3 Up, 3 Down – Week 5
The Christmas tournament season is over and we’re headed into 2018 at full speed. After approximately a million games played over the last two weeks, it’s time to take stock of the teams, players, and in this case, coaches who are on the way up and down as the new year approaches.
Stock up: Cooper – Not many teams can go to the King of the Bluegrass and the Traditional Bank classic and emerge 7-1. Their only loss was to Trinity, who shot the lights out. They knocked off 9th region rival Covington Catholic in the KOB and ran through the field at Lexington Catholic. Right now, these Jaguars need to be mentioned in the top 4-5 teams in the state and a serious contender to win it all.
Stock Down: Eastern Kentucky basketball – After watching Pikeville, Knott County Central, Elliott County and Wolfe County at the Traditional Bank Classic, I can’t see any Eastern Kentucky school winning a game at Rupp Arena in March. It hasn’t been that long since Shelby Valley was making a memorable run to a state title and Evan Hall and Cameron Justice were a threat to cut the nets at Rupp Arena. Right now, it doesn’t look like any Eastern Kentucky school is a threat to win even one game at Rupp in March unless the draw matches up two mountain regions.
Stock Up: Ballard – Ballard is quietly turning into their usual powerhouse selves. The Bruins are 9-2 and have dismantled a few teams lately. Coach Renner’s team has won 5 in a row and may not lose another game until their date with Fern Creek on January 27th.
Stock Down: Trash talking coaches – Speaking of Fern Creek, the Tigers went down to Bristol, Tennessee to play in the prestigious Arby’s Classic. Not only did they drop their opener on a buzzer beater but they also lost their last game after Coach Schooler (or someone on his bench) told Georgetown signee Mac McClung that he was going to sit the bench for coach Patrick Ewing. McClung responded by scoring 44 points in a 70-67 win over Coach Schooler’s team. And, to make it worse, Ball is Life was there to capture it all.
. @McclungMac goes for 44 points in win over fern creek at @arbysclassic!!
Full Highlights ???? https://t.co/ymFlIMQ0Fb pic.twitter.com/H1VlSAm0PN
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) December 29, 2017
Stock Up: Butler – Coach K.C. Goodin’s Bears are the last undefeated team in the state. Sitting at 13-0 as they head into the new year, they have two games in the next week that they should be favored in then are off for ten days before taking on Fern Creek in what should be a tremendous game to see who the best team in the 6th region is.
Stock Down: Danville – Some folks had mentioned the Admirals as a dark horse candidate in the 12th region this year due to their size and athleticism but they have been really bad to start the season. They sit at 4-8 and have lost to every quality opponent they have played. They can turn their season around in a couple of weeks if they can beat 13-2 Somerset and advance to the All A state tournament.