NKY Girls Basketball Top 10 -- Week 2

[The Double Deuce]

After a great week last week, we enter into a very busy week #3 and things are starting to crystalize for us.  Like we mentioned last week, the Top 3 appear to be set in stone, and that next group seems pretty safe, but beyond that we are likely to see a ton of movement week-to-week.  In full disclosure, I'm trying to use the "who would win tonight on a neutral floor" mindset, but also rewarding those that have played well to that point.   I'll continue to do the best I can to give ALL of these hard-working young ladies the attention and notoriety that they deserve through their incredible efforts on and off the court.  

The big takeaway for me last week was the margin in the Dixie at Holy Cross score, understanding that Holy Cross is missing a couple of their sharp-shooters...I expected that one to be a little closer.  Although, in fairness, I was positively surprised with how close HC played Ryle given their issues from the arc that night.  

Here we go with this week's Top 10 and others to watch:

1.  Ryle  (5-0):  this week the Raiders are at #3 Cooper, at Mount Notre Dame (OH), vs Russell, and at Centerville (OH)

2.  Notre Dame  (4-0):  vs #5 Holy Cross, vs Holmes, vs Bardstown at Bullitt East

3.  Cooper (3-1):  vs #1 Ryle, at Boone Co, vs Madisonville N-H at LexCath

4.  Dixie (5-1):  vs Simon Kenton, at #9 NewCath, vs Montgomery County at Bracken Co.

5.  Holy Cross (3-3):  at #2 Notre Dame, vs Seton (OH), at Holy Cross (Louisville)

6.  Conner (3-2):  at Madison Central, at St Ursula (OH), vs Shelby Valley at LexCath

7.  Walton Verona (4-1):  at Great Crossing, vs Scott, at Simon Kenton

8.  Ludlow (5-0):  at Villa Madonna, at Dayton, at Williamstown 

9.  NewCath (3-2):  at Grant Co, vs #4 Dixie, vs Mason Co at Bracken Co

10. Newport (5-0):  at Aiken (OH), vs June Buchanan

Others to keep an eye on:

*  Campbell Co (2-3)

*  Simon Kenton (3-4)

*  Highlands (1-4)

*  St. Henry (4-2)

*  Scott (3-2)

*  Grant Co (2-3)

*  Lloyd (2-3)

[FrankNicodemus]

Great write up as usual DD!!

[The Double Deuce]

Just now, FrankNicodemus said:

Great write up as usual DD!!

Thanks Frank!  Don't worry about your Birds, their pipeline is full of talented but YOUNG players, Coach Richey has a lot of bright days ahead.  Plus, her team plays SO HARD for her.  

[FrankNicodemus]

Just now, The Double Deuce said:

Thanks Frank!  Don't worry about your Birds, their pipeline is full of talented but YOUNG players, Coach Richey has a lot of bright days ahead.  Plus, her team plays SO HARD for her.  

I appreciate the positivity.  I just looked at the KHSAA Scoreboard to look at the stats and you are right, those are some young names playing some serious minutes!

[The Double Deuce]

3 minutes ago, FrankNicodemus said:

I appreciate the positivity.  I just looked at the KHSAA Scoreboard to look at the stats and you are right, those are some young names playing some serious minutes!

Marissa Green, #10, the freshman center, is going to be a PROBLEM for the 9th for the next 3 years.  She is just figuring out how to play at this level, but the talent is immense with that young lady.  She has that "it" factor, to be sure.

[Big Red]

I reserve the right to adjust after watching Ryle vs. Cooper, but after seeing NDA play twice now, and the last time NDA played Ryle, I'm going NDA #1.  Ryle graduated their leader, Crittenden.  I haven't seen what Ryle has added, but Crittenden brought A LOT to that team last year.  NDA is the SR heavy team this year, and (similar to soccer) they look like a Mike Tyson bully that can back it up.  They have a legit 11 in the rotation, and aside from 1, they range from 5'8 to 6'2.  They are going to full court press from the tip to the end.  Big, physical, fast and Coach Murphy is subbing constantly.  They will make every game a heavyweight fight, and (again similar to soccer) they look like they know they are going to physically wear you down.  They have 4 confident scorers in the starting 5, 3 Bigs that know their role, and a very athletic bench.  The Ursuline game was not as close as the 15 point final score.  Ursuline made a high % of their threes, including several bank shot 3's, and NDA did not shoot well for them.  I know Ryle is really talented.  I think Cooper is as well, and looking forward to seeing them.  I think NDA has the SR leadership, deeper bench, and will physically beat up whoever they play in NKY.

[The Double Deuce]

1 minute ago, Big Red said:

I reserve the right to adjust after watching Ryle vs. Cooper, but after seeing NDA play twice now, and the last time NDA played Ryle, I'm going NDA #1.  

You could ultimately be correct, for sure.  You have to love Kes as a coach, also, so that helps the Pandas too.  I would take Ryle's top 4 over NDA's top 4 today, but NDA certainly is the deepest of the "big 3", I like Kes the most of the three today, and having seniors as your best players can't be over-looked.  Again, you certainly could be correct when the dust settles.  These rankings are more for awareness and conversation starters, fortunately these young ladies will settle it on the court when the time comes!!

[Big Red]

The teams at the top being this good is what makes this fun.  They will play it out, will be must watch games, and potentially beat each other up.  I agree that Ryle's top 4 are probably a a bit higher rated as individual college recruits.  That said, I'm not sure who NDA's 4th best player is to put into the comparison.  

[rjal]

Nice write up.  I look forward to reading the discussions each week.  Your observations of Marissa Green are spot on.  She has gotten so much better the past year.  At this rate she is going to be scary good over the next four years.  As for how HC looked so bad vs Dixie and so good against Ryle, hard call.  The Indians had a much better shooting percentage against Dixie, but Dixie also shot 58% from beyond the arc which is much better than their season avg of 38%.  HC just struggled on defense.  Against Ryle they shot and abysmal 17% from three point range and only played 6 girls.  They were just laser focused on defense which kept the scoring lower and closer.  It will be interesting to see which HC team shows up for NDA Wednesday and what the plan is.  I am not sure when their injured players will be back but it will sure help in the scoring column.

[The Double Deuce]

So excited for Ryle at Cooper tonight in Union, 7:30 tip, and should be a tremendous environment for Girls' Basketball...heck, for ANY basketball.  Between this game, at MND (that will be BRUTAL) and then at Centerville (they have a terrific guard who can really score the ball), the Raiders are going to be as battle-tested as you can be after this week's over.

[Baseball Nut 24]

Great write up this week DD!

[The Double Deuce]

1 minute ago, Baseball Nut 24 said:

Great write up this week DD!

Thanks brother!

 

[859Radio]

2 hours ago, The Double Deuce said:

Thanks brother!

DD always twice as good as anyone else!

 

[The Double Deuce]

Good luck to Holy Cross vs GGCL Seton (OH) tonight.  

Good luck to 6-0 Bellevue heading to a tourney in Gatlinburg that starts Monday -- go get 'em, Lady Tigers!

Walton Verona at Simon Kenton could be a sneaky decent game, especially if Sereniti plays well for the Pioneers.

Ryle gets 6-1 Russell in Union, which should be a Raider win.

The Pandas host Holmes in District Play...that is all, no other comment on that one.  

Have a great weekend to all of our NKY Girls' Basketball Teams, stay healthy, play well, and enjoy the beginning of your Holiday Break.