NKYBBALLFANS

Another coin toss for the 9th Region Final.  Let's see.....you had St. Henry beat Cov Cath, but lose to Beechwood.  You had Highlands lose to Beechwood, but beat St. Henry.  You had Holy Cross and Cov Cath beat Beechwood.  Don't count Conner out..they are extremely well coached and patient.  This is anyone' game.

This was not an upset.  These are two very good teams. Holy Cross shot lights out....50% from the field, 42% for 3 and 91% from the Free Throw line.  Teams that shoot as good as that don't lose.  Holly Cross has not shot like that all year. They also had 40 rebounds to Beechwood's 20 Rebounds, the real difference in this game.

Beechwood shot 42% from the field, 30% from 3 and only 50% from the FT line.  That's the difference.

Great games by Will Downton with 31 pts for Beechwood and Jacob Meyer from Holy Cross with 32.  There was alot of talent on the court tonight.  A very talented district and fun games to watch.

Scotty Draud led the charge...and the bench of Juniors contributed in 4th for the upset.  Beechwood press defense is tough...they didn't press in first game......Beechwood defense ranked 6th in state....fewest points given up per game.

4 hours ago, B-Ball-fan said:

St Henry at Beechwood

Newport Central Catholic at Bishop Brossart

Simon Kenton at Campbell County 

Highlands at Cooper

Dixie at Lloyd

Conner at Scott

Grant County at Walton Verona

 

I’ve not searched deep to see if there have been any cancellations. 

 

Most of these games will be broadcasted one way or another, audio or video. 

I’ll be up all night, or play catch up tomorrow morning, but there’s so many interesting matchups here that have me salivating. 

St. Henry at Beechwood - Here we get to see just how close these two teams are, and if Beechwood really can stay with a St. Henry team that has been growing in leaps and bounds with their team chemistry, relentless defence, and phenomenal play from their 10 senior heavy roster. On the other hand, while not terrible, Beechwooed, even in their wins haven’t been looking too inspired, but perhaps a game like this will change all of that. I’d say that it better. If this game doesn’t make a team rise to the occasion, nothing will, and I really think we’re going to see a barn burner in this one. 

 

Newport Central Catholic at Bishop Brossart - When has this never been an awesomely intense game? ‘Nuff said.

 

Simon Kenton at Campbell County - Sounds like the makings a good game, and I don’t care who they play, any chance to see what Kelly Niece does is worth the price of admission...well free of course online now that we’re not allowed to attend the games in person. Both teams are competitive and I expect a good one here, but I have a hunch that SK will have a bit of an edge going into this one, but it is a Campbell County so home court advantage with 10 Region refs can’t hurt. 

 

Highlands at Cooper - On paper it looks like it’s the Bluebirds game to lose, but Cooper has been stepping up lately and beginning to gel a little, and they’re beginning to get more from their reliable focus players such as Rabe for example who has been really stepping up. Sully doesn’t give up on making his guys grow. This game is at Cooper, and while I still sorta believe that Highlands will win, I think that the Jags will give them one hell of a game. 

 

Dixie at Lloyd - Ok I think Dixie has solidly established themselves as a serious 9th region contender, and it’s no hype...they’re a good team. Lloyd, while they struggle to find the basket from beyond the arc still have some incredible players showing good team chemistry with their quickness and snappy passing. Dixe has shooters though and that’s going to be the difference. It’s an important district game, and while I’m sorta impressed by Lloyd for their never say die approach, I still see Dixie getting by them by at least 10-12  points.

 

Conner at Scott - Just like the SK @ Campbell Co game, I see a decently competitive game here that could go either way. I’d be surprised if it didn’t turn into a game with multiple lead changes and quadruple overtime. Well..that might be a stretch but I’m seeing a close one here. 

 

Grant County at Walton Verona - This should probably be a Walton win, but Grant County has proved to be a competitive team, so I expect a good first half before Walton starts to pull away and win by 15. Who knows, I could be way off in my thinking on this one. 

 

Anyhow, as long as there’s not a ton of cancellations, IMO there’s a lot of hot games in the Northern Kentucky area tonight with a good mix of 8th, 9th, and 10th Region teams. 

 

From the KHSAA statistics February 1st, Beechwood Tiger Defense is ranked 6th in the State of Ky for least amount of points given up per game.  Dixie is 50th and St.. Henry cannot be found on list.

I agree...game should be a barn burner.  Beechwood starts 5 Seniors.

Watched the live stream....very uninspiring and sloppy play from both teams.  

Thanks..I'll look on the KHSAA sight on Friday

Heard Beechwood's Senior Guard Will Downton picked up his 1st offer from Indiana University East last week.

Anyone know why there are no stats for the Kentucky's high school basketballs leaders yet?  I thought they would put them up but maybe they wait until a month in?  Any info would be helpful.

Cov Cath Colonels by 15.  Mitchell Riley will be the difference.   Cov Cath will over power the undersized BlueBirds inside.........

I know we only have one week of play behind us, but St. Henry made a big statement with a tough and close overtime loss against a top Lexington Catholic team, and then went on and beat Highlands at Highlands in an incredibly close game.  St. Henry is a top 20 team.  Just my opinion.

Today (Monday) starts the 9th Region's All A Classic.  Ludlow vs Newport at 7pm and Villa Madonna vs Bellevue at 7pm.

Three strong teams in the lower bracket with St. Henry, Beechwood and New Cath and what one would think is the stronger team, Covington Holy Cross in the upper bracket.

Looks to be a great game Wednesday night with St.Henry facing New Cath at 7pm and Beechwood facing the winner of Villa Madonna and Bellevue at 7pm.  While i give St. Henry and Beechwood the nod on Wednesday, the highlight matchup of the week should be St. Henry vs. Beechwood on Friday night if both teams win.  I look for Covington Holy Cross to win the upper bracket and the winner of the Beechwood vs. St. Henry game to win it all.

The Beechwood Tigers split a win and a loss against the St. Henry Cru last year, with St. Henry winning the 9th Region All A last year before winning the KY State All A Classic.  St. Henry playing extremely well with a close overtime loss to Lexington Catholic last week and then beating Highlands at the BlueBirds home court in a ridiculously close game.  Look for Wyatt Vieth and Jude Bessler to have great performances.

Beechwood Tigers have gotten off to a great start at 3-0 and playing solid team ball with high level performances from Scott Draud, Will Downton and Cameron Decker.  The Tigers start 5 returning Seniors and should be ready, though their competition thus far has not been at St. Henry's level.  Should be a great match-up on Friday night.

I'll give St. Henry the nod for a close win for the 9th Region All A Classic, but will not be the least bit surprised if the Beechwood Tigers flip the script and win it all.

Here is the link to this weeks 9th Region All A Classic

 https://allaclassic.org/Regional%20Brackets/Boys%20Brackets/9th%20Region%20Boys%20Brackets.pdf

Brandon McClendon was down in Florida playing a football exposure camp.  He certainly is good for 15 pts, but Conner is always coached so well.  

A very efficient win for the Tigers.  Good defensive effort and a much more balanced approach on offense.  Draud had 20, combined with Downton's 9, Rolf's 9, Decker's 7, (all seniors) and the sophmore Boyd's 8 pts made for really good team win.  Senior and KY Mr. Football was the 6th man and played well.  Chemistry looks much improved.  16 total assists from 7 different players.  A much different looking team than last year.

Pre Season rankings with the 9th Region having 3 Teams (Cov Cath, Highlands and Beechwood) representing.  All 3 Teams have a good shot of having the type of year to win the region and make the Sweet 16, but only one can go.  

Interesting not to see St. Henry who have 3 returning starters (Vieth, Bessler) and won the KY All A Region last year in 2020.  Cov Cath will be hard pressed to match last years deep and Senior led team, having to fill the void of Grant Disken and Greene graduating.

Speaking of Senior led teams, Beechwood tops the Region with 5 returning Seniors, three of which were starters and two who were 6 and 7 man off bench.  However, if Beechwood is to have the kind of seasons they had in 2019 when they were the 9th Region's runner up's, they will have to find more than one player who shoots more than 50% of their shots.  

Championship teams have a few things in common, Great Defense, Low Turnover Ratio and a balanced offense where 3 players score double digit per game on average.  This Senior led Beechwood Team will need to play much more disciplined to win.  

I give Highlands the edge and prediction to win the 9th Region. They do all three.

Thanks for putting together such informative posts! It is important to honor these memories.

Indiana simply takes its high school basketball more seriously. High School basketball in Indiana is more of a priority. I would say it's second to none.

The Colonels certainly are the team to represent the 9th Region at Rupp for 2020. No denying that. Congratulations to the Colonels. Highlands, Conner, St. Henry and Beechwood all have a lot coming back next year as well as Cooper improving at the end of the season (hats off to Sully). I believe we will have an even tighter race next year.

Neil Green is the MVP. I agree, Vinson played a tremendous tournament...but i don't think they give MVP to a member of a team that loses? Nor should they, IMO.

Coaching....Coaching.....Coaching.....As I posted after the first time they played....Beechwood only needs to watch the film of their losses to understand why they underachieve. Conner did not take a bad shot all night. Patience...passing...motion offense....discipline...no forced shots. Beechwood seems to think only certain players should shoot......In all my years of watching basketball....the teams that win allow and expect the OPEN man to shoot. There is no pre-conceived idea of who should shoot. No running 20 seconds off the clock with no set play....only to let one player force a shot with no passing attempts. It is just BAD basketball. Congratulations to Conner. They are the better team.

Nice preview and nice predictions and good points by everyone (especially the reminder of the head to head records in the 9th. However, any of these teams can win...and I do think the game times and the week off will affect some teams more than others. My predictions are:

St. Henry over Cooper by 10. Hat's off to Sully....he has Cooper playing their best basketball of the year, but the Crusaders are just too deep. Wyatt Vieth and Jude Bessler will shine.

Cov Cath over Newport by 25. The Colonels are too disciplined and experienced to let down in this one. Disken and Green will come to play.

Beechwood over Conner by 6. The Tigers will be seeking revenge over this earlier season loss. Riley, Downton and Draud with big games to win this one.

Highlands over Dixie by 12. Vinson and team again are too deep and have played too well this year to take a game off.

Overall a very close 9th region this year...with only Cov Cath the clear favorite. Should be a great tournament. Good luck to all the teams.

Well Cov Cath should win....but upsets happen. Not sure if this would be the upset I would predict in the 9th Region....but I guess that's why they call it an upset? I feel the 9th Region is Cov Cath's to lose...all the other games are toss-ups with no clear favorite. IMO

My understanding is Rylee is playing. The Tigers are at full strength. And as for the school in park hills....they are not unbeatable in the 9th Region until the 9th Region Tournament is played next week. No team....not any team....is given the trophy and the seed to play in the sweet sixteen in lexington without winning their region. Are they favored..absolutely. Can they be beaten...absolutely...but that is for another day.

This is a game that shows Cov Cath is not invincible. They can be beat. Who is going to be the cinderella this year?

Someone tell me this game isn't going to be close? The Bulldogs have been playing well despite their 3 game losing streak. This team played Simon Kenton, St. Henry and Connor this past week and lost by only 21 pts collectively. Holmes could cause havoc on the Tigers. If Tez is hot, look out.

The Tigers need to play a solid game...and solid defense. Everyone of their players needs to contribute and minimize mistakes....turnovers.

If I were coaching Holmes, I would have them press...press..press..the entire game...let the chips fall. If I were coaching Beechwood, I would have them press..press..press..the entire game. Mistakes will be the difference in this game.for either side. Whoever makes the less mistakes wins...(turnovers will be the difference).

Congratulations to all these boys....great job!

Highlands shot lights out! With a ver sound inside outside game. Beechwood does not know what good shot selection is or how to set an offense and run a play..It will continue to hurt them playing this way.