GoHardITP

Agree about BE being able to string wins, they have proven that. The tough part about the LIT is the single elimination format. You win you advance and you lose you go home. The draw becomes a big part and even though it is seeded, the luck of the draw helps. For instance Doss & PRP play each other so one of the two will advance to the quarterfinals. They play the winner of Male and likely KCD. Fern Creek did not fare so well having to face Central in the first round who was oddly seeded as the 10th ranked team. The winner of Fern Creek/Central likely plays Ballard. Bullitt East as the 3rd seed has a pretty nice set up to the semi-finals where they will face Fern Creek/Central/ or Ballard.

6th Region Rankings (1/3/16) 1) Bullitt East (11-2)- BE did well out in a Holiday Tourney in CA finishing 2-1 after losing their first game in overtime. They play back to back games at the end of the week against District foes, Fern Creek & Whitefield. 2) Pleasure Ridge Park (8-3)- PRP also went 2-1 at their out of state Holiday tourney in FL. PRP has 3 regional games this week including an interesting match up versus North Bullitt on Saturday. 3) Fern Creek (8-4)- The Tigers went 2-0 with easy victories down in Mayfield, KY. The Tigers have 3 games this week including 2 regional games against Butler and district favorite BE. They also play out of state foe Lawrence Central. 4) North Bullitt (13-1)- North Bullitt went 3-0 at the LaRue County Holiday event. NB has only one game this week, but it is a big one. They play PRP on Saturday which will give a great opportunity for NB to prove they really are one of the better 6th region teams. 5) Doss (9-3)- Doss went 2-1 down at the Holiday event in Bowling Green and their only loss was to Bowling Green HS. Valley & DeSales are scheduled for this week. 6) Valley (11-5)- Valley has already played more than half of their regular season games and to date they have performed very well. They were 2-2 at the Lake Cumberland event after Christmas. They have a big regional game versus Doss and a non region game against North Oldham. 7) Southern (7-5)- Southern went 2-1 falling in the championship game at the Wes Unseld Classic. They have a really big game against PRP next week on Tuesday. 8) Iroquois (7-7)- Iroquois has had a rough stretch, but they still have a very respectable record against decent opponents. They have a big region game against Butler this week. 9) Western (6-6)- Western went 2-1 at the Wes Unseld Classic only losing to Southern. They have a big region game against Jeffersontown this week. 10)Jeffersontown (6-7)- JTown has quietly rose from way back in the pack to a Top 10 ranking this week after winning 4 of their last 5. They play a big region game against Western this week. 11) DeSales (5-6)- DeSales went 1-2 at the South Oldham tourney and now faces Doss & Fairdale this week. 12) Butler (5-6)- 1-2 during the Eastern HS Holiday event. They play Fern Creek and Iroquois this coming week so they have a chance to move up with good showings. 13) Fairdale (4-8)- After losing 5 in a row, Fairdale bounced back to finish 2-1 down at the Holiday event in FL. Big region games against Moore and DeSales this week. 14) Moore (3-8)- Moore went 1-2 at the Wes Unseld Classic with a win over Bardstown. Moore plays Fairdale and Bullitt Central this week. 15) Beth Haven (9-5)- Lost 3 in a row at the Belfry Classic 16) Bullitt Central (3-8)- Lost 3 in a row at the Lexington Catholic event running their losing streak to 7 17) Evangel Christian (8-3)- They have won all their games they should including five in a row, but when they see tougher teams they struggle 18) Holy Cross (4-9)- Went 1-2 at South Oldham event. 19) Whitefield Academy (1-12)- May not win again for a while and especially so when they Bullitt East this week.

Male will not beat KCD by 30, in fact that would be my upset pick for the 2nd round....KCD over Male. Not saying Male is not better than KCD, but that will be much closer than 30 and could end up with KCD advancing.

Research would tell you there is no "typical", but rather there are various ways of how tuition assistance is approached, and even the schools (prep or private) themselves are not a single model of existence. This is a subject that needs to be painted with a very broad brush, there are few absolutes. What may be the case at one could be totally different elsewhere. One thing is for certain, the majority of the best prep basketball players in America that end up playing in the major prep school circuit are not from affluent families with the resources to pay significant tuition costs.

I do not know all of those kids or how good of defensive players they are, but I know the Butt/Faulkner match up would be a very favorable one for Mercer. I just don't see any huge advantage for SW if both teams play man to man. They are all good players, coaching may be the difference maker in this one. Anyone have an opinion of who is the better X & O's coach? I do agree that neither should tip their hand in the event they play again to see who goes to Rupp.

If your stating that there will be a man to man match up problem to handle the SW guards (3) because one of those three will be left with a favorable match up then I would also suggest that whichever of those three try to guard Faulkner is going to leave Faulkner with a favorable match up as well. Smaller guard has no chance, Butt would not be able to stay in front of him and if he gets Fitzgerald in foul trouble that could be devastating for SW which could happen trying to guard a player like Faulkner. Each team may want to rethink staying in man to man for this reason. I have not seen either team this season, do they each exclusively play man to man?

That indeed is FC's problem, they looked very good beating Bowling Green and then not as good against North Hardin and awful in losing to the IL team out of Evanston Township. The game with Bullitt East and Fern Creek is coming up in early January and should show whether FC can make a serious run to challenge BE or not. It will be at BE and the winner will likely be the #1 seed for the district tourney at season end.

JR Mathis is a silent killer. Not too many kids in state match his long range shooting and also as athletic. Playing at KCD keeps him from being in the high school spotlight, but in the Spring/Summer he plays high level ball on the Adidas Gauntlet circuit with Louisville Magic. He is a very smart kid,likely ends up at an Ivy league school playing basketball and then going out making big bucks when he is finished. Love to watch him shoot the ball.

I have not seen him, but obviously is a great high school player in the State of KY. As far as college potential, the colleges generally find kids who can help them win at the level they coach. With that said many kids do not always go to the highest level they can compete which should be a personal choice. Next year when its time to sign we will find out just how high of college level ball he is capable of playing unless he chooses a school for other reasons. But in high school we can say for sure he is an excellent player if he is approaching 3000 points.

6th Region Rankings (12/25/16) New rankings reflect the Pre-Christmas Holiday tourneys being completed 1) Bullitt East (9-1)- Solid #1 team. BE continued to win while at the KOB although they did suffer their first loss in the semifinals by losing to Trinity by 3, but followed that with a 10 point victory against North Hardin to finish 3rd in the prestigious event that was deeply loaded with very good basketball teams. 2) Pleasure Ridge Park (6-2)- PRP lost the championship game of their own Rumble at the Ridge to out of state Allatoona, GA. They won 2 big margin victories in their other earlier round games. Verdict is still out on how good of a version of this PRP team is, but they have done enough to fill the 2nd spot in the rankings up to now. 3) Fern Creek (6-4)- The Tigers went 1-2 at the KOB and need to be dropped from 2nd in the rankings after losing 2 of 3 games there. After starting 5-0, the challenging schedule has proven to be something the Tigers are not able to overcome. In the KOB they won their first game against then #2 Bowling Green before falling to North Hardin and Evanston Township HS out of IL. 4) North Bullitt (10-1)- North Bullitt has a glossy 10-1 W/L record and is 5-0 in region play. They played in the KOB Overtime showcase team against a nationally first class team in Paul VI, VA which was a huge jump in class for them and resulted in a 50 point loss. That was not the game that stopped a rise in this week's rankings, but rather a 2 point win over Atherton who has a 2-11 record is what stopped a move upward. 5) Valley (9-3)- Valley only lost to an out of state team after winning against Pike County Central & Corbin. They also beat Frankfort. Although not playing a brutal schedule, Valley is learning how to win and could easily be ready to rise in the rankings if they continue to beat teams when region games begin. 6) Doss (7-2)- Doss opened the McCreary Central Holiday Tourney with a win and kept on going to finish with 4 straight victories. They have two losses to 6th region opponents Fern Creek & Butler, but they have also beaten Ballard to show they can compete with anyone in Jefferson County. 7) Butler (4-4)- After back to back road victories against PRP & Doss who are both ranked ahead of Butler, they lost 2 of 3 out at the Oldham County Holiday tournament. The loss to Male was understandable, but the loss to DeSales is a bit more concerning. They also beat Moore at the same event. 8) Iroquois (6-4)- Iroquois is really playing well and if they continue to improve being as young as they are we could expect to see them rise in the rankings. They are 3-3 in regional play 9) Southern (4-4)- Southern went 1-2 playing all out of state teams at a Holiday tourney in Orlando, FL. 10) Western (4-5)- Western did not have a great tourney finish at Hancock County going 1-2, but they did beat DeSales leading up to the holiday break to edge out DeSales for a Top 10 ranking. 11) DeSales (4-4)- DeSales is playing .500 ball as they also are 3-3 in regional play. 12) Moore (2-6)- Way more talent than the record shows. They will not be this low for long. 13) Fairdale (2-7)- They have lost 5 in a row, but those losses were all to very good teams. Nobody except Bullitt East and Fern Creek have played the competition that Fairdale has. 14) Jeffersontown (4-6)- After beginning at 0-5, JTown has quietly won 4 of 5 in their last games. 15) Beth Haven (9-2)- Nice win over Bullitt Central in the 6th region and beating teams they are on equal footing with. 16) Bullitt Central (3-5)- Have now lost 4 in a row and not against powerhouse competition either. 17) Evangel Christian (6-3)- They have won all their games since they lost to Beth Haven by over 25. 18) Holy Cross (3-7)- Went 2-1 at the Butler County Holiday event which helped them get to 3 wins on the season. 19) Whitefield Academy (1-10)- A 2 point win against Louisville Collegiate is all that separates them from a winless season.

Trinity deserves all the credit for a great tourney and season so far, but this statement does not really make sense with no disrespect intended. Are you saying had Trinity not been so drained they would have won? Brentwood played the same number of games and equally as good as opponents. In fact Brentwood's first game was Saturday so they did not get a two day rest like Trinity did after their first game. Brentwood was also short a starter due to injury who happens to be one of their best players. I just don't buy their being drained as anything significant to the outcome. Brentwood was drained too and simply made a great run after being 8 down to win the championship. Both are great teams, Brentwood the stronger of the two that evening.

Yes, he was on the Taylor County bench in street clothes so that is who I was talking about. I just overheard some kids from the school say he was waiting to hear something and could play Monday at the KOB. I did mean he used to live in BG, not the school itself. lol I made PP sweat

What do you say to your team when your two stars account for almost 70 points and you lose. Do you focus on the other players inability to help out by scoring more themselves or do you focus on the team lack of defense? TC is missing that one guy who can help in the scoring. I hear the Bowling Green transfer may be cleared Monday which could turn things around.

Agree that is a blow, but FC also lost one of their better players to a decision to transfer out of the program. So both teams were short handed in terms of the players they have played all their games to date. I no doubt believe the loss of Booker played into FC's ability to make BG turn the ball over 19 times. FC did a great job of speeding the pace and when they did BG did not look comfortable. If that is what FC can continue to do to teams, they could be a hard out. With 3 point shooter Tony Washington able to get hot at any time and a much improved Anthony Wales scoring like he did last night with 21 points and leading from the PG spot they have great guard play. Ahmad Price is a double double machine and the rest of the team is just playing so hard together. Good game by the Creek.

Scott County starting 3 freshmen is impressive. Look out for what they will become.

Very nice player. Bellarmine is getting a steal.

6th Region Rankings (12/15/16) 1) Bullitt East (6-0)- Far and away the #1 team. BE continues to win handily with their closest recent game a double digit victory over a solid Cordia team. BE plays Waggener in their first game at the KOB this weekend. 2) Fern Creek (5-2)- After beating Seneca by 39 points, Fern Creek suffered their first lost to Trinity and then lost again to Male for back to back defeats. Each of those losses were on the road to undefeated teams. Fern Creek may not be as deep after one of their better players, Trey Hill, is said to be transferring. They will play another undefeated team in their first game at the KOB when they face off against Bowling Green. 3) Pleasure Ridge Park (4-1)- PRP won a tough game against Kentucky Country Day 58-53, but then lost their first game of the season to Butler by 12 points. They are off until they host their own holiday event the days leading up to Christmas. The extra time in practice will have them ready. 4) North Bullitt (6-0)- North Bullitt beat Fairdale by 15 so they are a good team worthy at this point to be in the Top 5. Some may even say an undefeated team deserves higher than #4. However, they only beat Bullitt Central by 5 who has lost 3 games including losses to Southern & Valley. North Bullitt also won a close game over Iroquois by 3 points and that same Iroquois team was beaten by Fern Creek by 44 points. 5) Valley (5-2)- Valley lost to Waggener 72-58, but also won a close game against a solid Oldham County team 79-77. They are young, but they are growing up together and will be a team that has to be considered a Top 5 team. 6) Southern (3-2)- Doss opened with a 10 point win over Southern and they also lost a 1 point game to DeSales. However, they have beaten three Region 6 teams in Fairdale, Moore, and Bullitt Central. 7) Butler (3-2)-Butler has an excellent coach and it is beginning to show. After an opening night loss to Fairdale by 1 point, the only other loss is to Bullitt East by 16. The last two games have been victories over PRP and Doss who both are 6th region rivals to Butler. 8) Iroquois (4-2)- After an opening night 44 point blowout lost to Fern Creek, Iroquois ran off 4 straight victories before losing by 3 to North Bullitt. If North Bullitt is #4, then a case can be made for Iroquois to be this high. 9) Doss (3-2)- Butler beat Doss by 3 on Doss court to give them their 2nd 6th region loss, but they also have a Ballard win to their credit. They could climb higher and likely will 10) Bullitt Central (3-3)- Bullitt Central really does not have any quality wins, but their three losses have been close losses to teams ranked higher in the 6th region. Losses to Valley & North Bullitt by 5 points and a 9 point loss to Southern actually deliver more favorable impressions than their wins. 11) Western (3-3)- Winning the games that they play against lower ranked teams and losing the games against higher ranked teams. They are pretty middle of the road. 12) Moore (1-3)- Best 1 win team in the region. They will not be down this far very long, but only one win and that was a 1 point win over Valley which requires them to be this low. 13) Fairdale (2-4)- 2 wins over Butler & Holy Cross, but 4 losses prevent any higher ranking. 14) DeSales (2-3)- Beat Southern by 1 in a close game and then lost by 2 to Iroquois and 9 to Western. 15) Beth Haven (5-1)- Played one team in the 6th region and lost. That was Valley which they lost by 20. Very good when they play teams that are similar in size and scope though. 16) Jeffersontown (1-5)- Got their 1st win over Whitefield Academy. 17) Evangel Christian (3-3)- Lost to Beth Haven by almost 30 but played Bullitt Central to a 9 point game. 18) Holy Cross (1-5)- Opened with a win over Shawnee, and have not won since. 19) Whitefield Academy (1-6)- Going to be a long season and only competitive playing much smaller schools outside of the 6th region.

My understanding is yes

16U Travelers are still playing the EYBL 16U events, correct on the 17U sitting out this year. Nike does not budge on their 40 team maximum for 17U and each year they have teams that may have to sit a season and then play their way back on the 16U level to be included in the 40 for that following season. Good example is Team United from NC who has been a Nike program team that did not compete last season 17U. Their 16U team made it to the 16U Peach Jam session in Augusta and is now included in 17U this upcoming season. They play a fixed schedule in 17U EYBL while the 16U EYBL plays a tournament format to qualify for the respective Peach Jam Championships. Because of the format differences, they do not have a hard maximum of 40 for 16U which includes the 40 programs from 17U and about a dozen other programs.

Two undefeated teams that are #2 & #4 in recent LIT rankings for Jefferson County. Trinity heavy with Juniors and Fern Creek heavy with Sophomores. Oddly, Fern Creek team has more varsity experience. Winner has the likely #1 seed in LIT if they can continue to post victories. Game is at Trinity. Who wins?

They made the score close at the end after Fern Creek had a really strong 2nd half until they missed about 7 free throws in a row when Cordia had to foul. It worked and Cordia cut the lead from double digits to 5. It could have went either way until Fern Creek PG got the ball in his hand and started hitting the free throws. Every time he would hit two free throws, Cordia would go down and get a bucket or go to the line as well. The last minute or two was played out just like that until the end.

Doss just lost to Fern Creek by double digits on Friday and bounced back to get this impressive win that is quite surprising that is was by so many points. Doss does start 4 seniors who are decent players. Although they lost many from graduation and transfers, they also picked up two senior transfers that are pretty good players.

The game was a really good HS basketball game. Cordia has a new big guy about 6'5" or maybe 6'6" but he is built like a football linebacker. He jumps well and is skilled. He is going to make them much tougher.

6th Region Rankings (12/7/15) 1) Bullitt East (3-0)- A very tough opener against Warren Central was a close game that will end up being a character builder for this team. Down very late in the game with their backs against the wall this veteran team responded with a furious rally that defines how tough they really are. The next two games against Collins and Elliott County were not as difficult as they continue to be the clear favorite in the region as they enter Week #2. 2) Fern Creek (4-0)- We learned this team has depth and their rotation goes well beyond 10 players. Good thing because they played four games during week 1 and three were on consecutive days over the weekend. Fern Creek defeated defending 6th region champion Doss by 12 on Friday and their other big victory was over Cordia on Sunday 83-78. 3) Pleasure Ridge Park (3-0)- PRP proved very early that failing to recognize the ability of this great coaching staff to build a championship contending team will make you look silly. Moore was the opening game match-up and figured to come away with a win. However, PRP won a tough game that showed they will need to be respected once again. They won their other two easily. 4) North Bullitt (3-0)- A major correction needed from the preview rankings as they were way better than 13th and after the thrashing of DeSales they are getting the push all the way to #4. This week they play Fairdale and what happens with that game will tell a lot about what to expect from North Bullitt. 5) Valley (2-1)- Valley lost an overtime game to Moore and had they won that game could easily have jumped to the #4 spot. They opened with a big rout of Jeffersontown and finished with a hard fought road victory over Bullitt Central. 6) Doss (1-1)- Doss opened with a 10 point win over Southern and then fell to Fern Creek by 12 on Friday. This is not the same Doss, but they start 4 seniors and a junior. They are athletic and when they shoot the ball well they will play anyone close. 7) Bullitt Central (2-1)- Bullitt Central really struggled to beat Bethleham after blowing out Trimble County. They played a much better Valley and almost pulled off the upset but lost at home by 5. They get a chance to beat North Bullitt and Southern this week to prove they belong in the Top 10 8) Fairdale (1-1)- Playing without their best player, Tre Richardson, Fairdale won on opening night by 1 over Butler. However, they turned around and lost to Southern in their 2nd game by 4 on the road. Richardson should be back soon recovering from an illness and that is needed. 9) Southern (1-1)- Southern lost to Doss, but turned around and beat Fairdale. Both games were at home and they get two more home games against Moore & DeSales this week. Going 2-0 this week will tell more about their chances to be a Top 10 team. 10) Butler (1-1)- Butler lost a tough opener to Fairdale by 1 or they would be much higher in this ranking. However, Fairdale was missing their best player and they still could not beat them. They did blow out 7th region Seneca in their last game of week 1. 11) Moore (1-2)- Much better than the 1-2 record indicates. They will rise in the rankings, but two losses were surprising. 12) Western (1-2)- Started season with a 1 point win over Atherton, but then blown out by PRP. Lost last game in close battle to Manual by 2. 13) Iroquois (1-1)- After a very tough 40 point loss to Fern Creek in opener, they came back to beat Jeffersontown by almost 20 themselves. 14) DeSales (1-1)- Beat Holy Cross in a close game and then lost by over 40 to North Bullitt. Three games this week will tell just how good they can become. 15) Beth Haven (3-0)- 3 wins which include a forfeit as well. They play Valley this week and will rise if they can win. 16) Evangel Christian (2-0)- 2 wins but you can't tell anything about those victories. They play Bullitt Central this week to gain an opportunity to show they can win games against decent competition. 17) Holy Cross (1-2)- Opened with a win over Shawnee, but dropped 2 in a row after that. 18) Whitefield Academy (1-2)- One close win and two blowout losses indicate a long season. Win was over Louisville Collegiate. 19) Jeffersontown- Only 6th region team without a win. Two losses by a total of 62 points. If transfers gain eligibility it will move the Chargers up the rankings considerably. If not it could be a long season. Jeffersontown

Trinity seems to have a good class every other year for the past 6 year cycle. Last year it was the Senior/Sophomore class and this year it is the Junior/Freshmen class. Yes, the freshmen are probably the best class in Louisville this year. David Johnson is the best of the cast. Name to remember in the future.