A Defensive Struggle: 191 Points
See a score like 101-90, and defense probably would be the last thing to come to your mind, right?
Not to Coach Billy Hicks of Harlan High.
Hicks' Harlan team hosted a county rival, Evarts, Dec. 1. Harlan won 101-90. Hicks contends, however, that it was a defensive game all the way.
"It was a total defensive effort by both teams," Hicks said. "Both teams concentrated on their defense the whole game "
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Still befuddled? Let Hicks explain further.
"It was a defensive game because both teams pressed so well," he said. "Both of them pressed fullcourt the whole game. They both worked real hard at their 'denial' games, cutting off the passing lanes and making the other team work hard to get the ball inbounds.
"That turned it into a transitional game. You couldn't pattern your offense. We'd have to send players long for the inbounds pass. Once you got it in, there would be a lot of three-on-two or two-on-one situations because they were moving on the break."
Because they were on the break, the action proceeded furiously. "We used the whole floor, and shots came pretty fast," Hicks said. "The fans loved it, because play never seemed to stop. But even though it sounds strange, it was a defensive game. The defense dictated what happened."
Jeff Miller and Tracy Hopkins, among others, didn't shoot defensively. Miller, a 6-2 junior forward for Harlan, scored 44 points and hit 15 of his 20 tries from the field. Hopkins, a senior point guard for Evarts, scored 33 points.
Asked if his team would be hampered if it had to play under a shot clock like most colleges now do, Hicks echoed a line often used by University of Louisville coach Denny Crum. "I don't think we need more than 10 seconds to get a shot off," Hicks said. . . .
Those readers who missed the story in the Dec. 2 Courier-Journal Sunday Magazine written by Dianne Holland Chiles, wife of Somerset coach Kirk Chiles, missed a treat. Entitled "Mrs. Coach," Mrs. Chiles poked fun at her attempts to overcome her ignorance about basketball, and offered insight into a coach's nervous habits both before and after games.
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Among the terms Dianne felt she had to come to grips with: that "pick" can be a noun, that "postman" can represent someone other than a dog's favorite victim, and that "pick and roll" doesn't refer to a guitar-strumming device and a piece of cooked bread.
Readers also learned about Kirk Chiles' game-day obsession for Doublemint chewing gum, and the need for Dianne to button his shirt collars before leaving for a game.
Not all the stories were true verbatim, Kirk said. "Every writer uses a bit of license," he said.
The final episode in the story, however, was totally true. It told of Dianne's fear of an irate outburst by Kirk when he came home after a close loss to Clay County. There was something on Kirk's mind, but it wasn't the loss. He wondered aloud why, at a point near the game's conclusion, several other women -- none of which was his wife -- let him know that liis zipper was down.
Kirk Chiles didn't mind having any of his "embarrassing moments" made public. "The behavior in the story is typical of what happens in any coach's household," he said. "Dianne likes to write, and I enjoyed her doing it."
Dianne majored in English at the University of Kentucky, and met Kirk when both attended Lexington Henry Clay. The story is well-written and humorous. I can't wait to read Chapter Two. . . .
Bath County's Chris Swartz didn't let Lewis County's "Box-and-one" defense deter him in the final of the East Kentucky Conference tournament. He scored 41 points to lead Bath County to an 86-84 win. The 6-3 junior forward hit 14 of his 19 shots from the field, and 13 of 14 free throws.
"They used a bunch of different people on him, but it didn't seem to matter," Bath County coach Roy Wright said. "Since they went box-and-one, we kept him moving. We let him free lance a lot inside, and we got it to him whenever we could." . . .
Adam Leeds of Burgin also enjoyed a stellar early-season effort against Mt. Olivet Deming. Leeds, a 6-foot senior forward, scored 30 points, hit 14 of 24 shots, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out six assists.
Burgin coach Bob Hall said Leeds' jumping ability may be his strongest asset. "He can jump like a frog, and dunk with wither hand," Hall said. . . .
Hats off to Scott County's Frank Persley, who broke a school record Nov. 30 by hitting 16 straight free throws in a 90-55 win over Scott High of Covington. Persley ended the game by sinking 17 of 18 atttempts from the line. He also scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. . . .
Finally, we at The Cats' Pause regret the passing of L.J. "Butch" Charmoli, who served for 44 years as a coach and athletic director at Louisville's Manual High. Charmoli died Dec. 2 at the age of 79 after a lengthy illness.
Charmoli was a past president of the Kentucky High Shool Coaches Association, which for many years sponsored all-star games that helped provide catastrophic insurance for athletes. Though he retired from Manual in 1972, Charmoli continued for many years to serve as chairman of Kentucky's premier midseason tournament, the Louisville Invitational.
In those capacities, Charmoli aided in the education and growth of thousands of Kentucky student-athltes. Such a man will be sorely missed.
SEC Column Notes
*Vanderbilt's Keith Edwards became the first player in SEC history to catch 200 passes for a career, while his Vandy teammate Chuck Scott moved into the sixth spot in all-time receptions and fifth in receiving yards. The updated lists are as follows: ALL-TIME RECEPTION LEADERS: (1) Keith Edwards, Vanderbilt, 1980, 82-84 (200); (2) Carlos Alvarez, Florida, 1968-70 (172); (3) David Smith, Miss. State, 1968-70 (162); (4) Eric Martin, LSU, 1981-84 (152); (5) Sammy Milner, Miss. State, 1968-70 (146); (6) Chuck Scott, Vanderbilt, 1982-84 (145); (7) Terry Beasley, Auburn, 1968-70 (140); (8) Richard Trapp, Florida, 1965-67; David Bailey, Alabama, 1968-70; and Martin Cox, Vanderbilt, 1975-78 (132). ALL TIME YARDAGE LEADERS: (1) Eric Martin, LSU, 1981-84 (2,625); (2) Carlos Alvarez, Florida, 1968-70 (2,563); (3) Terry Beasley, Auburn (2,507); (4) Martin Cox, Vanderbilt, 1975-78 (2,275); (5) Chuck Scott, Vanderbilt, 1982-84 (2,219); (5) Mardye McDole, Miss. State, 1977-80 (2,214); (7) David Smith, Miss. State, 1968-70, (2,168); (8) Lindsay Scott, Georgia, 1978-81 (2,098); (9) Ozzie Newsome, Alabama, 1974-77 (2,070) and (10) Andy Hamilton, LSU, 1969-71 (1,995).
*Georgia's Kevin Butler closed out his career with 353 points, the all-time SEC record and third best in NCAA history. Butler also finished first all-time in conference history and second best in NCAA annals with 77 career field goals. Tennessee senior Fuad Reveiz, the SEC single-season record holder with 27 field goals in 1982, finished with 71 field goals, second best in SEC history. His 314 career points tie him with Herschel Walker for second place in SEC scoring. Prior to 1982, no SEC kicker ever made 20 field goals in a season, but three '84 seniors, Butler and Reveiz, along with Florida's Bobby Raymond, did it a combined total of five times. Reveiz twice hit the 20-mark with 27 in 1982 and 20 in 1984. Raymond had successive 20 field goal seasons with 20 in '83 and 23 in '84. Butler never hit the 20 figure until this season, one in which he was successful 23 times. Raymond, who twice in his career had six field goal games (ties the NCAA record), set the SEC career record for field goal efficiency, connecting on 43 of 49 for an 87.8 accuracy ration. The previous conference mark had been 80.5 percent by Berj Yepremian of Florida (29 of 35) in 1976-78.
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