As of this writing, the boys' 8th region standings look like this at the top:

 

Owen County 12-2

Oldham County 12-3

Shelby County 10-3

Trimble County 9-4

North Oldham 9-6

Collins 8-5

Grant County 8-5

Walton-Verona 8-7

Simon Kenton 7-6

Henry County 7-6

Carroll County 7-6

Anderson County 6-5

 

The remaining five teams have losing records heading into 2015.

 

Five teams are undefeated versus 8th Region competition so far:

 

Owen County 7-0 (Trimble, Carroll, Grant, Henry, Eminence, and Gallatin twice)

Oldham County 4-0 (Anderson, Trimble, Grant, Simon Kenton)

North Oldham 3-0 (Trimble, Gallatin, South Oldham)

Collins 3-0 (Anderson, Gallatin, Shelby)

Spencer Co 1-0 (South Oldham)

 

Who's Hot

 

Shelby County - The Rockets have won four straight and six of their last seven. Their lone loss during that time was to a very good North Bullitt team, and they beat sixth region power DeSales and - in their last game - slammed a Grant County team many have pegged as a region contender by a whopping 21 points. The end of this month features a six game stretch over 16 days including games against Collins, Oldham County, Bullitt East, North Oldham, and Clay County....but the Rockets are looking very good right now.

 

North Oldham - Since adding Mustang football player Chris Burton and first-year varsity player Travis Brown into the starting lineup, North is 9-2, including a win over rival South Oldham in the "Coach Bob Classic" final in Crestwood. Jonathan Henry is averaging 24 ppg and 6 rebounds as North tries to get back to the Region 8 tournament for the first time since 2011. North has a huge stretch of seven games beginning 1/10/15....Bryan Station, Oldham Co, Anderson Co., Male, Shelby County, Meade Co., and North Bullitt are a combined 62-26 (.705) as of this writing. North has maybe the biggest "upside" of any 8th region team as the first-year coach Rob Burton, a number of new players to the program, and the football players (North made it to the Class 4A semi-finals this year) get acclimated to each other.

 

Collins - The Titans have won four of their last five, and would be perfect during that stretch except for a 6 point loss to a very good Cooper team. They beat a very good Graves County squad, and upset Eastern, 79-78 - something Oldham County, Simon Kenton, and Grant County couldn't do.

 

Trimble County and Carroll County - Both teams won holiday tournaments in December. Trimble, winners of 6 of their last 8, won their own Jim Hurst Holiday Classic, beating Walden in the final. Carroll, winners of 5 of their last 7, won the Swauger Holiday Classic at Bellevue, defeating Menifee County in the finals. Both teams are looking for a signature win; Trimble's only victory over a team with a winning record is their 15 point win over Carroll, who is 7-6 on the year.

 

Top Scoring Teams in the Region

 

Grant County 69.0 ppg

Oldham Co. 67.7 ppg

North Oldham 67.5 ppg

Owen County 67.2 ppg

Simon Kenon 67.1 ppg

Anderson Co. 65.3 ppg

 

8th Region Boys' Top 10 Heading Into the New Year

 

1. Oldham County (12-3) The Colonels have stumbled a bit of late against top-tier out-of-region competition, losing by 17 to 7th Region power Eastern, by 20 to 7th Region power Trinity, and by 9 in overtime to 11th region power Scott County, Oldham coach Coy Zerhusen's alma mater. The Colonels shot just 23.4% against the Cardinals and leading scorer Hayden Hawes managed just 10 points. But Oldham County still figures to be the team to beat in the 8th....The Colonels handed Simon Kenton their worst loss of the season on 12/29, by 15 points, hitting 61% of their field goals in the process, with Hawes hitting for 19. Hawes was brilliant again against Male on 12/30/14, going for 22 points - over half Oldham's total - in a defensive-oriented 41-35 win over the Bulldogs. Besides the win over SK, Oldham has already handled Anderson County by 25, Trimble County by 30+, and Grant County by 20.

 

2. Collins (8-5) The more the season rolls on, the more impressive Collins' resume is. Despite the weird loss to Franklin County on 12/9/14, the Titans have put together a season wherin even many of the losses are impressive. The one point loss to Henderson County on 12/13/14 looks better every day - especially after Henderson's wins over Trinity, Manual, Bowling Green, and Henry Clay. The win over Eastern on 12/31/14 came against a 7th region team that beat Oldham by 17 and Grant County by 3. But Collins almost gave up a big lead against Anderson County on 1/3/15, playing versus a very young / inexperenced Bearcat squad.

 

3. Simon Kenton (7-6) The record is certainly not as impressive as Shelby or Owen, but SK has played one tough schedule, and only two losses have come by 10 or more points.

 

4. Shelby County (10-3) The Rockets have won four in a row and 6 of 7, and the recent 21 point blowout of Grant County is a signal to the rest of the region. The Rockets will contend - with or without Malik Manica, the injured star guard.

 

5. Owen County (12-2) The Rebels are struggling a bit from perception, perhaps. Despite the best record in the region, overall (12-2), and the best record vs. 8th Region teams (7-0), the Rebels struggle in the public perception game a bit due to an overall weak schedule so far. Against quality competition, the results are mixed: a 2 point win over Grant County; a ten point loss to George Rogers Clark. January is mostly winnable games - though not given victories - but a rematch with Grant looms on 1/26/15 and a brutal February will tell us exactly how good the Rebels are.

 

6. Grant County (8-5) The Braves made quite a run at Eastern, losing just 51-48 over the holidays, but got blown out by Shelby by 21. The Braves need to put together a good solid game against a premier opponent; that next chance comes Wednesday vs. Boone County.

 

7. North Oldham (9-6) Too early to pass judgement on the Mustangs yet. They've beaten who they should, though, and have won 9 of 11. The Henry brothers may be the best guard tandem in the region, which is saying a lot, in a region with Hawes/Hicks (Oldham Co.), Kidwell / Cochran (Collins) and Adkins/Johnson (Grant Co.).

 

8. Anderson County (6-5) This is a very, very young Bearcat squad, which started two freshmen and a sophomore against Collins the other night. And yet - Anderson battled back from a big deficit in that game, cutting the lead to five points late and had the ball, ultimately losing by eight. Cummins is a threat to score 30+ on any night, and if Glen Drury can develop this young team into the defensive team he usually has, who knows? Familiar "Blast from the Past" name: Freshman Cobe Penny is the younger brother of Anderson great C.J. Penny, who led the Bearcats to their last region title.

 

9. Walton-Verona (8-7) OK, maybe it's time to start paying attention to Grant Brannen's Bearcats. Walton-Verona started the year 0-2 vs. two strong teams from Cooper and Boone County, but has gone 8-5 since, including a win on 12/27 over Woodford County, 49-40, and a win on 1/2/15 over Trimble. The Bearcats are still looking for a big win over a top-tier opponent, but the Woodford victory was a solid win over a 9-3 Yellowjacket team, and the victory over Trimble stamped the Bearcats as a major contender for the 8th Region All-A title. Offense is an issue; Walton-Verona has scored 60 or more points only three times this season, but they are surrendering less than 50 a game.

 

10. Trimble County (9-4) The Raiders appear headed for a lot of wins this year. Unfortunately, Henry County (7-6 currently) and Carroll County (7-6) appear to be the only teams currently with winning records on the remainder of the schedule. Still, Michael Dunaway (16.3 ppg / 9.8 rebounds) and Company are off to a great start. But with a 35 point loss to Oldham County and a 35 point loss to North Oldham already in the books, a trip to New Castle may not be in the cards. However, the Raiders certainly look to be one of the favorites to take the 8th Region All-A title.

Trinity, Ballard 1-2 in boys? basketball Litratings | USA Today High School Sports | USA Today High School Sports

 

REGION 8

1.Oldham County 94.0

2.Simon Kenton 87.6

3.Grant County 84.5

4.Collins 82.2

5.Owen County 81.7

6.Shelby County 80.7

7.Anderson County 74.4

8.Spencer County 71.3

9.Walton-Verona 70.1

10.North Oldham 70.0

11.South Oldham 66.9

12.Gallatin County 64.6

13.Henry County 63.1

14.Trimble County 59.0

15.Carroll County 58.2

16.Eminence 48.1

17.Williamstown 35.7