Blowouts Are Not Always Good

You just don't know how many people asked me on Saturday was Nash Central that bad against Rocky Mount Friday night?  My answer is this, no they weren't that bad it's just Rocky Mount is that good.  If The Bulldogs are second or the third best team in the Big East then where will the close games come for the Gryphons?

Looks right now like next Friday night will answer that question when Hunt comes calling on the Gryphons.  Hunt at this point seems to be the only team capable of stopping Rocky Mount from a second straight undefeated regular season.  Can they give the Gryphons a test?  I hope they can as the Gryphons need  to have somebody give them a tussle in the fourth quarter.  If Hunt can't  then the only team capable of stopping the Gryphons may be the Gryphons themselves.  If is extremely hard for a team to sustain the level the Gryphons are playing right now and if somebody doesn't slap the Gryphons in the face lackadaisical play could could set in over the next five weeks.

The Lady Gryphons for the third year in a row will square off with Northern Nash.  If this season is a horse race Northern has about a three length lead going down the backstretch.  J'Kyra Brown might be having one of the finest seasons in the history of Rocky Mount girls basketball and she is doing it with two players on her most of the time.  Nash Central tried all sorts of defenses against her and I can see fatigue being an issue for her this year with the beatings teams are giving her banging her all game long.

The Lady Gryphons had a solid defense and any time Rocky Mount plays any team that is weak handling the ball they won't have a chance against The Gryphons.  Certainly that is not an issue for Northern Nash.  Friday Brown made a couple of threes otherwise every point came from within five feet of the basket either layups off steals, drives to the basket or put backs after rebounds.  Carmen Richardson had a few attempts from the outside but none fell in.  If I am Pam Gainey I want Carmen and Destini Parker to keep shooting  from the outside for as this season keeps going they need to help open up the middle for Kelsey Daniels and of course J'Kyra.

If you think about it Northern Nash girls are undefeated over the last year and a half if  they didn't lose to Rocky Mount.   They could have easily been in Chapel Hill if the Gryphons had not had home court advantage in the sectional. They won a big one last week beating Chapel Hill who was #1 in all the polls.  Northern is probably the biggest team in the state and I don't mean tallest.  All five on the court play as one and they are capable of putting ten out there on the court and not lose any thing to their team concept.

Rumor Mill Time:  Folks in Tarboro are scare to death that Jeff Craddock may not be back next year as coach of the Vikings now that the Vikings are dropping to 1-A in the next four year realignment.  I have heard he  might be heading to Greenville Rose to be their new football coach.  It's not that far of a drive 19 miles to Greenville from Tarboro.  I don't think the folks in Viking land would feel all that bad if they were to lose Craddock to a big program like Rose.  If it is true that he has interviewed there.  Rose would be crazy not to hire him.  Who could possibly interview for that job that would have a better resume' that is a three time state champion and five straight state championship game appearances?