South Oldham Rallies to Top Collins Late

<p>Tuesday night's showdown between 8th region Title contenders seemed to be headed towards a big Collins win. Then all of a sudden the Titans couldn't solve the South Oldham zone and the Dragons's shots finally started to fall. South Oldham took the game on Collins' home floor and made a statement about their potential run to Rupp Arena in 2019. Here are my biggest takeaways from the South Oldham upset.</p> <ul> <li><strong>For Collins to win the 8th, their role players have to be better</strong>. This is the third time seeing Collins this season and the play of their role players (guys not named Marcellus Vail and Dayvion McKnight) and this was the first time the role guys didn't do their part. Dane Kidwell and Tyson Turner were generally ineffective. Darrian Crittenton was good in spurts but didn't play a ton. Caleb Hawley and Josh Scriber were just going through the motions. Collins showed flashes of what they can be when they came within 3 points of winning the King of the Bluegrass. Last night they looked like a team that needs a consistent 3rd scorer.</li> <li><strong>South Oldham can shoot their way into the Sweet Sixteen. </strong>This team lives and dies with the 3 point shot. Running mainly 5 out motion, Coach Simpson's team either got a back door cut towards the rim or shot a 3 almost every possession last night. They didn't call any post ups or flat isolations but with their motion offense and plenty of three point attempts, they clawed their way back into the game. Every time it looked like the game was over, they hit a three (or several) and earned the hard fought road win.</li> <li><strong>The Dragon's Zone defense was the difference maker. </strong>Early in the game, South played a standard 2-3 zone and Collins got plenty of wide open looks out of it with Dayvion McKnight in the middle and acting as a facilitator for the Titans. In the 4th quarter, the South Oldham zone became more of a match-up and was focused on keeping McKnight from getting the ball. There was always a defender taking him away and the Collins offense got very stagnant and South went on a big run to close the game.</li> <li><strong>Luke Morrison is an elite shooter. </strong>The 6'5 wing from South Oldham is shooting 56% from 3 and making 4 per game as a Junior. His release is quick and mechanics are fluid. He doesn't need much room to get his shot off and he is a better athlete than he gets credit for. He had 25 points on Tuesday night (slightly below his average of 27 per game) but did so with Dayvion McKnight chasing him around the floor most of the evening. You just don't see many better pure shooters in Kentucky than Luke Morrison. </li> <li><strong>The 8th Region is more loaded than you realize. </strong>There is a ton of talent in the 8th region. <strong>Dieonte Miles </strong>is committed and signed to Xavier. <strong>Marcellus Vail and Dayvion McKnight</strong> have multiple scholarship offers. <strong>Luke Morrison</strong> projects as a low to mid D1 player. <strong>Kelly Niece</strong> is going to have scholarship offers in the future. Spencer County has younger talent. Gallatin County's <strong>Troy Coomer</strong> is a big time shooter who will play college basketball. Grant County has several nice players. I say all that to say this: The 8th region is extremely talented this season both with individuals and with good teams. 10 of the 17 teams are above .500 this season and only 8 of those can make the regional tournament. After last night, I'm more convinced than ever that the 8th region is truly open and whoever is playing the best in February and early March will be making their way to Rupp. I'm excited to see how it all unfolds in the next 6 weeks.</li> </ul>