Welcome to the Blog/Monday recap

For those of you who have found the blog already, I just wanted to say welcome and hope you enjoy it. I will be posting thoughts and maybe a pic or two from the games I'll be covering during the week.

I'll be at the Class C District in Reese all week and will also be over in Caseville for the Class D finals on Friday. Add in State Wrestling Individual Finals and Volleyball Regionals and it's a long but enjoyable week.

It's March Madness baby!

As for last night's game between USA and Ubly (Patriots won 56-51), all I can say is Taylor Cramer. I had a feeling he might have a special tournament after he put up 17 in USA's 63-61 OT win over Reese last Friday.

Turns out I was right. Cramer scored 20 (eclipsing his previous season high of 19 against Bad Axe) and connected on six triples. For the season, Cramer is averaging over two triples a game.

Tim Holland also added 11 for USA and Isaiah Jackson 10. USA coach Mark Gainforth had this to say on Holland, who was playing in just his third game after returning from an ankle injury:

"He was a little sluggish; he was a little stationery. He’s got to play a lot of minutes, but he’s probably not in game shape (yet). We’ve got to get more movement, but obviously he doesn’t have the lift that he used. He is a big part of our offense, he played a pretty average game for Tim Holland, but he still in double figures so that helps us a lot. "

Holland exploded for 21 in his return game against EPBP last week, but has come down to earth in the last two games. Even though he isn't playing at 100 percent, once his teammates get used to having him back out on the court he should see more touches underneath and thus more points.

Speaking of not playing at 100 percent, that may have been what did Ubly in. Last night marked the return of Jeremy Kubacki, a starter who was out all last week with an illness.

Kubacki's was the team's second leading scorer during the regular season, averaging 13.4 ppg and 2.5 three-pointers a game, but was held to just two points in limited action. As Bearcat's coach Joel Leipprandt explained it, “He was still a little bit behind after missing all of last week.”

While the this is a disappointing end for Bearcat's fans, the future looks really bright. They could return 11 players from this year's post-season roster including four starters.

That is all well and good, but as Leipprandt said they need to get after in the off-season if they want things to improve next year.

As for the Caseville District, no surprises in the opener as Owen-Gage took care of the Eagles 57-47. From what I've been told it wasn't as close as the score indicates.

I'll say this is a good start for the Bulldogs, who I picked to win this District (beating North Huron in the finals). With the Newsweekly Player of the Year Brandon Dubs and All-Newsweekly 1st-Teamer Eric Zaleski, I think this team has the firepower it takes to win this District. The Regional is another story...

As for Caseville, this marks the end of their run of four straight District titles. If anyone deserved a fifth one after the rough season he's had it is Caseville coach Jim Quinn, who I think is one of if not the best coaches in the Thumb. He always finds ways to get by even when the cupboards get a little bare.

He didn't pull it out this season, but heading into the 07-08 campaign, sight unseen as to what their roster looks like, I've got to believe that Quinn can make his team a contender again.

I'll be back late tonight or early tomorrow with my thoughts on tonight's game. Post your thoughts on the games, post your predictions, just post!