The role of 29th District favorite will probably be settled this Friday when South Oldham travels five miles down highway 146 to Buckner, KY to tangle with the Oldham County Colonels.

 

Oldham County (9-5) is much improved in coach Jason Holland's second year at the school, and the Colonels are having pretty good success against a rugged schedule, despite missing two starters and a key reserve in their first six games (they went 4-2). They still are missing senior center Dylan Simms, but hope to have him back this month.

 

South Oldham (11-1) is off to perhaps the best start in school history, despite losing 8 seniors off last season's 8th Region runner-ups. A lot of so-called "experts" tabbed this as a re-building year for the Dragons, but after one month of the season, South is the winningest team in the region. Eric Blair (17.6 ppg), Carson Fields (14.4 ppg), and Jack Sherry (14 ppg) lead the Dragon attack; South is hitting 47% from the field overall and an amazing 41% from beyond the arc. Blair (25 threes in just seven games) is hitting 50% from beyond the arc - Sherry (24 threes in 11 games) is hitting an incredible 55.8% from three-point land.

 

South is averaging nearly 69 ppg; Oldham is giving up a paltry 49 ppg. The unstoppable force meets the immovable object...

 

Over the last 13 seasons, Oldham leads the series, 17-7, but South has won the last two meetings, including a 20 point win last season in Crestwood.

 

Oldham County was the pre-season coaches' favorite to win the region, but will they win the battle of highway 146? Who wins and why?

 

The game is part of a boy-girl doubleheader, and will be broadcast live (and as an archive) by the Pegasus Sports Network. Go to http://www.pegasussportsky.com and click on one of the school logos. Then click on the game listing under either "Upcoming / Live Broadcasts" or "Archived Broadcasts" (the archive will be stored on the website for at least one year). PSN coverage of the doubleheader will begin with a pre-game show at 5:30 pm ET.

Probably should add the fact that Oldham is also averaging quite a few points - 67 ppg, thanks to strong, balanced scoring. Dylan Henderson is hitting 52% of his three pointers and averaging over 13 ppg. Nolan Denise and Kerry Smith both average over 12 ppg, and Tyler Wesley averages over 11 ppg. Blake Payne averages 8 ppg.

Colonels win this one, play a tougher schedule and are battle tested! Even though South lost 8 seniors, they have 8 on this team so that is very misleading, I'm not sure but I think Oldham only has 3-4 seniors on their team. Will be a great game to watch! Oldham 67- 62 in a close one. When does Simms comeback for Oldham? When he returns they could be very good

Hard to say with Simms' injury. It's a real freakish foot injury he suffered while playing linebacker against Eastern during football season. It's very difficult to predict when he'll be back, although they expect him back this month.

 

Oldham is vastly improved over last year. The team is figuring out Holland's system, and the offense is much smoother than last year. The entire team is hitting the boards better - and when Simms brings his size inside, and football ruggedness, they'll be even better. Kerry Smith is one of the top athletes in the region, and certainly one of the most explosive. Tyler Wesley is a rare find at this level in that he's a 6'6" kid who can dribble, shoot off the dribble, and hit threes. Dylan Henderson is one of the best long-ball threats in the region. And Oldham appears to have depth. The Colonels' seniors are also motivated: They want to avoid being the first OC senior class since the early 70s or late 60s to miss the region four consecutive years.

 

I think the impressive thing about South is the fact that - although they have 8 seniors this year - unlike last year, this senior group isn't very experienced. Last year's 8 seniors were a veteran bunch, and much was understandably expected of them. This year, only one starter (senior Carson Fields) returns. Seniors Dillon Bullock and Trent Martin saw pretty good time off the bench, but the other five seniors saw spot duty only. Fields and Eric Blair are having incredible seasons. Throw in the fact that sophomore Jack Sherry is playing well beyond his years (sophomore) and South's 11-1 start (best in school history) is a tribute to the coaching staff in Crestwood. Remember, South really didn't have much of a basketball tradition when Steve Simpson arrived, averaging about 16 wins a season. They had had just one 20 win campaign - their first season in 1989-90. Simpson's in his 11th year with the school, and in the last seven years has averaged nearly 19 wins, with a school-record 27 last year and a region runner-up finish.

Very impressive for the Coaches at South, they are a great group of guys as well. They have did a tremendous job over the last couple years, would it not be nice of South and Oldham where as one! How good could they be? Thanks for the info Colonel Mike!

Where are all the Oldham Countians? Seems like they have slowly disappeared from this forum...

I am going to say South Oldham wins this one even though I havent seen Oldham play I have seen South Oldham a few times and I am very impressed with this team. I think the Fields boy is a player that gets very little respect in the Region. I have seen 2 players that have really impressed me this year and that is Carson Fields and Logan Dunbar from Spencer County. It is a shame the 8th Region does not have a lot more media coverage because I think the 8th has a lot to offer.