9th Region - Week 10 Review - (Special pre-District Tournament Edition)

 

LET’S GET READY TO RUMMMMBLLLLLLLE!!!

 

The regular season came to a close this week, and the 2nd season; tournament time postseason play is about to begin!!!

 

This indeed was one unusual season where we contended with the unexpected that no one could’ve imagined in the COVID-19 Pandemic that tried its best to stifle our season, but we plowed through, and thankfully we got a season off of the ground, and it was indeed an exciting one seeing the Top 5 of Region 9 all make it into the Top 20 in the state in various rankings. I don’t recall this ever happening, at least not in my lifetime. 

 

The 9th Region truly has some great talent with the likes of Highland’s Sam Vinson, a Mr. Basketball nominee, and Beechwood’s Scotty Draud who is now the 9th Region’s leading scorer of all time, and many excellent underclassmen who hint at great things to come in the next few seasons. 

 

Many of us didn’t have the benefit of attending games in person, but thankfully lots of schools stepped up their game providing video broadcasts of their games so that family and fans alike could still stay informed, included, and involved. Heck, I think that I saw more games this season than ever before, when going into the season I worried that I might not see any at all. 

 

Some teams managed to get over 20 games played, while many others were oftentimes sidelined for multiple games in a row, and settling for many less games than that, but the good news is that every team is in good shape to play in the district tournaments.

 

It never fails at this time every year I start to get a little melancholy, and excited all at the same time. I savor the upcoming district, regional, and state tournaments, but I have the unsettling feeling in my gut that says that the season is almost over, and every year I suffer great withdrawal because of. I just never like to see the end of the basketball season. I’m wondering if others can relate, but perhaps I should take this up with my therapist. LOL!

 

OK let’s get down to business. Sometimes the last week of the regular season can be a bit anticlimactic because by this time we all know who the heavy hitters are, and everyone tends to be looking ahead to the district tournaments. Nevertheless there were a handful of exciting matchups this past week to keep us all pacified before the big dance begins. 

 

Rankings:

 

1. St. Henry (16-2)

 

W- Villa Madonna 95-50

 

After a very successful season for the Crusaders where they repeated as All ‘A’ State Champs, and also did what most considered to be the impossible in taking down the region’s powerhouse  frontrunners, Covington Catholic, this senior heavy experienced St. Henry bunch led by Wyatt Vieth and Jude Bessler is looking to make some real noise in post season play, and with them making it into the Top 5 of the state rankings they have their sights set on all the marbles, a very realistic goal.  

 

In the 34th District tournament, which this season is being played at Lloyd Memorial’s gym, the top seeded Crusaders are scheduled to face the winner of the Ludlow/Villa Madonna game, St Patty’s Day, Weds, March 17th @ 5:00.  

 

2. Covington Catholic (22-3)

 

W- Madison Central 74-45

 

While still being ranked at the Number 2 spot for the 3rd week in a row considering them losing to St. Henry head-to-head, I think that it’s safe to say that most still feel, taking nothing away from the Crusaders, that the Colonels are the class of the region this season, and their resume fully supports this. Most state rankings also have CovCath ahead of St. Henry, but it’s close, and is debatable depending on who you talk to. There isn’t a doubt in anyone in the state’s mind that this loaded Colonels team very possibly could be cutting down the nets at Rupp, and if so it would be a surprise to no one. 

 

In the 35th District tournament, which this season is being played at the Holmes Fieldhouse, the top seeded Colonels are scheduled to face the tournament hosts the Holmes Bulldogs on Tuesday, March 16th @ 5:30.

 

3. Highlands (21-4) 

 

W-Holmes 90-61

W-Cincinnati Trailblazers Home School 94-57

W-Walton Verona 80-59

 

While most teams had either already had their regular season finished this week, or maybe played only 1 game, the Bluebirds kept a busy schedule playing 3 games while keeping with their winning ways. Make no mistake, this Sam Vinson led 3 ball dynamite shooting team is right there in the thick of things aiming very realistically for the honor of being the 9th Region champs, and just like St. Henry, and CovCath, if they manage as such, they too could very realistically make some noise at Rupp. 

 

In the 36th District tournament, which this season is being played at the Stan Steidel gymnasium at Dayton High School, the top seeded Bluebirds will face the winner of the Dayton/Bellevue game on Tue, March 16th @ 6:00. 

 

       4.Beechwood (23-5) 

 

W- Lloyd 66-54

 

The Tigers got in more games this season than any other team in the region, managing to play 28 games while losing only 5 of them. A successful season for sure by anyone’s measure, and while being ranked 4th in the region they too have their eye on the big prize, and if all the stars align for them, this is not an unrealistic goal. They’ve got the pieces in place led by Scotty Draud, and Will Downton, but their supporting cast is really coming into their own as of late too, and it’s no secret that nobody better sleep on them. 

 

In the 35th District, which this season is being played at the Holmes Fieldhouse, the Tigers will face the Holy Cross Indians, ( a team that beat them by 18 in the regular season, but most feel this time it will be much closer), Tues, March 16th @ 8:00. 

 

5. Dixie Heights  (18-5)

 

W-Walton Verona 72-46

 

The Red Colonels have had a magnificent season after last season having a rebuilding, mostly lackluster season, but still managed to get to last year’s 9th Region tournament by merit of being the 2nd best team in the 34th District. They’re again the 2nd best team in the 34th District behind St. Henry, but this season they are truly a real contender, and at this point it might be reasonable to consider them a legitimate dark horse. They have a balanced scoring attack with Snelling, Giraci, Summe, and Wogenstahl who have all been known to drop 20 in multiple games, and a fine ball distributor in Jay Flynn, and incredible minutes by Logan Landers. 

 

In the 34th District, which this season is being played at Lloyd Memorial’s gym, the Red Colonels will face the host Juggernauts, Lloyd Memorial Weds, March 17th @ 7:45

 

6. Holy Cross (13-8)

 

With two players, Jacob Meyer, and Brandon McClendon both averaging 20 points a game, and a decent experienced strong supporting cast that includes seniors Jeramiah Hick, and sharp shooter Blake Robinson, the Indians had an exciting season, and they’re looking to keep this season alive with hopes of making it to the 9th Region tournament. The only thing standing in their way of that are the Beechwood Tigers, and while Holy Cross did beat them in the regular season by 18, I think that you would be hard pressed to find anyone who believes that the next time around we’d see a point margin in their favor that resembles anything like that. 

 

This one I believe is the most anticipated game of all of the first round district games. 

 

In the 35th District, which this season is being played at the Holmes Fieldhouse, the Indians will face the Beechwood Tigers in the prime time headliner spotlight game Tues, March 16th @ 8:00. 

 

7. Conner (13-6)

 

The Cougars have had some bright moments this season that make them serious contenders while holding down the 6 or 7th spot in the rankings all season. We saw what they can be when they had the Highlands Bluebirds on the rails at Highlands only to see at one point an 18 point lead slip away, with the Birds finally gaining the advantage in the last minute of the game. That game spoke volumes of both their strengths, but also their weaknesses. 

 

They have some dynamite 3 point shooting in senior Spencer Couzins, and sophomore Ayden Lohr that when they go off it can be a long night for their opponent. They also have some decent leadership from seniors Riley Osterbur, and Cole Skiles. They are the top contender in the 33rd District, and are expected to repeat as district champs. They first have to get by the upstarts in the Boone County Rebels who are beginning to hit their stride. No offence to the Cougar faithful, and It may be a bold statement from me, but I’m calling the upset right now as my crystal ball is seeing the Rebels stun the Cougars in a thriller at Boone County. 

 

In the 33rd District, which this season is being played at Boone County, the Cougars will face the Boone County Rebels Weds, March 17th @ 5:30.

 

8. Newport Central Catholic (9-9)

 

While I had dropped NewCath to the Number 10 spot last week after they lost to both Lloyd and Boone County, I saw too that Joel Isles was struggling with some back pains which affected his 20 ppg sharp shooting, and now that he’s had time to rest I expect him to be in good form going into postseason play, so I’m putting the Breds back into the 8th spot, and mostly because I believe that between them, Lloyd and Boone, they have a more realistic shot at getting to the 9th Region tournament. I could be eating my words there as they still have to get past Newport, and I’ve already called the upset of Boone over Conner. 

 

In the 36th District, which this season is being played at the Stan Steidel gymnasium at Dayton High School, the Breds will face the Newport Wildcats on Weds, March 17th at 6:00.

 

9. Boone County - (8-10) 

 

Winners of 6 of their last 8 games, the Boone County Rebels who have been sidelined a lot this season due to COVID, and who had struggled earlier on in the season, have been finding themselves as of late, and have been hitting their stride, and it’s my belief that they can now be considered a realistic contender in the 33rd district.  If they can manage to get the upset over the Conner Cougars in the first round of the 33rd District tourney at home, then they will have punched their ticket into the 9th Region Tournament. 

 

In the 33rd District, which this season is being played at Boone County, the Rebels will face the Conner Cougars Weds, March 17th @ 5:30.

 

10. Lloyd Memorial - (7-10)

 

L- Scott 58-64

L- Beechwood 54-66

 

The Juggernauts finished out their regular season going 0-2 and ending their 5 game winning streak. Their game against Scott was a tough loss as it was an intense thriller that could have gone either way. They can be proud of themselves for this season; they grew leaps and bounds as a team, and stayed the course to just get better and better. If I had to award any team with the “Most Improved Award” it would be a toss up between them, and Boone County. Are they good enough to make some noise in the 34th District tournament? This is to be seen, but it’s not going to be easy since they’ll first have to get past the awesome Dixie Colonels, and that’s not an easy task. 

 

In the 34th District, which this season is being played at Lloyd Memorial’s gym, the Juggernauts will play host to the Dixie Heights Colonels Weds, March 17th @ 7:45. 

 

11. Holmes (5-14) 

 

W- Walton Verona  85-76

L- Highlands 61-90

W- Newport 65-53

 

The Holmes Bulldogs are the best team in the 9th Region with the worst win/loss record. Their struggles this season included a 10 game losing streak, which is probably the worst in their school’s history. With that said they played a tough schedule, and were in a lot of their games, but had the tendency to fall off in the 2nd half of games not being able to finish. They ended their regular season on a high note winning two of 3 games with the final game being a nice Cross Town Shootout win over the Newport Wildcats. LIfe’s not going to get any easier for them though as they have to face Covington Catholic in the first round of the 35th District tournament. 

 

In the 35th District, which this season is being played at the Holmes Fieldhouse, the Bulldogs will host the Covington Catholic Colonels Weds, March 16th @ 5:30. 

 

12. Ludlow (17-9)

 

W- Bellevue 71-49

L- Owen County 54-66

L- Gallatin County  53-61

 

The Ludlow Panthers had a pretty productive season getting 17 wins, winning the NKAC classic, as well as getting a nice win over bigger school Ryle. They were a fun team to watch when they were knocking down their 3’s. While they’re in a tough 34th District that includes St. Henry, and Dixie Heights, they can be proud of themselves for a very fine season. They’re looking to extend their season as they’ll face Villa Madonna in the play-in game to see who gets St. Henry. 

 

In the 34th District, which this season is being played at Lloyd Memorial’s gym, the Panthers will face the Villa Madonna Vikings Mon, March 15th @ 5:00. 

 

13. Cooper (5-10)

 

The Jaguars only managed to get 15 games in this season due to COVID, and it showed as they struggled tremendously to find their rhythm. Whenever they showed any inkling that they were improving, they would again get sidelined.  They did however take down the Ryle Raiders in the 33rd District seeding game which is who they will be facing again in the 1st round of the 33rd District tourney, and all they have to do is win that one and this weird season of theirs will be extended as this will automatically place them in the 9th Region Tournament. 

 

In the 33rd District, which this season is being played at Boone County, the Jaguars will face the Ryle Raiders, Weds, March 17th @ 8:00. 

 

14. Newport (6-15) 

 

L- Simon Kenton 44-59

L- Holmes 53-65

 

Been a tough season for the Wildcats, but all they have to do now to get into the 9th Region Tournament is to get past a Newport Central Catholic team that is having a down year. Maybe not probable, but certainly not impossible. 

 

In the 36th District, which this season is being played at the Stan Steidel gymnasium at Dayton High School the Wildcats will face the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds Weds, March 17th @ 6:00. 

 

15. Ryle  (8-11)

 

While it would appear that I’m not giving the Raiders much love, I will say that they do have some really decent players. I’m not terribly privy to all of their names, but their one stand out to me would be senior Tyler Bush who has a really nice game. They lost to Cooper in a 33rd District seeding game in a low scoring affair, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to avenge that loss in the first round of the 33rd District tourney, and if so we’ll be seeing the Ryle Raiders in the 9th Region Tournment. 

 

In the 33rd District, which this season is being played at Boone County, the Raiders will face the Cooper Jaguars, Weds, March 17th @ 8:00. 

 

16. Dayton (9-14) 

L- Owen County 45-76

L- Williamstown 46-54

 

The Green Devils get to go against their neighbor rivals the Bellevue Tigers in the 36th District play-in game to see who gets Highlands. 

 

In the 36th District, which this season is being played at the Stan Steidel gymnasium at Dayton High School, the Green Devils will host the Bellevue Tigers, Mon, March 15th @ 6:00. 

 

17. Villa Madonna (7-18)

 

L- St. Henry 50-95

L- Williamstown 49-64

L- Bishop Brossart 37-73

 

In the 34th District, which this season is being played at Lloyd Memorial’s gym, the Vikings will face the Ludlow Panthers in the play-in game to see who gets St. Henry, Mon, March 15th @ 5:00. 

 

18. Bellevue (4-19)

 

L- Ludlow 49-71

L- Nicholas County 53-61

W- St. Patrick 64-53

 

In the 36th District, which is being played at the Stan Steidel gymnasium at Dayton High School, the Tigers will face the Dayton Green Devils Mon, March 15th @ 6:00. 

 

19. Heritage Academy - (3-13) 

 

W- St. Patrick 67-49

 

The Eagles end their season on a high note with a win against St. Patrick, and with them not playing in the postseason, they have the distinction that very few teams if any will have in winning their last game of the season. The only other team that I can think of would be whoever becomes the state champs. (Forgive me for not doing the research on this as I suppose there might be few other teams in these same shoes). 

 

20. Covington Latin (0-9)

 

L-Whitefield 37-56 

 

The Trojans’ winless season comes to an end, and with a team that only suited up one senior, hopefully with a little more experience, next season will see them catch a break and get a few wins. 

 

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!

 

Good luck to every team, and I expect one helluva run to see who gets the chance to represent the 9th Region this year at Rupp!!!

District tournament schedules:

 

33rd District Tournament @ Boone County

Wednesday March 17th 

 

Conner vs. Boone County @ 5:30

Cooper vs. Ryle @ 8:00

 

Friday March 19th  

 

Finals @ 7:00

 

34th District Tournament @ Lloyd Memorial 

 

Monday March 15th 

 

Ludlow vs. Villa Madonna @ 5:00

 

Wednesday March 17th 

 

St. Henry vs Ludlow/Villa Madonna winner @ 5:00

Dixie Heights vs. Lloyd Memorial @ 7:45

 

Friday March 19th 

 

Finals @ 6:00

 

35th District Tournament @ Holmes 

 

Tuesday March 16th 

 

Covington Catholic vs. Holmes @ 5:30

Holy Cross vs. Beechwood @ 8:00

 

Thursday March 18th 

 

Finals @ 7:00 

 

36th District Tournament @ Dayton 

 

Monday March 15th 

 

Dayton vs. Bellevue @ 6:00

 

Tuesday March 16th

Highlands vs. Dayton/Bellevue winner @ 6:00

 

Wednesday March 17th 

 

Newport Central Catholic vs. Newport @ 6:00

 

Thursday March 18th 

 

Finals @ 7:00

It's very possible that within my review I made some scheduling errors here and there regarding district tournament games, so refer to my more condensed schedule for the proper locations, dates, and times per the KHSAA website. 

Awesome job, I can confirm the 35 th is correct, gym will be cleared after first game. Good luck to all the teams.

If I could do over with this review I’d mention Wyatt Vieth from St. Henry when I was talking about all of the talent this year in the 9th. I wasn’t planning to go into a bunch of names there, and belabor the point, but he definitely deserves mention in the same breath as Vinson, and Draud. 

I mean if I’m going to use 10 Million words for my review the least I could do is add two more:

Wyatt Vieth 

1 hour ago, allsport71 said:

Awesome job, I can confirm the 35 th is correct, gym will be cleared after first game. Good luck to all the teams.

Thanks, I'm pretty sure that the condensed schedule listed is correct, but I just noticed that when talking about Number 11 Holmes within the actual review I accidentally typed Weds, March 16th instead of Tues, March 16th for the CovCath/Holmes game. 

Get your popcorn ready!  Do we know if there is any or what level of attendance will be allowed at Region tournament? 

I think the matchups of these teams is something to be appreciated live vs. streamed on TV.  Most teams struggle with CCH size, but CCH doesn't have that Sr floor leader like in years past.  Vinson is a one man wrecking crew.  Beechwood and St. Henry are Senior led teams with alot of talent.  Of all years, I want to see these games live!

36 minutes ago, Big Red said:

Get your popcorn ready!  Do we know if there is any or what level of attendance will be allowed at Region tournament? 

I think the matchups of these teams is something to be appreciated live vs. streamed on TV.  Most teams struggle with CCH size, but CCH doesn't have that Sr floor leader like in years past.  Vinson is a one man wrecking crew.  Beechwood and St. Henry are Senior led teams with alot of talent.  Of all years, I want to see these games live!

Here's some capacity info regarding 35th & 36th district tourney's. 

But first before posting that, my understanding regarding the 9th Regional Tourney is that the 4 first round games will be played at the location of the 4 district champs, and the semi's and finals will be played at Holmes. There will be video coverage for a fee, and audio provided by https://www.859sportsradio.com/ 

As far as https://www.859sportsradio.com/ doing audio for first round regional tourney games is that they can only be at one place at a time. 

I suppose there will be video provided for the first round games also for a fee, but I'm not completely sure how the first round games will be handled. At this point I'm not exactly sure just who will be providing the video coverage, but I'm sure that the https://859insider.com/ will provide links to all of the broadcasts, both audio and video.

Since in the 35th district games at Holmes they will be clearing the gym to clean between district semi games, I'd assume that they'd be doing the same for the regional tourney semi games as well. 

 

Information from Holmes: 35th District Tournament 

Holmes is allowing 25% of the gym's capacity = 750 fans

The gym will be cleared and cleaned after each game.

Tickets are $6.00/ea.  Each school will get 300 tickets to sell.  100 tickets will be available at the door + any not sold at the schools.

Individual school streams are allowed.

 

Information from Dayton: 36th District Tournament

200 fans per game.  100 fans on each side of the gym

Tickets are $5.00 each

No schools have asked to stream their games.

Thank you BBall Fan

 

When is the regional draw to tell us how the districts match up against each other?

9 minutes ago, Hoopoop said:

When is the regional draw to tell us how the districts match up against each other?

After the 4 district championship games have been played. Judging by past years, the regional pairings will likely be selected on Saturday morning, March 20th. 

6 hours ago, B-Ball-fan said:

Here's some capacity info regarding 35th & 36th district tourney's. 

But first before posting that, my understanding regarding the 9th Regional Tourney is that the 4 first round games will be played at the location of the 4 district champs, and the semi's and finals will be played at Holmes. There will be video coverage for a fee, and audio provided by https://www.859sportsradio.com/ 

As far as https://www.859sportsradio.com/ doing audio for first round regional tourney games is that they can only be at one place at a time. 

I suppose there will be video provided for the first round games also for a fee, but I'm not completely sure how the first round games will be handled. At this point I'm not exactly sure just who will be providing the video coverage, but I'm sure that the https://859insider.com/ will provide links to all of the broadcasts, both audio and video.

Since in the 35th district games at Holmes they will be clearing the gym to clean between district semi games, I'd assume that they'd be doing the same for the regional tourney semi games as well. 

 

Information from Holmes: 35th District Tournament 

Holmes is allowing 25% of the gym's capacity = 750 fans

The gym will be cleared and cleaned after each game.

Tickets are $6.00/ea.  Each school will get 300 tickets to sell.  100 tickets will be available at the door + any not sold at the schools.

Individual school streams are allowed.

Looks like they made arrangements for the livestream of the 35th District Tournament to be handled by the Colonel Athletic Network.

$6 per livestream of each game, for purchase via the Colonel Athletic Network page on Cov Cath's website: https://www.covcath.org/athletics/can

34th District Information:

Info from Lloyd Memorial:

Each player gets 4 tickets

Tickets are only good for the game the player is participating in.  A private link is being sent to the parents.

Tickets are $5.00 each

Gym will be cleared after each game.

Every game will be broadcast between the Lloyd Memorial & St. Henry YouTube sites.

This was another amazing summary B-Ball-Fan, just like you've done all year.  We're lucky to have this insight and one stop shopping for the week of hoops.  I agree this week is bitter sweet as I love regular season hoops, there's nothing like post season.  But never want it to end.  Like our own kids growing up, you want it, can't wait for it, and hate when it happens!!!  Let's have some fun the next few weeks!!!  Tune in to 859SportsRadio.com all week for the 35th district tournaments boys (audio) and girls (audio and video)!  

56 minutes ago, 859Radio said:

This was another amazing summary B-Ball-Fan, just like you've done all year.  We're lucky to have this insight and one stop shopping for the week of hoops.  I agree this week is bitter sweet as I love regular season hoops, there's nothing like post season.  But never want it to end.  Like our own kids growing up, you want it, can't wait for it, and hate when it happens!!!  Let's have some fun the next few weeks!!!  Tune in to 859SportsRadio.com all week for the 35th district tournaments boys (audio) and girls (audio and video)!  

Thanks Brother....looking forward to a great week of hoops!