gchs_uk9

16 minutes ago, Breds82 said:

What would entice a coach with HC experience to apply for Russell Co.? I have zero clue on the history or facilities of the program. I do like the nickname though.

They aren't exactly a traditional power, but they've had some good teams and good coaches over the years. Ron Finley was there from 1976-86, winning two district titles, before starting the football program at Campbellsville University. Rodney Johnson was there 13 years in the 1990s-early 2000s and had nine winning seasons. Bill Sharp won 9, 11, and 10 games a season between 2010-12.

Russell County has traditionally had excellent baseball teams and solid basketball teams, although the move from the 12th Region to the 4th Region slowed some of their basketball success. Football has always seemed like their third interest, but as you can see above, it isn't an impossible place to have success.

This will be interesting to follow. There has been a number of Jefferson County Public School teams in Class 4A and 5A over the last 20 years that had one winning season and then immediately fell back. Only Fairdale has sustained much success within that group. If Jeffersontown can continue its forward progress, I believe it would be beneficial for the school and school district.

11 minutes ago, PTHSalumni said:

Who agrees with me that Tilghman needs to schedule LCA and Bowling Green next season? Both are supposed to be loaded, so it would be a huge test for the Blue.

 

2024? The schedules are already made since its year two of most contracts. I do think it would behoove them to add a couple teams like that in 2025-26, maybe someone like Bowling Green or Owensboro that are in the western part of the state and therefore a little closer to Tilghman.

18 minutes ago, LethalPG said:

Jeff Jackson, Lincoln Co. KABC Coach of the Year

"Tradition Never Graduates" is a phrase that comes to mind when thinking about Lincoln Co. basketball...

What's the old saying? "He can take his and beat yours or he can take yours and beat his." That pretty much sums up Jeff Jackson at Lincoln County. Terrific coach for many, many years.

10 minutes ago, REALSPORT said:

I don't believe they have anyone from Kentucky on their squad.

I'm a year behind. Grace Berger from Sacred Heart in Louisville was there last year, but she's in the WNBA now.

27 minutes ago, FJ11 said:

That is the correct date for week 1 as well as the start date for most, if not all, NKY games.  

I don't think so. Week 1 should be August 23, Week 11 is November 1. Thanksgiving is November 28/29 so that will be the state semifinals, with the championship games December 6/7.

https://khsaa.org/2024-2025-corresponding-calendar-planning-dates/

Isn't one of Indiana's best players a girl from Kentucky?

3 minutes ago, gchs_uk9 said:

Bottom line, we continue to do things the same exact way...

I'll add: not every message board post is worthy of changing rules, but I do wonder if the people from the schools and the people at the KHSAA ever seek out any other opinions on things like classification or is it vacuum/cocoon thinking? I know they did a survey of other state associations and how often they realign, but did they actually look at how they align? These aren't exactly life and death situations but it would be interesting to see some out-of-the-box thinking from time to time.

1 hour ago, DragonFire said:

Now, you'd have to figure out some method of determining who the best and worst in the classes are, but every two years, take the top 4 in classes 1A-5A and promote them, and the bottom 4 in classes 2A-6A and relegate them.  I believe you'd see a world of difference in how some teams would compete, and essentially 6A would become the best of the best (not totally far off how things are viewed now).

Indiana does something like this. It is called the "success quotient" and the more success you have you move up in class. There are some restrictions on it, however.

I also like the Florida plan, which in part divides schools into classes based on population density (rural, urban, metropolitan) which could work in Kentucky.

I've also heard several proposals than include things like free and reduced lunch in the school and other demographic calculators.

Bottom line, we continue to do things the same exact way and the same schools win everything. I like your mention of a school like Henry Clay, who would benefit from a drop down. What about a school like Ohio County or Muhlenberg County? Large enrollment, but very rural. They'd be much better served in Class 2A or 3A than having to get routed by Bowling Green and Owensboro every year.

14 hours ago, Runcible Owl said:

Ryle puts an exclamation point on their first winning season since 2013/2014

That's wild! Ten years without a winning record at a school that size and one that has a decent history of success.

11 minutes ago, okie1 said:

He had 3 straight fouls, all on the same play trying to fight over a screen to start the 2nd half.  Dillingham got called for the same foul...I think the LSU guy was the same players, he was pushing off and we grabbed to catch back up all 4 times.

Definitely thought the whistle got a little tight in the second half. Three straight fouls on Reeves there but they never showed a replay; I assumed it was some type of hold the way you described it. Then the announcer said Reeves had four fouls, which was incorrect. This all happened during the Caitlin Clark diatribe so I forgive them for choosing to discuss the more important issues.

16 hours ago, barrel said:

It is things like this that makes me wish we would do away with districts. Let teams form league/conferences. Find some way similar to other states to qualify for the playoffs. Some districts almost create a death sentence for programs. 

I've posted my proposed plan on here a few times but in a nutshell, I think teams should be "districted" within their basketball regions. Essentially, the 5 biggest schools in the region are one district, the next five are a second, and the smallest five a third. Obviously that would have to be adjusted some based on the number of teams in a region and the size of the schools.

Then use some type of rating system (not the RPI but maybe something Calpreps-ish?) to pick the 192 best teams. Divide those by their enrollment for that year into 6 groups of 32, seed them, and those are your classes. You might not be in the same class every season , but you would always be placed with 31 other schools that are close to you in enrollment.

That would keep teams from being placed into districts that stretch halfway across the state and it would assure schools of 4-5 games (2-3 at home) against local opponents that are traditional rivals you play every year in basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, etc.

14 minutes ago, No Hiding Here....BC 21 said:

Also, why do they not divide the total teams by 6 to set the classes?  Would that not help solve at least some of the 6 team districts?

Great question. There have always been just 32 teams in Class 1A and 6A since going to six classes in 2007. The reason given was the smallest schools in 1A are very small so you limit the numbers so they don't have to compete against so many big schools and the biggest in 6A are very large so you limit the numbers so there aren't as many smaller schools in the class.

For instance, using the 2019-22 alignment (since Covid did a number on 23-24), the smallest school in Class 1A (Fulton City) had 43 boys, the largest (Fort Knox) had 191. That's over 4x larger. In Class 6A, the smallest was Marshall County with 727 boys, the largest was St. Xavier with 1344. That's 2x larger. Even if you only look at the largest 6A public school for that cycle (Henry Clay), they had 1187 boys, which is still 450 more kids - a gap twice as wide as that of any school in Classes 2A-5A.

So to answer the question, the gap between largest and smallest in Class 1A and 6A is extremely wide. By only placing 32 teams in the class, the KHSAA has attempted to at least shrink that gap just a bit.

4 minutes ago, tcjkbt said:

You see a result like this and you wonder if any team can win 6 straight in the NCAA tournament, but of course someone will.    I thought UConn were world beaters against Marquette a few days ago.  I guess they still could be world beaters as long as their world does not include Creighton.

Weekday road games halfway across the country at the 15th ranked team in America can make things tough. I still think UConn is the team to beat and I have little faith in Creighton, who seem to bust my bracket every year.

11 hours ago, LethalPG said:

Somerset defeated Boyle Co. tonight 53-39.  Good bounce back W for the Jumpers!

Good win for the Jumpers. Outside of DCA, this region is full of teams that have capability but can also be defeated. I think it should make for an interesting region tournament.

1 hour ago, LethalPG said:

Just posting the score.  SW played well, and beat them on a buzzer beater Friday night.  It happens in rivalry games.  They’re 18-9, so in fact have not been losing every game as some act! lol. 

Saw Southwestern play last night. I know their record isn't great (12-15 now), but they have the makings of solid club. Lots of sophomores, good size, really got after it defensively. I'm not sure I'd want to draw them in the first round of the region.

On 2/19/2024 at 5:27 PM, Colonels_Wear_Blue said:

2023 Regular Season Results: 2-8
2023 Playoffs: 0-1 (Opening round loss to Louisville Holy Cross)

If you were to try to summarize the 2023 Russellville Panthers in one word, that word, for many, might be "young." Coach Benton's roster included a mere 5 seniors, and overall, the underclassmen outnumbered the upperclassmen on the 41-player roster nearly 2 to 1.

Some folks felt the Panthers struggled to find their identity on offense, with junior Octavius McKeage getting the QB nod early on in the season, and then a mid-season pivot that moved junior Hunter Hallman into the position and used McKeage's talents elsewhere on offense and defense. Both players will be back for the 2024 season as seniors, as well as Jamarion Gardner, who led in rushing last year as a freshman, and JaCoveon Temple-Dickerson who led in receiving as a freshman, as well. On defense, Russellville will still be young, but benefits from the return of 8 of their 10 leading tacklers.

2024 Schedule:
Aug 9 vs. Hopkinsville (Scrimmage)
Aug 16 vs. Ohio County (Scrimmage)
Aug 23 vs. Warren Central (at Logan County Lewisburg Bank Bowl)
Aug 30 at Glasgow
Sep 6 vs. Logan County
Sep 13 vs. Trigg County (Linton/Wren Kickoff Classic)
Sep 20 vs. Franklin-Simpson
Sep 27 at Todd County Central
Oct 4 vs. Ballard Memorial (District)
Oct 11 - BYE
Oct 18 at Caverna (District)
Oct 25 at Fulton County (District)
Nov 1 vs. Paducah Tilghman

What is that Warren Central logo, @DragonFire?

1 hour ago, Breds82 said:

I’ll go out on a limb and say Beechwood could rest their starters (given they have the numbers) for all of district play. 

Same district as 2023-24, with the exception of losing Carroll County and adding St. Henry.

2 hours ago, BEChargers said:

Man, 3A has a lot of teams.  

40 teams, just like the others. Just exceptionally long names for several of the teams! Something County Central for everyone!

6 minutes ago, theguru said:

Is that the Commish saying we have a bunch of crybabies in Kentucky or is he saying something else?

Everyone's favorite form of alignment is the one that puts all the easy teams in my bracket and all the hard teams in the opposite bracket.

4 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

2A. You can't have a district with 4 teams and a district with 6 teams right next to each other.

Past history says you absolutely can! 😂

Keep in mind the above is a DRAFT. It will be voted on officially at the May meeting. I’m sure schools will be able to comment/request between now and then. 

Draft Alignment

 

Class 1A

District 1- Ballard Memorial, Caverna, Fulton County, Russellville

District 2- Bethlehem, Campbellsville, Holy Cross (Louisville), Kentucky Country Day

District 3- Bellevue, Dayton, Newport, Newport Central Catholic

District 4- Bishop Brossart, Holy Cross (Covington), Ludlow, Trimble County

District 5- Berea, Eminence, Frankfort, Sayre

District 6- Fairview, Nicholas County, Paris, Raceland

District 7- Harlan, Lynn Camp, Middlesboro, Pineville, Williamsburg

District 8- Hazard, Jenkins, Paintsville, Phelps, Pikeville

 

Class 2A

District 1- Caldwell County, Crittenden County, Fort Campbell, Mayfield, Todd County Central, Trigg County

District 2- Fort Knox, Hancock County, McLean County, Owensboro Catholic

District 3- Clinton County, Green County, Metcalfe County, Monroe County, Somerset

District 4- Danville, Lexington Christian, Shawnee, Washington County, WEB DuBois

District 5- Beechwood, Bracken County, Gallatin County, Owen County, St. Henry District, WaltonVerona

District 6- Breathitt County, Jackson County, Morgan County, West Carter

District 7- Floyd Central, Knott County Central, Leslie County, Martin County, Prestonsburg

District -8 Belfry, Betsy Layne, East Ridge, Pike County Central, Shelby Valley

 

Class 3A

District 1- Hopkins County Central, Murray, Union County, Webster County

District 2- Adair County, Butler County, Edmonson County, Glasgow, Hart County

District 3- Bardstown, Central, Christian Academy-Louisville, DeSales, Thomas Nelson, Western

District 4- Casey County, Garrard County, LaRue County, Lexington Catholic, Mercer County

District 5- Bourbon County, Carroll County, Henry County, Lloyd Memorial, Pendleton County

District 6- Bath County, East Carter, Fleming County, Lewis County, Russell

District 7- Bell County, Clay County, Knox Central, McCreary Central, Rockcastle County

District 8- Estill County, Lawrence County, Letcher County Central, Magoffin County, Powell County

 

Class 4A

District 1- Allen County-Scottsville, Calloway County, Franklin-Simpson, Logan County, Paducah Tilghman, Warren East

District 2- Breckinridge County, Elizabethtown, John Hardin, Marion County, Nelson County

District 3- Doss, North Oldham, Valley, Waggener

District 4- Franklin County, Shelby County, Spencer County, Western Hills

District 5- Covington Catholic, Grant County, Harrison County, Highlands, Holmes, Mason County

District 6- Ashland Blazer, Boyd County, Greenup County, Johnson Central, Rowan County

District 7- Boyle County, Lincoln County, Russell County, Taylor County, Wayne County

District 8- Corbin, Harlan County, Perry County Central, Whitley County

 

Class 5A

District 1- Apollo, Graves County, Madisonville-North Hopkins, Marshall County, Muhlenberg County, Owensboro

District 2- Barren County, Bowling Green, Grayson County, Greenwood, Ohio County, Warren Central

District 3- Atherton, Butler, Iroquois, Seneca

District 4- Bullitt Central, Fairdale, Jeffersontown, Moore, North Bullitt

District 5- Boone County, Conner, Cooper, Dixie Heights, Scott

District 6- Anderson County, Collins, Scott County, South Oldham, Woodford County

District 7- East Jessamine, Madison Southern, Montgomery County, West Jessamine

District 8- North Laurel, Pulaski County, South Laurel, Southwestern

 

Class 6A

District 1- Christian County, Henderson County, Hopkinsville, McCracken County

District 2- Central Hardin, Daviess County, Meade County, North Hardin, South Warren

District 3- DuPont Manual, Pleasure Ridge Park, St. Xavier

District 4- Bullitt East, Fern Creek, Male, Southern

District 5- Ballard, Eastern, Oldham County, Trinity (Louisville)

District 6- Campbell County, Great Crossing, Ryle, Simon Kenton

District 7- Henry Clay, Lafayette, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Tates Creek

District 8- Bryan Station, Frederick Douglass, George Rogers Clark, Madison Central,

 

4 hours ago, LouHSJunkie said:

@gchs_uk9 I think Evangel makes it to Rupp for the first time ever! They have a great team!

I saw them at the All A but it was against Murray, who didn't have the athleticism to keep up with Evangel. The second half turned into a layup line and dunk fest. I know there are teams in the 6th Region that can compete with them, but I'm with you, this might be their year.

It seems like the 6th Region always has a ton of good teams and no clear favorite. The region champion has been a surprise team a few times, too. Evangel looks like the favorite here, but will they get to Rupp?