I was looking in the Herald Leader today at Dave Cantrall's rankings and tried to get a grip on the 16 Regions and who is on top. I noticed that the 11th Region looks to be by far the toughest with the 7th Region coming in a close 2nd. No offense to Elliot County but the 16th might be the weakest next to the 12th.

 

That 11th Region Tournament could be a State Tourney in itself.

Toughest -11th and 7th

Weakest -16th

The 15th has two legitimate contenders with Paintsville and Shelby Valley, after that there is a large drop-off. I would consider it a weak region with the 58th district one of the worst 10 in the state. I like the 11th, but the Louisville regions tend to fare well late in the season due to the stiff competition.

11th and 7th are the toughest. The 4th, 12th, and 13th seem to be the easiest (as far as not having any top teams).

If you average their Cantrall Ratings (I know those ratings are disputed, but work with me...), it appears that the 11th Region is the toughest. I know the rankings come from Lexington, but most would have to agree.

 

Below is the region average and in parentheses is the region's rank out of 16:

 

Region 1: 55.34 (11)

Region 2: 58.57 (6)

Region 3: 56.96 (7)

Region 4: 60.59 (3)

Region 5: 59.73 (4)

Region 6: 56.57 (8)

Region 7: 65.14 (2)

Region 8: 55.20 (12)

Region 9: 58.87 (5)

Region 10: 52.75 (15)

Region 11: 66.09 (1)

Region 12: 53.81 (13)

Region 13: 55.79 (9)

Region 14: 52.91 (14)

Region 15: 49.88 (16)

Region 16: 55.43 (10)

Can't argue much with that ranking.

I couldn't get the info. pulled into a database, but I would be interested in the average by region using the top 10 teams only. With this information, I bet one sees a bigger disparity in the regions. Even in the 11th there are some teams at the low end, but the 10th team in the 11th would be top 3 in most regions. The 7th would be strong by this measurement as well.

By far 11th in the toughest.

Of the top five according to Cantrell I agree with #1 (11th), #2 (7th), and #5 (9th). I think these are the 3 regions that most of the other regions are hoping are in the opposite bracket come State Tourney draw time. They have what I call Power teams. The #3 region (4th) with the decline of perennial power Warren Central doesn't have what I call a Power Team. The #4 region (5th) with Adair County and others doesn't really have a Power Team either. I was surprised the 6th (Louisville) was rated down at #8. Most regions still don't like playing a Louisville team in the 1st round. Most of us rural country folks are always hoping 6, 7, and 11 draw in the same quarter and knock each other out in the 1st and 2d round.

If you average their Cantrall Ratings (I know those ratings are disputed, but work with me...), it appears that the 11th Region is the toughest. I know the rankings come from Lexington, but most would have to agree.

 

Below is the region average and in parentheses is the region's rank out of 16:

 

Region 1: 55.34 (11)

Region 2: 58.57 (6)

Region 3: 56.96 (7)

Region 4: 60.59 (3)

Region 5: 59.73 (4)

Region 6: 56.57 (8)

Region 7: 65.14 (2)

Region 8: 55.20 (12)

Region 9: 58.87 (5)

Region 10: 52.75 (15)

Region 11: 66.09 (1)

Region 12: 53.81 (13)

Region 13: 55.79 (9)

Region 14: 52.91 (14)

Region 15: 49.88 (16)

Region 16: 55.43 (10)

 

I do this every Monday with the boys and I got the exact same results.

If you average their Cantrall Ratings (I know those ratings are disputed, but work with me...), it appears that the 11th Region is the toughest. I know the rankings come from Lexington, but most would have to agree.

 

Below is the region average and in parentheses is the region's rank out of 16:

 

Region 1: 55.34 (11)

Region 2: 58.57 (6)

Region 3: 56.96 (7)

Region 4: 60.59 (3)

Region 5: 59.73 (4)

Region 6: 56.57 (8)

Region 7: 65.14 (2)

Region 8: 55.20 (12)

Region 9: 58.87 (5)

Region 10: 52.75 (15)

Region 11: 66.09 (1)

Region 12: 53.81 (13)

Region 13: 55.79 (9)

Region 14: 52.91 (14)

Region 15: 49.88 (16)

Region 16: 55.43 (10)

I'm surprised to see the 4th Region that high. They have no dominant teams but top to bottom are very good.

I had a strong feeling the 10th would be rated lower than most seasons. Only the 15th region is rated lower. Not a typical year in the 10th region!

That is about right for the 15th. You have Shelby Valley and Painstville who are good and can make some noise with teams outside the 15th. After those two there is an extreme drop off.

 

Example is Pikeville who most consider the 3rd best team just got beat 30 something by June Buchanan.

I had a strong feeling the 10th would be rated lower than most seasons. Only the 15th region is rated lower. Not a typical year in the 10th region!

 

Agreed. Of course Mason County is good, and Clark and Montgomery have high rankings, but they might not be as good as normal. The 10th rankings is hurt because Brossart, Campbell County, Scott, Harrison, Bourbon, and Pendleton aren't near as good as usual. Those teams usually play tough schedules as well, which boosts their power rating.

I'm surprised to see the 4th Region that high. They have no dominant teams but top to bottom are very good.

 

I think the 4th Region is been strong for awhile. The only problem is that Warren Central has been so dominant and beat the other regional teams with such regularity that people underestimated how good they were.