[kywldcat01]

Joining in a little late but here are my thoughts from the game:

1. First half Holmes really lacked a sense of urgency offensively. They built a quick 10-2 lead and then it was almost as if they became complacent and let Beechwood right back in the game. I liked how they came out in the second half though and started being more aggressive.

2. Holmes is going to be VERY DEEP this year. At first I was a bit nervous when I saw Hayes, Mayfield, J. Johnson, Rice, and Pittman out there but it was actually a nice combination. McClendon, Hayes, Mayfield, Rice, and surprisingly Herndon, are all going to be nice additions off the bench....especially Hayes. He has improved by leaps and bounds since last year. Rice started out slow, making several mistakes and turning the ball over, but in that second half he really turned it on and was the key to Holmes pulling away as he had 6 straight points for Holmes on back to back treys. Mayfield's quickness at the pg position at both ends of the floor is really going to wear down the opposing pg. He has had atleast one 5 second call on the opposition in every game he's played in over the past two years.

3. JJ really surprised me tonight when he tried to take over in the second half. At one point he waved brother Rico off and took it to the rack hard and drew a foul. If Holmes is going to be successful this year, JJ has to be aggressive like that all the time.

4. Slusher really surprised me tonight too. Once he gets more comfortable, he is going to be a solid 5th starter. He rebounds extremely well for his size of 6'3 and reminds me of JJ from last year, doing all the little things.

5. Pittman's one hand alley oop dunk from JJ was absolutely ridiculous and was Sportscenter top 10 worthy. Pittman caught the ball ABOVE the square (no exaggeration) and threw it down hard. Everyone in the gym rose to their feet on the play. Hands down the best dunk I've ever seen in a high school game...including Pittman's windmill dunk against Highlands last year.

6. Holmes is going to struggle some early as they work out the kinks in their offense, but man when they gel together they are going to be scary good. They showed flashes in spurts tonight and you can tell all the key pieces are there for a repeat. We'll see where Holmes is this saturday when they meet Bowman Academy out of Gary, In.

7. Lastly, Beechwood is better than given credit for. Pohlgeers is a nice player with nice size and Cruse rebounds extremely well and plays hard down low. The Beechies just might make another run against CCH and HC again this year.