By Rob Ginter - Staff Writer
The Rowan County boy’s basketball team tipped off in the Monticello Bank Holiday Classic against teams from Kentucky and Tennessee. The Viks tipped off against Rockcastle County yesterday afternoon (after press time).
“It’s going to be good competition,” Coach Shawn Thacker said. “We’re going to have to come to play. Part of the intensity level that we showed in the Menifee County game was a good learning point to use. I think it showed us just how hard you have to play to be competitive.”
“It should be a good positive experience for our kids to get out,” Thacker said. “It should be a good bonding experience for our kids to travel and maybe see a part of the state that they’ve never seen before. It should help to develop some team chemistry and unity as far as staying together and being with each other.
“We got to play some games,” Thacker said. “Sometimes it’s practice and sometimes it’s games. We had some good days at practice. We just need to continue to learn to take care of the basketball. I was disappointed with our rebounding in the West Carter game. That’ll be challenged against Rockcastle against 6’6” 260 pound Derek Thacker.
“We’ve just got to continue to show improvement. I feel like we’re heading in the right direction and we are ahead of where we were a year ago but not where we want to be at this time in the season. We have injuries and are not completely healthy yet.”
If the Vikings won against Rockcastle, then they played later in the evening against the winner of the Casey County versus Wayne County game. A loss for the guys in green lands them against the winner of the Sergeant York of Tennessee verses Monticello High School game.
