Spring in the high school basketball world means coaching changes and the start of transfer rumor. The school year then winds down, graduation happens, and we enter the summer and things really start hopping again on the hardwood. Summer ball takes off, the AAU circuit continues on in earnest, and we start to get even a better idea of what next season will look like.

For the 9th, to me at least, the biggest question is what will Newport look like roster wise? Taylen Kinney came back into the fold late in the season, sparking a momentary flurry of speculation for the post-season run that turned out to be nothing more than wishful thinking. Now it will be seen whether will indeed dress for the Wildcats again or not when 2025-2026 rolls around. 

What is to become of Coach Sullivan and Cooper? The reigning champs are facing the supposed impending departure of the only head coach in program history. Will that come to fruition? Who would take his place? Does that mean a new program will rise to the top in the 33rd?

A handful of programs showed promise last year. A Newport team with Kinney is the clear favorite, but without him, this region becomes exceptionally wide open with CovCath probably being the front-runner, but not by much. 

What are your thoughts on how the region is shaping up? Any hot takes, dark horses, or names to watch? Let the fun begin.

1.) Newport

2.) Covington Catholic

Nobody else will have a shot at the regional title next season. 

I think Cooper, depending on the coach, could be in the mix still. They were senior heavy last year but have a good amount of talent in there underclassmen that they may surprise some people. The other team I am interested about is Conner. Year 2 under Coach Browning and I think they return a good amount of young talent as well.

I think Ricardo and Holy Cross will be in the mix, maybe not favorites but they return a lot and Ricardo runs some really good stuff.

On 4/18/2025 at 11:35 AM, FlyPattern said:

1.) Newport

2.) Covington Catholic

Nobody else will have a shot at the regional title next season. 

Newport is only at 1 if Taylen Kinney suits up.

And I don’t think your statement is true at all, either way. Their just isn’t that big of a gap. I expect a region with a good deal of parity, at least in the top 8 or 9.

Until it's set in stone that TK is back at Newport* I will have Cov Cath as my clear #1. I think a good distance behind #1....Cooper* #2A, Newport* #2B, Highlands #2C. Cooper has an asteric due to who their coach may be but I am taking most coaches over Snapp so Cooper starts at 2A IMO. Those four will be my tier 1 for now. After Cov Cath I think the 9th is pretty even right now but I wanted to try and rank in tiers by 4-6 teams in a tier. Cov Cath is "blessed" to have probably 3 of the top 8 most impactful players in the 9th in McGillis, Harney and Bradshaw. Soph to be Cash Meyers is a name to keep an eye out for also. Highlands is going to be really tough for atleast the next 4 years they have been brewing something in Ft. Thomas that's ready to come to fruition. Newport has the talent but can Snapp get the most out if it. Cooper has who will probably be my personal favorite player to watch throughout the year in Roman Combs because of how raw he started as a freshman and the huge strides he keeps making in getting better.

Tier 2. Conner, Holy Cross, Lloyd, Ryle, Beechwood, Dixie. Just Browning and Ricardo alone I think can scheme their teams into really good seasons and mixing in good returning talent will make their jobs easier. Both teams may be the most fun to watch throughout the year (depending where Sully is) because of how big of strides they will make week to week. I wouldn't be surprised to see them get themselves a tier 1 win or 2. Lloyd will be interesting. They will have the athleticism to compete with all of my tier 2 teams and maybe a couple in tier 1 but they will be undersized and Coach Walker's in game coaching ability is about to really be tested. Blaackar is going to need to average a minimum of 23 PPG and I expect him to have multiple 30+ point games just off the volume of looks he will need to have on a nightly basis for them to be competitive. They may be able to beat most teams any given night but could also lose to multiple lower tier teams on any given night if they let the wheels fall off. Beechwood and Dixie I think do just enough to stay in the top 10 and out of tier 3 but I think both will lose some games that will be surprising. For Ryle it will be hard for them to replace a player like Lorms but I really like the way they play together and leave it all on the floor every night and that's a recipe that will have them in almost every game they play.

Tier 3. TBD

 

Starks from Newport got a scholarship offer from Ohio State.

On 4/25/2025 at 8:58 AM, MaddenCurse44 said:

Starks from Newport got a scholarship offer from Ohio State.

That's big time. Hoping to see him make a huge jump this year. He is a really young soph and he shows it at times. I'm sure Ohio State is thinking as young as he is he will really see his game take off over the next 2 years. Alot of schools will look at him as a kid to redshirt his freshman year in college and really be a productive player in year 2 at a college program. At only 15 years old right now his ceiling is extremely high.

On 4/27/2025 at 2:57 PM, Honey Badger said:

That's big time. Hoping to see him make a huge jump this year. He is a really young soph and he shows it at times. I'm sure Ohio State is thinking as young as he is he will really see his game take off over the next 2 years. Alot of schools will look at him as a kid to redshirt his freshman year in college and really be a productive player in year 2 at a college program. At only 15 years old right now his ceiling is extremely high.

Don’t see the folks around Griff being receptive of a redshirt. 

13 hours ago, bigblue96 said:

Don’t see the folks around Griff being receptive of a redshirt. 

Your probably right. He will be entering college at 17 years old. I know in today's age redshirting isn't the "cool" thing to do but the people around him should really consider it as an option at the right program. I don't see him getting much if any playing time with a good college team as a true 17 y/o freshman going against dudes in their early 20's. Him at 18 as a redshirt freshman with a year of college development, strength and conditioning I could see him making a nice impact. Hopefully his camp looks at his time frames realistically because if handled right he has huge potential at the next level. If they rush the whole process I think it would be doing him a disservice.

Have seen a lot of write-ups and highlights on Starks from Newport and McGillis from CCH. 2 stockrisers.

22 hours ago, Honey Badger said:

Your probably right. He will be entering college at 17 years old. I know in today's age redshirting isn't the "cool" thing to do but the people around him should really consider it as an option at the right program. I don't see him getting much if any playing time with a good college team as a true 17 y/o freshman going against dudes in their early 20's. Him at 18 as a redshirt freshman with a year of college development, strength and conditioning I could see him making a nice impact. Hopefully his camp looks at his time frames realistically because if handled right he has huge potential at the next level. If they rush the whole process I think it would be doing him a disservice.

Unless you're a top 75-100 player in the country (which Sparks is currently ranked in on ESPN), it doesn't make much sense to play at a D1 as a freshman because of this. The game is getting older and older, and with the Pavia Juco injunction, there's probably going to be the same or more amount of 5th, 6th, 7th year players this season as last.

Or, the other move he can make to play right away, is go Low Major for a mid-level deal ($75-$100K), then transfer to make $250K+. 

For the rest of the high school players in the country who aren't a top 75-100 player: Commit to the schools that offer you in the Fall. Because come spring, when there's 2000+ college experienced guys available, most schools will pull the HS kids offer.

 

Everyone points to NIL, but the free transfer is what complicates recruiting, esp for HS kids, more than anything else.

 

 

22 minutes ago, InItToWinIt said:

Unless you're a top 75-100 player in the country (which Sparks is currently ranked in on ESPN), it doesn't make much sense to play at a D1 as a freshman because of this. The game is getting older and older, and with the Pavia Juco injunction, there's probably going to be the same or more amount of 5th, 6th, 7th year players this season as last.

Or, the other move he can make to play right away, is go Low Major for a mid-level deal ($75-$100K), then transfer to make $250K+. 

For the rest of the high school players in the country who aren't a top 75-100 player: Commit to the schools that offer you in the Fall. Because come spring, when there's 2000+ college experienced guys available, most schools will pull the HS kids offer.

 

Everyone points to NIL, but the free transfer is what complicates recruiting, esp for HS kids, more than anything else.

 

 

If Starks camp is patient and they trust and respect the development process in 4-5 years I think he will be a big time college name and it's not unrealistic to think his name could be on some mock drafts. I'm getting a little repetitive here, but seeing him play at 13, 14, and 15 years old against kids 4,5 and 6 years older than him it's intriguing to think where his game could be at age 20 . I don't want to see anyone leave NKY hoops but Starks should really be playing at a Prep School because without a doubt I think that would be his best path if he wanted to contribute to a P5/mid-major school as a 17 year old freshman. How his development is handled over the next 2 years will be very interesting to watch. From his freshman year to sophomore year I didn't see much change, there could have actually been a slight drop off but I think he will make some big strides this year and it should be fun to watch.

Anyone know the tip time for any of the games at Cov. Cath.?