COLLINS
* Coach: Chris Gaither (fifth year)
* Last season: 26-9, lost to Owensboro 55-38 in first round of Sweet 16
* Player to watch: Grant Clarkson, a 5-11 senior guard who averaged 5.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last season. “He’s very athletic, very quick, and can jump very well. He’s probably the most explosive guard in the region,” says Gaither.
* Other players: G Jakson Test (5-11, Sr., 9.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg) G-F Dominique Turner (6-4, Jr., 1.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg), F Trejon Stone (6-1, Sr., 0.8 ppg, 1.3 rpg), G Jacob Feltner (5-10, So., 1.2 ppg, 0.0 rpg), G Nick Fort (6-3, So., 1.8 ppg, 0.6 rpg), F Kyle Perdue (6-2, So., 1.5 ppg, 0.5 rpg), F Nick Eades (6-2, So., 1.2 ppg, 1.1 rpg), F-C Jalen Stone (6-5, Sr., 0.3 ppg, 0.9 rpg).
* Outlook: The Titans lost Brent Kidwell and Deion Cochran from last year’s region champs, but should be strong again. “I feel like we can be really good defensively and a good rebounding team. Aside from Clarkson, I expect big things out of Test and Turner. Dominique could be one of the best players in the region by the end of the year. Going into the year, I think the challenge will be similar to what it was last year. We don’t have the talent level that we had three years ago. People saw a drop in talent last year and so the expectations weren’t very high. I would compare this team to last year’s team but the biggest hurdle will be taking care of the basketball.
NORTH OLDHAM
* Coach: Rob Burton (second year)
* Last season: 16-16, lost to Owen County 67-61 in regional first round.
* Player to watch: Jalen Henry, a 6-0 junior guard, averaged 10.3 points and 3.1 rebounds last season. “He’s a playmaker. He’s quick with the ball, extremely fast and difficult to guard. He runs the offense really well. Overall he’s just a really solid player for us.
* Other players: G Zach Wheeler (6-1, Jr., 6.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg), F-C Seth Hagan (6-4, Sr., 3.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg), G-F Jakson Wine (6-0, Jr., 1.3 ppg, 0.3 rpg), G Trey Workman (6-2, So., 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg), F Jeffry McLellan (6-3, Fr., 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg), Justin Powell (6-2, 8th grade, 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg).
* Outlook: The Mustangs lost eight seniors from last year’s team, including leading scorer Jonathan Henry (24 points per game). “We’re young and inexperienced,” says Burton. “Having said that, the young guys that we have are pretty good. They just need time and minutes to develop. It may take us a little while, but after the first of the year we might be coming together pretty well and hopefully by February playing our best ball. Defensively we’ll mix it up. We’re going to have some depth. I think we can play 11 or 12 guys. We can mix in some different defenses because of that. Offensively we’ll spread it out a little bit. I think we’ll be in pretty good shape. I’m pretty excited about the team. I just have to be patient with them.”
OLDHAM COUNTY
* Coach: Coy Zerhusen (third year)
* Last season: 27-5, lost to Collins 53-41 in regional championship
* Player to watch: Jacob Bates, a 6-5 senior forward who averaged 10.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season and was All 8th Region. “He’s a skilled post player,” says Zerhusen. “Great basketball IQ. Great feel for the game. He’s a good passer who makes his teammates better. We’re looking for him to be our leader this year.”
* Other top players: F Griffin McLarty (6-3, Sr., 4.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg), G Clayton Wirth (6-0, Sr., 6.7 ppg, 43% 3-point shooter), G Brandon Johnson (6-1, Sr., 7.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg), G Ishmail Jones (6-0, Jr., 2.3 ppg, 0.8 rpg), G Ryan Heelan (6-0, Jr., 0.9 ppg, 0.2 rpg), F Travis Henderson (6-4, So., 0.5 ppg, 0.7 rpg).
* Outlook: “I am excited about our team,” says Zerhusen. “We have a good mix of returning players with experience and young players wanting to prove themselves. We have four guys coming back who played a lot last year. We will be a skilled team that is looking to play aggressively on both ends of the floor.”
SHELBY COUNTY
* Coach: Jason Couch (fourth year)
* Last season: 21-9, lost to Grant County 55-47 in first round of regional
* Player to watch: Malik Manica, a 5-10 senior guard who averaged 3.7 points and 5 assists last year. “He’s a heck of a competitor,” says Couch. “The bigger the game, the better he’s going to play. He can be a leader. He holds other people accountable. I really think the success he has had in football this year is going to carry over onto the basketball court. He’s just a tremendous athlete and has led us in steals for three years in a row.”
* Other top players: F Jordan Armstrong (6-2, Jr., 5.7 ppg, 1.1 rpg), G Michael Ewing (5-7, Sr., 3.5 ppg, 2 apg), G-F Tyler Drane (6-0, Jr., 1.5 ppg, 1 apg), F John Darrell Hatter (6-4, Sr., 1.7 ppg, 0.2 rpg), F Walker Howard-McDonald (6-3, Jr., 1.3 ppg, 0.1 rpg).
* Outlook: The Rockets return a lot of talent, but they lost a lot, too. “We lost six seniors and James Gordon, our leading scorer and rebounder, who transferred to Chicago,” says Couch. “With that being said, we had a lot of injuries last year, so we have a lot of guys who played a decent amount of varsity. Four of our top nine guys are still playing football. In December we’re going to take our lumps. But I do feel like at the end of the year we can be one of the top two or three teams in the region when it’s all said and done.”
SOUTH OLDHAM
* Coach: Steve Simpson (15th year)
* Last season: 11-17, lost to North Oldham 68-61 in district first round.
* Player to watch: Joe Griffin, a 5-10 junior guard who averaged 6.6 points and 1.9 rebounds last season, is the glue guy for the Dragons. “He improved in all areas of his game,” says Simpson. “He is the first guy to practice and the last to leave. He’s really confident in his abilities.”
* Other players: PG Grant Williams (5-10, Sr., 9.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg), SG Trent Bouvet (6-2, Sr., 9.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg), G/F Jacob Bray (6-2, Sr., 5.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg), G/F Isaac Fields (6-0, Sr., 11.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg), G/F Dylan Snook (6-3, Sr., 2.9 ppg, 1.7 rpg)
* Outlook: The Dragons return four starters and five seniors. Everyone on the team plays guard or wing, making them a matchup nightmare but not the best rebounding team. “We should be a good shooting team,” says Simpson. “We only had three seniors last year and only two of them played. The Dragons will play every team in the 8th region this year, possibly a first. “This might be the first time,” says Simpson. “A lot of the little schools and big schools won’t play each other.”
SPENCER COUNTY
* Coach: Jason Burns (third year)
* Last season: 11-16, lost to Collins 48-43 in district first round
* Player to watch: Jamie Newman, a 6-0 senior guard, averaged 7.2 points and 4.0 rebounds last season. “He’s a stat stuffer,” said Burns. “He does everything. He gets points, assists, rebounds. However he goes, we’ll go. If he doesn’t get his points and assists we’ll probably struggle a little bit.”
* Other players: G Blake Lambdin (6-1, Sr., 9.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg), G Jacob Nichols (6-2, So., 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg), F-C Jacob DeRudder (6-2, Sr., 3 ppg, 3 rpg), G-F Kadin Smith (6-1, So., 1.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg).
* Outlook: The top three players are gone from last year’s team that led region champion Collins by nine at halftime in the first round of the district tournament before faltering late. Gone is 67 percent of their scoring and the leaders in points, rebounds and assists. “We have a lot to replace,” says Burns. “But at the same time we have eight seniors so we hope to utilize that experience. We’ll probably play about nine or 10 kids, and we’re expecting a lot from Lambdin and Newman. They will lead us in scoring and rebounding.”