Clay Panthers 09-10

[my2cents]

I thought Clay's man to man press was not very well thought out. It didn't attempt to trap the ball at any point and didn't really slow West down. I don't think it produced one turnover so I am not sure what the point of it was.

I also don't know why Clay is still playing straight man to man defense. They were bigger than West, but West was overall faster (you usually give up speed when you gain height). I don't think West hit more than 2 shots from outside 12 feet all night. They scored most their points off of lay-ups. I hope Clay is not going to repeat the same mistakes from the past 2 years and never go to zone and force poor shooting teams to shoot over you, while giving up lay-up after lay-up. I remember last years foundation game with HHS where they hit 11 lay-ups in a row and thinking, "Oh boy, here we go again".

Clay has a lot more talent on this years squad than they have had in the past few years. Let's hope they can figure out how to use that talent to produce wins.

[my2cents]

The boys will travel to Huntington High School (Ross County, OH) for the
OHSAA Foundation Game on Saturday (Nov. 21). The event begins at 5PM with
the JV playing first then the varsity to follow. This game will be played
under normal game-type conditions even though it is considered a
scrimmage, which means it will not count toward the team's win-loss
record. Admission is $5.00. The money raised from game admissions,
concessions, 50-50, etc. will help fund the Huntington HS Scholarship
Fund. Last year's event at Clay helped the Clay Legacy Scholarship Fund.
Huntington will be having a spaghetti dinner beginning at 4PM. The meal
will cost $5.00 for those interested.

For those needing directions to the game on Saturday...Huntington High
School is located northwest of Waverly. Take 23 north of Waverly to Blain
Hwy. Turn left on Blain Hwy. Travel on Blain Hwy until you come to the
four-way stop (Rte 772). Turn right at the stop sign on to Rte 772. HHS
is located on the left after turning right on to Rte 772. (Estimated
time: 40 minutes)

[southernohiofan]

good to hear that the panthers are playing well, you have to remember that scrimmages are there for the coachs to work on things if you are struggling playing man what better time to work on it then in a scrimmage. suprise to hear that west is struggling so much after watching there jv a couple times last year i thought they would be turning things around there fresh. and soph. last year look very talented and playing well as a team good luck to both teams this year

[claypantherfan]

I would say west is alot better then last years team and clay didnt have a good offense night at all

[End Of The Bench]

Any word on this years seniors? how are they preforming?

[Cameron34Crazie34]

Running total was 67-65 West. I believe Clay beat us in more quarters but the few we won we won by a good amount. Clay looked allright if they would just cut down the dumb turnovers and sometimes take better shots.

[my2cents]

Any word on this years seniors? how are they preforming?

Seniors are Chaz Lawson, will start and share time with Porter and Graham in the Post.
Gabe Duduit, will most likely be 6 or 7 man, may get some starts. Good passer, but has a weak ankle that kept him out last year and he had ice on it after the West Scrimmage
Cam Caseman, will also get some starts and plays great hustle defense. Very strong underneath.
Jacob Nolan, has good height, needs stronger hands but will get some minutes playing under the boards. Needs to play his best when in to earn more playing time. I am glad to see him back on the floor.

[my2cents]

Meet the Panther night had a good turn out and lots of great soups. The Italian Tortellini was the overall winner with most bowls sold! Not sure what went wrong with meet the team section of the evening. Lights went out for the Cheerleaders to do a glow in the dark dance routine and never came back on. They introduced the girls and boys JV and Varsity teams in complete darkness. The kids ran down the court and tried to hit a lay up, but most couldn't see to dribble. The fans were baffled. I heard there was supposed to be a spot light, but maybe the bulb burned out. Now I am not an event organizer,but maybe turning the lights back on would have helped. Just a thought.

[cbaseball33]

Running total was 67-65 West. I believe Clay beat us in more quarters but the few we won we won by a good amount. Clay looked allright if they would just cut down the dumb turnovers and sometimes take better shots.

I heard Clay won by one point?

[End Of The Bench]

Lawson is very solid underneath and appeared to have a pretty good outside shot from what i have seen of him. Also heard he is getting looks from some colleges.......any truth 2 this?

[my2cents]

He should get some looks with his height. He needs to get stronger under the boards and keep a better grip on the ball on rebounds. Also needs to work on jumping. If he improves in those areas he should be able to play at the next level.

[Waterdog]

I thought Clay's man to man press was not very well thought out. It didn't attempt to trap the ball at any point and didn't really slow West down. I don't think it produced one turnover so I am not sure what the point of it was.

I also don't know why Clay is still playing straight man to man defense. They were bigger than West, but West was overall faster (you usually give up speed when you gain height). I don't think West hit more than 2 shots from outside 12 feet all night. They scored most their points off of lay-ups. I hope Clay is not going to repeat the same mistakes from the past 2 years and never go to zone and force poor shooting teams to shoot over you, while giving up lay-up after lay-up. I remember last years foundation game with HHS where they hit 11 lay-ups in a row and thinking, "Oh boy, here we go again".

Clay has a lot more talent on this years squad than they have had in the past few years. Let's hope they can figure out how to use that talent to produce wins.

I do believe Meet the Panther Night was "Meet the Jr. High kids and the Cheerleader Night" I couldnt even make out any of the grades 9 thru 12 players because of the lighting. The Gentleman next to me said " I can't see any of the players. " They turned on the lights and it was over. No playing at all. The JV and Varsity could of not shown up and it would of been the same. Weird.

[my2cents]

I agree WD, I sat next to a guy who didn't have any kids involved in Clay schools at all. His kids are in college, but he said, "I just came to see the boys team, because I heard this was going to be a good year". Of course, he couldn't see any of them during the introductions and then they didn't scrimmage each other as they have done in the past, even though they all came out in uniform ready to play. It was FUBAR.

[yabbadabbadoo]

Someone could have gotten a flashlight and shined it on them as they came down the floor.LOL


I think with Lawson, they don't really need him to score alot,10-12 a night, but mainly need him to rebound, especially on the defensive end. He needs to keep the other team off the offensive glass. Clay has ample amount of scorers on the team. If players learn to play the roles they are needed to play, this team could make some noise. If you have to many "me,me me" players like they had last year, it could be another long season.

[claypantherfan]

Someone could have gotten a flashlight and shined it on them as they came down the floor.LOL


I think with Lawson, they don't really need him to score alot,10-12 a night, but mainly need him to rebound, especially on the defensive end. He needs to keep the other team off the offensive glass. Clay has ample amount of scorers on the team. If players learn to play the roles they are needed to play, this team could make some noise. If you have to many "me,me me" players like they had last year, it could be another long season.

this years team is alot more unselfish all around so I dont see ne one having problems with that

[TitanPride]

Does Clays freshman team look to be any good this year? ND has 2 freshman games with them.

[claypantherfan]

Does Clays freshman team look to be any good this year? ND has 2 freshman games with them.

couldnt tell you much about the freshmen

[TitanPride]

I know the Titans freshmen team has absurdly beaten Clays freshmen team in the past. They have improved alot though and adding the Avila or Avilo kid really helped. They are an improving team and i cant wait till one day these teams play a very close game. Goodluck to your Panthers also

[my2cents]

Well since they were introduced in complete darkness we didn't get to see any of them but I don't think much has changed from that class. Hopefully a couple of them will grow and develop into better players, and a few new kids couldn't hurt. The 8th grade team is the next class of ballers.

[claypantherfan]

Tonight should be a good night to see how Clay does against some good competition tonight when they play at Huntington. This game should show where they are at and where they need to get better at.