Top 5 teams in the state

[Walter]

I was wondering about BG as well. Chane Behanan is a stud and has been dominating lately but outside of him, they're an average team.

 

I'd rank the top 10 like this:

 

1. Ballard

2. Holmes

3. Trinity

4. Jeffersontown

5. Eastern

6. Scott Co

7. Clark Co/Male/Seneca (draw a name out of a hat)

10. Christian Co

 

Explanation of rankings:

 

Ballard- Only two losses are to out of state teams and also beat both Scott Co and Holmes.

 

Holmes- I personally don't think they're playing like the #2 ranked team but they're the defending state champs and their only in state loss is to #1 Ballard. The win over #5 ranked Memphis Central, TN shows what this team is capable of.

 

Trinity- Most impressive resume thus far winning both the KOB and Lexcath Tourney. Shelby Co loss looks somewhat bad now considering SC has struggled some offensively.

 

Jeffersontown- Only loss is to out of state Woodward, but honestly I'm not sure Woodward is a better team than Trinity, Holmes, or Ballard.

 

Eastern- With their talent I don't see how you don't have them in the top 5. I realize they lost to Seneca on a neutral floor but their other two losses are to two very good out of state teams. The win over the GA team was very impressive.

 

Scott Co- Would have been my #2 team after an impressive showing in the BBC, but a bad loss to Lexington Christian has to drop them a few places, regardless of Guyn not playing the first half.

 

Male/Seneca/Clark Co- All three could beat one another on any given night. Too close to rank one ahead of the other.

 

Christian Co- Have lost 2 games recently but not having your team leader, Shaquille Wilson, makes a big difference. This team is top 10 material and will be in the thick of things at the end of the year.

[Orca1]

Let us not forget that JTown is playing without 3 players and Eastern lost 2 games without their starting center.

[spindoc]

I was wondering about BG as well. Chane Behanan is a stud and has been dominating lately but outside of him, they're an average team.

 

I'd rank the top 10 like this:

 

1. Ballard

2. Holmes

3. Trinity

4. Jeffersontown

5. Eastern

6. Scott Co

7. Clark Co/Male/Seneca (draw a name out of a hat)

10. Christian Co

 

Explanation of rankings:

 

Ballard- Only two losses are to out of state teams and also beat both Scott Co and Holmes.

 

Holmes- I personally don't think they're playing like the #2 ranked team but they're the defending state champs and their only in state loss is to #1 Ballard. The win over #5 ranked Memphis Central, TN shows what this team is capable of.

 

Trinity- Most impressive resume thus far winning both the KOB and Lexcath Tourney. Shelby Co loss looks somewhat bad now considering SC has struggled some offensively.

 

Jeffersontown- Only loss is to out of state Woodward, but honestly I'm not sure Woodward is a better team than Trinity, Holmes, or Ballard.

 

Eastern- With their talent I don't see how you don't have them in the top 5. I realize they lost to Seneca on a neutral floor but their other two losses are to two very good out of state teams. The win over the GA team was very impressive.

 

Scott Co- Would have been my #2 team after an impressive showing in the BBC, but a bad loss to Lexington Christian has to drop them a few places, regardless of Guyn not playing the first half.

 

Male/Seneca/Clark Co- All three could beat one another on any given night. Too close to rank one ahead of the other.

 

Christian Co- Have lost 2 games recently but not having your team leader, Shaquille Wilson, makes a big difference. This team is top 10 material and will be in the thick of things at the end of the year.

I disagree on Christian Co. A top 10 team can't be down 1 player and lose to a 3/4 ranked team in the 16th region. And I think that Holmes is a top 5/6 team currently. Too many slips to be in the top 2. Ballard, Eastern, Jtown all are better currently (notice I said currently) IMO. And with your logic on Scott County dropping after a bad loss to LCA, Holmes should be held to the same standard.

[gold sunrise]

Much like Shelby Valley, BG was a tough call for us because the Purples seem to have the talent but as Westsider mentioned, no signature win.

 

But Bowling Green also hasn't done anything to knock themselves out of the rankings. And despite playing a weaker schedule, they are still 13-1 which is pretty impressive no matter who you're playing.

 

I'm not totally sold on the Purples either, however, so I can certainly understand the debate.

 

 

Thanks for the info. 13-1 is an impressive record, but if they had played the schedule of Clark, Male, or Seneca would they have been that successful? Strenght of schedule should have more weight. Just don't see them being ranked above Scott Co, Eastern, Clark and Lexington Catholic.

[BANKSHOT]

BHR

 

Miller Grove was a very solid win for SV. MG was every bit as athletic, long and quick as Eastern or Lawrence North. Justice torched them for 32 and MG tried to defend him with everything but the kitchen sink. Coach Booher has really dropped the ball with the schedule the last few years. SV finally has a team and one individual player who can play against top in state competition and he insist on the vacation tourneys. Of course that is just my opinion and he is the coach. I have seen the other teams in the state play and Im not going to argue on this board as the Elliot County fans did last year. There are a lot of good teams in the state this year and being in the top 5, 10, or 15 is an honor to a mountain school who has to fight and claw to get any recognition on a state level. SV can help itself coming up by winning the Mountain Classic this weekend and making another good run in the All A. They also have a game coming up with Christian County. Rankings are fun to talk about but if anyone thinks SV and Justice cant beat anyone in the state they are mistaken IMO.

[Walter]

I disagree on Christian Co. A top 10 team can't be down 1 player and lose to a 3/4 ranked team in the 16th region. And I think that Holmes is a top 5/6 team currently. Too many slips to be in the top 2. Ballard, Eastern, Jtown all are better currently (notice I said currently) IMO. And with your logic on Scott County dropping after a bad loss to LCA, Holmes should be held to the same standard.

 

Legit point with CC, but that could also mean that they lack depth and Wilson is simply that important to their team. CC also lost to Mason Co.

 

As far as Holmes, their three losses are to an undefeated Bowman Academy, IN team that is currently ranked #3 in the state of Indiana regardless of class (by 2 points), the #6 ranked team in Georgia that featured a 4* Tennessee committ pg (Not a bad loss but a game Holmes should've won), and they also lost to #1 Ballard (in Louisville). One of Ballard's only losses though is to a team that Holmes beat...Memphis Central.

 

Scott Co is still top 3 in the state, regardless of their loss to LCA. Not having Guyn for the whole first half obviously made a big difference in that game. But, when you lose to an in state team, it's only fair that you drop in the rankings. I have no doubt that by the end of the month Scott Co will be either #1 or #2 in the state.

 

Things should become a little more clear here in a few weeks. I've never been a fan of teams moving up or down because of out of state wins/losses though. Those games really have nothing to do with how that team would fair in state.

 

See Scott Co as a perfect example. They beat some very good teams in the BBC but turn around and lose to Lex. Christian.

[Trojans]

At this point take your pick from the 7th region (Ballard, J-town, Trinity, Seneca, Eastern) and maybe throw in Shelby Valley.

[King of Kings]

I'm not sure Shelby Valley is a top 5 team. They would probably be the 5th or 6th best team in the 7th region and I also think teams like Scott Co, Clark Co, Christian Co, and a healthy Warren Central would beat them.

 

The other 15 Regions in the KHSAA should just shut down operations and let the 7th Region teams all go to Rupp Arena in March and play for the state championship. I am so tired of hearing this 7th Region superiority talk and how everyone feels this or that team would not be good enough to compete in this region. How many state championships has the 7th Region won in the last 10 years? Yes, we all know that the Louisville metro area has most of the talent, but to constantly discredit the other teams in the state, due to location, is a travesty. Do you people truly want the KHSAA to adopt a Class system for Basketball? This type of mind set will eventually lead to that happening sooner than later.

 

I feel Elijah Justice could play with any guard in the 7th region and is maybe the top guard in the state.

[westsider]

BHR

 

Miller Grove was a very solid win for SV. MG was every bit as athletic, long and quick as Eastern or Lawrence North.

It doesn't matter how athletic Miller Grove is ... how good of a team are they? Their schedule and record indicates that they're not as good as Eastern or Lawrence North.

[Walter]

It doesn't matter how athletic Miller Grove is ... how good of a team are they? Their schedule and record indicates that they're not as good as Eastern or Lawrence North.

 

I agree. Miller Grove reminds me a lot of the Huntsville, AL team that played in the KOB. Very athletic team with talent in the Langford cousins but not a very fundamental or disciplined team and it showed.

 

Look at Bryan Station this year...they're as athletic as anyone in the state with Fain, Balfour, Evans, Barner, Waide, and Renfro to name a few but as a team they aren't very good at all because they aren't disciplined.

 

Being athletic doesn't make you a good team.

[westsider]

I agree. Miller Grove reminds me a lot of the Huntsville, AL team that played in the KOB. Very athletic team with talent in the Langford cousins but not a very fundamental or disciplined team and it showed.

 

Look at Bryan Station this year...they're as athletic as anyone in the state with Fain, Balfour, Evans, Barner, Waide, and Renfro to name a few but as a team they aren't very good at all because they aren't disciplined.

 

Being athletic doesn't make you a good team.

Generally, the farther south you go, the more undisciplined the style of play. Like you, I've seen a lot of teams that were athletic but weren't always that good because of their lack of fundamentals, structure and coaching.

[BANKSHOT]

It doesn't matter how athletic Miller Grove is ... how good of a team are they? Their schedule and record indicates that they're not as good as Eastern or Lawrence North.

 

 

I watched all the teams mentioned in your post plus SV play in person on Dec 14th. Im not forming my opinion by looking up records on the internet.

[Walter]

Generally, the farther south you go, the more undisciplined the style of play. Like you, I've seen a lot of teams that were athletic but weren't always that good because of their lack of fundamentals, structure and coaching.

 

:thumb:

[westsider]

I watched all the teams mentioned in your post plus SV play in person on Dec 14th. Im not forming my opinion by looking up records on the internet.

There is much more to basketball than how many athletes a team has.

 

Bottom line ... Shelby Valley beat a Miller Grove team that, regardless of how athletic they are, has been beaten by four other teams and doesn't appear to be in the same class as the teams to which you compared them.

[BANKSHOT]

Walter

 

I guess my point was that most knock SV by saying they cant play against teams with superior size and athleticism. I have never said they are unbeatable but I do believe they are better than some believe.