Hoopstars

They must have the most unbalanced schedule ever. How can it be fun to play in nothing but blowouts?

Brackets were absolutely insanely lopsided. Not sure if they do a blind draw or it was intentional or just an honest mistake. Great tourney but a shame they didn’t balance it out a little bit.

My whole assessment is based on who can win the region. I put Owen in same group and they beat grant by almost 20. I agree- Oldham in that group is the wild card based on their performance. But- they did beat Woodford with jasper Jonson. And they are a 100% lock to make the region tourney- collins, Woodford and Spencer might be ranked higher but one can’t go to region . They also couldn’t play north until the regional final. Also- as I wrote, Oldham is the most unfinished product- they could get worse but also could get way better- new coach and new players. Grant, collins, north, etc are not going to get worse and probably not much better.

1. North clearly the best team. However they do have problems scoring at times and hard to predict when they will happen. Experience and continuity their biggest pluses. 2. Spencer- potent offensively but very small. Play really well together. 3. Woodford with Jasper. Most athletic team overall in region but very inconsistent. 4. All bunched together. Grant, Collins, Owen and Oldham. Grant plays hard and has a guy who can take over. Collins- Keaton Baird would have made such a difference- huge loss. IMO they play a style that is very very hard to enjoy watching but keeps them in games. Just hard to see them winning 3 in a row in henry- if they make it. Owen- I don’t think there is any chance they win it but they did beat grant and have a guy who can takeover. Oldham- rough week but they have a new coach, and multiple new starters- still lots of potential to improve. Other teams more of a finished product. They also have a kid who can take over and are a lock to make Henry because south is dreadful. I guess throw walton Verona in there but again, can’t see any scenario where they win the region.

Nice work! Looks good.

Could be but what do you base that on? Lost to one team in front of them and the other two are undefeated- one of them who blew out the team who beat GRC?

Great recap. All subjective but I’d have to rank north well above Collins- not saying they couldn’t lose to them but north has played a very challenging schedule. Collins schedule not nearly as difficult. Thanks for doing this!

And butler hands Ballard their first loss of the season tonight.

I posted on a different thread that I thought grant could be a sleeper in the 8th and a really tough out. But didn’t think I’d ever see the day Grant County would beat Oldham by 35. Wow…

Obviously true that not all D1 recruits pan out. But- teams where every single member has a D1 offer would tend to be considered to have “elite” talent. Maybe that is more accurate than saying the team is “elite”. Probably a lot more continuity on a traditional high school team than a prep school which would make a big difference in the actual matchup.

List looks really solid. Not sold on great crossings or Lex cat but time will tell.

Didn’t go to game but probably two factors. Looking ahead to Huntington Prep. Off night. Those things happen, especially at high school level.

Thanks for all your efforts. Always a fun convo. In the case of Butler vs Iroquois- butler has played a much tougher schedule, and beat southern by 20 while Iroquois lost to Southern by 10. Both teams lost talent from last year but butler has more proven talent back. I’d think Iroquois would be bottom half- although their record might be better because first half of season schedule is light. I’d expect Bullitt East to move up as well since their football kids are back.

No offense but what would make you rank Iroquois over many teams below then. Hard to understand? Butler behind them?

Every kid on Huntington prep has d1 offers. Like from Kansas for example. They are elite…

Taft is good. Simon Kenton is ok. Wouldn’t say “good”. North issue is they go through stretches when they can’t score and the ball doesn’t move. Dallas takes a lot of very difficult shots. Saw it last year at times as well. Can be a Very good team. Need balance to go far…

I would have to ignore their blowout wins- completion was jv/freshman level at the absolute best. I’m very familiar with south basketball and my point was the program has become more synonymous with shooting threes than winning basketball- leading to a consistent decline in results culminating in last years disaster. I know for a fact that there are multiple superb athletes at that school, some D1 as you mention, who would play basketball and who could rebound and defend- also important aspects of the game, but since they can’t shoot threes they would never play. Not saying that that decision won’t pay dividends this year. They may be much improved over last year and have a banner year. Just a healthy skeptic

Grant is an interesting team. Play very hard and they are very physical. Add that to having a guy that can take over and carry them offensively, I can see them being a scary team to play if they make it to Henry County in March.

Tough start to season for Woodford. I know mcrear is out but didn’t expect they would lose all these games- to very very average teams….

Surprised this was this close. South was crushed by Grant and Walton had a decent win vs Evangel. Have to disagree with above comment on South being better than last year but time will tell. They lack size and have lost multiple D1 athletes from the program the past few years who could’ve contributed this year, but they do not shoot 3s- which means no PT ever…

First- kids are way more resilient than their parents. Secondly- if they were pressing up 80, that is ridiculous. However, it’s pretty clear western played their backups a bunch. Those kids like to score and compete as well. I hate when kids who get limited chances are told “don’t play”. What’s the point of that?

Is Mcrear healthy? I had heard he was out until January with an injury.

I’d go with CC. Believe Great Crossing may be a little overrated. Won’t reach their full potential until Moreno becomes much more assertive and physical….which I am sure he will over time, just not sure it will be this season.

I wonder if there is ever any grumbling about the state of this program. The poster boy for mediocrity for years on end while they rack up state titles in every other sport and their Catholic school counterparts excel in hoops and compete for region/state titles. Why can’t ST X…..ever?

Great idea! It’s incredible that with all the detail and relevant basketball info people are singularly obsessed with height. As if a source of pride?