JokersWild24 Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 Since I've been doing the "Inside the 11th Region" notebooks all season, I thought it'd be fun to post a final edition of my rankings as well. Here goes nothing: Tier 1: 1. Scott County: The Cardinals have separated themselves from the pack and are the favorites heading into postseason play. With Trent Gilbert scoring, Tony Martini doing all of the little things while stuff the stat sheet, Teddy Ware starting to come on and Raekwon Long having shown improvement over the course of the year, it's understandable that Scott County has been doing so well. Just how well you might ask? Try a 28-2 record with those 2 losses coming to Ballard in the season opener on December 2nd and Lafayette in the semifinals of the Republic Bank Classic on December 28. Since then, the boys from G'town have rattled off 20 straight, with some impressive wins during that time to boot. Tier 2: 2. Lafayette: I'll write off the road loss to Boyle County as a bump in the road for the Generals. Still, you wonder if they might have peaked too soon, or, as I've mentioned previously, if other teams might have started to adjust and find ways to keep them from being successful by taking away some of the pieces that complement Mr. Basketball candidate Jackson Davis so well. I still look at this group as the deepest in the 11th, and think they have the best shot of knocking off Scott County in a one-and-done format. Tier 3: 3. Madison Central: In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, Coach Allen Feldhaus' Indians have risen to the challenge. They've notched a big win over Lexington Catholic in their last 4 games. They also went on a tough road trip to Covington Catholic and performed well, losing by only 10. The Indians have somewhat landed here by default given the losses suffered by other teams ahead of them, but are athletic and dangerous enough to spoil someone's season and have done well in the underdog role so far this year, so I'm not counting them out. 4. Lexington Catholic: A team who has certainly seen better days, I'll give them the nod in this spot based on their history. Still, the Knights enter postseason play as losers of 5 of their last 6. They've really been hurt by being forced to reschedule a number of games late. Their downward spiral continued this week as they lost 2 road games to Lincoln and Wayne County. The Knights have a very solid, skilled trio in wing Tanner Johnson, big man Robert Dence, and point guard Jarrod Griffin. If Griffin and backcourt mate Michael Talbott are healthy, it'll be a huge boost for the Knights going into the postseason. Their work will be cut out for them when they travel to Dunbar to take on the Bulldogs in the first round of 43rd District play in an elimin. A win there and they likely meet up with Lafayette for the 43rd District Title (though Tates Creek or Lexington Christian Academy might have something to say about that). 5. Dunbar: A team who has caught fire as of late. Beating the Bulldogs likely means staring down and solving the problem of defending sophomore sensation Darius Williams. However, their late run has changed the game up a bit, as others have stepped up and gained confidence in big time wins that were only magnified by the fact that Williams was out with injury. It's no coincidence that their run came when Freshman Center Dontell Brown began to play big. Tavieon Hollingsworth is another young guard that rounds out Dunbar's trio of promising youngsters. Senior guards Troy Black and Donnie Lewis' experience will be counted on as the Dawgs youngsters could get overwhelmed by the magnitude of their games and caught up in the moment. They've lost 4 straight, but the last of those was a 2 point decision to Scott County at home, which probably does more to show me how far they've come than any win would. 6. Bryan Station: What a year it's been for the Defenders, as, in many ways, it's had lots of moments to forget. Still yet, they appear to be more comfortable with Jaron Brown manning the helm, and have knocked off Dunbar and Montgomery County on the road in back to back games. Despite that, they are still highly erratic, as they are a team capable of playing with anyone, but were still beaten by Tates Creek on February 13th to cap a streak of 4 straight losses that was part of a stretch where they went 3-8 (though many of the losses were to teams like Scott County, Lafayette, and 12th Region favorites Wayne & Lincoln Counties). 7. Henry Clay: Like Bryan Station, the Blue Devils are erratic and have had many moments this (off)season they'd probably rather forget. If you could go back in time, minutes after their heartbreaking defeat to eventual State Champion Madison Central in last year's regional final, and told their fans that this would be the kind of year they'd end up having, that could have been one of the few things would crush them even more and make the loss sting that much worse. But, we are where we are and as things stand now, the Devils have Jordan Green back from a dislocated elbow, a second star in Jeremiah Tisdale, and some kids who appear to have grown into their role over the season. They'll take on Bryan Station in the first round of 42nd District play in a game hosted by Bryan Station, so their work is cut out for them. Tier 4: 8. Lexington Christian Academy: A team who has some young talent, and played Lexington Catholic very close in a home game that they were really hype for while Catholic was still hot. Sophomore wing Matt Rose is a nice talent and big man Michael Young has shown promise with some of his better performances. Still yet, I think the Eagles are a year away, though they, like all of the teams in this tier, could beat someone on a given night. 9. Woodford County: Eli Boggess is one of those Hundley-coached kids who carries the Yellow Jackets and is recognized as one of the top players in the area. He, along with guards Grayson Graf and Samuel Souers will have to get hot and score in bunches if the undersized Yellow Jackets want to knock off one of the contenders in regional play. 10. Tates Creek: A well coached team who'll slow it down and grind. You'll play Coach Wayne Breeden's pace when you face the Commodores. They have a top 10 talent in junior post Jordan Fucci, but there aren't other kids around him who've stepped up and provided a consistent scoring punch either. 11. Franklin County: A team with a lot of talent who came into the season expected to do more, the Flyers have underachieved. Still, there's time to right the ship. Seniors Rylan Rowe and Lorenzo McCaskell, two top 10-20 type talents in the 11th, lead the way.
JokersWild24 Posted February 24, 2014 Author Posted February 24, 2014 Anyone agree or disagree with any of these ratings? Huge jumble in the middle with teams 3-7 in my opinion.
Jud Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 You got me. We played just about everyone. Outside of Scott County there is a bunch of teams that could rise up.
JokersWild24 Posted February 24, 2014 Author Posted February 24, 2014 You got me. We played just about everyone. Outside of Scott County there is a bunch of teams that could rise up. Agree. The teams in the 4th Tier probably aren't as far down as everyone thinks. Outside of Scott County at #1 and Lafayette at #2, there really aren't a lot of teams that you can get a definitive ranking for and feel really comfortable about.
Jud Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 Woodford County is one of those teams. We have taken our lumps but in the last 3 games we played West Jessamine, Bullitt East and South Oldham. We were 1 possession difference in each game in the last click of the clock, beating BE and losing to WJ and SO.
JokersWild24 Posted February 25, 2014 Author Posted February 25, 2014 Woodford County is one of those teams. We have taken our lumps but in the last 3 games we played West Jessamine, Bullitt East and South Oldham. We were 1 possession difference in each game in the last click of the clock, beating BE and losing to WJ and SO. What do you see Woodford County doing in the District?
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