Coach Trent Steiner and his five senior captains crowd into the coach’s office next to the Simon Kenton gymnasium. It’s an imposing bunch of basketball players, topped by 6-foot-9 center Bode Stone and 6-4 forward Marty Taylor. Three others 6 feet and taller join them.
The fantastic five gather mere moments after a 90-minute practice at the high school. The players talk about their favorite sport and what it’s like to be them this season. They chat about secrets to their success.
“It all starts with practice, and working hard,” said point guard and leading scorer Jay Bilton, who recently joined the 1,000-point club.
What was once a work in progress as the season began has become something closer to a work of art. Early stumbles led to a tough 2-4 start punctuated by four straight losses. The Pioneers took their lumps against some of the best teams in the area, dropping consecutive contests against Cooper, North Oldham, Covington Catholic and Holy Cross.
Then something crazy happened. The Pioneers went almost 11 weeks and lost just twice.
“That’s what we expect to do,” Stone said.
Those are some high expectations at Simon Kenton. As a result, the Pioneers are one of the hottest high school boys basketball teams in northern Kentucky. Coach Steiner’s scrappy squad has won 10 straight games. The Pioneers are 22-2 since Dec. 21. Their average margin of victory in that span is nearly 20 points per game.
“Our kids find a way to win,” Steiner said.
Not only are they hot, but the Pioneers are also stingy. They are one of the toughest defending teams in Kentucky, ranking fourth in scoring defense. The Pioneers’ matchup zone defense has surrendered an average yield of 45.1 points per game. They’ve held the opposition to less than 40 points 11 times. Over the last eight games, they’ve given up a miniscule average of 36.6 points. That’s creating an average scoring margin on the season of 16.9, which ranks 11th in the state.
“Defense has kind of been our thing,” Steiner says in a bit of an understatement.
Taylor goes further.
“Our communication on defense holds people to low scores,” Taylor said. “It allows us to win games.”
Simon Kenton is also efficient, ranking just outside the state top 20 with 50.5% field goal shooting. Senior forward Brayden Polly ranks in the state top 30 among individuals at 64.3%. The Pioneers are in the top 50 with 36.4% 3-point accuracy. Senior guard Jordan Bach leads the regulars with 44.1% shooting from long range.
“Our kids play together, they play for each other,” Steiner said. “And that’s not something that just started this season.”
Simon Kenton recently won its 12th 32nd District title in Steiner’s 22 years at the helm. The Pioneers defeated Walton-Verona by 22 points in the district final for the coach’s 375th career win. It was the Pioneers’ third district crown in a row.
Steiner’s teams are 109-28 against district foes since he joined Simon Kenton in 2003. He previously coached at Lawrence County. The Pioneers have posted a winning overall record 17 times under his command, including the last nine seasons in a row and every year but one over the last 16 years.
Steiner’s handiwork has produced some of his best results ever at Simon Kenton. The Pioneers enter the March 11 8th Region Tournament opener at Henry County with a record of 24-6. The win total equals the coach’s career high. The Pioneers take on South Oldham at 6:30 p.m. They are 11-1 against 8th Region opponents. They are 5-0 against 32nd District foes and 14-1 over a three-year stretch.
Bach said all of the team’s whopping totals deserve a wow and he offers a simple explanation.
“We’re held to a high standard, and we like to achieve it,” Bach said.
Bilton said it’s his coach’s know-how that deserves the wow.
“He holds us accountable,” Bilton said. “He gets the most out of us.”
With a victory in Tuesday’s regional opener, the Pioneers would surpass their win total of 24 in 2006-07. That was Steiner’s career best in his fourth season as head coach. The Pioneers are accomplishing this with one double-digit scorer, Jay Bilton. No wonder Steiner is the 8th Region’s co-coach of the year. But he said it’s not that simple.
“If you look at some of our individual stats, you may not be impressed,” Steiner said. “But a lot of guys have had big scoring games.”
Bilton’s scoring average is 11.8. Next is Bach at 8.8 then Stone (8.1), junior Bray Bilton (7.5) and Polly (6.2). Next are sophomore Eddie Marx (5.4), junior Will Scobee (5.1), sophomore Tysin Weaver (4.2) and Taylor (3.5).
Jay Bilton’s season high is 29 points. Bray Bilton scored 20 in the same game. Bach has also scored 20 in a game. Stone has scored 19. He had 17 against Covington Catholic. Junior Grayson Harris erupted for 15 points in a game. He averages 1.4. Scobee scored 14 in a game and Marx had 13. Polly has a pair of 12-point games to his credit. Freshman Johnie Boyd came up with 11 once. He averages 2.0 per game. Simon Kenton beat mighty Lloyd Memorial without a double-digit scorer.
“They can’t try to stop one of us,” Polly said. “There’s too many of us to stop.”
Steiner cracks a smile.
“It’s cool to hear them talk like that,” the coach said. “It’s beautiful.”
The nine-deep playing rotation is also a thing of beauty. It’s a reliable group, combining to miss just four games all season. Jay Bilton is an all-8th Region Team selection and a two-time district tournament MVP. Stone leads with 6.9 rebounds followed by Polly (5.2). Bach is a designated gunner along with Scobee.
Taylor leads the regulars with 69.8% field goal shooting but doesn’t have enough attempts to qualify for KHSAA leaderboards. Ten players who’ve taken at least one shot are shooting 50% or better from the field.
“It’s a European style offense where everybody touches the ball,” Steiner said. “When you have players give up the me for we, then they’ve bought in whole heartedly. We had one turnover the whole game on Friday (in the district final against Walton-Verona). Everybody helped.”
Jay Bilton is the epitome of an unselfish Simon Kenton sure shot with solid percentages from all three levels. He’s hitting 60.5 % from the field, 40% from 3-point range and 76.9% on free throws.
“Jay Bilton is very smart. He’s a student of the game and he watches a lot of film,” Steiner said. “He can take over a game, but he likes to get everybody involved. He and Bode Stone are receiving college offers but we didn’t get preseason anything when it came to recognition. Jordan Bach is underrated. A bunch of our dudes are underrated. Brayden Polly is very underrated. Marty Taylor doesn’t start but his work ethic separates him. He doesn’t take plays off.”
Steiner has taken Simon Kenton to the 8th Region final four times including last season without a championship. But that’s not his lone burden to bear. The Pioneers haven’t won a regional crown since 1995. They have two in school history, the other coming during the state championship season of 1981.
“Not a plethora of regional titles,” Steiner said. “Obviously, we want to win. Our fans want us to win. Is there pressure to win, sure. But pressure is fun to get. Some teams don’t get pressure, so we like it.”
