[4 Quarters]

Thoughts... for what they're worth.

1.  Some of us owe Valentine an apology. Not for him being a penis, but for saying he is a terrible coach.  He did some good things tonight. He had his guys playing their best ball in March. He deserves credit.

2. Jefferson Davis... Like his Confederate counterpart from 160 years ago, he oversaw a strategy that won him some battles but eventually lost him the war. Like the Confederate president, Jeff Davis' strategy primarily focused on a defensive approach.  And he's very good at that. However, in the end, YOU HAVE TO SCORE THE BALL!!!  Being unable to score has been a problem for Davis and South for, what seems like, further back than Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox.

3.  Joshua Mabe... was it , what, seven points. NO WAY!!! Something wrong there. That can't happen.

4. The Jervis kid had how many?  And they still won?

5.  Once it got to 43-all, I wasn't sure if anyone would ever score again. South literally scored 1 point in , what was it, the last 7+ minutes of the game. And you have a stud like Mabe. How does that happen?

6. Two things I always look at come March(and I've been around for a lot of Marches): Who is playing the best ball at tourney time and does anyone have to beat a team for the third time , or more.  North was peaking right and tourney time and South had to do a three-peat over them. Never easy to accomplish.

7. I still believe South would win a 10-game series, with 7 wins in the ten. But on this night  the Jags just executed a little better down the stretch. Got to give the Jags credit. They earned this title with wins over Corbin, Harlan County, and South. I'll be rooting for them to do well at Rupp.

8. Sounded like both teams left it all out on the floor. I don't think either team played its best game, but the opposing team had something to do with that. These type of games are almost always pretty ugly. The winner is usually just whoever comes out of the fray less mucked up. Tonight it was the Jags.

9. As long as big Reese is a Jag, don't count them out for another one next season. He's a difference-maker.

10. Good luck,  Mr Mabe. it's been a pleasure, and a nightmare, watching you,  kid. You are a class act.  Go make us proud at the next level.

11. North is playing well enough, and has the kind of draw, to be playing two weeks from this Saturaday at Rupp. I wouldn't mind that.

12. Maybe I'll get my Arena lemonade next season.  How much is a soft drink now... $8 ???   



And so it goes... Another 13th  region  regular season and tourney in the books. More than 50 of them for me.

Scoring a single point in OT is inexcusable. I’m tired of hearing about great defense this and great defense that.  Have to score to win games. It’s sounds simple, yet it’s the truth. 

I don’t know where South goes from here. There’s some good kids coming up, but nobody has the look of a star such as Mabe, or a JJ Ramey etc. some of the decent kids coming up are North transfers, so it begs the question, what’s going on with middle school ball. 

In the end, I just wonder if it’s time for a change in south London. One sweet 16 in the last fifteen years at a school like South isn’t good optics.

CaLL 1 800 Steve Wright, Again