There is so much occurring in the world of sports at the present time that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to narrow down the subject matter for the purposes of this column. Loyal readers also realize it’s challenging for yours truly to keep it relatively brief, and if I attempted to write about everything I would like to, it would take up far too much space, and likely bore you as well.
With that said, we’re going to use this space to discuss some happenings in the roundball sport, and in the midweek column, we’ll discuss some football and baseball news, as well as basketball.
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MURPH WAS ONE OF A KIND – The annual Mike Murphy Classic tipped off Friday evening with a girl-boy doubleheader, and continues today with five more games.
Before we take a peek at the matchups, a word or two about Murph, who was a loyal Royal through and through. I remember covering Mason County baseball games years ago, when he was the head baseball coach, and he was always a genuinely nice guy who would freely share his thoughts after games. It was immediately apparent that he loved his players and he had a special affinity for Mason County High School. Murph always got
emotional and teared up a bit when talking about his senior players after their final home game. He is still remembered fondly by many folks in the community.
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FIELDHOUSE HOSTS HOOPFEST — The Mason County Lady Royals began the event last night (after this was written and submitted) with a challenging game against Bryan Station. The Defenders opened their season with three consecutive victories before dropping their most recent game at Male.
Mason County came into the contest after winning 56-45 at Bracken County on Monday. Amirah Reed tossed in 17 points in the win over their district rival, and Alexis Young added 15 points and 10 rebounds for Coach Paula Buser’s youthful team.
The second Friday night game featured Coach Brian Kirk’s 2-1 Royals playing their first home game of the season against Green County, coached by former Mason County basketball and football standout Jordan Gilbert. The Dragons are members of the 5th Region and defeated Anderson County 77-57 last Saturday to improve to 1-2. Junior guard Hayden Blakeman leads Green County with 22 points and seven rebounds per outing. The Dragons are a good shooting team as well, connecting on 53.4% from the field in their first three games.
The Royals, who are also an excellent shooting team (54%) have been led by Cayden Reed, who leads Mason County with 19 points and seven boards per game. Jake Feldhaus is shooting 81.8% from the floor and dropping in 15.7 ppg and grabbing six rebounds per game. Others averaging in double digits include Blake Reed (12.7) and Braylon Hamilton (12.3).
Today’s games begin with Pendleton County facing Manchester at 1 p.m., followed by an Augusta-Green County matchup at approximately 2:30. The Panthers are off to a 4-0 start to the season and Coach Jason Hinson’s squad has played well in the early going. Kason Hinson leads Augusta with 22.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, and Keeton Bach is scoring 16.5 ppg and has made 13-of-21 of his 3-point attempts (61.9%). Connor Snapp (12.2) and Devante Jefferson (12.0) are also averaging in double figures for the Panthers.
At 4 p.m., the girls take center stage, with the host Lady Royals taking on Eastern Brown. The Lady Warriors are a traditional power in southern Ohio, and they’re 1-1 in the early going this season. After a 40-25 win over East Clinton, Eastern was nipped by Whiteoak on the road 24-23 on Monday.
The Saturday evening session of the Mike Murphy Classic features Fleming County vs. Scott, and the host Royals meeting Lexington Christian.
The Panthers were 3-0 heading into a road game at Menifee County on Friday night, and Coach Buddy Biggs’ team is led by four double-figure point producers. Adam Hargett (15.3), Seth Hickerson (14.3), Lucas Jolly (13.3), and Isaac Frye (12.0 to go with 10.7 rebounds per game) will lead Fleming into the 6 p.m. matchup vs. Scott, which has won three in a row after dropping their opener at Highlands. The Eagles, coached by Steve Fromeyer, are led in scoring by senior guard Xarek Sarakatsannis, who is averaging 15.2 points per game.
In the nightcap, the Royals will be taking on a very good 11th Region foe. LCA is 2-1 and in the Eagles’ lone defeat, they were competitive against one of the top teams in the state, when they fell to Ballard 80-71. Junior guards Andersen Green and Saxton Howard have been lighting it up for Lexington Christian, with averages of 25 and 19 points per game, respectively.
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CATS HOPE TO RIGHT SHIP IN PHILLY – Following a disappointing home loss to UNC-Wilmington last Saturday, the Kentucky Wildcats will be looking to get back on track at noon today at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
The Cats will be facing Pennsylvania, an Ivy League team that has begun the season with a 6-4 record. By far the Quakers’ most impressive win was a 76-72 triumph over
Villanova, but they’ve also suffered a couple of head-scratching defeats, including an 83-80 loss in overtime to Maryland-Eastern Shore. Penn has been in three overtime games, and dropped all three. Belmont got past them 84-79, and LaSalle outscored the Quakers 93-92.
Kentucky is hoping to take advantage of Penn’s limited size, and perhaps 7-foot freshman Aaron Bradshaw will emerge and take advantage. If he can be the inside defensive presence this team is looking for, it will make life a bit easier for everyone else on that end of the court. Coach John Calipari lamented the perimeter defense after the embarrassing loss to UNCW, and noted how they were beaten on straight-line drives throughout the game.
Another key defensively will be guarding the three-point line against the Quakers, whose primary strength is its guard play. Penn is shooting 41.5% from behind the arc, and they’re led by three double-figure scoring backcourt players. Senior Clark Slajchert leads the team with 19.3 points per game, freshman Tyler Perkins is at 15.7 ppg, and freshman Sam Brown adds 11.2 ppg.
Of course, the Cats’ primary strength lies in its guard play, and freshman DJ Wagner is expected back after missing the UNCW game. He is just one of six players averaging in double digits through the team’s first eight games, and that balance is a key component to a team
that has played unselfishly, with the possible exception of part of the most recent game.
Most of the praise has been heaped on Reed Sheppard, and the freshman has surprised a lot of observers with his play in the early going. He is averaging 13.9 ppg while hitting an amazing 61.1% of his 3-point attempts. Sheppard has also taken on a leadership role at the point, and leads the team in steals.
The most glowing report on Sheppard came this week from NBA analyst Sam Vecenie of The Athletic, who moved him to No. 6 on the NBA Draft board. That certainly came as somewhat of a shock to this guy, and likely a lot of other people who watch college basketball regularly.
Vecenie said that Sheppard has “clearly” been the best freshman in college basketball this season, and used words like “phenomenal,” “appealing”, “impeccable sense of anticipation”, and “unbelievable hand-eye coordination,” to describe his game. On the other hand, part of what Vecenie does in his analyst position is talk about flaws in a player’s game. He wrote that Sheppard still has work to do on his ball-handling, passing and defense, and questions if he’s actually 6-foot-3, which is his listed height.
Still, the consensus remains that Sheppard is now a one-and-one done player, which no one expected before the
season began. Personally, I would like to see him in a Kentucky uniform for more than one season, but at this point, NBA front-office executives view him as a definite first-round selection.
If so, that’s a remarkable leap from being Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball in a short amount of time. There were some folks who questioned if he was even good enough to play a significant role at UK a year ago, and those doubts have been erased.
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CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT ALWAYS INTENSE – Just up the road in my hometown, the 91st edition of what has become known as the Crosstown Shootout will tip off at 6:30 p.m., and can be seen of FS1.
The Xavier Musketeers, who have stumbled out of the gate and sit at 4-5, will be hosting the Cincinnati Bearcats, who have opened the campaign with a 7-0 record. However, as the old cliché goes, in a rivalry matchup like this, you can throw the records out the window.
UC and XU fans may like to throw each other out the window at times as well, but I digress.
This game always provides a high level of intensity and there’s not a lot of love lost between the schools with their respective arenas separated by just 3.5 miles via Victory Parkway in the Queen City.
The Bearcats will be out to put a stop to Xavier’s four-game winning streak in the series, including last year’s 80-77 win in Fifth Third Arena. Cincinnati has not won in the Cintas Center since a 75-55 drubbing on Dec. 14, 2001. That UC team finished 31-4, and fell 105-101 in double overtime to UCLA in the NCAA Tournament.
Getting back to the present day, Xavier is an extremely young and inexperienced team replacing all five starters from last year’s 27-10 squad, and they’re coming off a loss at home to the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens 87-80 on Tuesday night.
The Bearcats enter the grudge match undefeated but untested, with their most impressive victory an 89-54 blowout of Georgia Tech on Nov. 22.
On paper (and we all know games aren’t won on paper) UC has a clear advantage in talent, depth and experience, and they’re led by redshirt junior Victor Lakhin. The 6-foot-11 Russian leads the Bearcats with 15.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. He’s also a threat from deep, making 9-of-18 from behind the arc. The team’s top 3-point shooter is graduate student CJ Fredrick. The former guard at Covington Catholic, Iowa, and UK, has knocked down 16-of-29 threes for 55.2%.
A pair of guards lead the XU offensive attack. Senior Quincy Olivari, who played four years at Rice University,
and sophomore Desmond Claude, are each tossing in 16.1 points per game.
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“A gentleman is someone who knows how to play the banjo and doesn’t.” – Mark Twain
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“I am more than just a serious basketball fan. I am a lifelong addict. I was addicted from birth, in fact, because I was born in Kentucky.” – Hunter S. Thompson
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