Roundball week #1 – here we go!
The floors are shining, popcorn is cooking and the uniforms are cleaned and hanging – this is the week we’ve been waiting for since last March when roundball in Kentucky high schools ended – the start of a new season.
Our Lady Dawgs traveled over to Marion County Tuesday night for the opener (too late for press time this week), and two home nights are in store for fans this week to get things off and running.
The Bulldogs will play host to Cumberland Christian Home School Thursday night, followed by Clinton County’s first double-header of the season on Saturday night when Smith County, Tennessee comes to the Castle for a girls/boys double header.
From there on out, it’s night after night in the gym on one level or another.
I don’t put much stock in early polls, especially where high school basketball is concerned, but those early polls are fun to look at while we’re waiting on the teams to get thick into the season.
As for the boys’ list across the state, most polls agree that the teams to beat are going to be Lyon County, with recent UK signee and the Kentucky all-time scoring leader Travis Perry, Great Crossing, out of the 11th region behind 7’1” junior Malachi Moreno, and of course Trinity, which by all accounts is an all-around talented team.
Our 4th Region’s Warren Central, with WKU signee and coach’s son Kade Unseld is considered to be a contender again this season, despite losing the rest of its starting five.
Another 4th Region powerhouse, Bowling Green, holds down a top spot in the rankings as well, in the seventh spot according to the Courier Journal poll.
Within the 4th Region, Clinton County was listed as the eighth best team in the CJ pre-season poll, with 16th District opponent Monroe County falling in the sixth spot across the region.
Clinton County big man Cannon Young was the only 16th District player to break into the top 10 in that pre-season ranking, in the ninth spot.
On the girls’ side, the Valkyries of Sacred Heart are being touted as the team most likely to win a KHSAA Sweet 16 title in 2024.
An indication that perhaps the 4th Region is somewhat weak going into this season, not a single team from this region made it into the top 25.
As far as our 4th Region goes, Barren County, Bowling Green, Metcalfe County and Franklin Simpson fill out the top five in the CJ rankings, while a second 16th District squad, Cumberland County,  made it into the pre-season top 10 with Metcalfe County.
Lady Dawg Landree Moons was named as a top 10 player in the 4th Region, holding down the ninth spot, with Metcalfe County’s Kassady London ranked as the fifth best player in this district.
So, that’s how things are expected to stack up, according to coaches from across the state, as we get things underway on the hardwood, but there’s a lot of basketball to be played before we get to March and a lot can happen between this week’s tip and the end of post season play.
Like I said at the start of this week’s column, I don’t put a lot of stock in pre-season rankings, and generally don’t pay any serious attention to the polls until after the Christmas break, but they’re always fun to look at, and likely I’ll look back at them in 2024 just to see how these prediction stack up when we hit the half-way point of this campaign.
See you on the hardwood – yep, this week.