3 Up, 3 Down – Week 4

<p>Last week saw almost every team in Kentucky play at least 3 games while enjoying their first week of Christmas break. Hard to believe but we're a third of the way through the regular season and starting to get a feel for which players and teams are trending up and which ones need to stop their downward momentum.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>3 Up:</strong></span></p> <ul> <li><strong>Tates Creek - </strong>The Commodores have been a doormat in the 11th region for the last several years. Not anymore. Coach Jarrod Gay has this Creek team rolling right now. Tates has won 5 straight games and won the Smoky Mountain Classic last week as they beat 13th Region contenders North Laurel and Corbin. Their schedule on the KHSAA says they don't play again until the new year when they travel to Franklin County. They play in one of the best districts in the state but Tates Creek is now a potential factor in the 11th region.</li> <li><strong>Collins - </strong>Not many people outside of the Shelbyville city limits would have predicted the Titans to get to the Championship game of the King of the Bluegrass. Juniors <strong>Dayvion McKnight and Marcellus Vail </strong>put on a show for the KOB crowd and role players <strong>Tyson Turner, Dane Kidwell, Colby Eades and Darrian Crittendon</strong> were great all week. They ultimately ended up losing the title game by 3 but Collins showed themselves to be the favorite in the 8th region right now and capable of winning games at Rupp Arena in March.</li> <li><strong>John Hardin - </strong>The Bulldogs were expected to see a little drop off after graduating the best player in school history when Mickey Pearson graduated. So far so good for the 9-0 team as they lead the 5th region. They've beaten Central Hardin, Hopkinsville and Bowling Green for 3 quality wins and Junior <strong>Alex Matthews</strong> is seeing his stock rise while shooting 68% from the field while averaging 19 points and 12 rebounds per game. After winning the Owensboro Invitational, the Dogs are going to take on Warren Central to start the Taylor County Holiday Classic.</li> </ul> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>3 Down:</strong></span></p> <ul> <li><strong>Daviess County - </strong>The Panthers are off to a 3-6 start and only Senior <strong>Dakota Walden</strong> seems to be able to score the ball. A 10 point loss to Whitesville Trinity is hard to fathom and they're limping to a 1-2 start in district games with the lone win over lowly Apollo by one. They'll be in Allen County-Scottsville this week and hope to pick up some wins and get back on the right track heading into 2019.</li> <li><strong>Lexington Catholic - </strong>The Knights are off to an unusually rocky start at 3-8 and have lost 6 in a row leading into this week's Traditional Bank Classic (which they host annually). Their record is a little deceiving as they have played one of the toughest schedules in the state thus far. When they tip-off against Bellevue tomorrow they will be coming off 5 days of rest and should be a little better prepared to protect home court after going to the Tarkanian Classic in Vegas last week and finishing 0-3 against out of state teams.</li> <li><strong>DuPont Manual - </strong>The Crimsons are 3-8 overall and riding a losing streak of 6 games after losing every game of their own tournament last week in the Great Kentucky Shoot-Out. Junior <strong>Eli Roberts</strong> has been the lone bright spot so far and his recent numbers are seeing a dip as he has been seeing double teams in the post every game out. As a team, they are only shooting 25% from 3 which makes it easier to double Roberts if you know that the shooters are likely to miss when they get those kick out passes from the post. They will look to turn it around this week with a trip to the City of Middletown Holiday Classic at Eastern.</li> </ul>