GoHardITP

Not so obvious as it may seem, but this is not an easy task. Beyond being a D1 basketball player, you must be an accomplished young man who has a very outstanding background off the court. Very proud of JR and this prestigious assignment, he is a super young man that the entire state can take pride that he is representing the Commonwealth at the Academy.

What makes it phenomenal is that Andre McGhee took the easy (& dumb) route to actually pay to bring in exotic dancers. It became known Andre was a frequent patron at the local strip clubs where he formed an existing relationship with their handler (Powell) prior to this starting. I suspect Powell & Andre had hooked up themselves and during pillow talk this plan was hatched between the two of them. Powell had been in Andre's pocket long before this and saw an ability to get in deeper. Andre was a lone wolf here and the fact is he enjoyed the "Big Papa" role he took on. Not everywhere, but on many prospect recruiting trips college coeds have hooked up and the same activities have taken place as what happened in Louisville. The fact how Andre came about using non college coeds is the unique part of this. Believe me, sex has been used for years across many college campus visits with recruits, ask Tennessee about their hostess program.

Yes, the rest of the region did not need Coach Williams putting that ranking on the locker room door to motivate his team. Two time defending champions deserve more respect, regardless of how much they lost to graduation. They proved that last season upon returning to Rupp a second time in a row. Coach William's first team that went to State lost many starters and then several contributing role players left that were to be counted on as future starters. The 2nd team was not ranked as high in part due to those losses of players, but also because no other coaches were aware of two out of state incoming transfers who became their best players last season. Those two players are now gone which leaves the question of whether there may be any new transfers to take their place in the line-up. Regardless there is still enough talent they should have been Top 3 and Jaylon Hall could easily have been Top 3 also as a player.

The pattern I see with KHSAA decisions is whether a change of address has taken place. If one of his parents made a move to the North Hardin district, then I expect a favorable ruling. If not, then it seems they are holding the line.

I don't know who was the contributing writer or which coaches gave input, I was just going by the knowledge this is done with a survey or solicitation of voting from the coaches. That is based upon an explanation from someone who was the person that put together another region's Cat Pause rankings. Fact is rankings in pre-season are for discussion purposes for the interested fans. Games are won on the court and who goes to Rupp in March will be determined without controversy....unless the refs make a few bad calls.

Conner McKim was so much for St. X last year and I just do not see how they can be as good without him. He will be very hard to replace. As good as he was, he still was under rated.

This is Trinity and then a battle for the runner up unless one key ruling....if Cooper is ruled eligible at Waggener. Waggener with Cooper is capable fo making a dark horse run at Trinity. I do not see any other team giving them a run, but Waggener and that is only if they have Cooper. It is really to bad that Sloan and perhaps Cooper may not be able to play in the 7th, that ruling seems so at odds with some of the other kids being able to play.

I tend to agree with HoopJunkie that the loss of Brown really opens up the 11th despite Hollingsworth being the clear top player. I would flip Madison Central with LCA and then suggest any of those top 4 could win the 11th- Dunbar, Scott County, Lex Cath, & Madison Central. Madison Central could be the sleeper pick.

"You guys" would be the coaches who responded to the survey sent out by Cats Pause by the way. Not sure if you were aware the coaches who respond determine the rankings of teams and players.

Watch for Fairmont State to compete for championships. All CVH knows to do is win....happy for the young man finding a great place to be the next four years after he graduates.

Jaylon should be much closer to the top, no doubt. You could make a case for several to be at the top. As in any discussion, beauty is in the eye of the beholder so it depends upon what you are looking for. Hiil, Hall, & Moore all are D1 players when it is all said & done. Fern Creek's Wales is committed to a D1 school as a junior and Price will play D1 basketball. Several others in the 6th could as well. The talent this year in the 6th is up and Fern Creek may be the favorite, but the road to the region championship has to go through Doss. Tony Williams has the belt and until you take it away his Dragons should not be taken lightly. They should be ranked higher.

Congrats Jaylen on joining the Chanticleers who will join the Sun Belt conference this season. The head coach is Cliff Ellis who has won over 700 D1 games in his career. That is not a typo, 700 + ranks in the Top 20 all time. I would say Jaylen and his family did a great job in selecting a great program & coach for his college career.

Hill is very impressive, he has the size, speed, & skill set few have. He has played this summer against talent that is beyond what we see here in Jefferson County and did very well. I don't think it is too far of a stretch to suggest he is the best player in the region. He holds several D1 offers which few in the region have. On past high school production he has less to show because he has sat last season, but he started his entire freshmen year at Fern Creek.

What I recall is that Braxton went to Hargrave to simply get better competition so when he entered college the next year he would be as ready as he could be. I am not sure when he verbally committed to Miami of OH. I know he had not signed because that was in early signing period in November. He opted to practice and play against D1 caliber players his senior season by going the Prep School route. Braxton signed his LOI with Miami of OH before the season began. As the season took off, so did Braxton. He simply had one heck of a season playing against the best prep players in the country. I don't think he went prep to fish for a better offer, it was for development opportunity. His stock rose and only then did he reclassify to be able to go through the recruiting process again with interest growing from major programs.

I understand the angst in elementary and middle school years when the kids 12-20 months older have a maturity advantage in strength & size playing in a grade below what their age calls for. But as you get into HS & College it works itself out with less of an impact. In HS, good freshmen play varsity against kids 3-5 years older and same in college. If the coaches at Ohio State are not worried about his age than there is not anything about his age worth mentioning. Trust me, it is not like he pulled a fast one on the staff at OSU where they are in the dark as to how old he is.

And he is 19 years old playing post graduate basketball so he can land higher on the food chain. If he had not exploded at Hargrave last year we woud not be having this conversation. But he did and it was very smart of him to do a "do over". He will be entering college with a hats off from me.

Here is your problem, you speak what you do not know. Fact...Braxton last year and this coming season plays on Hargrave Military's Post graduate team which is their best team. They play other Post Graduate teams filled with players the same age as Braxton unless they choose to play their younger players up in competition. So for that fact your argument fails to pass the accuracy test. It is hyperbole and therefor dismissed as shade with a purpose. Furthermore, Braxton is not a fall birthday or double hold back as some are leading others to believe. Get your facts straight, he is 19 years old right now and will be entering college at 20, not 22. I can't stand the age complaint when people play within the rules and even worse they embellish the facts. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

No, it was not classy. It was a backhanded compliment that does show a tint of shade though. I am a guy on the back nine of life, but if I could change places with this young man I would be thrilled to be in his shoes. Hats off BB, you earned it and the vast majority of this state are very proud of you. P.S. I knew your sarcasm meter was on.

Agree CJ deserves to be highly ranked, and imo even higher. Nobody has received as many offers with his school listings which signals he could be ranked #1 and I would have no issue with it. The list is not as bad as some I have seen where camping or paying for rankings is an obvious criteria. Overall I see a handful of Top 1-25 kids a tad too high. I know Wesley Christian is in our state, but the fact it is a Prep School does not automatically mean it's players should be highly ranked. If you are going to include them the big guy from France is probably under ranked, but I have not heard any other player there creating any college buzz locally or elsewhere.

Best High School player and best college prospect are two different things. I suspect coaches voted as those most impactful in the region or best HS players irregardless of college potential. I would agree Allen is far and away the best D1 college prospect right now. I suspect the coaches got it right as it relates to impact in the region.

I have come to learn that recruiting buzz and trends come in cycles. For a while a premium or the hot thing was how athletic a recruit was and being "positionless" was considered a good thing or even versatile. However, that has changed right now and the trend is how well does a recruit fit the PG spot, or the shooting guard, or the small forward, etc, etc. The thing about CJ is people expect to see him grow more, perhaps even getting to 6'6", which he can perfectly fit the mold of the shooting 3 at most of the schools showing interest. Even now he is athletic enough and is such a good shooter that if he doesn't get that tall he could still fit the shooting guard role. Point being his shooting really defines him as someone clearly able to play either wing spot depending on how much he grows. Many kids are that size or have the potential to be, but they lack the elite shooting or lack the athleticism or ballhandling that CJ brings as a package. And it is believed he can defend either of those positions. That is what makes him a special recruit over other kids that perhaps are lacking in being identified as a pure 2 or 3.

I do not know all the players, but it looks like the coaches did right at the top of the list. Having Trevon at the top is not a controversial choice for most people is it?

I always like a list to include a prelude that identifies what the rankings are trying to compare or rank for. Is the rankings based on D1 prospects e.g who will be the kids that go D1 starting with the highest offers (High D1) down to Low-mid D1 and then continuing down all the way to NAIA? Or are you ranking for best H.S players? When I see the ranking order prioritze kids who cannot play a Division 1 position that their size requires, I automatically discard it unless the list specifically is just ranking HS impact. Most never say, but a "prospect" list would signal college prospects and this list fails the eye test for me.

Power five conferences have many advantages of what they provide including economic benefits over non-P5 schools. If you are taking your God given talents and hard work since you have put in your entire life wouldn't you want to maximize the return of your labor? Miami of OH may be a great school, but if you could play at OSU there would be a significance difference in doing so.

The way I see it is that Braxton could have played his senior year of high school BB in KY and would have been eligible under KHSAA rules. So far that is no different than many kids who have at some time while they were younger repeated a grade. He chose to go to Hargrave his senior year and signed a LOI with Miami of OH in the fall. He actually played so well there that his stock rose significantly. At Hargrave he had the option to reclassify which reset his recruiting and rendered the LOI non-binding. Should he end up at a high major or higher profile school than Miami of OH it looks like he took advantage of all available options to pursue his dream of playing at the highest level of college ball he could achieve. And yet some bash him from his own state. I applaud him.