article Inside the 6th Region (2/23/15) Season Review & Awards

[GoHardITP]

Season Recap

Previews for Districts 21-24 from the 6th Region were posted last week. In this article there will be a recap on the season and a look on how close the Top Ten Preseason rankings compared to the Final rankings. At the end will be Awards for individual players and Coach of the Year. The season started with a bang when Doss beat PRP in the opener for both teams in a 62-61 thriller. PRP came from down 13 with less than 2 minutes to go and almost came back but fell short. Could the season have been different had PRP posted the win? Doss went on to post an 11-0 record against 6th region foes and only had two other games within 10 points, a 7 point win over Bullitt East and a 3 point win over Iroquois which was surprisingly close. They are the clear favorite to win the Region and are led by Seniors DuJuanta Weaver (17 ppg) and Terrell Gray (15 ppg). The team did go through a major controversy with the situation of a Parent & Player getting into a physical altercation with Coach Tony Williams. Part of that fallout was the unexpected departure of Senior Post Player Tyler Jefferson who also averaged (12 ppg & 7 reb). Still they have beaten the other top contenders, Bullitt East and DeSales with relative ease.

 

Bullitt East has the size to create some match up problems, but the speed of Doss creates problems for Bullitt East. Tyler Sharpe was the scoring leader (17 ppg) for Bullitt East and whenever a big basket was needed it was usually Sharpe who answered the call. Twin towers Tyler Bacon (9 ppg & 6 reb) and Jared Farris (11 ppg & 6 reb) along with Bailey Rakes (8 ppg) and Brandon Klefot (10 ppg) formed the remainder of a very balanced team of veterans. Bullitt East can make a strong run if they play like they did at the KOB during the holidays.

 

DeSales is the 3rd likely team to advance to Rupp representing the 6th region. DeSales has struggled in two losses to Doss, but they have put together a very nice season. Chase Shellman (15 ppg & 7 reb) has been the star of the team as expected, with Shaun Sullivan (12 ppg) emerging as another scorer on a team that plays great team defense. This team has been boosted by a great coaching job by Tom Crews who has an efficient offense that places a premium on good looks from the three point line. If DeSales can continue to run their offense smoothly and hit open three point shots they could be an able challenger to advance from the 6th region.

 

PRP and Fern Creek round out the Top Five who could possibly be dangerous in the post season run. PRP is always dangerous with Coach Mabrey at the helm. However, this season they struggled down the stretch losing four of five before they rebounded by winning their last three games. Richard Gaines averages a double double (21 ppg & 11 reb) and is living up to his preseason POY ranking. Without Gaines, this is a team that would likely struggle to play .500 ball. With him they cannot be discounted to make a strong run. Seniors Drew Glass (10 ppg) & Raheem Khalid (10 ppg) are the other major contributors on this team that likely will be rebuilding in the future so they know this is the last chance for awhile which they will have a good chance to return to Rupp.

 

Fern Creek came in with a total new look from the team that produced a successful coaching debut last season under new Coach James Schooler. Without any returning starters or even experienced players, Coach Schooler began rebuilding with a trio of talented freshmen and a high scoring junior transfer. Tony Washington (15 ppg) was the transfer and lived up to his billing of scoring points in bunches. The three starting freshmen Anthony Wales, Ahmad Price, and Trey Hill formed a nucleus for the future while each averaging around (10 ppg) and also leading contributors across all the statistical metrics. 6'8" Senior, Desi Agonva, also showed improvement throughout the season with (8 ppg) and leading the team in rebounding. Fern Creek was the leading rebounding team in the state and a big part of that was the emergence of this wide body post player who only had JV experience leading into this season. If Fern Creek can get by Jeffersontown in their 1st round district game, they could be a dangerous team in regional play. However, Jeffersontown may be a difficult game with Senior Brandon Johnson (26 ppg & 6 reb) fighting to prolong his terrific high school career. Brandon was outstanding on a team that everyone game planned to stop him without much worry from any other player. He still scored significantly and was one of the best players in both the 6th & 7th region this year.

 

There really is not any other threat in the region to push through the regional tournament to potentially move on to Rupp. Some teams may inflict some damage to the aforementioned teams, but nobody else really has a legitimate shot to advance all the way through the 6th region.

 

Preseason Top 10

1. Pleasure Ridge Park

2. Bullitt East

3. Doss

4. Fern Creek

5. Desales

6. Jeffersontown

7. Butler

8. Western

9. Fairdale

10. Iroquois

 

End of the Season Top 10

1. Doss

2. Bullitt East

3. DeSales

4. PRP

5. Fern Creek

6. Fairdale

7. North Bullitt

8. Western

9. Holy Cross

10. Bullitt Central

 

Co-Coach of the Year

Tom Crews- DeSales & James Schooler- Fern Creek

 

Co-Players of the Year

Richard Gaines- PRP & Brandon Johnson- Jeffersontown

 

1st Team

Richard Gaines, Brandon Johnson, DuJuanta Weaver, Terrell Gray, & Chase Shellman

 

2nd Team

Tyler Sharpe, Jared Farris, Tre Richardson (Fairdale), Terrell Howard (Western), & Tony Washington

 

All Freshmen Team

Ahmad Price, Anthony Wales, Trey Hill, Glenn Queen (Fairdale), & Jaquay Wales (Butler)

[tcjkbt]

Nice job on the update.

[Cameron Crazie]

Nice Job!! The postseason is always interesting in the 6th Region

 

Fairdale gets beat by Holy Cross to shake up the 21st District & J-Town/Fern Creek battle tonight in a big matchup

 

Also Tyler Jefferson is back playing for Doss which bolsters their position at the favorite in the 6th Region even more. His size/athleticism can be a game changer against many teams that lack size/post players.

[VilleCat23]

Big game tonight at Mercy in the 1st round of districts, as Jeffersontown takes on Fern Creek. Fern Creek defeated Jtown by 3 at home in their only reg. season meeting. The Chargers were up by double digits at halftime.

 

Last season Jtown won the reg. season matchup, only to lose by 2 in the rematch in districts. Its always close when these two rivals meet up.

[TheVille30]

Fern Creek vs Jtown was a great game last night. Creek came in with a game plan & stuck with it the whole game. Johnson couldn't get a clean shot or get to the basket all night. He finished with a season low of 9 points with no basket since the 1st qtr (6 1st qtr, 3 free throws rest of game). Creek struggled with their shot the 2nd half soo they got to basket for scoring. Others for Jtown tried to pick up scoring but with bad shots which hurts team. Nothing but good things for Fern Creek with the coaching & kids. They play hard and listen to coaches.

Johnson's school decision should be by end of March. Should be an exciting next chapter...