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Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Cougars No. 10; Tigers No. 8 in girls poll
Kenton Ridge is No. 10 in Division II in latest girls basketball poll, while West Liberty-Salem is No. 8 in D-III. Click the jump for the complete poll.
The latest Associated Press girls basketball poll, with won-lost record and total points (first-place votes in parentheses):
DIVISION I
1, Cin. Mt. Notre Dame (18), 14-1, 226
2, Dublin Coffman (6), 17-0, 221
3, Cin. Winton Woods, 14-0, 150
4, W. Chester Lakota W., 13-2, 147
5, Dresden Tri-Valley, 18-0, 136
6, Xenia (1), 15-0, 127
7, Delaware Hayes, 16-0, 110
8, Perrysburg, 14-0, 77
9, Twinsburg, 12-3, 44
10, Warren Howland, 15-0, 29
Others receiving 12 or more points: 11, Kettering Fairmont 24. 12, Tol. Start 20. 13 (tie), Beavercreek, Can. McKinley (1) 18. 15 (tie), Pickerington Cent., Dublin Scioto 14.
DIVISION II
1, Lima Bath (14), 15-0, 240
2, Kettering Alter (7), 15-1, 206
3, Tipp City Tippecanoe (1), 16-0, 197
4, Tiffin Columbian, 15-0, 152
5, Chillicothe Unioto (1), 15-0, 134
6, Geneva (1), 15-0, 96
7, Warsaw River View, 13-2, 94
8, Akr. Hoban (1), 12-2, 76
9, Shaker Hts. Hathaway Brown, 10-4, 39
10, KENTON RIDGE, 13-2, 38
Others receiving 12 or more points: 11, Canton South (1) 30. 12, Salem 19. 13, Wapakoneta 18. 14, Mentor Lake Cath. 17. 15, Cambridge 13. 16 (tie), Cin. Indian Hill, Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit 12.
DIVISION III
1, Marion Pleasant (14), 16-0, 243
2, S. Euclid Regina (11), 14-0, 239
3, Smithville, 16-0, 183
4, Oak Hill, 13-1, 137
5, Genoa Area, 14-0, 136
6, Findlay Liberty-Benton, 13-1, 120
7, Millbury Lake, 14-0, 110
8, WEST LIBERTY-SALEM, 14-1, 75
9, Mt. Blanchard Riverdale, 13-1, 60
10, Andover Pymatuning Valley (1), 15-0, 18
Others receiving 12 or more points: 11, Amanda-Clearcreek 12.
DIVISION IV
1, Convoy Crestview (16), 14-0, 243
2, Berlin Hiland (10), 12-1, 231
3, New Bremen, 15-1, 175
4, Delphos St. John’s, 12-2, 140
5, Pettisville, 13-2, 118
6, Cols. Africentric, 12-4, 103
7, Canal Winchester Harvest Prep, 14-2, 74
8, Shadyside, 14-2, 61
9, Troy Christian, 14-2, 49
9, New Riegel, 13-2, 49
Others receiving 12 or more points: 11, Waterford 34. 12, Leipsic 26. 13 (tie), Carey, Cle. Hts. Lutheran E. 23. 15 (tie), Ft. Recovery, Ottoville 13.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Girls Basketball, Kenton Ridge High School, West Liberty-Salem High School
The definition of toughness in basketball
I found out pretty quickly that I wasn’t, but I toughened up over time, and I got a pretty good understanding of toughness through playing in the ACC, for USA Basketball, in NBA training camps, and as a professional basketball player in Europe. I left my playing career a heck of a lot tougher than I started it, and my only regret is that I didn’t truly “get it” much earlier in my playing career. When I faced a tough opponent, I wasn’t worried that I would get hit — I was concerned that I would get sealed on ball reversal by a tough post man, or that I would get boxed out on every play, or that my assignment would sprint the floor on every possession and get something easy on me. The toughest guys I had to guard were the ones who made it tough on me. Toughness has nothing to do with size, physical strength or athleticism. Some players may be born tough, but I believe that toughness is a skill, and it is a skill that can be developed and improved. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo always says, “Players play, but tough players win.” He is right.
The story applies well to all levels of basketball competition. If you want to be tough, follow these guidelines. The best teams you’ll watch will have all these traits and then some.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Boys Basketball, Coaches, College Men's Basketball, College Women's Basketball, Girls Basketball
Brakeman Report taps Graham again in 2009
The 2009 Brakeman Report was released Jan. 28 — and it’s no secret who the wrestling guru is choosing to win the D-II team title.
But how many state champs is he predicting the Falcons might have? And how might other teams in the area fare?
Here’s the complete report:
In case you missed it, watch this video of three-time state champ David Taylor against three-time state champ Collin Palmer of Lakewood St. Edward:
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For your viewing pleasure…
The sickest buzzer beater of 2009? I don’t know about that, mostly because we’ve still got 11 long months to go, but this is still a sweet shot.
Watch as Guthrie, Oklahoma’s Donte Foster ‘sets’ a shot into the basket during their game against Midwest City earlier this month.
He made all the volleyball coaches in Oklahoma very proud.
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On this date in area sports history…
On this date in area history, Feb. 3, the News-Sun published a story on the Graham boys basketball team, who had gone 26-1 on the home court over three seasons.
The team included current Graham boys basketball coach Brook Cupps and Northwestern baseball coach Brent Parke.
Published in the Feb. 3, 1995 edition of the News-Sun:
FALCONS ARE BEST IN THEIR NEST; HOMECOURT EDGE BOOSTS GRAHAM
By Cindy Horner, Sports Writer
With its parquet floor and its Boston Garden mystique, Graham’s home court has become a haven for the Falcons.
The floor has become known as “Graham Gardens” mainly because the Falcons have made it hard for opponents to play there. The seniors are 26-1 over the past three years with three home dates remaining, including tonight’s game with Versailles.
“It’s a credit to the kids who have played in the program over the years,” said Coach Dave Zeller, whose team checks in at 12-2 and 3-0 in the Southwestern Rivers Conference.
“But I must say that this is the hardest working group from top to bottom. Most kids are sick of basketball practice at this point in the season. But, after our two-hour practice, kids are still shooting around. We have to run at least 10 of them off the floor. We basically have to demand that they leave. A lot of kids come out early in the morning and work out as well. I know that (starters) Brook Cupps and Keith Cunningham have been doing it religiously.”
The hard work has paid off and the Falcons are hoping that it continues to with four SRC contests remaining.
“We’re hoping to keep the intensity up and maybe a title will come to us,” senior Brent Parke said. “We’d really like to keep the winning going as well. The seniors on our team have been winning since junior high. We’ve gone something like 94-10 since junior high, and we take a little pride in it. We want to keep playing.”
Graham pulled off a big overtime win against Catholic Central last week at home. Central dealt the Falcons their last home loss two years ago.
“This league is so tough from top to bottom,” Zeller said. “We’re going to have to turn around and play another good game against Versailles after playing Central tough. Versailles is 11-3. We lost to them there in overtime last year. I felt like it was a game we gave away. We certainly haven’t forgotten about it. But Versailles is always tough to play, no matter what.”
Graham, which finished 19-4 last year, is doing things differently this season. With the graduation of 6-foot-8 center Steve Setty, now at Wittenberg, and Kevin Fritts, the Falcons have gone to a more uptempo game.
“We’ve changed our style from the half-court offense we used to run,” said point guard Cupps, who gets to school around 6:30 a.m. to do the Steve Alford workout every morning. Cupps took the workout, which takes about 45 minutes, from the former Indiana guard’s videotape.
“The big guys we have on the team can shoot the three as well as the smaller guys,” Cupps added. “We’re a quicker team and play mostly man-to-man using the whole court, and we’re doing a lot of traps. We’ve all been working hard on it.”
Zeller said that the offense had become too patterned.
“We wanted to run the ball up the court a little more,” he said. “But sometimes when teams do that, the intensity drops off. I told the kids that we’d go with the quicker paced offense during the preseason and if the intensity dropped off, then we would go back to the old offense. But it didn’t drop off, so we stuck with it.
“They like the uptempo game,” he added. “It’s more fun this way, and the kids have to be more aggressive, both offensively and defensively. They’re always attacking. We’re also shooting the three a lot more than in the past. We have two sophomores starting inside, and both are three-point shooters. We’ve just become more of a perimeter team.”
Four of Graham’s five starters are averaging double figures and most of the starters have a good shooting percentage. Sophomore Chris McGuire leads the team at 71 percent (55 of 78) from two-point range. Matt Middleton, one of six seniors, is shooting 67 percent from two-point range; Parke, the first player off the bench, is at 66 percent; sophomore Nick George is at 55 and Cupps at 49. McGuire also is at 43 percent from three-point land.
But don’t forget the bench. Zeller hasn’t.
“It’s like draw poker,” he said. “I have three seniors that come off the bench in Parke, Chad Wolfe and Kyle Wagner. One is a good three-point shooter, another is a good aggressive rebounder and the other is a defensive specialist. When the situation arises, I go to the deck and usually come up with what I’m looking for.
“Usually, seniors who do not start are a source of agitation and dissatisfaction,” Zeller added. “It’s not like that with these kids. These kids, with their attitude and senior leadership, they have been a big part of our success. They provide a great team atmosphere.”
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