Bluegrassrivals

The All A State tournament field is set with the final two regional finals games being played yesterday.

On paper this appears to be a pretty deep field with the top half of the bracket being the stronger side.

Here are the first round match-ups. I will post a breakdown on the University Heights Academy Blazers below. If you support or have knowledge of one of the other teams post it below.


First Round Games In order.

Campbellsville Vs. Mayfield

Lexington Christian Vs. Owensboro Catholic

Middelsboro Vs. Knott county Central

Walton Verona Vs. Louisville Holy Cross



Danville Vs. Elliot County

Clinton County vs. Shelby Valley

Newport Vs. Kentucky Country Day

Bishop Brosart Vs. University Heights

I know little to nothing about high school basketball, its not really out thing at Mayfield but I have noticed on news and local paper that Mayfield has been decent this year. Can anyone enlighten me on my Cardinals please? Are they expected to get far in the All A?

Campbellsville Vs. Mayfield

Lexington Christian Vs. Owensboro Catholic

Middelsboro Vs. Knott county Central

Walton Verona Vs. Louisville Holy Cross



Danville Vs. Elliot County

Clinton County vs. Shelby Valley

Newport Vs. Kentucky Country Day

Bishop Brosart Vs. University Heights


I think SV can give Clinton a good game. I know Clinton county is pretty good this year and elliot is good and so is University heights. I look for UH to win the bottom bracket. I don't know as much about the teams in the top bracket but I know LCA is a contender again this year. So I'm going to predict a LCA and UH championship with UH winning it all. Tandy will be a tough one to stop, he is a fun player to watch and a matchup nightmare for just about anyone.

Go Blazers Go Wrote:On paper this appears to be a pretty deep field with the top half of the bracket being the stronger side.

Campbellsville Vs. Mayfield

Lexington Christian Vs. Owensboro Catholic

Middelsboro Vs. Knott county Central

Walton Verona Vs. Louisville Holy Cross


Danville Vs. Elliot County

Clinton County vs. Shelby Valley

Newport Vs. Kentucky Country Day

Bishop Brosart Vs. University Heights

Top half the stronger half? I don't see it that way. The bottom half has the favorite to win it, University Heights. Also has strong contenders in Elliott Co, Shelby Valley, Danville, and Newport. To me it looks like the top part is a little bit weaker.

Great stuff. I’ll post the Uha preview later today

In terms of why I think the top half is tougher.

To me, 3 of the top 4 teams in the tournament are in the top. LCA, mayfield and Walton Verona are the 2-4 teams in the field with mayfield maybe being a co favorite with Uha.

Add to that the fact that perhaps the two worst teams in the field are in the bottom half of the bracket in bishop brosart and kcd (no disrespect)

Elliot and Shelby valley are nice teams but if you look at their schedules and compare them to the likes of WV, Mayfield, UHA, and LCA I think you can see why i’d Put them below those top 4 teams.

Good discussion though. I actually think Danville comes out of the Elliot county game.

First Round Games In order.

Campbellsville Vs. Mayfield Mayfield Wins

Lexington Christian Vs. Owensboro Catholic LCA Wins

Middelsboro Vs. Knott county Central KCC Wins

Walton Verona Vs. Louisville Holy Cross Walton Verona Wins



Danville Vs. Elliot County Elliot Wins

Clinton County vs. Shelby Valley Shelby Valley Wins

Newport Vs. Kentucky Country Day Newport Wins

Bishop Brosart Vs. University Heights UHA Wins

Go Blazers Go Wrote:In terms of why I think the top half is tougher.

To me, 3 of the top 4 teams in the tournament are in the top. LCA, mayfield and Walton Verona are the 2-4 teams in the field with mayfield maybe being a co favorite with Uha.

Add to that the fact that perhaps the two worst teams in the field are in the bottom half of the bracket in bishop brosart and kcd (no disrespect)

Elliot and Shelby valley are nice teams but if you look at their schedules and compare them to the likes of WV, Mayfield, UHA, and LCA I think you can see why i’d Put them below those top 4 teams.

Good discussion though. I actually think Danville comes out of the Elliot county game.

I see it differently. I do think UHA is the favorite, with Mayfield right behind. After that I would go (in order) LCA, Danville, WV, Elliot, Valley, and Newport. So to me, the bottom side has the top team as well as 5 of the top 8.

Also, I believe the 3 weakest teams are KCD, Holy Cross, and Campbellsville. Two of those 3 are in the top bracket.

More Cowbell Wrote:I see it differently. I do think UHA is the favorite, with Mayfield right behind. After that I would go (in order) LCA, Danville, WV, Elliot, Valley, and Newport. So to me, the bottom side has the top team as well as 5 of the top 8.

Also, I believe the 3 weakest teams are KCD, Holy Cross, and Campbellsville. Two of those 3 are in the top bracket.

Appreciate the response. Good stuff. I think Campbellsville could be a sneaky team. They are pretty big and athletic and could pose some issues for Mayfield because of how they matchup. Mayfield will win but don't be surprised to see Campbellsville stick around.

Go Blazers Go Wrote:Appreciate the response. Good stuff. I think Campbellsville could be a sneaky team. They are pretty big and athletic and could pose some issues for Mayfield because of how they matchup. Mayfield will win but don't be surprised to see Campbellsville stick around.

Maybe. I have not seen Campbellsville play, I'm just going by their schedule. They are 10-9 with only one win against a team with a winning record. If Mayfield has major issues with them, that would not bode well for the Cardinals' chances of winning the whole thing.

For University Heights, a lot of folks assume that they are a "one man show" in Kyky Tandy. And that reputation is somewhat earned. In my opinion he's the best player in the state. For those who have never seen him play, think a "high school" Russell Westbrook. When he played as an 8th grader through his sophmore year he was small and slight of build. he could be pushed around. Now he's a legit 6'1 or 6'2 with broad shoulders and big legs. He's incredibly strong and explosive. In the high school game you usually don't see both. he has both. His ability to get to the rim is off the charts, he can score from all 3 levels and he's terrific from the free throw line. He's not been "quite" as good from 3 point range this year but he's been much better in all other phases of his game including defense.

In terms of the team... UHA is relatively undersized. They start
5'9 KJ Crump (He should be back) - soph
6'1 Kyky tandy - senior
6'1 drew McGowan - senior
6'3 Taquan Hollowell - senior
6'4.5 Weston Wood - junior

Key subs.
William Bryan 5'10 guard (has been starting in crump's abscence)soph
DJ Quarrels - 5'10 guard - soph
Amani McGee - 5'11 guard - soph


However, Wood plays only about 10 minutes per game.

Crump - He's perhaps the fastest player in the state. he's a legit contender for the 100 meters and 400 meters in track. An absolute jet and a true point guard. Amazing ball handling and on ball defense. Probably could have played in the all a regional tournament but they rested him after an ankle injury in their blowout win of Christian County.

Tandy - See above... Best player in state

McGowan - Could have been a OVC level basketball player, instead is playing baseball on a full scholarship at Miss. State. Close to leading the state in 3 point %. Explosive too. Very strong and finishes well at the rim. Very good rebounder and defender. One weakness is ball handling against intense pressure. But nobody in the all a will be able to pressure UHA.

Hollowell - Younger brother of Wofford guard Tray hollowell. he's really embraced his role as a "junk yard dog" this year. Strong and athletic guy who rebounds, defends and finishes around the rim really well. He's very good in the middle of the zone catching the ball at the free throw line and taking one and two dribble drives to the basket. has improved his game tremendously in the last year. Explosive and a very good shot blocker for his size.

Wood - He's the tallest guy on the team. Some wonder why he still starts but the one game he didn't they struggled against LCA. So they've put him back in. In games where he's not able to match up athletically he will only play 7 or 8 minutes. But in the All a he will probably play more to give guys rest and because he will be able to match up better.

Subs -

Bryan - Bryan is a standout soccer player who has started the last 3 games with Crump out. He's a terrific ball handler, passer, defender and is an amazing rebounder for somebody his size. He can get tons of offensive rebounds with his anticipation.

DJ Quarrells - Son of former UHA and Transy point guard and state champ DQ Quarrells. Tremendous athlete who is an elite defender. Has improved his shot and ball handling since last year. A key player who sometimes gets 20 or more minutes in a game off the bench.

Amani McGee - A silky smooth combo guard who is probably the 3rd best shooter and 2nd best pure "scorer" on the team. Is growing into his body and starting to earn more and more minutes. When teams really sag a zone in against UHA he can come in and shoot you right out of it. When McGee, Tandy and McGowan are all on the floor you're facing 3 guys who you can't leave open. That causes a ton of trouble for defenses because everybody thinks you have to zone UHA.

On Most nights it's all about how UHA plays. If they play well they win. Teams have tried everything against them this year. What has hurt them? Rebounding. Mayfield and LCA killed UHA on the offensive boards. Team's first shot offense against UHA is awful. The two instate teams that beat them really worked the offensive boards hard. After the LCA loss UHA buckeled down and did a much better job on the glass. Mayfield exploited them there and got them with Crump on the bench.

UHA should make it to the semifinals, and candidly, they should make it to the finals. If I was them, the one team I'd want to avoid was mayfield. Mayfield is the one team in this tournament who can match up with them physically and athletically. UHA had a chance against them without Crump, who is, in my opinion, their second best player. But that's the one team I don't want to see. LCA was an absolutely embarrassing effort by uha and they still had the lead down to 3 late in the game before a terrible no call and technical gave LCA a 7 point possession.

My prediction for UHA's tournament is as follows.

They beat Bishop Brosart, Newport, Danville and Walton Verona on their way to the 10th All A title in school history.

Sorry for the rant.. But having played for UHA and now as a fan I'm excited that we are "back"... Well, when we won the region last year I think we were "back". But coming back to Richmond (where the tourney needs to stay) as the favorite is nice...

Mayfield
Lexington Christian
Knott county Central
Walton Verona

Elliot County
Shelby Valley
Newport
University Heights

LCA
WV
Elliott
UH

LCA
Elliott Co

LCA

Bolz, you better grab you some poppycorn before ole fatpat struts in like a mutha cauz I'm going to go through the concessions like Big Bizness will go through the All A and that's wide freakin open brutha!

#betterbracethoseseatscauseimcoming More mash taters please!!!

I’d love to see summaries on some of the other teams

Go Blazers' post could serve as a blueprint for the rest of us
when discussing teams. While he admittedly is a "homer",
his assertions are each backed with some evidence and
give the reader an idea of what to expect from UHA.
Of course, those of us backing teams with less talent than
UHA might be hesitant when describing players who might
be negatively affected by "bad press."

I like Mayfield in this tournament, and Blazer's first hand
knowledge of them strengthens my view. However,
Danville's reputed "athleticism" and very tall front line
intrigues me. Would someone who has seen Danville
a few times post a summary in the fashion of
Go Blazers' summary of UHA?

2elijah Wrote:Go Blazers' post could serve as a blueprint for the rest of us
when discussing teams. While he admittedly is a "homer",
his assertions are each backed with some evidence and
give the reader an idea of what to expect from UHA.
Of course, those of us backing teams with less talent than
UHA might be hesitant when describing players who might
be negatively affected by "bad press."

I like Mayfield in this tournament, and Blazer's first hand
knowledge of them strengthens my view. However,
Danville's reputed "athleticism" and very tall front line
intrigues me. Would someone who has seen Danville
a few times post a summary in the fashion of
Go Blazers' summary of UHA?

Danville and Shelby Valley are the two teams I'm really curious about. Thanks for the comments.

I'm not that familiar with our region winner Owensboro Catholic, but from what I've followed, they are a good team and capable with playing with excellent teams. They led John Hardin for three quarters. One of the top QBs in the state Drew Hartz is also a standout for OCath. I think they give LCA all they want...