Introduction:

Welcome back folks.

 

This is the last week of the 2013 calendar year, and with the Christmas tournaments underway and teams beginning to form their identities, work on weaknesses, and see if perceived strengths were actually such, it is quite an important one.

 

This week’s edition comes a day late in order to accommodate the finish of tournaments, namely the Republic Bank Classic from Lexington Catholic High School. Because the top 3 (and 5 of the top 7) teams in the 11th were playing in this one, the field was littered with some of the top teams in the state, and 3 games were guaranteed to each, there's going to be an extensive focus on that tournament in this week's edition. That, the fact that both myself and numerous BGP posters were at the event, and the fact that I haven't really received any updates from other schools or coaches leaves this week's notebook as such.

 

Complete results from the Republic Bank Classic can be found here.

 

A list of the All-Tournament Team from the Republic Bank Classic can be found here.

 

Please note, however, that this is usually one of the longest regional notebooks, and that I have extensive information about schools that didn't compete in the Republic Bank Tournament laced in here as well. Of particular note are: Franklin County, Madison Central, Woodford County, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Tates Creek, and Model Academy.

 

 

Finally, well-wishes to Brad Calipari, who suffered a torn ACL this week. It's a tough injury to overcome, and no doubt hurts Lexington Christian Academy, but it's one that the whole BGP family wants to wish Brad the best in recovering from.

 

 

 

 

 

Players of the Week:

 

Jarrod Griffin – Lexington Catholic:

What else can I say, as you’ll see in the second game of the week’s recap, Griffin was all over the place late in the fourth quarter, and sealed a Lexington Catholic victory in the Finals of the Republic Bank Classic.

 

 

Harrison Lane – Lafayette:

Lane ended up with 2 in the Lexington Catholic game, 3 in the NCC game, 18 in the Lexington Catholic game, and 14 in the Augusta game. These might not seem like Player of the Week numbers, but the kid makes this list because he’s an assassin. His only three in the NCC game came with under 1 minute to go and in the midst of a shooting slump, but he still stepped up and drilled it to get the tie and cap the Generals’ comeback. These heroics weren’t even his best of the week, however, as he drilled a half courter while on the move to end send the quarterfinal game against Scott County into overtime, again capping a furious General’s comeback. He’s only a sophomore and is far from Lafayette’s best player or main offensive weapon, but he gives their offense an added dimension with his range and fearlessness to step up and take the clutch shot.

 

Lafayette's Harrison Lane (2) and Augusta's Brent Bach (15).

 

 

Deandre Bradford – Bryan Station:

Bradford, who along with Daquice Allen, seemed to be part of a Bryan Station lineup that I both really liked and saw play well in person against PRP, could be just what the Defenders need. Listed at 6'4, Bradford is a lanky body on a team sorely lacking in size. He also seems more polished than Taquan Claitt. While Claitt seems to be a tough customer who really gets after it defensively and on the glass, Bradford is more of a finesse big man, which makes a nice tandem. In the PRP game, he showed the ability to step out and shoot the 12-15 foot jumper from the baseline, which could really go a long way in opening up a Defenders' offense that was overly reliant on guards who are "streaky" shooters at best. He didn't score in the Cordia game, but bounced back to add 7 in the win over Bardstown.

 

Bryan Station's Deandre Bradford got to the line in the Defender's match-up with PRP.

 

 

Team of the Week:

Lexington Catholic Knights:

After a much maligned road schedule to start the season, the Knights obviously weren’t their normal, crisp, fundamentally sound selves. However, with their performance this week in the Republic Bank Classic, knocking off Harrison County, Bardstown, Knott County Central, and Lafayette in route to winning their own tournament, the Knights have given me no choice but to adjust my rankings. The Knott County Central and Lafayette games are especially impressive considering the Knights won the former by 18 and took a 16 point lead into the break in the latter. For more on some individuals performers who’ve stepped up for the Knights, be sure to notice the final paragraph of my write-up on the game between them and Lafayette on 12/30/13 in the Finals of the Republic Bank Classic.

 

 

 

 

 

Game(s) of the Week:

Lafayette 91, Scott County 86 (OT), 12/28:

This quarterfinal matchup in the Republic Bank Classic featured the #1 and #2 teams in my 11th Region Rankings squaring off, and it did not disappoint.

 

This was a game of runs, with Lafayette jumping out 15-0 early in the 1st. During this time, Generals’ Coach Mike Mendenhall employed a somewhat surprising strategy in giving Jackson Davis the assignment of guarding the much smaller Trent Gilbert. Fans saw Davis do an exceptional job of limiting Gilbert, who didn’t score during this time, but things would change quickly. Davis picked up his second foul near the midway point of the 1st, and was forced to sit for the majority of the remainder of the first half.

 

During this time, Scott County went on a 39-14 run. Lafayette didn’t seem to value possession of the ball, both during this run, and throughout the game as a whole. The play of the game might have been early in the 4th quarter, when Lafayette’s Davis flew in out of nowhere to block a Cardinal’s layup that could have put the nail in the coffin by giving the Cardinals a 10 point lead. Instead, Lafayette went the other way and scored a layup to cut the margin to 6 points—only a four point swing, but nonetheless, a huge swing indeed.

 

Late in the 4th quarter, however, Lafayette would play the “foul game” and cut into Scott County’s lead. They were down three with a few ticks left on the clock when the ball was inbounded and ended up in the hands of Harrison Lane near midcourt. On the run, Lane launched a prayer from halfcourt that found the bottom of the net and forced overtime. At this point, Scott County had lost starting seniors Tony Martini and Matt Murray, and Raekwon Long had 4 personals.

 

Lafayette struck first with a Jujuante Carpenter free throw. From there, the teams would remain scoreless until a pair of Jackson Davis free throws that pushed the margin out to 83-80. From there, Trent Gilbert would miss a shot that was cleaned up by Jackson Davis, this led to Davis cleaning up a miss on the other end with a put-back that pushed the margin to 87-82. After that, Lafayette fouled, putting the Cardinals’ Seth Crank at the line. Crank sank both free throws to cut the lead to 3 at 87-84. The teams would each suffer a turnover before Lafayette’s Davis ended up being fouled again. He knocked down both free throws, pushing the margin to 89-84. Two Trent Gilbert free throws made it a single possession game. In the end, Generals’ freshman Jujuante Carpenter was fouled, but had ice water in his veins as he stepped up and made two clutch free throws to ice the game.

 

For Lafayette, Jackson Davis led the way with 34 points & 11 rebounds, while Harrison Lane and Lance Blakley each had 18. For Scott County, Trent Gilbert led the way with 44 points.

 

Scott County senior Trent Gilbert made his case for the Mr. Basketball award on a big stage when he dropped 44 on Lafayette as most of the 11th Region and observers across the state looked on.

 

 

Lafayette 57, Newport Central Catholic 55 (12/29):

 

I’m reluctant to include Lafayette in 3 games of the week, but am going to since this was a game that they pulled out against a team widely regarded as one of the top 5 teams in the State in most polls. For instance, the most recent Bluegrass Preps Top 20 Poll, released on 12/15/13, had them rated as the #3 team in the State.

 

Newport Central Catholic jumped out to a 33-20 lead at intermission behind a 18-7 margin in the 2nd Quarter. However, as has been the M.O. for the Thoroughbreds for most of the season, that lead would wilt away as Lafayette began to find an offensive rhythm, get buckets, and set up their pressure in the 4th Quarter, as the Generals rode a 24-9 advantage in the 4th to win the game.

 

With the score tied and less than a minute remaining, Harrison Lane would knock down a three from the left wing for his first and only points of the game to tie the score up at 55. NCC’s Tanner Moeves’ took a good look at a 3 that harmlessly came off and eventually wound up in the hands of the Generals with under :30 seconds remaining. The Generals would end up getting Jackson Davis a good luck at the basket, which he missed, but he was able to grab his own rebound and stick it back in for the decisive margin.

 

Davis finished with 28 points & Lance Blakley added 12. Lafayette struggled with the ‘Breds’ size in this one, as the three big-men, 6’8 Jake Schulte (9 pts.), 6’7 Drew McDonald (19 pts.), and 6’6 Ben Weyer (19 pts.) combined for 47 points and 19 rebounds.

 

 

Lexington Catholic 65, Knott County Central 47 (12/29):

In the nightcap of the semi’s, the Knights rode a hot start in the first half, particularly a 22-12 run in the 2nd Period, to an 18 point dismantling of the Patriots. This avenged an earlier 65-53 loss that Lexington Catholic had suffered to Knott County Central a few short weeks ago.

 

Knott County Central, who was previously undefeated on the year, struggled in the first half as star guard and University of Tennessee commit Cameron Justice was held in check and the defense swarmed on 6’7 post-man Evan Hall, holding him to a paltry 7 points on the entire night.

 

In the 4th, with Knott County Central forced to foul, the Knights converted on 22 of 25 free throw attempts for a ridiculous 88% clip from stripe. Aside from those points, only 4 points from the field made up the 26 points scored by the Knights in the 4th.

 

To borrow from Stuart Scott, the Knights were simply “en fuego” in this one, as Tanner Johnson had 20, Michael Talbott had 18, and Jarrod Griffin 13. Cameron Justice found his groove later in the second half to lead all scorers with 22, but this one was all Knights on this night.

 

 

REPUBLIC BANK CLASSIC FINALS:

Lexington Catholic 59, Lafayette 54 - (12/30):

A surprisingly low-scoring affair saw Lexington Catholic build an early lead, leaving Lafayette to play catch-up most of the way. Lexington Catholic would lead 22-12 midway through the 2nd quarter, and had built the lead to as many as 15, with a 29-14 advantage with around 4 minutes remaining in the 2nd. At the half, the margin would be at it’s widest, as Lexington Catholic enjoyed a 36-20 advantage heading into the break after winning the first quarter 20-12 and second quarter 16-8.

 

Unsurprisingly, neither team’s press seemed to bother the other. I say this because both teams basically run the same version of a 2-2-1, ¾ court trap pressure. Seeing this, it was understandable that both teams wouldn’t be phased by the same press that they run, practice both in and against, and know the ins and outs of. Lexington Catholic looked like had a very nice game plan for attacking the Generals on offense. Early on, really spread Lafayette out and you have to credit them for executing their game plan by making smart passes, then knocking down open shots.

 

Around the midway point of the 3rd, Lafayette appeared to be doing just enough to stay in the game, as they consistently kept the margin around 8-10 points, leaving them close enough to remain in striking distance. Then, very late in the 3rd, the Generals would go on a 7-0 run, and the Lexington Catholic lead was cut to 5, 45-40, at the end of the third; this means that the Generals had outscored the Knights 20-9 in the third frame.

 

With Lafayette trailing but having all the momentum, the 4th set the stage for an ending fitting for the finale of such a spectacular tournament. Early in the 4th, Lafayette cut the lead to 2, 46-44, after two Lance Blakley fouls. In the end, the Generals wouldn’t capitalize on opportunities, however, as their biggest problem during the tournament, playing like they valued each possession, would rear it’s head yet again. The 2 point stalemate was broken with Catholic’s Jarrod Griffin was fouled while shooting a three pointer. Griffin would convert all 3, giving the Knights a 5 point advantage.

 

Lafayette would cut the lead back to 1 following two Jackson Davis free throws, at around the 5:30 mark. From there, Davis would get a tough basket through a LC triple team, tying the score at 50 apiece with 4:22 remaining. Each team would score to tie the game at 52. This would be as close as Lafayette would be though, as Griffin went back to the line and converted once to make it 55-52 with :33 seconds remaining. Griffin would come up big with a steal and lay-in to push it out to 57-52 with :18 left. From there, star Lafayette guard Dequise Robinson would knock down two free throws to get it back to a one possession game. Lexington Catholic’s Jarod Griffin would come up big yet again, however, as he ended up getting another steal and icing the game with 2 more free throws, giving us the final 59-54 total. Both teams ended up with 14 points in the fourth quarter.

 

Tanner Johnson gets lots of notoriety, and rightly so, but on a night where he had 13 points, the rest of the Knights needed to step up and did. Since each of these guys deserve mention, here goes:

Reese Ryan, a D1 football recruit who I’ve commented “doesn’t care to get his hands dirty” on the court; Robert Dence, a lanky kid in the 6’6 range who did an admirable job defending Jackson Davis and finished with a double-double, getting 13 points and 11 boards. Michael Talbot, a kid whose improved by leaps and bounds since I’d last seen him play and who now has a go-to move with his floater/runner in the lane reached double figures with 10. Jarrod Griffin, who came up with clutch play after clutch play in overtime, finishing with 11 points that came mostly on late free throws.

 

 

 

 

 

Other Action:

 

This week, the rest of the games will be formatted according to the team that played in them, and if there were 2 11th Region squads in action, the winning squad will get the game mentioned in their segment.

 

 

Bryan Station – Republic Bank Classic:

Bryan Station 69, Apollo 62 (12/26/13):

 

This was a 1st Round game in the Republic Bank Classic. Station led by as many as 11 in the first quarter, however, Apollo led 32-30 going into the intermission, as the Eagles’ star Class of 2016 Wing Eli Wright had 12 points before the break. Station ended up breaking this one open in the 4th Quarter, forcing the Eagles to foul late, behind the shooting of Marcellous Washington. He had one of the best games I’ve seen him play if we’re only talking about how well he shot the ball. I can definitely see the reason he’d give teams trouble if they let him get rolling. Jordan Henry also played well for the Defenders in this one, as did Josh Owsley.

 

 

Pleasure Ridge Park 52, Bryan Station 45 (12/27/13):

PRP was rated #2 in the State in some Preseason polls, but the always erratic Defenders showed what they’re capable of by making a game out of this one, which I got to personally take in while in the company of PurplePride92 and Randy Parker.

 

Station seemed to shoot the ball well in this one. They trailed 12-10 after 1, and won the 2nd, 12-11, after a late push. Going into halftime down only 1, 23-22, the Defenders went into the 4th trailing by 6 after losing the 3rd Quarter 14-9. PRP would pull away late in the 4th when the Defenders were forced to foul, winning 17-12 and giving us the final margin.

 

Bryan Station was led by DeAndre Bradford’s 12, while Daquice Allen added 10, Jordan Henry 7, and Marcellous Washington 5.

 

Some positives for Station in this one:

1.) I really liked the lineup of PG- Marcellous Washington, SG- Daquice Allen, SF- Jordan Henry, PF- Taquan Claitt, and C- Deandre Bradford, with guard CJ Walker rotating in and providing depth. T

 

2.) The emergence of Bradford, a sizeable kid with a solid game when he’s taking the open 15 footer on the baseline and knocking it down as he did against PRP, could be big for the Defenders.

 

3.) I thought Daquice Allen played under control and steady against PRP as well. The kid might not have had tons of big spots, but he didn’t make many big mistakes either. His steadiness and ability to settle the Defenders by resetting a play, getting the team into their offense, and/or tendency to play far more under control than many of his counterparts lead me to think he’ll be a valuable asset going forward.

 

4.) The fact that the Defenders were able to play PRP so well, despite only getting 5 points from Washington, is something that the team can build on. If Washington has one of his better games in this one, who knows how this one might have played out.

 

Bryan Station's Daquice Allen shoots a free throw as two of the top players in the state in PRP's Antonio McDaniels and Lamontray Harris look on.

 

 

Cordia 45, Bryan Station 44 (12/28):

In a game that was surprisingly low scoring, the Defenders narrowly lost to the somewhat mercurial Cordia Lions. Both teams were coming off tough games, as Cordia battled to 2 OT’s with Newport Central Catholic the day before and PRP bested Station.

 

Station went into the break up 1, and added another 1 to their margin entering the 4th, but were outscored 16-11 in the final frame. Felix Frimpong’s 11, Christian Cunningham’s 9, and JJ Catchings’ 7 led the Lions. Taquan Claitt’s 14, and 11 each from CJ Walker and Marcellous Washington led the way for the Defenders.

 

 

Bryan Station 65, Bardstown 60 (12/29):

The Defenders got 22 points from Taquan Claitt and 13 from Marcellous Washington, en route to their victory over a respectable Bardstown squad, who was led by Sevion Schooling’s 29 points. Station used a 24-point 4th quarter to cap off the victory in this one.

 

Bryan Station's Jordan Henry sets to shoot.

 

 

Henry Clay - Republic Bank Classic:

 

Knott County Central 74, Henry Clay 44 (12/26):

 

In this opening round game, the Blue Devils were exposed, and that's really putting it nicely. On a night when Jeremiah Tisdale struggled, Jordan Green was on his own against a Top-10 Caliber opponent, and the results weren't pretty.

 

Tisdale finished with 11, Green 8, and sophomore Isaiah Tisdale had 9.

 

 

Henderson County 76, Henry Clay 65 (12/27):

 

Henry Clay would enjoy a 4 point advantage at intermission after putting up a respectable 44 points in the first half. However, the wheels would fall off late, as the Colonels outscored them 23-9 in the final period. Jordan Green got back on track, scoring 22. Campbell Setzer, a 5'9 senior, would add 16, while Jeremiah Tisdale added 13.

 

Henderson County is no slouch, as they were considered to be a potential top 25 team coming into this one, but that's probably little consolation for a Blue Devils team that is absolutely reeling right now.

 

 

Henry Clay 73, Butler 48 (12/28):

 

Just what the Doctor ordered. Henry Clay feasted on a team which might have been having a worse week than them when they defeated Butler. Green led the way with 20, Setzer added 11, J. Tisdale 10, and Colby Barnes 8 in the rout.

 

 

Henry Clay 82, Augusta 58 (12/29):

 

Like Butler, the Panthers came into this one simply overmatched. Outside of Bach, there might not be a kid on that team, no matter how much heart they play with, that would see serious burn at a school like Henry Clay.

 

That would show, as Green had 21, J. Tisdale 12, and 8 apiece from Barnes and Setzer. In total, 13 Blue Devils would score, which is basically 7-8 players more than what they are used to in big games.

 

 

Lafayette – Republic Bank Classic:

Lafayette 86, Augusta 46:

Lafayette got off to a quick start in this one and crushed an over-matched Augusta squad in first round action. The Generals saw 11 players score in this one as they held Augusta Mr. Basketball Candidate Brent Bach to only 15 points. Their pressure defense was the difference in this one. Of interesting note, this game saw the beginning (at least as far as I know) of a Generals’ trend wherein big-man Jackson Davis would check the opposing team’s top scorer, no matter his size, as he spent some time chasing Brent Bach around and actually did a very admirable job on him.

 

Lafayette's Lance Blakley checked Augusta's Brent Bach early, but a number of Generals did their part in slowing the Mr. Basketball candidate.

 

 

Lexington Catholic - Republic Bank Classic:

Lexington Catholic 66, Harrison County 61 (12/26):

The host Knights opened up with a pesky Harrison County squad on the day after Christmas, and the game would be too close for comfort if you are a Knights’ fan. Taking only a 31-30 advantage into the half, the Knights would build a 7-point lead by the end of 3, only to see the Thoroughbreds outscore them in the 4th. Catholic’s Tanner Johnson led all scorers with 26, while Ryan added 14 and Dence 12.

 

This wasn’t the best showing for the Knights, as Harrison County ended up 1-3 overall in the tournament, with the only win being a 5-point decision over Clinton County.

 

 

Lexington Catholic 69, DuPont Manual 68 – OT (12/28):

Lex Cath went into the half trailing 31-28, but a 19-12 differential in their favor during the 3rd gave them some cushion. They’d need it, as the Crimsons fought back to send the game into an extra period. Manual staged an impressive comeback just to get the game into extra frames, but likely expended too much energy playing comeback, as the 5-4 margin in the overtime period would indicate mounting fatigue on both sides.

 

For Lexington Catholic, Johnson had 16, Talbott 12, Griffin 12, Dence 10, and Donovan Morris 9. Manual was led by Dwayne Sutton’s 21 point effort.

 

 

Franklin County – John Fendley Classic @ South Oldham:

Franklin County 62, South Warren 60 (12/26):

The Flyers would pull out to a halftime lead of 10, 32-22, before letting the Spartans creep back into this one late. The Flyers were led by Rylan Rowe’s 23, as the team still awaits the return of Lorenzo McCaskell.

 

 

Franklin County 75, Eastern 71 (12/27):

The Flyers would take the win over Coach David Henley (formerly a State Championship Coach with Covington Holmes) returned to Oldham County, where he’d previously coached, to have his Louisville Eastern squad square off with the Flyers in the semifinal round. Franklin would again open the game strong, outscoring the Eagles 27-8 in the 1st. An atrocious 5-point 3rd Quarter would let Eastern back in it, but the Flyers soared in the 4th, scoring 24 points to hold on to the victory.

 

For Franklin County, Quentin Brownlee led the way with 18, while Rowe had 15 and Demetrius Wiley 13.

 

 

South Oldham 72, Franklin County 61 (12/28):

This was the Championship Game of the Tournament, as the Flyers took on host South Oldham. Reversing their trend, the Flyers would come out of the gates slowly, trailing 20-12 after 1 before winning the 2nd 19-13. The Flyers’ continued their trend of sluggish starts after the half, getting outscored 21-9, and essentially seeing the game get put out of reach early. Rowe had 20 and Ryan Schneider added 18 in this one.

 

 

Scott County – Republic Bank Classic:

Scott County 75, Butler 61 (12/26):

The Cardinals crushed an overwhelmed Bears’ squad in this one as a number of Bears starters served a suspension. While there was a point late in the game where the Butler team didn’t quit and cut the margin to single digits, don’t look too hard into that, as it came at the expense of Scott County’s reserves. A quick substitution and a few plays later, and the Cards had them right where they wanted them-- yet again.

 

 

Scott County 67, Hazard 47 (12/27):

More of the same domination from the Cards in this one, as no one outside of 6’7, 230 lb. Hazard man-child/forward Chris Hudson could do anything to even remotely pose a threat to the Cardinals. Hudson would finish with 14 and Josh Hollan 16 for the Bulldogs. However, nine Scott County players saw the scoring column in this one, led by Gilbert’s 25 and Teddy Ware’s 10.

 

 

Scott County 51, Pleasure Ridge Park 49 (12/29):

Continuing their trend of getting off to fast starts (aside from the Lafayette game at least), the Cards led 17-9 after 1. Scott County was led by their big 4 in this one, as Gilbert had 18, Ware 12, Martini 10, and Raekwon Long 9. The only other Cardinal points were Seth Crank’s 2. For PRP, D’Angelo Hunger led the way with 17, while Antonio McDaniels was held to 8.

 

 

Scott County 78, Manual 61 (12/30):

Scott County had opened a 28-15 advantage by the end of the 1st, and after adding 5 more to their margin by the break, cruised to a 17 point victory over a surprisingly good Manual squad. Scott County was again led by the Big 4, as Gilbert had 30, Ware 18, Raekwon Long 16, and Martini 10.

 

 

 

 

 

11th Region Team Rankings:

 

 

TIER 1:

1a. Lafayette:

1b. Lexington Catholic:

1c. Scott County:

These teams are so close together that it’s really unfair to say one is substantially better than the other right now. Lexington Catholic knocked off Lafayette at home, but Lafayette had a much tougher road to the finals and one less day of rest than Lexington Catholic (who opened on Thursday), and were playing without 6'7 big man Ross Jenkins, who had a death in the family.

 

Lafayette knocked off Scott County, but needed a half-court heave to do so. Lafayette was also up 15-0 before Jackson Davis picked up his 2nd foul early in the 1st Quarter.

 

Scott County might match up with Lexington Catholic better than Lafayette does considering their styles contrast more than Lafayette and Lexington Catholic’s do. Scott County also has somewhat of a higher ceiling in regards to the fact that Raekwon Long and Teddy Ware, two players of vital importance to the team, are still learning to play with their new teammates and vice versa.

 

I don't even like putting the a., b., and c., on them right now because any of the three appear capable of beating the other two on a given night, but are just as capable of losing to them as well.

 

 

TIER 2:

4. Franklin County:

In my notebooks, I’ve mentioned that All-Region and Top 10-type talent Lorenzo McCaskell has been missing from the Flyers’ totals due to an injury that was lingering from football season. According to a BGP poster familiar with the Flyers, however, he’s set to return soon. Franklin County might be the best “buy low” team in the region right now. With McCaskell and fellow All-Region and Top 10-type talent Rylan Rowe should have his running mate soon, and the two might be the most dangerous 1-2 punch in the region when they are back to full speed.

 

5. Bryan Station:

The Defenders did well for themselves in the Republic Bank Classic, but still appeared to be the same erratic team that can leave observers guessing from game to game. They looked really good against PRP, and played with Cordia before losing by 1, but have also been blown out by Henry Clay and narrowly defeated Frankfort.

 

6. Madison Central:

The Indians played in the Gateway Classic at Montgomery County this week, beating Worthington Kilbourne (Columbus, OH), losing a 66-60 decision to a better than expected Lincoln County team, then winning the consolation game against Lawrence County by a 93-90 margin in OT. Not a bad week, but the Indians are still young and will experience some growing pains as they go. This was one of those weeks where they played a lot of games and got better, but still didn’t have the results that they’d likely hoped for.

 

7. Henry Clay:

Let's be real here, the Blue Devils are what they are right now, and that's a team with a great player in Jordan Green, a really good one in Jeremiah Tisdale, and then not much else. Maybe if Barnes, Setzer, or Isaiah Tisdale develops some more, they can be respectable, but they haven't really gotten consistent output from any of them as of yet. Right now, I think of them as a team that can ride Green to blowouts of teams who are simply overmatched, but one who just doesn't have the horses to beat a top 25 team unless Green just absolutely blows up, Tisdale plays well, and they have a 3rd player who can step up and give them more than 6-8 points.

 

 

Tier 3:

 

8. Woodford County:

The Yellow Jackets ran into a tough stretch while hosting the Woodford County Invitational last week, which was surprising considering they hosted it. They only topped a struggling Tates Creek team by 2 points in overtime, lost to Bryan Station by 14, and then lost to Paul Laurence Dunbar by 7. Not exactly the result we'd come to expect from the Jackets, but all hope is not lost. Coach Scott Hundley is known for getting teams to overachieve, and I don't think this year's squad is going to be any different.

 

Eli Boggess is still one of the premiere scorers in the 11th, and when they are on, both Grayson Graf and Samuel Souers can fill it up as well. The biggest problem might lie in the fact that all three are guards and the team lacks a big time scoring presence on the interior. Regardless, Woodford County seemed to get back on track this week in the Our Lady of Bellefonte Classic, hosted by Greenup County. They demolished the competition on their way to the championship, beating Fairview 68-46, East Carter 68-53, and Elliott County 73-66.

 

Before writing off Woodford and moving them down further in the 3rd Tier, I want to see how they perform in the upcoming week, as they travel to Richmond to meet Madison Central on January 4th, a day after they travel to Frankfort for a district game with the Panthers.

 

Even more telling than that may be how the Jackets perform in the following week, as dates with Henry Clay (1/11) and Scott County (1/14) loom. Playing well in the game with Scott County and at least getting a split, or possibly even sweeping games against the Indians and Blue Devils will go a long way in rebuilding this teams' image.

 

Whatever it is about them, I just see them being more of a threat to upset a big name on a given night, and like their chances of playing spoiler to someone's season better than I do for Dunbar (whose beaten them already) or Tates Creek (whose proven they are capable of beating them).

 

 

9. Paul Laurence Dunbar:

The Bulldogs have sophomore Darius Williams, who may be one of the more underrated players in the State, but expect that to change soon if he keeps posting the ridiculous scoring average he's started out with, especially considering the competition and talent surrounding him.

 

While Dunbar got the head-to-head win over Woodford County, two ugly losses to a good Lincoln County team (72-48) and a decent Boyle County team (76-54) over the course of this week in the Gateway Classic hosted by Montgomery County have just left an awful taste in my mouth.

 

 

10. Tates Creek:

I love Coach Wayne Breeden as a strategist and think he's one of the best coaches in the state bar none, but I really don't know how much talent the Commodores really have this year outside of Jordan Fucci.

 

Last week, they only beat a struggling Frankfort team by 2. This week, they traveled to the Red River Classic at Powell County and lost to a solid but not spectacular Wolfe County team by 9. They followed that up with an uninspiring 13 point win over an Estill County team that already has 7 losses on the season.

 

Coach Breeden will get the most out of his bunch, but it appears that this is a rebuilding year on Centre Parkway.

 

 

TIER 4:

11. Model:

The Patriots look to be the team to beat heading into the All-A Classic. They only have 2 losses on the season: a respectable 12-point loss to Jackson County at Berea and a 2-point decision to East Carter at Greenup County. Otherwise, they’ve beaten Beechwood, Bourbon County, Webster County, Fairview, and Frankfort. While they won’t be a threat to win the 11th, they have a shot at the All-A Regional.

 

 

 

 

 

Upcoming Games:

 

Thursday, 1/2:

Model Academy vs. Garrard County

 

Friday, 1/3:

Tates Creek @ Lexington Catholic

Dunbar vs. Hopkinsville @ Muhlenburg County

Henry Clay vs. Moore

Woodford County @ Frankfort

 

Saturday, 1/4:

Bryan Station vs. Warren Central @ Central Hardin

Woodford County @ Madison Central

Franklin County @ Henry Clay

Scott County vs. Oldham County

Dunbar vs. Owensboro @ Muhlenburg County

Sayre @ Berea (two All-A schools)

 

 

Tournaments:

Lexington Christian is traveling to Scottsdale, Arizona to participate in the Rock Hill Classic (1/2-1/4). Best of luck to the Eagles, here's to hoping you represent Kentucky well!

Edited January 2, 201412 yr by JokersWild24

NOTE:

I've just updated this article. I wanted to thank D-Rob for reminding me about a team that I'd left out. I think discussion is great, and if you'd like to see a particular team mentioned, please feel free to Inbox me and let me know if you think there's someone I've omitted. This week, it honestly occurred because in the process of trying to cover so many tournament games, I accidentally left off a team that was worthy of being ranked.

 

Even if a team isn't "ranked", etc. then just passing along stats and tidbits that I can't really get from khsaa.org or read about on most of the major sources would be greatly appreciated and I'll be sure to post them as long as I can find the time to. Even if your team is winless and you want to send me along something that's worth mentioning like a player getting an academic scholarship or something similarly interesting, that's fine. High school athletics should be about more than recognizing the best of the best, but given my current geographical location, it's somewhat hard to stay as "in the know" as I was while I lived in Lexington, so if there's ever anything that someone wants to pass along, by all means do so and I'll try to work with you to put it out.

Great stuff Joker!

Great stuff Joker!

 

Thanks. I'm going to publish a novel at the end of the year with each of the weekly notebooks. JK. :wacky:

Some pictures from the games are now added and the notebook has been finalized with some updates.

As usual, this region is as tough as any in the state. The top three held their own and actually exceeded the other regions in the Republic Tourney. I have no doubt one of them will be a force in March.

Very impressed with your work here Joker, plus it was nice finally getting to meeting you last week. :thumb:

Very impressed with your work here Joker, plus it was nice finally getting to meeting you last week. :thumb:

 

Thanks, and it was nice to meet you as well.