Lots of scoring in boys’ hoops here
With Covington Catholic leading the state in scoring at 82.9 points a game, the Colonels are the third-highest scoring KHSAA team in the last decade, trailing only North Laurel’s (and Reed Sheppard) 85.8 in 2021 and Lyon County’s (and Travis Perry) 83.4 in 2023.
We did the math here. If CovCath were playing college-length 40-minute games, instead of the 32 in high school, the Colonels would be scoring 103.5 points a game, better by far than the 92.7 game average for top-scoring Miami of Ohio, the only unbeaten college team left. And there’s a CovCath connection there. For the first half of this season, the Miami leader was Colonel alum, point guard Evan Ipsaro, before he tore his ACL and is out for the rest of the season.
If CovCath were in the NBA and playing 48 minutes a game, that would translate into 124.4 points a game, better than the top-scoring NBA team, the Denver Nuggets, at 120.3.
A young man’s game
As Terry Boehmker noted in his high school column Tuesday, there’s a heck of a race for top scorer in boys’ basketball in Northern Kentucky. But the thing that’s so interesting about the scoring leaders is how young half of the top six are, not just the leader, Campbell County sophomore Austin Davie, at 24.7 ppg, good for No. 14 in the state. Has Northern Kentucky ever had this many young scorers?
The next two in line, and Nos. 15 and 17 in the state, are seniors – Lloyd Memorial’s Anthony Blaackar (24.5) and Conner’s Finn Louden (24.1). But then come Scott freshman, Ben Brown (23.2), No. 22 in the state; CovCath senior Athens McGillis, No. 25 (23.2) and Newport junior Amontae Lowe’s 21.3, good for No. 43. So that’s six in the top 50.
But all the young scorers don’t end there and it looks like they’ll be battling for the next couple of years for Northern Kentucky’s top gunner. There’s Beechwood sophomore Dylan Topmiller (20.4), CovCath junior Braeden Myrick (18.1) and even an eighth grader and the next candidate to step up into the spotlight, Highlands’ Amil Wimzie, who comes in as the sixth man for the high-scoring Bluebirds while averaging 5.5 points in his limited time. But he can absolutely play.
NKU breaks ground on new tennis complex
NKU began the construction of a new tennis complex with the groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday marking the start of six new tennis courts. “The new complex is a complete game changer, not only for student-athletes but for the greater student body as well,” freshman tennis player Syndey Zakic said. “This is a guiding step for the program, and I am so excited for the future of our tennis teams.”
The new tennis complex “will also provide recreational opportunities for students and surrounding community,” the University said in a statement.
“For our student-athletes, this tennis complex will mean home,” said NKU Director of Athletics Christina Roybal. “It reflects momentum across NKU athletics . . . These partnerships make a difference in the lives of our student-athletes, and . . . will feel the impact of this contribution for years to come.”
Hall of Fame at CovCath welcomes 5 more
A great time was had by all at the recent Covington Catholic Athletic Hall of Fame induction, the 44th all-time HOF version. A big reason for that was the MC work by a former Colonel athlete, Class of ’98, Ch. 19 sports anchor Joe Danneman, who showed up with his cross-country/track letterman’s jacket and the JV MVP Award he won as a senior.
• Soccer coach Jeremy Robertson led the Colonels to their lone state soccer championship in 2015 in his 21 seasons in Park Hills with a record of 290-148-51. Jeremy said he’d “rather see one of our players up here,” calling this “a program award.” Robertson then addressed “any rumors” with “I’m not retiring,” with a laugh. He and wife Carey, a Notre Dame alum, have five children – three CovCath alums and two from NDA. When Principal Bob Rowe called him when he was at Highlands about the job, the former NKU soccer star asked him “Why me?” “Because I wanted a winner,” Rowe said simply.
• Contributor Rusty Schilling was next and as the baseball coach at CovCath when St. Agnes sixth-grader Rusty volunteered to be the bat boy, he’s been as loyal and in love with his CovCath family as it’s possible to be for 31 years now. As the lead statistician in football and basketball, he’s missed only the years when his job took him to the West Coast. No one does it better than Rusty and Bob Morris and Dave Wear when it comes to high school sports stats. Adopted into the Schilling family, Rusty adopted CovCath and almost drafted himself into support positions that have become something of a second-career commitment through numerous state championship teams in football and basketball.
• Austin Hussey was sick and missing and will get his time in the spotlight next year but the tennis phenom lost just three matches in four regional-winning years, won a state title, earned a UK scholarship and competed professionally on the Futures and Challengers Tours before returning to CovCath and helping head coach Al Hertensberg and the Colonels to the only three state team titles in school history.
• Shane Popham’s kicking numbers at CovCath are eye-popping with four career field goals from more than 50 yards out, a 57-yarder that’s the third-longest in state history and a record 18 in a season as CovCath won the 2006 state championship. He was also a three-year starter and two-time bowl-winner for Wake Forest before finishing up his career as a grad student at Cincinnati, where he helped UC win a bowl game and earned a Master’s. But his best line was about his family, especially his wife, Shayna. “I’ve definitely outkicked my coverage there,” Shane said.
• Matt Rabe played everywhere in football from linebacker to running back to tight end for the 1993 state champion Colonels – not to mention baseball and basketball. He went on to earn Player of the Game honors for the Top 33 Kentucky-Tennessee All-Star Game and then on to a football scholarship at Ball State where the Cardinals won a MAC title and a trip to the Las Vagas Bowl. “I’m not making any of this up,” Matt deadpanned of the last 25 years coaching multiple youth sports. Although he did confess that in his single season coaching a girls’ team, “I didn’t know it was bad to make girls cry.” But football, well, that’s something he knows. “I started football when I was four years old . . . it’s in my blood.”
New NKSHOF class announced
Next Wednesday, Feb. 18 is the day, and 1 p.m. at The Gardens in Park Hills is the time and place for the February inductions for the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame. The six newest members are: Beechwood football/baseball athlete Brandon Slusher; also from Beechwood baseball and a long-time pro player and now coach of the Florence Y’alls, Chris Curley; Holy Cross baseball/basketball star Dave Muck; Erik Goetz, Holy Cross player and coach and Beechwood coach; Rob Hart, Bellevue and Masters tennis and slow-pitch softball; and from CovCath and Thomas More basketball, Chad Wachs. The public is invited. There is no charge.
Contact Dan Weber at dweber3440@aol.com. Follow him on X @dweber3440.