[cuppett777]

congrats to ryle

[justabballfan]

I think you nailed this one down perfectly. You can have very talented players and not have a great team. Holmes seems to be a very good example of todays myth about great teams. You can have all the talent in the world, but without team chemistry, you can be beaten by teams that don't have as athletic or talented players. I will take teams that know how to play and make their team better in any contest instead of just taking the "most talented" teams. This is one reason you have major upsets in the NCAA tournament of a team from a "lesser" conference beating the highly talented players that are NBA bound.

Exactly, prime example last night UK-SC you don't just show up and win ballgames. Holmes let down probably had something to do with Ryle's record thinking they had to just show up but that is why they play the game. I'm sure that they will mark it down as lesson learned though.:dontthink

[BlackcatAlum]

Holmes for the most part has been a pretty big let down this season. The coach needs to speed up the play for his team with all the talent he has there. I have no idea why this team continues to only score 50-60 points.

You mean 40-50.

[PC_You_Know]

Something isn't working right in Louisville.

[kywldcat01]

Maybe Holmes may be a bit OVERRATED. They are always vulnerable for a loss with their point gaurd play.

Point guard play wasn't the problem last night...shots simply weren't falling for them.

They dominated the first quarter and built a 16-6 lead after one but then seemed to let off the gas the rest of the game. Been a common theme for Holmes this year. Build a big lead and then watch it dwindle and let teams back in the game.

Built a 14 point lead against Bowman Academy, only to lose by 2 late in the game.
Built a 10 point lead against McEachern, GA, only to lose by 8 after free throws late in the game.
Built a 12 point lead against Ryle, only to lose by 5.
Had a 2 point lead against Princeton in OT, but couldn't seal the deal in the end.

Holmes simply has to finish better. They've had the lead in 4 of their 5 losses.

I said a potential upset could happen in this game and it did.

Congrats Ryle!

You and me both man. I also said in the prediction thread that Ryle was definetly capable of beating Holmes.

Wow, I thought he was not coming back till next week. Proves my point then. Dogs are just an unmotivated basketball team. People are saying overrated or not that good, that';s flat out wrong. This is a team that just doesn't give the effort that they are capable of. They have NO LEADERSHIP!

Avery played but only saw maybe 4 or 5 minutes the whole game. With Ricardo Johnson in foul trouble the whole game, Henley played the following players for much of the game:

Pittman, J. Johnson, Slusher, Hayes, Herndon.

I don't think Rice really played all that much either, other than when Pittman would go to the bench for a breather.

Did Holmes get beat by a team ranked 63 in the state according to Maxpreps and a team that came into the game with a losing record?

Ryle is better than you think and you obviously know nothing about them to make a comment like this. No reason for Holmes to lose to them, but they're pretty solid.

Ryle has lost 4 games by 3 or less points, 5 games by 4-7 points, and one game to Cincinnati Woodward by 18. They've been competitive with everyone they've played. Both Mason Co and Tates Creek only beat them by 5.

Ryle beat Lafayette (16-2) by 17 and they also beat Highands by 15 (49-34).

Maxpreps rankings are a joke. That's why nobody uses them.

Only 46 points? Unbelievable with all the D1 talent and athletes they have.

Ryle is traditionally one of the better defensive teams in the 9th reigon. They zoned Holmes the whole game last night and slowed the game down offensively to work for good shots. Holmes got out and ran the first quarter and built a 16-6 lead but Ryle slowed things down after this and it worked to their benefit.

Coming in to the game Ryle was averaging giving up just 49 ppg while Holmes is giving up just 48 ppg. What does this equal? A low scoring game.

I am gonna say Holmes will not make it out of the 9th region

Everyone said the same thing last year after they lost to Boone Co and all Holmes did was win a state championship.

In 07/08 everyone said the same thing after a late season loss to Newcath and all Holmes did was win the region championship and make it to the state championship.

In 06/07 everyone said Holmes would be lucky to make it out of the district after battling injuries all year and all they did was make it to the state semi's despite heading to Rupp with a 23-9 record.

This is still the same team that beat Newport by 18 and 10. Let's see Holmes fares at Highlands next Friday and then at home against Boone 3 days later before we start saying Holmes won't even make it out of the region.

Many others have said this in years past and been proven wrong.

Holmes for the most part has been a pretty big let down this season. The coach needs to speed up the play for his team with all the talent he has there. I have no idea why this team continues to only score 50-60 points.

A pretty big let down? 3 of their 5 losses are to teams ranked in the top 100 nationally. I wouldn't consider them a big let down at all.

Bowman Academy is currently 14-0 and ranked #7 or #8 in the Midwest region.

Ballard is Rivals #99 team and currently ranked #2 in the bluegrass.

Princeton, OH is currently ranked #91 in the Rivals 100 and the best team in Cincinnati.

McEachern, GA has only lost 4 games this season and all have been to teams ranked in the top 50 with the exception of Louisville Trinity who is starting to garner some national love and move up in the rankings.

Holmes also holds a win over rivals #58 Memphis Central who beat Melrose, TN who is ranked #23 in the country after the loss.

Ryle is Holmes' only "bad loss" but Holmes has lost atleast 1 game inside the 9th region the past two years with state championship teams. The 9th is too deep with talent and balance for anyone to go undefeated. The last team to go undefeated inside the 9th was the 2004 Covcath team that made the state semi's.

When you play a tough schedule, you lose games.

Exactly, prime example last night UK-SC you don't just show up and win ballgames. Holmes let down probably had something to do with Ryle's record thinking they had to just show up but that is why they play the game. I'm sure that they will mark it down as lesson learned though.:dontthink

No...last night simply proves that regardless of how much talent you have everyone has bad games. UK-USC is a perfect example.

Holmes jumped out to a 16-6 lead but got lax and Ricardo Johnson got in foul trouble which allowed Ryle to get back in the game. I believe Rj had 3 fouls at the half. Ryle finally tied the game at 26 all and it'd be a 2 point game the rest of the game.

HEading in to the 4th quarter Ryle had a one point lead and extended it to 7 with both Ricardo Johnson and Elijah Pittman on the bench for Holmes. Pittman only had one foul at the time so I honestly have no clue why he wasn't out there. During this time, Ryle went on a 6-0 run to push their lead to 45-38 with 5:01 left.

Enter Ricardo Johnson and Elijah Pittman. Holmes went on a 6-0 run themselves to pull within 45-44 with the 1 point difference being a missed free throw by Pittman with Holmes trailing 45-43.

Ryle made two free throws to push their lead to 47-44 but Holmes responded at the other end with a basket by Pittman to bring the score back to within 1 at 47-46.

On Ryle's next possession, Holmes got a defensive stop and had a chance to take the lead but a travelling call on Chris Hayes under the basket gave the ball right back to Ryle. Holmes called a timeout and out of the timeout got another timeout with their press as McLeish could get past the Holmes trap.

Ricardo Johnson then missed a shot with around 30 second left, Ryle grabbed the rebound and Holmes was forced to foul. Clay Coleman made two big free throws for Ryle and Holmes called a timeout with 15 seconds left to set up a 3 point play.

Being aware of the amount of time left and Holmes needing a 3, Ryle fouled with 12.4 since they weren't near the bonus.

Elijah Pittman got a 3 off with 7 or 8 seconds to play, Ryle gets a long rebound and finds an open player down court and he lays it in right before the buzzer sounds to give Ryle a 51-46 victory.

Ryle made plays down the stretch and hit free throws...Holmes didn't. Ballgame.

[Peacedomes85]

good win for ryle...holmes thought they could walk through this one and they were in for a surprise!!!

[5throundball]

WOW, sure didn't see this one coming, this shows that talent alone doesn't win ballgames. Holmes does have a least 2 big time recruits don't they?hh:

Actually not bigtime recruits they will fall somewhere from JR College/NAIA to Mid-Major at best.

[kywldcat01]

Actually not bigtime recruits they will fall somewhere from JR College/NAIA to Mid-Major at best.

Ricardo Johnson "settled" for Ohio U. There were much bigger programs watching him and waiting to see what he did early in the season before they offered.

UK, Oklahoma St, Louisville, Xavier, and Memphis to name a few.

Elijah Pittman had West Virginia, Xavier, Oklahoma, and Tennessee all ready to offer before they found out he wouldn't be able to get through clearinghouse because of grades. He is the only one that will settle for a JC program and Oklahoma has already said as long as he gets his 2 yr degree, they have a scholarship waiting for him. Pittman will play for one of the best JC's in the country and then move on to a big school much like Austin Hill did a few years ago.

Jeremiah Johnson has several small D1 schools recruiting him such as Eastern KY, Akron, North Carolina A&T, UNC-Greensboro, and Kent State. Not big programs but still D1.

Holmes has some very talented players and your comment about them not being big time recruits is far from true. Elijah Pittman and Ricardo Johnson were both preseason top 100 players to watch this season.

The only reason they aren't ranked by Rivals is because both played for a horrible AAU program that only played locally. When they played in the Adidas Take 5 against national competition, interest picked up for both big time. Get your facts right next time before you get on here making comments that aren't true.

[NPTwildcats2010]

RYle is OK just caught holmes on a bad night

[Showtime_05]

Didn't Buckhorn beat Ryle?

[5timechamp]

Ky Wildcat quit writing books on here trying to defend Holmes and just admit they have holes in their roster. You are the most hypocritical poster on this site. You do the very things that you complain about ther fan bases doing.

[Strikeout King]

Nice Win Ryle

[DortonWildcat5]

Ricardo Johnson "settled" for Ohio U. There were much bigger programs watching him and waiting to see what he did early in the season before they offered.

UK, Oklahoma St, Louisville, Xavier, and Memphis to name a few.

Elijah Pittman had West Virginia, Xavier, Oklahoma, and Tennessee all ready to offer before they found out he wouldn't be able to get through clearinghouse because of grades. He is the only one that will settle for a JC program and Oklahoma has already said as long as he gets his 2 yr degree, they have a scholarship waiting for him. Pittman will play for one of the best JC's in the country and then move on to a big school much like Austin Hill did a few years ago.

Jeremiah Johnson has several small D1 schools recruiting him such as Eastern KY, Akron, North Carolina A&T, UNC-Greensboro, and Kent State. Not big programs but still D1.

Holmes has some very talented players and your comment about them not being big time recruits is far from true. Elijah Pittman and Ricardo Johnson were both preseason top 100 players to watch this season.

The only reason they aren't ranked by Rivals is because both played for a horrible AAU program that only played locally. When they played in the Adidas Take 5 against national competition, interest picked up for both big time. Get your facts right next time before you get on here making comments that aren't true.

So has Ricardo not had a good enough season to be offered by the big schools you mentioned?

[PC_You_Know]

So has Ricardo not had a good enough season to be offered by the big schools you mentioned?

Might still be too early.

[kywldcat01]

So has Ricardo not had a good enough season to be offered by the big schools you mentioned?

Might still be too early.

Ricardo is already signed with Ohio U. He signed I believe back in November.

[DortonWildcat5]

Ricardo is already signed with Ohio U. He signed I believe back in November.

Thanks. I wasn't sure on that.

[kywldcat01]

Thanks. I wasn't sure on that.

No problem...before the season started, Rico had offers from the following schools:

Bradley, Central Michigan, Drake, Duquesne, Marshall, Ohio, Western Kentucky, and Western Michigan

Ricardo committed to Ohio 9/14 and signed either November 11th or 12th..

[The King]

Didn't Buckhorn beat Ryle?

Yes. It's quite surprising that Holmes lost to a team that lost to Buckhorn...

[kywldcat01]

Yes. It's quite surprising that Holmes lost to a team that lost to Buckhorn...

Holmes beat Mason Co by 6...Mason Co beat Ryle by 5.

Ryle beat Holmes by 5.

You can't compare scores and who beat who.

[tezzy859]

Big win for Ryle congrats.... As for Holmes the Bulldogs will bounce back and be ready for March.... I feel a lot of hate coming from the east. Some even saying these kids are over rated. It's hard to be over rated when you have played 3 straight Saturday's at Rupp. It was the same thing with Elliott County fans last year, and how did that work out for them. I'm hoping the 9th draws the 15th in the first round. So the boys who some of you claim are over rated can end your sweet little dream of a state championship. 5 Time champ lets see some of your high school accomplishments. I wonder how those stack up against the kids who you are claiming are over rated.hh:

[Peacedomes85]

Big win for Ryle congrats.... As for Holmes the Bulldogs will bounce back and be ready for March.... I feel a lot of hate coming from the east. Some even saying these kids are over rated. It's hard to be over rated when you have played 3 straight Saturday's at Rupp. It was the same thing with Elliott County fans last year, and how did that work out for them. I'm hoping the 9th draws the 15th in the first round. So the boys who some of you claim are over rated can end your sweet little dream of a state championship. 5 Time champ lets see some of your high school accomplishments. I wonder how those stack up against the kids who you are claiming are over rated.hh:

Its getting a lil heated in here hh: But tezzy everyone is allowed to have their own opinion about players on basketball teams. Im sure you think players from the NKY are overrated, actually i can see where the "east" is coming from...I think that Holmes plays down to their opponents for starters, Holmes can not take nights off THEY ARE THE DEFENDING STATE CHAMPIONS so you know that Holmes is going to have a HUGE TARGET on their backs and Holmes will get each and every teams best shot when they play ball. Another thing it looked liked they didnt even wanna be their on monday night (I was at the Ryle VS Holmes game and i took them about 2:30 mins to walk from one end of the court to their bench coming out of halftime). BUT like you said the will rebound and play great basketball when the post-season rolls around BUT they cant come into a game thinking thier gonna win by 20 because ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL