(06-11-2022, 11:44 AM)Grinch1 Wrote: [ -> ]I believe Manns is a good kid and never once complained. From my understanding he is going to EKU for school only. So these college offers mean nothing if he doesn’t want to play after high school. If anyone with half a brain watched Pikeville play last year, they didn’t need a scorer as the 5th starter. They needed a Defender and they got one heck of a one in Walters. For every bucket Manns would get, he would give up 5 plus foul. Defense is why Manns never saw the floor. Nothing more.
He put up good number at BL his sophomore year because they played team like Lee county and the schedule was horrendous. If he was good how come they couldn’t beat PBurg in first round of district. He leaves BL and they win back to back districts. He’s played a lot as a Jr at Pikeville and lose first round of District. Limited minutes last year and Pikeville has arguably top 5 year in Mountain history.
Bless ur heart! ??? It’s not the point of what the kid has decided to do. What does that have to do with the fact he received offers as high as D-2? That right there is another one of the biggest crock of crap EVERRRR, acting as if his defense is so horrendous that he is unplayable! ? Just straight up not true! It really goes to show how much you have really watched the kid, bc I don’t know of him ever being a kid who stayed in foul trouble ever! Actually he was always known to have a knack of blocking and altering shots without fouling. I have never watched a game he was in, to where the other team just took it to whomever he was guarding, straight up not true. Yet he started the majority of the yr prior and if he didn’t he played starter mins off the bench. Again so easy to say they played Lee Co (2x) WOW OKAY! Played Jenkins this yr. I surely don’t see how a team starting 3 soph, 1 jr and a Fresh getting upset in a District tournament making that 1 player trash as you pretty much put it. Lol 1 game in first yr starting and 1st yr ever playing on the perimeter. Luv when ppl try to make points and get very emotional the way you did, and your reasoning has zero validity behind it. Defense, which is crazy blown out of proportion. It sure wasn’t so bad that he couldn’t be on the floor! ? Never knew of him being someone who stayed in foul trouble ever! I bet without knowing, he never fouled out of even 3 games. I say it’s under 3. Ridiculous point saying for every point he would foul.. Well bubby, that’s definitely FAR FROM TRUE, bc you can’t foul 10 plus times in a game! ?? Show me ALL the foul trouble, show me big sample size of games where his defense was so bad it beat his team? Luv making the entire season as a Soph vs Lee Co. Who is no different than playing Jenkins. He played only 1 half of both games vs Lee Co, so where’s those padded stats? He managed 18 & 4 going 6-7 from 3pt in 1 half, and 8pts 8rebs, almost dbl dbl in just 1 half the 2nd time. So that was actually just 2 half’s of the entire season. Lol
How about 17 & 8 vs Knott Central in a W, with no Robinson? Or 23 & 8 (7-10) from 3pt vs Knott Central in a Class A state win, or even this yr had 11pts in 14mins, and easily with 20-23mins 15 plus and at the very least another 5-6rebs or plus. So Soph and Jr yr that’s an avg vs Knott Central of 20ppg 8rebs. Even add in the 14 mins game this yr, that’s career avg playing them Soph, Jr, Senior yr of 17ppg 6.66 basically 7rebs. If he played his normal mins that’s going up bc 11 & 4 in 14 mins this past season. Guess Knott Central is Lee Co?? Or Soph yr since all he adds is scoring. Lawrence Co, runner up, down to last min vs Martin in finals, he gives 9pts 8rebs and 10pts 9rebs for 9.5pts 8.5reb 2 game avg. 1 point and 3 rebounds from avg a double double vs them. Just some scoring though.. 9pts 12rebs vs Paintsville in All A with injured Frazier. But just some scoring lol Let’s see Shelby Valley sure wasn’t Lee Co during his Soph and Jr yrs. He contributes 11 & 5, 17 & 8 (perfect from floor) and 14 & 6.. That’s 14pts 6.3rebs and jr yr 15.5 & 7. Or how about North Laurel? 2-3 days after his bad foot injury, using caution off the bench, 11pts 6rebs (perfect from the floor) hmmm See there’s all kinds of numbers and just plain basketball sense of a big sample size proving how effective he was and consistently, and actually his best numbers seem to be vs better competition.. This yr, who knows how his defense would effect the game, he never got enough of a chance to put him on the bench for a lack of play. It was strangely just decided. Since those are ride or die MUST DO to play laws for Elisha Justice, then why was that not a must the yr before and even worst playing him injured at maybe 60-70%?? Where’s that logic?
So I would be very interested in you or anyone else being able to show a good sample size showing that his defense was so poor that he couldn’t even be put on the floor. Not EVEN IN GAMES WITH DBL FIGURE LEADS FROM ALMOST THE TIP TO THE END?? What’s the reasoning then if not a tight close game?? Bc they had more blowout and dbl figure lead games from early to the end than close one’s.. That defensive narrative is as weak as the he’s just hurt narrative bc neither was true, but a half sad excuse.
But ur right NO team needs a 5th scorer who will give you 10 plus, shoot it at 40% plus from outside, shoot a team best % at the line, and also give you a much BETTER REBOUNDING, and a good offensive rebounder at that than those in front of him. So gives you better scoring by a TON, more ways to score, and it’s not even close, better shooting by FARRRRR lol, and helps command the defense’s attention and forces them to stay true and helps spread the floor opening up more driving lanes, or pay for it. There were teams that basically played 4 on 5 at times bc no threat to hurt them from 1 spot.. It didn’t matter bc they just weren’t good enough to beat them anyway. But a much more talented player who I think takes a huge step this yr finally healthy and with a true pg on the floor with him, bc a shortened Covid season that he played injured not hurt. So much more talented player, a much crazy higher ceiling, and the 2nd highest ceiling on the team after Sammons, as far as how much more room to grow as a player, and the reason so many schools were interested, bc he was just scratching the surface of what kind of player he could be. So flat out more talented, higher ceiling, better scorer, better shooter, better rebounder, incredible teammate and leader, but there’s no room for him AT ALL in your opinion, even in and as a rotational piece!!! ?
You want to say the starting lineup needed whatever instead.., cool. But what’s the reasoning in why THE TEAMS BEST 3pt shooter 42% the yr before and FT shooter last season who did so playing and practicing all yr very injured, had zero room to even give you big rotation mins now that he’s healthy? Was the outcome in all those blowout wins going to change?? Really played in a small amount of true close games, rest controlled early in the game to the end, but he’s not even good enough to give you a 16-20 mins off the bench? A qtr’s worth of time each half? For real? But players nowhere near the player he is, they suddenly deserve more time over him this season, when they played less the yr prior and him injured? Worrix addition changes nothing. He took the place of Lockhart. Why didn’t that defensive LAW OF ALL LAWS to play for Justice apply the yr before? Walters and the little guard didn’t play over him then?? Luv to see all these games that he fouls so much in! Lol ? That was a good 1. So I can show with facts and numbers why it makes zero sense. Plus not just my opinion, but I haven’t spoken to anyone outside of Pikeville circle that tried to justify it. Everyone else, all these half brainers, including Coaches not even from the 14th or 15th at the state tournament who sat right there completely confused asking why in the world is Manns not in the lineup and on the floor? A player who starts for every other team in 15th and 14th, but he can’t even get rotation mins bc this Pikeville team is just otherworldly great! ? Well, regardless of how much success they had, it still doesn’t change the fact that something fishy, something very sketchy was behind the treatment of that kid. There is no REAL proven reasoning for him not even getting to be a rotation player..
****One last note, they didn’t need a 5th scorer or another elite outside shooter? Really, not even to come off the bench when other scorers or shooters are struggling? Final game of the season that ended this legendary squads season was done with 38 points on the board, 3 in which was his, so 35pts, but DON’T NEED ANYMORE SCORING!!! ???
Robinson had 1pt, Sammons had 2pts, Jarrell had 2pts and Walters 0!!! But no need for anyone else on the floor that could provide a offensive lift! Lol Let’s go with Rogers (who also should been a major pc all year ahead of others) but let’s go with him to shoot 1 for 7 from 3pt when taking away Manns 1 attempt were 4-23 from 3pt! But no room for better scorer or shooting, bc Rogers, Jarrell and Walters all combined 1-14 from 3pt!!! Defense all well and good, but eventually against good teams you got to put it in the basket. Add Sammons 0-4 and 1-18.. Go back and watch that game over and over, and plz don’t try and make the case that the Pikeville defense just completely stifled GRC! ?? Was more them not being able to hit shots they normally hit, even around the basket.. So I guess all those longtime coaches don’t have a clue. All those recruiting don’t have a clue, and everyone that I know that are tremendous basketball minds simply don’t have a clue. Well do us a favor, show us how his defense is so bad that there was no room in the rotation in blowout win after blowout win, and plz show us where for every point he would score he would foul, for a kid who has NEVER been foul prone EVER! Luv to see it.. It’s like ppl get so emotional bc ur not allowed to point out a truth and fact that wasn’t a big secret, but actually it was an uproar from everyone outside of the Pikeville inner circle. Everyone and anyone that can unbiasedly look would NEVER in a million years say Walters or Jarrell are more talented or better players than Manns, bc it’s simply not even a conversation and hard to even type let alone speak it out loud with a serious face when posing the question! ??? So poor effort in that emotional response. Which puts you as the first in TONS of ppl to spk on it, including EVERY former and current Coach that have spoken to, or mostly them 90% of the time bringing it up, including ones who are Coaches from down state. As I had a Coach from nowhere near our Mtn basketball, that was utterly confused and asking why in the world is Manns not on the floor? Sometimes things are as a simple as they seem. Simple equation here.., those 2-3 ahead that absolutely should NEVER be ahead of this kid are simply NOT EVEN CLOSE TO THE PLAYER THAT HE IS, and the sad thing is what kind of player he could have been.
Will leave on this note.., I would not be so sure to close the book on his playing basketball. I do know everything that was done from a kid til now was about earning a college scholarship. But also know he’s a honor student, and doubt he’s paying anything to go to EKU. Was told by someone close to his Father, that King was his first option, and wanted to go there, but did not provide the field in which he is wanting to pursue. One thing is for sure, he has a great head on his shoulders, and guessing like most things, a lot of thought went into it. But to somehow try and discredit his collegiate scholarship offers bc he didn’t use or they didn’t provide what he was looking for as making them irrelevant is seriously the most ridiculous argument I have ever heard! Lol It’s the fact he earned those, including a D-2 offer. It’s such a shame to wonder just how many he ended up missing out on? Earning 1 FROM PRACTICE, and another FOLLOWING the season after he was completely shutdown from any opportunity to play! That LOOKS REALLY BAD ON THIS LEGENDARY SQUAD! Lol
I will say with full confidence if he wasn’t treated so horrendous this season, and them completely taking his last yr of basketball in HS away, and away from those who supported him, and never given a reason or even a thoughtful pull to the side to be professional and explain, to the kid why. Really should have told them up front that they just didn’t see any place for him, and I’m sure they would have made another decision. Obviously they had an idea going into this yr that he was not in their plans, bc he obviously wasn’t. Just never seen a player of his natural ability and with multiple offers, that suddenly can’t find ANY TIME his ENTIRE senior season, when that had NEVER been the case any time before. To act as if that is and was solely a basketball decision is as funny as the pitiful suggested point on defense or foul for every time he scores or only played Lee Co and or an upset loss as a first yr starter as a Soph was all reason enough to prove he really sucks as a player!!!! So I guess the other kids on that BL team are terrible as well! Lol
Duke lost to Mercer, Lehigh, VCU, S.Carolina 2nd rd. So guys like Tatum, Kennard, Seth Curry, Jabari Parker, Austin Rivers etc are all not so good then, or that could NEVER happen! Kansas lost to Bucknell, Bradley, Northern Iowa, 10 seed Stanford in 2nd rd with Joel Embiid & Wiggins, they must not be to good! I know Oscar Tshiebwe NCAA POY, broke 50 yr old records, Ty Ty probably a lotto pick but lost 1st rd, so evidently not very good! ?? That’s about how sorry that logic is!!! ?
So I still have not heard anything basketball wise that truly makes sense or explains it, bc it truly was not based on that if you ask most, and I’m guessing I won’t.