It was a slow week last week on the hardwood thanks to the snow, but things are heating back up on the courts in Northern Kentucky.
We get you caught up on the latest 1,000-point club members, 500 rebound and assist milestones. The All “A” tourneys will crown champions while Newport gets a big addition in hopes of claiming a third straight 9th Region title.
Here’s the latest basketball bites, a weekly basketball column throughout the season.
Cash Harney 1,000 points
Covington Catholic junior Cash Harney eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career in the Colonels Jan. 14 victory over Holmes. Harney entered the game with 999 career points and finished with eight points in limited action in a 80-35 victory.
Harney is in his second season at CovCath after transferring over from Beechwood, starting his varsity career in eighth grade. He’s second on the team in scoring with 14.9 points per game and hitting 51.2% of his shots from the field.
Elin Logue 1,000 points
Walton-Verona sophomore Elin Logue hit the 1,000-point mark for her career in the Bearcats 54-34 victory over Gallatin County on Tuesday in the 8th Region All “A” Classic tournament quarterfinals.
Logue has been playing varsity basketball since the seventh grade. Through 15 games, Logue leads the team in scoring with 15.4 points per game and has knocked down a team-high 39 three-pointers this season. She’s also hitting 88.9% of her free throw attempts.
Garyn Jackson 500 assists
Campbell County senior Garyn Jackson hit the 500 career assist milestone in the Camels Jan. 14 victory over Mason County.
On top of 500-plus career assists, Jackson has 921 career points and 452 rebounds. He has a great chance to finish his high school career with over 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and assists.
Jackson is currently second on the team in scoring with 15 points per game, leads the team in assists and is second in rebounds with 6.7 per game as he makes his case for 10th Region Player of the Year.
All “A” tourneys
The All “A” action from around the state is heating up and while the Holy Cross girls have already punched their ticket to Owensboro for the All “A” state tournament, five more regional All “A” titles will be handed out over the next three days.
Bishop Brossart will try to pull off the double on Thursday night in the 10th Region All “A” finals at Robertson County. The boys face Paris at 6 p.m., the girls taking on Bracken County at 7:30 p.m. The boys program has 16 All “A” regional titles since 2001, the girls program with 13 All “A” regional titles since 1997.
Newport, Ludlow, Beechwood and Newport Central Catholic are in the boys 9th Region All “A” semifinals. Newport and Ludlow will face off in one semifinal on Friday night at Dayton, Beechwood and NewCath in the other semifinal. Game times are 6 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. The championship will be played Saturday night at Dayton at 7 p.m.
Newport is the reigning regional and All “A” state champ.
In the 8th Region, Walton-Verona’s boys are in the 8th Region All “A” championship on Friday night against Owen County at Owen County at 7 p.m. The Bearcats are gunning for their seventh regional All “A” title since 2017.
The Walton-Verona girls are in the 8th Region All “A” semifinals. They’ll play at Owen County on Thursday at 7:30 p.m with a trip to Saturday’s championship on the line. Walton-Verona’s girls have won nine regional All “A” titles since 2010 and five since 2018.
Rondon is back
Newport got a big boost on Sunday when Yamil Rondon made his season debut for the Wildcats. Rondon missed the Wildcats first 13 games of the season due to injury after transferring over from Cooper.
In his season debut, Rondon had 25 points to go with six assists in their 73-53 victory over Walton-Verona in the Griffin Elite Classic at Thomas More.
Newport is 8-6 on the season as they look to win a 9th Region title for the third straight season.
Girls basketball in NKY is top notch
Proof is in the pudding on how elite girls basketball is in Northern Kentucky.
In the latest statewide media poll, five girls teams from NKY were ranked in the top 15.
Cooper leads the way ranked No. 3, Holy Cross is No. 8, Simon Kenton is No. 12, Notre Dame No. 14 and Highlands No. 15.
RPI
The first RPI ratings for the 2024-25 basketball season came out this week.
On the state level, Covington Catholic is the highest rated boys team at No. 9. Campbell County is No. 15, Lloyd Memorial in at No. 22 and Dixie Heights at No. 23.
In the girls statewide ratings, Holy Cross is No. 4. Simon Kenton is No. 6 and Cooper is No. 10. Others in the top 25 include Campbell County at No. 12, Notre Dame No. 14 and Dixie Heights No. 21.
RPI stands for “Ratings Percentage Index.” In short, it is a way to measure a team’s strength relative to other teams, based largely on the their own success and their strength of their schedules. A version of RPI formula is used by both the NCAA and NAIA, along with many high school associations and among other organizations, as part of their postseason system.
RPI is calculated from the team’s Winning Percentage (WP), the Opponent’s Winning Percentage (OWP) and the Opponents’ Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OOWP).
Buddenberg, Meyers, Nelson make commitments
A trio of girls basketball players from Northern Kentucky recently made college commitments.
Dixie Heights’ Catherine Buddenberg committed to Wittenberg University, Bishop Brossart’s Zoee Meyers made her commitment to Muskingum University and Holy Cross’ Aumani Nelson committed to Geneva College.
McCarty hits 500 rebound mark for Bellevue
Bellevue’s Courtney McCarty recently hit the 500 career rebound mark in the Tigers 58-41 victory over Dayton on Jan. 7.
McCarty is currently second on the team in rebounding with 5.7 rebounds per game.