bullets13

So next year you only have 7 starters, plus the two freshman coming in next year, and maybe a couple of kids off jv that grow a few inches or pick up their game a little

Ya'll better pick it up. Can't have the setxsports soccer guru winning basketball pickems two seasons in a row

I'd argue that one to HJ is more valuable than 3 to silsbee. You can only play 5 at a time. If HJ gets a great player, he's a 25-minute a game guy, starting every game, making valuable contributions every game. If Silsbee gets three more players transfer in, then that just means they have 9 starter quality players on the bench at all times instead of 6. I'd think long and hard about transferring into silsbee right now if i were a kid unless i absolutely KNEW that i'd be good enough to beat out 8 other guys for that starting role.

Let me add to that that it's a credit to HJ and their coaching staff that so many of those games have been close. While i do agree that HJ has typically had better basketball players, and Silsbee has had better athletes, Silsbee typically still has REALLY GOOD BASKETBALL PLAYERS.

HJ has the big 3. Silsbee has the big 10. I don't think there's much difference for you guys when a guy is out or if one guy is hot. I understand McCain is a great player, and a team leader, but the drop off between him and whichever of the six quality replacements that goes in for him is minimal compared to the drop off from the big 3 for HJ.

i've given credit throughout this thread to silsbee for Saladin's off night. Not having Parquet to take some of the pressure and attention off of him also played a key role. I have a realistic view of the Silsbee/HJ matchup, so i guess i'm not left "wanting more." On a yearly basis Silsbee has probably 2-3 times as many quality basketball players as HJ, and the tigers also consistently have a big edge athletically. This year Silsbee has 9 or 10 (or 11) guys good enough to start for pretty much any team in the area. There's minimal, if any, drop off when the 2nd string comes in. HJ has 3 guys that would probably start for most teams in the area. Silsbee SHOULD win against HJ. It's a credit to their coaching staff and players that they've managed to win what they have against Silsbee the last 3-4 years. These teams haven't been particularly even since 2011 or 2012. That's just the way it is.

Personally, I'm not disappointed that HJ played the #1 team in the state to a 10-point game with their best ball handler only playing 1/3 of the game, and their best scorer having an off night. There's no reason for HJ to come out of that game believing anything other than that they can compete with Silsbee when they come to Sour Lake. I predicted Silsbee to win 74-66. 72-62 without significant contributions from 2 of HJ's big 3 isn't the disheartening blow to HJ's spirit that some Silsbee folks seem to want it to be. Silsbee is supposed to beat HJ this year. With Parquet hurt, HJs biggest bench contributor hurt, and Saladin struggling, this was an excellent chance for Silsbee to blow the Hawks out, and they weren't able to do it. i don't see a problem in hawks fans taking a positive out of that.

To be fair, i think it's natural for fan bases on both sides to think about the things that could've gone differently for their side while not doing so for their opponent. I made a similar post talking about the fact that HJ kept it closish and won 3 of 4 quarters despite Parquet only playing 12 minutes and Saladin having his worst statistical game of the season, and maybe in the last 2 seasons. I wasn't factoring in anything that Silsbee didn't do or might do differently.

HJ definitely could've shot a lot better. That works both ways.

absolutely. The tigers did a fantastic job of limiting Saladin, especially once Parquet was out and they could focus on him. They had no answer for Jamerson, though. If the other guys can put together decent games in Sour Lake, he could be the wild card in the matchup.

Parquet missed the last 5 minutes of the 1st half with foul trouble and the last 13 minutes of the game with an injury, finishing with 6. Saladin was cold, hitting i believe only one triple and scoring maybe 10-11 points. If you'd told me before the game that Saladin and Parquet would combine for less than 20 and HJ would only lose by 10, i would've called you crazy. That being said, without seeing a line, I bet Jamerson was pushing 20 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 blocks. I'm sure AAW will post a detailed stat line.

I was impressed tonight as HJ only had 1 of 3 key components going. 2 of 3 would've made it VERY interesting tonight.

Ozen won 76-57

King wins 83-43

By far the best quarter they had was when they shot a lot of threes, though

wow.

72-62, final. Nice win by the tigers, and a pretty good effort for a banged up hawks team. Hawks won 3 of 4 quarters, but they couldn't overcome that 21-4 2nd quarter by the tigers.

Rogers with a 3, 70-62, Tigers going to the line with 7 seconds left.

68-59, now 70-59.

HJ could at least do me the favor of covering AAW's spread

67-57, 41 ticks left.

66-55, 55 ticks left. now 67-55. HJ has missed a ton of open looks for three.

65-55, 1:40 left.

65-53 Tigers, 2:30 left.

Saladin finally hits a 3 to cut it to 11. Gonna be up to the Tigers to make free throws to put this away. Rogers picks up his 4th, Tigers in the double bonus.