Week 12 Review & Rankings, Season Awards, Postseason Preview

 

Well, it’s gone by fast, but we have reached the end of the regular season. I’ll be giving a full season review of each team along with along with all my award and district picks. I will also do my region picks next week. I’ll start off with the rankings & season review for each team. Let’s get into it…

Rankings (Record, Change in ranking)

1.      George Rogers Clark (28-1, -)

Best Wins:

Vs Ballard (65-56)

Vs North Laurel (77-64)

Vs Ashland Blazer (89-53)

Worst Losses:

Vs Dorman, South Carolina (57-59)

 

               The Cardinals end the season as the Consensus Number 1 ranked team across the commonwealth. Their average Margin of Victory of 30 points per game is the highest Kentucky has seen in at least a decade. Undefeated against Kentucky competition, with their lone loss occurring in a nail bitter, two-point game against a top program from South Carolina, Josh Cook has put together what should be considered the best 10^th region regular season performance in the 21^st Century. The Cardinals have had the toughest schedule in the 10^th region as well, their Resume includes wins against Ballard (10^th RPI rating), North Laurel (3rd), Ashland (12th), Woodford (27th), Madison Central (18th), Knox Central (14^th). There’s not much more you can argue, this is the clear favorite and everyone knows it.

Notable Players & Stats

Jerone Morton- 18.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 48.3% FG, Best player in the region

Trent Edwards- 13.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 60.9% FG

Tanner Walton- 13.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 58.8% FG, 44.8% 3P-FG

Sam Parrish- 12.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 56.6% FG

Aden Slone- 6.9 PPG, 3.9RPG, 45.5% 3P-FG, Runs the show for the Cards

 

2.      Bracken County (21-8, +1)

Best Wins:

                              Vs Campbell County (75-73)

                              Vs Harrison County (62-58)

                              Vs Walton-Verona (78-76)

                              Worst losses:

                              Vs Holmes (66-75)

                              Vs Beechwood (59-68)

                              Vs GRC (62-94)

              

                              This may be a surprise to some, but I am bumping up this Bracken County team to the number 2 spot. Looking at their Resume, they only have two bad losses, and it was at the beginning of the year. Their Resume includes plenty of tough games against teams that are considered top 5 in their region. They’ve beat the likes of Campbell and Harrison County within the region, and this past week they battled it out, in a close loss to a state contending team in Ashland. I understand if you have Mason County over this team, but Royals have not looked great in the last month of the season and if Royals continue this trend Bracken County will beat them. They will look to end the run of 5 straight districts championships that Mason County has had, in the fieldhouse. The Fieldhouse may give Mason the Edge in the district game, but right now Bracken has been playing like the 2^nd Best team. Adam Reed has his boys peaking at the right time. We will see if they truly are the second-best team this week.

Notable Players & Stats

Blake Reed: 29.2 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 49.9% FG

Cayden Reed: 17.9 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 50.6% FG

 

3.      Mason County (21-5, -1)

         Best Wins:

         Vs Perry County Central (72-61)

         Vs Campbell County (65-59)

          Vs Harrison County (68-57)

          Worst Losses:

           Vs Trinity (48-61)

           Vs Betsy Lane (71-77)

               The Royals have the Second-best overall Resume and were the clear 2^nd best team for 75/80% of the season. They only have one bad loss, and it was really to an underrated Trinity team. Who’s a lot better than their record. They have some quality wins against the likes of Perry County Central, Campbell County, and Harrison County. They also have played plenty of top teams close, including Lex Cath, Collins, & Pikeville. Despite being Second for the entire season, they come in at the end of the season in third. Well, the last quarter of the season the Royals haven’t been playing like the clear number 2 team. If things go as expected Mason County will have their chance to prove me wrong.

Notable Players & Stats

               Henry Terrell 21.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 62.5% FG

               Nate Mitchell 15.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 46.4% FG

 

4.      Campbell County (17-10, +1)

Best Wins:

Lloyd Memorial (59-57)

Simon Kenton (74-67)

Augusta (77-44)

Worst Losses:

Harrison Co (60-67)

                              The Camels have been ROLLING, after starting out the season 2-5, the Camels end their season winning 9 in a row. The Camels haven’t faced many elite teams this season, but they have played against plenty of good teams, and they didn’t schedule any cupcakes either. They don’t have a true bad loss, although they have lost plenty of close games. As of late they could have a case to even be the number 2 team. But, with both Mason and Bracken beating Campbell during the season, I’m not going to put them in the top 3. Although with the Region being in Northern Kentucky this year, I may end up picking the Camels against Bracken or Mason if the matchup occurs. A loss to Harrison County may have you wondering why I put the Camels up in the four spot to end the season, but the Camels are HOT and I’m giving them the bump to end the year.

Notable Players & Stats

Eric (Des) Davie- 17.4 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 54.7% FG

Aydan Hamilton- 20.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 47.9% FG

 

5.      Harrison County (18-8, -1)

Best Wins:

Vs Iroquois (59-50)

Vs Campbell Co (67-60)

Vs Spencer Co (63-57)

Worst Losses:

Vs Fleming (46-74)

Vs Ryle (69-78)

                              Harrison County has been a top 5 team all season. They only have a couple of bad losses. Harrison Co has had some solid wins early in the season, but the second half of their season, has been filled with weak competition. This may be why Harrison is kind of stumbling into the post season. They end their season with two losses, one by 28 to Fleming Co. Despite this the T-Breds should win their district with ease, and if they don’t draw Bracken or Mason, they should be favored to reach the semi-finals. Overall, a solid Campaign for Coach Brooks and his squad.

Notable Players & Stats

Kaydon Custard- 13.9 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 48.5 FG%

 

6.      Augusta (15-11, -)

Best Wins:

Vs Tates Creek (76-74)

Vs Ryle (60-57)

Worst Losses:

Vs Mason Co (56-87)

Vs Fairview (70-76)

               It has been very much of an up and down season for Augusta. They have showed signs of promise, but with tough first round Draw in the district, it will be tough for them to make it to region this year. Their resume isn’t filled with a ton of good wins, but they were able to beat Tate’s Creek who certainly would be on the edge of a top 5 team in the region. Can the Panthers put together one a great game to stay alive? We will find out.

Notable Players & Stats

               Kason Hinson- 16.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 50.3% FG

               Riley Mastin 15.3 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 49.8% FG,

 

7.      Montgomery County (12-14, -)

Best Wins:

Shawnee (76-61)

Menifee County (65-48)

Worst losses:

Owen County (45-48)

Madison Southern (50-83)

Montgomery finishes the season in the 7^th spot, and I expect them to make it into the Region tournament. Montgomery doesn’t really have any great wins, but you can tell they have significantly improved throughout the year. They also don’t have any terrible losses either. That’s why they end up in the middle of the pack this season. This will be a team to look out for in the next year or two.

               Notable Players & Stats

               Luke Fawns – 12.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 50.2% FG

               Trey Carrol – 12.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 42.6% FG

8.      Scott High (7-20, +1)

Best Wins:

Newport Central Catholic (76-71)

Boone Co (70-59)

Worst Losses:

Dixie Heights (29-57)

Calvary Christian (36-37)

 

Many folks had Scott cracking right around the 5/6 spot entering the season. The eagles have had a brutal schedule. They haven’t played a ton of elite teams, but they certainly have had their fair share of above average teams the whole season. They didn’t have any cupcake games either, and have had to play against what I think is probably the best all around district in the 10^th. The eagles have struggled all season, but one win against Bishop Brossart will put this team in the District Championship. They have already played one nail bitter against Campbell County this year. Could we see another?

               Notable Player(s) and Stats

               Hunter Nolan 12.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 55.1% FG,

 

9.      Bishop Brossart (9-16, +1)

Best Wins:

Vs Ryle (56-43)

Vs Calvary (54-42)

Worst Losses

Vs Newport (36-48)

Vs Highlands (61-94)

Bishop Brossart just like Augusta has had an up and down season. Most of their wins appear to be against weaker opponents, but haven’t really had a terrible loss all season either. They have heavily relied on the big man David Govan all season and that will be the case in the postseason as well. It will be tough but I think they have a pretty good chance of beating Scott high this week, I wouldn’t call it an upset.

Notable Player(s) and Stats

               David Govan – 15.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 62.6% FG

10.   Calvary Christian (20-9, -2)

Best Wins:

Vs Ludlow (58-50)

Vs Scott (37-36)

Worst Losses

Vs Campbell (45-92)

Vs Heritage Christian (41-33)

Vs Robertson (44-47)

Calvary has put together another 20-win season. Unfortunately for the Cougars they drew the short straw and will have to play Campbell Co in the first round of their district tournament. Overall Calvary has still been hard to read the whole year. About two weeks ago I had them as the second-best team in their own district. Now I have them in last… They have just been hard to read all year, they don’t play many 10^th region teams and they play a lot of weaker teams throughout the season. The dropped a game to Robertson this past week and I would like to put Robertson ahead of them but Robertson the Record of Calvary makes me think they would win if they got another shot at Robertson. I am sure the Cougars think they can take down the Camels, I don’t see that happening, but that’s why we play the games.

Notable Player(s) and Stats

Ethan Mulling – 20.4 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 52.8% FG

 

11.   Robertson County (12-14, -)

Best Wins:

Vs Calvary Christian (47-44)

Worst Losses:

Vs Harrison Co (38-74)

Vs Nicholas Co (54-56)

Robertson ends the season 12-14 ending about where most expected them to be. They’ve floated between 9-12 all season and they end up solidly in the 11 spot for me. Robertson doesn’t really have a good win outside of calvary this season. They haven’t played many good teams at all this season and when they have, they have gotten blown out. Regardless of how poor their Resume is, the Black Devils find themselves with in a good position to advance to the regional tournament. Can Justin Becker will this team to a win in the regional tournament? Lets see if he can get them out of districts first.

Notable Player(s) and Stats

Justin Becker – 33.4 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 57.1% FG

 

 

12.   Nicholas County (10-18, +2)

Best Wins:

Vs Adair Co (59-56)

Vs Robertson (56-54)

Worst Losses

                              Vs Bourbon Co (70-80)

                              Vs Paris (65-76)

Nicholas County finishes with their highest ranking of all seasons, and its well deserved. They’ve snuck their win to 10 wins, kind of under the radar this season. They hung out in the 15^th spot for a while, but they proved me wrong. Now they get their chance against Robertson County, a team they split with this year. If they can just neutralize Justin Becker, they should have a good chance to beat Robertson again.

              

Notable Player(s) and Stats

                              Wyatt Clark – 22.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 44.3% FG

 

13.   Paris (6-18, -1)

Best Wins:

Vs Nicholas Co (76-65)

Vs Bourbon Co (72-58)

Worst Losses

Vs Franklin Co (56-74)

Paris ends up in the 13^th spot. They have had a rough year but end up passing their rival Bourbon County which will end up being the highlight of their season. This is a young team and I don’t think they will crack into the top half of the region next year, but maybe in two years Paris could end up being a solid team, if their young talent sticks with it.

Notable Player(s) and Stats

Malachi Ashford – 12.0 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 42.9% FG

 

14.   Bourbon County (4-23, -1)

Best Wins:

Nicholas Co (80-70)

Mercer (61-48)

Worst Losses:

Vs Franklin Co (59-54)

Vs Shelby Co (53-48)

Bourbon brought in several new players to begin the season. And several of them quit or at least that’s what it looks like. My dark horse pick was WAY OFF. They have or had plenty of talent on their roster this season, I think this one is partially due to the coaching and partially due to the tough schedule. It’s hard to keep kids engaged when you have lost 13 games in a row. Tough season for bourbon county, give them a couple years and maybe they can get back to a top 10 team in the district.

 

Notable Player(s) and Stats

 

Todd Dumphord – 8.4 PPG, 37.9 3P%

 

15.   Pendleton County (3-25, -)

Best Wins:

Nicholas Co (63-54)

Worst Losses:

Lewis Co (44-56)

Carroll Co (62-74)

 

Pendleton County also had a tough season. Obviously this team is much better than their record, but they end the year with the least amount of wins in the 10^th region. They’ve had the chance to win several more games but just can’t get over the hump in the final minutes. I think their season got the death sentence when they got the 4^th seed in their district. It’s only up from here Pendleton, hang in there. Hey just look on the bright side, Dontaie Allen went to your school.

 

Notable Player(s) and Stats

 

Braydon Kidwell – 13.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG

 

 

16.   St. Patrick (4-23, -)

Best Wins:

Villa Madonna (78-76)

Worst Losses:

Heritage Academy (63-69)

Trinity Christian (48-66)

St. Patrick ends the season where they started. Despite staying in last place, this team improved drastically from a year ago. They will lose a big contributor in Chase Walton after this season, but hopefully this team can continue improving and start being competitive against 10^th region competition.

Notable Player(s) and Stats

                              Chase Walton – 20.3 PPG, 12.1 RPG, 58.1% FG                  

 

District Tournament Picks

37^th

Campbell Co vs Calvary, Campbell Co

Scott vs Bishop Brossart, Scott

Campbell Co vs Scott, Campbell Co- This is probably the district where any team has a real chance to win

38^th

Harrison Co vs Pendleton Co, Harrison

Robertson Co vs Nicholas Co, Robertson

Harrison Co vs Robertson Co, Harrison- would be super surprised if there is a different winner

39^th

Bracken vs St. Patrick, Bracken

Mason County vs Augusta, Mason

Mason Vs Bracken, Bracken Wins the 39^th

40^th

GRC vs Bourbon Co, GRC

Montgomery vs Paris, Montgomery

GRC vs Montgomery, GRC obvious pick here

 

 

Player of the Year- who has my vote?

1.      Jerone Morton

2.      Justin Becker

3.      Blake Reed

 

Coach of the Year

1.      Josh Cook

2.      Adam Reed

3.      Brian Kirk

 

I originally voted for Adam Reed in the 10^th region media voting, but I had to change my vote when I started digging into just the Historical season that Clark has had. I still think it’s close and Understand a vote for Reed. But this Clark team has been the most dominant 10^th region team ever in the regular season. No 10^th region teams have come within 10 points of the cardinals, and only 1- 10^th region team has come within 30 points. Yes you read that right. The team I have second (Bracken Co) lost by 32 point. I just have to vote for Cook when this definitely the most dominant 10^th region team ever. I mean if he can't win it this year then what does he have to do to win it? Have a bad season before having a good one? Just doesn't make sense to me. 

 

My All-region teams ( I did my best to represent each team atleast once)

First Team All-Region

Jerone Morton- GRC

Justin Becker- Robertson

Blake Reed- Bracken

Terrell Henry- Mason

Tanner Walton- GRC

 

Second Team All-Region

               Des Davie- Campbell

               Aydan Hamilton – Campbell

               Trent Edwards – GRC

               Cayden Reed – Bracken

               Kaydon Custard- Harrison

 

Third Team All- Region

               Nate Mitchell- Mason

               Aden Slone – GRC

               David Govan – Bishop Brossart

               Kason Hinson – Augusta

               Ethan Mulling- Calvary

 

Honorable Mention

Wyatt Clark – Nicholas

Chase Walton – St. Patrick

Braydon Kidwell – Pendleton

Todd Dumphord – Bourbon

Malachi Ashford – Paris

Luke Fawns – Montgomery

Riley Mastin – Augusta

Hunter Nolan – Scott

Sam Parrish – GRC

Trey Carroll – Montgomery

              

I don’t see a lot to argue with here.  And I agree with your take on Bracken County.  I think this is the year they snap a long streak. 

Of cours, I thought the same thing in Crawford’s last year, too; so there’s that.