The Coach Ryan Report

@coachryanky 🦉

February 28th, 2024

Deep inside the Devil’s Den is where I found myself on a frigid Wednesday night. Every media outlet in town joined me as the Henry Clay Blue Devils and Frederick Douglass Broncos were set to duel it out in the 42nd District Semi-Finals.

The anticipation was building in the steadily filling Henry Clay gym early as both teams took the hardwood to the musical stylings of the Blue Devil marching band. The bass thundered through the bleachers just like the storms that hit the Bluegrass early in the morning as a spot in the 42nd District Tournament Championship Game was on the line. The Blue Devils would hold the slight advantage entering the game in my opinion just because they are hoping to be the worst hosts of all time and spoil the Bronco’s plans to keep galloping down Richmond Road to Rupp Arena. For you sports gamblers out there, I would put the line at Henry Clay -2 as I have seen both of these teams play multiple times this season.

Douglass boasts Armelo Boone whom holds an offer from Western Kentucky University and their Hilltoppers but have fallen short of preseason expectations as they dropped 3 consecutive in February to hurt their District Tournament seeding. This Henry Clay team is full of heart the few times that I have watched them play this season, they have found ways to win all of the games that I have been able to watch them play. Led by hard-nosed Guard Kayson Brown and their own version of the “Splash Brothers” Isaiah and Jackson Stephan.

Douglass’ Surratt controlled the tip and Avieon Chenault laid home a missed corner three pointer to silence the Devils Den early. This felt like a game that was going to come down to the final minute. The Broncos continued their momentum as Boone nailed a tightly contested bucket with 4:29 to play in the first to make the score 9-2 Douglass.

The 2nd Quarter got underway and I had to remind myself I was not at the Midsummer Night’s Run in downtown Lexington, but instead at the 42nd District Basketball Tournament hosted by the outdated Henry Clay High School gymnasium, reasoning be the fact these teams were getting up and down the court at an exuberantly fast pace. The speed didn’t translate on the offensive end for either team as the score was 13-8 with 6:22 remaining before they headed to the locker room to regroup and water up. I seem to remember an old adage from Coach Calipari, “There are a lot of shot takers, but no one is being a shot maker.” Broncos held a narrow 4 point lead, 23-19.

Frederick Douglass was first coming out of the locker room from the break followed behind the motivated Blue Devils from Henry Clay. These teams both knew that they were going to have to fight if they wanted to keep their hoops season alive. Douglass owned possession and would take the ball first, Surratt put the ball in the bucket on a baseline drive to widen the lead to 6 but was answered immediately on the other end by Henry Clay’s #4 AJ Dixon, cutting the lead back to honor his jersey sake with 6:12 to play in the 3rd, 25-21 Broncos. Chenault rim racked home an alley oop that was answered immediately by a corner 3 from 1/2 of the Henry Clay Splash Brothers, Isaiah, to make it 31-21 with just under 240 ticks remaining in Round 3. Trading punches and post season basketball, forever family.

We headed into the Ultimate Quarter after a late Henry Clay run with the Devils trailing the Broncos by only 3 points. Clay’s “Grit Miester” Kayson Brown thrives in this type of situation, netting nylon from the parking lot to tie the game 36-36 a mere 15 seconds into the quarter. The feeling those in attendance are being treated to an instant classic began to reverberate through the Elmer Gilb Student Center as Douglass was forced to call a time out just 33 seconds in to stop the mayhem that ensued from the Devil Den. That timeout must have been what Armelo Boone needed, as he cut and spun through the line for a finger roll to make the score 43-36, Broncos lead with 6:12 left in the game. Melo gonna Melo. Henry Clay’s Coach Daniel Brown had seen enough and called a timeout of his own to see if he could slow down Boone’s growing confidence. The other half of the splash bros got involved with 5:10 to go nailing a clutch 3 from the left corner to narrow the Douglass advantage to 4 points, score 43-39. HE WAS FEELING IT. As I was typing the previous sentence he nailed another one from the exact same spot to cut the lead to 1. Ice water.

March Madness was here a day early, these teams have been so evenly matched all season and fought their hearts out tonight. Frederick Douglass heads into the finals where the Bryan Station Defenders eagerly await after their victory over the Sayre Spartans last night. Henry Clay heads to the baseball diamond as their season is now over. Broncos hold on to this one, 49-46 thanks to some clutch Avieon Chenault free throws in the final minute.

🏅Player of the Game:

Armelo Boone (@MeloDaGoat5)

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February 28th, 2024

@coachryanky

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@CoachRyanKy 🦉

February 27th, 2024

A few days ago I attended a Great Crossing basketball game. I wanted to see what all of the hype is about the relatively new school in Scott County and especially catch a glimpse of their own 7’1” big man Malachi Moreno. Moreno, whom is currently ranked #42 in the ESPN 100 Recruiting Rankings for the Class of 2025, is being sought after by most high major D1 programs. The last time I was in this gym Sean May from North Carolina as well staff members from the Indiana Hoosiers were here to watch him play. Something else happened on the last time in this gym that I feel is worth mentioning. I went “mini-viral” over a tweet about Great Crossing lacking a proper student section. I figured it was an innocent tweet about a new generation not showing much school spirit. (See tweet below) It turns out many of the Great Crossing parents shared my sentiments as I began to watch my tweet make the rounds of Georgetown.

I felt the need to come back and watch the team that is my current pick to win the KHSAA Sweet 16 kick off their Road to Rupp Arena. Into the car I jumped and off to Great Crossing High School I sped away. I also had other intentions….I wanted to issue a challenge to the Great Crossing Student Section (see below), dubbed as “The Kettle”. This team had a regular season consisting of only one loss, they deserved the support.

The Frankfort Panthers start a freshman, an 8th grader, and a sophomore. They were matched up against an upperclass clad Great Crossing starting lineup. The Warhawks put a quick 7 points on the board less than 30 seconds into the game. They came focused and ready to soar their way into the regional tournament as they nailed another quick three point shot to take a 10-0 lead on the young Panther squad, forcing Frankfort to take a timeout just 1:06 into the game. That helped nothing, the Warhawks continued to score in every way imaginable and held a 33-0 lead before Frankforts #4 hit a basket with 10 seconds remaining in the first. The quarter ended with the score being 35-2, Great Crossing nearly missing the rare shutout.

The story here is not really in the game itself, let’s be real, it was a tune-up for the WarHawks. The story here is that this team is ranked nationally in most polls and put the entire state of Kentucky on notice tonight. The student section never showed up. That really is a shame for a team that is on this pace and has had such great success. I have seen great student sections in Kentucky, I don’t think it’s the “culture” as some have felt the need to place blame there in the past. Hopefully they catch on, these kids are worth the price of admission in entertainment value alone. (Just watch the warmup dunk contests)

If they play like this, there is not a team that I have seen in the KHSAA that can beat them. They are that good. Final Score 106-22.

STATS

Malachi Moreno, Jr (14 pts, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks

Vince Dawson, Sr (30 pts, 10 rebounds, 4 assists)

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February 26th, 2024

@coachryanky 🦉

The Lafayette Generals and Tates Creek Commodores tipped off the 43rd District Tournament on Monday night at Lexington Christian Academy on the South Side of Lexington. Both teams have fallen short of expectations this season, but tonight was a brand new slate as every one has the same opportunity to play their way into Rupp Arena for the KHSAA Sweet 16. It’s the best time of the year, it’s the post season.

These two squads have certainly seen better basketball in their history. You have the days of Mr. Basketball Dom Fucci roaring down the court on Centre Parkway at Tates Creek. Then there is the KHSAA Blue Blood Lafayette Generals, boasting 6 State Championships on Reed Lane. This is as blue blood of a matchup as you can get if it were 20 plus years ago. I long for the days when these teams return to contention in their rightful place atop the 11th Region.

Lafayette controlled the tip and the battle had begun. These are two teams that looked to push the pace early as it felt more like a track meet instead of a basketball game. Lafayette guards #2 Ishmael Thomas and #3 Noah Shofner were having success penetrating the Commodore defense off of the dribble but errant passes led to turnovers in which Tates Creek was able to convert for points in quick transition. Lafayette Guard Shofter showed veteran leadership as he settled the Generals offense into a more patient pace of play, however the Commodores had other plans. After a short stretch of trading baskets midway through the 1st Quarter Lafayette held a narrow 13-12 lead with 1:52 remaining. Lafayette’s Shofter banked one home to beat the buzzer as the Generals needed the bucket to hold a 16-14 lead.

The second quarter was much of the same story. Commodore big man #5 Peyton Prichard, an athletic player with good lateral quickness, tried to halt the Generals momentum by gobbling up rebounds on both ends of the court. The two teams caught fire and traded buckets before Lafayette’s Senior Guard Shofter forced an air ball on the Tates Creek end and took possession to give the Generals the last shot. Vince Sanford, the head coach of the Lafayette Generals, took a timeout with 12.7 to play before half to put the ball in the hot hand of his guards before Tates Creek forced a turnover and hit a 3 (which was after the buzzer in my opinion) to send Lafayette Coach Vince Sanford into a frenzy towards the stripes, yelling “THE BALL WAS IN HIS HAND AS THE BUZZER WENT OFF!” Probably correct. The Generals owned a 29-28 lead at half as they looked to shake off the stroke of bad luck and end their current 7 game losing skid.

Coming out of half, Lafayette Player (#32, not rostered on KHSAA site) took some rough contact down low from Tates Creek’s #11 Dawson Garth temporarily pausing the game as the Tates Creek band oddly vacated the stands. Their team took a 30-29 lead shortly after with 7:11 left to play in the 3rd. Weird.

Lafayette’s (#32) quickly tickled the twine from the right wing and getting a quick rebound and scoring a bucket down low for a 5 point swing with just over 6 minutes left. Generals held the lead 34-30. Lafayette’s shifty playmaker Shofter looked poised as he drew contact with 4:21 remaining going 2 for 2 from the line to widen the Generals lead to 7. The momentum felt like it was firmly in the possession of the kids from Lafayette.

The Tates Creek band finally found their way back to the stand with 2:07 remaining to find their Commodores down 49-42. I am still unsure as to where they went, but they certainly better have those cheering shoes on ready for the 4th because Thomas of Lafayette has decided that he wasn’t ready to head home for the summer yet.

Lafayette played stall ball with 1:33 remaining before Coach Sanford finally sent them in motion with 47 seconds left before drawing a charge call. Kentucky High School Basketball needs a shot clock. The Commodores turned the ball over and fouled Shofter who had ice in his veins going 2 for 2 to give the Generals a 51-44 lead before immediately forcing a turnover in transition and feeding one of his teammates for a buzzer beater of their own. Ball don’t lie.

Lafayette looked to keep playing stall ball as the deciding quarter got underway. Coach Vince Sanford had the strategy of playing keep away and playing patient basketball hoping to catch these Commodore Defenders sleeping. It didn’t work as tthe Commodores began to trap their ball handlers but Lafayette remained composed taking a 10 point lead at 65-55 with 1:23 left in the game. The Generals faithful started to feel it as the band erupted in the fight song and the famous “L-A-F-A-Y-E-T-T-E Lafayette!” Chant rang out. The Generals end their 7 game skid and survive to fight another battle. Lafayette wins 69-61. That was fun.

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