I think by far the top four team are: Anderson , Shelby , Simon Kenton, and South Oldham. The order could go several ways but I would have to give a slight edge to South Oldham as they are returning all 5 starters from last years Region Runner-up performance. They are led by Lauren Jones(Sr.) who will also contend for region player of the year along with Gray and Tolliver- She has some impressive stats and has already scored just under 1500 points in her career. Had the voting for coach of the year been done after the regional tournament, their coach might have gotten the award. They had a great run and I think won 14 out of their last 15 games and better yet no one expected them to be there but them and they were!
Simon Kenton will be right in the mix if they can stay healthy and respond well to thier coach- he is fierce but I love his passion for the game. I would give the egde to Shelby over Anderson. Although Shelby lost a lot, Gray is a tremendous player that I think we will really see explode this year and they will be depending on her more than the past years. She is more than capable of putting up some great numbers. Coach Zimmerman always has them ready to play at the end of the year - they will be there!
One of the things that I think everyone gets tired of hearing about is the strength of schedule- but I do think that is why typically we see the same teams close to the top year after year. Tougher schedules even though you might have some loses to go along with that, prepare you for your run in March. It is intersting to look at all the teams schedules and see who is playing the tougher teams- within and outside the region. I think that all the schools should have to play each other at least every other year - how else do you get to know all the teams, coaches, and players? Just food for thought!