Bolivar vs. Liberty - AA State Championship

[cmeister]

Bolivar (31-4) and Liberty (29-8) meet tomorrow afternoon in the Class AA State Championship.

It is an all-District 14AA battle for the Gold Ball.

 

The Tigers and Crusaders have played four times this season.

Feb. 3 - Liberty 60, Bolivar 53 @ Liberty

Feb. 12 - Bolivar 69, Liberty 60 @ Bolivar

Feb. 23 - Bolivar 61, Liberty 55 (OT) @ Lexington (14AA championship)

Mar. 4 - Bolivar 61, Liberty 58 (OT) @ Lexington (7AA championship)

 

Bolivar won the AA state title in 2004 and 2005.

Liberty won the AA state title in 2006 and 2007.

[Purple & Gold Standard]

The regular season is one thing but Bolivar has beaten Liberty twice on neutral court championship game situations.....

 

What does Bolivar do against Liberty that is so successful ??

[VolunteerGeneral]

Bolivar may have won the two on neutral courts, but notice they both went into overtime.

[Celticsfan]

I grew up watching Science Hill vs. Dobyns Bennett. Bolivar and Liberty Tech is the new great rivalry. Two of the four games went to overtime and all of them were decided by single digits. I wish Arnett Bodenhammer the best of luck. I have known him for a long time, but this will be a war.

[Purple & Gold Standard]

Bolivar may have won the two on neutral courts, but notice they both went into overtime.

 

Yeah, but what difference does that make ??...They still lost....

 

What is it that pushes Bolivar over the hump ??...

[BIGWEBB]

This team has HEART &WILL!!!!

[nebuntyn]

I picked Liberty from the beginning and I am sticking with it...... Liberty 2010 AA state champs Book it

[ReitzFan]

The regular season is one thing but Bolivar has beaten Liberty twice on neutral court championship game situations.....

 

What does Bolivar do against Liberty that is so successful ??

It comes down to one simple word............COACHING. No question that Bolivar has the edge in this department.

 

Bolivar takes this game.

[GCPioneer]

Bolivar had a huge game today which was very entertaining to watch.

 

With that being said, after 2 tough games, I believe Liberty will win the state championship over Bolivar.

[Prosushi]

Watching Bolivar play today and missing something like 18 three pointers yet still finding the way to win further reinforces my belief in the Tigers.

 

Bolivar in a close one, i'll say by 2

[yankees8589]

PandG,

What pushes Bolivar over the hump is Rick Rudesill knows better than any coach I have ever seen at the high school level what it takes to win. Bolivar has two 4 year starters in the back court that dominates the ball and both are very good, especially for AA. Murphy and Tisdale have played in a ton of big games over the last 4 years. This team plays below the rim and doesn't have great size but they can run if that's what it takes and they can grind if that's what it takes. Unlike most high school teams this team can play and adapt to multiple styles at a high level. This is VERY unusual for a high school team. This Bolivar team is in noway as talented as past Bolivar teams but at the same time the team chemistry is off the charts.

 

In my honest opinion....Liberty clearly has a talent advantage top to bottom.....without question. What happens when Bolivar and Liberty plays is that while Kendall Anthony is a fantastic talent sometimes his shot selection is suspect and sometime he tries to do to much which in turn causes Liberty to waste possessions at critical times late in games. Kinda like in a tight game where if one team waste 2 or 3 possessions out of the last 7 or 8 late in a game while the other team doesn't. It's one thing to take and miss a good shot it's another to take and miss an ill advised shot. Kendall Anthony can straight up light any team up but he can also make some poor decisions in critical situations.....most people don't see this because Liberty most times has a nice lead late and wins most games so it goes unnoticed. I honestly believe Rudesill knows Liberty's tendencies so well that at times Bolivar actually can set Liberty up to blow possessions because he almost knows exactly what they will do or NOT do in critical situation down the stretch. I don't get the feeling Bodenhamer has the same feel for Bolivar. This is his first season at Liberty coaching against Bolivar. I know some Liberty people will disagree with me and I'm cool with that. I like both teams but to me that's the difference. Also Bolivar has beaten Liberty 5 out of the last 6 times dating back to last season....so it could be a mental part to it to.

 

Having said all that I think Liberty is going to pull it out tomorrow. But who knows. It's hard to go against Rudesill, Murphy, and Tisdale. Good luck to both teams. Personally I'm fine no matter who wins.

[terop]

If Barnett can bring his A game, I feel that Liberty has a great chance. They need to pound Bolivar down low and the bigs need to stay out of foul trouble. Bolivar has been struggling from the perimeter but they are tough to beat. Murphy is receiving treatment after the games and he has been fighting the pain and playing with one good leg. This should be a classic....I got Liberty to bring it home to Jackson