By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
An unexpected loss in the opening round of the boys basketball state tournament in March closed the book on Newport’s 32-4 season, but fans expected the Wildcats to be a title contender once again with all-state sophomore guard Taylen Kinney returning as the team’s floor leader.
Last summer, however, Kinney enrolled in an academy where elite basketball players continue their studies for a high school diploma while training and competing in a high-level league to improve their skills.
Despite Kinney’s departure, Newport was voted No. 1 in a preseason poll of Northern Kentucky boys basketball coaches. They know the Wildcats still have plenty of talent, including three of the area’s top 10 players in their poll.
The returning starters on Newport coach Rod Snapp’s roster are 6-foot-8 junior James Turner and 6-foot-9 sophomore Griffin Starks. They are both being recruited by major college teams even though they had modest averages of 8.8 and 5.3 points per game last season when Kinney and two seniors did most of the scoring.
Yamil Rondon, a three-year starter for Cooper, transferred to Newport last spring and was expected to fill the vacant point guard position.
But Rondon is still recovering from shoulder surgery and will sit out the first two or three weeks of the season. Amontae Lowe is a talented sophomore who could step into the floor leader role.
Newport’s other returning players include guards DeShawn Jackson and Kyle Lee. The Wildcats also added AJ Lowe, a 6-foot-4 transfer from Scott where he averaged 5.8 points and 2.8 rebounds last season.
Here’s a rundown of the other boys basketball teams that made the top 10 in the Northern Kentucky coaches poll going into the 2024-25 season that begins on Monday.
2. Covington Catholic Colonels
Jake Thelen will make his head coaching debut with a CovCath team that has a trio of experienced guards who will dictate a fast-paced style play.
“Offensively, they are going to look to run in transition and if they are in the half court you will see a lot of ball and player movement,” Thelen said of the team. “They are going to play an aggressive style of defense. They want to get a lot of live ball turnovers and look to get out and run.”
The guards leading the charge will be juniors Athens McGillis and Cash Harney and senior Nolan Ruthsatz. They all played in the majority of games last season when the Colonels made it to the 9th Region semifinals and posted a 26-6 record.
McGillis is the top returning scorer with a 13.8 average, followed by Harney at 11.7 per game. Coach Thelen said Harney’s ability to defend multiple positions and be a playmaker is something the team will rely on. But he wasn’t available for preseason practice because he’s still playing on CovCath’s state semifinal football team.
The Colonels’ top scorer last season was 6-foot-9 senior center Caden Miller, who averaged 15.3 points and 10.5 rebounds. His replacement will likely be 6-foot-5 junior Donovan Bradshaw, who saw a lot of action off the bench.
“He has great feel around the rim and in the paint,” coach Thelen said. “His ability to rebound and block shots is something that will be huge for CovCath this year.”
3. Cooper Jaguars
Tim Sullivan enters his 17th season as Cooper’s head coach needing 19 wins to reach the 300 mark, but the Jaguars could get off to a slow start since eight players are on the football team that has reached the semifinals of the state playoffs.
Another challenge facing the Jaguars in preseason practice was finding a point guard to replace three-year starter Yamil Rondon, who transferred to Newport. To solve that problem, Sullivan said the team’s “overall athleticism and ability to interchange multiple guys in multiple positions will be a huge asset.”
One returning starter who will be on the court for Cooper’s season opener on Tuesday is senior Andy Johnson, a 6-foot-5 guard who was widely recruited during the summer before making a commitment with the University of Illinois-Chicago.
After sitting out much of last season with a broken wrist, Johnson helped the Jaguars make a run in the 9th Region playoffs. He scored 75 points in five district and region tournament games, but his team lost to Newport in the region final. He ended up averaging 15.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and nearly five assists per game.
Sullivan’s starting lineup won’t be set until the football players return. Two of them are Jaiden Combs and Isaiah Johnson, who had combined averages of 15.9 points and 8.5 rebounds last season. They also helped the Jaguars limit their opponents to 51.4 points per game.
4. Lloyd Juggernauts
Seven seniors on the Lloyd roster get one more chance to win the program’s first 9th Region championship after getting knocked off in the semifinals the last three seasons. The veterans include 6-foot-8 forward EJ Walker, who averaged 16.9 points and 11.1 rebounds while shooting 58 percent from the field.
Walker was recruited by several Division I college teams before making a commitment with South Carolina last spring. He enters his senior season with career totals of 1,322 points and 801 rebounds since joining the Lloyd team on 2020 when his father, Michael, became head coach.
The Juggernauts’ talented senior class also includes Carter Bresser, Elijah Collins and Isaiah Sebastian, a trio who made 122 3-point goals for last year’s 25-9 team. Sebastian’s final averages were 12.4 points and 4.8 rebounds.
Anthony Blaackar also played a role in Lloyd’s success as a sophomore starter last season. He was the team’s leading scorer in several games and ended up averaging 11.2 points, shooting 62.2 percent from the floor and 72.6 percent at the line.
5. Ryle Raiders
The Raiders snapped a nine-year string of losing records last season when they won 13 of their last 19 games to finish 19-12 and have three top performers back in the lineup to keep the program going in a positive direction.
Landon Lorms is a 6-foot-3 senior who averaged a team-high 16.1 points and 4.6 rebounds using the attributes that make him the leading pass receiver on Ryle’s state semifinal football team.
“Landon uses his strength and toughness to get to his spots to create scoring opportunities,” said coach Nick Dorning. “He was a vastly improved shooter over the summer and hopes to show that ability this season.”
The other returning senior is Jon DeGroff, who averaged 9.5 points and 6.4 rebounds. The Raiders also have a veteran point guard in junior Anthony Coppola, who averaged 9.9 points.
“Anthony is a strong, committed defender and his basketball acumen is high,” said coach Dorning. “As a point guard, he understands he is an extension of the coach on the floor.”
6. Conner Cougars
Conner’s new head coach Nathan Browning said the returning players were disappointed with last season’s 11-17 record and they’re “hungry and excited for the opportunity to prove themselves.”
The Cougars’ list of returning players includes junior point guard Finn Louden and senior forward Landon Warner, who averaged 15.9 and 12.5 points per game.
Louden and junior guard Brady Bushman provided a combined total of 105 3-point goals with Bushman hitting 44.4 percent of his treys.
“Finn Louden is as tough as they come,” coach Browning said. “He handles the ball very well, sees the floor extremely well, can create for himself or others.”
The leading candidates for Conner’s other starting positions are senior Chase Huff and sophomore Tyler Warner. They both averaged seven points per game last season and Browning said they both got bigger and stronger.
7. Campbell County Camels
Campbell County point guard Garyn Jackson made a game-winning 3-point shot in the 10th Region championship game that sent his team to the state tournament last March.
Then the Camels upset top-ranked Newport in the first round of the state tournament to add to their exciting season under first-year head coach Brent Sowder.
Jackson is the only starter returning from that 27-7 team, but coach Sowder said he’s part of a strong senior class that will align with a talented group of underclassmen to give this year’s team a “high ceiling.”
Jackson is the Camels’ top returning scorer with a 11.7 average and he shot a team-high 64 percent from the field. His senior classmates include guards Zach Franzen and Xavier Fancher, who made 40 3-point goals.
8. Holy Cross Indians
Three Holy Cross players who finished last season with double-figure scoring averages are back in the starting lineup. One of them is junior Nate Rominger, who had team-high averages of 16.1 points and 8.2 rebounds while shooting 57 percent from the field.
Coach Ricardo Johnson also has junior guard Luke Arlinghaus and senior forward Will McElhaney, who averaged 12.2 and 10.2 point per game, returning from a 16-13 team that lost four of its last seven games by margins of five points or less.
Johnson said the players spent the offseason honing their skills and their familiarity with the system promises to pay dividends.
9. Highlands Bluebirds
The Bluebirds have no seniors on the roster. But junior guard Vinny Listerman and junior post player Nathan Rickard started almost every game last season while their classmates played on a 26-1 junior varsity team that won the post-season tournament title.
Since the top two scorers on last season’s 17-16 varsity team graduated, coach Kevin Listerman said his son, Vinny, will have to be a more offensive minded guard creating opportunities for himself and his teammates.
Highlands will continue its up-tempo style of play and push the pace with a group of guards that includes juniors Charlie Messmer, Finn Bouldin and Owen Ebert and sophomore Cale Harris, who was on a team that won the freshman post-season tournament.
10. Simon Kenton Pioneers
Last season, Simon Kenton won 18 games and made it to the 8th Region final with mostly underclassmen in the starting lineup. That gives coach Trent Steiner a reason to be optimistic about what’s ahead for the Pioneers.
Five seniors with varsity experience will be the team leaders. One of them is guard Jay Bilton, who was named most valuable player in the last two 32nd District tournaments. He was a double-figure scorer in five of six playoff games last season and ended up with a 12.2 average.
The Pioneers’ other senior veterans are Jordan Bach, Brayden Polly, Marty Taylor and Bode Stone, who averaged 9.2 points and 5.3 rebounds last season with a team-high 42 blocked shots.