LOOKING BACK

The Lipari Cola Classic at the Arena Saturday provided high school basketball fans in the area as opportunity to get a look at some local teams.

The Corbin Redhounds locked horns with a very aggressive Barbourville Tigers team coached by Dinky Phipps. The Redhounds of Coach Tony Pietrowski are searching for the right formula to make their offense click. I feel Coach P has the ingredients and will put it together.

Coach Phipps in the past has had to rely on zone defenses to keep the Tigers in games, but this year he can match up very well with man to man defense and he can trap very well, both full and half court. In short, Coach Phipps has the best group of athletes he has had in his tenure as the Barbourville coach. The Tigers are going to be very hard to beat.

I talked with my friend Glen Gray, an assistant coach at Clay County, and he hold me they felt very good about their team this year.

I know Coach P would chastise me, but I saw some things I liked in the Redhounds performance.

Although Barbourville focused their defense on being able to trap and double-team Travis Smith, Travis kept his head and made some nice passes. I was very impressed with the play of eighth grader Trevor Hill.

Hill played under control, made good decisions and shot the ball well.

While the game Saturday may have been a little disappointing, rest assured this will be a good Corbin team. You can also be sure Coach Dinky Phipps and his Barbourville Tigers are for real.

Going to events such as the Lipari Coal Classic affords me an opportunity to renew acquaintances from the past with former softball players like Bell County Head Coach Lewis Morris and his brother, Richie Morris, Kyle Elza and his dad, Paul Elza, and of course Denny Jones and Glen Gray.

The game of softball has played a large part in my life and the lives of my family. I have either played or coach for most all of my life and the relationships that come from my association with the game have been most rewarding.

The basketball Kentucky Wildcats have what appears to me to be a long ways to go in the two weeks between now and a head-on collision with North Carolina, Dec. 3.

The Cats played over the weekend and gained two wins, but the Penn State game was not exactly pretty, and the Old Demonian game was down right ugly.

Coach Cal has much work to do to even be able to keep the Cats in the game with the smooth running Tarheels.

Last year Carolina won in the early season, but in March with everything on the line, Coach Cal schooled Roy Williams and sent the Tar Heels back to Chapel Hill without their supper.

The Cats, as everyone is well aware have an abundance of individual talent, but may be short of completing the team puzzle.

The late great coach at Marquette, Al McGuire, used to say, “You can’t win it all, without an air craft carrier.”

McGuire’s description of an aircraft carrier is a guy 6’8” to 6’8” to 6’11 that weights 250-260 and is ferocious around the basket. Josh Harrelson fit that role well last year. Terrance Jones could fit that role but for whatever reason does not.

My best wishes go to everyone for a Happy Thanksgiving!