Portsmouth Trojans Next Year

[kidsarewhatmatters]

edited**

[Ukfanatic]

If you are going to criticize a young high school kid, you should probably change your name on here.

[kidsarewhatmatters]

Allow me to rephrase, he has potential athletically but he needs good coaching and to learn to play within himself as do most young players in order for him to become realy good. Let's hope he can get there in the near future.

[trojandave]

sportsfan1959: Portsmouth is going to play in the county summer league, but I am not certain as to when it actually starts........will find out soon, though........in years past the schools rotated sites.........the Trojans will also be playing in the Raceland Shootout as well, date TBD.

[trojandave]

Found out some more info about the Raceland Shootout today........it will begin on Monday, June 4th and continue on Tuesday the 5th and Wednesday the 6th........PHS will play at 6:40 on Monday, the opponent I believe will be West Carter......then at 8:00 on Monday the Trojans will face Boyd County.

The county league will play every Thursday beginning in June, with rotating sites among 4-5 schools........also there is no open gym due to graduation set-up, but the team has been lifting weights 3-4 days per week and a good turnout of about 15 kids have been showing up regularly.

Dion McKinley and Wayne Evans appear to be headed to Clermont College near Cincinnati.......wish both of them the best as they get an opportunity to play basketball at the next level.

[chef_piketon]

TrojanDave: Do the Trojans visit The Oven in Piketon this season?

[trojandave]

Chef Piketon: The Trojans do indeed visit the Oven next year........I really like Piketon's gym........I was there to watch the Redstreaks lose by 1 point to Mifflin a couple of years ago.

A few notes about the 2012-2013 season: Portsmouth will play Greenup County, date TBD........two games still need to be filled........also, Coach Collins is planning to take the Trojans to Florida in the 2013-2014 season.........fundraising has already begun for that.

[eagles 89]

I like those younger kids and think Ptown will surprise a bunch of people. Wouldnt surprise me if they won 15 games.

[trojandave]

With the apparent loss of Cody Stapleton to Minford, the Trojans will be looking to fill that slot in the starting lineup that Cody would have had........right now, I would say that 6-2 sophomore Alex Dickerson would be the most likely candidate, given that he is a better 3 or 4 player than a 5. He is most suited to being on the wing, but does have a knack for finishing around the basket. He also would bolster the Trojans' rebounding, which going into the season will be probably their biggest obstacle to overcome. Dickerson has been playing AAU basketball this spring and has been improving by the day.

I wish Cody the best.......he is a great kid and athlete with a solid work ethic.......I'm sure he will be successful at whatever he chooses to do.

[Jeff Lisath]

Trojans will have some young raw talent and I do believe the coaching staff will have those kids ready once the season rolls around. In a couple of years the Trojans will be real good...I mean scary good. As always best of luck... other than our next encounter! See ya at the Classic this summer!

[trojandave]

The Trojans played in the Raceland Shootout yesterday, and went 1-1........PHS beat West Carter 50-41, then lost to Boyd County 66-64 on 2 Boyd FT's with 2 seconds left.

Jayllen Carter and Kyre Allison played very well for Portsmouth........Carter had 3 dunks, with the first one being a monster slam on his defender.......Jayllen also showed the complete package of skills.......3 point shooting, driving to the basket, and he also dished out some nice assists as well........this kid is going to have an outstanding senior season. Kyre talled about 20 points against Boyd County, and 8-10 vs. West Carter. As has been talked about for quite a while now, Kyre showed a great talent for getting to the rim for buckets, and he even nailed a 22 foot 3 pointer vs. Boyd........he did the majority of ballhandling, bringing the ball up the court, and running the point. He also played well defensively. He showed absolutely no problem in transitioning from junior high to varsity play.

The starting 5 for the first game was Jayllen Carter, Kyre Allison, Sky Oliver, Levi Porter, and Austin Peano.......Levi Porter suffered a cut above his eye in the West Carter game and had to sit out the rest of the evening........but he should be okay and possibly play tonight.

For a majority of the time, the Trojans had the freshman Allison and sophomores Sky Oliver and Alex Dickerson on the court together........overall, Oliver and Dickerson made some good plays, with Sky playing much better in the second game vs. Boyd. Right now, on the offensive side, Carter, Allison, and Oliver make a nice trio for the Trojans.

As was predicted before summer play started, the Trojans were seriously challenged on the boards........it will have to be rebounding by committee for PHS, with everyone having to crash the glass.......another problem yesterday was that Portsmouth didn't close out very well on the 3 point shooters, particularly in the Boyd game.

These Trojans were fun to watch........they can push the ball up the court, create some havoc on D, can knock down the trifecta or drive to the hole, and their ballhandling out front is very good........there are some things to work on, and these kids don't have a chemistry yet........but it's a long way until December, and I like what I see already.

[trojandave]

Portsmouth plays at 5:00 tonight at the old Raceland gymnasium.........the first game will be against Raceland, and the second game at 5:50 will be vs. Ashland Fairview.........they will play again tomorrow, not certain of the times, but it should be 2 games again. On Thursday, Portsmouth will play at Valley High School vs. Northwest at 5:30 in the first week of the summer county league.

I will try to post results tomorrow afternoon, but I can't attend Wednesday's games. I plan on being at Valley to watch the Trojans on Thursday and should be able to post results on Friday.

[trojandave]

Results from Day 2 of the Raceland(KY) Shootout:

Portsmouth 50, Raceland 45
Portsmouth 35, Ashland Fairview 25

The Trojans won both games with Jayllen Carter only playing about 2 minutes of the first game (games were two 18 minute halves).......he tweaked his ankle in Tuesday's play, and tried to play on it........he made the first basket of the game for PHS but simply couldn't go all out, so he sat the rest of the day.......good decision I think without risking further injury.

With Carter on the bench, freshman Kyre Allison took the game over, scoring probably around 20+ points, and doing the bulk of the ballhandling at PG........as he did on Tuesday, Kyre showed the complete package of skills and made a variety of shots including several And 1's. Raceland was a team that would be competitive in the SEOAL but they wouldn't win the league. The second game vs. Fairview was a slowdown affair, with the Eagles playing mostly zone and being patient on offense.

Overall, the defense was much improved, especially the close-out on 3 pointers.......the Trojans created some havoc in the half court with their quickness........Levi Porter played very well for PHS, with solid play at both ends......we will need that kind of play from Levi this coming season.......I was very pleased to see Levi step up his game........Austin Peano played very scrappy, as he hit the floor about a half dozen times for loose balls.......and Sky Oliver played much better yesterday and dived for a ball going out of bounds.

Off the bench, Kahlil Lattimore played well, showing a lot of energy and scoring several buckets, while Alex Dickerson had some nice finishes around the basket, and scrapped for rebounds. Isaiah Lisath nailed a 3 pointer, while Connor Lasswell and Jacob Cook got some minutes as well.

Considering that the Trojans were basically without Jayllen, they did very well to come away with two wins.......today PHS will play at 5:00 vs. Rowan County (defending 16th Region champion), while I am not sure who the second game opponent will be.......I can't make today's games but hopefully someone will be able to report how the Trojans did.......tomorrow Portsmouth opens up the summer county league vs. Northwest at Valley High School at 5:30........Kyre Allison looks like he will miss the Northwest game.

[trojandave]

Last year, the trio of Dion McKinley, Wayne Evans, and Zaide Whitley accounted for 44 PPG.......this coming season, the trio of Jayllen Carter, Kyre Allison, and Sky Oliver can approach that figure.......even though it is summer basketball right now, there's no question that these kids can score. Take that trio, then watching our bigs playing scrappy, heady basketball, and getting some good minutes off the bench, I am getting more and more excited about the 2012-2013 Trojans.

We do have a coach in Eugene Collins who is 57-15 in 3 years with 2 Final 4's........and the difference between Tuesday and Wednesday's play was that Coach had his kids in a more defensive mindset.......I really like how the Trojans "got after it" on the stop end of the court.

[trojandave]

Found out last night that the Trojans beat Rowan County and Raceland in the final day of the Raceland Shootout.......Rowan County is the defending 16th Region champion, and had a 6-8 center.........the Trojans went out to a 15-3 lead, but had to hold off a RC comeback........PHS won by about 8 points........the rebounding was much better, and Jayllen Carter came back from an ankle injury on Tuesday. Portsmouth then beat Raceland's varsity, and then Coach Collins sat a couple of starters as the Trojans played the Raceland JV team.

Overall, PHS went 5-1 at the shootout (only loss was by 2 points to Boyd County), which even in summer basketball is a good showing considering the Trojans lost 12 players off last year's roster.

Tonight the Trojans play Northwest at Valley High School........5:30 start time......Kyre Allison was originally scheduled to miss the game due to AAU obligations, but evidently will play tonight with an AAU schedule change.

[jgordon0315]

It's been a fun group to watch thus far.....I'm gonna try to make it to the summer league game today to check em out.

[trojandave]

Portsmouth beat Northwest 67-40 yesterday at Valley High School, and the Trojan JV team (freshmen and sophomores) beat the Northwest JV squad 18-15 in 2 quarters. PHS plays again next Thursday at Northwest High School vs. Valley.......starting time I believe is 5:30.

[LetsGoPSU]

Things and news certainly sounds good coming out of the summer, really excited about the future, Coach Collins has done an incredible job!

[trojandave]

Portsmouth beat Valley 45-40 last Thursday at Northwest........the Trojans were missing Jayllen Carter and Levi Porter, while the Indians were without Jordan West.........PHS will play at Clay High School this Thursday, and then at Portsmouth High Schoool the following Thursday........start time should be the same, 5:30.

[trojandave]

Portsmouth beat Clay Thursday night at Clay High School in a close game.........the Trojans had a split squad, with the starting 5 playing earlier in the day at Raceland, while Isaiah Lisath, Jacob Cook, and Connor Lasswell from the varsity, along with the JV squad, played at Clay. Clay has a beautiful new high school, and I really like the gym......seats behind one backboard, which I think is a great idea.......the gym somewhat reminds me of Wheelersburg's new gym.

PHS played at Raceland earlier that day, beating Lawrence County (KY), and losing to Russell (KY). The Trojans then played at the Ironton Shootout yesterday, and fared well, going 3-1, with the only loss being by 8 points to Hurricane (WV). PHS beat Ironton St.Joe, Greenfield McClain by about 8, and then Ashland (KY) by 2........In the last game vs. Ashland, the Trojans were down by about 12 but rallied behind freshman Kyre Allison and sophomore Sky Oliver to pull out the win. Coach Collins said that Sky had a really good day, and was very positive about juniors Kahlil Lattimore and Isaiah Lisath. Overall, he has been very pleased with the play of his new-look team. The Trojans are 10-3 for the summer.

The Portsmouth 8th grade team will be really bolstered by a new kid who is about 6-3, and Coach Collins is very impressed with the kid's skills. The 8th grade team was already expected to be strong based on last year's group (Kendall Reynolds, Mike Malone, Luke Purdy, Ty Oliver), but the addition of this player will make them even tougher. Don't know the kid's name, but he has already made a big impact on those who have seen him play.