SCOTT CO. CENTRAL WANTS TO PROVE SEEDS PLANTED WRONG

Seeding is far from scientific, which Scott County Central coach Todd Porter will attest to.

At 4-2, his Braves are the No. 10 seed for the tournament and will face No. 7 Notre Dame (2-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the first round. Central has beaten Puxico twice, Oak Ridge and Bell City. The two losses came against Riverview Gardens of St. Louis and Kelly.

So does Porter believe his squad is a No. 10 team?

"Well, not really," he said. "But we're not from the Cape area. We've never really gotten, since I've been here ... I don't really want to say anything to provoke any controversy. You know, I don't think we're the 10th seed. We'll see, that's all I can tell you."

Overall, Porter is pleased with the young season.

"They're working hard, playing hard. We're not in very good shape yet, but we're getting there," he said.

The Braves, who have won 12 state championships since 1976, are led by John Fort, a 5-10 junior, and Jreece Johnson, a 5-10 sophomore. Each averages about 15 points.

The other starters are 5-10 senior Jason Gipson, 5-10 junior Travis Blackmon and Andy Childers.

Although he doesn't know much about Notre Dame, Porter knows his team must overcome its extreme lack of height.

"I haven't seen Notre Dame play this year," he said. "I really don't know. But I know they'll be good; they always are good. We'll just try to use our quickness. We're going to have to box out. We're not very tall. We have to rebound; we have to get them off the boards.

"(Notre Dame coach Chris Janet has) seen us play. The night he saw us play he probably feels pretty comfortable."

Central has a potent offense, which has averaged about 75 to 80 points this season.

"We've shot the ball pretty well so far this year," Porter said.

Porter said he's not sure what to expect from what looks to be a competitive field after top-seeded Charleston.

"We hope we get to play four games. To play four games in it is exceptional," he said. "There's a lot of big schools up there. It's a very competitive tournament. I think every year the games that we've lost we've been right in the game. It could have went either way.

"I think it's pretty much parity after Charleston. I think the rest are very beatable by everybody. For a fan it should be one of the best ones since I've been here."