[vundy33]

Final.

Johnny Miller - 15 points
Ray Kasongo - 13 points
Tony Wolter - 8 points
Kory Thacker - 6 blocks, 6 steals, 6 assists, 6 rebounds

This team is going to be dangerous once they get into their flow with Tony at the point, Johnny Miller at the 2 and Kasongo alternating between the 3, 4 and 5 spots, depending on the competition. The kid is 6'8" with a 7'0" wingspan. Once Tony Wolter gets into his groove running true point (a Marquis Teague-like style), this team will be great.

More stats to come.

[vundy33]

Not sure if this is the exact PC score, sounded like it on the radio. I do know that Johnny Miller dominated from outside, and that Central never led.

[Spud6]

Congrats ER

[vundy33]

Letcher is next!

[Salimander]

Letcher is next!

Not very impressed after hearing all the hype. Shelby will beat ER Both times, Pikeville will beat them at least once, and Hall from Johson Central will give the big boy fits. A lot of the mouthing and cockiness will sink him if he doesn't get it under control. Hope they have another offensive set besides the Weave.

[region]

Not very impressed after hearing all the hype. Shelby will beat ER Both times, Pikeville will beat them at least once, and Hall from Johson Central will give the big boy fits. A lot of the mouthing and cockiness will sink him if he doesn't get it under control. Hope they have another offensive set besides the Weave.

The T in the game shoulda gone against Kasongo, not the boy from PCC....he is a DIRTY player who mouths and cheap shots all game, like the fist to the stomach of 55 from PCC.

Not a big fan of how ER acts with the "3 eye" after every "3" also. Isn't that a T?

[vundy33]

It's called 3 goggles, dude.

And Kasongo will cut that out before district even starts. He's not used to playing much high school ball. But, he's not a dirty player...he might trash talk and give a guy a shot who gave him one, but he's not dirty, he's a great kid. He's already starting to tone down.

And Valley won't beat us twice, and Pikeville if they have a huge crowd at home might beat ER once. By the time those games come around, these boys will be a well oiled machine.

[McCameraMan]

Congrats ER

[vundy33]

Not very impressed after hearing all the hype. Shelby will beat ER Both times, Pikeville will beat them at least once, and Hall from Johson Central will give the big boy fits. A lot of the mouthing and cockiness will sink him if he doesn't get it under control. Hope they have another offensive set besides the Weave.

Hahahaha...we'll see about that.

[Benchwarmer22]

The T in the game shoulda gone against Kasongo, not the boy from PCC....he is a DIRTY player who mouths and cheap shots all game, like the fist to the stomach of 55 from PCC.

Not a big fan of how ER acts with the "3 eye" after every "3" also. Isn't that a T?

Call me old-fashioned, but I'm tired of the antics that players display these days. What happened to just making a shot and running down the floor to play defense? Is it just considered too boring these days?

[E.ridge]

IMO # 50 from pcc is DIRTY he pushed and elbowed ray all game long...!

[Mr. Onion Head]

No offense to fans of East Ridge, but a 46 point showing isn't going to strike fear into too many people. It's well known that Kasongo has a lot to work through. Preston himself will tell you he worries about him, as he has already had a couple of blowups in practice with teammates. This team may gel later on, but they have a lot to get through before they are dangerous.

[Belfry0304]

Ray was alot more impressive pregame than during the game. Not a hustle player, didn't rebound too well, and didn't work for that ball. Hoping that changes as the season progresses because the kid is an athletic freak. Really liked what I saw from the PG. Quickness, but he has got to finish. Most impressed w/ Miller. Dude's shot is deadly. ER has lots of potential but I went to this game thinking this was a team that'd run away w/ the Region. Not so much now. I still don't know that any other team is close, but they weren't all I expected. Of course, it's December.

Pike Central could have used Hobo. Good youth though, Owen Caudill was very impressive to me as was the big #55. #22 played alright, and I like the way #1 plays. He's a little bit of a scrapper and looks like he may fall down after every time he touches the ball, but if unorthodox works for him, he's doing it very good. Pike Central will be tough later in the year, and even tougher in a few years. Could use Dylan Meade.

[region]

No offense to fans of East Ridge, but a 46 point showing isn't going to strike fear into too many people. It's well known that Kasongo has a lot to work through. Preston himself will tell you he worries about him, as he has already had a couple of blowups in practice with teammates. This team may gel later on, but they have a lot to get through before they are dangerous.

He better be. PCC was mild, VERY MILD to environments and players this kid is going to face. Looking at their schedule I'll be shocked if he makes it through the season without a fight and suspension. Phelps, Tolsia, the Virginia schools, Prestonsburg, Sheldon Clark. He is going to play some PHYSICAL kids in CRAZY environments.

[Hsbasketballfanatic]

Congrats to ER. Stats for pcc anyone? And I honestly dont think sv will beat them twice. Cmon now!

[vundy33]

No offense to fans of East Ridge, but a 46 point showing isn't going to strike fear into too many people. It's well known that Kasongo has a lot to work through. Preston himself will tell you he worries about him, as he has already had a couple of blowups in practice with teammates. This team may gel later on, but they have a lot to get through before they are dangerous.

I agree. No offense taken, it's the truth.


Also, and I'm talking to everyone. If ANY of you start going off-topic or hating on kids, or name-calling, I swear to baby Jesus I will close this thread and pull out the ban hammer faster than you can blink. That crap doesn;t belong in these highschool threads.

Just criticize the right way, point out mistakes/improvements, all that...like normal. Pretty much just don't be idiots.

[vundy33]

He better be. PCC was mild, VERY MILD to environments and players this kid is going to face. Looking at their schedule I'll be shocked if he makes it through the season without a fight and suspension. Phelps, Tolsia, the Virginia schools, Prestonsburg, Sheldon Clark. He is going to play some PHYSICAL kids in CRAZY environments.

I just told you, he is working on it. He didn't have that great of a childhood or anything before he came to ER. He's really, really putting forth the effort.

[Panther Thunder]

It appears from score only that ER has a lot to work on. However, it is better to be working with supreme talent than having to work on stuff with a bunch of nonathletic short guys.

It will be interesting to see how well ER is coached in terms of offense, defense, and discipline.

[School Admin.]

I have to agree with a lot that has been said. I too was at the game and this squad has POTENTIAL with a CAPITAL T, but....... I didn't see a lot of teamwork....... Ray could be one of the Nation's premier big men with his athletic talent, but I don't feel he is directing it where it needs to be at this point. Offensively, he was looking to shoot 3's or slam the ball every time. I didn't see him post-up for rebounds the way he needs to after his team mates shoot the ball, I didn't see him hustle up and down the floor, just a lot of sloppy play from E.R. Maybe they had a bad night, but I'm not seeing this squad gel together, maybe they will as the season goes on, but it wasn't there tonight. I felt they were much more talented than PCC and could've and should have done anything they wanted to them, and at brief times they did. It just wasn't a sustained effort. Lots to work on for sure.

[Janitor_32]

Alot of what has been said is very true... Ray can really shoot the jumper, but IMO he need to be working on his inside game. Tony is really quick and Johnny has been a pure shooter for yrs. Alot of Youth with this team. PCC has nutting to hang the heads over, they also are very young and clearly outsided this game. Runyon and Caudill really played a well game. Ethan also did a good job on containing Ray on the inside. IMO the different in the game was the 5-7 layups Ethan missed close to the goal. Nothing negative toward ethan, just nerves at the begining of the game. Also dont remember the kids name but the little 8th grader from PCC i think #4 was also very impressive for an 8th grader and his size. I mean neither team was really impressive tonight....Alot of turnovers and bad choices by both teams, and easy shots missed by PCC.. Congrads on ER on the win. I believe that if both teams continue to progress then they could see each other in the 15th region tourny. As far as SV or Pikeville, I have not seen neither team play but after seeing ER play tonight both team have a chance of beating ER. But as far as Shane Hall having his way with Ray...... :please: Shane Hall would need to bring a dinner bucket if he wanted to contain Ray, it would be a all day job for Shane.

I have seen alot of regional teams so far and I would have to say that Sheldon Clark, ER, Betsy Layne, JC and PC would be the favorites and rankings.

[valleybasketball]

Dont they say deffense wins championships?
If this is true what about the thacker kid from er..
Noone scored on the kid he had 6 steals and 6 blocks...and he forced 7 turnovers....Great defender if u ask me maybe the best in the region?Any thaughts?

[OffTheHook]

Closer than expected.

[vundy33]

Yeah, Korey Thacker is a beast on defense. He's a SF and 6'3" 175, so he's long and can stay with any SG, SF or PF. I think he's the best defender in the region, hands down.

He will win ER basketball games, at least one, by his defensive tenacity. I'd bet my life on it.

[Real Badman]

Nothing but racism and bad calls for this game.

[E.ridge]

^ agree 100%

[HawksRule]

I was in attendance and I'm not impressed with Kasongo. During warmups he was windmilling and throwing down. In game though he looked like an average player. He took plays off on defense and tried to out do himself a few times. He is a good ball player don't get me wrong but I don't see the star or nothing special.

[vundy33]

I was in attendance and I'm not impressed with Kasongo. During warmups he was windmilling and throwing down. In game though he looked like an average player. He took plays off on defense and tried to out do himself a few times. He is a good ball player don't get me wrong but I don't see the star or nothing special.

He will be a star...you gotta remember, he's just a sophomore. He's going to trim those edges with every practice/game. Like I said before, he's working on losing his temper in games...everyone does that to a certain extent, so some people in this thread don't need to call him "DIRTY" because of that.

He's kind of like Terrence Jones last year. Not living up to his full potential, taking plays off....he'll get MUCH better, and by February, I think he'll be one of the best players in the region.

[PHSForever]

I'm like everyone else, I want to see good basketball, and this early in the season, rarely do you see "good" basketball. No reason for anyone to get too up or down on their teams (no matter who they are) this early. Give 'em all time to settle down and work off some rust.

Now, as for the Canadian players, I've not seen them play. BUT I have to imagine, while basketball is generally the same anywhere, you have different styles, etc. from country to country and even state to state or region to region. Definitely, in this area, we are known for tough defenses, bodying up, etc. That MIGHT be a little different than what the young man (Kosongo) is used to and could be causing a little frustration. Give him til January, I think we will see if he has a REAL problem with his temper, or if he just needs to adjust. Looking forward to watching the teams play this year.

[HawksRule]

I was told he was a junior by someone from east ridge. I do think the kid has limitless potential to be 6'8 and shoot the ball the way he does. He has a good shot and plenty of hops to go along with it. Im just giving constructive critism here saying he needs to improve on not taking plays off and his control of himself. He tries moves which he can do but he just can't land them all night long. Im no college scout or anything though. The only thing that really bothered me was his lack of effort on some plays. He wouldn't even put his hands up on some plays or even attempt to block or rebound.

[Mr. Pike Central]

I was at the game as well, and I agree with most everyone here.

I thought that Kasongo played average at best, I did notice a little bit of laziness here and there with him. But his size alone is going to give some teams fits.

Tony Wolter was very quick, very impressed with him...once the East Ridge gel together I do think they'll be a pretty dangerous team.

-----

As for Pike Central, very young team which is good...I believe they only have just 1 senior on the entire team.

"Big E" Ethan Blackburn might not look like it, but he was battling Kasongo tooth & nail...finished with 16 points.

They'll get better as the season goes along, and even better in the next couple of years as they grow and gel together.