[Mister D]

Domination from start to finish by Knox. The difference in the game was Knox had all 5 starters in double figures while NL could only get baskets from Shepherd and Davidson.

All the talk of withering in the spotlight is silly.  If Ashland beats them next week it’s probably because Ashland is one of the best teams in the state not because Knox choked.

  I don’t think it’s silly. They went to Rupp two years ago with a talented team, and withered on the big stage. They are playing a good team this year, but a team that just had to win back-to-back overtime games against teams not as good as Knox just to get to state tournament. So, yeah, if they don’t wither, they could win. And would have a real shot in elite 8 against Boyle Co.-Paintsville winner.

It seems like you all really dislike Knox for some reason. If they win games it’s because the “play of the entire tournament was down this year” and if they lose it’s because they withered. Ashland is 53-4 in the last two years. If they lose to them it’s probably because Ashland is pretty good.

I'll let Van speak for himself but I'm saying a very talented KC team withered on the big stage against a good, but inferior, opponent in '19.  They lost by a whopping 22 points to a team they should have beaten. If they lose a close, contested game to Ashland will I say they choked? NO.  If they lose by 25 points, will I say the stage was probably too big for them again ? YES.  Talent-wise, Knox matches up favorably with Ashland, who, as Van accurately pointed out, barely escaped in their last two games against teams not nearly as talented as Knox.  

Btw, if Knox beats Ashland a handful of Panther enthusiasts on here will claim that Patterson should be above Coach K and just below John Wooden on the list of all-time greatest coaches.  I still think third in the 13th region is about right for now.

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He's done some good things, no doubt about it.  Because I rank him third best in the region means I don't give him proper credit? Third is pretty damned good.  I give him credit for winning region titles with the best talent in the region .  He also lost regionals to teams with inferior talent.  Again, I'm not saying he's a bad coach. I think he's done a very admirable job.  But he's still behind Davis and Pietrowski, imo  . Both of those coaches have worn Patterson out .  These three regional titles have moved him into the top 3, though.

Patterson vs.  Davis   :

(L)   40-77
(L)   47-72
(L)   57-71
(W)   65-62 
(L)    58-67

I think it’s reasonable to say he is in the top 3. It just seems like you have two completely different sets of standards. One for Patterson and another for Davis and Pietrowski. Davis has won one regional championship in 10 years at SL (you could say he’s won a region 10% of the time). Pietrwoski has 4 regional championships in 20 plus years (20%). Patterson has 3 in six years (50%). Seems like simple math 50% vs 20% vs 10%. 

My point is it’s completely fair to rank other coaches ahead of Patterson but you lose credibility when you use different standards.

I didn't realize I was using different standards. I rate Davis 1st because he has owned Pietrowski and Patterson and consistently has South among the favorites every year.  I have Pietrowski #2 because he has owned Patterson with less talented teams. I moved Patterson to #3 after his trifecta. Seems reasonable to me.
(Btw, I think Pietrowski overachieved with the talent he had this year but until he starts beating Davis he's going to stay #2. Davis has beaten him nine straight times).  Now, Pietrowski may very well be better than Davis, but with three straight years of three losses, I can't in good conscience rank him above Jeff.

Fair enough. We will just have to agree to disagree. At the end of the day none of this matters. Knox played a fantastic game yesterday and won against a really solid NL team. They get a chance to play at Rupp and I for one will be cheering for them to get a W and represent EKY well.

They played a TERRIFIC game yesterday. What really impressed me was Patterson's philosophy of keeping pedal down and staying with the same aggressive offensive play that got them the big lead. Now, if they had given up that big lead, he would have been criticized .  However,  I  thought it was pretty refreshing. Too often you see teams get passive and stop running the stuff that gave them success. Very impressive performance all around.

Haha you are probably right that people will be comparing him to Coach K if he wins a couple of games at state. To be fair I don't think that he is the best coach in the region yet but I also don't think there is some massive gap between him Pietrowski and Davis. They are all in the same boat for me. And yeah you are right that Knox laid an egg in their game at state a couple of years ago. But I'll say two things. 1) I think Knox is a pretty decent matchup for Ashland but this Ashland team is so talented. I think some people are underestimating how good they are especially considering they were 33-0 last year. it is going to be a tall, tall task for Knox to beat the Tomcats. They have 3-4 players that are all sharpshooters including Cole Villers who has to be one of the top shooters in the entire state. Did Ashland struggle a little bit their last two games? Yeah. But Rowan County is a really tough team with one of the best players in the state in Mason Moore. So, all I am saying is Ashland is the real deal and I would not calling it withering if Knox gets beat by 12-15 points especially since Ashland ran North Laurel out of the gym earlier this season. 2) I just find the withering talk silly because when I first joined this site all the talk about Knox was that they never could win the region. Statements like, "I'll believe it when I see it Knox always chokes" or "No matter how much talent Knox has they always find a way to choke in big games". Its weird because after winning 3 straight regional championships you would think some of that talk would die down a little lol