Woodford County vs. Jeffersontown (KHSAA Boys' Sweet 16®)

By: Adrian Woj Burner 

 

These two teams have not met in over a decade, their last matchup coming in December of 2012. This is only one of two matchups ever, the other coming in late December of 2004. In the two games, Jeffersontown has won both.

 

Season Review

Woodford County

This team has been struggling with injuries all season. It all started with John McCrear tearing his ACL in the summer (he is just not back in the lineup), and then Jasper Johnson with a few games missed due to several minor injuries. It seems that they became fully healthy at the right time and found their groove. They played a very tough schedule, but Johnson did not play in many of their matchups against some of the best competition in the state. They were not favorites to win the region going into it, but with an upset in the semi-finals against North Oldham they were able to take care of business and get their first 8th Region Championship since joining the region in 2019.

They are led by sophomore stand-out Jasper Johnson. He is currently ranked top-20 in the nation for his class and has offers from many powerhouses in Division 1 basketball programs. On the year he is averaging 20.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, shooting 78% from the line, 38.3% from 3, and 50.8% from the field. Following him is Makhi Smith averaging 12.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg, and is shooting an impressive 61.9% from the field. The team averages 63.2 ppg and gives up an average of 55.5 ppg.

 

Jeffersontown

I have not had the chance to see this squad at all this year, but I look forward to seeing what they offer. If you do not know, I cover the 8th Region, so I am not completely informed on other teams such as this. I do have some knowledge, and in my eyes, I did not expect the winner of the 8th to be playing this team. They have some powerhouses in their region such as Evangel Christian, DeSales, PRP, Western, and many more. However, they found a way to get it done and are traveling to Rupp Arena this week.

When looking at this group’s stats on the year, they seemed to be very spread out. They only have two players scoring in double-figures but have 4 other guys that are sitting above 9 ppg. The Chargers are led by sophomore Camron McDaniels, scoring 12.1 ppg, grabbing 5.3 rpg, shooting 41.9% from 3, and 50.8% from the field. Junior Lukus McDaniels (his brother maybe?) is right behind him in all statistics, scoring 10.5 ppg, grabbing 5.4 rpg, and is shooting 50% from the field. On the year, the team scored 67.1 ppg, and gave up 62.1 ppg.

 

 

Post-Season

The post-season for these two teams were very battle-hardened. Both in loaded regions full of talented and highly capable teams, they were not necessarily “expected” to win their regions. However, due to a couple upsets they were both able to get the opportunity of matching up at Rupp Arena Wednesday morning.

 

Woodford County

The 8th Region Champions played in the hardest district in the region, so they were not even close to guarantee an appearance in the regional tournament. Thanks to a win over Anderson County, they clinched that bid. The Yellow Jackets went on to defeat Collins in the 30th District Championship. In the first round of regions, they faced Owen County, squeezing one out after trailing by 15 in the 3rd quarter. They then went on to face #3 in the state, North Oldham. Woodford County dominated them from the tip, winning by 20 points. The 8th Region Championship game was a rematch of the 30th District Championship, and it ended with another Woodford County win.

The Yellow Jacket’s defense was their bread and butter for the postseason. Since District Tournament play, they are only allowing 36.4 ppg, 19 less than their season average. While doing this, they are still putting up 51.8 ppg. They were led in the postseason by Jasper Johnson, scoring 17.4 ppg. Santonio Wade was behind him scoring 13.6 ppg.

 

Jeffersontown

As mentioned before, the Chargers were not necessarily expected to come out of the 6th Region as champions. They started their post-season journey with a win over Bullitt East to clinch a regional appearance, and then went on to defeat Fern Creek in overtime to win the 24th District. In the regional quarterfinals, they defeated Moore in blowout fashion. Their semifinal matchup was against Butler, where Jtown squeezed out a close one. They went on to defeat DeSales in a 1-point game to win the 6th Region Championship.

Jeffersontown also improved their defense in the postseason, only giving up 50 ppg, 12 less than their season average.  They were led in the post-season by Brandon Gatewood, who scored 11.4 ppg. Following him was Camron McDaniels, scoring 11 ppg.

 

 

This should be a fun matchup, with me not seeing Jeffersontown yet this year I am not 100% sure exactly what to expect. I do know, if the same Woodford County team that showed up the last 2 nights of the regional tournament shows up this week, then they will be a very hard out this year in the state tournament!

WOFO is a sleeper imo. Team with the athleticism and defense to win it all. Not to mention Jasper Johnson...

Here is my take:

Surprise, surprise. On both sides. Despite being the returning regional tournament champion, Jeffersontown entered the season in rebuilding mode while returning a pair of starters and looked to be behind several talented teams in the Sixth Region. The Chargers held an underwhelming spot at 10th in the final regional rankings. They had a record of 11-12 on Feb. 14 and were a .500 team at regular-season's end with a team scoring average of 51.6 ppg. They have not lost since Valentine's Day, going 6-0 and averaging 64.6 ppg, a scoring increase of 25 percent.

Jeffersontown is balanced and unselfish on offense and inconsistent with flashes of brilliance on defense. Camron McDaniels (12.1 ppg) and Lukas McDaniels (10.5 ppg) lead six players who average 9 ppg or more. Brandon Gatewood (9.7 ppg), Genesis Nimely (9.4 ppg) and Rhys Taylor (9.1) are right behind them. Brenton Moore, averaging 9 ppg, has led the Chargers in scoring each of the last two times out while averaging 16 points, nearly double his season average. The McDaniels, Lukas (5.4 rpg) and Camron (5.3 rpg), are 1-2 in rebounding. Seven players shoot 50 percent or better from the field, helping the team shoot 52.3 percent overall.

Upset-minded Woodford County outlasted a rugged Eighth Region field and won its first regional title since 1986 when the school was in the 11th Region. The Yellow Jackets started the season 5-9 with a five-game losing streak, but they have now won seven games in a row with this late-season
push. Like Jeffersontown, they were lightly regarded coming into the postseason. But they shoot well, hitting 53.5 percent from the field, and feature the scoring of Jasper Johnson (20.9 ppg) who accounted for a whopping 25.8 percent of the team's point production.

Now, one of these surprising teams is poised to punch an improbable ticket to the quarterfinals where either Elizabethtown or McCracken County will await the winner.

Bump.

Well, I got in a rush to get this posted and somehow forgot to insert the times and such. This game will tip-off this years Sweet 16. It will be played Wednesday (3/15) morning at 11:00 am. Obviously, game will be played at Rupp Arena. 

Woodford by a few.

Woodford wins 42-36.

I believe that fans around the state will be surprised to watch Jasper Johnson. I feel that he gets no where near the publicity he deserves in the state. He is the real deal!

My guess is the winner scores in the 40s, the loser scores in the 30s, and it is among the more forgettable state tournament games!

Any updates?

3 hours ago, Adrian Woj Burner said:

I believe that fans around the state will be surprised to watch Jasper Johnson. I feel that he gets no where near the publicity he deserves in the state. He is the real deal!

Some are saying he’s the best soph in the Commonwealth. 

11 minutes ago, mcpapa said:

Any updates?

if you're asking about the game, you're a day early. 

4 minutes ago, mcpapa said:

Some are saying he’s the best soph in the Commonwealth. 

I would say that's a fair assessment without a doubt.

20 minutes ago, LCDAWGS19 said:

if you're asking about the game, you're a day early. 

The time change always plays havoc with me. 

1 minute ago, mcpapa said:

The time change always plays havoc with me. 

I would've went with "I'm ahead of my time"