If week 1 is indication of anything regarding the year at large then we are truly in for a region filled with parity. Almost everyone took a loss, the chief exception among the top teams being Danville Christian. There were two rather surprising in-region results and we will see those games (and more) cause quite the shakeup in the rankings. 

Rankings:

1. Danville Christian Academy (2-0) - DCA went undefeated in the opening week, something that not many teams in the region can say. The Warriors defeated Russell County and Fairdale and put up a large number of points in both games. They have scored 159 combined points and only 18 of those came off 3 pointers. Ben Mikels is averaging 27 points and 14 rebounds per game while Geu Leek Ateny is averaging 18.5 and 13, respectively. DCA has their first two games against regional opponents this week as they take on Garrard County and West Jessamine.

2. Pulaski County (1-2) - This should signify that is terribly difficult to rank this region right now. The Maroons got blown out by Madison Central, surprised West Jessamine by beating them by 6 then lost to Eastern by 6 in Louisville. That makes one ugly loss, one quality win (perhaps the best quality win of the week in the region), and one "acceptable" loss. They have a full week this week as they take on McCreary Central, Russell County, Casey County and South Oldham.

3. West Jessamine (1-1) - The Colts defeated Franklin County before dropping the loss to Pulaski. Luk Tut had 22 points in the win over the Flyers. West has a chance to show that was a fluke pretty quickly as they take on DCA this week, sandwiched between matchups against Somerset and Dunbar. West should at least go 2-1 this week and if they don't, either way it says something about this team.

4. Wayne County (2-1) - They were all close games for the Cardinals in week 1 as they beat Barbourville by 3 and Garrard County by 2 but fell to Montgomery County in overtime by 2 in Campbellsville. That Montgomery County game was a widely publicized event given the events in Mount Sterling leading up that game. Kendall Phillips scored 20 or more in the wins. The Cardinals face Taylor County and Bell County this week.

5. Lincoln County (1-1) - The Patriots bested Dunbar in their opener but fell to Green County by 6. Sawyer Robbins and Cash Baird both are averaging in double figures in points and 8.5 or more in rebounds. Bryson McAdoo started the year on a hot streak from 3, going 5 for 9 through the first 2 games. Lincoln faces Southwestern and Sayre this week.

6. Rockcastle County (1-1) - The Rockets won convincingly over McCreary Central by 16 before losing by 17 to Scott County at Great Crossing. There obviously remains a lot of intrigue around this team. Somerset and Danville are on the schedule this week. If they are for real, two conclusory wins this week would help prove that at these early stage.

7. Southwestern (3-0) - The Warriors are undefeated but not necessarily against top level competition. Their closest game was a 21 point win over East Jessamine. Zachary Hutchinson is averaging 22 points per game through 3. They host Lincoln this week before traveling to Boyle County to face a Rebel squad that will probably be close to full strength. They end the week against Madison Southern at Lincoln County's Patriot Classic.

8. Somerset (1-1) - The Jumpers took one on the chin against Danville, losing by 7 unexpectedly. They did pick up a win over Glasgow. Aedyn Absher is averaging 23.5 points per game through those 2. They shot just 37 percent from the field against the Ads. They host West Jessamine and Rockcastle this week. A win against either would definitely bolster their case that they can be a true contender like so many thought in the preseason.

9. Boyle County (1-0) - The Rebels defeated Burgin in their opener. Sawyer Pittman scored 16. They play Whitley County, Dunbar, and Southwestern this week as their schedule slowly cranks up in intensity as football is now over.

10. Garrard County (2-1) - The Golden Lions have three double-figure scorers through 3 in Hunter Caldwell, Samuel Montgomery and David Grubbs. Their only loss is a 2 point squeaker in which they fell to Wayne County. They face Somerset Christian, Danville Christian and Model this week. 

11. Danville (2-1) - Now let's not get ahead of ourselves. Danville had a good start last year but quickly faltered. And now here we are again, Danville is 2-1 to start the season with wins over Somerset and Somerset Christian. How good either of those teams are is still open but preseason chatter, including here from yours truly, had both those teams above the Ads. And Danville still has work to do if they want to pass the Jumpers in the rankings for good. Alongside the wins was a blowout loss to WEB DuBois. The Ads face Rockcastle County and McCreary Central this week. Based off results so far, these should be two winnable games for the Ads and would go far in continuing their hot start.

12. Somerset Christian (3-1) - Expectations are still pretty high for the Cougars but they fell to Danville to start the year. They did follow that up with three wins in the KCAC tournament, ending with an OT win against Christian Fellowship. They face Garrard County and Pineville this week.

13. McCreary County Central (0-3) - Nothing has really gone right for the Raiders through week 1. They have Pulaski County, Danville, and Owsley County this week and it would be huge for them to go at least 2-1 and be competitive in the other. 

14. Mercer County (0-2) - Mercer's tough road started with losses to Lexington Catholic and Owen County. Tates Creek and Model are on the schedule this week. Hopefully the Titans can break into the win column in at least one of those.

15. Casey County (2-0) - Casey County had two dominant wins over small school competition in Trinity Christian and the Kentucky Christian Knights (a homeschool team). Burgin, Pulaski, and Lynn Camp are on the schedule this week. Being competitive with Pulaski at all would be huge and the other two games are certainly winnable.

16. East Jessamine (0-3) - The Jaguars have a lot of work to do as they start the season winless through week 1. Carter Wolfe and Tyson Duke look to be the core here but they'll need some help to convert their effort into wins.

17. Burgin (1-2) - The Bulldogs got a win over Francis Parker after losing to Boyle and Model. They face Casey County and Dayton this week.

18. Trinity Christian (0-2) - The Titans fell to Casey County and Lynn Camp. They have Louisville Collegiate, East Jessamine and Dayton this week. 

19. Kentucky School for the Deaf (0-1) - The Colonels fell to their Tennessee counterparts in week 1. They face Frankfort Christian this week.

 

Actually, DCA did take a loss to Warren Central Saturday. Probably don’t change the rankings though. 

23 minutes ago, BasketballFan24 said:

Actually, DCA did take a loss to Warren Central Saturday. Probably don’t change the rankings though. 

Especially since it was a 3 point loss to a top 5 team. 

It’s a little too early for the Massey ratings to tell us much but for what it’s worth here are the top 12th region teams and their rankings:

DCA - 33

Southwestern - 74

Pulaski - 78

West Jess - 97

Wayne - 99

Lincoln - 103

Boyle - 126

Somerset - 130

 

53 minutes ago, BasketballFan24 said:

Actually, DCA did take a loss to Warren Central Saturday. Probably don’t change the rankings though. 

Yeah, even with that revelation, I wouldn't change the rankings. They are clearly the top team right now. Thank you for updating that though. It wasn't on the scoreboard.

Wild night in the 12th. It is going to be an interesting year. 

Boyle throttled Dunbar, who in turn played Lincoln pretty close. The Rebels are going to be fine this year. 

What happened in the West Jessamine/Somerset game?  West 63-SHS 28?   Was Somerset missing a key player or two?

18 minutes ago, 24Rocks said:

What happened in the West Jessamine/Somerset game?  West 63-SHS 28?   Was Somerset missing a key player or two?

No.  West was on fire from 3.  Coming into the game they were 6 out if 21 was a team.  Gavin Murphy hit 7 or 8 by himself last night, and scored 32 points. As a team the Colts had 10 or more.  Somerset was getting some decent looks but they weren't going at all. Just one of those nights where one team is on, and one team is off.  

1 hour ago, DearToday said:

Boyle throttled Dunbar, who in turn played Lincoln pretty close. The Rebels are going to be fine this year. 

Dunbar is not very good.  I don't think that I would take much from this win other than Driver's size is going to be a problem for most in the 12th.

35 minutes ago, Carl Spackler said:

No.  West was on fire from 3.  Coming into the game they were 6 out if 21 was a team.  Gavin Murphy hit 7 or 8 by himself last night, and scored 32 points. As a team the Colts had 10 or more.  Somerset was getting some decent looks but they weren't going at all. Just one of those nights where one team is on, and one team is off.  

Is Somerset maybe not as good as some have said?  I have not seen them.  I understand the lights out shooting that West had but only scoring 28 points is not a good look.

12 minutes ago, Joe LeDuc said:

Dunbar is not very good.  I don't think that I would take much from this win other than Driver's size is going to be a problem for most in the 12th.

I'd have Boyle over Wayne and Somerset for sure. Time will tell about being over Southwestern as well. 

15 minutes ago, DearToday said:

I'd have Boyle over Wayne and Somerset for sure. Time will tell about being over Southwestern as well. 

With Driver locking down the middle Boyle could play those team’s three point shooters really tightly.  Their only good strategy would be to go right at him to try to get him into foul trouble.  He likes to block shots so it’s not a bad idea.  

1 hour ago, DearToday said:

Boyle throttled Dunbar, who in turn played Lincoln pretty close. The Rebels are going to be fine this year. 

Lincoln beat Southwestern last night, they’re going to be fine too. 

1 hour ago, Joe LeDuc said:

Is Somerset maybe not as good as some have said?  I have not seen them.  I understand the lights out shooting that West had but only scoring 28 points is not a good look.

They were not in sync on offense at all last night. Lots of unforced errors.  I think the talent and coaching is there.  But right now I'd put them 3rd in the district and 10-11 in the region.  I think as Bartley and Wooldridge get more in basketball mode that they'll improve.  Also, Lewis isn't too far removed from having a cast removed.  He's a better shooter than what the results have shown so far.