[Hillbilly Heartthrob]

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.

Nice.......and Yes, LCC is slightly better than Valley I think.....However, out of the places you listed, I think Valley is the harder place to win at.....Gonna be a good one to say the least!