Top 5 Preview: Region 8

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>KHSAA Basketball season starts officially on Thursday and this season looks to be pretty open. There is so much talent in the bluegrass state right now and this season is shaping up to be a great one. It's time for my annual "Top 5 Preview" where I break down the top 5 teams and college prospects in each region. These are the top 5 college prospects, not the top 5 high school players right now.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Top 5 Teams:</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Oldham - Coach Levitch's squad made a run to the Final 4 in March and got more talented in the months since. Josh Smith Jr. transferred in from Georgia. Eli Green is back from an ACL tear. Pierre Rondo will only get better. Not to mention Tommy Gregg is a certified D1 player who added multiple offers this past summer. All the ingredients to potentially win state this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Woodford County - The biggest hurdle for North Oldham to clear in the region is likely to be the Yellow Jackets. Omari Jointer is a certified dawg and appears to be ready for a big Senior season. Rylan Maples moved in from Florida this summer and Sophomore Cole Brown is a potential breakout player this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oldham County - The Colonels have some battle tested Sophomores leading them in Ty Bryant, Matt Withrow and Malakye Bowen. Coach Renner has a lot of potential on his roster and the 29th district is going to be a battleground every time North, South and Oldham County mix it up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Spencer County - Spencer has legitimate size with Seniors Chris Armstrong and Ben Armstrong. Charlie Allen is a potential breakout player this season after Coach Burns graduated a bunch of talent after this past season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Oldham - Coach Simpson has a young group coming back but has a certified star in Junior Joaquin Siakam. Adrian Miles will be the only other experience on the roster. Don't ever count out Coach Simpson's program. They will be hard to keep out of the regional tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Top 5 College Prospects:</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2726857' first='Pierre' last='Rondo'], North Oldham - Rondo seems like he's been playing at North for a decade but he's only a freshman. Pierre comes with a lot of hype thanks to his last name but he has done everything to justify it, so far.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2391345' first='Joaquin' last='Siakam'], South Oldham - Siakam does a little bit of everything and does it all very well. The nephew of Pascal Siakam, Joaquin has all the tools to be the MVP of the region and he's only a Junior.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2046738' first='Omari' last='Jointer'], Woodford County - Omari is healthy after an up and down career with multiple injuries. Jointer is deadly at getting into the paint and finishing, even through contact. He's announced several D1 offers in both football and basketball and is a true two sport star.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2392232' first='Tommy' last='Gregg'], North Oldham - One of the best shooters in the Senior class, Tommy earned multiple D1 offers this summer and should thrive as a catch and shoot threat with Rondo and Smith driving into the paint all game, every game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2880415' first='Ty' last='Bryant'], Oldham County - Bryant could be a D1 basketball player or a future MLB draft pick. Regardless, Ty is a top Sophomore in Kentucky. With his skills and size, I think Ty could be a P4 level recruit in the future.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Most Likely Mr. Basketball Finalist:</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2046738' first='Omari' last='Jointer'], Woodford County</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->