The opening week of 9th region hoops is in the books and it's time to get back in to the weekly segments of "Inside 9th Region Hoops." Just like last season, in each edition we will take a look back at how the top 10 fared, name a player of the week, and look at the top match ups this week. With that said, let's jump right in to this week's top 10.

 

1. Newport Central Catholic (2-0)

 

The Breds took care of business this week with wins over previous Dixie Heights, 62-30, and a road win over a tough Cooper squad, 64-53. In the game against Dixie, Newcath was led by the trio of Drew McDonald (20 points, 11 rebounds), Ben Weyer (18 points, 9 rebounds), and Zack Pangallo (15 points). In the win over Cooper, it was once again McDonald who paced the Breds with 20 points, with Weyer and Moeves both contributing 14 points, apiece.

 

Overall: Newcath is already in mid season form and clicking on all cylinders. Regardless of whether or not Dixie was missing two starters, they completely dominated the Colonels and went on the road and picked up a win against what is going to end up being a very tough Cooper team that competes for the region title. Drew McDonald is playing like the best player in the region right now and Ben Weyer has been really good the first two games as well. When this team gets solid production from those two as well as Moeves and Pangallo, all in the same game, there aren't too many teams in the state who are going to be able to beat them.

 

Up Next: Boone County (12/16)

 

2. Covington Catholic Colonels (1-0)

 

The Colonels opened their season with a 74-56 district win over rival Holy Cross. Covcath was led by four double digit scorers in sophomore Cole VonHandorf (18 pts), senior Grant Romes (15 pts), and Cooper Theobald and Bo Schuh with 13 points, each.

 

Overall: Holy Cross came in to this game on a roll with surprising wins over Boone County and Simon Kenton, but the Colonels showed why they are the preseason #2 team in the region and seem to playing at a high level already. If they consistently get the type of production that they got out of Romes, Schuh, and Theobald, the Colonels are going to be tough to beat this season. We should know more about this team after a Friday night match up at #1 Trinity.

 

Up Next: 12/9 v St Henry, 12/12 at Louisville Trinity, 12/13 at Louisville St Xavier

 

3. Holmes (0-1)

 

The Bulldogs lost their only game last week to top 20 Henry Clay, 79-67. In that game, Holmes was led by senior Rod Avery with 16 points, 10 rebounds. West Virginia commit, and preseason player of the year, James Bolden, got off to a rough start with just 13 points on 4-6 FG, but he did pull down 5 rebounds and dish out 5 assists. Junior Marcus Mullins and senior Jason Covington both chipped in 9 points, while junior Markel McClendon finished in double figures with 10 points, respectively. After building a 10 points 3rd quarter lead, it became the Isaiah Tisdale show as he paced Henry Clay with 33 points, 10 rebounds.

 

Overall: Holmes success this season is going to depend on how well they defend. They have players who can score and have a talented roster but they struggled to defend this game and the results show in the final score. The Bulldogs will have to get James Bolden more looks at the rim as well. Six shots for a top 3 player in the state simply isn't going to cut it against the schedule that Holmes is playing this year. When he is having a big night, it will take pressure off Avery and McClendon to do more which will open up easier shots for them.

 

Up Next: 12/9 at Bishop Brossart, 12/12 at Harrison County, 12/13 at St Henry (5:30 start time)

 

4. Cooper Jaguars (1-1)

 

The Jags finished last week with a win and loss as they beat Walton Verona 69-47, and fell to Newcath 64-52. In the Walton game, the Jags were led by a trio of double figure scorers in sophomore Sean McNeil with 17 points, and seniors Jon Liechty and Colin Hathorn with 16 and 15 point. Against Newcath, sophomore Sean McNeil once again led Tim Sullivan's bunch with 19 points, 12 rebounds. Freshman Adam Kunkel chipped in 8 points as the second leading scorer for the Jags.

 

Overall: Cooper moves up a spot in this week's rankings after an impressive showing against #1 Newcath. Sean McNeil has been really good so far this season and is making a strong case as one of the top 10 players in the region, already, as a sophomore. The key for the Jaguars is going to be for them to get consistent production from Liechty, as well as the inside duo of Hathorn and Hawkins. This team has really good young talent with the addition of Kunkel, but it is the three seniors mentioned above that need to provide leadership and consistency for Cooper to make a serious run at the 9th region title.

 

5. Dixie Heights Colonels (0-3)

 

It was a rough first week for the Colonels as they fell to Newcath (62-30), Campbell County (58-51), and South Laurel (55-46). In the Newcath game, the Colonels had nobody reach double figures but were led by Liam Rabe with 8 points, as well as Mitch Bolin and Nick Niehaus with 6 points, each.

 

The Colonels got the offense going a little against Campbell County but still barely cracked 50 points. The very next day, the Colonels travelled down to London for the Legacy Nissan Classic, where they fell to South Laurel. Austin Schreck led the Colonels with 14 points, while Liam Rabe also reached double figures with 10 points, with Mitch Bolin pitching in 9.

 

Overall: Despite the struggles, Dixie comes in at #5 because of the tough early season schedule against the #1 team in the region, a top 20 and #1 team in the 10th region, and a South Laurel team that basically played a home game against the Colonels. Still, Dixie has to find offense and in a hurry if they are going to seriously compete for the region title, like many expected before the start of the season. Getting Drew Moore and Andrew Hedger back should help fix some of the offensive woes. Austin Screck and Liam Rabe need to shoulder more of the offensive load until those two get back in "basketball shape." Mitch Bolin has been a nice surprise so far this season and should continue to contribute to the Colonels success.

 

Up Next: 12/12 v George Rogers Clark

 

6. Conner Cougars (3-0)

 

The Cougars picked up three wins this past week, defeating Ludlow (79-65), St Henry (79-74), and Lawrence County (95-85).

 

Conner has been led by junior Michael Scott through three games with scoring outputs of 29, 24, and 29. In the Ludlow win, Jacob Barnes contributed 17 points, while Spencer Hemmerich tallied 12. It was another balanced effort for Conner against St Henry as well as Hemmerich poured in 18, with Alec Garnett adding 15. The Cougars continued the trend against Lawrence Co with Alec Garnett (17 pts), Jacob Barnes (16 pts), and Spencer Hemmerich (14 pts) all reaching double figures, while Nick Watts was just short at 9 points.

 

Overall: Conner has been a nice surprise so far. Jim Hicks said before the season this team would be better than people think and they are showing it early. The Cougars have balance in both scoring and rebouding, and offensively can flat out put the ball in the basket, led by junior Michael Scott who has been filling it up so far at 27 ppg. The Cougars will need to improve defensively to be a serious contender, but no doubt their offense and uptempo style is going to be tough for most teams to slow down. We should know more about Conner after Tuesday night.

 

Up Next: 12/9 at Cooper, 12/12 at Boone County

 

 

7. St Henry Crusaders (2-1)

 

The Cru went 2-1 this week with wins over Bishop Brossart (61-53) and Silver Grove (73-28) with a loss to Conner (79-74).

 

In the win against Brossart, St Henry was led by a trio of double figure scorers with Adam Goetz pouring in 19 points, while Alex Green and Paul Wallenhorst chipped in 10, apiece.

 

In the loss against Conner, St. Henry senior forward Conner Kunstek led all scorers with 26 points, 15 rebounds. Logan Kenney (14 pts), Paul Wallenhorst (12 pts), and Adam Goetz (10 pts) also contributed to the balanced scoring attack.

 

Overall: St Henry comes in at #8 in the rankings this week. The Cru have shown a balanced scoring attack and were a turnover away from possibly beating #6 Conner as they led 74-73 late, before a 3 gave Conner the lead with around 30 seconds left. Coach Faust has a group that has shown balance and will need to continue that trend if they are going to beat any teams listed above them. We should know more about them after this week's games.

 

Up Next: 12/9 at Covcath, 12/12 at Highlands, 12/13 v Holmes

 

8. Newport Wildcats (1-1)

 

Newport went 1-1 this week with a win over Dayton (85-29) and loss to Brossart (80-77) in double overtime.

 

In the double overtime loss to Brossart, the Wildcats were led by junior Ethan Snapp with 33 points, and senior Paul Price with 15 points.

 

Against Dayton, Kedan Davis scored a career high 19 points, while Price chipped in 16 and Snapp contributed 14 points.

 

Overall: The loss to Brossart was a little surprising, but the Wildcats will get better over the next couple weeks as they get all of their football kids back in "basketball shape." Snapp and Price have been really good for the Wildcats so far, as expected, but Coach Snapp will need to see more production and consistency from Davis and Kam Covington if this Newport team is going to seriously contend with the teams ranked ahead of them.

 

Up Next: 12/8 at Boone County, 12/11 at Lloyd, 12/13 v Withrow (John Turner Classic)

 

9. Ryle Raiders (1-2)

 

Ryle went 1-2 this week with losses to Grant Co (72-45) and Cincinnati Moeller (58-28), while picking up a win over Ludlow (70-61).

 

Overall: It was a rough first week for the Raiders as they took on what could end up being the 8th region champion in Grant County and Cincinnati powerhouse, Moeller. Ryle lacks size this season and will have to rely on good guard play and outside shooting to compete with the teams ranked ahead of them.

 

Up Next: 12/9 at Boone Co, 12/13 v South Oldham at Shelby Co

 

10. Holy Cross Indians (2-1)

 

Holy Cross makes an appearance in the top 10 this week with a 77-69 win over Simon Kenton and 54-50 win over Boone County. The loss came against #2 Covcath, 74-56.

 

In the win over Simon Kenton, the Indians were led by the duo of Tyler Bezold (25 pts) and Jared Seibert (18 pts).

 

It was a balanced scoring night for Holy Cross against Boone County as Jakobowski led Ryan Schrand's bunch in scoring with 15 while Bezold and Leighton Schrand both finished with 10 points.

 

In the loss to Covcath, the Indians allowed Covcath to shoot 56% from the field but did get double digit scoring outputs from Tyler Bezold with 19 and Carter Zimmerman with 11.

 

Overall: With the uncertainty of Boone big man Junior Stockwell's injury, Holy Cross enters the top 10 with two wins over the Pioneers and Rebels. Tyler Bezold is the key to the Indians success. This group can shoot and will rely on that heavily but will need Bezold to consistently be at 15 plus a night for Holy Cross to compete with the teams ahead of them. We should get a better feel for whether they belong in the top 10 or not after this week.

 

Up Next: 12/8 v South Oldham, 12/10 at Campbell County, 12/12 at Cooper

 

Player of the Week: Michael Scott (Conner)

The junior is currently averaging 27 ppg and has his team off to a 3-0 start. If he can consistently play at that level, the Cougars could surprise a few teams.

Nice snapshot of the week, Walter.

What happened to Boone Co? I know they lost to Holy Cross. Any other games?

What happened to Boone Co? I know they lost to Holy Cross. Any other games?

 

Smoked by Newport tonite. Ugly.

Smoked by Newport tonite. Ugly.

 

Where did all of Boone's players go? They had a pretty good Jv team last season. I didn't see any of the JV starters from last season. A lot of new faces. Rebuilding year?

Was told Boone returned more Varsity players than jv players this year...that's never a good thing for a program.

Was told Boone returned more Varsity players than jv players this year...that's never a good thing for a program.

That is scary.

I counted 3 returning varsity players from last season and one is hurt

Michael Scott 27 ppg... Wow. Congrats to him and the Cougars on a great week.

I know Boone lost a really good PG to Lloyd.

Michael Scott 27 ppg... Wow. Congrats to him and the Cougars on a great week.

 

I told Coach Hicks before the season started I thought Mike was going to have a big year. Very underrated in this region but the kid can play.He has really improved his outside shot.

CCH is not nearly at the level where they will be. Not close.

 

I'd guess also that Coach Dawn, while blessed with nice experience in the Big 3, still has a lot of development to do as well.