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03-25-2018, 01:54 AM
As things stand right now, who are the top teams going into next year?
Any surprises?
Any surprises?
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03-27-2018, 05:58 PM
Probably going to leave some teams out, so my apologies. Same goes for if I include someone who clearly shouldn't be in the discussion. Right now, I think that these teams (no particular order) would probably at least be in the discussion though.
Usual Suspects:
Ballard: self explanatory... they don't rebuild, they reload;
Trinity: David Johnson and company return... the only senior on last year's team was Jay Scrubb, and while that's obviously a huge loss, they'll undoubtedly be locked in a battle with Ballard and others as tops in the Louisville area and State;
Scott County: Michael Moreno is probably the early pick for Mr. Basketball, or at least high on anyone's ballot, and their returning core will be back and looking to avenge a Finals loss... I was a big fan of Cooper Robb and think his loss might hurt more than suspected early, but that they'll be able to find their way;
Madison Central: Always well-coached... I'm a fan of Feldhaus. Another year of development with Cozart will push the rest of 11th, especially those without a dominant big or someone who can keep a body on him to keep him from roaming free and blocking shots;
Should Be There:
Covington Catholic: Ruthsatz really has things rolling in Northern Kentucky... know that they lose a lot but can't imagine them not being in the Top 25;
South Laurel: lots of talent returning and should be in the middle-ish of the pack after playing a tough schedule last year;
Adair County: contingent on Harmon staying;
Hopkinsville: lose Cager and a couple of other seniors but played a lot of kids and return lots of scoring and experience as well;
University Heights: Tandy and core keep them here;
Mayfield: Good record this year and unless I'm mistaken, will only lose two seniors who combined to average 5.6 points on a team that averaged roughly 70 points per game... last year's core were mostly Juniors as well, so they'll be senior dominated as well;
Lexington Christian: lost 3 seniors and though Hendrickson and Hall were a lot, they return Kyle Rode and have a lot of momentum;
Waggener: talented team, and the majority of the roster were Juniors last season... they'll lose some contributors, but have a lot coming back, and, unless I'm mistaken, this class is the one that the program has been building around for a few years;
Newport: Solid record and ranking last season and return three of their top four scorers next season, with top three returnees each averaging over 10 points per game... Tahj Harding averaged 14.9 points and 10.6 boards... Makhi McGuire averaged 10.4 and shot 39% from three...
At Least In The Discussion:
Lexington Catholic: losing Payne, Sparkman, Bailey and a cast of seniors will hurt, but Ben Johnson returns and they had an opportunity to jumpstart their rebuild due to Payne's late injury... lots of kids were counted on to play bigger roles than expected... offseason could be interesting;
Henry Clay: Warrick, Brown, Hawkins return from a team that only had two seniors last year... Brown's teams are well coached and usually find a way to overachieve in the postseason despite sometimes being overlooked;
Bryan Station: Boone is gone, but Burbage, Morones, Curry, Simpson, and a roster loaded with freshman last year should be competitive;
PRP: Lost quite a bit, but Fern Creek lost more and, for my money, Dale Mabrey is one of the top coaches of all-time;
Butler: Not going to pretend to know much about them, but looks like they were there this year and have a decent amount of scoring returning... also looks like they, like PRP, played a lot of kids last year, so they'll probably have a bit of experience at least;
George Rogers Clark: Canada and Graham were last year's leading scorers and each return... could be someone to look for toward the middle or end of the list;
St. Xavier: Team should be led by a core of Juniors... have been slowly rising in the Louisville hierarchy, but not sure that they'll be a lock to be rated right off the bat, though at minimum, I'd expect them to be ranked at some point;
John Hardin: Lost their top three scorers, including one of the State's best in Mickey Pearson, but return a lot of solid role players, most of whom will be juniors or seniors this season... how high they go is probably going to depend on how well they are able to replicate the scoring volume of Pearson, whether that's stretched out over all of the returners or one or two players who see a huge uptick in scoring opportunities;
There's twenty-one that I'll throw out there. Know I'm probably missing a handful and also have some that are included but shouldn't be.
Usual Suspects:
Ballard: self explanatory... they don't rebuild, they reload;
Trinity: David Johnson and company return... the only senior on last year's team was Jay Scrubb, and while that's obviously a huge loss, they'll undoubtedly be locked in a battle with Ballard and others as tops in the Louisville area and State;
Scott County: Michael Moreno is probably the early pick for Mr. Basketball, or at least high on anyone's ballot, and their returning core will be back and looking to avenge a Finals loss... I was a big fan of Cooper Robb and think his loss might hurt more than suspected early, but that they'll be able to find their way;
Madison Central: Always well-coached... I'm a fan of Feldhaus. Another year of development with Cozart will push the rest of 11th, especially those without a dominant big or someone who can keep a body on him to keep him from roaming free and blocking shots;
Should Be There:
Covington Catholic: Ruthsatz really has things rolling in Northern Kentucky... know that they lose a lot but can't imagine them not being in the Top 25;
South Laurel: lots of talent returning and should be in the middle-ish of the pack after playing a tough schedule last year;
Adair County: contingent on Harmon staying;
Hopkinsville: lose Cager and a couple of other seniors but played a lot of kids and return lots of scoring and experience as well;
University Heights: Tandy and core keep them here;
Mayfield: Good record this year and unless I'm mistaken, will only lose two seniors who combined to average 5.6 points on a team that averaged roughly 70 points per game... last year's core were mostly Juniors as well, so they'll be senior dominated as well;
Lexington Christian: lost 3 seniors and though Hendrickson and Hall were a lot, they return Kyle Rode and have a lot of momentum;
Waggener: talented team, and the majority of the roster were Juniors last season... they'll lose some contributors, but have a lot coming back, and, unless I'm mistaken, this class is the one that the program has been building around for a few years;
Newport: Solid record and ranking last season and return three of their top four scorers next season, with top three returnees each averaging over 10 points per game... Tahj Harding averaged 14.9 points and 10.6 boards... Makhi McGuire averaged 10.4 and shot 39% from three...
At Least In The Discussion:
Lexington Catholic: losing Payne, Sparkman, Bailey and a cast of seniors will hurt, but Ben Johnson returns and they had an opportunity to jumpstart their rebuild due to Payne's late injury... lots of kids were counted on to play bigger roles than expected... offseason could be interesting;
Henry Clay: Warrick, Brown, Hawkins return from a team that only had two seniors last year... Brown's teams are well coached and usually find a way to overachieve in the postseason despite sometimes being overlooked;
Bryan Station: Boone is gone, but Burbage, Morones, Curry, Simpson, and a roster loaded with freshman last year should be competitive;
PRP: Lost quite a bit, but Fern Creek lost more and, for my money, Dale Mabrey is one of the top coaches of all-time;
Butler: Not going to pretend to know much about them, but looks like they were there this year and have a decent amount of scoring returning... also looks like they, like PRP, played a lot of kids last year, so they'll probably have a bit of experience at least;
George Rogers Clark: Canada and Graham were last year's leading scorers and each return... could be someone to look for toward the middle or end of the list;
St. Xavier: Team should be led by a core of Juniors... have been slowly rising in the Louisville hierarchy, but not sure that they'll be a lock to be rated right off the bat, though at minimum, I'd expect them to be ranked at some point;
John Hardin: Lost their top three scorers, including one of the State's best in Mickey Pearson, but return a lot of solid role players, most of whom will be juniors or seniors this season... how high they go is probably going to depend on how well they are able to replicate the scoring volume of Pearson, whether that's stretched out over all of the returners or one or two players who see a huge uptick in scoring opportunities;
There's twenty-one that I'll throw out there. Know I'm probably missing a handful and also have some that are included but shouldn't be.
03-27-2018, 07:28 PM
George Rogers Clark is a top 10 team preseason next year
Paducah Tilghman will build off their hot start this season and be a force next year
LaRue County will be the class of the 5th region, they lose one senior off a 30 + win team.
Paducah Tilghman will build off their hot start this season and be a force next year
LaRue County will be the class of the 5th region, they lose one senior off a 30 + win team.
05-22-2018, 05:49 AM
Platinum & Gold Wrote:George Rogers Clark is a top 10 team preseason next year
Paducah Tilghman will build off their hot start this season and be a force next year
LaRue County will be the class of the 5th region, they lose one senior off a 30 + win team.
Pre-season GRC won't be ranked #1 in the 10th region. Scott will be. They return everyone from the region runner up team this past year.
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