article 8th region re-cap and rankings 1/16/17

Lots of games being played in the 8th region this past week with district rivalry's and the ALL A taking place. Congrats to the Walton Verona Bearcat's on winning an exciting tournament this week and good luck representing the 8th region this week. This region is definitely top heavy with 4-5 teams, but the middle of the region I think will play a big role in this year's regional tourney. Hard to believe but we are only 6 weeks out of district tournament play. Whoever is able to get hot like Aaron Rogers has will punch their ticket to Rupp Arena.

1. Oldham County Colonels - They have won games that have been placed in front of them against teams from the 8th region, and they have captured the #1 seed in the 29th and will face Trimble in district tournament play. Wins over Spencer and North Oldham this week, both on the road and hard fought wins. Oldham has a monster week against Trinity,Collins and Henry. I would love to see the Titans healthy for that one. The Colonels keep having balanced scoring from a lot of people.

2. Collins Titans - I like this team that Gaither has, if healthy I may have them in the #1 spot. They have faced a lot of adversity and just keep winning games somehow. They beat South Oldham and Shelby without 2-3 starters which is impressive. A big 3 pointer in the corner pocket by Cochran sent the Shelby game into OT, and they found a way to win. Neither them or South looked healthy, but the size of Collins worry's me for South if they meet again. This week the Titans have Eastern, Oldham and Simon Kenton. Pretty tough road!

3. South Oldham - The Dragons have been under the weather these past 2 weeks, but seem to be healthy now moving into a big stretch of games. They still managed to beat Simon Kenton and Frankfort this week. Beating Simon impresses me considering the size advantage that Simon has. The Dragons have to find others that can attack the basket besides Griffin if they want to win games moving forward. Dragons are off for 9 days until they play North Bullitt, a good chance to heal, rest and get better.

4. Anderson County - The Bearcats just seem a little off, they got a win over Casey County and lost to a good Perry Central team this week, but they are giving up a lot of points, something I am not accustomed to seeing in Lawrenceburg. They have North Oldham and Central Hardin this week both challenging games AC.

5. Walton Verona Bearcats - Winning an All A is hard, especially in this region. I know that a lot has been mentioned about other young players on here, let me tell you that Walton has several and will be a thorn for a while in the 8th region. They have only (1) senior and have 9 sophomores, and Clinkenbeard is a junior. With the size and guard play this team could make life hard on the top 4 I have above them. Wins over Trimble, Eminence and Gallatin this week with all being 20+ in margin. They will play the winner of region 12 which could be Somerset or Danville. Somerset beat Pulaski this past week so they could have their hands full. Good luck Bearcats!!!!!! REPRESENT the 8th!!

6. Simon Kenton Pioneers - The Pioneers lost 2 close games this week, Cooper beat them 4 and South Oldham beat them 2. The two teams that beat them very well could be at Rupp so if there is anything as impressive losses these qualify. With the size this team has, I would not want to play them in a sudden death game like the regional tourney. Simon has 2 district seed games vs. Williamstown and Grant County this week. Then they play Collins @ Henry in a rematch of last year regional first round game that was a good one.

7. Spencer County Bears - The Bears only game this past week was a close loss to Oldham County. The Bear's seem to struggle to score when they play better teams, but they are playing good defense in those games as well. They have Larue, and Gallatin County this week, both will be challenging. Next week it will be interesting to see them and Anderson play to gauge both teams.

8. Gallatin County Wildcats - Wildcats made the All A regional final, where they lost to Walton, I really believe the game before vs. Williamstown had a lot to do with their performance. They looked exhausted and Walton looked rested, after all the Walton boy's had blow out wins in their games. This is what makes winning a regional hard on All A teams, not alot of depth and back to back games. The Wildcats have Trimble, Owen and Spencer this week, alot of games with Owen being a district seed game.

9. Grant County Braves - This team has exceeded my expectations, lost a lot to graduation, get a new coach, and have improved all year. Coach Utter and his staff have done a great job in their first year together. A shot in the arm moving forward in a competitive district for sure. They beat Montgomery County and lost to Pendleton County, two 10th region teams. The loss at Collins in OT is impressive, I know that Collins is missing pieces, BUT they were missing those pieces when they beat South Oldham as well. The Braves have Simon Kenton and Owen County this week as they get back into regional and district play.

10. North Oldham Mustangs -The Mustangs lost to Oldham County this week, meaning they will play the Dragons first round of the district tournament with one of those teams not advancing. They did get wins over Harrison County and Western Hills in the DMD classic. They have Iroquois, Anderson and Shelby County this week. I am anxious to see the regional games and how they compete outside the 29th district. The Mustangs have only played 2 teams in the 8th region which is odd to me.

11. Williamstown Demons - They lost a heart breaker to Gallatin in the All A tournament, were they led most of the game. The Demons have Simon, Calvary Christian and Trimble this week. Game vs. Simon will tell us more about this team

12. Shelby County Rockets - They might be 4-12 but have played a hard schedule, and would beat most of these teams in the 5-12 range in our rankings in my opinion. They played really hard against the Titans Friday in defeat then had to go play Warren East where they got a win, showing some toughness. Playing without Josh Edwards, arguably their best player as well. A team that will be very dangerous in a couple weeks.

13. Eminence Warriors -The warriors beat Owen County and lost to Walton in the All A this week. I look for this team to sneak into the regional tournament somehow, they have to many good players not too. Also Coach Brown has done a tremendous job with this group in his first year. The Warriors play Henry County and Carroll this week, two more district seed games.

14. Henry County Wildcats - Had an opportunity prove themselves this past week but lost to Iroquois and Bullitt Central. They look to rebound against Eminence, a team that narrowly beat them in December. The Wildcats also have Trimble County this week, but #1 Oldham on Saturday.

15. Owen County Rebels - The Rebels lost to Eminence in the All A this past week, and look to get back on track against Carroll, Gallatin and Woodford this week. Two old rivalry's and district seed games.

16. Carroll County Panthers - Hard to figure these panthers out. They have lost 7 in a row, and have Owen and Eminence this week, big seed games. The Panthers lost to Williamstown in the All A.

17. Trimble County Raiders- Can the Raiders get a win this week as they play Gallatin, Henry and Williamstown? They lost to Walton Verona in the All A this past week.

Player of the Week: Charles Cochran of the Collins Titans. Charles had 25 in the win vs. South Oldham, and 21 in the win vs. Shelby County, including the 3 pointer at the buzzer to force OT. Impressive to lead this team with 2-3 starters out with injury and sickness.

Games of the Week:

Oldham vs. Trinity Jan 17th at Oldham

Oldham vs. Collins Jan 20th at Collins

Anderson vs. North Oldham Jan 17th at North Oldham

Collins vs. Simon Kenton Jan 21st at Henry Invitational

Shelby vs. North Oldham Jan 20th at Shelby County

Great work:thumb:

Great work:thumb:

I 2nd the Motion, great work!

SK beat Walton makes no sense to rank them higher than SK.

I think about top 7 is right. I give the spot to WV for winning the all A but will drop back below SK which I think might be #4 again. Like their size and thought pretty good.

Sk just lost to Williamstown by 14.

And Anderson just lost to North Oldham.

AC not living up to preseason hype and potential.

So who wants to be 4th?

Oldham County just beat Trinity.

Oldham County just beat Trinity.

Great win for Oldham and can't hurt as it pertains to respect for the 8th as a whole!

Spencer County just beat a 14-2 Larue County team out of the fifth region by 19 points. 8th region making some noise.

Walton seems to be getting better every week. They do have some young talent that continues to develop. With that being said, they start one sophomore in Deontie Miles who has really stepped his game up in the past year. The remainder of the starting lineup is two seniors, and two juniors that all have either started in prior years or gotten substantial minutes. So I wouldn't say they are totally young. After the starting five the subs of the bench consist of another junior, and three more sophomores. It is nothing for them to play a rotation of nine players every night with four of them being sophomores. Each night different players step up and make plays. This team should only continue to get better the remainder of this season and the next couples seasons moving forward.

Looks like Oldham and Collins are starting to separate themselves from he pack. I have not seen Williamstown play but sounds like they are in a groove right now. I believe that you have anther 3 teams that can beat anyone on a given night in South, Anderson, SK if they play to their strengths - South shooting, Anderson riding Penny and SK playing big. May come down to who can actually get out of there District ad who can be consistent for three games as mentioned previously. If South can get to Henry Co do not count them out just yet as Simpson seems to get them hot at the right time. Just ask Owen Co.

Collins is down and will lose several games until the 2 kids return and get basketball ready. Aka Eastern last night.

Collins is down and will lose several games until the 2 kids return and get basketball ready. Aka Eastern last night.

Do you think they will be back before their district seeding game in 9 days at Anderson?

Already another big week in the 8th and it's not over. Great work on this post!