Jump to content

Inside the 9th Region (12/5)


Recommended Posts

The first week of 9th region hoops is in the books and while it is only the first week of December, we got a little better idea of what to expect from most teams after head to head match ups. These rankings will likely change a lot over these next few weeks, but here is where the teams stand after the opening week.

 

1. Covington Catholic (2-0)

It didn't take long, but the Colonels are back in a familiar spot at the top of the 9th region after defeating Williamstown in a blow out home opener (90-34) and then taking care of a top 20 Lexcath team, 62-52. Junior CJ Fredrick led the Colonels in both games with 20 and 17 points, followed by Cole VonHandorf with 19 and 15 points in the two wins. Aiden Ruthsatz also scored in double figures both games with 15 and 10 points.

 

Up Next: 12/6 @ St Henry, 12/9 @ Louisville St Xavier, 12/10 @ Louisville Central

 

2. Cooper (1-1)

Tim Sullivan's team started the season with a 63-51 win over Holy Cross, but fell to Mason (OH) on Saturday by a final of 70-59. Preseason player of the year Sean McNeil opened the season with a 19 point, 9 rebound effort followed by Adam Kunkel with 18 points. Kunkel started the Mason game hot with 14 points just 3 minutes in to the 2nd quarter, but a hand injury forced him to the bench the rest of the game. Sean McNeil led the Jags with 13 and 6 rbs in the loss while Dante Hendrix and Brayden Runion both had 11 points.

 

Up Next: 12/6 v Conner; 12/10 @ Cincinnati Elder

 

3. Dixie Heights (2-0)

The Colonels start the season with 2 wins as they took care of Walton Verona (55-47) then went to North Laurel and knocked off Taylor County (70-61) in the Legacy Nissan Classic. Hunter Meyer led the Red Colonels in both games with 23 and 22 points. Reed Bradfield finished with 14 points in the Taylor County win, while Tyler Schreck had 15 in the Walton win. This week should give us a good idea just how good Ken Chevalier's team is.

 

Up Next: 12/8 v Newport Central Catholic; 12/10 v Montgomery County @bourbon County- Kentucky Bank Shootout)

 

4. Newport Central Catholic (0-0)

The Breds didn't play the first week but we should get a good idea of where they are right away with two games against top 10 9th region teams and a road game against a solid Louisville team.

 

Up Next: 12/6 v Lloyd; 12/8 at Dixie Heights; 12/10 v Louisville St Xavier (@ Bardstown -Bardstown Tip Off Classic)

 

5. Conner (3-0)

Coach Matt Otte has his team off and running as they started the season with wins over Ludlow (66-49), St Henry (73-53), and an upset over Lexington Catholic (77-74). Spencer Hemmerich got off to a hot start with games of 20, 29, and 22 points in the 3 wins. Travis Connelly had 21 points, while Tanner Craddock finished with 19 points in the Lexcath win. Connelly and Craddock both scored 9 apiece in the other two Cougar wins as well, proving to be consistent second and third options early in the season. Big week coming up for Matt Otte and his team.

 

Up Next: 12/6 @ Cooper; 12/9 @ Boone County

 

6. Holmes (2-0)

The Bulldogs start the season with 2 wins after defeating Highlands (68-61) and Harrison County, 77-58. Junior Rico Hollis has been a nice addition for Mike Listerman's backcourt as he had 20 points, 9 rebounds in the Highlands win and followed that up with a 19 point effort in game 2. Fellow junior Raavai Commodore has also gotten off to a nice start with 13 and 20 points in the two wins. Jaiden Greene finished with 17 points in the Highlands win, while junior LJ Miller had 15 in the Harrison County win.

 

Up Next: 12/7 @ Bishop Brossart; 12/9 @ Newport

 

7. Lloyd Memorial (2-0)

Junior Sterling Hamilton opened the season with a 13 point, 10 rebound performance in an 83-60 win over Carroll County and followed that up with 20 points, 6 rebounds in a 72-67 win over Owen County. Jamal Neal is averaging 15 ppg after 2 games, while Devin McClendon and Williamstown transfer, Derrick Cipollone are both averaging 12 ppg. It's early, but that type of balance could go a long way in Lloyd proving to be better than most people in Northern Kentucky are expecting.

 

Up Next: 12/6 @ Newport Central Catholic; 12/9 @ Holy Cross

 

8. Ryle (2-1)

Raiders started the season with a 67-61 overtime loss to Grant County, but rebounded with a 63-40 win over Bellevue and 73-66 win over East Jessamine. Aaron O'Hara has been the leader for the Raiders so far with 19 points in the season opener, 10 points against Bellevue, and 24 against East Jessamine. Deon Polk had 15 points against Grant County, while Sophomore Vince Rankin had 12 points, 7 rebounds against Bellevue and followed that up with 14 points, 10 rebounds against East Jessamine.

 

Up Next: 12/6 @ Simon Kenton; 12/10 @ South Oldham

 

9. Beechwood (2-1)

Beechwood entered the season unranked but opened the season with a 55-38 win over a solid Walton Verona team and also defeated Sayre, 62-43. The one loss was to Bracken County, 52-49, after leading by 5 at the half. Junior Ben Toebbe has led the Tigers all three games with 10, 17, and 19 points.

 

Up Next: 12/9 v Bishop Brossart; 12/10 v East Jessamine

 

10. Boone County (1-1)

Despite dropping their season opener to Franklin County, 74-46, Boone ended the week on a high note by picking up a 9th region win over Highlands (72-69). Ethan Haynes and Raymond Rodgers both scored 14 points in the season opening loss, with Haynes scoring 15 and Rodgers 11 in the Highlands win. Ethan Nyman scored 17 points, followed by Justin Bowman with 16 points as the other two Rebels to reach double figures in the Highlands win.

 

Up Next: 12/6 v Newport; 12/9 v Conner; 12/10 v South Laurel

 

The Rest

 

11. Newport (3-0)

The Wildcats schedule is the only thing that kept them out of the top 10 but they took care of business with wins over Dayton (59-45), Bishop Brossart (62-45), and Silver Grove (72-24). MeKell Burries is currently leading four Wildcats with double figure scoring averages at 14.3 ppg. Tahj Harding is at 11 ppg, while Donnie Miller and Makhi McGuire both check in at 10 ppg.

 

Up Next: 12/6 @ Boone County; 12/9 v Holmes

 

12. Highlands (0-2)

The Birds are off to a rough start but have been competitive against two teams ranked in the current top 10 with losses to Holmes (68-61) and Boone County (72-69). Kyle Finfrock has been a man down low so far at 18.5 ppg, 14 rpg.

 

Up Next: 12/9 v South Laurel; 12/10 v St Henry

 

13. Holy Cross (0-2)

The Cross had a strong showing against Cooper, losing 63-51, but had a head scratcher against Walton Verona, losing 67-48. Will Volpenhein scored 11 and 10 points in the first two games to lead the Indians. Sophomore Ty Houston scored 11 points in the Walton loss while Nolan Schrand and Joseph Meinze both scored 10 against Cooper.

 

Up Next: 12/6 @ Campbell County; 12/9 v Lloyd Memorial

 

14. St Henry (1-1)

Stephen Maley led three St Henry double figure scorers with 28 points in a 64-56 win over Bishop Brossart and followed that with 15 points in a 73-53 loss to Conner.

 

Up Next: 12/6 v Covington Catholic; 12/8 @ Villa Madonna ; 12/10 @ Highlands

 

15. Villa Madonna (3-0)

The Blue Lightning defeated Silver Grove (72-32), Heritage Academy (56-19) , and Robertson County (67-65) to start the season 3-0 for the second consecutive season. Thomas Schutzman (15.3) and Sean McIntyre (13.7) have been the leading scorers so far with Ben Zalla and Will Martin both averaging right around 11 ppg in a balanced effort.

 

Up Next: 12/8 v St Henry ; 12/9 @ Sayre

 

16. Dayton (0-3)

Green Devils lost to Augusta, Newport, and Robertson County by double figures in week one.

 

Up Next: 12/8 v Ludlow; 12/10 @ Raceland

 

17. Ludlow (0-2)

The Panthers fell to Conner (66-49) and Simon Kenton (74-35) to start the season.

 

Up Next: 12/8 @ Dayton

 

18. Bellevue (0-1)

Bellevue rounds out this week's week's rankings and recap after losing to Ryle 63-40 in the opening week.

 

Up Next: 12/6 v Silver Grove; 12/9 v Heritage Academy

 

About This Week's Rankings and More:

 

- I went with Beechwood and Boone to round out the rankings this week but that could change next Monday. Not much separation or difference between the teams ranked 9 through 14. Head to head match ups these next few weeks should help sort that out.

 

- Strong week for players ranked in the preseason top 10 but I felt Hunter Meyer really solidified himself as an elite player in the region this season after a strong opening week. Everyone knew he could defend and rebound and was one of the better athletes in the region, but scoring at the level he did this week could take Dixie to another level.

 

- I felt Holmes was going to struggle to score but they had three different players score 15-20 points in both games this past week. It will be interesting to see if their defense can continue to create easy baskets in transition as the season progresses. Unlike last year's team, this team hasn't settled for three's and attacks the rim with much better athletes.

 

- Conner was the biggest surprise with the win over Lexcath. I know Luke Johnson didn't play, but a neutral site win over a team like Lexcath could go a long way in confidence for a team that hasn't won a game against a team like the Knights in a while. The Cougars struggled with shooting last year but are currently shooting 50% from the field and 39% from outside.

 

- I'm told Adam Kunkel's hand injury isn't serious and shouldn't miss much time, if any at all. Cooper obviously isn't the same team without him and his ability to score at a high level, but Hendrix and Runion scoring in double figures in his absence is a good sign. With Noah Schidler and Chris McNeil, the Jags have 6 guys who can get you double figures any given night.

 

With that all said, I know it's still extremely early but agree? Disagree?

Edited by Walter
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the review. 33rd district with 4 teams in the top 10. That has probably been a while.

I'm interested in the NCC/Lloyd game this week.

 

It should be noted.....I will NOT be at this game to give updates. Getting paid $100 for 75 minutes of my time at SIRS from 7:00-8:15 on Tuesday.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a focus group on motor oil.

 

I have twice been selected for this one over the years - Once I spent the 75 minutes, the second time as they always over select for no shows - I got to go home with my 100 bucks after 15 minutes! This time they said I was not eligible. (:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have twice been selected for this one over the years - Once I spent the 75 minutes, the second time as they always over select for no shows - I got to go home with my 100 bucks after 15 minutes! This time they said I was not eligible. (:

 

same happened to me once.....hope it happens tonight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.


×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using the site you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use Policies.