12th Region Week 6 Review

[se7ens]

There are some things we have speculated about this region since the start of the year that are really becoming clear fact. Lincoln County is the best team in the region when they put forth a complete game. Pulaski County is a solid team and definitely a contender but they lack depth. West Jessamine is good and has one of the deepest rosters in the region but they also play a brutal schedule. The 45th district is about as good and equal as any district in the state. You cannot count out Wayne County, McCreary Central, Garrard County, or Boyle County in any given game. Somerset and Mercer County continually to quietly get better and work their way towards the postseason. All of these factors make this region one of the more interesting ones to watch as we head into mid-January.

Rankings

1. Lincoln County - Jeff Jackson's Patriots have hit a stride and it showed in a big way with a dominant win over Pulaski County. Lincoln also had wins over Southwestern and McCreary Central, though they couldn't replicate the offensive explosion of 76 points that they had against the Maroons, scoring only 49 and 45 in their other victories. Colton Ralston accounted for 27 of the 76 points against Pulaski, including 5 three pointers. The Patriots host two district foes this week in Garrard County and Boyle County. These are the first district games of the season for Lincoln County and they play all 8 district seeding games in just a span of 30 days.

2. Pulaski County - Though they were thoroughly trounced by Lincoln County 76 to 49, the Maroons remain a contender in the region and that showed in their win over Rockcastle County 82 to 57. One big concern for the Maroons is the lack of challenge their schedule features for the rest of the season as the highest ranked team in this week's 12th region edition is number 8. Now they definitely played some really good competition in the first part of December and beat each of those teams, opponents like Madison Central, West Jessamine, Danville, McCreary Central, Danville Christian and Wayne County. But will the top heavy nature of their schedule hurt them down the stretch? They face Casey County, Southwestern and Perry County Central this week.

3. Danville Christian Academy - It has been discussed at length here on BGP about what the Warriors do well and what they don't. If you shoot well outside against them, you are going to have a chance. If you can limit their number of interior touches on offense, you are going to have a chance. Because of their design, DCA is really the team that best represents "can beat anyone, can lose to anyone." They are certainly well coached, play hard, and have talent. But they suffer the plight of most small schools where they have some dramatic characteristics that can be taken advantage of. They defeated Corbin and Danville at home before falling to Wayne County in Lincoln County's Patriot Classic. They commence their defense of the 12th region All A title starting Tuesday against Danville.

4. Wayne County - The Cardinals have an awesome core 4 players in Kendall & Kayden Phillips, Mason Burchett and Seth Farmer. But beyond that they drop off significantly in offensive production as those 4 listed represent 52.8 points of the Cardinals' 58.7 points per game average. That core has been clicking recently as they went 3 and 0 last week with wins over Somerset Christian, Boyle County and Danville Christian. They face Lafayette, McCreary Central and Madison Central this week.

5. Danville - The Ads had a rough week as they barely fended off Southwestern by two points before dropping two seeding games to DCA and Garrard County. They have a chance for vengeance this week as they start All A play against DCA. Danville went 10 for 24 from three against the Warriors in game 1 but three players (Barnes, Brown and Bixler) combined to go 5 for 16. If they can get more shooting efficiency out of those three, their ability to overcome DCA will increase exponentially. 

6. McCreary County Central - The Raiders had an exciting start to the week as they won their first 2A Tournament games over Bell County and Whitley County, the second one coming in overtime with Kyle Stephens scoring 35 in the victory. They next defeated Somerset Christian by twenty before ending the week with a loss to the red hot Lincoln County Patriots. They face Adair County and Wayne County this morning.

7. West Jessamine - The Colts start 2023 3 and 0 with district seeding wins over Burgin and East Jessamine while also defeating Dunbar at GRC's Tim Short Automotive Classic. West, like Pulaski, has a top heavy schedule that featured a brutal start to the year. And though their second half is not "soft," it is nowhere near as intense as December. They face Bluegrass United, Mercer County and Madison Southern this week.

8. Somerset - The Briar Jumpers have guaranteed they will not be lower than the 2 seed in the district as they beat both Casey and Rockcastle this past week, each for the second time. It did take overtime to defeat Casey County on the road but Ben Godby and Indred Whitaker both scored 17 and Aedyn Absher pitched it 15 points and 5 rebounds to bring home the win. The road trip to Pulaski to finish off their district play happens at the end of the month on Friday the 27th. They face Burgin in the opening round of the All A regional and are also scheduled to play Southwestern in the Warrior Classic Saturday.

9a & 9b. Garrard County & Boyle County - The Golden Lions and Boyle County Rebels are about as even as two teams can be. They have almost identical RPIs, both are hovering around .500, and have played each other down to the wire. In the first of two district seeding games between the two, the Rebels came out victorious 64 to 63. Ethan Cooper had 26 for Garrard and Kason Myers had 22 for Boyle. Boyle would go on to lost by 2 to Wayne County later in the week. Garrard defeated Danville that same night and lost the next day to Apollo in overtime. These teams will meet again on the 17th of January, but as for this week the Golden Lions play Lincoln County and LaRue County and the Rebels have Harrison County to open the 2A sectional before also facing Lincoln County.

11. Mercer County - The Titans fell to Bourbon County in 2A sectional play but defeated Trinity Christian. They play West Jessamine and Scott County this week.

12. Casey County - The Rebels defeated Berea but fell to Somerset in overtime. They host Pulaski County, Rockcastle County, and Frankfort Christian this week.

13. Rockcastle County - The Rockets fell to district foes Somerset and Pulaski County before dispatching Adair County in overtime. They travel to Anderson County and district rival Casey County this week.

14. Southwestern - The Warriors had a pair of losses to 45th district teams Lincoln County and Danville. They face Taylor County, Pulaski County and Somerset this week.

15. East Jessamine fell to Madison Southern and West Jessamine. They have only Burgin on this week's schedule and are hoping to pick up their fourth win of the season.

16. Somerset Christian - The Cougars fell to Wayne County and McCreary Central in two district seeding games this past week. They have a bye in the All A regional tournament and end the week in Southwestern's Warrior Classic where they face Bell County.

17. Burgin - The Bulldogs lost to West Jessamine, Campbellsville and Cumberland County. They face Somerset in the opening round of the All A and then go on to face East Jessamine, the Kentucky School for the Deaf, and Pineville.

18. Trinity Christian - The Titans fell to Bluegrass United and Mercer County. And although they compete in the 12th region for KHSAA post-season purposes, Trinity Christian is in the 11th for All A purposes and faces Frankfort Christian in the opening round. They also host Red Bird this week.

19. Kentucky School for the Deaf - The Colonels have road games against Red Bird and Burgin this week.

[LethalPG]

Great job!  Somerset PG did not play against Casey.  How bad and duration of injury is unknown.  All these teams are fairly slim in their rotations so illnesses and injuries could play a major role!

[Statsdontlie]

If half the teams ranked ahead of West Jessamine played there schedule would they still be ranked ahead of West Jessamine? West had played an tough schedule. West starts 5 seniors, I like there chances come District and Region time! 

[LethalPG]

31 minutes ago, Statsdontlie said:

If half the teams ranked ahead of West Jessamine played their schedule would they still be ranked ahead of West Jessamine? West had played a tough schedule. West starts 5 seniors, I like there chances come District and Region time! 

I like them too.  They’ll be ready no doubt!  They have lost head to heads with Lincoln and PC.  They could certainly beat 3-6, but could also lose them.  What makes this region so fun this year!  Going to be great games down the stretch.

[se7ens]

10 hours ago, Statsdontlie said:

If half the teams ranked ahead of West Jessamine played there schedule would they still be ranked ahead of West Jessamine? West had played an tough schedule. West starts 5 seniors, I like there chances come District and Region time! 

The plain answer is no. I firmly believe that West should end up 2nd or 3rd in this ranking at season's end. Their schedule is tough all the way through but markedly front-loaded. They have experience, versatility and depth. But what they don't have right now are the on-court results to justify them being higher. I think that changes now and I really don't see them losing more than 3 games the rest of the regular season. 

[QueenoftheSouth]

2 hours ago, se7ens said:

The plain answer is no. I firmly believe that West should end up 2nd or 3rd in this ranking at season's end. Their schedule is tough all the way through but markedly front-loaded. They have experience, versatility and depth. But what they don't have right now are the on-court results to justify them being higher. I think that changes now and I really don't see them losing more than 3 games the rest of the regular season. 

Agreed. If they stay healthy, I won’t be surprised one bit if they win region this year.

[KingSalva21]

I have to agree, West is starting to click over these past few weeks, they have cut their turnovers way down and they are starting to share the ball really well. They have a solid big guy surrounded by shooters and are starting to go inside out, point guard Drew Marshall broke the school single game assist record with 16 assist against Dunbar Saturday. If they can stay healthy they are definitely one of the teams that can win the region , gonna be a fun tournament.

[Hitemdeep]

West Jessamine is a solid group maybe the best 8-8 team in the state. They are getting better and playing good competition. Well coached physical they will be a tough out for anyone. 

[gchs_uk9]

5 hours ago, KingSalva21 said:

I have to agree, West is starting to click over these past few weeks, they have cut their turnovers way down and they are starting to share the ball really well. They have a solid big guy surrounded by shooters and are starting to go inside out, point guard Drew Marshall broke the school single game assist record with 16 assist against Dunbar Saturday. If they can stay healthy they are definitely one of the teams that can win the region , gonna be a fun tournament.

 

40 minutes ago, Hitemdeep said:

West Jessamine is a solid group maybe the best 8-8 team in the state. They are getting better and playing good competition. Well coached physical they will be a tough out for anyone. 

I'm always on the West Jessamine bandwagon. Their schedule always has them prepared for a run in the region.