article Inside the 9th Region (12/12)

Another week down, many more to come, as we take a look inside the 9th region once again and review last weeks results, stats, and more. Here are this week's rankings:

1. Covington Catholic (5-0)

It's only been two weeks and the Colonels already look to be in midseason form with wins over St Henry (91-33), Louisville St Xavier (73-47), and Louisville Central (71-64). The star of the week for the Colonels was junior CJ Fredrick as he we went for 73 points in the three wins and was 30-43 from the field (8-16 3FG). Senior Cole Vonhandorf scored 25 points in the win over St Xavier, while junior AJ Mayer had 11 points, 11 rebounds in the win over Central.

Up Next: 12/13 at Cincinnati Moeller ; 12/17 v North Hardin at Fairdale (King of the Bluegrass) ; 12/18 v TBA at Fairdale (King of the Bluegrass)

2. Cooper (3-1)

Coming off a loss to Mason (OH), the Jags went 2-0 this week with a dominating win over Conner (77-47) and road win over Cincinnati Elder (54-43). Sean McNeil continued to put up player of the year numbers in the win over Conner (24 pts, 10 rbs, 8 ast) while junior Adam Kunkel finished with 21 points in the win over Elder. Juniors Blaine Walters (15 pts) and Brayden Runion (14 pts, 8 rbs), along with senior Dante Hendrix (10 pts), also finished in double figures in the Conner win.

Up Next: 12/13 at Ryle; 12/16 v Louisville Trinity at Fairdale (King of the Bluegrass), 12/18 v TBA at Fairdale (King of the Bluegrass)

3. Dixie Heights (4-0)

Ken Chevalier's squad improved to 4-0 win two road victories over Newport Cental Catholic (61-55) and Montgomery County (49-39). Senior RJ Schweitzer led Dixie with 18 points in the win over Newcath, followed by Hunter Meyer with 16 and Reed Bradfield with 13.

Up Next: 12/13 v Beechwood ; 12/15 at Campbell County

4. Lloyd (4-0)

Might be reaching some here but the Juggs won both of their games this past week with a 66-63 road win over Newcath and 49-46 win over Holy Cross in Latonia. Sterling Hamilton led Mike Key's team with 24 points, 8 rebounds against Newcath. While the jury is still out on this team, a win on the road over Newcath definitely proves Mike Key's preseason notion that this is the best team Lloyd he has had in a while.

Up Next: 12/13 at Holmes; 12/17 at Williamstown

5. Newport Central Catholic (1-2)

Despite losing to both Dixie Heights (61-55) and Lloyd (66-63), this is still likely top 5 team that is only going to get better as the season progresses. This was evident in Ken Collopy's first career win as a head coach when Newcath picked up a win over Louisville St Xavier (64-55) in the Bardstown Tip Off Classic. Junior Brennan Hall got off to a slow start with 11 and 12 points, but finished the week strong with a 23 point performance in the Breds win over St Xavier. Luke Moeves had back to back 18 point games against Dixie Heights and St Xavier, while Trey Wurtz finished with 10 points in both of the Breds' losses.

Up Next: 12/14 v Newport; 12/15 v Boone County; 12/17 v Campbell County at Newport (John Turner Classic)

6. Holmes (4-0)

Junior Raavai Commodore scored 18 points in a 69-40 win over Bishop Brossart, and followed that up with a 21 point, 9 rebound performance in a 60-57 win over Newport. LJ Miller, Jaiden Greene, and Rico Hollis all three finished with 12 points in the Brossart win. Rico Hollis had 18 points in the win over Newport while Jaiden Greene had a career high 17 rebounds.

Up Next: 12/13 v Lloyd; 12/16 v Buckhorn at Rowan County (Kentucky Bank Challenge); 12/17 v Taylor County at Rowan County (Kentucky Bank Challenge)

7. Conner (4-1)

The Cougars are 1-1 in 33rd district play after a 77-47 loss to Cooper and 85-54 win over Boone County. Spencer Hemmerich finished with 11 points in the loss to Cooper, but bounced back with 23 points, 10 rebounds in the win over Boone County. Travis Connelly (18 pts), Tanner Craddock (13 pts), and Josh Ostertag (10 pts) also finished in double figures in the Boone win.

Up Next: 12/13 at Simon Kenton; 12/16 v Ryle; 12/17 v Walton Verona at Newport (John Turner Classic)

8. Newport (4-1)

The Wildcats enter the top 10 after a 66-61 win over Boone County and close 60-57 loss to Holmes. Junior Mekell Burries led the Wildcats with 26 points against Boone County followed by Donnie Miller and Makhi McGuire with 14 and 13 points. Senior Anthony Harmon finished with 14 points in the loss against Holmes, followed by Miller with 13, and both Burries and McGuire tallying 10. Sophomore Tahj Harding pulled down 11 rebounds against both Boone and Holmes.

Up Next: 12/14 at Newcath; 12/17 v North College Hill, OH

9. Beechwood (4-1)

Ben Toebbe led the Tigers with 25 points in a 56-42 win over Bishop Brossart and 23 points in a 68-62 win over East Jessamine. Senior Owen Alcorn had 11 points against Brossart and followed that up with his first career double double (13 pts, 13 rbs) against East Jessamine.

Up Next: 12/13 at Dixie Heights; 12/16 v Pendleton County

10. Boone County (2-3)

Boone was likely going to fall out of the top 10 after losing to both Newport (66-61) and Conner (85-54), but they picked up an impressive win over BGP's #17 ranked South Laurel Cardinals. Ethan Haynes finished with 27 points, 16 rebounds against Newport with Raymond Rodgers leading the Rebels with 14 points against Conner.

Up Next: 12/15 at Newport Central Catholic; 12/17 v Indian Hill, OH

11. Ryle (2-3)

The Raiders started the season 2-1 but fell to Simon Kenton (66-59) and South Oldham (80-60) this past week. Braden Cheesman (12 pts) and Austin McDaniel (10 pts, 7 rbs) both finished in double figures in the loss to Simon Kenton. Aaron O'Hara led Ryle with 20 points in the South Oldham loss with Cheesman scoring 12 points for the second consecutive game.

Up Next: 12/13 v Cooper; 12/16 at Conner

12. Highlands (1-3)

After a 67-59 loss to South Laurel, the Birds rebounded with a 65-49 win over St Henry. Kyle Finfrock continued his strong play with 21 and 9 against South Laurel and 22 and 13 against St Henry.

Up Next: 12/13 at Williamstown, 12/15 at Walton Verona, 12/17 at Bishop Brossart

13. Holy Cross (0-4)

Another tough week for the Indians as they dropped both games to Campbell County (76-52) and Lloyd (49-46). Ty Houston led the Indians in the Campbell County loss, scoring 15 points, with Parker Zimmerman leading the Indians with 17 points in the Lloyd loss.

Up Next: 12/12 v South Oldham; 12/13 v Scott; 12/16 at Rowan County

14. St Henry (2-3)

The Crusaders were completely overmatched against Covcath, losing 91-33, but rebounded with a 78-62 district win over Villa Madonna, before ending the week with a 65-49 loss to Highlands. Stephen Maley scored 11, 14, and 14 points in the three games this week with Michael Schaefer scoring 19 points in the Villa win.

Up Next: 12/13 v Bellevue

15. Villa Madonna (3-2)

Rough week for the Blue Lightning as they lost to St Henry (78-62) and Sayre (79-42). Thomas Schutzman (23), Will Martin (15), and Sean McIntyre (13) all scored in double figures against St Henry, but Schutzman was the only one to reach double figures (19 pts) against Sayre.

Up Next: 12/12 at Ludlow; 12/14 at Bellevue; 12/16 at Walton Verona

16. Dayton (1-4)

The Greendevils picked up a Division III win over Ludlow (47-42) but fell to Raceland 58-54 to end the week.

Up Next: 12/13 at Silver Grove; 12/16 v Heritage Adademy

17. Bellevue (2-1)

Brett Maehren (23), Tommy Ratterman (18), and Matthew Barrett (15) all scored in double figures for the Tigers in a 73-40 win over Silver Grove. Bellevue also picked up a win over Heritage Academy (76-21).

Up Next: 12/13 at St Henry; 12/15 v Ludlow

18. Ludlow (0-3)

Justin Blackburn and Chandler Booker scored 13 and 11 points in a 47-42 loss to Dayton. Jacob Bridges pulled down 11 rebounds.

Up Next: 12/12 v Villa Madonna; 12/15 at Bellevue

19. Heritage Academy (0-5)

The Eagles have now lost 30 straight, dating back to last year.

About the Rankings and More:

- Highlands' big man Kyle Finfrock is proving to be one of the top big men in the region, averaging 20 ppg, 12.5 rpg through the first two weeks against a decent schedule.

- Not sure if I'm sold on Lloyd at #4 or not but big man Sterling Hamilton has been very solid so far (19 ppg, 8 rpg) and with the win over Newcath, they atleast deserve to be in the top 5 for right now. A win at Holmes on Tuesday would help solidify that spot even more. You could likely put Holmes, Newcath, or Lloyd at #4 and make a solid argument for any. Conner could also make a case as well after defeating Lexcath last week and then beating Boone by 30+ this week.

- Speaking of Holmes, I've followed junior Raavai Commodore since his freshman year and the kid has made a major leap from last year to this year. After scoring 13 points in the season opener, he has scored 18, 20, and 21 over his past 3 games. Rico Hollis has also been a nice surprise for the Bulldogs at 17 ppg.

- Get familiar with Newport's sophomore trio of Makhi McGuire, Donnie Miller, and Tahj Harding. After seeing all three Friday night, the future is bright for the Wildcats. McGuire and Miller are both averaging right around 11 ppg, while Harding is averaging 9 rpg.

- Covcath is obviously REALLY GOOD, but I think the biggest surprise for the Colonels over the first two weeks has been the play of junior Aiden Ruthsatz. Not only is he averaging 10 ppg, but he is shooting 56% (10-18) from outside and 57% (7-12) from inside the arc.

- Sean McNeil and Adam Kunkel get much deserved pub when referring to Cooper, but people need to remember the names Brayden Runion and Blaine Walters as the season progresses. Runion is averaging 8.3 ppg as the Jags third leading scorer (tied with Hendrix), while Walters is averaging 6.5 ppg. That might not seem like much but considering the offense runs primarily through McNeil and Kunkel, their production will help keep a defense honest if they can keep that up for an entire season and continue to improve on those numbers.

- Spencer Hemmerich entered the season with the reputation as a big time scorer (20.5 ppg) but Travis Connelly (12 ppg) and Tanner Craddock (10.8 ppg) have also gotten off to nice starts with expanded roles.

With that all said...agree? Disagree? Thoughts?

Another week down, many more to come, as we take a look inside the 9th region once again and review last weeks results, stats, and more. Here are this week's rankings:

 

1. Covington Catholic (5-0)

It's only been two weeks and the Colonels already look to be in midseason form with wins over St Henry (91-33), Louisville St Xavier (73-47), and Louisville Central (71-64). The star of the week for the Colonels was junior CJ Fredrick as he we went for 73 points in the three wins and was 30-43 from the field (8-16 3FG). Senior Cole Vonhandorf scored 25 points in the win over St Xavier, while junior AJ Mayer had 11 points, 11 rebounds in the win over Central.

 

Up Next: 12/13 at Cincinnati Moeller ; 12/17 v North Hardin at Fairdale (King of the Bluegrass) ; 12/18 v TBA at Fairdale (King of the Bluegrass)

 

2. Cooper (3-1)

Coming off a loss to Mason (OH), the Jags went 2-0 this week with a dominating win over Conner (77-47) and road win over Cincinnati Elder (54-43). Sean McNeil continued to put up player of the year numbers in the win over Conner (24 pts, 10 rbs, 8 ast) while junior Adam Kunkel finished with 21 points in the win over Elder. Juniors Blaine Walters (15 pts) and Brayden Runion (14 pts, 8 rbs), along with senior Dante Hendrix (10 pts), also finished in double figures in the Conner win.

 

Up Next: 12/13 at Ryle; 12/16 v Louisville Trinity at Fairdale (King of the Bluegrass), 12/18 v TBA at Fairdale (King of the Bluegrass)

 

3. Dixie Heights (4-0)

Ken Chevalier's squad improved to 4-0 win two road victories over Newport Cental Catholic (61-55) and Montgomery County (49-39). Senior RJ Schweitzer led Dixie with 18 points in the win over Newcath, followed by Hunter Meyer with 16 and Reed Bradfield with 13.

 

Up Next: 12/13 v Beechwood ; 12/15 at Campbell County

 

4. Lloyd (4-0)

Might be reaching some here but the Juggs won both of their games this past week with a 66-63 road win over Newcath and 49-46 win over Holy Cross in Latonia. Sterling Hamilton led Mike Key's team with 24 points, 8 rebounds against Newcath. While the jury is still out on this team, a win on the road over Newcath definitely proves Mike Key's preseason notion that this is the best team Lloyd he has had in a while.

 

Up Next: 12/13 at Holmes; 12/17 at Williamstown

 

5. Newport Central Catholic (1-2)

Despite losing to both Dixie Heights (61-55) and Lloyd (66-63), this is still likely top 5 team that is only going to get better as the season progresses. This was evident in Ken Collopy's first career win as a head coach when Newcath picked up a win over Louisville St Xavier (64-55) in the Bardstown Tip Off Classic. Junior Brennan Hall got off to a slow start with 11 and 12 points, but finished the week strong with a 23 point performance in the Breds win over St Xavier. Luke Moeves had back to back 18 point games against Dixie Heights and St Xavier, while Trey Wurtz finished with 10 points in both of the Breds' losses.

 

Up Next: 12/14 v Newport; 12/15 v Boone County; 12/17 v Campbell County at Newport (John Turner Classic)

 

6. Holmes (4-0)

Junior Raavai Commodore scored 18 points in a 69-40 win over Bishop Brossart, and followed that up with a 21 point, 9 rebound performance in a 60-57 win over Newport. LJ Miller, Jaiden Greene, and Rico Hollis all three finished with 12 points in the Brossart win. Rico Hollis had 18 points in the win over Newport while Jaiden Greene had a career high 17 rebounds.

 

Up Next: 12/13 v Lloyd; 12/16 v Buckhorn at Rowan County (Kentucky Bank Challenge); 12/17 v Taylor County at Rowan County (Kentucky Bank Challenge)

 

7. Conner (4-1)

The Cougars are 1-1 in 33rd district play after a 77-47 loss to Cooper and 85-54 win over Boone County. Spencer Hemmerich finished with 11 points in the loss to Cooper, but bounced back with 23 points, 10 rebounds in the win over Boone County. Travis Connelly (18 pts), Tanner Craddock (13 pts), and Josh Ostertag (10 pts) also finished in double figures in the Boone win.

 

Up Next: 12/13 at Simon Kenton; 12/16 v Ryle; 12/17 v Walton Verona at Newport (John Turner Classic)

 

8. Newport (4-1)

The Wildcats enter the top 10 after a 66-61 win over Boone County and close 60-57 loss to Holmes. Junior Mekell Burries led the Wildcats with 26 points against Boone County followed by Donnie Miller and Makhi McGuire with 14 and 13 points. Senior Anthony Harmon finished with 14 points in the loss against Holmes, followed by Miller with 13, and both Burries and McGuire tallying 10. Sophomore Tahj Harding pulled down 11 rebounds against both Boone and Holmes.

 

Up Next: 12/14 at Newcath; 12/17 v North College Hill, OH

 

9. Beechwood (4-1)

Ben Toebbe led the Tigers with 25 points in a 56-42 win over Bishop Brossart and 23 points in a 68-62 win over East Jessamine. Senior Owen Alcorn had 11 points against Brossart and followed that up with his first career double double (13 pts, 13 rbs) against East Jessamine.

 

Up Next: 12/13 at Dixie Heights; 12/16 v Pendleton County

 

10. Boone County (2-3)

Boone was likely going to fall out of the top 10 after losing to both Newport (66-61) and Conner (85-54), but they picked up an impressive win over BGP's #17 ranked South Laurel Cardinals. Ethan Haynes finished with 27 points, 16 rebounds against Newport with Raymond Rodgers leading the Rebels with 14 points against Conner.

 

Up Next: 12/15 at Newport Central Catholic; 12/17 v Indian Hill, OH

 

11. Ryle (2-3)

The Raiders started the season 2-1 but fell to Simon Kenton (66-59) and South Oldham (80-60) this past week. Braden Cheesman (12 pts) and Austin McDaniel (10 pts, 7 rbs) both finished in double figures in the loss to Simon Kenton. Aaron O'Hara led Ryle with 20 points in the South Oldham loss with Cheesman scoring 12 points for the second consecutive game.

 

Up Next: 12/13 v Cooper; 12/16 at Conner

 

12. Highlands (1-3)

After a 67-59 loss to South Laurel, the Birds rebounded with a 65-49 win over St Henry. Kyle Finfrock continued his strong play with 21 and 9 against South Laurel and 22 and 13 against St Henry.

 

Up Next: 12/13 at Williamstown, 12/15 at Walton Verona, 12/17 at Bishop Brossart

 

13. Holy Cross (0-4)

Another tough week for the Indians as they dropped both games to Campbell County (76-52) and Lloyd (49-46). Ty Houston led the Indians in the Campbell County loss, scoring 15 points, with Parker Zimmerman leading the Indians with 17 points in the Lloyd loss.

 

Up Next: 12/12 v South Oldham; 12/13 v Scott; 12/16 at Rowan County

 

14. St Henry (2-3)

The Crusaders were completely overmatched against Covcath, losing 91-33, but rebounded with a 78-62 district win over Villa Madonna, before ending the week with a 65-49 loss to Highlands. Stephen Maley scored 11, 14, and 14 points in the three games this week with Michael Schaefer scoring 19 points in the Villa win.

 

Up Next: 12/13 v Bellevue

 

15. Villa Madonna (3-2)

Rough week for the Blue Lightning as they lost to St Henry (78-62) and Sayre (79-42). Thomas Schutzman (23), Will Martin (15), and Sean McIntyre (13) all scored in double figures against St Henry, but Schutzman was the only one to reach double figures (19 pts) against Sayre.

 

Up Next: 12/12 at Ludlow; 12/14 at Bellevue; 12/16 at Walton Verona

 

16. Dayton (1-4)

The Greendevils picked up a Division III win over Ludlow (47-42) but fell to Raceland 58-54 to end the week.

 

Up Next: 12/13 at Silver Grove; 12/16 v Heritage Adademy

 

17. Bellevue (2-1)

Brett Maehren (23), Tommy Ratterman (18), and Matthew Barrett (15) all scored in double figures for the Tigers in a 73-40 win over Silver Grove. Bellevue also picked up a win over Heritage Academy (76-21).

 

Up Next: 12/13 at St Henry; 12/15 v Ludlow

 

18. Ludlow (0-3)

Justin Blackburn and Chandler Booker scored 13 and 11 points in a 47-42 loss to Dayton. Jacob Bridges pulled down 11 rebounds.

 

Up Next: 12/12 v Villa Madonna; 12/15 at Bellevue

 

19. Heritage Academy (0-5)

The Eagles have now lost 30 straight, dating back to last year.

 

About the Rankings and More:

 

- Highlands' big man Kyle Finfrock is proving to be one of the top big men in the region, averaging 20 ppg, 12.5 rpg through the first two weeks against a decent schedule.

 

- Not sure if I'm sold on Lloyd at #4 or not but big man Sterling Hamilton has been very solid so far (19 ppg, 8 rpg) and with the win over Newcath, they atleast deserve to be in the top 5 for right now. A win at Holmes on Tuesday would help solidify that spot even more. You could likely put Holmes, Newcath, or Lloyd at #4 and make a solid argument for any. Conner could also make a case as well after defeating Lexcath last week and then beating Boone by 30+ this week.

 

- Speaking of Holmes, I've followed junior Raavai Commodore since his freshman year and the kid has made a major leap from last year to this year. After scoring 13 points in the season opener, he has scored 18, 20, and 21 over his past 3 games. Rico Hollis has also been a nice surprise for the Bulldogs at 17 ppg.

 

- Get familiar with Newport's sophomore trio of Makhi McGuire, Donnie Miller, and Tahj Harding. After seeing all three Friday night, the future is bright for the Wildcats. McGuire and Miller are both averaging right around 11 ppg, while Harding is averaging 9 rpg.

 

- Covcath is obviously REALLY GOOD, but I think the biggest surprise for the Colonels over the first two weeks has been the play of junior Aiden Ruthsatz. Not only is he averaging 10 ppg, but he is shooting 56% (10-18) from outside and 57% (7-12) from inside the arc.

 

- Sean McNeil and Adam Kunkel get much deserved pub when referring to Cooper, but people need to remember the names Brayden Runion and Blaine Walters as the season progresses. Runion is averaging 8.3 ppg as the Jags third leading scorer (tied with Hendrix), while Walters is averaging 6.5 ppg. That might not seem like much but considering the offense runs primarily through McNeil and Kunkel, their production will help keep a defense honest if they can keep that up for an entire season and continue to improve on those numbers.

 

- Spencer Hemmerich entered the season with the reputation as a big time scorer (20.5 ppg) but Travis Connelly (12 ppg) and Tanner Craddock (10.8 ppg) have also gotten off to nice starts with expanded roles.

 

With that all said...agree? Disagree? Thoughts?

Great Work! @Walter

Thanks for the information. Great job as always.

Great info Walter! BGP is the place to find out what is happening in high school basketball in N. Ky. even for those of us who live here and have other media outlets available. Great info from around the state as well.

 

2. Cooper (3-1)

Coming off a loss to Mason (OH), the Jags went 2-0 this week with a dominating win over Conner (77-47) and road win over Cincinnati Elder (54-43). Sean McNeil continued to put up player of the year numbers in the win over Conner (24 pts, 10 rbs, 8 ast) while junior Adam Kunkel finished with 21 points in the win over Elder. Juniors Blaine Walters (15 pts) and Brayden Runion (14 pts, 8 rbs), along with senior Dante Hendrix (10 pts), also finished in double figures in the Conner win.

 

Up Next: 12/13 at Ryle; 12/16 v Louisville Trinity at Fairdale (King of the Bluegrass), 12/18 v TBA at Fairdale (King of the Bluegrass)

Walters is a sophomore.

Walters is a sophomore.

Noticed that mistake after posting it but it was too late to edit.