Who are Kentucky’s top 25 boys’ basketball teams for 2019-20?
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2019-20 High School Basketball Preview
The Herald-Leader/Kentucky.com is publishing season preview stories each day leading up to the start of the 2019-20 high school basketball season on Monday, Dec. 2. You can read everything we’ve published to this point by clicking on this drop-down list. All of the stories are also available in our Sunday, Dec. 1 print edition.
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Kentucky’s boys’ high school basketball coaches sense a changing of the guard in the 7th Region that could also mean trouble for the entire state as a senior-laden Male team has been picked as a runaway favorite for No. 1 in the Herald-Leader Coaches’ Preseason Poll.
Male received 80 first-place votes among the 107 ballots submitted and are led by three double-digit scorers from last season in seniors Tyren Moore, Howard Fleming and Noah Courtney and returning starters Jake Evans and Cam Pope.
Male got knocked out of the 7th Region Tournament by eventual state champion Trinity last year, but it defeated the Shamrocks in a triple-overtime game late in the regular season.
No. 2 Covington Catholic makes its customary appearance in the preseason top five with the return of leading scorer Grant Disken for his senior year.
No. 3 Madisonville, which saw a star-turn performance in the Sweet Sixteen from forward Kenny White last season, figures to be in the mix as the Maroons also bring back leading-scorer Ksuan Casey.
It might seem far-fetched to forecast how the season might play out before the first game has even tipped off, but the coaches picked the two finalists in last year’s Sweet Sixteen finals as the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in last year’s preseason survey. No. 2 Trinity won it all over Scott County. The year before, the coaches’ preseason No. 3, Covington Catholic, topped No. 1 Scott County in the finals.
Preseason boys’ top 10
(Last season’s record in parentheses)
1. Male (22-10): Tyren Moore, a 5-11 shooting guard and all-state honoree and Howard Fleming, a 6-4 point guard, make up, perhaps, the most potent backcourt in the state. They’ll mix in 6-6 freshman Kaleb Glenn and 6-6 junior Dez Lindsey. Six Male players received votes in the preseason coaches’ top-10 players ballot with Moore and Fleming ranking Nos. 8 and 9, respectively. “This has a chance to be a special team,” Coach Tim Haworth said. “We have shooting. They play extremely hard. Great attitudes … really excited about this team.”
2. Covington Catholic (27-8): The Colonels ran into an unfortunate draw against state runner-up Scott County in the first round of the Sweet Sixteen. But they nearly pulled off one of the most spectacular comebacks in tournament history by cutting a 19-point lead with 94 seconds left down to one point just over a minute later. Grant Disken and Neil Green return to the starting lineup and Coach Scott Ruthsatz said his team has never had the quality depth on his bench that he has this year.
3. Madisonville (30-6): The Maroons have a powerful frontcourt duo in 6-5 swingman Kenny White and 6-9 power forward Ksuan Casey, who averaged nearly a double-double each last year. Coach Matt Beshear said Casey, already a low-post monster, has put in the work in the offseason and transformed his body. He fancies White as a Mr. Basketball candidate. That’s a good starting point for a team that reached the Sweet Sixteen quarters before running into Warren Central last year.
4. Ballard (23-12): The Bruins return four starters, including double-digit scorers in 6-1 point guard Lewis Richards, 6-6 forward Rashad Bishop and 6-3 forward Josh Minkins Jr., a Louisville football commit. Coach Chris Renner expects his mix of chemistry and experience to be able to compete for a 7th Region and state title. They fell to Trinity in the region title game a year ago.
5. Collins (23-9): Collins returns two Division I commits in 6-3 guard Marcellus Vail (Samford) and 6-2 point guard Dayvion McKnight (Western Kentucky). McKnight received a slight nod over Marshall County’s Zion Harmon as the state’s top player, according to preseason survey of coaches by the Herald Leader. He averaged 17 points and 10.4 rebounds last season. The Titans won six straight before getting knocked out of the 8th Region tournament in the first round by Oldham County last season.
6. Henry Clay (28-6): The Blue Devils will look to finally crack Scott County’s lock on their district and region and have Northern Kentucky commit Marques Warrick and St. Xavier transfer Sebian Dillard to do so. Warrick, a 6-3 guard, averaged more than 21 points per game last season while the 6-1 Dillard comes over as a 16 points per game scorer.
7. Fern Creek (14-12): The Tigers have a trio of standout juniors who became the team’s leaders a year ago and expect to have a bigger breakout this season. Jaden Rogers, a 6-0 point guard with an offer from Miami (Ohio), averaged 17.5 points, while 6-7 power forward Darrius Washington averaged 12.2 points per game and 6-6 shooting guard Zek Montgomery added 11.7 points for a group that looked like it might be a year away. This could be that year.
8. Warren Central (22-12): One of last year’s state semifinalists brings back 80 percent of its scoring and rebounding, led by seniors Kobe Brents and Dre Boyd. Coach William Unseld believes this will be the most athletic team he’s coached.
9. John Hardin (35-1): The team that lost a first-round heartbreaker in the Sweet Sixteen brings back three starters, all of them double-digit scorers. Leading the way will be 6-5 swingman Alex Matthews, who averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds and has been touted by his coach as a possible Mr. Basketball candidate. Also back are 6-4 senior guard Trevon Harris (14 points per game) and 6-9 center Preston Murrell (10 points per game).
10. Trinity (30-8): The defending state champions lost four of their top five scorers, but many don’t think that will matter. Junior Ethan Hodge averaged 6.6 points for the perennial contender last year. The question is whether this year will be a rebuild or a reload.
The next 15
With result of final game last season.
11. Bowling Green (26-6): Lost to Warren Central in the 4th Region tournament finals.
12. Marshall County (13-19): Lost to Mayfield in the first round of the 1st Region tournament.
13. McCracken County (31-4): Lost to Mayfield in the 1st Region tournament finals.
14. Butler (26-8): Lost to Scott County in the Sweet Sixteen quarterfinals.
15. Scott County (35-4): Lost to Trinity in the Sweet Sixteen championship game.
16. Clark County (26-8): Lost to Campbell County in the 10th Region tournament finals.
17. Bourbon County (21-11): Lost to Mason County in the first round of the 10th Region tournament.
18. Owensboro (23-8): Lost to Ashland Blazer in the first round of the Sweet Sixteen.
19. Bardstown (15-16): Lost to Marion County in the first round of the 5th Region tournament.
20. North Oldham (13-18): Lost to Oldham County in the 29th District semifinals.
21. South Oldham (21-10): Lost to Spencer County in the first round of the 8th Region tournament.
22. Lexington Catholic (14-16): Lost to Lexington Christian in the 43rd District semifinals.
23. Ashland Blazer (18-17): Lost to Trinity in the Sweet Sixteen quarterfinals.
24. Lincoln County (23-13): Lost to Madisonville in the first round of the Sweet Sixteen.
25. LaRue County (26-5): Lost to Taylor County in overtime of the 5th Region semifinals.
Methodology: Our annual survey was emailed to all 272 KHSAA boys’ basketball coaches in Kentucky using their email registered with the KHSAA. Multiple attempts were made to encourage every school to participate. Coaches were asked to select their top 10 teams, and points were assigned based on a team’s position on the ballot (10 points for No. 1, nine points for No. 2, eight points for No. 3, etc.), and tabulated across all ballots received; some schools participated in the survey but declined to vote due to unfamiliarity with players and teams outside of their own area.
A total of 107 of 272 schools (39.3 percent) voted for the top 10 teams out of the 156 coaches (57.3 percent) who responded to the Herald-Leader survey. They are recognized here: Adair County, Anderson County, Ashland Blazer, Ballard, Bardstown, Barren County, Bath County, Berea, Beth Haven, Bourbon County, Bowling Green, Boyd County, Bracken County, Breathitt County, Brown, Butler, Campbell County, Campbellsville, Carlisle County, Carroll County, Christian County, Collins, Covington Catholic, Eastern, Estill County, Fairdale, Fleming County, Frederick Douglass, Gallatin County, Garrard County, George Rogers Clark, Glasgow, Graves County, Grayson County, Great Crossing, Greenup County, Greenwood, Hancock County, Harlan County, Henderson County, Henry Clay, Henry County, Holmes, Holy Cross (Lou.), Hopkinsville, Iroquois, Jackson County, John Hardin, Johnson Central, Lafayette, LaRue County, Lexington Catholic, Lexington Christian, Logan County, Louisville Collegiate, Madison Central, Madison Southern, Madisonville, Male, Marshall County, Martin County, McCracken County, McCreary Central, Mercer County, Metcalfe County, Middlesboro, Model, Monroe County, Montgomery County, Muhlenberg County, Newport, North Laurel, Oldham County, Owen County, Owensboro Catholic, Owensboro, Paducah Tilghman, Paintsville, Paris, Pendleton County, Phelps, Pleasure Ridge Park, Portland Christian, Rowan County, Russellville, Ryle, Scott County, Shelby Valley, Simon Kenton, Somerset, South Oldham, Spencer County, St. Henry, St. Xavier, Tates Creek, Thomas Nelson, Walton-Verona, Warren Central, Wayne County, West Jessamine, Western Hills, Whitefield, Williamsburg, Wolfe County, Woodford County.
This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 8:24 AM.
