[Stardust]

With just one regional championship in its history, the Trinity High School basketball program doesn’t have the glowing history to match many of its Louisville counterparts.

But if preseason rankings are any indication, the Shamrocks are in position to do something only one Louisville team has done since 1999 – win a state title.

With three seniors already signed with colleges and two of the state’s top juniors in the lineup, Trinity is No. 1 in The Courier-Journal’s preseason poll of coaches as opening night approaches Nov. 28.

It’s new territory for a program that won its only Seventh Region title in 2004 before falling to Mason County in the Sweet 16 quarterfinals.

“It’s certainly nice to have that kind of respect, and I’m proud of my guys for earning that kind of respect,” said Trinity’s Mike Szabo, entering his 11th season as head coach. “Now you have to go play the season.”

The Shamrocks received 72 of the 104 first-place votes from coaches across the state and have plenty of Louisville-area company in the top 10.

Ballard, featuring four stellar underclassmen, is No. 2, with Bullitt East at No. 4, Pleasure Ridge Park at No. 6 and Moore at No. 7.

Ballard won the last of its state titles in 1999, but a Louisville-area squad has won only one championship since – Jeffersontown in 2006.

“In my 14 years at Ballard, I can kind of gauge what a regional-championship and state-championship team is, and this team has the pieces to win one,” Ballard coach Chris Renner said. “These guys are hungry, and we gained a lot of experience last year.”

Trinity and Ballard had been together in the 27th District before realignment moved the Bruins to the 28th District this season. The teams aren’t scheduled to meet in the regular season, though a matchup in the Louisville Invitational Tournament is possible.

Of course, the ultimate meeting could come in March during the Seventh Region Tournament, with the winner likely entering the Sweet 16 as the favorite.

A lot can happen before then, but here’s a look at both teams as the season gets under way:

THE RUNNIN’ ROCKS

Seniors Nathan Dieudonne (Boston University), Charles Foster (Morehead State) and Troy Saxton (Alabama-Huntsville) already have signed to play college ball, but the addition of junior Darryl Hicks has pushed the Shamrocks into elite status in Kentucky.

The 6-foot-4 guard/forward averaged 14.3 points per game as a freshman at Shelby County, including a memorable performance in the first round of the Sweet 16. In a 90-80 loss to Ballard, Hicks hit 6 of 11 three-point tries and finished with 30 points and six rebounds.

Because of Kentucky High School Athletic Association transfer rules, Hicks sat out all of last season but spent most of his time soaking up the Trinity system from the bench.

“It was definitely tough sitting out, but I actually got to watch games and see what I could do on the court to help the team,” said Hicks, who’s ranked among the nation’s top 30 junior shooting guards by Scout.com. “I learned a whole lot.”

Juniors James Quick, the outstanding wide receiver in football, and Miles Rice round out Trinity’s top six. Only the 6-7 Dieudonne has much size, but Szabo likes the quickness and versatility of this team.

“All of these guys can pass, can dribble, can shoot,” he said. “We’re not a very big team, but we can play guys in multiple positions.”

As a result, Trinity plans to shed its label as a methodical, grind-it-out offense and get the ball up and down the court.

Szabo admits that’s a little bit against his coaching nature.

“It’s going to be much different,” he said. “We have to take advantage of what we have, and what we have is speed and athleticism and guys who can shoot. …

“We’ll try to run every chance we can. I’d be foolish with this group to try to walk it up the floor and grind it out in the halfcourt.”

BRUINS DEEP, TALENTED

Top scorer DeVante Parker now is playing football at the University of Louisville, but Ballard returns four others who averaged at least 7.7 points last season.

Leading the way is 6-foot-1 sophomore guard Quentin Snider (12.7 ppg), who already has committed to play basketball at U of L.

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