Athens @ VC 1/23

[Allthewayup11]

I'll give the edge to the game Griff went down. 1. Because it went into OT and 2. Z is/was my favorite Bulldog of all time (even above Burrow) and it was one of his best high school performances. And honestly, last nights win was not that shocking, Athens has all the tools to be good. The year Athens beat VC in McArthur with Griff and Z seemed like more of a true upset.

I can agree with that Logic. Was that the first time Maxfield saw court time? That would have made him a Freshman right? I remember him coming in at the end of the game and even OT for some reason. Zaccaih had a big performance for sure and just made players better around him. I think only Dickelman, Cozart and Maxfield were the only three on the court that night who play on the team today. Funny how quickly things have changed. LOL

[VisionQuest]

Good to see Maxfield getting back in the Scoring column, his defense is always stellar no doubt. Early in the season he had a couple back to back Double Digit games. Then kind of fell off. Most Recently he had 17 at Meigs and 10 last night. Chubb has fell off in the last couple games in scoring after some high scoring games-lately I notice the opposing teams have been on him like glue, putting their best and quickest defenders on him and sometimes Faceguarding him. I like His defense- most notably shot blocking is his Forte', what a great block he had last night against the 6'8" Damron. I also like how he looks for the extra pass and uses his Court Vision to find the open man, a very unselfish player. Saltzman looked strong although I don't think 100 percent coming off the injury-love that he is taking some shots, he has a beautiful jumper. This team has had the talent all along, it has taken more time than expected to have those pieces come together, so far I like the direction they are headed.

[hawkeyepierce]

Here is my two cents. Not that anybody asked, but, heck with it anyway. The Vikings lost this game in the second quarter. Think about the quarter scoring, Athens scored 9 in the first, 10 in the third, and 10 in the fourth, that means they scored 25 in the second. I believe it was a combination of a couple different factors. First, we broke down defensively, on several trips that led Athens players getting open. Secondly, offensively their zone bother us, yes, they did a good job at "running at" Yates anytime he touch the ball on the perimeter. Sometimes, they ran two guys at him, making him pass it. So when we had chances to "stop the bleeding" we made bad decisions with the ball or missed shots. Lastly, I have said this for years. Emotion is everything in high school sports. It is easy to play with a lead, it is easy to believe that when you are "David" and "Goliath" is struggling, the basket looks bigger, bounces go your way, (Butcher's three from the corner scrape the backboard), and then you are down 14 at the half. After the final buzzer, Athens celebrated like they won a district title. They wanted it more and they were invested emotionally in winning it. Having said that, I am not taking anything away from Athens. They had a plan, they executed it, they wanted it, and they earn it. I hope they continue to play like that, especially when Alex comes to visit.

Here is the most controversial thing I will say. Butcher, did not dominate. Other than having one nice post move and the clutch one-and-one at the end of the game, I was seriously unimpressed. He is a stand and shoot guy and we left him way too much. Our kids were told several times not to leave him to help and we did, so he did what most high school varsity kids can do, stand and shoot.

The other thing, I really thought Athens played well as a team, and so much more in rhythm without Cozart. After watching that team last night, where does he fit now in the starting line-up?

[VisionQuest]

Here is my two cents. Not that anybody asked, but, heck with it anyway. The Vikings lost this game in the second quarter. Think about the quarter scoring, Athens scored 9 in the first, 10 in the third, and 10 in the fourth, that means they scored 25 in the second. I believe it was a combination of a couple different factors. First, we broke down defensively, on several trips that led Athens players getting open. Secondly, offensively their zone bother us, yes, they did a good job at "running at" Yates anytime he touch the ball on the perimeter. Sometimes, they ran two guys at him, making him pass it. So when we had chances to "stop the bleeding" we made bad decisions with the ball or missed shots. Lastly, I have said this for years. Emotion is everything in high school sports. It is easy to play with a lead, it is easy to believe that when you are "David" and "Goliath" is struggling, the basket looks bigger, bounces go your way, (Butcher's three from the corner scrape the backboard), and then you are down 14 at the half. After the final buzzer, Athens celebrated like they won a district title. They wanted it more and they were invested emotionally in winning it. Having said that, I am not taking anything away from Athens. They had a plan, they executed it, they wanted it, and they earn it. I hope they continue to play like that, especially when Alex comes to visit.

Here is the most controversial thing I will say. Butcher, did not dominate. Other than having one nice post move and the clutch one-and-one at the end of the game, I was seriously unimpressed. He is a stand and shoot guy and we left him way too much. Our kids were told several times not to leave him to help and we did, so he did what most high school varsity kids can do, stand and shoot.

The other thing, I really thought Athens played well as a team, and so much more in rhythm without Cozart. After watching that team last night, where does he fit now in the starting line-up?

Some great insight from the Vikings side. Thanks Hawkeye for giving Athens some credit. As far as Butcher goes it's hard to argue what he is doing as a Sophomore and the numbers he is putting up, when he starts he is averaging close to 20 PPG 7-8 RPG. And as 93Bulldog has stated he is a matchup nightmare. He wasn't as active in the paint last night but he didn't need to be, he is a load when he decides to take it to the rim. He went with what was working last night and that was the 12-15 foot jumper and the 3 ball. As far as Dalton Cozart goes, well I think the starting lineup should be dictated by what the opposing team is bringing to the table. Although I am partial to that starting 5 that played last night because it worked so well but I can see it getting mixed up depending on the opponent.

[93Bulldog]

Isiah didn't dominate the game by any means, it was a nice team effort. But he was the games leading scorer with 21. 9 of which were 3's. But he wasn't gonna dominate inside with a 6'8 damron, 6'6 hammon and 6'4 Griffith lurking. But like I said, he's a stretch 4. Goes outside when he plays against big front lines like VC, and then does damage in the paint vs smaller teams (like he did vs Marietta).

[VisionQuest]

Isiah didn't dominate the game by any means, it was a nice team effort. But he was the games leading scorer with 21. 9 of which were 3's. But he wasn't gonna dominate inside with a 6'8 damron, 6'6 hammon and 6'4 Griffith lurking. But like I said, he's a stretch 4. Goes outside when he plays against big front lines like VC, and then does damage in the paint vs smaller teams (like he did vs Marietta).

Butcher is so dangerous because he can score on all 3 levels. A rare commodity in the HS game. I would like to see Hynes really work on a 6-8' jump shot. His whole basketball career has been pound it in for a layup, this has worked for him most of that time because he was always the biggest and strongest through middle school and JV, but now as he matches up in the Varsity ranks and not growing as much he is going against taller, athletic big men and it's getting harder. IMO if he added a short jump shot to his game it would help immensely, but he has to put the work into it and start testing it in some of these games. Just my 2 cents and observations.

[Truth&fiction]

Isiah didn't dominate the game by any means, it was a nice team effort. But he was the games leading scorer with 21. 9 of which were 3's. But he wasn't gonna dominate inside with a 6'8 damron, 6'6 hammon and 6'4 Griffith lurking. But like I said, he's a stretch 4. Goes outside when he plays against big front lines like VC, and then does damage in the paint vs smaller teams (like he did vs Marietta).

Butcher is so dangerous because he can score on all 3 levels. A rare commodity in the HS game. I would like to see Hynes really work on a 6-8' jump shot. His whole basketball career has been pound it in for a layup, this has worked for him most of that time because he was always the biggest and strongest through middle school and JV, but now as he matches up in the Varsity ranks and not growing as much he is going against taller, athletic big men and it's getting harder. IMO if he added a short jump shot to his game it would help immensely, but he has to put the work into it and start testing it in some of these games. Just my 2 cents and observations.

Good observation ON BOTH ACCOUNTS . Butcher is a wide body that can shoot the 3 that is unique . Does not seem as comfortable inside like Hynes. Hynes has been a power player getting most of his point close in . Match ups will be a problem if he does not step out some and work on a short to mid range shot. I was wrong on the games out come but that's what makes High School Basketball SPECIAL.