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after losing Smith and Hinty to graduation, ZT has lost 3 of its starters in Petzel, Hall and Hutton and now word of another player leaving this week as well. So 4 players lost so far, possibly 5 if rumors are correct, since the coaching change. 6 or 7 lost from last years team. Gonna be a rough year in Kinnikinnick....feel sorry for the kids out there.

Power make people go crazy sometimes. What should have been one of the more attractive boys coaching positions (with the talent on the roster) has turned in to a joke. I hope the new coach and superintendent are proud of what they have done with the boys basketball program. Occasionally, AD's, Coaches, and Superintendents make mistakes. It's ok to admit you made a mistake and handled things wrong. What makes a mistake worse, is when you attempt to justify your actions in front of a whole community that knows the thing was a sham. Why continue to dig in your heals and turn more kids off? Why not say " we screwed up, give us a chance to make it right"... Most people are forgiving when mistakes are admitted.

Man oh man, what a sad situation out on Route 180! I'm interested in seeing how the levy plays out. When kids leave the district, doesn't the district lose state funding for those kids?

Where are these kids going?

The kids are choosing to transfer and sit out games, and you have others who are choosing not to play at all. From what I'm told, this could have all been avoided with a little bit of communication.

The kids who aren't playing must have loved never conditioning and only having shooting practice instead of game planning for opponents. They must not have wanted to expierence more structure. That's too bad

Petzel's reason for leaving was to focus on Field and Track. Couldn't tell you why the others chose to leave.

Do we ever stop blaming kids? When do adult decisions come in to play? What I'm hearing, is these kids don't know anything, and don't want to work at anything. How about the process and program direction? Should kids stay in situations that they think are bad? Should kids be forced to play in situations they are uncomfortable in? I don't claim to have all the answers, but blaming kids for the mess that was created out there seems extreme. Being an outsider, I don't know the entire background, but it appears kids are reacting to a situation created by educated adults. Are the kids not to have an opinion? Are they not to remove themselves from bad situations? Like I said, I don't have all the answers but it seems strange that a program with such promise a year ago, has fallen in to the state it is now. There is no way losing 4 starters can make you better.

Calmer heads should have stepped in to clean up this situation. There is always middle ground if people are willing to communicate a little bit. What a shame!

I never attended a practice at ZT in the years Bryan Alley was coach, but I can tell you I never seen an unstructured, out of shape team out of the 8 or 9 years he was coach there. Its funny how people still try and justify this move as Alley had the 2nd best record in the SVC during his tenure and took ZT farther into the tournament than they had seen in years. From what I saw while watching his teams was his intensity and attention to detail. He wasnt afraid to sit his best players if they made mistakes.

In the end, his 2 guards got in foul trouble in the tournament game, the team didnt play well and the Miller kid for Wheelersburg was a man among boys...then the Super and AD took advantage of their power and turned the program upside down. Thats just my opinion from the outside looking in...

And Bballsvcfan, I for one was not blaming the kids at all, I know a lot of the kids families out there and there are some great people involved in this mess. A lot of kids, their friendships and their careers affected by it. Sad situation. I wish the best for these kids, they deserve better. If a coaching change was needed it should have been taken care of in a more mature, professional way.

MRI13, I wasn't referring to your post. You are dead on with your assessment. Great kids, great community, and great support for their programs.

Hey, Mr. Superintendent. Your son became a lot easier to guard.

This kind of stuff amazes me, ten years from now when the dads are all together somewhere and the hatchets are buried and they have an honest conversation about it the only thing that will be discussed is "what if the boys would have all just stayed together...what if".

No one is going to know from the sounds of it just how good of team this could have been.

great post doubleplay....great thought. The thing that irks me the most is that this was all an abuse of power by the Superintendent and the AD. Zane Trace has been successful for years in comparison to all of the SVC teams, besides the success that Jeff Lisath had with Piketon. But everyone always thinks they can do a better job from the sidelines. I have heard great things about Hall this summer, his game improves every few months it seems and his athleticism may make him the best in the league, definitely the best from the 2013 ZT Team. Hutton is a fantastic point guard and Alley always worked with him so he could do what he needed to in regards with soccer. Who knows if Petzel would have played, a lot of indoor meets during bball season.

The kid that played JV that went back to his old school was a nice player as well....who knows who else will choose not to play by the time the practices start?

Pierce Mowery is a fantastic shooter and defender...I hope he can still have success but like someone else posted it will be a lot easier to double-team him and take him away from his game now...

hawkeyepierce wrote:Hey, Mr. Superintendent. Your son became a lot easier to guard.

Maybe he will leave too

If he is smart, he will.

I'm with the guy who says kids don't want more structure and want to work. Also if most are leaving it's because of parents not the coaching change. My understanding is the one kid plays soccer and always left the team in the middle of season and missed practice and a couple games but wasn't punished just allowed to come back in and start. I hear he was told that wouldn't happen this year. Miss practice and games and you miss games when you come back. It's his personal decision but great job by Koker for not giving in to kids and parents. I find it funny all this talk and they haven't even started season yet. I think they will be just fine.

athens78 wrote:I'm with the guy who says kids don't want more structure and want to work. Also if most are leaving it's because of parents not the coaching change. My understanding is the one kid plays soccer and always left the team in the middle of season and missed practice and a couple games but wasn't punished just allowed to come back in and start. I hear he was told that wouldn't happen this year. Miss practice and games and you miss games when you come back. It's his personal decision but great job by Koker for not giving in to kids and parents. I find it funny all this talk and they haven't even started season yet. I think they will be just fine.

Come on man.....let kids be kids. I gurantee none of them will be making a living playing basketball. I seriously doubt anyone in the SVC will get any type of division 1 scholarship either. There must be something in the water here in Ross Co. Too many people think their kids are big time prep athletes. Go to Cincinnati or Columbus and watch a game. BIG difference.

lol...are you serious?

Athens78, you are either Alan Koker or a member of his inner circle. Zane Trace went from one of the top 2 teams in the league to the bottom half of the league. 35 and 10 over a 2 year stretch, Zane Trace won't approach that in the next 2 years with Koker as coach. Run off 3 starters over nothing, he really knows how to run a program.

and you must be Jimmy The Greek with your predictions. Can let me know who will win the Super Bowl so I can get my bet in now?