As we reach the halfway point of the regular season schedule for Kentucky high school basketball teams, it seems like a good time to provide an update on how local individuals and teams are doing in the latest KHSAA statewide statistical rankings. Below are 24 boys and girls statistical categories charted by the KHSAA. All local leaders are pulled from the KHSAA’s top 50 in each category. There is a Northern Kentucky leader in every category. All stats are through games Jan. 7. Nearly every area team has updated its statistics at the KHSAA, so this is a fairly inclusive list of Northern Kentucky’s state basketball leaders. State ranks are to the far left.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Scoring Leaders (points per game)
18. Johnson, Andy, Cooper 25.0
25. Johnson, Mason, Dayton 24.0
38. Gutman, Aaron, Walton-Verona 22.2
50. Kinney, Taylen, Newport 21.3
Andy Johnson has been out with an injury since the first week of the season. Mason Johnson returned Jan. 2 from a six-game absence and promptly dropped 30 points on Ludlow and it wasn’t even his season high.
Rebounding Leaders (rebounds per game)
6. Thole, Henry, Villa Madonna 13.4
25. Walker, EJ, Lloyd Memorial 10.6
26. Miller, Caden, Covington Catholic 10.5
32. Perrin, Elijah, Ludlow 10.0
34. Johnson, Andy, Cooper 10.0
Henry Thole has dropped from among the KHSAA’s scoring leaders but he remains high on the rebounds list and paces area leaders by a wide margin. There are just 12 players among KHSAA leaders with at least 12 rebounds per game and Thole is one of them.
Field Goal Shooting Leaders
7. Jones, Maddox, Boone County 68.4%
12. Miller, Caden, Covington Catholic 66.9%
18. Walker, EJ, Lloyd Memorial 66.1%
Caden Miller and E.J. Walker show up a second time, in the same categories. While Walker has the slight edge in rebounding, Miller has the slight edge in field goal shooting percentage. Leading them all locally is Maddox Jones and it’s not a fluke. Jones shot 65.5% from the field last season.
Free Throw Shooting Leaders
1. Arlinghaus, Luke, Holy Cross (Covington) 93.5%
10. Moeves, Brayden, Highlands 87.0%
19. Kinney, Taylen, Newport 85.1%
20. Sarakatsannis, Xarek, Scott 85.1%
23. McElheney, William, Holy Cross (Covington) 84.8%
24. Smith, Zach, Walton-Verona 84.6%
44. Rondon, Yamil, Cooper 82.4%
46. Sullivan, Jack, Beechwood 82.1%
49. Johnson, Andy, Cooper 81.8%
Pretty much nothing but net for top-ranked Luke Arlinghaus, who is fueling the area’s best showing with nine players among KHSAA leaders. Arlinghaus missed just four of his first 62 free throw attempts. Not only the KHSAA leader, Arlinghaus is the only player in Kentucky shooting better than 90% from the line. His Holy Cross teammate, William McElheney, has missed just seven free throws in 46 attempts.
3-point Shooting Leaders
3. Derry, Griffin, Dixie Heights 52.5%
7. Johnson, Mason, Dayton 46.7%
15. Krohman, Travis, Simon Kenton 45.3%
17. Moeves, Brayden, Highlands 44.5%
27. Mulberry, Parker, Bishop Brossart 39.4%
These are the percentage leaders among the KHSAA’s top 50 for 3-point shots made per game. Griffin Derry is ranked tied for 26th by the KHSAA in 3-pointers made per game with 3.2. Travis Krohman is ranked fourth by the KHSAA and is first locally with 4.2 3-pointers made per game.
Team Scoring Leaders (points per game)
14. Boone County 74.8
25. Walton-Verona 72.5
Boone County’s scoring average is up nearly 20% over last season. The Rebels averaged 60 points per game in 2022-23. Walton-Verona averaged 77.4 points per game last season
Team Rebounding Leaders (rebounds per game)
7. Boone County 36.2
12. Ludlow 35.1
33. Ryle 33.0
36. Villa Madonna 32.6
42. Bellevue 32.2
The Rebels rack up a lot of second-chance points and this category shows why. Boone County can crash the boards. Ludlow is 10th in Kentucky and first locally in total rebounds with 492.
Team Defense Leaders (points allowed per game)
2. Covington Latin 45.5
16. Campbell County 50.4
22. Covington Catholic 52.0
37. Cooper 54.4
40. Newport 54.5
44. Holy Cross (Covington) 54.8
Among teams with at least 10 games played, Campbell County is the local leader in scoring defense. The Camels rank 10th in Kentucky in fewest points allowed with 655.
Team Scoring Margin Leaders
12. Campbell County 17.4
16. Walton-Verona 16.4
19. Covington Catholic 15.9
28. Newport 13.6
The Camels’ defense is fueling a disparity in points between them and their opponents. Walton-Verona’s offense is fueling its points differential.
Team Field Goal Shooting Leaders
2. Lloyd Memorial 54.5%
19. Newport 51.5%
22. Covington Catholic 51.1%
36. Dixie Heights 49.6%
39. Boone County 49.4%
The Juggernauts have a decent lead over Newport, which is edging Covington Catholic, so it’s no surprise these are three of the top teams in the 9th Region.
Team Free Throw Shooting Leaders
12. Holy Cross (Covington) 75.8%
36. Lloyd Memorial 72.7%
40. Highlands 72.4%
43. Scott 71.8%
The Juggernauts show up again, this time from the line. If that isn’t impressive enough, the Juggernauts are also Kentucky’s top shooting team from long range. See next entry.
Team 3-point Shooting Leaders
1. Lloyd Memorial 45.3%
6. Dixie Heights 41.3%
27. Covington Catholic 38.6%
40. Newport 37.4%
The Juggernauts’ selectivity from behind the 3-point arc is a key to their high conversion rate of better than 45%. With nearly 100 3-point attempts more than Lloyd, Dixie Heights is still hitting over 41%. CovCath and Newport are among KHSAA team leaders in four categories each.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Scoring Leaders (points per game)
11. Eaglin, Caroline, Newport Central Catholic 23.4
The Thoroughbreds’ Caroline Eaglin sits alone among local KHSAA leaders. Just 13 girls in Kentucky are averaging at least 23 points per game.
Rebounding Leaders (rebounds per game)
25. LaBordeaux-Humphrey, Joslyn, Boone County 11.1
41. Terrell, Braylin, Walton-Verona 10.1
44. Green, Marissa, Highlands 9.9
45. Eubank, Quinn, Ryle 9.9
47. Hooper, Lyric, Boone County 9.9
Joslyn LaBordeaux-Humphrey is one of the more unheralded local leaders while Braylin Terrell is averaging a double-double when it comes to rebounding and scoring (11.4 ppg). Marissa Green makes the first of two appearances for Highlands.
Field Goal Shooting Leaders
3. Green, Marissa, Highlands 67.2%
10. Shewmaker, Rachel, Bishop Brossart 60.9%
17. Kendall, Ava, Walton-Verona 58.3%
41. Peterson, Kourtney, Scott 55.4%
44. Deere, Bella, Cooper 54.7%
49. Terrell, Braylin, Walton-Verona 54.0%
Marissa Green is far and away the local leader and just percentage points behind the KHSAA leader, Owensboro Catholic’s Jenna Krampe (68.9%). Terrell shows up again.
Free Throw Shooting Leaders
15. Crawford, Bella, Dixie Heights 84.6%
20. Logue, Elin, Walton-Verona 83.7%
26. Freihofer, Liz, Cooper 80.8%
28. Terrell, Braylin, Walton-Verona 80.4%
40. Eubank, Quinn, Ryle 78.6%
42. Hunt, Julia, Holy Cross (Covington) 78.4%
47. Jayasuriya, Isabella, Campbell County 77.9%
Like the boys, this is the best showing for the girls with seven locals among KHSAA leaders. Braylin Terrell is among Kentucky leaders in three categories.
3-point Shooting Leaders
14. Pernell, Brynli, Simon Kenton 40%
18. Jones, Gia, Beechwood 39.2%
30. Holtzapfel, Emma, Notre Dame 36.1%
33. Avery Geiman, Walton-Verona 34.5%
45. McCoin, Sierra, Lloyd Memorial 29.3%
Gia Jones ranks eighth among KHSAA leaders in 3-point shots made per game with 3.2. Again, these are the percentage leaders among the KHSAA’s top 50 for 3-pointers made per game.
Team Scoring Leaders (points per game)
13. Newport Central Catholic 63.2
27. Cooper 60.3
28. Holy Cross (Covington) 60.2
47. Ryle 57.1
Demonstrating just how important she is to the Thoroughbreds, Caroline Eaglin is accounting for over 30% of the team’s offensive production.
Team Rebounding Leaders (rebounds per game)
6. Boone County 38.7
14. Bellevue 36.5
16. Ludlow 36.3
19. Simon Kenton 35.6
29. Newport Central Catholic 34.6
43. Notre Dame 33.5
Surprise, surprise. The Boone County boys and the Boone County girls are both sitting on top of the area rebounding heap.
Team Defense Leaders (points allowed per game)
12. Covington Latin 37.3
15. Notre Dame 38.3
22. Bishop Brossart 38.9
28. St. Henry 40.6
Notre Dame’s rebounding is helping stop opponent possessions cold. Bishop Brossart is doing likewise among smaller schools playing at least 10 games.
Team Scoring Margin Leaders
22. Bishop Brossart 16.6
23. Holy Cross (Covington) 16.5
24. Cooper 15.8
41. Newport Central Catholic 12.5
The Mustangs’ stifling defense is creating a scoring differential that is among the KHSAA leaders. The Indians are right behind them.
Team Field Goal Shooting Leaders
31. Cooper 42.8%
32. Ryle 42.8%
40. Scott 42.0%
The Jaguars and rival Raiders are neck-and-neck for the local lead, but Cooper takes far more shots than Ryle.
Team Free Throw Shooting Leaders
1. Dixie Heights 80.1%
9. Ryle 73.9%
10. Cooper 72.6%
23. Campbell County 70.2%
27. Conner 69.6%
Not only are the Jaguars and Raiders efficient from the field, they make shots at a high rate from the line. But nobody in Kentucky is better at hitting free throws than Dixie Heights, the only team among KHSAA leaders hitting at better than 80%.
Team 3-point Shooting Leaders
1. Covington Latin 50.0%
21. Scott 33.5%
39. Ryle 32.2%
Covington Latin is 2-for-4 from long range on the season. Scott, which has made 74 3-pointers, is the local leader among teams playing at least 10 games. Ryle is proving proficient from all points, appearing among KHSAA leaders in field goal shooting, free throw shooting and 3-point shooting.