[SolidOxygen]

these teams were both top in the state last year, with Holmes winning the state championship
Any predictions on how these teams will look next season?
are they picking up any new players.. or what not?

[kywldcat01]

Holmes will be much deeper this coming season than they were this past year. They return the core of their 36-2 state championship team and have a solid JV team coming up that was 22-4 and made it to the NKY JV championship without their best sophomore playing a game in the tournament. The JV team is very quick and athletic and had several kids that could fill it up from outside, including 6'1 freshman to be Christian Mcclendon who is rated top 10 in the state for his class. Holmes main contributors should be the following:

Starters:
6'0 Pierre Mayfield
6'5 Ricardo Johnson
6'5 Jeremiah Johnson
6'6 Kevon Rice
6'8 Elijah Pittman

Off the Bench:
6'3 Willie Slusher
6'2 Naire Jones
6'1 Christian Mcclendon
6'1 Chris Hayes
5'11 Jaydale Herndon

Holmes should be able to go 10 deep easily. A player to watch that could emerge as a defensive stopper in the paint for Holmes is:

6'7 Soph. David Smith

He will be a sophomore next year but is the younger cousin of current UC Bearcat, Yancy Gates.

There's also a rumor that 6'2 sharp shooter Shawn Eastin may be transferring to Holmes. With him Holmes adds another quality player off the bench or a possible starter. Either way, Holmes should be favored to get back to the state championship and repeat.

[kywldcat01]

As for Scott Co, they will indeed be loaded next year and much deeper than they were this past year. They return their entire starting lineup from the region championship game and also will have Shotwell eligible this year, after sitting out this past year. I don't think SC will dominate the 11th the way they did last year, but they will definetly be favored to get out of region and make a run at Rupp and possibly win the state title. Their main contributors will be as follows:

Starters:
6'0 Isiah Ivey
6'3 Ge'Lawn Guyn
6'4 Tamron Manning
6'4 Chad Jackson
6'8 Dakotah Euton

Off the bench:
6'2 Austin Flannery
6'3 Tanner Shotwell
6'3 Robbie Barber
6'4 Will Schu

[Panther Thunder]

Holmes will be much deeper this coming season than they were this past year. They return the core of their 36-2 state championship team and have a solid JV team coming up that was 22-4 and made it to the NKY JV championship without their best sophomore playing a game in the tournament. The JV team is very quick and athletic and had several kids that could fill it up from outside, including 6'1 freshman to be Christian Mcclendon who is rated top 10 in the state for his class. Holmes main contributors should be the following:

Starters:
6'0 Pierre Mayfield
6'5 Ricardo Johnson
6'5 Jeremiah Johnson
6'6 Kevon Rice
6'8 Elijah Pittman

Off the Bench:
6'3 Willie Slusher
6'2 Naire Jones
6'1 Christian Mcclendon
6'1 Chris Hayes
5'11 Jaydale Herndon

Holmes should be able to go 10 deep easily. A player to watch that could emerge as a defensive stopper in the paint for Holmes is:

6'7 Soph. David Smith

He will be a sophomore next year but is the younger cousin of current UC Bearcat, Yancy Gates.

There's also a rumor that 6'2 sharp shooter Shawn Eastin may be transferring to Holmes. With him Holmes adds another quality player off the bench or a possible starter. Either way, Holmes should be favored to get back to the state championship and repeat.

I noticed that Holmes had an eighth grader dressing varsity, and no freshman. I assume that he is very, very talented. Anything on him?

[kywldcat01]

I noticed that Holmes had an eighth grader dressing varsity, and no freshman. I assume that he is very, very talented. Anything on him?

Mcclendon is well known on the AAU scene for his age level. He's played with the NKY Wolfpack and NKY Tarheels throughout the years and was the best player on the JV team this past year. I believe he averaged around 17 ppg as an 8th grader.

Didn't see too much varsity time, but then again when you have the talent Holmes had this past season, Coach Henley saw no reason to push the young man in to trying to be a role player.

Mcclendon will likely be the 7th or 8th man off the bench and will be the 3 point threat that Holmes will be needing with Riley's departure. Kid has unreal range for his age level and is very strong at getting to the basket. Also much more physically developed than a lot of kids his age. I'd expect him to see 8-12 mins a game at the beginning of the season, with those minutes likely increasing as the season progresses. He has unreal talent for an 8th grader.

[kywldcat01]

I'm sure there will be a lot of rumors like this throughout the summer regarding different players, but I just read on another board that Sam Tolliver of J'town may be transferring to Holmes.

This one actually makes a little sense though. Why? Sam is originally from Covington and lived there growing up, before moving to Louisville. Sam also has played AAU with the Holmes boys before and has family in the area which would make for a smooth transition for both he and his parents if a change of residence were to occur.

Stay tuned. Him going to Holmes would really solidify their spot as the prohibitive favorite to win the 2010 state championship. He was a key part to J'town's success the past two years.

[Stardust]

Scarry, but Holmes should be better this year than last

[HollaBack]

These two will be head and shoulders above the rest next year. Then both will drop off a lot after next season from the level they have been at the past few years.

[kywldcat01]

These two will be head and shoulders above the rest next year. Then both will drop off a lot after next season from the level they have been at the past few years.

Doubtful...Scott CO has a lot of young talent with Manning, Ivey, Shotwell, and Barber.

Holmes current sophomore class and freshman class are both talented enough to win region and get back to state. Holmes has 2 kids that are rated top 10 for their class:

6'6 soph Kevon Arnold
6'1 8th grade Christian Mcclendon

On top of that, Holmes has several kids who are current 7th graders that are being highly touted as the next great class to come through Holmes. Both of these teams are in a cycle right now where they'll be state powers for the next 4 or 5 years.