[JackRabbitSlim]

[QUOTEI mentioned in one of my other posts that Cumberland was really bad to put eastern kentucky kids straight to JV level regardless of what they did in the fall, and the #2 pitcher on that 2007 JC team was a victim of that as well. He did a lot of good things, and was a quality kid, but I really think that eastern kentucky stigma hurt him?

]

Most freshman end up playing some junior varsity at Cumberlands, not just those from Eastern Kentucky. Very few freshmen are ready to play in the Mid South Conference. It is dominated by junior college and Division I transfers. There have been several player's from Eastern Kentucky over the past few seasons that have been varsity contributors at Cumberlands. Brandon Williams (Ashland) and Adam Blanton (Johnson Central) threw a lot of innings in their careers and were front line starters in the MSC.[/QUOTE]

Ashland is not really eastern kentucky, and Adam Blanton was not really given the opportunity he deserved either, at all. The Mid-South Conference has a whole lot of freshman seeing varsity time. Coach Shelton has gotten comfortable with putting the junior college and transfers on his varsity and then putting all the eastern kentucky kids on the jv to make it look like he's staying local? In reality, he has no intention of playing them, but it is away to keep scholarship money flowing in. I can see why he does it though? It's a smart business move. I know several kids who have left Cumberland because of never getting off the junior varsity, and the reality is some of them didn't deserve too? Most leave the Mid-South to go to Alice Lloyd to play, and because of that Alice Lloyd has gotten progressively more competitive over the years. They have like 60 kids on their roster? Alice Lloyd, the past 5-7 years, has become the chosen school over Pikeville. I remember a time when Pikeville College mercy ruled Alice Lloyd every single year, and now it has completely flipped flop, and why? Consistency!