2025 is almost over and Region 8^th is looking to geared up for a great 2026.  The good teams are good, the bad teams are bad and there are lot of teams in the middle that can compete but just not good enough to cut down the nets in March.  North Oldham did a great job of representing at the King of the Bluegrass.  They have one more game today,  The Mustangs made the #1 team in the state very nervous for 32 minutes.  North jumped on St X and was up double digits a lot of the first half.  St X athleticism eventually took over and they won by 10 points but it was a much closer game than that.  Most of the teams are performing like I thought they would but the biggest surprise for me is Anderson County.  They lost a truck lot of seniors last year but they have gotten off to a hot start.  With that said, I heard their Super Soph (Besley) got hurt and is out.  So they could even be better than if he was out there. WOW!

This week I am putting the record next to each team and whether they moved up or down in the rankings. Records can be misleading because we all know that records have a lot to do with the competition some schools choose to play.   There is honestly not a ton of moving  up or down compared to last week.  But this is what I have!

 

Rankings for Week 3:

1.      North Oldham (6-1) (same) When your only loss of the season is against the #1 team in the state, its easy to say this is the best team in the region.  They gave St X a great game.  This team is getting better each game , which is a scary statement to make.  The mustangs are being led by the two headed monster of Tommy Gregg 17ppg and Pierre Rondo 16ppg.  The Junior and the 8^th grader are a dominate duo who haven’t played together a lot in their career so the ceiling is very high for this duo to keep improving together.

2.      Woodford County (4-1) (same) similar to North when your only loss is against a top 15 team (GRC) there is no reason to move them from their 2 spot.  I still haven’t seen this team play live but I will soon.  It sounds like Omari Joiner is the best athlete the region. I can't see all of his stat line but when you are averaging 22ppg 9rpg as a guard then that means you are a stud.  Would love to see them match up against South Oldham or North Oldham during the season to get a gauge about my top 3 but I guess we will have to wait for March for those matchups.

3.      South Oldham (5-3)(Same)- Steve Simpson has a group that can beat anyone on any given night.  With the transfer of Nicco Ballard, from Collins, the Dragons are much better than I anticipated. Nicco has had the hottest start to the season as anyone. He is averaging 21ppg a game shooting 51% from threes and he has attempted close to a 100 already.  That is ridiculous how good that is.  South lost to CAL last week but finished the week off beating a really good Bryan Station team by 1.  This team is similar to North Oldham in the fact that they will only get better since they have had injuries and still getting used to the fact that Nicco and Joaquin are studs and neither was on the floor together last season.

4.      Simon Kenton –(2-4) (Same)-  It looks really weird to have a 2-4 team as your 4^th best team in the region but that is where they deserve to be.  Their 2 wins were against Oldham County and Anderson County, who are both top 7 in the region and they only lost to North Oldham by 10 on the road.  So I feel very good about them being where they are in the rankings even though it looks weird.  Last week they lost to one of the best teams in the state in Cov Catholic but got a big road win vs. Anderson County.  The Pioneers are being led by Braylon Bilton 17ppg and Eddie Marx 12ppg

5.      Oldham County- (3-3) (same)- The Colonels have had back to back years of Seniors being hurt.  Somone posted last week they are currently without both of their seniors due to injuries. Will Hinkle and Brooks Kightlinger would definitely be a big help for the young Colonels.  On the bright side it has caused 2 freshman and a sophomore to really step up.  Ty Bryant is avg 22ppg and Matt Withrow is at 15ppg .  Not sure there is a freshman duo better than those two in the state.  Malakye Bowen is a sophomore that is avg 16ppg.  Looks like the Colonels give up a ton of points so their defense will definitely need to improve before March.

6.      Spencer County (5-3) (same)  This team is rolling as of late. Last week they went 3-0 beating Western Hills, Walton-Verona, and Franklin-Simpson.  As I have stated before, they have a great culture in Taylorsville and they just keep winning.  The group is led by their two seniors. Samual Seawright is a strong guard that can shoot the lights out and then use his strong frame to finish through contact.  He is currently averaging 18ppg.  The other senior, Brady Smith, has stepped up in a big way this season.  He is averaging 13ppg.  It will be interesting to see if they can compete with Woodford by the end of the season.

7.      Anderson County (8-2) (up 1 spot)  As I stated in my opening comments, the Bearcats have been my biggest surprise.  With the amount of seniors they lost I didn’t think in a million years that they would be at 10 wins by the end of 2025.  It looks like they will have a really good shot at getting there.  I heard from a reliable source that Noah Beasley is hurt and out so I check the KHSAA stats and it looks like he has only played in 2 games.  I hate to hear this because he is a great player.  However, Andrew Sparrow (who transferred from Mercer County…..I think) is having a great year.  He is one of the leading scorers in the entire region with 21ppg.  Can this group continue to surprise people and get to the region this year? Only time with tell

8.      Henry County (4-5) (up 1 spot) The Wildcats have dropped a few spots since the preseason rankings but they are up 1 spot from last week.  They had 5 games last week. WOW.  The team is looking to get healthy and making a run at a District Championship.  They don’t have horses to win the region in my opinion but this group is a solid group that can make some of the top teams nervous if they are hitting shots.  There is no surprise that Baylor Nolin is having an outstanding year avg 23ppg.  The question is, is there always enough help around him to compete against the top 7 teams in the region?

9.      Grant County (7-1) (up 1 spot) I might not have them high enough in the rankings.  They have only had two region games this year and one of them they beat number 7, Anderson County.  Tonight they play Spencer County.  If they beat them I will be more of a believer and move them up multiple spots in the rankings.  Coach Jones seems to be doing a great job with this group.  Excited to see this group in person.  Nathanael Hamm, Cade Wagner and Trent Blake are leading the team in scoring with 16ppg, 11ppg and 10ppg. 

10. Walton Verona (4-3) (up 1 spot)  WV is so close from being ranked higher.  They have had two loses in the region one by 2 pt and the other by 6 points.  I have them ranked higher than Collins even though Collins beat them.  I just think they are heading in different directions so I thought they deserved the last spot in the top 10.  They will be battling with Grant to get to the region this season.

11. Collins (3-4) (drop 4 spots)  When you lose your coach and your best player things will not go well for a team.  My heart goes out to the players that are gutting it out at Collins.  No team should have to deal with what they are going through.  I hope they can get back to basketball and having fun.  Been a rough month for this school and this community.

12. Gallatin County (4-4)(up 3 spots)  I went back and forth on whether I would put them ahead of Owen.  I know they beat them but its just one game because based on the start of the season this team just didn’t look very good.  Then I thought I would stop over thinking it and just move them.  Head to head should mean something and it should mean more than poor performances at the beginning of the season.  The coaching staff has done a great job of getting these boys believing in themselves.  Are they going to keep Owen County out of the region this season?

13. Owen County (3-4) (down 1 spot)  Last week this Owen gave Henry County a really good game and put them on notice that its not going to be a cake walk for them to win the Districts this season.  OC got a big win vs Mason County last week.  They are finishing up games in South Laurel today as they play Knox Central before taking a couple of weeks off from games.

14. Shelby County (2-2)(down 1 spot)  Lost a close game to Southern over the weekend.  They are going to eclipse their win total from last year in the next game or so.  They may be the most improved team in the region from last year.  Will be interesting to see if they can upset someone in the district come tourney time.

15. Eminence (3-3) (down 1 spot)  2 big wins last week got this team to .500 and it looks like they will be over .500 after tonight’s game vs Ft Knox.   

16. Carroll County (3-4) (up 1 spot)  The boys from Carrollton picked up a huge win over Trimble County last week in a convincing 17 point win.   

17. Trimble County (1-6) (down 1 spot)  The boys from Bedford are ready to pick up another win before the new year starts.  They will have a great chance with 2 of the next 3 games coming up.

18. Williamstown (0-7) (same) Big game for this team today vs number 16, Carroll County.  Can they compete with them and get their first win? 

19.  Cornerstown Christian (3-5) (same)  They are ready to get out of the bottom spot.  I have a feeling their scores even if they lose this week will give them enough credibility to move up past Williamstown.

Great write up

can't wait until the 29th district games start up. These regular season games MATTER more than any other district!

Great job!  

I am surprised at South Oldham but I do not believe that they have been playing at full strength so far.  I really look for them to improve as the year goes on.

I am also surprised by Anderson's record.  However, once you look at their schedule, it is easy to see why.  This might be the easiest schedule that I have ever seen for a school their size.  Opponents record to date is 31-53 and this does not include Bluegrass United home school.  

The atmosphere at Collins has to hard on the remaining players.  Such a shame that it has come to this for them.

Anderson has a shot at being really good come tournament time. Sparrow and Welch are good. Henry Cooper & Hudson DeGarmo are good athletes, tough, physical and play their guts out. As those two continue to develop... the Bearcats may surprise some people toward the end of the season.