loubballfan

Team chemistry is also huge and I think Manual, Seneca, and Trinity had issues at times during the season last year

My fault. I would also put Male in that mix of teams that could knock off Eastern!

Agreed! It has to be Eastern on top with Jtown, Manual, Trinity, Ballard, Seneca, all in the mix behind them. My guess is that Moore, Fern Creek, CAL, and StX still are not going to be at the level of the group above.

Remember though, Sewell played the post until he was a freshman and never handled the ball so he has only had 2-3 years to really focus on his ball handling. He has made a lot of progress in this area and I think he still has a lot of room to improve. He already has at least eight offers from mid-majors and that list will probably expand after this summers' AAU circuit.

I wouldn't place them in the preseason top ten. As a glimpse of the future, they really struggled in the regional semis against Jtown getting the ball up the floor when Cox and Perkins were out with foul trouble so they have to find someone to run the point. Keep an eye on Keiston Jones, this kid has a huge upside!

This depends on whether we are discussing high school career or college potential. I think when all is said and done, Stenzel and Sewell will have similar high school careers but if you are talking about college potential I don't think it's even close. Although Stenzel has nice shooting range and is certainly an excellent player, Sewell can get to the hole and finish much better and is much, much stronger and I think the strength issue is what will seperate the two in college.

Ballard will be in the mix again next year led by Keiston Jones(possibly the most improved junior in the state) and Ian Chiles. They willl have a hard time replacing Wesley Cox and Paul Perkins at point guard and they may struggle getting the ball up the floor. Also, they will again lack a strong inside presence so I wouldn't place them on the same level as Eastern and Jtown but, as always, they will be a tough out in the 7th.

Keiston Jones will be a senior next year and was Ballard's best player at the end of the year. If he continues to improve at the same rate he did this year he may be as good as anybody on your top 10 list by the end of next year. He is probably the most athletic kid in the junior class and can jump as high as anyone even though he is only about 6'2". Going to be fun to watch him continue his meteroric imporovement. :ylsuper:

No offense intended to these two players as they are certainly quality kids but I would like to see what they would do playing in the 7th,9th or 11th with quality athletic defenders going against them most every night. I think of kids like Zach McElwain at Seneca and Delquan Thomas at Eastern and I have a hard time believing they could not achieve similar numbers if allowed the same number of shots and minutes as Justice and Polson!

The best rising seniors out of Louisville next year IMO and in no order 6th region- Donovan Gibbs- Iroquois Chris Richard- Southern 7th region- Keiston Jones- Ballard Josh Sewell- Trinity Aaron Cosby- Jtown Thomas Jackson- Jtown Tim Henderson- CAL Ian Chiles- Ballard

Delete

Ballard will lose Cox and Perkins and needs to find someone to step in at the point guard position. They return Chiles, Jones, Means, and several other players so they will still be tough but losing the above players will hurt and I would not expect them in the top 10! 7th region will be between Eastern and Jtown again with Ballard, Seneca, Trinity, Male, and Manual in the group chasing them.

Congrats to Holmes! They were one of a few teams (Scott Co, Elliott) mentioned all year as potential state champions and they survived and did what they had to to do to win. Hats off to the kids and their coach!

This could be interesting. This will be by far the strongest and most athletic interior players Holmes will face all year so it will be interesting to see how the rebounding situation goes. Alex Morrison will need to hit a few threes for Central and Holmes will have to handle Central's speed but with all that being said, I'd have to give the nod to Holmes.

I agree! If you look at them during the season a lot of teams hang with them early and they just take over in the 2nd half. I'm not sure it would have mattered if the Corbin player had not gotten hurt but no one will ever know?

If Eastern wins against Central, they will very tough in the finals. I would be surprised if Grayson or Jessamine could hang with them. They rebound at every position better than anyone in the state, regardless of size!

We are on post 40 and I can't believe that no one has mentioned Delquan Thomas from Eastern. He may be the best of all of them! He is strong, handles the ball well under pressure, rebounds better than any of the other guards and his team has won the 7th region where he has faced more pressure defense than any other region, with the possible exception of the 11th. I think Justice is an excellent player but would struggle with Eastern as everyone they put on the floor is at least 6'0" and far longer and more athletic than he is. And yes, I have seen him play! Thomas is not a prolific scorer but can score when his team needs him to. :thumb:

I don't care how big Corbin is, I'd be shocked if Eastern doesn't get a ton of offensive rebounds and putbacks. That's how they Win! Every player for Eastern is big and physical, especially the guards!

Neither team played well. If Trinity shows up with the same effort on Monday, Eastern will blow them out!! :scared:

So are you upset with the coaching? I'm not quite sure what you're getting at but remember, the one thing about playoff time is that the best team on paper doesn't always win. Hats off to Lafayette!

Should be two good games! Trinity will have to slow down Eric Mosley, arguably the best scorer in the senior class in the state, and Moore will have to contain Sewell and Trinity's interior size. If Manual is playing well and Jenkins is hitting, Eastern could have their hands full in the second game. Nikolic at 6' 9" has been playing well and will be a matchup problem. Remember, games are at Bellarmine this year

More importantly, I seriously doubt Eastern, Jtown, or Ballard are the least bit afraid that Trinity is still alive! It takes thre good games and if Sewell, Little, and Epley play well Trinity will be a tough out!

They look for the three if they don't get an easy bucket so I bet it would be rare for them to only take a couple in a half

If Ballard shoots 50% or better from three in the 1st half in the regional games it won't matter what Trinity or any other 7th region team does. It will be OVER!

I was not aware of this. That makes sense but it is still a bit odd that the 6th is so down this year as they are usually on equal footing over the past few years.:idunno: