[PHSForever]

Okay, so Pikeville is a very gutsy bunch of players and I have a feeling that they will be completely up for this one. Valley should be coming up with schemes and sets that will throw Pikeville off guard. Valley as of lately has seemed to make the offensive production work through Belter, which is not a bad thing at all. However, one has to believe that with another week to adjust and more coaching Pikeville will have a little of a better way to play off of him rather than just go straight one on one. Valley has the size advantage but Pikeville should be able to come up with multiple ways to shift down on Belter and frustrate his game. I am guessing that Friday may be a little bit of a harder game for Cody. But this is the beauty of zeroing in on Belter because Valley has Newsome, which also has to be accounted for in a big way. Ultimately I think that Pikeville getting killed in the interior game last Friday will push them further inside to the point that they will give any outside shot up for chance. So Richardson, Lucas, etc. will be big factors in how this one plays out.

Pikeville in my opinion is still a little bit of a better team, the experience allows for them to know how to play when the game is slowed down or if they get down. They just have to deal with a home crowd and the big game environment of the district showdown. I think that they will respond well and should make this game about as even as you can get. Pikeville will not "win" the battle in the paint but they can slow down Belter/Newsome and fight for rebounds leading to some fast break points. Rebounding will be the most important stat of the night.

Speed: Pikeville
Interior: Valley
Experience: Pikeville
Shooting: Pikeville
Coaching: Valley
Energy/Crowd: Valley

So close to call, but I will have to say Valley wins this one at home by 3 or 4.
Belter with a sub-par game scoring 12 points/ 7 rebounds/ 3 blocks.
Newsome picking up the slack a little bit scoring 16 points/ 8 rebounds/ 1 block
Richardson continuing to manage the game well scoring 12 points/ 4 assists/ 3 rebounds/ 4 turnovers

Pretty good and fair assessment, although I would have to call the "speed" a draw, honestly. Pikeville DOES operate better off the fast break, which gives them the appearance of being a little faster than they are, and I would rate Tackett faster than Belter, but all other positions are pretty equal, with maybe a SLIGHT advantage to Pikeville on this.

What has hurt Pikeville the most in the last 3 games I've watched (seen all except the iHigh tourney and games in Pennsylvania) has been lack of awareness on sealing the baseline. I counted no less than 6 baseline drives that went unchallenged until the ball handler approached the paint against Letcher Central. The 1-3-1 leaves them open to this and the wing men on the 3 portion need to give more help on denying the baseline when the ball goes to the corner. They need to understand that they have to funnel the ball handler back out of the corner or at least cut off the baseline. Honestly, I think they do better in 2-3 if they have to zone.

Tackett has to understand (and the other players) that if they hope to succeed on offense, they need to step out and bring Belter out of the paint. Branham needs to understand he must put the ball on the floor and drive if he wants to free up the outside shot for himself, it helps keep the defender back a little if they respect the drive. Tackett is pretty good up to about 12 feet from the basket, this could open up the inside immensely if he steps out and hits a couple to keep Belter honest.

I look for Pikeville to bounce back from the last game against Valley, Letcher Central was, IMO a better team than Valley, and Pikeville had them until a controversial no call on what appeared to be a goaltend with about 4 minutes left in the game. I'm hoping Pikeville learned from that, and can't wait until Friday to see if they have. I'm not as concerned about the home crowd as some would think, Pikeville has played some pretty hostile environments this year and responded well (wins at Magoffin, at Pike Central, at East Ridge, etc) a big part of that is most likely due to the experience factor you point out.