[Stardust]

Holmes 61, St. Henry 42

St. Henry - Bessler 6 0 12, Carroll 3 3 10, Barnett 2 3 9, Anderson 1 3 5, Patula 1 0 2, Seifried 1 0 2, Thorborn 1 0 2. Totals: 15 9 42.

Holmes (2-1) - R. Johnson 8 3 21, Rice 4 0 9, Hayes 2 1 7, Avery 2 0 6, J. Johnson 1 2 5, Herndon 1 2 4, Slusher 2 0 4, McClendon 1 0 3, Gray 1 0 2. Totals: 22 8 61.

St. Henry 10 8 12 12 -42
Holmes 13 19 12 17 -61

3-pointers: H 9 (R. Johnson 2, Avery 2, Hayes 2, Rice, J. Johnson, McClendon); S 3 (Barnett 2, Carroll).

NKY.com

[kywldcat01]

Ricardo Johnson was a man among boys last night. Nobody on the floor was big or strong enough as him so he simply dominated.

Holmes struggles early on as St. Hank jumped out to a 6-2 lead but Holmes would close the first quarter on an 11-4 run.

Second quarter Holmes settled down some and started playing together more and pushed their lead out to 14.

Holmes would keep a 14-17 point lead the rest of the game before extending it out to 20 with 2 or 3 minutes left and then getting a basket from Gray right before the buzzer to give you the final of 61-42.

My thoughts:

1. Elijah Pittman didn't play in this game. Had he played, I'm confident Holmes wins by 30 or 40 points. St. Henry simply didn'y have the size or depth to contend with the Dogs.

2. Despite the score, Holmes continues to look very lethargic offensively. They just aren't really playing with any sense of urgency. They'll have spurts where they look very good and other times have you wondering how they are the defending state champs.

3. Kevon Rice did a very nice job stepping up in Pittman's place with 9 points. Not sure of how many he had, but he really hit the glass hard and rebounded extremely well. He also continues to show a nice outside stroke for his size of 6'6.

4. Avery looked much more comfortable for Holmes last night. He got more aggressive at both ends of the floor and started shooting more. Both he and Slusher are great assets to Holmes team. Both rebounded well last night and did a nice job defensively.

5. Chris Hayes continues to play well for Holmes. He has a very nice outside stroke and has unreal hops. He got several rebounds last night in traffic that included Rice and R. Johnson. I really like the intensity he brings to the floor.

6. Henley used a lot of different combinations last night but the one that surprised me the most: Herndon, Hayes, Mcclendon, Rice, R. Johnson. When Henley went small, Holmes quickness and athleticism really showed. When the younger guys settle in and get more confident, Holmes is really going to be a tough team to beat.

7. St. Henry showed a lot of grit and fight last night. Holmes simply couldn't put them away until late in the game. The Cru kept making big play after big play when Holmes would extend their lead to 17 or 18. For every play Holmes made, St. Henry made one themselves to keep the Dogs from running away with the game.

8. A bright spot for Holmes last night was their outside shooting. St. Henry sat in a zone the whole night, giving Holmes several different looks (1-3-1, box and 1, 2-3, 3-2) but Holmes knocked down 9 treys.

BTW, the new Holmes floor looks very good. Big H at mid court and where the Bulldog used to be just beyond the 3 point lines, is replaced with a smaller H with Bulldogs in cursive under it. The floor is a lighter color and it looks like they replaced the lights as it's much brighter in the gym now. I recommend getting down to Covington and checking it out.

Holmes travels to Warren Central Saturday to take on the #6 team in TN in Memphis Central.

[Stardust]

Will Pitt be available on Saturday?

[kywldcat01]

Will Pitt be available on Saturday?

Checking on that right now. I'll post in the predictions thread when I find out.

[mahb7878]

If Holmes can shoot teams out of zones (9 three's in this one) they are as tough as anyone, but when the outside shots are not falling the zone is effective against them, look at the Beechwood game this year and the Boone Co games from last year. Hopefully Rice, Avery, and Slusher can provide that outside threat this season as well as some of the younger guys off the bench to keep some driving lanes open for Rico and JJ.

[kywldcat01]

If Holmes can shoot teams out of zones (9 three's in this one) they are as tough as anyone, but when the outside shots are not falling the zone is effective against them, look at the Beechwood game this year and the Boone Co games from last year. Hopefully Rice, Avery, and Slusher can provide that outside threat this season as well as some of the younger guys off the bench to keep some driving lanes open for Rico and JJ.

Holmes struggled early from outside but once Hayes hit back to back three's to give Holmes the lead, it looked like the Dogs got more comfortable from outside and started shooting the ball very well.

Holmes is going to have to get good outside play from Rice, J. Johnson, and Avery in order to be successful this year. That will open things up down low for Pittman as well as teams can't just pack it in the way St. Henry tried to do.

BTW, Holmes absolutely dominated the boards at both ends last night. St. Henry had a lot of one and done's and Holmes got a lot of second chance points. They had struggled to rebound in the first two games, so it's good to see they're playing harder in that area.

[mahb7878]

Holmes struggled early from outside but once Hayes hit back to back three's to give Holmes the lead, it looked like the Dogs got more comfortable from outside and started shooting the ball very well.

Holmes is going to have to get good outside play from Rice, J. Johnson, and Avery in order to be successful this year. That will open things up down low for Pittman as well as teams can't just pack it in the way St. Henry tried to do.

BTW, Holmes absolutely dominated the boards at both ends last night. St. Henry had a lot of one and done's and Holmes got a lot of second chance points. They had struggled to rebound in the first two games, so it's good to see they're playing harder in that area.

JJ is not the outside answer in my opinion, they have to get McClendon, Hayes, and even Slusher in the action some. Obviously you dont want them all on the court together but they will need there share of the action. Avery and Rice as well. Pittman has gotten off of the perimeter and has focused more in the paint which I think is a very positive thing because he has the tendency to throw up some ill advised shots, also with him in the middle, Rico, and JJ slashing it will open up some shots for those other guys. And I think they will face a ton of Zone this season, and the outside shot is how you get teams out of that zone.

[kywldcat01]

JJ is not the outside answer in my opinion, they have to get McClendon, Hayes, and even Slusher in the action some. Obviously you dont want them all on the court together but they will need there share of the action. Avery and Rice as well. Pittman has gotten off of the perimeter and has focused more in the paint which I think is a very positive thing because he has the tendency to throw up some ill advised shots, also with him in the middle, Rico, and JJ slashing it will open up some shots for those other guys. And I think they will face a ton of Zone this season, and the outside shot is how you get teams out of that zone.

Mcclendon isn't ready to play against the better competition though. Hayes is the guy they need to step up. His outside shooting these first three games has been pretty solid. Slusher isn't a perimeter player. He is more of a blue collar player for the Dogs that does all the little things such as rebounding and getting a lot of points off of put backs and lay ups.

I agree though that they'll see a lot of zone this year. Nobody has the athletes to play man to man against them...atleast not in the 9th.