10AA Basketball

[sportsnutdad]

Sounds good. Always enjoy CPA4ever as well. The CPA vs. East Lit game coming up on Friday should be a good one. East Lit beat Maplewood last week (no football players so I'm not sure what that means).

CPA 's full court pressure was ineffective against Hume Fogg and they gave up a lot of easy baskets. Wharton has good quickness and penetration skills,but would like to see more 3 point range. Sometimes he tries to do too much and gets in trouble. Howell played well offensively, but HF wasn't particularly big inside.

I look forward to seeing CPA's team play. (My first chance will probably be when they play Lipscomb in January.) I know they're strong and one of the favorites to win the district.

 

However, I know the goal for CPA would have to be a state title with the team they've built. I would think in order to make a run deep into the playoffs they would need to address not having a strong inside presence. Didn't they get knocked-out last year by a physical East Lit team during the tournament?

[sportsnutdad]

I look forward to seeing CPA's team play. (My first chance will probably be when they play Lipscomb in January.) I know they're strong and one of the favorites to win the district.

 

However, I know the goal for CPA would have to be a state title with the team they've built. I would think in order to make a run deep into the playoffs they would need to address not having a strong inside presence. Didn't they get eliminated from the district tournament last year by a physical East Lit team during the tournament?

[CPA4Ever]

I look forward to seeing CPA's team play. (My first chance will probably be when they play Lipscomb in January.) I know they're strong and one of the favorites to win the district.

 

However, I know the goal for CPA would have to be a state title with the team they've built. I would think in order to make a run deep into the playoffs they would need to address not having a strong inside presence. Didn't they get knocked-out last year by a physical East Lit team during the tournament?

I've seen them 3 times and, at this point, they are a work in progress, but show great promise. They have all the elements you need to win - long bench with size, VERY quick, depth at all positions, strong senior leadership, zone-busting shooters. It's too early to worry about their weaknesses because the football players just started back, and 2 of the top 10 players are out for a while longer injured.

In the games I saw, their pressure and depth were amazing, but they showed weakness defending the drive and post-up play. Our 5 man right now is a freshman, so he is learning and should get better and another 5 is one of the injured. The also missed a lot of freethrows. I think their biggest need is to get some games under their belt, get everyone back, and get used to playing with each other. It will come. INO, they are a favorite for state champs.

[howdoitknow]

they are a favorite for state champs.

 

The favorites for the state championship are Bolivar & Liberty Tech. This has pretty much been the case in Class AA since the 2003-2004 basketball season. 6 state championships in 8 years says it all!

 

2003-2004: Bolivar (31-4)

2004-2005: Bolivar (29-5)

2005-2006: Liberty Tech (34-3)

2006-2007: Liberty Tech (37-3)

2007-2008: Fulton (28-4)

2008-2009: Fulton (30-6)

2009-2010: Bolivar (32-4)

2010-2011: Liberty Tech (33-3)

 

I believe that CPA under Drew Maddux and Alcoa under Tony Jones are both capable of making strong runs this spring but if I were a betting man I'd take Bolivar or Liberty Tech as my pick.

[coachrus]

I look forward to seeing CPA's team play. (My first chance will probably be when they play Lipscomb in January.) I know they're strong and one of the favorites to win the district.

 

However, I know the goal for CPA would have to be a state title with the team they've built. I would think in order to make a run deep into the playoffs they would need to address not having a strong inside presence. Didn't they get knocked-out last year by a physical East Lit team during the tournament?

 

I would hope that everyone's goal would be to win the state title, but yes to make a deep run, I think that CPA will have to address the inside game. This hurt them against East Lit last year as you mentioned. They have several possible answers to this question:

 

1. Lindsey moves inside more and off the 3 point line.

2. Brown and Richard get healthy. They are both about 6'2" 200-205lbs or so. Both started last year and could provide 10 points per game and 7-8 rebounds per game and play great defense.

3. Howell continues to step up. At 6'3" (?) he has a nice offensive inside game but needs a lot of work on his defensive game.

4. All or some combination of the above.

 

Lipscomb is always a great team to watch and a difficult team to play. I saw that they beat a good F. Ryan team and lost by 1 to a good University School team. What is their outlook?

[CPA4Ever]

The favorites for the state championship are Bolivar & Liberty Tech. This has pretty much been the case in Class AA since the 2003-2004 basketball season. 6 state championships in 8 years says it all!

 

2003-2004: Bolivar (31-4)

2004-2005: Bolivar (29-5)

2005-2006: Liberty Tech (34-3)

2006-2007: Liberty Tech (37-3)

2007-2008: Fulton (28-4)

2008-2009: Fulton (30-6)

2009-2010: Bolivar (32-4)

2010-2011: Liberty Tech (33-3)

 

I believe that CPA under Drew Maddux and Alcoa under Tony Jones are both capable of making strong runs this spring but if I were a betting man I'd take Bolivar or Liberty Tech as my pick.

Can't argue with that. I said CPA is "a" favorite,IMO, not "the" favorite. The west top teams are hard to beat.

[sportsnutdad]

I would hope that everyone's goal would be to win the state title, but yes to make a deep run, I think that CPA will have to address the inside game. This hurt them against East Lit last year as you mentioned. They have several possible answers to this question:

 

1. Lindsey moves inside more and off the 3 point line.

2. Brown and Richard get healthy. They are both about 6'2" 200-205lbs or so. Both started last year and could provide 10 points per game and 7-8 rebounds per game and play great defense.

3. Howell continues to step up. At 6'3" (?) he has a nice offensive inside game but needs a lot of work on his defensive game.

4. All or some combination of the above.

 

Lipscomb is always a great team to watch and a difficult team to play. I saw that they beat a good F. Ryan team and lost by 1 to a good University School team. What is their outlook?

To tell the truth I'm not that sure. I know some of the team well, but my son only plays football and baseball and I've not seen them play this year. I will probably go to see them play Maplewood tonight as that will be a good test.

[nowtro]

I've seen them 3 times and, at this point, they are a work in progress, but show great promise. They have all the elements you need to win - long bench with size, VERY quick, depth at all positions, strong senior leadership, zone-busting shooters. It's too early to worry about their weaknesses because the football players just started back, and 2 of the top 10 players are out for a while longer injured.

In the games I saw, their pressure and depth were amazing, but they showed weakness defending the drive and post-up play. Our 5 man right now is a freshman, so he is learning and should get better and another 5 is one of the injured. The also missed a lot of freethrows. I think their biggest need is to get some games under their belt, get everyone back, and get used to playing with each other. It will come. INO, they are a favorite for state champs.

 

 

Work in progress is very accurate assessment. Although interesting to see midstate poll today with Clarksville ahead of CPA. Not because they don't belong there but because having seen the game between the teams, with a healthy Craig and 1-2 more healthy players, CPA wins that game pretty easily. I was surprised Clarksville had to work so hard to come back and win.

Edited December 7, 2011 by nowtro

[coachrus]

To tell the truth I'm not that sure. I know some of the team well, but my son only plays football and baseball and I've not seen them play this year. I will probably go to see them play Maplewood tonight as that will be a good test.

 

Congrats on the DL victory over Maplewood last night. Luke Simpson hit a three with time running out to win by three. Maplewood had its football players back, so this might be a "statement" game for DL.

[sportsnutdad]

Congrats on the DL victory over Maplewood last night. Luke Simpson hit a three with time running out to win by three. Maplewood had its football players back, so this might be a "statement" game for DL.

Actually, it was a good game. Maplewood is very good, athletic, long and played with composure and purpose. Didn't shoot much from long range, but were deadly from mid-range and inside. I actually, liked what I saw from this years DL team. Inside, they're not very big (6'2 - 6'3), but the inside players Addison Daws and one of the new additions to the team, Tanner Johnson, are both quick, aggressive and used their bodies well. On the perimeter, they were two deep across each position, passed the ball well and applied constant pressure.

 

If they play this way consistently, they'll be very competitive. At this point, IMO, it's probably East Lit and CPA battling for the top of the district with DL and Maplewood following in the standings. Of course, this depends on many things, i.e. injuries, how each team gels and develops, etc...

Edited December 7, 2011 by sportsnutdad

[kbrks]

Work in progress is very accurate assessment. Although interesting to see midstate poll today with Clarksville ahead of CPA. Not because they don't belong there but because having seen the game between the teams, with a healthy Craig and 1-2 more healthy players, CPA wins that game pretty easily. I was surprised Clarksville had to work so hard to come back and win.

You may be right, but you can’t expect a team that is undefeated to be ranked lower than a team it defeated. It never has and never will work that way.

[kbrks]

...Maplewood had its football players back, so this might be a "statement" game for DL.

I can’t agree with that statement since it certainly doesn’t provide any validity for the value of practice. There is definitely a transition from the football field to the basketball court that only time can solve. Assuming Maplewood has football players expected to make significant contributions on the basketball court there is a little more to it than having your football players back for one or two days after football season is over. Different type of conditioning and different type of skill set, skills that need practice. That is not to take anything away from Lipscomb, a great early season win for their team. Everyone knows the type of basketball tradition they possess. One of the reasons they are so well respected is they have a way of beating teams that surprises others. Plus, their system has always been a good match-up for Maplewood’s system. Basketball is a game of match-ups, both player and system.