Bballjunkie

Excited to see our three Region 8 teams compete in the LIT even though two of them play in the first round against each other, which is kind of a bummer. But I guess Oldham County is okay with being the 16th seed because if it went by state rankings they would be playing St. X or Male, and that doesn't sound very fun.

The Holiday tourneys are over and its time to get ready for some big time district match ups in January. These games are always fun because let's be honest….. no one likes their district opponents lol. The atmospheres will be rocking. North Oldham is still on top but I will be the first to admit I was wrong about them. I thought they would be fine after losing Austin Sears to Montgomery. However, the Mustangs are struggling to score which might come back to haunt them in tourney time. They are still the best team in the region but the gap is much closer to Woodford and South Oldham than I thought it would be. I believe those three are in a tier of their own. I believe there are 4 tiers in the region. Tier 1- favorites to win the region. Tier 2- good teams but would take a big upset to win it all. Tier 3- lacks the talent to really have a chance to get to the second round of the region. Tier 4- low in talent Tier 1- North Oldham , Woodford County, South Oldham Tier 2- Simon Kenton, Spencer County, Oldham County, Anderson County, Henry County (if they all get healthy), Grant County, Walton Verona Tier 3- Collins, Gallatin County, Owen County, Shelby County, Eminence Tier 4- Trimble County , Carroll County, Williamstown, Cornerstown Chr 1. North Oldham (8-4) lost by 15 vs Madison central . Have an interesting game vs Trinity coming up . Losing Sears is hurting them more than I thought it would. They are not scoring a lot . However, it’s a new season once district play starts Tommy Gregg is ready to put this team on his shoulders and get to Rupp Arena. 2. Woodford County(5-3) lost to McCracken county by 9pt… have a big game vs Great Crossing Saturday at Berea College . My goal is to watch this team play online this week or in the coming weeks. I want to get a sense of the type of team they really are going into district play. 3. South Oldham (10-4) winners of 7 out of their last 8. The Dragons are for real and a lot better than I thought they would be. But to be fair I didn’t know much about Nicco. The kid can flat out shoot the ball. This 3pt percentage is insane at 52 % specially since he leads the team in attempts. Also the skill of Kolton W and Joaquin S makes them a really good team. And don’t forget about Adrian Mile. He is a kid that plays extremely hard on both ends. They have other kids that can get hot at a drop of a hat. With all of that said, watch out for this team come tourney time. 4. Simon Kenton- (5-6) The Pioneers have lost 2 in a row but they are against really good teams in Ashland and Jeffersontown. Simon is first place on the second tier because they are really really good. I just don’t think they have the talent to win the whole thing come March. Bilton is a stud and could start on any team in the region. 5. Spencer County (8-5)- The Bears of Taylorsville played some really tough competition over the Holiday Break. This will serve them well when they head into district play in the coming weeks. Can this group get to the region this season? It will not be easy but that is obviously their goal. Samuel S is having a great season ,so when you have a senior guard running the show , anything is possible. 6. Anderson County (13-2) I realize their schedule is weaker than Oldham County’s but I gave them the nod over the Colonels this week. They have won 13 games already so I wanted to reward that. Andrew S is flat out scoring the basketball avg 21ppg. He is having a huge season. I still don’t have any info on Noah B so if he was healthy they would be even better. I am excited about to watch them play against Spencer and Woodford so we can get an idea if they are for real and have a chance of getting to regions. 7. Oldham County (5-5) When your top 2 scorers are Freshman you are going to have a roller coaster season. The Colonels look like they have had some good wins then they get absolutely blown off the court in some of the matchups. They probably have two hard of a schedule for being so young. The folks of Buckner should be excited about the future but they just don’t have the talent or experience to win the big game in March IMO. But I did see that they got into the LIT by being the 16 seed unfortunately they have to play North Oldham but it could be worse. They could have had to play Male or St X. 8. Henry County- (5-8) the Wildcats have lost 3 in a row. But they are against really good teams in Danville Chr, Waggner and state ranked Grayson County. The boys from New Castle are gearing up for some big district games coming up. They are still my pick to cut down the nets in late February. 9. Grant County- (8-5) I really think this group has overachieved so far this season. They beat a solid Tates Creeks team on Saturday and have a chance to win a big region game tonight vs Oldham County. That should be a fun matchup to watch. 10. Walton Verona- (7-5) Coach Hester has his boys playing some good ball winning 7 games already this season after losing the best player in the region last season. They got a huge win over Connor on Saturday and are looking to add more wins as they begin the all A tourney tomorrow night. 11. Collins - (3-8) I have never rooted for a team the way I am rooting for the Titans this season. They have lost 8 in a row but they are fighting their butts off each game to get back in the winning circle. This week they have Anderson County and Grant County. Two games that will be tough but who knows, they might have one of those nights and pull off a win or two. 12. Gallatin County- (5-6) the way their season started, I really didn’t think they would be at 5 wins this early in the season but the Wildcats are fighting every night to compete. They have a big matchup in the All A Classic tomorrow against Owen. This will be a huge game for both teams. 13. Owen County (3-5) Even though this team has only won 3 games the district opponents better not take them lightly. They are working hard and believe they can beat anyone in the district. I am going to try and watch the game tomorrow night. Its going to be a battle vs Gallatin. 14. Shelby County (6-5) As I have said previously, this team has improved more than anyone. They have already won 6 games. The last few weeks they have given up 99points but they have also scored 102points. So they are not there yet but they are heading in the right direction. The team they up gave 99 points against was South Oldham in a Holiday Classic and unfortunately they have to play them again tonight. 15. Eminence-(7-5) Having a winning record is always fun for any team. This team has more wins in their future as well. They begin the All A classic tomorrow night vs Trimble which should be their 8th win of the season. 16. Carroll County- (8-5) Having 8 wins at the start of the new year is something that should be celebrated by the fine folks of Carrollton. This team is overachieving in my eyes and I hope they keep it going. 17. Trimble (4-10) Even though my pick is Eminence tomorrow night it would be a great moment for this group if they could get a round one win in the All A tomorrow night. I see enough wins on their schedule in the next two months that they have a legit chance to get to the 10 win mark. 18. Cornerstown Chr (3-7) Even though they got a tough matchup in the All A first round it will be good for them. It will get them better to play some opponents coming up that they can beat if they play well. 19. Williamstown- (0-11) They still have a goose egg in the wins column but they are not giving up. There are a few matchups in January where they will have a good chance to get a win.

Thanks for the update. Oldham County being led by 2 freshman. Future is bright for this program.

This is a great time of year. Region 8 opponents are off playing in Holiday tourneys and playing against new teams. Even though coaches want to win every game, this is a time of year that coaches play different lineups to get prepared for the second half of the season. North Oldham had a couple losses in the KOB but they were against top 5 teams. They remain on top. Woodford County and South Oldham stay put just because their resume and their talent justifies it. Simon Kenton is one of the hottest teams in region along with Spencer County. Its almost like those two teams have great coaches and know how to adjust after a few early losses. No surprise on their success. Oldham County is young so they seem to be a little losing streak but I feel they will be a tough team by February. Excited about 2026 and to see if who improves over the next few weeks. 1. North Oldham- The Mustangs beat a good Taylor County yesterday (Dec 27). Today they play Boyd County, which will be another good test for North Oldham. I know Ronda missed a game in the KOB tourney. I hope he is healthy and back on the court. 2. Woodford County- The Yellow Jackets lost yesterday by 3 to a really good Daviess County team. Today they will play Collins. Its always weird to get matched up with a district opponent during a Holiday Tourney. I think Woodford wins by 20plus. 3. South Oldham- similar to Woodford County, the Dragons lost yesterday to Waggener and today takes on a Region opponent in Shelby County. South wins this one by 20plus. 4. Simon Kenton- the boys from NKY have a 4 game winning streak going. Today however, they will play a very talented Jeffersontown bunch. It will be interesting to see if their zone can slow down the kids from Louisville that like to get up and down the floor. 5. Spencer County- even though Spencer lost to Oldham County the first game of the year, I am putting them at the 5th spot. I just feel they are playing better than OCHS right now. They are on a 6 game winning streak compared to the Colonels who have lost 3 in a row by double digits. 6. Oldham County- not sure if Oldham is fully healthy or not but they need a win. It looks like their competition the last few games are high level so I only dropped them one spot for this. 7. Anderson County- The Bearcats beat Region opponent Trimble County by 40pts to get their 9th win of the season. Like I have said before I can't believe this group is winning so many games. I hope they keep it rolling. 8. Henry County- the Wildcats are on a two game winning streak but take on a really good Danville Christian team today at their own Holiday Tourney. It will be interesting to see how they compete against them 9. Grant County- this group seems to be taking a long break if the KHSAA scoreboard is accurate. No games from Dec 22 to Jan 3. Can anyone confirm this? 10. Walton Verona- Looks like they have two games coming up at a The Dave Schabell Classic. They are setting at 4-4 and I know they would love to finish 2026 off with a winning record 11. Gallatin County- based on their 36 point lost to Bullitt Central I don’t feel great about putting them ahead of Collins but since Collins has had 6 losses in a row I decided to let them jump them. 12. Owen County- same reasoning for Owen.. They are not winning a lot but their scores look competitive and I just think they are better than Collins. 13. Collins- after today they will have 6 loses in a row. Like I have said previously, I am rooting for this group but without their best player and their coach its hard to win games. 14. Shelby County- the Rockets see that things are not going great across town so they are licking their chops to have another crack at the Titans. This group lost by 36 to a highly talents Grayson County team yesterday. Can they be competitive vs South Oldham today? 15. Eminence- three game winning streak at the end of 2025 is something to be excited about for this group. They have a big All “a” Classic matchup vs Trimble coming up on Jan 6 that they are preparing for currently. 16. Carroll County - the Panthers are 7-5. That is a great record for a team with the talent that they have. This group plays extremely hard each night. 17. Trimble County- 2 game winning streak is a big deal for team that is typically at the bottom of the ranking. This group have their sites on another win tomorrow vs Pineville. 18. Cornerstown Christian- they have won 3 games compared to Williamstown 0-8 record so they deserve to jump them 19. Williamstown- rooting for this group to get their first win of the season.

Bilton is a baller. Simon Kenton killing it and representing Region 8 in a holiday classic. GO SK!

2025 is almost over and Region 8th is looking to geared up for a great 2026. The good teams are good, the bad teams are bad and there are lot of teams in the middle that can compete but just not good enough to cut down the nets in March. North Oldham did a great job of representing at the King of the Bluegrass. They have one more game today, The Mustangs made the #1 team in the state very nervous for 32 minutes. North jumped on St X and was up double digits a lot of the first half. St X athleticism eventually took over and they won by 10 points but it was a much closer game than that. Most of the teams are performing like I thought they would but the biggest surprise for me is Anderson County. They lost a truck lot of seniors last year but they have gotten off to a hot start. With that said, I heard their Super Soph (Besley) got hurt and is out. So they could even be better than if he was out there. WOW! This week I am putting the record next to each team and whether they moved up or down in the rankings. Records can be misleading because we all know that records have a lot to do with the competition some schools choose to play. There is honestly not a ton of moving up or down compared to last week. But this is what I have! Rankings for Week 3: 1. North Oldham (6-1) (same) When your only loss of the season is against the #1 team in the state, its easy to say this is the best team in the region. They gave St X a great game. This team is getting better each game , which is a scary statement to make. The mustangs are being led by the two headed monster of Tommy Gregg 17ppg and Pierre Rondo 16ppg. The Junior and the 8th grader are a dominate duo who haven’t played together a lot in their career so the ceiling is very high for this duo to keep improving together. 2. Woodford County (4-1) (same) similar to North when your only loss is against a top 15 team (GRC) there is no reason to move them from their 2 spot. I still haven’t seen this team play live but I will soon. It sounds like Omari Joiner is the best athlete the region. I can't see all of his stat line but when you are averaging 22ppg 9rpg as a guard then that means you are a stud. Would love to see them match up against South Oldham or North Oldham during the season to get a gauge about my top 3 but I guess we will have to wait for March for those matchups. 3. South Oldham (5-3)(Same)- Steve Simpson has a group that can beat anyone on any given night. With the transfer of Nicco Ballard, from Collins, the Dragons are much better than I anticipated. Nicco has had the hottest start to the season as anyone. He is averaging 21ppg a game shooting 51% from threes and he has attempted close to a 100 already. That is ridiculous how good that is. South lost to CAL last week but finished the week off beating a really good Bryan Station team by 1. This team is similar to North Oldham in the fact that they will only get better since they have had injuries and still getting used to the fact that Nicco and Joaquin are studs and neither was on the floor together last season. 4. Simon Kenton –(2-4) (Same)- It looks really weird to have a 2-4 team as your 4th best team in the region but that is where they deserve to be. Their 2 wins were against Oldham County and Anderson County, who are both top 7 in the region and they only lost to North Oldham by 10 on the road. So I feel very good about them being where they are in the rankings even though it looks weird. Last week they lost to one of the best teams in the state in Cov Catholic but got a big road win vs. Anderson County. The Pioneers are being led by Braylon Bilton 17ppg and Eddie Marx 12ppg 5. Oldham County- (3-3) (same)- The Colonels have had back to back years of Seniors being hurt. Somone posted last week they are currently without both of their seniors due to injuries. Will Hinkle and Brooks Kightlinger would definitely be a big help for the young Colonels. On the bright side it has caused 2 freshman and a sophomore to really step up. Ty Bryant is avg 22ppg and Matt Withrow is at 15ppg . Not sure there is a freshman duo better than those two in the state. Malakye Bowen is a sophomore that is avg 16ppg. Looks like the Colonels give up a ton of points so their defense will definitely need to improve before March. 6. Spencer County (5-3) (same) This team is rolling as of late. Last week they went 3-0 beating Western Hills, Walton-Verona, and Franklin-Simpson. As I have stated before, they have a great culture in Taylorsville and they just keep winning. The group is led by their two seniors. Samual Seawright is a strong guard that can shoot the lights out and then use his strong frame to finish through contact. He is currently averaging 18ppg. The other senior, Brady Smith, has stepped up in a big way this season. He is averaging 13ppg. It will be interesting to see if they can compete with Woodford by the end of the season. 7. Anderson County (8-2) (up 1 spot) As I stated in my opening comments, the Bearcats have been my biggest surprise. With the amount of seniors they lost I didn’t think in a million years that they would be at 10 wins by the end of 2025. It looks like they will have a really good shot at getting there. I heard from a reliable source that Noah Beasley is hurt and out so I check the KHSAA stats and it looks like he has only played in 2 games. I hate to hear this because he is a great player. However, Andrew Sparrow (who transferred from Mercer County…..I think) is having a great year. He is one of the leading scorers in the entire region with 21ppg. Can this group continue to surprise people and get to the region this year? Only time with tell 8. Henry County (4-5) (up 1 spot) The Wildcats have dropped a few spots since the preseason rankings but they are up 1 spot from last week. They had 5 games last week. WOW. The team is looking to get healthy and making a run at a District Championship. They don’t have horses to win the region in my opinion but this group is a solid group that can make some of the top teams nervous if they are hitting shots. There is no surprise that Baylor Nolin is having an outstanding year avg 23ppg. The question is, is there always enough help around him to compete against the top 7 teams in the region? 9. Grant County (7-1) (up 1 spot) I might not have them high enough in the rankings. They have only had two region games this year and one of them they beat number 7, Anderson County. Tonight they play Spencer County. If they beat them I will be more of a believer and move them up multiple spots in the rankings. Coach Jones seems to be doing a great job with this group. Excited to see this group in person. Nathanael Hamm, Cade Wagner and Trent Blake are leading the team in scoring with 16ppg, 11ppg and 10ppg. 10. Walton Verona (4-3) (up 1 spot) WV is so close from being ranked higher. They have had two loses in the region one by 2 pt and the other by 6 points. I have them ranked higher than Collins even though Collins beat them. I just think they are heading in different directions so I thought they deserved the last spot in the top 10. They will be battling with Grant to get to the region this season. 11. Collins (3-4) (drop 4 spots) When you lose your coach and your best player things will not go well for a team. My heart goes out to the players that are gutting it out at Collins. No team should have to deal with what they are going through. I hope they can get back to basketball and having fun. Been a rough month for this school and this community. 12. Gallatin County (4-4)(up 3 spots) I went back and forth on whether I would put them ahead of Owen. I know they beat them but its just one game because based on the start of the season this team just didn’t look very good. Then I thought I would stop over thinking it and just move them. Head to head should mean something and it should mean more than poor performances at the beginning of the season. The coaching staff has done a great job of getting these boys believing in themselves. Are they going to keep Owen County out of the region this season? 13. Owen County (3-4) (down 1 spot) Last week this Owen gave Henry County a really good game and put them on notice that its not going to be a cake walk for them to win the Districts this season. OC got a big win vs Mason County last week. They are finishing up games in South Laurel today as they play Knox Central before taking a couple of weeks off from games. 14. Shelby County (2-2)(down 1 spot) Lost a close game to Southern over the weekend. They are going to eclipse their win total from last year in the next game or so. They may be the most improved team in the region from last year. Will be interesting to see if they can upset someone in the district come tourney time. 15. Eminence (3-3) (down 1 spot) 2 big wins last week got this team to .500 and it looks like they will be over .500 after tonight’s game vs Ft Knox. 16. Carroll County (3-4) (up 1 spot) The boys from Carrollton picked up a huge win over Trimble County last week in a convincing 17 point win. 17. Trimble County (1-6) (down 1 spot) The boys from Bedford are ready to pick up another win before the new year starts. They will have a great chance with 2 of the next 3 games coming up. 18. Williamstown (0-7) (same) Big game for this team today vs number 16, Carroll County. Can they compete with them and get their first win? 19. Cornerstown Christian (3-5) (same) They are ready to get out of the bottom spot. I have a feeling their scores even if they lose this week will give them enough credibility to move up past Williamstown.

73-63 final. North wins it.

Good question . I am not sure

Good question . I am not sure

56-47 North up after 3

42-35 mid way through the third

North up 36-23 at the half after it was tied 20 to 20 after 1 quarter.

Congrats to Coach Hyatt. I could see where coaching in your hometown would be rewarding and really tough at times. He is doing a great job.

Wow didn’t know all 3 of their seniors are out currently. Their 2 freshman seem to be playing well.

Yea they definitely have a schedule that is favorable. They did graduate 7 seniors off of last years team so it kinda makes sense.

The last month of basketball has been nuts. The teams in 8th region have been dealing with injuries, kids quitting, [redacted] and coaches getting suspended. Plus all the snow and cancellations have caused teams to be flexible. Crazy start….All of this and we are only in the second week of the season. WOW!!! North Oldham is still on top but they don’t seem to be as dominate as I thought they would be. Losing Austin Sears has caused other guys to play different roles. However, they are still the team to beat. South Oldham and Woodford County seem to be clicking on all cylinders; on the flip side Oldham County has came off of their high of going 2-0 in week one. Arguably their best all around player left the team. Then you have the situation that is going on at Collins. I am not a judge or jury but I know it makes me sad that the players at Collins are having to deal with this. Now onto to the rankings, its hard this time of year to move teams around. Obviously head to head games are the most important but sometimes its hard after one win to have a team skip over other teams they haven’t played yet.. Also, you have to take into count who is hurt or who didn’t play in a certain matchup. As always I will try my very best to be fair in my rankings . 1. North Oldham- the Mustangs will stay number 1 all season until someone proves otherwise. Its weird to say but they went 2-0 this past week but seem to struggle only scoring 46 points vs CAL and only beating Simon Kenton by 10pt at home. 2. Woodford County- last week the Yellowjackets only had 1 game per the KHSAA scoreboard and it was against Henry Clay. They have started the season 3-0. Huge matchup on Tuesday as they take on George Rogers Clark. 3. South Oldham- another year and another fun team to watch in Crestwood. They are shooting the long ball at an extremely high rate. Even though they have lost 2 non-region games I still think they are the top 3 in 8th region. 4. Simon Kenton- pretty good week for Simon who beat Oldham County at home by 14 and was tied with the best team in the region in the 3rd quarter but ran out of gas in the fourth quarter. This is a good group of young men that seem to step up to the challenges. 5. Oldham County- this time last week I was really high on this group but after one of their best players quit (not sure the reason), the Colonels will rely on their younger guys even more. 6. Spencer County- Two great wins last week vs DuBois and Evangel and losing to a ready good Eastern team by only 7 points. 7. Collins- this is just a sad situation. I don’t know the facts but I do know that their best player just transferred, and their coach is suspended again. I hate to say it but Collins might not win many more games this season in my opinion. I hope I am wrong. 8. Grant County- I am giving them the 8 spot since they beat Anderson and Herny lost to Anderson. Grant is 4-0 and I did not see this coming. I am excited for this group of young men. Hopefully they will keep it rolling 9. Anderson County- I would call the lost to Grant as an upset. This Anderson team has a lot more wins in them this season. 10. Henry County- not sure if all their guys are healthy and/eligible yet or not but when they are….. Watch out--- they might go on a long winning streak. 11. Walton Verona-this group is going to get better and better as the year goes on. They blew out Gallatin last week winning by 32points. 12. Owen County- huge win last week over a hungry Shelby County team. Heard it was a great game throughout…. Owen might surprise some folks this year. 13. Shelby County- lost by 2 to Owen County. They have already shown signs of being a lot better than they were last year. Coach Leslie has the boys believing. 14. Eminence – got them a big District win last week over Carroll. They have a lot of winnable games coming up in the coming weeks. 15. Gallatin County- this group has had some tough loses by a wide margin so far this year but a 12 point district win over Carroll County has to be a great feeling for them. 16. Trimble County- lost to Henry County by 38 a few days ago. They have two big district games coming up with Carroll and Gallatin. They are good enough to compete in both of those games. 17. Carroll County- Have lost 3 straight after starting the year with a win. Huge game against Trimble with a chance to move up in the polls. 18. Willamstown- still looking for this first win of the season. There are definitely some wins on their schedule if they keep working hard to improve. 19. Cornerstone Chr- have already won 2 games this season. They will play Eminence later this week to see if they can compete against stronger competition. Games of the Week: (not a lot of region matchups this week) Eminence at Henry County- always fun to watch a good county rivalry game. Eminence is not a push over but Henry just has too many athletes. BBALLJUNK pic- Henry by 20 Simon Kenton at Anderson County- pretty long bus ride to Lawrenceburg from Independence. Might take Simon a well to get their legs warmed up. I think this will be a great game. BBALLJUNKIE pick—Simon by 6 Gallatin at Trimble- since both on these teams are right next to each other at the bottom of the rankings I think this will be a great game. I am going to go with the home team in this matchup. BBALLJUNKIE pick- Trimble by 2 Walton Verona at Spencer- This will be a good test for Walton to see how good they really are against one of the best in the region the last 4 years. Winning in Taylorsville is not easy. BBALLJUNKIE pick- Spencer by 12

Wow. This is a huge upset based on our South Oldham started the season. Anderson County hasn’t lose a lot of region games over the last decade. Would have loved to watched this one

Great win by Simon . I thought the young Colonels would struggle playing there

Walton Verona in a close one.

Thanks for sharing. Love looking at this throughout the season.

South wins this one in my option because 1) they are good. 2) they shoot really good at home.

High school basketball is just funny.

We had a young man in our region last season, play the first 10 games of the season at one school and transferred to a school 8 miles away in the same county , sat out for 5-6 games and played for the new school the last 10 games of the same season . Saw it with my own eyes lol I couldn’t believe it!!!!

I know someone that spoke directly to dad and he said “I bought a practice here. We are are not leaving”

I must have missed that when I quickly looked through the schedule the last few seasons. Crossed town rivals are fun. Do you know if the game is being streamed?