This is it. The second season is now upon us. The regular season certainly didn't end quietly, even after all the district seeding was wrapped up. Let's go through the final team rankings for the year, take a look at the week that was and preview the district tournaments.

Rankings

1. Lincoln County - Last week they fell short in an incredibly competitive game against Lexington Catholic before defeating Casey County. That win over Casey brings them to 20 wins on the year. Tramane Alcorn is already starting to bring in accolades for his performance this year and the Patriots will certainly need him at his best to accomplish what they want to in the postseason. They face the winner of Danville and Danville Christian. They have defeated Danville Christian twice, once in double overtime, and they split the series with Danville. No matter who it is they face, the district semifinals in the 45th will have two games worth watching and Lincoln is certainly not safe from an upset.

2. West Jessamine - The Colts are red hot, going 14 - 2 since January 1st. That stretch includes a final win this past week over Garrard County. The Colts are incredibly balanced, having four players (Waters, Jones, Marshall, Salva) with double-digit scoring averages. The Colts play the winner of Burgin and Trinity Christian in order to advance to the regional tournament. They went undefeated in the district.

3. Boyle County - Yes, a 14 - 13 team sits at number three in the final rankings of the year. How did they get here? Since losing to West Jessamine to end January, the Rebels have gone 5 - 1 with wins over Lincoln County and Pulaski County. That win over Pulaski County was their second narrow win last week, the other coming over Danville Christian. Montavin Quisenberry scored 21 against the Warriors and 28 against the Maroons. Boyle has a date with the winner of Garrard County and Kentucky School for the Deaf in order to determine if they are staying home or advancing to regionals. They have defeated the Golden Lions (Quisenberry's former team) twice, once by three and once by one.

4. Pulaski County - The Maroons have more wins than any other team in the region with 22. However, their best quality wins came early in December and they have been inconsistent in the second half of the season. With that said, they are still an incredibly well coached team with some top talent including Cayden Lancaster, Barek Williams, and Carson Fraley. They face Casey County in the district semifinals, a team they have blown out twice.

5. Danville - These next three teams are all about even, but Danville is on a four game winning streak that includes Lincoln County, Russell County, Somerset and East Jessamine. They have a very tough road in front of them though as they will have to get past Danville Christian and Lincoln County to make it to the regional tournament.

6. McCreary Central - The Raiders defeated Casey County last week but fell to Danville Christian. Kyle Stephens finishes the regular season with 21 points per game and over 7 rebounds per game. They face Somerset Christian in their district semifinals. Also, congratulations are in order for Coach of the Year Wade Davis.

7. Danville Christian - The Warriors fell to Boyle County but defeated McCreary Central last week and it can be said that that week is a microcosm of the season as a whole as the Warriors have some impressive wins but also a slew of losses, though admittedly against a great schedule for a school their size. They finish the regular season one game over .500 and have to get past both Danville and Lincoln County to make it to the regional tournament.

8. Somerset - The Briar Jumpers defeated Campbellsville before falling to Danville in a blowout in which Indred Whitaker did not play. At full strength, Somerset is a threat to make some noise. But if there is a game in which they are missing Whitaker or Ben Godby, they could lose to anyone. They face Rockcastle County in the district semifinals, a team they have beat twice but in two excellent games.

9. Wayne County - The Cardinals defeated East Jessamine but fell to Evangel Christian. The finish the regular season with four players averaging over 10 points per game (Phillips, Burchett, Farmer, Phillips). They face Southwestern, a team that recently beat them in overtime, in the 2/3 semifinal.

10. Rockcastle County - It's all about Somerset now, a team they lost to twice by less than a combined 10 points. Last week, the Rockets beat Model and Southwestern before falling to Russell County. Walker Craig finishes just under 15 points per game for the regular season.

11. Southwestern

12. Mercer

13. Garrard

14. Casey

15. East Jessamine

16. Trinity Christian

17. Burgin

18. Somerset Christian School

19. Kentucky School for the Deaf

Good Job, and great coverage all season!  

38 minutes ago, LethalPG said:

Good Job, and great coverage all season!  

Thank you and thank you for participating in these each week. This is certainly an incredibly fun region to cover.

Thanks for your coverage on the 12th region sir, I have a son that plays and look forward to your reviews and rankings every Monday. Great work all season , appreciate it.

They key for Lincoln to make it to region at this point is getting Colton Ralston going again. In this stretch where they have struggled, he has struggled offensively. Give him credit because even through these struggles he has kept his head up, defended, rebounded, and passed extremely well. They need his scoring, especially from the 3pt line, to escape this tough district. 

1 hour ago, Lank said:

They key for Lincoln to make it to region at this point is getting Colton Ralston going again. In this stretch where they have struggled, he has struggled offensively. Give him credit because even through these struggles he has kept his head up, defended, rebounded, and passed extremely well. They need his scoring, especially from the 3pt line, to escape this tough district. 

Agreed. LC will be ready to go Wednesday though no matter what Jeff Jackson will have them prepared. 

Nice write-up. I think there are two teams that are better than the rest, and you’ve ranked them as your top two. After that, there are handful of teams that could get it done if the draw works in their favor. Said another way, if these were playoff series, I feel very confident that Lincoln or West would win the region. They’d win a series against any other regional team. The reasons for that: balanced scoring; good defense; they’ve played by far the toughest schedules in the region; and they have high level coaches with proven track records. I do think that West has the best talent 1-5, but Lincoln has the home court advantage.

Anyother team winning region would require a lot of luck. DCA may have the next best talent but played better in December than they have down the stretch. A PG like Quisenberry, if he’s at his best, gives Boyle an outside chance,  and he seems to be playing his best ball right now. Plus Tarter’s 15 rebounds per game. However, they haven’t played a very challengimg schedule, which is less than ideal heading into the postseason. Likewise for Pulaski. I’m also not sure that Pulaski has enough talent 1-5 to get it done without a lot of help. 
 

I do think teams should fear Wayne,  Somerset (if healthy) and Danville. Somerset’s guard play makes them tough and Wayne’s tempo gives them a chance to beat any team on a given night. Plus they have a very good freshman who plays more like a junior. If Danville shoots the ball well on a given night, they’re a tough out.

I look forward to district play and to seeing the regional draws!

 

I look for Somerset's duo to play (not sure about 100%) but both kids are gamers.  If anyone is interested, Mountain News is running a story tonight on Ben Godby tragic situation losing his father.  It will run during 6:00 news. 

So we knew going in obviously that not all top ten teams could make it to the regional. The first one fell last night in DCA in a game that lived up to the billing as Danville advances to play Lincoln where another top ten team will have their season ended.

Congrats to Danville for pulling it out! It’s hard to believe that a team with the pieces that DCA had won’t be playing in region. I did not see that coming.
 

They lose a starter and a very productive 6th man on a team with very little depth so I think it gets tougher for them next year. 

And now Somerset goes down. Tough to beat a team three times. 

McCreary, Rockcastle and Pulaski have all punched their tickets for the regional tournament. The remaining 5 district semifinals play tonight. The two in the 46th are not competitive on paper. The two in the 45th and the match between Southwestern and Wayne should all shape up to be awesome games. 

10 hours ago, DearToday said:

And now Somerset goes down. Tough to beat a team three times. 

Rockcastle played well.  You could tell that Somerset just wasn't completely healthy. And when two teams are that evenly matched that can be the difference.  Good luck to Rockcastle against Pulaski.  The Maroons will also be trying to beat the Rockets for a third time. Should be a good game. 

Rockcastle started one senior and Somerset's sixth man was their only senior.  Both of these teams should be really good next year.  

On 2/20/2023 at 2:07 PM, QueenoftheSouth said:

Nice write-up. I think there are two teams that are better than the rest, and you’ve ranked them as your top two. After that, there are handful of teams that could get it done if the draw works in their favor. Said another way, if these were playoff series, I feel very confident that Lincoln or West would win the region. They’d win a series against any other regional team. The reasons for that: balanced scoring; good defense; they’ve played by far the toughest schedules in the region; and they have high level coaches with proven track records. I do think that West has the best talent 1-5, but Lincoln has the home court advantage.

Anyother team winning region would require a lot of luck. DCA may have the next best talent but played better in December than they have down the stretch. A PG like Quisenberry, if he’s at his best, gives Boyle an outside chance,  and he seems to be playing his best ball right now. Plus Tarter’s 15 rebounds per game. However, they haven’t played a very challengimg schedule, which is less than ideal heading into the postseason. Likewise for Pulaski. I’m also not sure that Pulaski has enough talent 1-5 to get it done without a lot of help. 
 

I do think teams should fear Wayne,  Somerset (if healthy) and Danville. Somerset’s guard play makes them tough and Wayne’s tempo gives them a chance to beat any team on a given night. Plus they have a very good freshman who plays more like a junior. If Danville shoots the ball well on a given night, they’re a tough out.

I look forward to district play and to seeing the regional draws!

 

 

On 2/20/2023 at 10:49 AM, se7ens said:

This is it. The second season is now upon us. The regular season certainly didn't end quietly, even after all the district seeding was wrapped up. Let's go through the final team rankings for the year, take a look at the week that was and preview the district tournaments.

Rankings

1. Lincoln County - Last week they fell short in an incredibly competitive game against Lexington Catholic before defeating Casey County. That win over Casey brings them to 20 wins on the year. Tramane Alcorn is already starting to bring in accolades for his performance this year and the Patriots will certainly need him at his best to accomplish what they want to in the postseason. They face the winner of Danville and Danville Christian. They have defeated Danville Christian twice, once in double overtime, and they split the series with Danville. No matter who it is they face, the district semifinals in the 45th will have two games worth watching and Lincoln is certainly not safe from an upset.

2. West Jessamine - The Colts are red hot, going 14 - 2 since January 1st. That stretch includes a final win this past week over Garrard County. The Colts are incredibly balanced, having four players (Waters, Jones, Marshall, Salva) with double-digit scoring averages. The Colts play the winner of Burgin and Trinity Christian in order to advance to the regional tournament. They went undefeated in the district.

3. Boyle County - Yes, a 14 - 13 team sits at number three in the final rankings of the year. How did they get here? Since losing to West Jessamine to end January, the Rebels have gone 5 - 1 with wins over Lincoln County and Pulaski County. That win over Pulaski County was their second narrow win last week, the other coming over Danville Christian. Montavin Quisenberry scored 21 against the Warriors and 28 against the Maroons. Boyle has a date with the winner of Garrard County and Kentucky School for the Deaf in order to determine if they are staying home or advancing to regionals. They have defeated the Golden Lions (Quisenberry's former team) twice, once by three and once by one.

4. Pulaski County - The Maroons have more wins than any other team in the region with 22. However, their best quality wins came early in December and they have been inconsistent in the second half of the season. With that said, they are still an incredibly well coached team with some top talent including Cayden Lancaster, Barek Williams, and Carson Fraley. They face Casey County in the district semifinals, a team they have blown out twice.

5. Danville - These next three teams are all about even, but Danville is on a four game winning streak that includes Lincoln County, Russell County, Somerset and East Jessamine. They have a very tough road in front of them though as they will have to get past Danville Christian and Lincoln County to make it to the regional tournament.

6. McCreary Central - The Raiders defeated Casey County last week but fell to Danville Christian. Kyle Stephens finishes the regular season with 21 points per game and over 7 rebounds per game. They face Somerset Christian in their district semifinals. Also, congratulations are in order for Coach of the Year Wade Davis.

7. Danville Christian - The Warriors fell to Boyle County but defeated McCreary Central last week and it can be said that that week is a microcosm of the season as a whole as the Warriors have some impressive wins but also a slew of losses, though admittedly against a great schedule for a school their size. They finish the regular season one game over .500 and have to get past both Danville and Lincoln County to make it to the regional tournament.

8. Somerset - The Briar Jumpers defeated Campbellsville before falling to Danville in a blowout in which Indred Whitaker did not play. At full strength, Somerset is a threat to make some noise. But if there is a game in which they are missing Whitaker or Ben Godby, they could lose to anyone. They face Rockcastle County in the district semifinals, a team they have beat twice but in two excellent games.

9. Wayne County - The Cardinals defeated East Jessamine but fell to Evangel Christian. The finish the regular season with four players averaging over 10 points per game (Phillips, Burchett, Farmer, Phillips). They face Southwestern, a team that recently beat them in overtime, in the 2/3 semifinal.

10. Rockcastle County - It's all about Somerset now, a team they lost to twice by less than a combined 10 points. Last week, the Rockets beat Model and Southwestern before falling to Russell County. Walker Craig finishes just under 15 points per game for the regular season.

11. Southwestern

12. Mercer

13. Garrard

14. Casey

15. East Jessamine

16. Trinity Christian

17. Burgin

18. Somerset Christian School

19. Kentucky School for the Deaf

 

Great job covering this region all year!