or low 60's... I'm guessing South Decatur would be comfortable with a game in the high 70's-80's. Loogootee @ Bloomfield- Hmmm... I don't know that Loogootee has a defender capable of containing Graf, but I don't know that Bloomfield can handle Bledsoe or their big man, Bauer. Joey Hart locked up Bledsoe in their meeting. Sherrard has the athletic ability to give Bledsoe trouble on the perimeter, but he is giving up at least 6-8 inches in the height department. I'm not sure Combs can handle Bauer... Graf could get in foul trouble guarding him. It will be interesting to see if either team uses their successes and failures of their meetings with the Miners to attack the other. Will the Lions run a 2-3 zone? Will the Caridnals run a Box/Diamond and 1 on Bledsoe? I think Lions are better overall, but the gap isn't big enough to sleep on this one. It is a winnable game for the Cardinals, but they will need to play a good game. Being at home can't hurt either. North Central @ North Vermillion- The Falcons are not a very good team... should be and easy win for the T-Birds. That will get them to 9-6 on the year. South Knox @ Eastern- After seeing how close the Spartans played Bloomfield, that leads me to believe this will be a tough game for Eastern. Sullivan @ WRV- This will likely be a blowout... The Arrows are pretty good... the Wolverines will be in trouble. I'm guessing a 30-40 point blow out.

Quite a few games for the weekend... Friday night... Linton faced off against the Bloomfield Cardinals for the 2nd time in less than a week. Usually that can be a recipe for an upset. Instead... it was sort of the same type of game. Bloomfield plays hard, but doesn't have the size/muscle to match up with the Miners. It was also a physical game, which didn't bode well for the Cardinals. A couple questionable calls had some Cardinal faithful questioning every call as the game went on. The 2 worst were right in front of the Cardinal bench, so it sort of set the tone. Overall, I thought the officiating was fair, but played into the strength of the Miners. I'm not sure a differently called game would have helped. Then we would have had both sides shooting a lot of free throws with the amount of hand checking going on. Bloomfield still struggled to guard Drew Smith. He doesn't force things... quick and strong enough to give smaller players fits ... explosive enough to blow past bigger guys. Lincoln Hale also let the game come to him, which allowed Webb and Hart to get going offensively. Bloomfield had some bright spots. Royal stepped up as a scorer Friday night. Considering the Miners ran essentially a 2-3 in both games (with focus on Graf)... Royal making shots was important to keeping the game close. With no seniors and Combs a year away from being a big time big man (assuming he lives in a weight room)... Bloomfield seems like a year away from being a team that can make a deep run. As for the Miners, they seem to be playing better team basketball. Hopefully, they are hitting their stride. Eastern Greene over Clay City... This score seems to be about right. The T-Birds are better than the lower half of the conference... I'll be interested to see how they stack up against Bloomfield round 2 and Linton later in the month. North Daviess handled Shakamak by 14. Saturday night... Barr-Reeve 39 North Daviess 38... What a weekend for the Vikings. They narrowly defeated Loogootee the night before.. then almost lose to the Cougars. Sectional 63 will be brutal. Whoever comes out of that sectional will be a tough out. Bloomfield defeated South Knox... I've not seen much of the Spartans, but they have played some good teams close. Either way... good win for Bloomfield. It had to feel good beating a red, blue, and white jersey 😉 The rest of the scores didn't say much... WRV lost to Evansville Day; North Central defeated Rivet; Shakamak defeated Lighthouse Christian; Clay City lost to Owen Valley. Nothing out of the ordinary here. WRV looks to have a few winnable games coming up... Washington Catholic and Lighthouse Christian should be winnable. Rivet and Clay City are possibilities as well. North Central is continuing to put itself with Eastern just beneath the big 3 of the conference. Shakamak handles bad teams well... and Clay City was beat by a solid Owen Valley team.

Congratulation to the Linton Miners on their 7th consecutive GCI Championship. They defeated Bloomfield 67-58. It was a hard fought game. I'm not sure Bloomfield ever held more than a 2-3 point lead, while the Miners kept the lead for big portions of the game. In typical fashion... They will both go head to head next weekend. It was a good week for some teams, while other teams seemed to spin their wheels. White River Valley- Tough week for the Wolverines. First there was quarantine. Coach Floyd was out as was Wade Hall. WRV doesn't have much depth, so Hall's absence forced some young kids to step up. Game one was a tough match up with Bloomfield, but Andrew Ellett had a dominant performance to keep it respectable. Game two should have been a chance for the Wolverines to get a win against Pike Central. Oddly, Ellett never played. I'm assuming it was a coaching decision since he dressed, but didn't look injured. Jaden Rogers and Jared Franklin kept them in it. Some untimely turnovers late negated Rogers late 3 point barrage. They lost by 3. Game 3 was another winnable game, yet they lost by double digits to Riverton Parke. Rough week... I'm not sure there are many games left on the schedule that are legitimate opportunities to win. Shakamak- They played North Central close followed by 2 wins. I didn't see much of the Lakers, but it seems like they had a solid week. Eastern- They went 1-2... A win against Pike Central and a strong showing against Bloomfield was a nice start. I'm not sure what happened this evening, but North Central is a solid team. North Central- They went 2-1 with another strong showing against the Miners. Close wins against Shakamak and Eastern have to be nice building experiences for the T-Birds. Bloomfield- I think most people expected the Cardinals and Miners to meet up in the Championship. They don't have a lot of depth and they struggle stopping post players, but they play hard and Graf is a very good player offensive player. Combs needs to live in a weight room... he is too skilled and too big to be a liability on the defensive end. After that it is a host of mostly guards who are solid players. Schulte, Dean, and Royal started, while Skomp and Sherrard were also in the rotation. 2-1 for the week with a solid performance against the Miners should help the Cardinals moving forward. Linton- 7 in a row is quite an accomplishment. Although they went 3-0, they had their own ups and downs. The down is Josh Pyne messed up his ankle enough to be in a walking boot. I've not heard how long he might be out. That concerned me going into the Championship game since Hale and Hart have been streaky and a reliable 3rd scorer has been bouncing back and forth between Pyne and Logan Webb. In comes Drew Smith... He looked like the kid who scored 20 ppg in JH. He was aggressive taking the ball to the basket. His shot is still not what it was a few years ago, but the Cardinals had no answer for him. Logan Webb also stepped up as a big time scorer. I'm guessing those two guys combined for about 25-30 points. Walters was also a little more assertive on offense, but he still seems uninterested in scoring. Although Pyne's injury hurts them... it might be nice to force some other guys to step in and replace his production.

Looking to 2021 GCI Tournament... This tournament has lost some of its luster over the years. There have been mainstays over the years, but the add on teams have not been much to write home about. It is as if they search for teams poor enough to give the bottom tier teams a decent game. Although not always well played games... some of the consolation games will be closer than the top teams. Either way... Bloomfield and Linton look like they are on a one way ticket to another title game. North Central and Eastern will look to try to spoil that trip... The rest... hard to tell. Here is the 1st round match ups... Tuesday... Shakamak vs. North Central... I thought Shakamak would be a little better. A solid Junior class with a couple pieces seemed to be a recipe for a decent season. Instead... the little I've seen... they need work. They have a few shooters, but their defense was not at a level to hang with good teams. JT May is a good freshman. He is a streaky shooter that can score from deep, but his defense needs a lot of work. I'm not sure it is at a JV level. The Junior class doesn't seem to have stepped up. I think there is enough talent there to be a solid opponent... maybe the GCI will be a step in that direction. North Central on the other hand looks to be gritty. They have decent size and coaching. I'm guessing the T Birds win this by double digits, but if May & Co. get hot from outside... they are capable of winning. Linton vs. South Putnam... Some years this would be an upgrade to Eminence. Looks like SP is struggling this season. I don't know much about them, but Greencastle and Park Heritage beat them soundly. They also only seem to be in the tournament for one game(Clay City returns for round 2) Linton is fresh off of a frustrating week at the Wabash Valley Classic. This isn't abnormal... this is usually when the Miners start to hit their groove for the 2nd half of the season. I'm hoping to see better ball movement and more consistent defense. Joey Hart seemed to hit a groove last week... If he Lincoln Hale can be on the same page... that will be tough for teams to handle. Webb, Pyne, Walters, and Smith need to step up and provide the extra scoring/passing needed to take this team to the next level. I heard they can dress 14, so maybe some of next year's potential varsity players will get some mop up time as well. Wednesday... Bloomfield vs. WRV... I'm not sure how the Wolverines keep this close. I think Bloomfield wins this by a lot. Graf is a tough match up for most teams. He is skilled enough to play outside against bigger defenders... posts up smaller defenders. This will likely by loss #7 for WRV, but the next game might be winnable. Pike Central vs. Eastern... Eastern seems to be playing people close. Rippy is hard to handle at 6'7"... I like their chances to move on. The Chargers are winless, but they have played a few teams close. Eastern was their only victory last year. I don't think that will happen this year The round 2 match ups should be better.

The week ended in fury of games... This past Monday... Linton beat Terre Haute North in OT 64-63. For those who keep up with this match up will know how well TH North plays against the Miners... and how poorly the Miners have performed(not coaching... but the Miners have shot poorly, while TH North seems to shoot lights out). First there is the coaching match up. Woefle probably knows every set the Miners run. He also has teams that are well disciplined enough to slow it down when they have a lead. For a large part of the game, it was a typical TH North/Linton matchup. Hale was struggling from the field, but rather than shoot himself out of a slump... he kept the ball moving. Joey Hart played well enough to keep it close until Hale caught fire late. Some missed free throws hurt TH North late. Both teams looked like wear and tear was playing a factor. Carpenter played great defense on Hale, but he looked like he was hobbling. Walters, Pyne, and Hale all seemed to be in need of a break. Good news is Hart looked good. That night North Central played TH North close... losing by 5... 60-55. That score made me a little concerned about the match up with the Miners. Last Tuesday... North Daviess beats South Knox... 42-36. WRV lost to North Posey 50-35 and lost to Tecumseh 66-63. It is hard to read into scores, but a 3 point loss to Tecumseh looks like a respectable loss against an average or above 1A team. There will be some winnable games in GCI next week for WRV... maybe not their first game... but games in the consolation bracket. Linton defeats North Central 68-52. The first half was the Joey Hart show... he probably had 15-20 points. He cooled off a little in the 2nd half. The Miners looked a little more beat up. The second half was very physical... the Miners weren't as hot... the T-Birds hit some shots. I think they got it within single digits at one point. NC is gritty and played hard... I don't think they can beat the top teams at next week's GCI, but they could give them a good game. Last Wednesday... Linton lost in OT to Kouts 40-35. This game worried me on a lot of levels. First, Kouts is an outstanding team. Their top 4 guys (two sets of twins) are really good. They also love to get up and down. They move the ball with the pass very well. Although their top 4 guys score 90% of their points... they move the ball well. Second, the Miners shot awful all week... not a good thing for a team known for offense (the Miners have some good defenders, but their team defense is inconsistent). Outside of a Joey Hart... nobody seemed to be hitting shots... even the easy ones. Third, the Miners seemed to be more and more beat up as the week went along. Not great for a team that plays 6 guys a lot... another a little bit... and an 8th guy even less. The 9-12 guys are usually Sophomores... and probably a year away from that type of game/tournament. As for the actual game, the Miners slowed it down. It was a good test for the Miners to grind out a game... I doubt Kouts can win a 1A title without at least a team or two taking the air out of the ball. Either way... a good game for all teams involved.

A correction... WRV has two games at Tecumseh on Tuesday and South Knox will match up against North Daviess on Wednesday.

Christmas week had just a few games on the schedule... Tuesday 12/22 Linton defeats South Vermillion 72-51... The Miners weathered a 3 point show in the 1st quarter. Fortunately, the Miners were moving the ball around and looked solid. The scoring was more balanced. Walters scored the first 5 points of the game... Smith had a few buckets... Webb also chipped in with another 8-12 point outing. Hart also hit a few shots as well. He probably had 15-20 points. Hale let the game come to him... and even made some nice passes to open teammates. North Daviess defeated Eastern 46-38. Sounds like a close game. Rippy had 17 for the T-Birds. I doubt the Cougars had anyone who could match up with him. He has filled out as an athlete. Mullens led the way for the Cougars. I was interested to see only one WIlson in the box score... and he had only 1 point. Maybe I miss read that, but that can't be good for the Cougars. Wednesday 12/23 Shelbyville defeated Eastern 51-49... I like this for the T-Birds. Of course, Coach Hudson would have like to have the win... but playing competition is a step in the right direction. Saturday 12/26 Greencastle over Linton 53-50... Hard to watch if you were a Miner fan. If you are a Greencastle fan, you had to love how your best player stepped up. Brody Whitaker scored 28 points, but his unselfish play was maybe the most impressive. He couldn't miss, but he also didn't force bad shots and he got the other guys good shots when the defense took away his opportunities to score. As for the Miners, they missed so many shots. It started with ill advised jump shots... by the 3rd and 4th quarter... The Miners were missing layups. The Miners still fail to recognize favorable match ups. Logan Webb at almost 6'2" had a 5'9" defender on him for most of the 1st quarter and off an on throughout the game... maybe 2 post entry passes resulting in 2 buckets. When a team is struggling, easy baskets can help. Greencastle took advantage of the Miner's bad match ups and poor rotations on defense. As the Miners missed more shots, they took more and more contested jump shots. The Miners made a nice run late, but poorly timed turnovers really hurt them late. Park Heritage over North Central 60-47... North Central has some nice size, but Park Heritage is pretty tough with the Johnson brothers. They have some solid guys around them as well. This week will see some more games from Linton and North Central at the Wabash Classic.... followed by Eastern vs. Bloomington South and Shakamak vs. Southmont on Saturday.

Last weekend was an eventful one... It started with weekend cancellations. A few local teams were hit by Covid/Covid quarantine protocol. Bloomfield, Clay City, and Shakamak were hit. WRV had a school tragedy that cancelled their game Friday night. This left other teams scrambling to schedule games. It seemed everyone was hit directly or indirectly. Shakamak being one of those schools left the Linton Miners without a game. The Miners went into Friday with no game for the weekend. Barr-Reeve was in the mix for Friday night, but with only a few hours notice... the Miners declined. This caused some drama among the Vikings fans since it was supposed to be their Homecoming. Sadly, this won't be the first time teams/coaches will be scrambling to schedule games. Word was the official request wasn't until afternoon on the day of the game. Regularly... this request would be ridiculous. The Miners were able to schedule a good Loogootee team for Saturday. Friday... North Central over Evansville Day 64-60- North Central gets a solid win. Hard to tell how good Evansville Day is or if either team was hit by Covid. Evansville Day looked to play Loogootee close. The Lions are a pretty good 1A team in a brutal sectional. Saturday... North Central defeats Lighthouse Christian ... A win is a win. I don't know how good Lighthouse is, but NC is currently 4-2. That is something to enjoy a few years removed from years when the T-Birds had only 13 wins over a 4 year span (including a 0-24 season). North Daviess over Gibson Southern. I don't know much about the Titans... I'm guessing the schools best basketball player is still only playing football (word was he has/had Big Ten schools scouting him). On a good note... ND is scoring 55 ppg. They are also 5-0. Eastern over Scottsburg. The T-Birds keep rolling. Scottsburg didn't have a good record, but they played Brownstown Central and Providence close. Those teams are traditionally pretty good. Eastern is 5-1... minus a loss against North Knox... Coach Hudson seems to have his team playing well. Linton defeats Loogootee 51-44- This was a really good basketball game. The Lions leading scorer Peyton Bledsoe was kept in single digits, but they are more than a one man show. They have some solid players and their big man(Bauer) was pretty good. They controlled the first quarter, but the Miners chipped away at their double digit lead for the next 2 quarters. By the 4th, the Miners were back in control. They hit a few bog shots.. Loogootee didn't. Early the Miners looked like they would fall into the same rut that has almost cost them 2 games this year. Lincoln Hale took a few ill advised shots as the Lions built up an early lead. By the 2nd quarter, Hale was making the right basketball play with some great assists to open teammates. As his teammates started to shoulder some of the scoring load, Hale had better looks. He still finished with 24 points, but his unselfish play earlier in the game helped turn the tide. Logan Webb was huge... he came off the bench and provided double digit scoring... he also made some big defensive plays. Joey Hart was a little off early with foul trouble, turnovers, and missed shots... he made a couple huge plays as the Miners took control of the game late. He also guarded Bledsoe most of the game... he may have ended with 5 or 6 points. I heard he was scoring 17-18 ppg. This was a good pick up for both teams. This week's schedule... Tuesday... Linton travels to South Vermillion... WRV at South Knox... Eastern at North Daviess. I will be interested to see the final score of the Eastern/North Daviess. Wednesday... Eastern at Shelbyville Next week... we see some teams start their holiday tournament games.

Last night... there were two games played. Eastern over Wood Memorial 69-45- I heard WM wasn't very good, but the T-Birds took care of business. Their one loss gives me pause to put them toward the top few teams (Linton, Bloomfield, and North Daviess). At the same times, they look to be separating themselves from the bottom teams of the conference. Linton 71 over Clay City 29- The Miners got off to a slow start... they missed lots of easy shots. If they just shoot 50% on layups in the 1st half... you could add 20+ points to their score. CC is what I figured they would be. They had a few young guys play... maybe that will pay off down the road. As for the Miners, they moved the ball a little better tonight. Hale seemed to make a real effort to get teammates involved... he had some impressive passes. Unfortunately, not all ended in scores. Considering how poorly the Miners seem to be shooting the basketball... 5-0 isn't a bad start.

Friday night... Linton @ Mitchell- postponed North Daviess @ North Central- North Daviess scored 60 points again with a 60-43 win. I wonder how this played out... I sort of expected a bigger win by the Cougars. North Knox @ Shakamak- North Knox narrowly defeated Shakamak 50-46. After last weekend, I was expecting the Lakers to lose by 10-15. Saturday Night... Bloomfield defeats Edgewood by 22 points. I don't know much about Edgewood, but I figured it would be a little closer. Bloomfield looks to be a team that will challenge the Miners. North Daviess defeats NE Dubois... no idea about the Jeeps... usually they are solid. Shakamak over Washington Catholic... Might be a good win after a few rough games. North Knox defeated Eastern... I've seen NK. They have some solid athletes... Each game is different, but Shakamak and Eastern may be on similar levels. Wood Memorial defeated WRV... WRV may be the cellar of the SWIAC conference. Linton over Owen Valley in OT. Whew... hats off to the Patriots. At various times during the game the Miners looked like they would pull away, but Atkinson & Co. always seemed to make a couple huge plays. A couple thoughts on the game... People need to pay attention to all the statistics of a game. Stephen Atkinson probably had less points than Lincoln Hale, but he also was pushing a triple/double. He had to have about 8-10 assists. Throw in double digit rebounds and 4 or 5 steals... He had an impressive performance. He trusted his teammates and they came through by hitting open shots. Lincoln Hale scored more points, but the Miners still have moments where they seem to not be on the same page. Too often the offense bogs down... with difficult shots taken over an extra pass for an easier shot. Drew Smith and Braden Walters made some great plays on defense, but both are so calm with the ball on offense... I'm not sure the Miners would have pulled out 2 OT victories in a row without them. Logan Webb is a very capable scorer... his 8-10 points seemed to come at crucial moments Saturday night. I lost count of the amount of offensive fouls called... mostly against the Miners. It was like jump balls during a lower elementary game. The Miners are usually outstanding in the closing minute of a quarter... I think OV was much better on Saturday night. That is usually when the Miners add a bucket or two to their lead... I think OV hit 80% of their 3 point attempts in that time frame. The Miners always seemed to be up 5-6 points with a minute left in a quarter... only to be tied or OV was within a bucket by the end of the quarter. The Miners don't seem to be hitting on all cylinders... yet there is some serious talent on this team. They will be scary when they figure out how to play together and balance each other out. They don't seem to recognize matchups. OV had a 5'8" guard trying to guard Smith (6'1" 215 lbs) or Webb (6'2") in the post... the Miners took advantage of it once or twice. He also guarded Pyne... we fed the post once or twice for easy scores.