Everyone in the 8^th is in the meat of their schedule.  There were some great games last week. A big congrats to Walton Verona for winning the 8^th region All “A”.  They beat Owen County in the championship game by 10 points.  Aaron Gutman was named the tournament MVP.  The big time rivalry Oldham/South Oldham game was Friday night.  It was a packed house and it was a great game.  Oldham pushed South harder than they expected.  At the end though, South was too much and won by 6.  Julian Miles was unstoppable. He scored at game high 37pts.  Collins had a huge win at home vs a really good Spencer County team on Friday but only scored 35 points on Wednesday night vs Anderson.  District 30 is WILD this year.  We have another week coming up full of some exciting games. Get your popcorn ready, its going to be FUN.

 

Updated Rankings:

1.      South Oldham (15-3)  The Dragons are playing at a high level.  Even though Oldham County is down this year, the boys from Crestwood went into enemy territory and got a huge win.  Julian Miles is making a strong case for Region Player of the Year.  The kid is special, he plays hard every night.

THIS WEEK:  South only has one game this week- Hosting Spencer County on Tuesday.

2.      North Oldham (12-6) The Mustangs had 3 wins last week by large margins.  They beat three Louisville teams.  North is a tough team to prepare against because they have so many ballhandlers and shooters.  They will not overpower you athletically, but they are so skilled it doesn’t matter.

THIS WEEK: Vs CAL on Tuesday …. Big time rivalry game vs Oldham County

3.      Woodford County (9-6)  It seems a bit silly that Woodford is ranked in the top 15 in most of the state polls and I have them as the 3^rd best team in the region.  Well, its really hard when they don’t play any region opponents other than in their district.  They have the most talent in the region without a doubt but can they play a complete game on both ends to cut down the nets in March.?!?!? 

THIS WEEK:  at Dunbar on Tuesday and Friday night host Collins in a big district showdown.

4.      Walton Verona (11-6)  The Walton boys won the ALL A REGION in convincing fashion winning all their games by 10plus.  Aaron Gutman is playing at a high level.  Is the Region Player of Year a two man race now?   Both, Aaron and Julian, deserve it so far this year.  Good luck to Coach Hestor and the players in the ALL A Classic this week.  We know you will represent the 8^th Region well

THIS WEEK:  vs Ballard Memorial in the ALL A CLASSIC

5.      Simon Kenton (11-5)   The boys from NKY had 3 big region wins last week against Williamstown, Grant County and Collins.  I have said since day one this group is good enough to cut down the nets come regional tourney time.   They are a tough veteran group.

THIS WEEK: vs Lloyd on Tuesday and at Gallatin on Friday.

6.      Anderson County (9-6) It may have been the best defensive performance of the year  when the Bearcats held Collins to 35 points last week.  That was a huge win for this team.  A few nights they had a 1 point lost to Walton Verona in a game that could have went either way.  Huge matchup coming this week with Spencer.

THIS WEEK: at Western Hills on Tuesday and hosting Spencer County on Friday.

7.      Collins (10-7)  What an up and down season for the Titans.  They beat South Oldham earlier in the year and last week beat Spencer County.  Those are two teams that could win the Region. However, they have had losses to Walton , Simon, and they only scored 35 against Anderson.  We have definitely learned this is a dangerous team come tourney time.

THIS WEEK: only one game this week and it’s a big one.  They play at Woodford on Friday.

8.      Spencer County (11-6)  Spencer has moved up and down the rankings more than any other team.  They are good enough to beat anyone but they also have nights when anyone can beat them.  I guess that is normal when you are in District 30.  These teams are just beaten up on each other.  I am sure that it is stressful on the coaches but its pretty exciting for basketball fans to watch.  Spencer has a chance to play South Oldham again this week who easily beat them over the holiday break.  I think this time could be a different story.

THIS WEEK: at South Oldham on Tuesday, at Anderson County on Friday and at Shelby County on Saturday.

9.      Owen County (11-3) Coach Duvall’s group performed very well in the ALL A region tourney.  They beat a good Gallatin team in the Semifinals by one point.  They battled hard in the championship game but Walton was too good in the end.  This teams still has it eyes on getting to the Regional tourney in March.

THIS WEEK: Mon at Grant County, Wed at Eminence , Friday vs Walton Verona

10.  Gallatin County (10-6)  The Wildcats lost a heartbreaker to Owen in the ALL A.  I think they could have matched up better with Walton in championship but it just wasn’t their year.  They too want to get to Henry County come tourney time and it is definitely in their reach.

THIS WEEK: at home vs Carroll on Monday, at Henry County on Tuesday, at Simon Kenton on Friday.

11.  Oldham County (5-11) They have won 3 out of their last 4 games for a team that was needed some wins badly.  They battled South hard on Friday night losing by only 6 points.  Looks like they have an 8^th grader leading the team in scoring, Ty Bryant.  This has to give the fans in Buckner something to be excited about.

THIS WEEK: Coach Renner makes his homecoming on Tuesday at Ballard.  Then another big rival game at North Oldham on Friday.

12.  Grant County (6-11) The Braves have lost 4 in a row.  They looked to get back in the winning column this week.

THIS WEEK: Monday vs Owen, Tuesday vs Holmes, Friday at Williamstown

13.  Henry County (9-8) Last week Coach Tingle’s group had a blow out win vs Trimble and suffered a 25 point lost to South Oldham.  They will be ready for the District Tourney in late February.  I think they might surprise some teams ahead of them in the rankings.

THIS WEEK: Wed vs Gallatin , Friday vs Beechwood and Sat at Williamstown

14.  Eminence (9-6) Eminence has been one of the biggest surprises of the season.  They have 9 wins and we are still in January.  Last week they got put out early of the All A to the eventual champions.  The boys are working each day to get better and it shows.

THIS WEEK: Mon vs Fort Knox, Wed vs Owen, Thursday at Cornerstone Christian and Friday vs Highland Latins

15.  Shelby County (1-13) The boys from Shelbyville have had a rough year but they have been competitive in many of their losses.

THIS WEEK: Tues at Iroquois, Thur at Moore, Saturday hosting Spencer County.

16.  Carroll County (3-9) They have only had 1 game in the last month and it was a 30 point loss to Eminence.

THIS WEEK: Monday at Carroll County, Tuesday at Gallatin County , Fri at Shawe Memorial, Sat vs Bellevue

17.  Williamstown (2-12)  The last 3 games have been rough for the boys but they are not giving up and are hungry for some wins.

THIS WEEK: Mon at Carroll County, Wed vs Villa Madonna, Friday vs Grant County , Sat vs Henry County

18.  Trimble County (4-12) Last 3 games were lopsided losses for the Raiders.  They are ready to get back in the winning circle.

THIS WEEK: Tuesday at Cornerstone Christian

8th Region POTY should be decided between Armelo Boone and Aaron Gutman. It is a 2 man race, with those two. 

30 minutes ago, LLS10 said:

8th Region POTY should be decided between Armelo Boone and Aaron Gutman. It is a 2 man race, with those two. 

Yea I probably should have added Armelo to the argument. If South finishes with the best overall record in the region and Julian is averaging over 22ppg, I would think he would have to be in the discussion . Wouldn’t he ? 

2 hours ago, Bballjunkie said:

Yea I probably should have added Armelo to the argument. If South finishes with the best overall record in the region and Julian is averaging over 22ppg, I would think he would have to be in the discussion . Wouldn’t he ? 

Potentially. However, if WV and Woodford are in the same conversations as them I would say either Boone or Gutman gets it 

Points are a large factor, but for an overall player they both clear.

46 minutes ago, Adrian Woj Burner said:

Potentially. However, if WV and Woodford are in the same conversations as them I would say either Boone or Gutman gets it 

Points are a large factor, but for an overall player they both clear.

I can agree with that ?