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01-16-2009, 11:41 PM
A must read, not just for the Elliott County fans, for for Kentucky High School and all High School sports fans alike. Please open the link for the complete article:
Courtesy goes to "letthebighogroot" for noticing this article
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/2.../901160505
SANDY HOOK, Ky.
Joe B. Hall must have seen a few thousand basketball teams during his 80 years on Earth. So when Hall -- who coached the University of Kentucky to the national championship in 1978 -- declares a collection of teenagers from Northeast Kentucky "my all-time favorite team," attention must be paid.
A couple of weeks ago on the radio, Hall said his favorite team -- ever -- is the Elliott County High School Lions. The computer likes the Lions, too: They are No. 1 in The Courier-Journal's Litkenhous Ratings. They've averaged 87 points a game on their way to a 13-1 record and are unbeaten against Kentucky schools.
At last weekend's Kentucky Prep Classic in Mount Sterling, Hall watched Elliott County rally from a 17-point deficit to defeat Anderson County in overtime.
"The sum of the parts exceeds the individuals," he said. "They play as a team, and they're an inspiration to watch … aggressive, hard-working … and often overmanned, like they were tonight. Anderson County not only had a very good team, they had the size on them at just about every position."
With 325 students, Elliott County High rarely plays against a smaller school. The county is a place better known for hard times than good times. A place where one in six people is 65 or over; where 99.2 percent of the population is white; where about 8 percent have college degrees and 8 percent are unemployed; where the countryside has only about a fourth of the population density of the rest of the state.
Until the current crop of celebrities came along, Elliott County was better known as the home of country singer Keith Whitley, 1950s basketball star Orbie Bowling and Rocky Adkins, leader of the Democrats in Kentucky's House of Representatives........
...."Seems like the first week it was in, we were there three times a day," recalled Ethan Faulkner, a senior guard with a taste for double cheeseburgers and fries.
Faulkner (15.1 points a game) has signed to play for Northern Kentucky University. Twin Evan (16.2) will play at Radford University in Virginia. The only distinction, Evan said, is "I'm about a half-inch taller."
Rick Mays, the 58-year-old coach, said of his players: "If we have the ball, side out of bounds, 10 points down with 10 seconds to go, they still think there's some way they can get those 10 points in 10 seconds. That's the dream that every coach has is to have a team that will play like that. … They want to win beyond anything.
"I told them before the season started: 'You're skilled players, but we're still blue-collar, hard-working.' We have to play hard. We're not real big. We play hard-nosed defense, we create a lot of turnovers, we get a lot of steals.".....
...Together forever
The core players on Elliott County's team, the six seniors, have been preparing for this since they were second-graders.
"Since we were little," Evan Faulkner said, "we've put our heart and soul into basketball."
Level land is so scarce in Elliott County that you might wonder how they found a spot to play basketball.
"When I was in second grade," senior Jonathan Ferguson said, "my dad bought me a basketball goal and we put it in the barnyard. It's flat down there, and I had all the grass worn off around it.".....
Courtesy goes to "letthebighogroot" for noticing this article
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/2.../901160505
SANDY HOOK, Ky.
Joe B. Hall must have seen a few thousand basketball teams during his 80 years on Earth. So when Hall -- who coached the University of Kentucky to the national championship in 1978 -- declares a collection of teenagers from Northeast Kentucky "my all-time favorite team," attention must be paid.
A couple of weeks ago on the radio, Hall said his favorite team -- ever -- is the Elliott County High School Lions. The computer likes the Lions, too: They are No. 1 in The Courier-Journal's Litkenhous Ratings. They've averaged 87 points a game on their way to a 13-1 record and are unbeaten against Kentucky schools.
At last weekend's Kentucky Prep Classic in Mount Sterling, Hall watched Elliott County rally from a 17-point deficit to defeat Anderson County in overtime.
"The sum of the parts exceeds the individuals," he said. "They play as a team, and they're an inspiration to watch … aggressive, hard-working … and often overmanned, like they were tonight. Anderson County not only had a very good team, they had the size on them at just about every position."
With 325 students, Elliott County High rarely plays against a smaller school. The county is a place better known for hard times than good times. A place where one in six people is 65 or over; where 99.2 percent of the population is white; where about 8 percent have college degrees and 8 percent are unemployed; where the countryside has only about a fourth of the population density of the rest of the state.
Until the current crop of celebrities came along, Elliott County was better known as the home of country singer Keith Whitley, 1950s basketball star Orbie Bowling and Rocky Adkins, leader of the Democrats in Kentucky's House of Representatives........
...."Seems like the first week it was in, we were there three times a day," recalled Ethan Faulkner, a senior guard with a taste for double cheeseburgers and fries.
Faulkner (15.1 points a game) has signed to play for Northern Kentucky University. Twin Evan (16.2) will play at Radford University in Virginia. The only distinction, Evan said, is "I'm about a half-inch taller."
Rick Mays, the 58-year-old coach, said of his players: "If we have the ball, side out of bounds, 10 points down with 10 seconds to go, they still think there's some way they can get those 10 points in 10 seconds. That's the dream that every coach has is to have a team that will play like that. … They want to win beyond anything.
"I told them before the season started: 'You're skilled players, but we're still blue-collar, hard-working.' We have to play hard. We're not real big. We play hard-nosed defense, we create a lot of turnovers, we get a lot of steals.".....
...Together forever
The core players on Elliott County's team, the six seniors, have been preparing for this since they were second-graders.
"Since we were little," Evan Faulkner said, "we've put our heart and soul into basketball."
Level land is so scarce in Elliott County that you might wonder how they found a spot to play basketball.
"When I was in second grade," senior Jonathan Ferguson said, "my dad bought me a basketball goal and we put it in the barnyard. It's flat down there, and I had all the grass worn off around it.".....
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01-17-2009, 02:23 AM
As I was buying my ticket to get in to the EC-AC game @ Montgomery Co (I didn't get there til 1/2 time) This place was rocking, Very loud. Elliott has a lot of fans follow them. When I came in, the 3rd 1/4 was just started EC was down by 4 and scored about 10 straight. This placed was loud and these boys (all of them) want to score. Exciting team to watch. No shotclock needed.
01-17-2009, 09:20 PM
Thanks Stardust for posting this... Don't matter if you love them or hate them, these kids have shined more positive light on this little county than anything in it's history! I'm fairly certain they won't win a State Championship, but they have given an entire county a reason to hold their head up and be proud! And for that, these boys will never be forgotten!
01-17-2009, 09:26 PM
letthebighogroot Wrote:Thanks Stardust for posting this... Don't matter if you love them or hate them, these kids have shined more positive light on this little county than anything in it's history! I'm fairly certain they won't win a State Championship, but they have given an entire county a reason to hold their head up and be proud! And for that, these boys will never be forgotten!EC are some of the most well manner boys I have ever met. It's always "yes, sir or no,sir" with them. The execs at the beach ball classic said the same thing. There is a class about them you don't see often.
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