What We Learned: Lexington Christian at Scott County
Two years ago, I went to Georgetown to see the eagerly anticipated matchup between star freshmen Kyle Rode and Michael Moreno. That game was a total blowout and hard to watch. Scott County absolutely rolled over LCA. Last night I made the trip to Georgetown again, hoping for a more competitive game. And that’s exactly what I got…for 3 quarters. When Rode went down at the end of the 3rd quarter with an ankle sprain, the game changed completely. Scott County wound up putting it away late, winning 68-59. The contest was tied at halftime and tight throughout. Here’s what I took away from the game.
- Kyle Rode is possibly the most valuable player in the 11th Region. Kyle Rode was doing it all for LCA. At 6’8″, he was running the point and bringing the ball up for the Eagles. He rebounds, he scores, he assists and he defends. When he got hurt on a missed layup attempt late in the 3rd quarter, the whole game changed. The LCA offense basically turned into Carter Hendricksen trying to score anyway he could. I’m tempted to say that Madison Central’s Isaiah Cozart is the biggest MVP to their team in the 11th but Rode isn’t far behind.
Photo Courtesy of the Courier-Journal
- Michael Moreno isn’t too far away from being a Top 100 kid. Moreno shot 2/5 from 3, 7/16 overall and pulled down 12 rebounds. He’s a no brainer mid major D1 player. The problem he runs into as being a high major recruit is that he’s a bit of a tweener. Michael impacts the game in a myriad of ways. If he can grow a little and become a true power forward or get a little more athletic, he could be a steal for a high major school.
- LCA runs a lot of sets and most of them work. Coach Nate Valentine called what seemed like dozens of sets and most of them worked to get the Eagles clean looks from three or back cuts to the rim. Scott County started trapping in the half court and LCA started rushing their offense. As a result, there were several turnovers. If these teams meet again at the end of the year, it will be interesting to see how both teams adjust.
- Scott county has a lot of scorers. The Cardinals started the game with several 3s and wound up with 3 players in double figures and two more players with 9 points. They shot 45% as a team and scored against a variety of defenses. Their versatility on offense is what’s going to give them continued success this season.
- Scott County is the team to beat in the 11th, but are vulnerable. The Cardinals are very good and have a lot of weapons but they struggled when LCA changed their defenses in the half court. They especially struggled with LCA’s length when they ran a 3-2 zone with Hendricksen on the point. I’ll be interested to see how they handle the 2-2-1 pressure of Lexington Catholic and the half court defense of Madison Central.