Basketball season is back in Northern Kentucky. While it is still early in the season, we have already seen some surprises compared to the preseason notebook and rankings. Let's jump right in to things with the Top 10, while taking a look at the standouts from each team.

 

1. Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds (1-0)

 

Why: The Breds defeated our preseason #4 team, Dixie Heights, 66-35 behind 18 points from junior Drew McDonald. Junior Zack Pangallo also reached double digits with 14 points, while sophomore Ben Weyer made his first start and recorded 11 points. Senior Jake Schulte scored 8 pts, while pulling down 13 rebounds and newcomers Tanner and Grant Moeves combined for 15 points with 8 and 7, respectively.

 

Overall: It was an impressive performance by the Thoroughbreds. There are no weaknesses in the starting lineup and they have one of the best 6th man in the region in Grant Moeves. The key for the Breds throughout this season will be avoiding foul trouble. It might not be a very popular opinion amongst the Newcath faithful, but there is definetly a significant drop off after the above named 6 players. Luckily for Coach Dawn, those 6 are good enough to make this a season to remember up on the hill.

 

Up Next: At Dayton 12/10

 

2. Holmes Bulldogs (3-0)

 

Why: The Bulldogs absolutely steamrolled their competition in their first three games with an 87-45 win over Newport, 63-24 win over Lloyd, and 82-51 win over Cincinnati Purcell Marian in the Bluegrass/Buckeye Classic Saturday night. In those games, Holmes had three different leading scorers as James Bolden led Holmes in the win over Newport with 18 points, while sophomore Markel McClendon led the Dogs in the win over Lloyd with 17 points, and Quinton Chames led them in the win over Purcell Marian with 15 pts, 7 rbs, 4 ast, and 4 stls.

 

Overall: Holmes has showed great balance early on, overwhelming the opposition with their talent, depth, and quickness. The emergence of Markel McClendon and his outside shot will be a problem for opposing teams as he has the quickness to beat his man off the dribble if they try to play up on him out on the perimeter. James Bolden and Quinton Chames are obviously the two most talented players on the team, but Marcus Hill and Armani Housely have also scored in double figures and are proving that this is a very complete team. Hill is the only starter not averaging double figures right now, at 9 ppg. They may be ranked #2, but there isn't much separating them from the #1 spot.

 

Up Next: 12/10 v Bishop Brossart ; 12/14 v Cordia at EKY Expo Center

 

3. Covington Catholic Colonels (0-0)

 

Why: The Colonels have yet to play. Their game against Moeller was cancelled on Friday night. With Dixie having a subpar performance against Newcath, Covcath stays in the #3 spot.

 

Up Next: 12/10 v St Henry ; 12/14 v Louisville St Xavier

 

4. Cooper Jaguars (1-0)

 

Why: The Jags move up to #4 with a 59-35 win over Walton Verona on opening night. Senior Spencer Holland led the Union squad with 13 points, with freshman Sean McNeil also pouring in 13 points in his first career varsity game. Brother Zach, a senior, was the third Cooper player in double digits with 12 points.

 

Overall: Cooper is a team that many people are maybe overlooking. The Jaguars have a trio of guards who can play with any team in the region, a solid big man in Colin Hathorn, and a rising star in freshman Sean McNeil. The younger McNeil gives Coach Sullivan a player who can score at all three levels and also has good size at 6'1 to help out on the glass at both ends. Expect this team to continue to get better as the season progresses.

 

Up Next: 12/10 at Conner; 12/13 at Holy Cross

 

5. Dixie Heights Colonels (0-2)

 

Why: The Colonels went 0-2 this week with a 66-35 loss to #1 Newcath and 79-77 loss to Campbell County.

 

Overall: Dixie is a work in progress but will continue to get better. Despite the blow out loss to Newcath and close loss to Campbell County, I just can't see 5 teams in this region better than them. In the Newcath game they were led by Brandon Hatton's 14 points, while there was obviously an improvement on the offensive end in the Campbell County game with the 77 point output. Coach Chevalier will continue to tweak the player combinations to find out which one works best.

 

Up Next: 12/14 v Cincinnati St Xavier

 

6. Boone County Rebels (3-0)

 

Why: The Rebels are 3-0 at the end of week one after picking up wins against Holy Cross (68-46), Walton Verona (59-42), and Sayre (70-44). Boone had 5 double digits scorers in the Holy Cross game, led by Brendan Stanley's 14 points. Hunter Hixenbaugh and Junior Stockwell both had 12 points apiece, while Barry Ordu and Brett Mayberry each chipped in 11 points. In game 2 against Walton, it was more of the same as 4 players reached double figures led by Brendan Stanley's 14 pts, 7 ast. Brett Mayberry (12), Junior Stockwell (11), and Hunter Hixenbaugh (10) were the other three Rebels in double figures. In the Sayre game it was senior Stephen Nash who stole the show with 22 points, while Stanley finished in double figures once again with 16.

 

Overall: Boone is a bit of a sleeper but have nice balance and will continue to consistently get 3 plus guys in double figures on a nightly basis. Stanley does a great job doing everything on the floor and putting his teammates in a position to be successful, while Hixenbaugh and Mayberry form one of the more underrated backcourts in the region.

 

Up Next: 12/10 at Ryle ; 12/13 v Conner

 

7. Ryle Raiders (2-1)

 

Why: Ryle starts the season with a 78-43 win over Grant County and a 71-60 win over Cincinnati Country Day, with the lone loss coming to a top 10 team in the state in Scott County by a score of 73-64. It was a strong start to their senior season as Tanner White led Ryle with 25, while Will Stuhr had 14 pts, 13 rbs in the opening win against Grant County. Stuhr continued that solid play with 30 pts, 12 rbs against CCD, while Josh Bellew had 14 and Jake Puthoff 9 pts.

 

Overall: Ryle has proved to be better than predicted in the preseason. A solid showing against Scott Co despite their stud guard, Trent Gilbert, going off for 30 points, while Raekwon Long had 17 pts, 11 rbs, shows that Ryle is capable of competing with some of the big names in the 9th region. Coach Dave McFarland's system suits this team much better than last year's system.

 

Up Next: 12/10 v Boone County ; 12/12 v Holy Cross

 

8. Conner Cougars (1-0)

 

Why: Conner won their opener 81-77 over Ludlow behind 24 points, 8 rbs from Landon Lamblez and 22 points and 9 rbs from Sam Hemmerich.

 

Overall: A win is a win in the early season games but this isn't a game that Conner should've had to come back in to win. Still, Coach Hicks squad is one that will be very scrappy and make things tough at both ends for the opposition. The biggest thing with this team will be consistency.

 

Up Next: 12/10 v Cooper ; 12/13 at Boone County

 

9. St Henry Crusaders (1-1)

 

Why: The Cru went 1-1 this week with a 64-47 loss to Brossart and 71-40 win over Silver Grove.

 

Overall: It's tough to get a gauge as to how good St Henry really is. They looked good in their preseason scrimmage against Owen County, but a lopsided loss to the preseason #2 team in the 10th region, and blow out win over a Silver Grove team who will struggle this year don't give us enough information to accurately rank them.

 

Up Next: 12/10 at CovCath; 12/13 v Highlands; 12/14 v Harrison County

 

10. Highlands Bluebirds (0-0)

 

Why: The Birds have yet to play but land at #10.

 

Overall: This is a spot that I think will feature either Newport or Highlands throughout the season. Since Highlands hasn't played yet, they land here until we see what they have. We should know more about them after this week as they open with St Henry Friday night.

 

Up Next: 12/13 at St Henry ; 12/14 v Walton Verona

 

Top Games This Week:

 

Tuesday 12/10:

Bishop Brossart at Holmes

Cooper at Conner

Boone Co at Ryle

 

Friday 12/13:

Conner at Boone Co

 

Saturday 12/14:

Holmes v Cordia at EKY Expo Center

Covcath v Louisville St Xavier

Dixie v Cincinnati St Xavier

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Dixie ahead of Boone? I know we're going to have our ongoing Boone vs Cooper debate, but you still have Dixie too high.

Can a mod please add 12/8 to the end of the thread title?

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Dixie ahead of Boone? I know we're going to have our ongoing Boone vs Cooper debate, but you still have Dixie too high.

 

I guess I'm just higher on Dixie than most.

 

I don't disagree with your opinion of Boone ahead of Dixie, but for right now, I like Dixie.

 

Give me another week or two to see both and then I might change my mind.

I need to see Boone play a decent team before saying they are better than Dixie.

I need to see Boone play a decent team before saying they are better than Dixie.

 

Agreed.

I guess I'm just higher on Dixie than most.

 

I don't disagree with your opinion of Boone ahead of Dixie, but for right now, I like Dixie.

 

Give me another week or two to see both and then I might change my mind.

 

Walter, not that you venture very often into the depths of the 10th region, where would you rank Campbell County if they were in the 9th?

Its 1. NCC

2. Holmes

3. CCH

And everybody else, 4 spot to Ryle at the moment. The 9th is not as deep this year.

Walter, not that you venture very often into the depths of the 10th region, where would you rank Campbell County if they were in the 9th?

 

I would say Campbell, Brossart, and Scott would all be top 6 in the 9th. If you want to add SK in there as well then make it 7.

I would say Campbell, Brossart, and Scott would all be top 6 in the 9th. If you want to add SK in there as well then make it 7.

 

Campbell Co and Brossart, probably.

 

Scott;, no way they're higher than Cooper or Covcath. I'd also argue Boone and Dixie are probably better too.

This year, the 9th is very similar to the 7th and 11th regions. Several "state tournament caliber" teams will be watching from the sidelines..........it should be an interesting year in the 9th....

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Dixie ahead of Boone? I know we're going to have our ongoing Boone vs Cooper debate, but you still have Dixie too high.

 

I feel the same way. I've seen them play and also have seen Boone, Conner and St. Henry. I think we all think Dixie is better than what they have shown us, but they just haven't shown us anything! What we thought was a top 3-4 team is currently not playing to that level. Everyone is afraid to discount them at this point in the season because of Hatton and some good bigs. I think they should be below the other 3 teams I saw play--for the time being. I still believe they will probably be in the top 4 by the end of the year, but until they prove it, they should fall a bit.

I feel the same way. I've seen them play and also have seen Boone, Conner and St. Henry. I think we all think Dixie is better than what they have shown us, but they just haven't shown us anything! What we thought was a top 3-4 team is currently not playing to that level. Everyone is afraid to discount them at this point in the season because of Hatton and some good bigs. I think they should be below the other 3 teams I saw play--for the time being. I still believe they will probably be in the top 4 by the end of the year, but until they prove it, they should fall a bit.

 

That is the key point, and you nailed it, many people are holding out hope that the old Hatton will show up and carry this team to the top of the region (by top I mean Top 4). I just don't think we'll see that Hatton at any point this year for a myriad of reasons. If that is the case, the vaunted junior class that was going to be a great complement to a D-1 kid, is now having to carry a heavier piece of the load than many anticipated. I don't think they are up for that against the Top 5 or 6 teams in the 9th. It is a shame too, because I love Brandon and would have loved to have seen his final year of high school go out with a bang.

I think Hatton will eventually be Hatton this year. If so, we have another potential spoiler team.