Smallhoops

He played for Ballard this past season as an 8th grader. I don't think he played for Ballard as a 7th grader.

Thanks for this news. A very talented player who joins a Male team with a senior class that already had it the likely no. 1 team in the Seventh Region.

Did Michael Moreno not try out?

Justin Powell played at Trinity last season as a sophomore, averaging 11.4 ppg and shooting 50.8% from 3-point range (64/126). He started this season at Monteverde but only played a few games before retuning to Kentucky and enrolling at North Oldham, his home school. He sat out the rest of the season but will be ready to go next season. Being recruited by high Division I schools. I believe he took an unofficial visit to UK last weekend.

Totally agree about North Oldham. Justin Powell is a high Division 1 college player. Put him together with the younger players North Oldham has coming back, and perhaps others, and North Oldham looks to be pretty good next year.

Male definitely should be at or near the top of the list, but I concur that Ballard should not be overlooked. Walter Johnson, Ballard's leading scorer, will be gone, but all of their other top scorers return. One key will be whether Kaleb Glenn, an 8th grader who saw quite a bit of playing time this season, will be at Ballard or elsewhere next year.

David Johnson of the state champion Trinity Shamrocks was named MVP of the Sweet Sixteen. I have had the pleasure of watching Johnson playing several times this year and have developed a tremendous respect for him and his game. He is a deserving champion and deserving MVP.

Congratulations to Trinity and Coach Szabo. Very deserving champions. I have enjoyed watching them this season.

Four different players have led Trinity in scoring the last 4 games.

Now in his 18th season, and with one state championship to his credit, Coach Mike Szabo has the Trinity Shamrocks back in the State Tournament for the second year in a row. Last year’s visit ended in the first round when Scott County beat Trinity 54-53. The Rocks hope, and expect, to be around Lexington longer this year. Trinity was the top-ranked team in the Seventh Region for the entire season and comes into the state tournament as one of the favorites. Led by University of Louisville signee David Johnson, Trinity won its first eight games this season before Johnson got hurt in a King of the Bluegrass game against Collins and fell to the Titans 60-58. Without Johnson, the Rocks dropped four out of their next six games, including a 56-53 loss to Scott County, who was playing without Michael Moreno. After Johnson’s return, Trinity went 16-3 the rest of the way, the three losses being to Henry Clay, Male, and Waggener. Trinity's record currently stands at 26-8. Trinity has played well in the post-season, avenging those losses to Male and Waggener on their way to once again facing the Ballard Bruins in the Seventh Region championship game. In beating the Bruins 59-37, Trinity showed it is ready for the state tournament. Those who will be seeing David Johnson in person for the first time are in for a treat. A 6’5” athletic point guard, Johnson led the Rocks in scoring (16.2 ppg), rebounding (7.2 rpg), and assists. A 36.4% 3-point shooter over the course of the season, Johnson can score from all over the floor while also getting everyone else on the team involved. Don’t be surprised to see Johnson lead Trinity deep into the tournament. But Trinity is far from a one-man team. Stan Turnier is a 6’4” wing player who averaged 11.9 ppg and is Trinity’s best outside shooter. Turnier, who has accepted a preferred walk-on spot with the University of Georgia for next season, is also a solid defender. Trinity has other players who can step up and have big offensive nights. For example, Kolton Rice is a 5’9” guard who averaged 7.7 ppg. Against Ballard in the Seventh Region championship game, Rice was 9 for 11 from the field, including 3 for 3 on 3-point shooting, and scored a total of 25 points. Jamil Hardaway is a 6’3” senior who averaged 8.9 ppg and 6.1 rpg (second highest on the team). Guard Kamari Kenemore (6’0”) averaged 5.4 ppg but had a season-high 21 points earlier in the season against Fern Creek. Sophomore Ethan Hodge, 6’1”, is usually the first player off the bench and averaged 6.8 ppg but scored 15 points or more 6 times this season. All that is fine and good, but Trinity does not try to win by simply scoring more points than you. Instead, Trinity tries to keep you from scoring. While averaging 61 ppg on the offensive end, Trinity is limiting the opposition to 46.6 ppg for the season. So Trinity comes into the state tournament as a well-coached, healthy, experienced team playing well both offensively and defensively, led by perhaps the best player in the state. I like their chances.

Yep. I have been to a lot of basketball games at a lot of levels, but I have never seen/heard an eruption like the one following that shot. As Trinity Alum reported, Trinity ended up winning that game in overtime. Trinity then beat St. X in the final.

I thought this year would be different. The Waggener Wildcats had their best season ever. They had only lost 3 times this season, an early season loss to St. X and two subsequent losses to Trinity. It had beaten Ballard 80-74 on December 4, the first time Waggener had ever beaten Ballard. Their collection of seniors, led by JJ Kalakon, is the best group of seniors in the Seventh Region. This was going to be the Wildcats’ year. If Waggener wants to see the Seventh Region championship game, they will need to stand in line and buy tickets to the game, just like every other non-participant. The Male Bulldogs were playing better than anyone else going into the post-season. Male’s junior class is considered the best in the state. Once Howard Fleming returned from off-season shoulder surgery, Male looked like the best team in the Seventh Region. Within a 7-day stretch late in the regular season, Male beat both Trinity and Ballard. The Bulldogs were the hottest team around. Perhaps Waggener will pick up some tickets for Male, because the Bulldogs also will need them to get into the Seventh Region championship game. So here we are, where we have been so many other times: Trinity v. Ballard for the Seventh Region championship. So who wins? Well, Ballard has won the Seventh Region championship in every odd-numbered year since 2013. Plus, Ballard beat Trinity 69-65 in the King of the Bluegrass tournament, although that was during the stretch when David Johnson was out with an injury. Both teams are extremely well-coached and will play tremendous defense. As to who might be able to generate more offense in the face of such defense, I give the edge to Trinity. A lot of the reason is David Johnson, who will be the best player on the floor. If he shoots from the outside as he did against Male and Eastern (a combined 6 for 12 on 3-point shooting), Trinity should win. Even if he does not shoot that well, his all-around game makes everyone around him better. For that reason, I think Trinity will win something like 58-50. But then again, it is an odd-numbered year . . . .

Yep. Sorry I did not catch that when I was proofreading my initial post.

The first round of the Seventh Region tournament gave us Trinity v. Male, along with three other games; the second round now gives us Waggener v. Ballard and Trinity v. Eastern. Should be a good night of basketball Thursday night at Valley. Waggener Wildcats (29-3) v. Ballard Bruins (22-11) Prior to this season, Ballard had beaten Waggener each of the 70 times they had played. That streak ended on December 4 of this season when Waggener beat Ballard 80-74. Over the course of the season, Waggener has shown that it is one of the best teams in the state, losing only 3 times (two of those losses being to Trinity). It easily took care of business against Manual in the first round of the Seventh Region tournament, beating the Crimsons 69-31. Ballard has had a solid season, yet most Seventh Region observers would agree that Ballard has not been playing on the same level as Waggener. Its record is fine, but it lacks very many wins against other top teams. It beat Henry Clay early in the season and then beat Trinity in the King of the Bluegrass tournament, but it played Trinity when David Johnson was out with an injury. Its win in the first round of the Seventh Region tournament, 65-63 over St. X, was not very impressive. It would be easy to conclude that Waggener should win this game. But this is new territory for Waggener; the district championship it won last week was its first district championship ever. It has advanced to the semi-finals of the regional tournament only twice in its history (1964 and 2015), and it lost the semi-final game in each of those years. Conversely, Coach Renner and the Bruins are accustomed to playing in the regional semi-finals (and beyond). Having watched both of these teams several times this season, I think this group of Waggener Wildcats doesn’t care about what happened years ago and will not be satisfied if their season ends here. Waggener’s balanced attack should again be good enough to extend their win streak against Ballard to two. Look for Waggener to continue its best season ever with another win over Ballard, thereby advancing to the regional championship game for the first time in its history. Trinity Shamrocks (23-7) v. Eastern Eagles (16-15) Let me take a minute to praise the Eastern Eagles. Since losing its fifth game in a row on February 1, at which point its record was 9-13, Eastern has won seven out of nine games. Its two losses during that streak were to Waggener and Ballard. In beating Central 63-49 in the first round of the Seventh Region tournament, the Eagles beat the Yellowjackets for the second time in two weeks. Coach David Hensley and the Eagles have much about which to be proud. Trinity was able to beat Male 57-47 in the first round of the Seventh Region tournament without getting much offense from anyone other than David Johnson, who had 31 points. What it got from everyone was an outstanding defensive performance. These teams have not played this year. With Trinity playing such good defense and with David Johnson continuing to do everything he has been doing all season, it is hard to see Eastern being able to beat Trinity tomorrow night. I think Trinity will advance.

David Johnson showed the many facets of his game tonight - ball handling, assists, dunks, mid-range jumpers, 3- point shooting . . . . He is such a nice, complete player. If he continues to play like this, which I think he will, and Trinity gets some offense from other players, it will be hard for anyone to beat them.

It would be quite a surprise.

2016 Seventh Region final at Valley High School. Ballard v. Trinity. Down 3 with 1 second to play, Ballard's Jake Ramsey rebounds a missed free throw and throws a full court shot that goes in to tie the game to send it into overtime. I have been to a lot of games at a lot of different levels, but I have never heard a gym or arena explode like the Valley High School gym exploded when that shot went in. Trinity collected itself and won the game in overtime.

The eight teams we thought would make it to the Seventh Region tournament have made it, and it is a familiar bunch. Six of the teams (St. X, Ballard, Trinity, Male, Central and Manual) have played in the Seventh Region tournament every year since the Sixth and Seventh Regions were realigned prior to the 2011-12 season. Eastern has been every year but one year since then, and this is Waggener’s fourth appearance in those seven years. One thing that tells me is that the teams that are routinely the best in the Seventh Region are pretty evenly distributed among the four districts. That said, it is a pity that a team as good as this year’s Seneca team did not make it to the regional tournament because they are in the same district as two of the top five teams in the state (Trinity and Waggener). It also tells me that size matters in the Seventh Region. Each of the eight teams playing in this week’s Seventh Region tournament is among the ten largest schools in the region. The smallest of the eight schools participating is Waggener, with 887 students according to the KHSAA attendance figures. The reality is that the smaller (mostly private) schools in the Seventh Region have no realistic chance of making it to the regional tournament, much less the state tournament. In looking at this field, I think it is fair to say that at least four of the participants have a realistic chance of winning the tournament, including two teams playing each other in the first round. Each of the first round games will be played Monday night. A look at each of the first round match-ups: St. Xavier Tigers (17-10) at Ballard Bruins (21-11) Two solid teams that perhaps are being overlooked because of the seasons enjoyed by some of the other Seventh Region teams. St. X won its first 9 games of the season, including an impressive 64-58 win over Waggener. St. X lost its top returning player from last season, James Taylor, during that stretch, and has gone 8-10 since winning those first nine games. Ballard has won the Seventh Region tournament every odd-numbered year since 2013. The Bruins present an interesting picture coming into this year’s tournament. They beat Trinity 69-65 in the King of the Bluegrass (albeit Trinity was without David Johnson at that point), but lost to Waggener this season for the first time ever and has 3 losses in the month of February, including losing 62-59 to Male on February 8. All of Ballard’s losses have been to good teams, and the Chris Renner-coached Bruins always seem to play their best in the post-season. I include Ballard among the teams that have a realistic chance of advancing to the state tournament. As for this first-round match-up, Ballard beat St. X 70-59 on January 25. I expect a similar result this time around. DuPont Manual Crimsons (10-20) at Waggener Wildcats (28-3) This would seem to be a match-up between two teams with different expectations. After losing to St. X on December 7, Waggener has won 24 of its last 26 games. Its two losses during that span were both to Trinity, losses Waggener avenged when it beat Trinity 58-47 in the district tournament final. With a balanced attack led by the very talented duo of JJ Kalakon and Jocobi Hendricks, Waggener is a top-five team. Manual comes into the Seventh Region tournament as the only participant with a losing record, and its only victory over another team playing in the Seventh Region tournament was a 63-58 win over Eastern in its first game of the season. Eli Roberts has had a nice season for the Crimsons, but I don’t see the Crimsons achieving a different result from the game these teams played on February 15, when Waggener defeated Manual 76-58. Trinity Shamrocks (22-7) at Male Bulldogs (22-9) Trinity has been the top-ranked team in the Seventh Region the entire season. The Rocks hit a dip during the regular season when David Johnson was out a couple weeks with an injury, but he is back and playing extremely well. I believe he is the most complete player in the state. The challenge Trinity has faced at times is when Johnson does not get much scoring support from his teammates. Stan Turnier averages 12.4 ppg and needs to hit from the outside for Trinity to be at its best; in Trinity’s 58-47 loss to Waggener in the district tournament final, Turnier was limited to 8 points on 4 of 11 shooting. Male’s heralded class that includes Howard Fleming, Tyren Moore, and Noah Courtney has reached its junior year. Fleming missed the early part of the season recuperating from off-season shoulder surgery, with Tyren Moore taking the opportunity to establish himself as a monster offensive player, averaging 17.9 ppg. Fleming eventually returned to the Bulldog lineup, after which Male took it up a notch, winning 10 of its last 11 games. That stretch included wins over Ballard (62-59 on February 8) and Trinity (77-74 in triple overtime on February 2). That was the second game these teams had played this year; Trinity won the prior game, a 61-51 victory on January 16 in the LIT. I don’t know who is going to win this game. I just hope to be there. But if I had to pick, I would pick Trinity. Should be a great one. Eastern Eagles (15-15) at Central Yellowjackets (18-8) This has the potential to be a really good game. These teams played on February 13, with Eastern winning 69-62 in overtime. Eastern has won 6 of its last 8 games, a stretch that included wins against Central Hardin and Seneca in addition to its victory over Central. Its only losses during that stretch were to Waggener on February 8 and to Ballard by 2 in the district final. Central, on the other hand, lost its last four regular season games heading into the post-season, although in addition to Eastern the losses were to Seneca, Trinity and Ballard. That is consistent with my overall impression of Central, that their quality coaching and high energy play will be enough to beat a lot of teams but usually will not be enough when they play the top teams in the region (although Central did beat Male 84-73 on Dec. 7). What does all of that mean for Monday night? Who knows. These teams are evenly matched and both are well-coached. I’m inclined to say that Eastern seems to be playing a little better than Central right now, as evidenced by its win two weeks ago, but it really is a toss-up. So I will leave it at that – a toss-up between two evenly-matched teams. Good luck to both teams. Beyond the Opening Round I will post a preview of the semi-finals to be played on Thursday night once we see who advances out of the first round. For now, let’s focus on the fun these first-round games should bring.

Trinity at Male in first round. They played on February 2, with Male winning 77-74 in triple overtime. Should be a good one. In fact, they all should be good. Complete preview of the Seventh Region tournament coming later tonight or tomorrow.

The field has been determined for the Seventh Region tournament, it is made up of the 8 teams we anticipated would make it: Central, Manual, Male, St. X, Trinity, Waggener, Ballard, and Eastern. We won't know the regional tournament match-ups until the district championships are played and the tournament draw is held, but its going to be another good Seventh Region tournament. Really looking forward to it.

Seneca had a nice team and really good season this year. The unfortunate reality is that they are in the same district with two teams ranked in BluegrasPreps.com’s top five, Trinity and Waggener.

Another regular season is in the books, and it was another great year in the Seventh Region. Trinity, led by KABC Seventh Region Player of the Year David Johnson, had another outstanding season and ends the regular season where it started, at the top of the rankings. Traditional power Ballard also had another solid season, although it heads into the post-season with perhaps more questions than usual. But the biggest news in the Seventh Region concerns the teams who may challenge those two this post-season. The Waggener Wildcats, coached by Seventh Region Coach of the Year Bryan O’Neill, had their best season in school history, including Waggener’s first ever win over the Ballard Bruins. The Male Bulldogs, who played without Howard Fleming for a good portion of the season, beat both Trinity and Ballard within a one-week period. And then Seneca beat Male to end the regular season. So who knows what will happen in the post-season. The nice thing is that the post-season starts in just a few hours. Let’s go! TEAM RANKINGS 1. Trinity Shamrocks (22-7) I think Trinity is ready for the post-season, posting two impressive wins over quality opponents this week. With David Johnson leading the way with 22 points and 14 rebounds, the Rocks easily got past Kyle Rode and Lexington Christian 71-43. Trinity then beat the Central Yellowjackets 71-39. Johnson, who I believe is the best player in the Commonwealth, leads Trinity in scoring, rebounding, and assists. Trinity is the no. 1 seed in the 27th district tournament and faces Atherton on Wednesday. 2. Waggener Wildcats (26-3) Seventh Region Coach of the Year Bryan O’Neill has done a great job with the Waggener program since taking over prior to the 2011-12 season, culminating in this season’s record-breaking year. The team’s 26 wins is easily the most in school history. Waggener did struggle a bit this week in a 53-52 win over Doss, but the Wildcats then had an easier time with Shawnee (a 71-53 win) and Manual (a 76-58 victory). Waggener faces Seneca in a 27th district tournament semi-final game on Wednesday. 3. Male Bulldogs (20-9) Male played without Howard Fleming the last week of the regular season. His absence did not matter against Atherton, with Male reaching the 20-win level with a 69-38 win, its 8th win in a row. However, Fleming may have been missed on Friday night against Seneca, when Male lost to the Redhawks 69-62. Coach Tim Haworth, who has had an outstanding first year as the Bulldogs’ head coach, expects Fleming to be back for the post-season, which starts for the Bulldogs with a match-up against Brown in the first round of the 26th district tournament. 4. Ballard Bruins (19-11) Ballard won two of the three games it played this week, starting with an 83-67 win over the Manual Crimsons. Rashad Bishop led the Bruins with 19 points in that one. Ballard crossed the river and lost to Jeffersonville (IN) 77-73 before returning to Kentucky and beating the Central Yellowjackets 64-59. While Ballard may not be entering the post-season playing as well as in some recent years, but it would be foolish not to respect Coach Renner and the Bruins during the post-season. Ballard opens the 28th district tournament against the KCD Bearcats on Tuesday. 5. Seneca Redhawks (18-9) Seneca had an interesting last week of the regular season, losing to Eastern 60-53 but then turning around and beating Male 69-62. Perhaps the lesson to be learned from this week for the Redhawks is that there are several teams who can beat Seneca, but there also are a lot of teams that Seneca can beat. Seneca is led by its big three of Richard Ninamou (17.1 ppg and 9.5 rpg), Carl Parker (14.7 ppg and 9.3 rpg), and Timothy Gordon (13.2 ppg) The Redhawks can prove that they can beat the best teams in the Seventh Region when they play the Waggener Wildcats in a 27th district tournament semi-final game on Wednesday. 6. Central Yellowjackets (16-8) It was not a great week for Central, which started the week with a 69-62 overtime loss to Eastern. Coach Doug Bibby was ejected in the Eastern game and, as a result, was suspended for the Yellowjackets’ next two games, both of which were losses. Trinity overpowered Central 71-39. The Yellowjackets were more competitive against Ballard, but ended up losing to the Bruins 64-59. Central, which enters the post-season on a 4-game losing streak, plays the winner of the St. Francis-Portland Christian first round game in the 25th district tournament on Wednesday. 7. St. Xavier Tigers (16-9) St. X split the two games it played this week, beating Holy Cross 60-47 before losing to Floyd Central (IN) 66-49. The Tigers, who are led by Sebian Dillard and his 17.2 ppg, have lost 3 out of their last five games heading into the post-season. St. X opens play in the 26th district tournament against the Collegiate Titans. 8. Eastern Eagles (14-14) Eastern had its best week of the season this week, going 3-0 and finishing an even .500 for the season. And two of the wins were against teams considered to be among the best in the Seventh Region. The first win this week was a 60-53 win over Seneca, a game in which Ben Craig led the Eagles with 21 points. Next up was a 69-62 overtime win over Central, with Ben Craig and Jacob Robinson scoring 23 points each. The third win, a 67-47 victory over Shawnee, included Ethan Coury scoring 23 points. Coach David Hensley has done a great job with this team. The Eagles open the 28th district tournament against the CAL Centurions. 9. Christian Academy of Louisville Centurions (13-15) The Centurions played well against Collins from the Eighth Region before falling to the Titans 56-46. CAL bounced back to beat Washington County 60-53, finishing just short of a winning season but taking a big step forward from last year’s 6-win season. CAL plays Eastern to open the 28th district tournament on Wednesday. 10. DuPont Manual Crimsons (9-19) The Crimsons were the victims of poor scheduling this week, facing and losing to Ballard (a 83-67 loss) and Waggener (a 76-58 loss). Manual heads into the post-season having lost 8 of its last 9 games. Manual faces off against Shawnee in the semi-finals of the 25th district tournament on Wednesday. 11. Louisville Collegiate Titans (13-13) The Titans came up just short of a winning record for the regular season, going 1-1 this week to finish the season at 13-13. The loss this week was in double overtime to the Carroll County Panthers by a score of 74-69. Chez Moore led the Titans in that one with 21 points and 12 rebounds. The win came against Beth Haven, a 78-61 victory. Collegiate is matched up with the Male Bulldogs in the opening round of the 26th district tournament. 12. Shawnee Golden Eagles (11-17) Shawnee lost the three games it played this week, falling to Waggener (71-53), Western (59-52), and Eastern (67-47). The Golden Eagles ended the regular season on a 7-game losing streak. Shawnee plays Manual on Wednesday in a semi-final game in the 25th district tournament. 13. Kentucky Country Day Bearcats (14-14) KCD went 2-1 this week to finish the regular season with a .500 record (14-14). The Bearcats lost to Sayre 66-61 to start the week, but then beat Portland Christian (86-64) and Fort Knox (76-40) to finish the regular season. Michael Collis has led the Bearcats in scoring this year at 13.9 ppg. KCD faces the Ballard Bruins in the opening round of the 28th district tournament. 14. St. Francis Wyverns (13-13) St. Francis is playing well and had 2 convincing wins this week, 72-39 over Evangel Christian and 78-56 over Frederick Fraize. Senior Ahmad Moore, who is averaging 15.9 ppg for the season and will end up as one of the top 3 scorers in St. Francis boys basketball history, had 34 points in his last regular season game against Frederick Fraize. The Wyverns missed out on the opportunity to have a winning regular season record for only the second time in school history when a game against Eminence scheduled during this past week was cancelled. The Wyverns open up play in the 25th district tournament against Portland Christian on Monday. 15. Portland Christian Eagles (15-13) Portland Christian lost to the Kentucky Country Day Bearcats 86-64 to end the regular season. The Eagles split the two games they played in the KCAC tournament, losing to Calvary Christian 78-55 but beating Evangel Christian 71-57. The Eagles’ winning season is their first since the 2012-13 season. Portland Christian plays St. Francis in the first round of the 25th district tournament on Monday. 16. Atherton Rebels (5-21) I am proud of the Rebels. On February 4, Atherton sat at 2-19. Instead of folding it in at that point, the Rebels continued to work and ended up winning 3 out of their last 5 games. This week, after losing to Male 69-38, Atherton beat the Brown Bears 75-56. As the 4 seed, Atherton plays no. 1 seed Trinity in the opening round of the 27th district tournament. 17. Brown Bears (7-22) The Bears broke their 6-game losing streak with an 82-61 win over Evangel Christian. Three Bears scored more than 20 in that one – Josiah Bibb (24), Jai’rus Bibb (21), and Kobi Hess (21). Brown lost its other two games this week, falling to Atherton (75-56) and North Bullitt (83-59). For the season, Jai’rus Bibb leads the Bears in scoring at 22.2 ppg. Brown plays the Male Bulldogs in the first round of the 26th district tournament. 18. Walden Wolverines (18-10) Walden finished its season with an 81-67 victory over Heritage Academy, completing the most successful season in Walden basketball history. The 18 wins easily eclipsed the prior record of 14 wins in a season. The jump from 2 wins a year ago to 18 wins this season is impressive. And with a roster loaded with underclassmen, the Wolverines have good reason to look forward to next season. PLAYER RANKINGS 1. David Johnson, senior, Trinity Clearly the best player in the Seventh Region, likely the best player in the state. Led Trinity in scoring (15.8 ppg), rebounding (7.3 ppg), and assists. Going to the University of Louisville. 2. JJ Kalakon, senior, Waggener Athletic team leader for the 26-3 Waggener Wildcats averaged 13.8 ppg and 6.3 rpg. 3. Walter Johnson, senior, Ballard Transfer to Ballard from Aspire Academy led the Bruins in scoring at 16.9 ppg. 4. Tyren Moore, junior, Male High scoring junior (18 ppg) carried the load for the Bulldogs until Howard Fleming returned to the lineup from injury. 5. Howard Fleming, junior, Male Missed a substantial portion of the season following off-season shoulder surgery. A key part of Male’s success at the end of the season, averaging 12.3 ppg and 6.7 rpg. 6. Richard Ninamou, senior, Seneca High energy player who led the Redhawks in scoring (17.1 ppg) and rebounding (9.5 rpg). 7. Stan Turnier, senior, Trinity Solid shooter and defender for the Shamrocks, averaging 12.7 ppg. Will be a preferred walk-on at the University of Georgia. 8. Chez Moore, junior, Collegiate Athletic post player got a lot done for the Titans, averaging 15.2 ppg and 8.3 rpg. 9. Carl Parker, senior, Seneca Big man returned to the Redhawks’ line-up this season to average 14.7 ppg and 9.3 rpg. 10. Sebian Dillard, junior, St. Xavier Took advantage of increased playing time, leading the Tigers in scoring at 17.2 ppg. HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order) Jai’rus Bibb, senior, Brown Noah Courtney, junior, Male Quincy Dye, senior, Portland Christian Timothy Gordon, senior, Seneca Jamil Hardaway, senior, Trinity Jocobi Hendricks, senior, Waggener Ahmad Moore, senior, St. Francis Eli Roberts, junior, Manual Jacob Robinson, senior, Eastern Josh Watkins, senior, Central MANAGER OF THE YEAR Ballard manager Sam Ajagbe has become a media sensation for his hard work and determined approach to his duties. Ajagbe moved to the United States from Nigeria at the age of 6 when his family won a visa lottery. His dream is to work in the NBA someday, but he hopes his next step will be to attend the University of Kentucky and be a basketball manager for the Wildcats. The UK basketball program would benefit from Sam’s involvement. I really hope that happens for this outstanding young man. DISTRICT TOURNAMENT PREVIEWS Since the Sixth and Seventh Regions were realigned prior to the 2011-12 season, the district tournaments have largely been uneventful. The top teams in the Seventh Region are evenly distributed among the four districts, which usually results in very few surprises as to who advances to the regional tournament. While that looks to be the case again this week, there is a semi-final match-up in the 27th district that may be the best district tournament match-up in the state. 25th DISTRICT The only 5-team district in the Seventh Region, the 25th district tournament opens with the St. Francis Wyverns facing the Portland Christian Eagles. These teams played on January 15, with St. Francis prevailing 74-58. The winner of that game will take on the Central Yellowjackets, who easily beat both St. Francis and Central in the regular season. The other semi-final has the Manual Crimsons playing Shawnee. While the Crimsons are not as strong this year as in the past several seasons, they beat Shawnee by 9 on January 11. While Manual has lost 8 of their last 9 games, most of those losses have been to quality teams. Shawnee comes in on a 7-game losing streak, though again those losses have been to quality teams. Look for Central and Manual to advance to the Seventh Region tournament, as they have every year since 2011-12 season. 26th DISTRICT Male plays Brown in what would seem to be a one-sided match-up. The Bulldogs beat the Bears 94-55 on February 5. St. X plays Collegiate in the other semi-final game. St. X won the regular season game between these two teams 85-56 on January 29. While Collegiate beat St. X when they were both in the 25th district in the 2010-11 season, I don’t see that happening again. So, once again, it should be Male and St. X advancing to the Seventh Region tournament from the 26th district. 27th DISTRICT With three of the Seventh Region’s top teams, the 27th district is one of the strongest districts in the State. Trinity plays Atherton in one of the semi-final match-ups. Trinity should not have much of a problem with the Rebels. The other semi-final, however, pits the Waggener Wildcats against the Seneca Redhawks. This should be a good one. Waggener comes in at 26-3, while Seneca finished the regular season at 19-10. These teams played each other on February 1, with Waggener winning 67-56. But Seneca is a team that advanced to the championship game of the LIT (beating Ballard 61-59 along the way), and finished the regular season with a 69-62 win over Male. Seneca won this match-up in the opening round of the district tournament last season, which I am sure Waggener has not forgotten. I suspect Waggener will exact its revenge this year. I expect Trinity and Waggener to advance to the Seventh Region tournament. 28th DISTRICT The Ballard Bruins are matched up with the Kentucky Country Day Bearcats in the first round. While the Bruins are coming into the post-season perhaps not as strong as in most years, Ballard beat KCD 94-68 on January 29. I look for the Bruins to advance again. The other semi-final has Eastern playing CAL. CAL beat Eastern 50-41 on January 24, but Eastern has been playing better since then. This one has a good chance of being a close one, which could go either way; based on its recent performance, I give the nod in this one to Eastern. So, as is usually the case, I anticipate Ballard and Eastern advancing to the Seventh Region tournament from the 28th district.

David Johnson had 22 points and 14 rebounds. He was 9 of 17 from the field, including 3 of 8 on 3-point shooting. Lexington Christian has not posted its stats from the game.

I like Tandy and his game, but I have trouble having much confidence is his numbers. I am sure his points scored and scoring average are correct, but there seem to be a lot of games where his shooting stats (fg and 3 attempts, fg's and 3's made, etc.) were not entered, which results in his shooting percentages, etc. being inaccurate. So if all you want to compare are scoring averages, you can do that, but it is tough to have any confidence in comparisons of things like shooting percentages.

You may be right, but it would be a shame if you are. David Johnson's scoring average is not as high as some, but I have never understood Mr. Basketball award simply going to the highest scorer in the state (there would be no need for any voting if that were the case). Johnson could score substantially more if he wanted to, but he affects a game in so many more ways. Johnson has been a multiple-year starter for one of the top teams in the State, playing one of the most competitive schedules in the State. I hope voters give him fair consideration.