Looking back at Saturday’s Kentucky romp over Ohio in the All-Star Basketball “Battle for the Border” at Thomas More, you have to hope the coaches of the Kentucky All-Stars for the Kentucky-Indiana annual June series were watching. And catching Athens McGillis’ seven-assists-in 12 ½ minute performance and what that could mean in a longer opportunity in the two-game series at Lexington Catholic, Friday, June 5, and Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Saturday, June 6.
Thought it was interesting that the Kentucky coach Saturday, North Laurel’s Nate Valentine, while noting that Covington Catholic soon-to-be-alum McGillis is headed to “a Division II powerhouse (Nova Southeastern in Florida),” added that after a year, he could go anywhere and play at any level.
For those of us here in Northern Kentucky, we might selfishly hope that one of those might be a local Division I program – Xavier, Cincinnati or NKU – all of which could have benefited greatly this past season from a smart point guard who can distribute the ball, take it to the basket and shoot from outside. And now one of those is leaving the area– for a year, anyway.
Having nine players from the Kentucky team that clobbered Ohio, 114-91 Saturday, who will also be moving on to the Kentucky-Indiana games won’t hurt Athens’ chances to make an impact there. “I was trying to develop some chemistry,” Athens said of his ability to find the open man in the game against Ohio. Now maybe the local schools can find Athens.
Back to the Barrels for a bit
For fans of Arena Football One, the clear connection is the up-close-and-personal nature of the game. Like you have ringside seats at a cage match. And you can see how with the quickness required to play the game and the traction on the artificial turf, a number of players have their shoes taped on with many of the speed position guys wearing basketball shoes for the stop-start and cutting ability they offer. And you can hear – and feel – the hits.
But even with the attraction of the close contact to the action, one of the positives from Sunday’s game was the number of fans in the Truist Arena second deck, which is pretty much unpopulated for most NKU basketball games. That may be a function of the ticket prices, which range from $19.25 upstairs to as much as $62.50 at midfield down below in the lower deck.
And you realize how little things matter, like the kicking game where the Barrels had all the better of it from the snap to the hold to the blocking, to the kick rush and finally, to the kicker – Murray State alum Aaron Baum, back after several years away from the game. “We coach it,” head man Cedric Walker said with a big smile of the edge there. And they happily discovered Baum just a little over a week ago.
“Everything has to be linear,” Baum said of the way his thinking has changed now that he’s kicking in the indoor game and trying to thread the needle of the smaller indoor goalpost target just nine feet wide. In other words, you have to kick it straight. That’s especially so when going for that two-point “deuce” on kickoffs where a perfect kick through the uprights nets the kicking team two points.
“Every time,” Baum says he tries to do that. And since kickoffs in Arena Ball come from the goal line 50 yards down the field and 55 yards from the posts, which are elevated 15 feet, he figures that would be equivalent to “a 73-yard field goal.” But you do get something of a running start and no rush.
April’s NKSHOF Class honored Wednesday
Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame inductions will be Wednesday at 1 p.m. at The Arbors in Park Hills and feature five new members in the April class. They are Dixie Heights former football player Bobby Storer, a much- honored superintendent and athletic administrator. Conner’s Kathy Plank Asher, a basketball and track/cross-country All-Stater and All-American; Newport’s Les Temple, a multiple sport Wildcat and minor league baseballer; also from Newport, three-sport athlete Ricky Atkins, later a top softballer; and Lloyd’s Steve Molitor, another three-sport athlete, coach and NKU baseballer.
Contact Dan Weber at dweber3440@aol.com. Follow him on X @dweber3440.