Week #1 is in the books and what we know is that this will be a region that will have surprise after surprise. There really is not any evident clear cut dominant team if the week 1 results continue. Lets look at the recap of the new Top 10:

 

Team of the Week:

Doss

 

Player of the Week:

Dujuanta Weaver

 

1. Doss

Doss has only had a single game so far, but they beat the Pre-Season #1 team in PRP in a battle of 6th region contenders. With the Doss victory, the two teams are switching the top position ranking this week, but PRP is still close behind in the second spot due to the close margin of victory. Dujuanta Weaver was outstanding scoring 30 points and could do no wrong in the 1st half. The game was about to be a lop sided affair with less than 2 minutes to go and a 15 point Doss lead. But then Doss showed signs of being a team that could unravel when they had to hope for a missed free throw to avoid going into overtime as PRP cut the game to a single point loss, 62-61.

 

2. PRP

PRP opened on the road as the Pre-Season #1 ranked team versus the #2 ranked Doss. For most of the game they did not look like the early favorite as Richard Gaines stayed in foul trouble which really hurt PRP. Without Gaines this team struggles. However, he is a great player and when he is getting the ball to score the team could still challenge for the regional title. They made a furious comeback and came up short at the end. However, falling behind as bad as they did indicates they are vulnerable going forward. They did follow with two home wins over Valley and Taft out of Cincinnati in a close game they won on a last minute 3 point shot.

 

3. Bullitt East

Bullitt East opened week 1 with two victories against North Oldham on the road and a home opener against Moore which was much closer 5 point differential than anticipated. Either Bullitt East may not be as dominant as expected or Moore might be much better than anticipated. Likely, there is simply many teams on any given night that will cause close games and upsets due to parity in the region.

 

4. Fern Creek

Fern Creek was picked fourth and started the week going 2-0 with double digit victories over Moore & North Oldham. In an odd scheduling twist, District foe Bullitt East played the same two teams in their openers last week. Fern Creek justified their regional prediction closely behind Bullitt East as they also beat both teams and actually beat Moore in an easier fashion than Bullitt East. The freshmen trio of Trey Hill, Ahmad Price, & Anthony Wales lived up to the hype with strong showings in both games. Junior Tony Washington also showed a scoring punch for this defensive minded team.

 

5. DeSales

DeSales stays in the #5 spot despite losing their opener to Oldham County. They followed with a win over Butler by 6 and a 2 point win over Adair County. Chase Shellman looks good as expected and a scoring threat is emerging with Sean Sullivan scoring nicely from three point range. DeSales will play good defense, but finding an additional scoring threat to help Shellman will be critical.

 

6. Western

Western deserves the bump from 8th in Pre-Season rankings to 6th this week with consecutive double digit victories over Atherton & Iroquois. High Scoring affairs either reflect a potent Warriors offense or favorable opponents in Week 1 scheduling. Either way, this team is athletic and quick so they will score points in transition.

 

7.Butler

Butler beat Southern easily in their home opener, but then lost a 53-47 contest to DeSales before getting beat pretty easily by Oldham County 75-58. Oldham appears to be a good team though, so Butler deserves the ranking not too far below DeSales even though it was a home loss by 6.

 

8. Fairdale

Fairdale is 1-0 after a 2 point last second win over previously #6 ranked Jeffersontown. This may be a case of Jeffersontown really struggling without anyone to help Brandon Johnson as they are now 0-2. Until Fairdale plays additional games, this is a spot up from their previous ranking at #9.

 

9. Whitefield Academy

Whitefield jumps into the top 10 by virtue of a 3-1 record, but the level of play has really not allowed us to read too much into the early season success. Until Whitefield starts to play in region teams, the word is still out as to whether they can break into contention.

 

10. Moore

Even though they are 0-2, Moore has played two of the top 4 teams in the region. They played Fern Creek close through 3 quarters and came within 5 of Bullitt East. They deserve a Top 10 ranking from the competitiveness against these top teams from the region.

A big thing the kids have to learn this year, is Refs are going to make a lot of calls. Of course it gets worse when other region referees calls the region tournament. Either the kids learn to play good defense or their team will suffer. Foul issues will hurt PRP in the regionals if he doesn't learn to play smart. Doss, Bullitt East can probably afford their main player in foul trouble. If kids don't adjust, the region could be open to anyone.

 

The coaching in Louisville has got to get better. I am a Jtown fan, and would take a coach such as Morrow anytime over the current Jtown coach. I know kids have to do their job, but there is no reason why you should have only 1 of 5 kids that truly knows basketball on the court .

Nice report. Thanks.

Brandon Johnson is a stud but he has absolutely NO help. Zero! If someone doesn't step up it could be a long year for the Chargers. Johnson is averaging over 30 ppg and they are still only 1-3

FYI - Coach Haworth from Hopkinsville played Doss (scrimmage) and Fern Creek. He thinks Fern Creek will win the 6th region. They beat Doss by 17 and Fern Creek on a last second bucket to win it.