Team Rankings:

 

1. Wayne County:

 

Wayne County remains at the top of the 12th Region to begin the new year. They sit at 12-0 overall and are 3-0 against 12th Region opponents. They have 12th Region victories over Lincoln County, Southwestern and Casey County. While their out of region schedule may not be the most competitive schedule so far, there hasn't been any reason to not rank Wayne County as the best team in the 12th Region so far. Until someone in the 12th Region can prove otherwise, Wayne County will remain at the top of the 12th Region.

 

Scoreboard

 

 

 

2. Lincoln County:

 

 

Over the past two weeks there hasn't been a team more impressive in the 12th Region than Lincoln County. That includes Wayne County. Lincoln County sits at 8-5 overall and 3-1 against 12th Region opponents. However, in the past two weeks Lincoln County has defeated West Jessamine at West Jessamine, Bullitt East(#1 seed in the LIT, Doss (#6 seed in the LIT, currently ranked #20 in the BluegrassPreps Top 20), lost by 2 points to Lexington Catholic (Republic Bank Champion and current #13 team in the BluegrassPreps Top 20), 11th Region teams Dunbar and Madison Central and lost by 2 points to Montgomery County(current #9 team in the BluegrassPreps Top 20). This is one heck of a run by Lincoln County and they look to be getting stronger each game. From all accounts the difference is the play of point guard Timmy Taylor. As long as Taylor continues to play this way each game you can continue to expect these kind of results from Lincoln County.

 

Scoreboard

 

 

 

3. West Jessamine:

 

 

West Jessamine is currently 8-3 overall and is 4-1 against 12th Region opponents. In the past couple of weeks they dropepd a game at home to Lincoln County but they have also beaten Owensboro, Doss and Southwestern in the Lake Cumberland Holiday Classic so they are still proving that they are one of the top teams in the region. The three point shooting heroics of Will Henderson in the waning seconds of the Southwestern game turned a 55-52 Southwestern lead into a 58-55 West Jessamine win. West Jessamine has also defeated 12th Region teams Danville, McCreary Central and Somerset and they begin district play this Friday with a game at Mercer County.

 

Scoreboard

 

 

 

4. Southwestern:

 

 

Southwestern is 10-2 overall and 4-2 against 12th Region opponents. Southwestern has defeated 12th Region teams Danville twice, Casey County and Garrard County. Their losses have come against Wayne County and West Jessamine but the contributions of Adam Isaacs and Dylan Gaskin giving Justin Edwards the necessary help needed to make Southwestern a strong team. At the beginning of the season there were question marks surrounding how Southwestern would overcome the losses of David Kapinga and Isaiah Collier but it is now evident that Southwestern should be just fine. For now, Southwestern is firmly in the top 5 of the 12th Region.

 

Scoreboard

 

 

 

5. Boyle County:

 

 

The Boyle County Rebels are currently 8-4 overall and 2-0 against 12th Region opponents. They have defeated Burgin and East Jessamine in the 12th Region and they have out of region victories over Bell County, Dunbar and Butler and close losses to Lexington Catholic and Bullitt East. A stronger than normal out of region schedule has provided an opportunity for Boyle County to be a stronger team heading into district play beginning in January. This team has been led by the scoring exploits of Hagen Tyler and Chapman Bean has emerged as a standout defender. The Rebels are hoping for their point guard play to become more sound and that will determine just how good they can be this season.

 

Scoreboard

 

 

 

6. Pulaski County:

 

 

Pulaski County has been the surprise of the 12th Region so far and they sit at 7-3 overall and 4-0 against 12th Region opponents. Their three losses have come at the hands of teams of Louisville area teams. St. Xavier, Doss and Collins have all handed Pulaski County an L this season. Outside of the Louisville area teams Pulaski County is undefeated including against the 12th Region teams they have face which are: East Jessamine, McCreary Central, Casey County and Somerset. Their victory over Somerset came in a holiday tournament so district play begins for Pulaski County begins on the 3rd of January against Somerset at home. We'll find out a lot about Pulaski County in the next month as 8 of their 10 games in January will be against 12th Region teams.

 

Scoreboard

 

 

 

7. East Jessamine:

 

 

East Jessamine got off to a horrible start at 2-6. Since then they have gone 4-1 and won the Campbellsville Holiday Classic with victories over Washington County, Warren East and Holy Cross(Louisville). They are still being led by Ronnie Carson who is the early front runner for Player of the Year in the 12th Region. East Jessamine is 2-3 against 12th Region opponents but they are 1-0 in their district with a 15 point victory against district foe, Mercer County. Their season seemed to make a turn after that Mercer County victory and we will see if they can maintain their momentum gained over the holidays as the district play ramps up in January.

 

Scoreboard

 

 

 

8. Somerset:

 

 

Somerset is currently 7-6 overall and 3-3 against 12th Region opponents. Somerset underwent an unexpected change when Cam Cheuvront decided not to return to the team so he could focus on playing football at the next level. While most expected Somerset to take a step back with the loss of Cheuvront they did the exact opposite. They had a good showing in the Berea Invitational and have enjoyed wins over Franklin County and GRC as well. Things are looking up for Somerset despite the loss of Cheuvront and that is largely due to the play of Ryan Dishman. Dishman is currently averaging 21 points a game and his 31 points against GRC led the Briar Jumpers to that victory.

 

Scoreboard

 

 

 

9. Mercer County:

 

 

Mercer County is 6-4 overall and 0-1 against 12th Region opponents. Mercer County got off to a strong start but the 15 point loss to East Jessamine raised many questions. Still being led by Will Hager's averages of 20 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists and by Russell Sims' senior leadership this Titan team is already in danger of being stuck in the 3 seed of their district as their only loss against 12th Region teams is also a loss to district opponent East Jessamine. Much like Pulaski County we will learn about Mercer County soon as they only have 4 games remaining against teams that are not in the 12th Region.

 

Scoreboard

 

 

 

10. Rockcastle County:

 

 

Rockcastle County is 7-8 overall and 1-2 against 12th Region opponents. Their lone win over a 12th Region team is a district win against Somerset and their two losses are from Lincoln County and they lost to Somerset in a holiday tournament at Berea. 8 of their next 9 games are against 12th Region opponents and district play will continue against Casey County on Friday at home. Casey County is an improved team and this game will be very pivotal for both teams continuing this season. For now, Rockcastle appears to be the better team and they look to prove that immediately.

 

Scoreboard

 

 

 

 

 

Player of the Week:

 

Daulton Peters is the Player of the Week following his 46 point effort in a win against Owensboro. In that game he had 46 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocked shots and 3 steals according to REH5 here on BluegrassPreps. Peters began the season as one of the top 5 players in the region and a performance like this proves it. In this game Peters was also 21-26 from the field and only shot 1 free throw in the game. Just an amazing perfomance by an amazing player.

 

 

http://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/west-jessamine-86-a-268529.html

Woods & Stearns seem quite the duo for Wayne.

Woods & Stearns seem quite the duo for Wayne.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing them.

How big are they?

Woods 6-3 Stearns 6-1 I think.

I believe Woods is listed as 6'3." Not sure of Stearns' listed height but he appears to be 6'2" or perhaps a little shy of that. But, he plays bigger than that as he's very strong and a good leaper. That's certainly big enough for a "3" in the 12th, especially given his strength.

Woods getting interest from Dayton, UCF, Miami of Ohio, Lipscomb as of now. This kid can play.

I had asked that question previously but never heard. Good to hear! Hope he gets there.

The Cards are currently shooting 48%+ from the floor, 38%+ from three and 76%+ from the free throw line. They average 81+ PPG (third in the state) and have thus far defeated Southwestern, Lincoln, Mater Academy (Miami), Carter, TN (115-103) and Shelby Valley.

 

They have three players capable of posting 25+ point games on any given night: Woods (26.1), Stearns (19.4) and Blevins (16.4). As more teams are shifting their defensive emphasis to Woods - Stearns, Blevins and the rest of the team are picking up the slack. And they have done a good job of proving they can play a slow-tempo game as well as a fast-tempo game but that's good. "IF" they can manage to get through the Region then they'll have had the kind of experience teams need going into the State Tournament.

 

Aside from the 12th Region foes, they currently have Knott Co, Central, Montgomery County & Lexington Catholic remaining on their schedule. It will be interesting to see how they fare in these games. Regardless, they'll still have their hands full in the 12th against the likes of Lincoln, Southwestern, Boyle and others.

Some 12th region games of interest this coming Friday:

West Jessamine at Mercer Co.

Somerset at Pulaski Co.

Lincoln Co. at Danville

Casey Co. at Rockcastle Co.

An out of region game featuring Clay co. traveling to Boyle Co. should be interesting as well.

Some 12th region games of interest this coming Friday:

West Jessamine at Mercer Co.

Somerset at Pulaski Co.

Lincoln Co. at Danville

Casey Co. at Rockcastle Co.

An out of region game featuring Clay co. traveling to Boyle Co. should be interesting as well.

 

Glad you posted these. I meant to and just forgot.

 

I plan to be at the Boyle game.

Saturday's only 12th region match up will be Somerset vs East Jessamine at Mercer. Danville will be taking on Montgomery Co. at Mercer also that night.

I don't know if anyone has looked at MaxPreps' rankings. They rank every team within the state as well as nationally. I've followed theirs for a couple of years and think they are pretty good. Obviously, like Cantrall's, it would have to be a mathematical calculation based on strength of schedule and results. (As an aside, Ballard is #1 in the state and #53 nationally. Sounds about right). Here's their 12th region ranking, along with where each team falls in the state:

1. Wayne (7)

2. Lincoln (15)

3.Southwest ((19)

4. West Jessamine (28)

5. Boyle (60)

6. Mercer (78)

7. Danville (88)

8. Pulaski (92)

9. Somerset (105)

10. East Jessamine (108)

11. Casey (137)

12. Garrard (165)

13. Rockcastle (174)

14. Burgin (259)

15. KSD (278)

 

PP - I like your top 5 better, which is not far off from theirs. I think their second 5 is about right. Based on resumes to date: I don't think Pulaski should be at 6th, at least not yet; I think Danville should be around 7th/8th; and I think Mercer is still in the 6 range. Danville has a bad loss at Anderson by 18 early on, and Mercer has a "bad" loss at East by 15, but the rest of those two's performances compare well against the other teams in the 5 to 10 range. I'll say what I've said previously - after the top 4, there's not a lot of difference in the next 5 or 6! Thanks for the analysis and good job, as usual.

I don't know if anyone has looked at MaxPreps' rankings. They rank every team within the state as well as nationally. I've followed theirs for a couple of years and think they are pretty good. Obviously, like Cantrall's, it would have to be a mathematical calculation based on strength of schedule and results. (As an aside, Ballard is #1 in the state and #53 nationally. Sounds about right). Here's their 12th region ranking, along with where each team falls in the state:

1. Wayne (7)

2. Lincoln (15)

3.Southwest ((19)

4. West Jessamine (28)

5. Boyle (60)

6. Mercer (78)

7. Danville (88)

8. Pulaski (92)

9. Somerset (105)

10. East Jessamine (108)

11. Casey (137)

12. Garrard (165)

13. Rockcastle (174)

14. Burgin (259)

15. KSD (278)

 

PP - I like your top 5 better, which is not far off from theirs. I think their second 5 is about right. Based on resumes to date: I don't think Pulaski should be at 6th, at least not yet; I think Danville should be around 7th/8th; and I think Mercer is still in the 6 range. Danville has a bad loss at Anderson by 18 early on, and Mercer has a "bad" loss at East by 15, but the rest of those two's performances compare well against the other teams in the 5 to 10 range. I'll say what I've said previously - after the top 4, there's not a lot of difference in the next 5 or 6! Thanks for the analysis and good job, as usual.

MaxPrep isn't too far off. I think PP is dead on the top 5, but the next 5-6 are a crap shoot. Mercer could be #6 but with a loss to East and Pulaski beating East it's hard to put Mercer ahead of Pulaski at this time. I also think Danville is top 10 but they haven't really done anything to justify top 10 yet. And, Rock is better than both Casey Co. and Garrard Co. Things will start to pan out over the next week as more 12th region match ups are played.

The region rankings are hard to do before January because December is normally full of out of region games. Things will start to take form over the next month. I'm very interested in seeing Pulaski County and Southwestern.

 

I know Mercer County should be a good team but that 15 point loss to a 1 win East Jessamine team was not a good look at all. If they are better than that then they get to start proving it on Friday. I'm interested in seeing how well they play against West Jessamine after being able to get a ton of practice in. I expect a lot more from Mercer as the season goes on. I have a hard time believing East Jessamine is 15 points better than Mercer.