JimThorpe

Okay it's a stretch but we'll count it.

I'm kind of proud of it. But hey, the Longhorns just gave HJ a scare on Tuesday. You never know.

Game time? Too late to ask? With no freshman game you never know what the plans are. Broadcast starts at 7:15. I assume that's safe?

What I like is it’s an away game that’s almost as close as a home game. Stop by Burger King on the way home and have an impossible burger. Which is kinda like what the Raiders will be chewing on.

A competitive game is better for everybody but it doesn't seem likely. They lost by 5 at home to a team that lost at home to Silsbee by 30. It's really almost mathematical. You have to have a height and inside muscle advantage over Silsbee. The Tigers are about the best small team I've seen. The way it plays out is that Lumberton will be able to hang in there in the first half, may go in down by as little as 6. After the break the Tigers will slowly and methodically inch away. The lead will be 25 or so when they call it off with 3 or 4 minutes left. And after that the lead could even increase because the Tiger cubs are pretty good in their own right. If you're looking for predictions that's mine. But if I'm wrong and the Raiders put up a real fight that's great. It won't hurt my feelings at all. There is a joker in the deck. Progress reports come out today.

It was Raymond Baltrip #30. He hounded Doucette for the last minutes of the first and most of the second. Pretty much shut him down mostly by denying him the ball. 0# wasn't much of a factor in the second half. Super job. Baltrip is fast and quick and a good leaper at 5'11. He was tenacious and very focused. Will he be the one Silsbee brings in and puts on the shooter? The most interesting thing about this game for me was that the Tigers scored 90 and Bush scored 26 of those. I'll say it, only 26. It really was a team effort.

I've been wondering about that BC game. BC scored 71. Hmmm.

For District 22 this year the goal is to make it to Huntsville. Making it to the Regional final or beyond is gravy, we'll talk about it if it happens. A look at the brackets reveals that winning the district makes that goal a lot more attainable. The runner up will likely face Yates in the second round and then La Marque in the third. A tough proposition. The winner of 22 will have have a much easier road. W22 will have to contend with W17, W18 and W21 in it's sub bracket on the road to Huntsville. Likely candidates are Huffman from 21, either Connolly or China Spring from 18 and either Waxahachie Life or Alvarado from 17. Baring upsets W22 will face W21 in the third round. W21 will be the weakest district winner in the sub bracket. Then in round four W22 faces the survivor of W17 vs. W18. So if favorites prevail throughout the sub bracket it will be Connolly verses our winner in the fourth round. Connolly is very good, better than either Silsbee or HJ, but that game is winnable by either. Actually they didn't play the preseason schedule that Silsbee faced. As far as ranked opponents go they lost to Liberty Hill by 15 and to Seminole by 11.

I wouldn’t trade the last four years for anything. But I have to say it’s more fun when you don’t know how it’s going to turn out. These two are so close that it feels like we just saw game one of a best of three mini-series. It’s important to win that series because the winner doesn’t face Yates till the region tourney.

You get the feeling that Bush could take it to the hoop almost every time down the court and that he doesn't do it only because it would be bad form. Kind of like Pete Maravich at LSU. The best chance to score on every single trip down the court was to have Pete take the shot. I think the Hawks can be pretty satisfied that they way they held him to only 31. Blocked a couple of his shots and made him miss a few times. Even stole the ball from him once. Good job men. Usually it takes a big 5A or 6A team to do that.

You gotta love that kid. My personal interest is that he reminds me of my grandson. He's going to end up about the same height and build, maybe a little taller. He's quick and agile but he's not going to be any kind of specimen. I'd like him to see Wirth play in a big game. Actually I'd like to see a lot of kids 10 to 13 year olds see Wirth play. I remember a few years ago when Silsbee met Hudson in the Regional Semi Final. Hudson had a kid who looked a lot like Wirth. In warm ups I just dismissed him as just a guy that maybe gets to play from time to time. They announce the starting line up and low and behold. Then the the game starts and this guy proceeds to light it up. The Tigers were just about helpless to stop him. And he was absolutely not fast. He was smooooooooth though. Deceptive. He led Hudson to a 3 point lead at the half. The Tigers were a little shell shocked but they came out turned it on and ran way to a 19 point win. He didn't have that much help either. If there had been one more like him on the court for the Hornets it would have been a question.

We're always impressed with Bush. But I've got to say that I"m very very impressed with Wirth as well. I don't know how important he is from game to game but last night he was the essential element. Without Wirth they lose by 15. What a great basketball sense he has. Right place at the right time. And when push came to shove he wanted the ball and he delivered. Is that what it's like with him all the time? And the thing is that when they run out for warm ups he's the LEAST likely looking kid bet be the backbone of the team. Just an average, forgive me but I have to say it, scrawny looking kid. There's nothing scrawny about his game. Our Tigers are a little bit better but this is a really good team. I predict they will make it to the Regional Tournament or to Yates, whichever comes first. The silly kids are always chanting "overrated" at Silsbee but when it comes to Hawks I'll chant "underrated".

Coach Wise was here tonight I think. They play Scarborough tomorrow night.

I asked him about that. It’s like who needs transition when you can dominate the boards on both ends and go over any kind of pressure. But yea, it’s the same old fast paced thing. They aren’t No. 1 for nothing.

True but he was talking big big, 6-11, 6-7, situations where the shortest guy on the court is 6-3.

Sat behind a Yates guy. He was impressed with the scrappiness and heart of both teams. But the Lions size would overpower either.

Lived up to it’s billing. Tigers made lots of mistakes in the last minutes to blow a lead. Hawks had a lot to do with that and capitalized. I go back to my contention that the Hawks deserve to be in the top 25.

Just what we figured. They both have their strengths and weaknesses. I am surprised at the pace HJ wants to play at. But they are good in transition so it works.

HJ has more and Silsbee has more lately. That's fair.

It's interesting that this 4A game gets more attention than the local 5A and 6A games? And we've got the No. 9 and 10 ranked 6A schools and the No. 5 ranked 5A school but threads for those teams just don't draw the same interest as this little 4A thing does. What are the reasons for that? Obviously a long standing consistent rivalry is one reason and probably the main one. Add to that the fact these teams regularly advance pretty far in the playoffs. Is there anything else? Is it possible that for some reason 4A level basketball is the sweet spot for meaningful play at the high school level? Big enough but not too big? Even Lumberton games get more attention here. Is all this purely a feature of the nature of this forum or is it more universal than that? Just wondering.

And that controversial no call last year at the buzzer is still fresh in their memories. I don't remember the name of the young man but he just might have hit all three to force OT. But it was not to be. Then in the rematch at Silsbee the Tigers put on a clinic in the first half and built a 43 to 18 lead at the end of 2. Last year was painful for them. This time though the matchup frankly looks to be in HJ's favor. This is by far the best shot they've had in years.

I don't understand the logic of the "overrated" chant. If you best a highly ranked team that is in reality overrated then, well, okay. But if you beat a highly ranked team that deserves their ranking then it makes what you did look much better. Maybe the logic is simply that high school kids can just be crass from time to time even when it makes no sense. Looking back I suppose I'd have to plead guilty myself. But I also don't understand why HJ is not ranked. We may find out on the court tomorrow that the Hawks are actually better than the Tigers. Wouldn't surprise me one little bit. If that happens I'll be chanting "Underrated" and I'll be the Hawks biggest fan if they get a shot at Yates. Naturally I want the Tigers to always win. But lately there's this new dynamic that's sort of the subtext of Region 3 and it's 22-4A vs. Jack Yates and it really doesn't matter which 22-4A team stops them as long as somebody does. Last year they beat both of us and I hated that. Certainly there's nobody in their own district, 23 that can remotely challenge them. 17 and 18 are pretty strong but really 22 is the best shot the region has of stopping the Magnetic Lions. Hey, that's pretty good. That's what I'm calling them from now on, the Magnetic Lions. Wait, I'm being crass aren't I. Oops.

That won't happen. Seems like he's just a step behind. When they put him in early it's one foul after another. In my humble opinion he really should be playing JV so he can get lots and lots of playing time in real game situations. He would start of course and he'd have to run, run, run. And that's what he needs. Plus Silsbee's JV can use the help. They lost to HF last night and to WOS in overtime last week. He's just a freshman his time will come and then watch out.

And magnet schools and charter schools. How about this. Force charters and magnets to compete at or above 5A. They can have as many kids as they want but they aren't permitted to compete below 5A. Hows that for a rule change? Give the small schools a shot. Of course if you'd given Liberty Hill any more of a shot they'd be the reigning state champs.

Is it a snub that HJ isn’t in the TABC top 25? I’ll bet that most of us who are following 22-4A call this game between HJ and the No. 14 Tigers a toss up.