Believe it or not, we’ve hit the halfway point of the regular season for Kentucky high school hoops.
The top dogs are flexing their muscles while we’ve seen some surprising teams making a name for themselves through the first six weeks of the season.
Others are noticing, too. A good handful of teams are recognized statewide as the top 15 teams in the state. Two boys teams (Covington Catholic and Newport) and four girls teams (Cooper, Ryle, Notre Dame and Holy Cross) were ranked in the initial statewide media poll.
The halfway mark is a good time to evaluate and look back while also moving forward into the second half of the season. The holiday tournaments are over which means a lot of district games will be taking place over the next month and a half to position themselves for the postseason.
Can’t forget about the All “A” though, the small school state tournament set to take place here in a couple weeks. Holy Cross will represent the 9th Region for the girls, looking to defend their state title after mowing through the competition last week while Walton-Verona’s girls will represent the 8th Region, looking to get back to the title game like they did in 2021. The boys All “A” action will take place this week in the 9th Region while Walton-Verona claimed the 8th Region title last week. Newport enters as a heavy favorite to come out of the 9th Region. The 10th Region All “A” teams (Bishop Brossart, Calvary Christian) were eliminated over the weekend.
There’s still plenty of questions left unanswered and the next seven weeks left of the regular season will hopefully provide some more clarity in Northern Kentucky.
Here goes (Reminder…Boone, Campbell and Kenton County ONLY):
Boys
- Covington Catholic (10-4): The Colonels have just one loss in state and that’s to the No. 1 team in the state, Great Crossing, while they didn’t have their football players available as they were chasing a state title. The win at Newport back on Dec. 9 solidifies their spot here, despite the Wildcats boasting a more impressive resume. We’ll get to find out a lot about CovCath over the next month and a half as their schedule shifts to more regional opponents, having played teams from Ohio, Indiana, Florida, North Carolina and even Australia, accounting for eight of their first 14 games. Eleven of their last 15 games are against NKY teams. Senior Caden Miller is making a strong case for 9th Region KABC (Senior only award) Player of the Year, averaging 14.6 points and 10.5 rebounds a game.
2. Newport (13-3): Their three losses are to top five teams in the state, No. 1 Great Crossing, No. 4 Covington Catholic and No. 5 Trinity. Two of those games could have been wins with better execution down the stretch against Great Crossing and Trinity. The Wildcats enter as heavy favorites to win the 9th Region All “A” title and can make some serious noise down in Corbin if they get to the state tournament.
3. Campbell County (11-2): One of the surprises in NKY? Not only did they lose a Hall of Fame coach in Aric Russell, but the program’s all-time leading scorer (Aydan Hamilton) and another 1,000-point scorer (Jake Gross), but the beat has gone on in Claryville. The Camels are a serious threat to win the 10th Region and end George Rogers Clark’s reign. GRC got the best of Campbell County in the first matchup, 63-60 on Dec. 1, but it’s far from a foregone conclusion the Cardinals win a fifth straight 10th Region title. Connor Weinel is putting up a region player of the year type season with 14.8 points and nine rebounds per game.
4. Cooper (8-6): A team we really don’t know much about just yet. Injuries have led to some inconsistent results, playing the first seven games without Shaun Pouncy while Andy Johnson is out indefinitely with a wrist injury. Johnson played in the first two games and put up 50 points in doing so. The hope is that he returns some time in early February as the Jaguars gear up for the postseason. The record can be thrown out the window until then. Their next two Friday night’s are vital in 33rd District contests with Ryle and Boone County. They win those two and they secure themselves a No. 1 seed in the district tournament.
5. Boone County (11-3): The biggest surprise in NKY? The Rebels have already doubled their win total from last season, the senior laden roster playing with a purpose. It’s a fun brand of basketball, too. Boone County is 14th in the state in scoring with 74.8 points per game, leading NKY.
6. Lloyd Memorial (9-4): The Juggernauts have just one loss in state, Henderson County at the Central Bank Jim Rose Classic in Lexington. They’ve done what they’re supposed to so far, including some close calls with wins over Newport Central Catholic (80-75), Hamilton, Ohio (39-37), Beechwood (61-58) and Holy Cross (52-51). The Hamilton and Holy Cross victories came in overtime. EJ Walker is averaging a double-double with 17.2 points and 10.6 rebounds. Isaiah Sebastian (12.8 PPG) and Anthony Blaackar (10.5) are providing consistent scoring elsewhere. Campbell County, Cooper and Covington Catholic all loom over the next two weeks.
7. Walton-Verona (13-4): The 8th Region All “A” title is back in Walton. The Bearcats mowed through the field as they’ll head to Corbin for the state tournament on Jan. 25 to take on the 10th Region champion. Big district showdown with Simon Kenton comes Friday.
8. Ryle (7-6): The Raiders pattern this season: Won four, lost four, won two, lost two and won their last one. Already in the hole in district play at 0-1, Friday’s game with Cooper is a big one for the Raiders. The return of Evan Smith from injury should help boost an already balanced lineup.
9. Holy Cross (9-4): Contending for the biggest surprise team in NKY is Holy Cross. The Indians lost virtually all of their production from a season ago and sit at a very competitive 9-4. Their four losses have come by a combined 24 points. They head into the regional All “A” looking to do some damage and could very well be in the finals Saturday night.
10. Highlands (8-7): Brayden Moeves and Nathan Vinson provide a nice 1-2 punch while Hank Shick is giving them a solid third option. The Bluebirds have a couple solid wins over Ashland and Aiken (Ohio) mixed in with some lopsided losses.
Next up: Dixie Heights
Girls
- Cooper (14-3): Is there a more impressive resume in the state right now? The Jaguars are 8-2 against top 25 teams in the state with the other loss to the top Division II team in Ohio, Purcell Marian. They also own a victory over Mount Notre Dame, handing them their first loss of the season last week, MND is ranked No. 5 in Division I in Ohio. Their first of three potential matchups with Ryle comes on Friday. The two could also meet in the 33rd District championship and 9th Region championship. Logan Palmer and Liz Freihofer are doing what was expected coming into the season, but the emergence of Bella Deere has made the Jaguars even more dangerous. Cooper ranks in the top 50 in the state in scoring (27th), margin (28th), field goal % (30th) and free throws (10th).
2. Notre Dame (13-2): The Pandas have solidified their ranking not only as one of the top teams in the area, but the state with their start to the season. Their two losses are to out of state opponents while they are undefeated in region play with wins over Conner (twice), Newport Central Catholic and Dixie Heights. They also own victories over Montgomery County and Russell, two top 25 teams in the state. The Pandas do it with defense, not allowing more than 52 points in a game this season.
3. Ryle (10-5): An already tough schedule that’s featured eight of the top 25 teams in the state and a top ranked team in Ohio gets even tougher. They get No. 1 Sacred Heart on Wednesday, followed by No. 3 Cooper on Friday. Quinn Eubank (17.4 PPG), Sarah Baker (13.7) and Jaelyn Jones (10.8) provide 41.9 of their 57.2 points per game.
4. Holy Cross (11-4): Breezed through the 9th Region All “A” tournament and will have a chance to go defend their All “A” state title in Corbin Jan. 24-28. The bracket shapes out pretty well for them on a path to the finals with Owensboro Catholic, Pikeville and Bethlehem all on the bottom part of the bracket as long as they win their regions. They’ll get a couple solid tests to prepare them for the tournament, George Rogers Clark, Notre Dame and Campbell County all on the docket before they head south. The balance in their starting five is what really sticks out, averaging anywhere from 8.4 to 12.9 points per game.
5. Simon Kenton (10-5): Despite the Sweet 16 trip last year and winning the 8th Region, it’s still a super young Simon Kenton team that starts three sophomores, a freshman and an eighth grader. They schedule tough and should be primed for another 8th Region run this season.
6. Highlands (8-5): The Bluebirds are 7-1 in their last eight, including a solid showing at the Lady of the South Invitational at Allen County-Scottsville. Marissa Green has been a constant, most recently picking up her third triple-double of her career, but Maren Orme, Katie Bucher and others have also picked their games up.
7. Conner (6-9): After a 2-9 start in which they lost seven straight games, the Cougars have figured things out recently with four straight victories. The key is an uptick in production outside of star guard Anna Hamilton. Izelee Kerns, Ava Brown, Aubree Depenbrock, Payton Gutzwiller and Kayci Covelle have all posted big games during the streak.
8. Campbell County (11-3): They’ve already eclipsed their win total from last season in which they lost a ton of close games. Those experiences have helped in tight games this year, 6-0 in games decided by 10 points or less. Izzy Jayasuriya is putting together an All-Region type season for the Camels with 14.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Four others average between 5.8 to 8.6 points per game.
9. Newport Central Catholic (10-4): Their up-tempo style of play has netted them some early season success at 7-2 in 9th Region play as well. Jan. 19 is their big measuring stick game, taking on Highlands in a battle for who will be the top seed come the 36th District tournament. Caroline Eaglin continues to put up points in bunches, averaging 22.6 per game. Five others are averaging at least 5.8 points per contest.
10. Scott (11-3): A solid holiday tournament run in which they went 5-1 and won the 4 Bank Winter Classic at Garrard County earns them the final spot in the top 10. They have a youthful roster in which they start two juniors, a freshman and an eighth grader.
Next up: Dixie Heights, Bishop Brossart