No one had Apollo in the office pool headed to the Final Four. NO ONE.
Let's see how they got here:
Code:
APOLLO Schedule
Date Opponent Record RPI Result Score Record
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11/17/82 Bardstown 7-22 182 W 93-52 1-0
11/23/82 LaRue County 8-21 124 W 101-65 2-0
11/26/82 at DuPont Manual 28-6 19 L 75-60 2-1
11/28/82 Hart County 15-16 107 W 87-75 3-1
12/01/82 Beth Haven 20-13 59 W 87-61 4-1
12/06/82 Bullitt Central 12-18 125 W 114-73 5-1
12/08/82 at Green County 22-9 75 W 79-63 6-1
12/13/82 at Magoffin County 24-9 37 W 114-106 7-1
12/20/82 at #11 Pulaski County 30-4 6 L 89-88 7-2
12/23/82 at Doss 24-6 54 W 102-95 8-2
12/27/82 McCreary Central 15-15 163 W 99-72 9-2
12/30/82 Central Hardin 19-12 47 W 86-65 10-2
01/04/83 at Fairview 22-10 36 W 84-62 11-2
01/08/83 at Louisville Holy Cross 22-9 74 W 92-80 12-2
01/15/83 Owensboro Catholic 16-14 60 W 92-66 13-2 (1-0)
01/19/83 Daviess County 6-23 247 W 77-68 14-2 (2-0)
01/22/83 Stovall South 25-7 33 W 102-84 15-2 (3-0)
01/26/83 at McLean County 9-20 185 W 67-60 16-2 (4-0)
01/29/83 at Ohio County 11-18 183 W 99-93 17-2 (5-0)
02/02/83 Muhlenberg County 22-9 11 W 96-91 18-2 (6-0)
02/05/83 Owensboro 11-18 206 W 98-66 19-2 (7-0)
02/07/83 at Cumberland County 24-8 24 L 100-97 19-3
02/12/83 at Owensboro Catholic 16-14 60 W 76-75 20-3 (8-0)
02/16/83 at Stovall South 25-7 33 L 86-79 20-4 (8-1)
02/19/83 at Daviess County 6-23 247 L 79-77 20-5 (8-2)
02/23/83 Ohio County 11-18 183 L 82-79 20-6 (8-3)
02/26/83 McLean County 9-20 185 W 91-67 21-6 (9-3)
03/02/83 at Muhlenberg County 22-9 11 L 84-75 21-7 (9-4)
03/05/83 at Owensboro 11-18 206 W 72-56 22-7 (10-4)
03/09/83 vs. Muhlenberg County 22-9 11 W 70-69 23-7
03/10/83 vs. Stovall South 25-7 33 W 86-78 24-7
03/20/83 vs. Shelby County 25-7 34 W 96-88 25-7
03/25/83 vs. #5 Jackson County 30-3 9 W 88-77 26-7
03/27/83 vs. #1 Ludlow 32-2 7 W 101-74 27-7
04/02/83 vs. DuPont Manual 28-6 19
A program with no pedigree and no real depth of stars rode a bonafide 5-star recruit and a kid who is a three-star on his best day to the Final Four. They had to beat two Top 5 teams just to get here and there's very little in their regular season resume that'd make you think they had this in them. The team is led by Robby Trott, a 60-year old alumnus of Apollo HS who began coaching his alma mater in 1969 after 21 years as an assistant at other Kentucky high schools. He's the winningest coach in school history and the only coach to take the team to the state tournament, now having done so twice. This run will canonize him in local lore.
The engines that could on this team? Two guards. Senior Daniel Rodgers transferred to Apollo from out of state two years ago from Colorado and has been a monster. Look at these numbers:
Code:
PLAYER DETAILS
#41 PG Daniel Rodgers - Apollo - Senior
Stat Averages:
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Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF
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1981 30 30 31.6 23.5 2.0 5.4 5.7 4.1 1.39 2.9 0.3 3.3
1982 34 34 31.5 24.1 2.4 5.8 6.6 4.8 1.37 3.1 0.4 3.0
Career 64 64 31.5 23.8 2.2 5.6 6.2 4.5 1.37 3.0 0.3 3.2
Shooting Averages:
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Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/-
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1981 8.4 18.1 .461 2.5 3.2 .771 4.3 10.9 .396 1.30 6.83
1982 8.4 18.4 .457 2.8 3.4 .810 4.5 11.3 .396 1.31 11.21
Career 8.4 18.3 .459 2.6 3.3 .792 4.4 11.1 .396 1.30 9.16
Stat Totals:
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Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF
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1981 30 30 948 706 60 163 170 122 88 9 99
1982 34 34 1071 818 81 198 224 164 107 12 103
Career 64 64 2019 1524 141 361 394 286 195 21 202
Shooting Totals
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Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/-
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1981 251 544 74 96 130 328 205
1982 286 626 94 116 152 384 381
Career 537 1170 168 212 282 712 586
Career Highs:
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Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA
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Season 47 10 12 12 7 2 11 19 30 9 10 9 20
Career 47 10 12 13 7 2 11 19 30 9 10 9 20
Let's take a look at
SG Brian Pace who surely should get some interest from school after the tournament and who we'll be bringing over to the college game for sure after this run:
Code:
PLAYER DETAILS
#55 SG Brian Pace - Apollo - Senior
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Height: 6-3
Weight: 217
Stat Averages:
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Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF
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1979 29 0 4.2 1.4 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.67 0.2 0.0 0.6
1980 27 0 5.1 1.7 0.1 0.5 0.3 0.6 0.44 0.1 0.1 0.6
1981 30 30 30.9 9.9 0.6 1.8 3.2 3.1 1.03 1.3 0.1 3.1
1982 34 34 30.7 16.2 0.6 1.9 3.6 3.3 1.09 2.0 0.1 3.0
Career 120 64 18.6 7.8 0.4 1.1 1.9 2.0 1.09 1.0 0.1 1.9
Shooting Averages:
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Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/-
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1979 0.4 0.9 .462 0.3 0.4 .818 0.3 0.6 .500 1.58 -0.24
1980 0.6 1.0 .536 0.1 0.3 .500 0.5 0.9 .542 1.68 0.07
1981 3.4 7.7 .444 1.2 2.0 .607 1.8 5.3 .346 1.28 5.53
1982 5.5 10.4 .527 2.2 3.0 .728 3.0 6.7 .450 1.55 10.76
Career 2.6 5.3 .495 1.0 1.5 .683 1.5 3.6 .418 1.46 4.39
Stat Totals:
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Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF
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1979 29 0 122 41 2 5 10 15 6 0 18
1980 27 0 138 47 3 13 7 16 4 2 17
1981 30 30 926 298 18 53 95 92 40 3 94
1982 34 34 1044 552 21 66 121 111 69 2 102
Career 120 64 2230 938 44 137 233 234 119 7 231
Shooting Totals
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Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/-
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1979 12 26 9 11 8 16 -7
1980 15 28 4 8 13 24 2
1981 103 232 37 61 55 159 166
1982 187 355 75 103 103 229 366
Career 317 641 125 183 179 428 527
Career Highs:
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Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA
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Season 35 3 5 7 6 1 7 14 18 10 11 8 17
Career 35 3 5 8 6 1 7 14 18 10 12 8 17
Take a look at their season scoring:
They've got four double-digit scorers, two rebounders who average double digits on the glass, as well as a point guard who distributes the ball well too. This is as talented and balanced a team as I've seen.
Their path to getting here in the state tournament? Showing multiple ways to beat you. Here's how they knocked off Jackson County:
Spoiler
Code:
Apollo 88, Jackson County 77
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Apollo (26-7, 10-4):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Henry Street C 37 6-8 4-6 5 11 2 2 16
Garfield Garry PF 30 2-4 4-4 5 18 1 4 8
Tito Campos SF 37 6-15 0-0 2 3 1 1 15
Brian Pace SG 27 6-9 2-4 0 1 1 3 18
Daniel Rodgers PG 25 5-12 3-4 0 3 5 4 14
Cornell Philpot PG 13 3-5 0-0 0 0 0 0 7
Wyatt Garretson PG 12 0-1 3-4 0 2 2 0 3
Wilburn Kingston PF 8 0-1 0-0 0 3 1 1 0
Woodrow Hoye SG 5 1-1 4-4 1 1 0 2 7
Lupe * Segura PF 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0
David John C 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Wilburn Owens SF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Turnovers: 22 (H.Street 1, G.Garry 1, T.Campos 10,
B.Pace 5, D.Rodgers 4, W.Garretson 1)
Blocked Shots: 6 (H.Street 2, G.Garry 4)
Steals: 9 (T.Campos 1, B.Pace 1, D.Rodgers 4, C.Philpot
2, W.Hoye 1)
3P FGs: 10-24 (T.Campos 3-5, B.Pace 4-7, D.Rodgers 1-7,
C.Philpot 1-3, W.Garretson 0-1, W.Hoye 1-1)
Jackson County (30-3, 15-1):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Landon Stephens C 36 2-7 4-4 1 9 1 5 8
William Zuniga PF 34 6-15 4-6 10 16 2 0 16
Tony Cofield SF 35 3-7 1-2 4 7 2 2 9
Andrew Lawson SG 30 5-12 0-0 1 2 5 4 13
Dean Reel PG 17 3-10 1-1 0 0 1 4 8
Joseph Cronin PG 14 4-8 2-4 0 0 4 1 11
Charles Rick PG 14 3-9 0-0 1 1 1 3 6
Jose Brodie SG 7 1-2 2-2 1 1 0 1 4
C. Poindexter PF 8 1-3 0-0 0 0 0 0 2
Jonah * Bryson SF 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0
Eloy Ashford PF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Turnovers: 15 (T.Cofield 1, A.Lawson 3, D.Reel 7,
J.Cronin 1, C.Rick 1, C.Poindexter 1, J.Bryson 1)
Blocked Shots: 6 (L.Stephens 5, W.Zuniga 1)
Steals: 10 (W.Zuniga 2, T.Cofield 2, A.Lawson 2, D.Reel
1, J.Cronin 1, C.Poindexter 1, J.Bryson 1)
3P FGs: 7-28 (L.Stephens 0-2, T.Cofield 2-6, A.Lawson
3-10, D.Reel 1-6, J.Cronin 1-1, C.Rick 0-2, J.Brodie
0-1)
Player of Game: C Henry Street (APOL)
Four different guys in double digits and 18 rebounds from Gar Garry to boot. They were trailing at halftime, but managed to shoot 41% from 3-point land and outrebounded Jackson County to notch the W over the heavily favored team.
The Ludlow game is the one that surprised me and why they're getting such attention. Understand that Ludlow probably has six kids who will get D1 scholarships at least. This team had lost one game all year. Apollo didn't just win, they BLEW THEM OUT OF THE GYM.
Spoiler
Code:
Apollo 101, Ludlow 74
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Apollo (27-7, 10-4):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Henry Street C 20 4-5 2-3 0 3 0 4 10
Garfield Garry C 31 3-3 0-0 1 8 1 4 8
Tito Campos SF 18 3-4 1-2 3 6 3 4 8
Brian Pace SG 31 14-18 0-0 0 0 7 1 34
Daniel Rodgers SF 33 10-18 0-0 3 8 11 1 26
Cornell Philpot PG 15 2-11 2-2 2 4 1 2 6
Wyatt Garretson PG 15 0-4 1-2 0 4 3 2 1
Wilburn Kingston PF 20 0-2 1-2 3 5 0 2 1
Woodrow Hoye SF 4 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 2
Lupe * Segura PF 9 1-3 0-0 2 3 0 0 2
Wilburn Owens SF 3 1-1 0-0 0 0 1 1 3
Turnovers: 19 (H.Street 3, G.Garry 2, T.Campos 4,
B.Pace 1, D.Rodgers 5, W.Garretson 1, W.Kingston 1,
W.Hoye 1, W.Owens 1)
Blocked Shots: 2 (W.Kingston 1, L.Segura 1)
Steals: 13 (H.Street 1, G.Garry 2, T.Campos 1, B.Pace
2, D.Rodgers 4, C.Philpot 2, W.Garretson 1)
3P FGs: 16-29 (G.Garry 2-2, T.Campos 1-2, B.Pace 6-7,
D.Rodgers 6-12, C.Philpot 0-2, W.Garretson 0-1, W.Hoye
0-1, L.Segura 0-1, W.Owens 1-1)
Ludlow (32-2, 15-1):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Mitchell Poulson C 32 5-9 1-3 2 4 2 2 11
Jeremy Neale PF 31 3-8 0-3 2 10 1 0 6
Charles Hickerson SF 31 4-10 2-2 1 5 2 3 11
Buck * Hadden SG 20 0-3 0-0 1 1 0 4 0
Ellis Ballard PG 33 5-16 0-0 3 4 6 3 12
Louis Tejada C 9 1-1 0-0 0 1 0 0 2
Roger Spiller PF 7 0-0 0-0 1 5 0 0 0
Elliott Amaya PG 21 9-14 4-5 2 3 2 1 25
Richard Davidson PG 2 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0 0
Aaron Plyler SF 7 1-4 2-2 2 2 1 2 5
Wilbur Worth SG 6 1-1 0-0 0 0 1 0 2
Turnovers: 21 (M.Poulson 1, J.Neale 5, C.Hickerson 3,
B.Hadden 3, E.Ballard 6, E.Amaya 2, A.Plyler 1)
Blocked Shots: 7 (M.Poulson 2, J.Neale 1, C.Hickerson
2, R.Spiller 1, E.Amaya 1)
Steals: 5 (M.Poulson 1, B.Hadden 1, E.Ballard 2,
E.Amaya 1)
3P FGs: 7-25 (C.Hickerson 1-4, B.Hadden 0-3, E.Ballard
2-10, E.Amaya 3-6, A.Plyler 1-2)
Player of Game: SG Brian Pace (APOL)
They shot 63% from the free throw line and 55% from three-point land. Seem like everything they threw up was dropping. Brian Pace, that little engine that could was out of his mind, Daniel Rodgers had a double-double and it got so bad even the bench guys got a bit of play in this one. Ludlow's shooters came up cold, but it didn't matter because Apollo can apparently play up tempo when they need to or can slow it down and beat you that.
They're the scariest team left in the tournament, but will the magic run continue or will it end with two games to go? Should be fun to find out. The bracket that's posted is updated live as I sim the games, so..you can see the results as they happen even when I haven't written up about them yet.