Money431

Ha ha, Tarkington also has a GREAT assistant coach. I don't care if he does make Shawn Plummer cry during the halftime of one of our freshman games. Punching Chris Renineke in the nose. What was he thinking? My team is doing OK. We have lost a lot of close games lately. But we are getting much better. District starts really soon and we should do pretty well. Varsity won consolation at last weeks tournament in Granger and my JV should win consolation at this weeks tourney in Moody. I was going to try and watch you guys play West Hardin in a few weeks but we won't get out of school till the day after yall play. I think I’m going to be able to watch them play Saturday in the Goodrich Tourney. They should end up playing Goodrich, which will be a really good game. Anyways...good luck with the rest of the season. You guys better knock off Sheperd, Liberty and Splendora for sure and get in the playoffs.

I graduated from Tarkington back in 2000. We went to the playoffs in 99 and 00 and then the class from 02 I think it was went. Since then I think they have not been able to make it. The district got a lot tougher once I graduated. We moved in with Huffman, Barbers Hill, Liberty and that bunch. I think they will do pretty well this year. Coach Enloe who is their head coach now was the assistant when I was there and he knows his basketball and does a great job of motivating players to give him everything they have.

I might sabotage my team on Thursday and Friday just to make sure I can make it to the Goodrich Tourney on Saturday. I think the bench will appreciate getting to start and play the majority of the time. ;-)

That will be a good game. West Hardin and Warren played twice last year and either split or West Hardin won both of them. Either way, both games were decided by only a few points. It will be an even better matchup this year if they meet up again.

West Hardin will be playing in the Goodrich Tournament this weekend. We could possibly see a West Hardin/Goodrich Championship game, which would be a good test for the Oilers. They have also played two 3A teams so far this season. One being Liberty who they beat by 21 points always has an athletic bunch and the other being Tarkington who is a very well coached team that will have a lot of success this year and make the playoffs despite their past. Brandon Letsinger is of course the leader of this team and will be backed up each night by 3 other players from last years team who will rotate around 2nd leading scoring position on a nightly basis. Letsinger at the point guard position will be a tough match-up for any team they face. He’s about 6'2" and can handle the ball as well as shoot and dish it. He can also jump. He took 5th place at the state meet last year in the high jump for 2A. Whsalum is right. Tyler Copeland will get better as the season goes on. He is a sophomore who will be putting up senior numbers by the time district rolls around. Should be an exciting season for the Oilers.

West Hardin had 3 days of practice. They had their football playoff game on Nov. 16th and didn't get into the gym for basketball till the following Monday and Tuesday and then went on Thanksgiving Break. None of those kids had touched a ball since summer league ended. At a 1A school you play every sport. There is really no such thing as an offseason program. West Hardin is for real and will turn some heads at the 1A level. It will not be unusual to see Letsinger go for 30 on any given night. He is one of the best shooters in the area but will not get much publicity being at the 1A level. Just keep an eye out for them.

I might have to kill my wife for keeping me away from this game.

Eagles must have looked pretty good also. I was expecting a larger margin of victory. Oh well, district doesn't matter anymore........time for the playoffs!!!

I am doing my student teaching at West Hardin right now and I have had the pleasure of Coach Fuller allowing me to work with the team and even sit on the bench with him for the last couple games as an assistant. I can tell you from experience that this team is for real. They are only losing three kids to graduation this year and those three are from the bench. The 5 starters (4 Juniors and 1 Freshman) will all be back next year and are excited about competing at the 1A level. This is Coach Fullers first year to be at West Hardin and he has really helped these boys develop. They have an overall record of 19-11 right now with a chance to have a 20 win season if they defeat Deweyville tomorrow night in West Hardin. The team is lead by Brandon Lestinger who not only can shoot the lights out, but can rebound and dish the ball just as well. Tyler Copeland will be an even greater threat next year now that he has a year of varsity experience under his belt. There is no doubt he should win the newcomer of the year award. If this team does the important things such as getting in the weight room, on the track, and keep a ball in hand year round then they will dominate District 24-A and turn some heads in the playoffs.

I think East Chambers had the best chance of any team in this area to make a showdown with Kountze into a "game", and they lost by more than 20. West Hardin will have to do everything right and then some to keep the game close. Kountze is just that good. Lestinger will need to have a phenomenal night to keep his team in the game.