Brown/Hilliard Go Off

The Rocky Mount Gryphons have played two games this week in preparation for their clash Friday night with Nash Central.  Having  won their bracket last week in the Holiday Tournament in Raleigh the Lady Gryphons are playing at a much higher level than before Christmas.  Tonight they declaw the Bears of Hertford County 78-41.  On the other end of the spectrum the boys were embarrassed in losing a 16 point lead to Clayton and both games this week they have been on a mission to have fun and tonight they lay a hurting on Hertford County 98-53.

J'Kyra Brown had the three ball working, and by nights end poured in 35 for the Lady Gryphons.  Help came from Tia Hudgins 13 points 9 rebounds and Carmen Richardson with 11 points.  The Lady Gryphons suffocated the Lady Bears into 39 turnovers  while committing only 20 themselves.  They also out rebounded the Bear 38-28.  Amani Kipp pulled down 8 rebounds.  The negative of the night is TyAis Cooper went down with an ankle injury and looks like she will not be available for the big one Friday night at Nash Central.

The Lady Bulldogs need this one Friday night badly as they lost by double digits again to Northern on Tuesday.  If they want to have a say in the conference race they can't afford to lose twice the first week on conference play.  Rocky Mount will head to the Pound with an 11-2 record.

Gene Hackman in the movie Hoosiers requires his team to make four passes before they shoot.  If I was Mike Gainey I would require that Terrill Hilliard touch the ball on every trip down court as tonight Hilliard is a half a assist short of a triple double.  Hilliard Drops 23 points 10 rebounds and with 2.58 to play feed Jaquel Bryant who put up a layup that was half way down in the basket and spun out and that would have been assist #10 for Hilliard.

Between getting eight rebounds Donte Battle was one of the recipients of Terrill's assist as he had a career high 20 points and K J Peoples scored 12 points and got two slams from Hilliard.  Tevin Taylor had three bombs from the outside  score 11 on the night.

Rocky Mount out rebounded HC 44 to 27.  Rocky Mount had 15 turnovers while HC had only 13 but the Bears found that the only shots they could get were from 25 feet and when you don't make many of them the Gryphons will wipe the floor with you.

Rocky Mount wins their 10th game of the year and head to the big battle Friday at Nash Central with a 10-3 record.

Gryphons Start New Year With A Bang

Both Varsity Basketball teams did what they were suppose to on the opening night of Big East Conference basketball as the boys ripped into Fike 72-44 while the Lady Gryphons go over 80 again downing the Lady Golden Demons of Fike 84-47.

Rocky Mount boys opened conference play as Mike Gainey started three big men and two guards. They may still have been in shock from losing a 16 point lead last week at Broughton High in the Holiday Tournament   but the offense sputtered for most of the game but one thing that stayed constant the whole game was the Gryphon defense.  I don't think Fike got five open shots all night as there was a hand in the face of every shooter all over the court.

Mr Smooth -Terrill Hilliard(I wish I had one more hand to keep up with assists) lead the charge scoring 21 points pulling down nine rebounds.  Terrill help bring the house down in the fourth quarter going towards the goal for an uncontested layup instead lopped a pass to  K J Peoples who tried to make Mike Gainey buy a new rim.  That play topped off about three minutes of championship basketball in which the Gryphons lead of 56-37 became a 72-39 lead.  If and just about every good team has to opportunity to say this if this teams finally realizes that if they can start playing 25 minutes a game this way they could play for the big prize again this year.  But they need more of that kind of play over the sputtering that occurred most of the game.

K J Peoplses had a double double 10 points 12 rebounds.  Donte Battle was the only other double digit scocer with 10.  Rocky Mount won the rebounding war 43-30.  They caused 24 Golden Demon  turnovers while committing only 16 themselves.  11 players scored in the game and ten had a least one rebound.

The Lady Gryphons either full court pressed Fike every time down court or met them at mid court and Fike struggled to get into any kind of offensive flow and the Lady Gryphons win their 10th game in 12 tries.  Carmen Richardson who early in the year looked as if she was scared to shoot has come a long ways since the season started  was one of four double digit scorers with 13 and most were from the outside.  Alexus Cooper who now has had 12 games to see that her knee will let her give it her all is now beginning to become the point guard Pam Gainey expected last year before her season ending injury scored 16.

The two old reliables J'Kyra Bown 24 points and Tia Hudgins 19 points  help the Lady Gryphons to an easy win.  11 different players corralled a rebound which the Lady Gryphons won 36-22.  They forced 36 turnovers  while they committed 26 themselves but many happened during the mop up time.

Both teams hit the hardwood Wednesday night at home hosting Hertford County in the final non conference tilt of the year.  By the way if you didn't see the Holiday Tournament last week then tonight was the first time you could see the girls in their new uni's.  The boys had to play in their old ones tonight until they won again so I suspect both teams will be wearing their new uniforms.

First Week A Big Week

The Rocky Mount High School Gryphons boys basketball team coming off two straight losses during the Holiday Tournament in Raleigh stick their hand right in the conference frying pan tonight as they host Fike. 

The Gryphons play Fike tonight, host Hertford County Wednesday and then just maybe we will see what might be for the lead in conference play as they travel to Nash Central Friday.  They met the Bulldogs in the finals of the Holiday tournament Nash County style December 21st and won by five after having a big lead and then giving it all back but one point.  I am a believer that the home team has an eight point advantage in high school basketball so since they played a five point game on a neutral floor at Southern Nash then the Gryphons will have their work cut out for them to win in the Pound.

During the Holiday tournament in Raleigh the Gryphons relied on Terrill Hilliard and the guards must become factors both shooting and ball handling  from this point forward.  It seems this team is wide open all the time and they need to find an in between gear where they play under control but not a slow down.

Having already taken both Fike and Hertford County to the wood shed once this year  the worse thing the Lady Gryphons have to worry about is themselves.  I suspect in both those games Pam Gainey will come out full court defense and pressure both teams ball handling.  Their trip Friday night will be for either Nash Central or Rocky Mount to be the team to fight Northern for first place.  Nash Central has vastly improved this year and both teams lost to Northern in the Holiday Tournament  by double digits at Southern Nash.  The winner places themselves in a position for first while the loser will be chasing to catch up.

Since Rocky Mount only has eight home games  during the regular season until the playoffs and two happen tonight and Wednesday if you want to see them at home you had better come this week.

Impressions Of A Just Completed NFL Season

How can Aaron Rogers Be MVP of NFL when his backup throws for a team record six Touchdowns.  Anybody Know the kids name?

Tim Tebow has to be worse QB in the NFL and Mark Sanchez a close second.  As a thrower Tebow just doesn't have it.  I can't stand Sanchez sitting on the sidelines doing nothing when defense is on the field.  Yesterday they built a tent shade tree for him so he wouldn't have to be in the sun.  I thought he was from Southern California.

Cam Newton has all the tools to be a really good quarterback except accuracy.  He always throws the ball fifteen yards or more high and in the NFL a high pass is an intercepted pass.  But as an Panther fan I'll take the same numbers again next year right now.  If we understand the NFL schedule right Philip Rivers comes to Charlotte next year.  I'll be there.

Carson Palmer walked out on Cincinnati and a rookie leads them to then playoffs.  I think the Bengals management should send Palmer a thank you card for letting them put Andy Dalton on the field.  I like Cincy next week at Houston.

What in the world was New Orleans doing.  The game against Carolina was well in hand early third quarter but they kept right on throwing.  They are more worried about records that Super Bowls.

I'll take Pittsburgh 27-0 over Denver.  I still don't understand why Rothlesburger has played the last two weeks.  Between Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Baltimore  one of them is going to win Super Bowl.

San Diego tied for first with Oakland and Denver and the worse of the three gets the playoffs.  Denver

Indianapolis wins the #1 draft pick and I don't see any way around not picking a quarterback.  I personally don't ever see Peyton Manning playing ever again.  He might and I hope he does but he is risking the next 50 years of his life if he does.

Last night the glamour team of the NFL put another notch on Jerry Jones  belt buckle of over rated Cowboys.  Once again on national TV  and by the way they have been on National TV more than any other team in the NFL the last 16 years.  Since their last Super Bowl in 95 the Cowboys are 130-126.  Jones should turn over the football operations to someone that knows football and get out of the way.

Saturday's NFL playoffs have Cincy at Houston.  Houston has too many good players hurt at the wrong time of year for their first ever playoff game.  Cincy 24- Houston 20.  The second game Saturday is Detroit at New Orleans.  Saints hard to beat in their dome but it will be a shootout  NO 45 Detroit 42

Sunday finds Atlanta traveling to New York and I can't see Matt Ryan winning in New York G-Men 24 Atl 17 and the final game Sunday has Pittsburgh at Denver.  I've already said 27-0 Steelers

How bout Green Bay and Baltimore in the Super Bowl.

Sumler Nominated for the Cousy

Trey Sumler the red shirt sophomore point guard for Western Carolina is among 65 candidates for the 2012 Bob Cousy Award .  The Cousy signifies the top college point guard in the country.

The Nash Central graduate has been holding his own as the starting point guard for the Catamounts from Cullowee.  So far this season Trey is averaging 11.9 points per game. That ranks him 17th in the Southern Conference in scoring. As a guard he is getting 5.5 rebounds per game. Even as a point guard he ranks 17th in the conference in rebounding.   He has been giving his teammate scoring chances at a rate of 3.8 assists per  which ranks him fifth in the Southern Conference. .

Trey was in the RBC Center on Saturday as the Cats lost to a ever improving Wolfpack squad 82-55.  Sumler scored eight points.

Don't look now but the Virginia Cavaliers have the best over all record in the ACC as they are 12-1 in basketball.  Duke is the only other team with only one loss as they are now 11-1.  Carolina clocks in at 12-2.  Surprising Maryland has lost but three so far on the season at 9-3.  The last ACC squad with ten wins is State at 10-4.Wake and Miami at 9-4 and 8-4.  Two teams struggling who normally don't struggle in the non conference games Florida State is just 8-5 and Clemson is 7-6.  Georgia Tech is also 7-6 and Boston College even in non conference games is 5-8.   The real games start next week in the ACC.

It's Time For A Playoff

I have enjoyed the last couple of days the blogging from Whit Barnes the former Gryphon who is a red shirt sophomore for Wake Forest football on The Gryphon Grapevine blog of Charles Alston.  Whit has passed along the life of a player at a bowl game.Wake Forest lost last night in the Music City Bowl in Nashville 23-17.

The Music City Bowl brought together two teams that were 6-6 this season.  Whatever happened to bowl games were a reward for a good season.  After losing the game Wake Forest now has a losing season and to me they and Mississippi State should have been home watching others play.


One of the big obstacles of a playoff is a 12 game regular season.  I say go back to a ten game schedule.  Have a 16 team playoff.  All the conference champions and let a committee decide just like basketball who are the best of the rest to make 16 and no conference can have more than two.  If you start the season on Labor Day Weekend you are through by the end of October.   Each conference that has a Championship game  can play week 11 and then start the playoffs.

The first weekend of the playoffs have only four games and the second week the other four games.  The third weekend the two winners from week one and the fourth the two winners from week two.  The fifth weekend play only one game and again the sixth weekend only one then the two left play on New Years day.

No one has had to play two weeks in a row and since it takes 15 games to determine a champion let the top 15 Bowls be the host of all the playoff games.  That still leaves the other 24 bowls to have the other bowl qualifiers to say they had a bowl game. The top bowls could do just as they do now and host the championship game by rotating  the championship game.

Then of course if you cut back to only ten regular season games each conference should have an eight games conference schedule and that leaves only two non conference games. In order to qualify for a bowl game you would need to win six out of ten and if you lose the bowl you have still won more than you lost.

  If the FCS- D-II and DIV III are happy with playoffs why would the big boys not like it even more?