10^th Region WEEK 1 Rankings

Week 1 of the season was full of entertainment throughout the entire 10^th region. We got a preview of a potential regional championship matchup as Campbell County and Clark County had a great battle on Thursday night. We got a competitive Mason County and Fleming County classic rivalry game. We found out just what Augusta can bring to the table as they had a big win against a Robertson County team who came into the season with plenty of question marks. And in a game that featured possibly the longest high school basketball halftime ever we got to see how scrapy the Polar Bears can be against a much deeper and taller Bourbon County squad. With that being said let’s get to the 10^th Region Week 1 Rankings.

 

Team (record, change in ranking)

1.      George Rogers Clark (2-0, -)

(W) 76-65 At Campbell County

(W) 83-36 Vs Wolfe County

 

               The Cardinals kicked their season off on the road against a hungry Campbell County squad, who were eager for revenge against the team that knocked them off in the 10^th Region championship game last season. The Cardinals spared no time getting out to a double-digit lead early in the first quarter. Both Trent Edwards and Tanner Walton led the way with 19 points each for the Cardinals as they were able to fend off every run Campbell County made. The second game of the season was a much less competitive one as Clark County destroyed Wolfe County in a 83-36 point win.

2.      Mason County (3-0, -)

(W) 58 -44 at Rowan County

(W) 59-48 at Fleming County

(W) 1-0 vs Bell County (COVID)

               With the early season injury of Nate Mitchell, and multiple players having to make the quick transition from football to basketball due to a deep post season run, I was skeptical of how this team would look in week 1 of the season. Terrell Henry led the royals to two big wins this week putting up 25 against Rowan County and then topping that with 30 points against a solid Fleming County team. His talent was on full display this week and I expect for the royals to keep winning as they head into week 2 with 3 wins under their belt.

3.      Campbell County (0-2, -)

(L) 65 – 76 vs GRC

(L) 49 – 64 at Cooper

               The Camels had a rough week as they lost their first two games of the season, and they have another tough opponent in Dixie Heights next week. The Camels were led by Eric Davie and Aydan Hamilton as they put up 22 and 21 points against an extremely talented Clark County Basketball team. Campbell got punched in the mouth early on as they were down double digits within the first few minutes of the game. With the rest of the game was pretty much even as Campbell was able to pull within 6 points at one point in the second half before GRC was able to make another run. The Camels shooting will be the biggest question mark as they seem to be a bit streaky from the three-point line in game 1. They have two great pieces in Eric Davie and Aydan Hamilton, and their surrounding role players compliment them well.

4.      Augusta (3-1, +2)

(W) 76 – 47 Vs St. Patrick

(W) 83 – 66 Vs Robertson

(W) 81 – 57 Vs Lewis

(L)  53 – 69 Vs Great Crossing

               The Panthers got off to a hot start as the went 3-1 this week. Although St. Patrick and Lewis County are not quality wins, I was impressed with how they played against Robertson County. Augusta was led by Kason Hinson and Riley Mastin this week as they performed well enough to bring the Panthers up two spots to crack the top 4. Quite a few teams who were ranked ahead of the Panthers went winless this week against much tougher opponents. I respect what Augusta did this week, but they are going to have to win quite a few games this season for me to truly see them as a contender for the Regional Championship. Their overall strength of schedule is fairly weak, but they will have a good chance to show just how they good they are against Mason County this week.

5.      Scott High (0-2, -)

(L) 46 – 67 at Conner

(L) 53 – 63 vs Walton-Verona

               Scott has one of the tougher schedules of any team in the team and it showed this week. I will leave them in the top 5 for now as other teams that could end up in the top 5 either had multiple losses or an easily schedule this past week. Brayden Howell led the way this week averaging 14.5 across two games, Minor Mitchel also played well averaging 13 points a game. Believe it or not the eagles schedule will actually be tougher this week, they are going to have to find more ways to score to come away with a win or two next week.

6.      Harrison County (0-2, -2)

 

(L) 69 – 78 at Ryle

(L) 56 -67 vs Oldham County

               Like Scott High, Harrison got off to a rough start getting handed two losses. They also had a tough schedule this week. The only reason I have Scott above them is I feel like Scott faced tougher competition. The Thorobreds are led by Kaydon Custard, and they will look to turn things around this week as they face three solid teams. Very possible for Harrison County to go 3-0 this week, also it is very possible for them to go 0-3. We should get a better idea if this is a team who will compete deep in the region or a team who will sit in the 7-12 range of the rankings all year.

 

7.      Calvary Christian (3-0, +3)

(W) 77 – 47 vs Milford Christian (OH)

(W) 52 – 44 vs Heritage Academy

(W) 51 – 40 vs St. Patrick

               Three wins for the Cougars this week move them up to number 7 on the rankings. We really won’t know how good of team this is until later in the year when we see them against tougher competition. Ethan Mulling led the way this week averaging just over 20 points. I believe the 7-12 range of teams are very close in this region and so far, Calvary deserves their ranking, but other teams across the region will be tested by higher caliber opponents and due to that, they can easily leap over this team with the strength of schedule or lack there of for Calvary.

8.      Bracken County (1-1, +4)

 

(L) 66 – 75 at Holmes

              

               (W) 75 – 65 vs Bourbon

Bracken had a tough loss at Holmes but bounced back as they defeated Bourbon later in the week. Seems as if this team goes as the Reed brothers go… Game 1 The Reed brothers put up 42 points which seems like a lot, but they combined to shot just over 35% from the field which isn’t going to cut it. Game two the Reed brothers combined for 59 points, and they don’t have the stats up on KHSAA (at the time of writing this), but I am going to go ahead and guess they shot a much better percentage against Bourbon County than they did against Holmes. Consistency is the biggest question for this team, can they keep the ball rolling against Nicholas this week?

 

 

9.      Montgomery County (0-2, +2)

 

(L) 68 – 87 vs Boyd

 

(L) 63 – 79 vs CAL

 

               Montgomery County had a tough week against some solid opponents. Trey Carroll averaged 19.5 points, but that wasn’t enough to keep the Indians even within double digits in either this past week. The Indians don’t have cake walk this week either, they should get better as the year goes on but they are going to have to grow up fast if they want to compete either on this season.

 

10.   Bourbon County (0-2, -3)

 

(L) 49 – 80 at Knox Central

 

(L) 65 – 75 at Bracken County

               Bourbon was blown out in game one this week against Knox Central. They then had a tough battle against bracken county on Saturday as they were tied in the third, but eventually lost by double digits. If you go and watch this team it is clear they have talent, and they definitely have size. Can the Bourbon County coaches make the pieces fit? I am sure they will improve, but only time will tell if they can make the jump into the Top 5 or 6 teams or if they settle near the bottom of the Region.

 

11.   Bishop Brossart (1-2, -3)

 

(W) 60 – 37 vs Villa Madonna

 

(L) 36 – 48 at Newport

 

(L) 52 – 55 at Ludlow

 

               A win against Villa Madonna was the highlight of the week for Bishop Brossart as they dropped the next two games on the road. They face two regional opponents this week in Pendleton and Harrison County this upcoming week. Like I said earlier I think the 7-12 teams in the 10^th are super close and the rankings will shuffle quite a bit from week to week. A couple of big opportunities next week for the Mustangs we shall see just how good this team is.

 

12.   Robertson County (1-2, -3)

 

(L) 66 – 83 at Augusta

 

(W) 84 – 76 at Paris

 

(L) 53 -82 vs Murray

               Well Justin Becker led the way as he averaged 33 points a game and I think we will probably average close to 40 this season when its all said and done this season. Despite Justin, Robertson County was unable to stay competitive against Augusta or Murray this week. It looks like Robertson could camp out in the bottom 6 teams of the region all year if they continue the track they are on. It still early but I must bring this up as I am sure it will be debated all year. If Robertson ends up with a poor record against this rather weak schedule should Justin Becker still be player of the year? I don’t think so.

 

13.   Pendleton County (1-2, +1)

 

(L) 52 – 80 at Ludlow

 

(W) 80 – 46 vs Bellevue

 

(L) 46 – 78 vs Ryle

               Pendleton was able to get a win against Bellevue, but also got blown out in the other two games they played last week. They face a couple of 10^th Region teams next week we will see how well they play. I think they have a decent chance to beat Bishop Brossart, but the odds are not in their favor.

 

14.   Nicholas County (1-1, -1)

 

(L) 51 – 80 vs Fleming County

 

(W) 1 – 0 vs Menifee County (COVID)

               One big loss and then a win due to covid. Wyatt Clark did put up 29 points which is impressive, but Nicholas will have a couple tough games next week. Only time will tell if this team can make the jump from a bottom feeder to middle of the pack in the region.

 

15.   Paris (1-3, -)

 

(L) 56 – 74 vs Franklin County

 

(L) 34 – 91 at Tates Creek

 

(L) 76 – 84 vs Robertson County

 

(W) 83 – 39 vs Covington Latin

 

Paris is much improved from a year ago, but they still have a long way to go. They get a chance to take down a top 5 regional opponent in Augusta this week. Then the rivalry game against bourbon could be a close one.

 

16.   St. Patrick (0-3, -)

 

(L) 47 – 76 at Augusta

 

(L) 53 – 74 vs Williamstown

 

(L) 40 – 51 at Calvary Christian

               St. Patrick is off to another rough start. Hopefully they can pull off an upset or two this season, but another rough year has begun for the Saints.

 

TOP WEEKLY PERFORMANCES

I value big performances against high level competition. Winning will have a big impact as well, I am sure you will grade the performances differently but feel free to do your own rankings.

1.      Henry Terrell (25 points, 4 rebounds) at Rowan County: Big statement Win for the Royals and Terrell is going to have to be the man this season and so far, he’s shown up big.

2.      Blake Reed (37 points) vs Bourbon County: A big win for the polar bears as they were led by Blake Reed. Expected big numbers like these all season long from Blake.

3.      Eric Davie (22 points, 18 rebounds) vs GRC: Davie really kept Campbell within striking distance against the top team in the region as he put up numbers that remind me of a UK player, you take a guess which one.

4.      Justin Becker (37 Points, 18 rebounds) at Augusta: Justin Becker did it all against the Panthers, unfortunately it wasn’t enough to secure the win, nonetheless a good performance against a team who will certainly be top 6 in the region all year long.

5.      Trent Edwards (19 Points, 7 rebounds, 6 blocks) vs Campbell County: Trent Edwards did it a little bit of everything as he led the way for the cardinals in their win over Campbell County. The Cardinals spread the ball out well among their starting 5, but Edwards was able to impact the game in multiple ways with his length and athleticism.

 

TOP WEEK 2 MATCHUPS/PREDICTIONS

 

 December 6^th

Bishop Brossart vs Pendleton County: Bishop Brossart by 10

December 7^th

George Rogers Clark vs Madison Central: GRC by 8

Mason County vs Bourbon County: Mason by 15

               Campbell County vs Dixie Heights: Campbell by 2

               Bracken County vs Nicholas County: Bracken by 12

               Scott High vs Highlands: Highlands by 10

December 10^th

               Harrison County vs Bishop Brossart: Harrison by 10

Accidentally missed the Augusta & Mason when copying over...

December 10th

Augusta vs Mason: Mason by 8

I agree, it's tough to rank teams this early.  Some may be adjusted to late arriving football players too.  Great write-up though.