By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
In a preseason poll of Northern Kentucky boys’ high school basketball coaches, Covington Catholic was voted the area’s top team because the Colonels have four starters returning from last season’s 29-6 campaign.
Cooper senior guard Adam Kunkel was voted the area’s top player in a preseason poll of Northern Kentucky boys’ basketball coaches. (Photo by Bob Jackson)
The coaches also voted on the top players in the area and Cooper senior guard Adam Kunkel came out on top by a slim two-point margin over CovCath senior guard C.J. Fredrick.
Both of those players made commitments with NCAA Division I college programs during the off-season. Kunkel is headed to Belmont University in Tennessee and Fredrick will attend the University of Iowa.
Last season, Kunkel averaged 16 points per game and shot 50 percent (216 of 432) from the field with a team-high 67 3-point goals for Cooper. The 5-foot-10 shooting guard helped the Jaguars post a best-ever 31-5 record, win their first 9th Region championship and take home the runner-up trophy from the state tournament at Rupp Arena.
He is one of three returning starters for the Jaguars, but they only received three first-place votes in the preseason coaches poll compared to 14 for CovCath, last year’s 9th Region runner-up.
Fredrick averaged a team-high 19.7 points for CovCath last season even though the 6-foot-4 shooting guard missed 15 games with a broken bone in his foot. The Colonels’ other returning senior starters are point guard Aiden Ruthsatz, forward A.J. Mayer and 7-foot center Jake Walter, who were also voted among the area’s top 10 players in the coaches poll.
C.J. Fredrick
With those four seniors leading the way, CovCath is expected to continue its run of success under head coach Scott Ruthsatz, who has a 165-42 record in six seasons with the program. The Colonels won the 2014 state championship and made it to the semifinals of the 2015 state tournament, but they were upset in the 9th Region final the last two seasons.
“It’s very motivating,” Fredrick said of the team’s season-ending loss to Cooper in the 2017 regional final. “It’s something that’s been on our minds all through the off-season. We definitely have something to play for this season, and that’s to get back to being regional champions and making it to Rupp Arena.”
None of the other teams in the area received a first-place vote in the coaches poll. Newport placed third, followed by Newport Central Catholic, Simon Kenton, Campbell County, Dixie Heights, Scott, Holmes and Boone County.
Scott won the 10th Region championship and made it to the semifinals of the state tournament last March. But the Eagles lost three of their top six players to graduation, including the program’s all-time leading scorer Jake Ohmer.
The first day of the 2017-18 high school basketball season will be Monday, Nov. 27. That means teams have at least five more weeks to prepare for their opening games.
BOYS BASKETBALL COACHES PRE-SEASON POLLS
TOP 10 TEAMS
1. Covington Catholic (14 first-place votes)
2. Cooper (3 first-place votes)
3. Newport
4. Newport Central Catholic
5. Simon Kenton
6. Campbell County
7. Dixie Heights
8. Scott
9. Holmes
10. Boone County
Other teams receiving votes: Beechwood, Conner, Ryle, Highlands, Lloyd, Brossart, St. Henry
TOP 10 PLAYERS
1. Adam Kunkel (Cooper) 147 points
2. C.J. Fredrick (CovCath) 145 points
3. MeKell Burries (Newport) 109 points
4. Jake Walter (CovCath) 102 points
5. Brennan Hall (NewCath) 90 points
6. A.J. Mayer (CovCath) 49 points
7. Zach Kelch (Simon Kenton) 41 points
8. Ethan Haynes (Boone County) 36 points
9. Aiden Ruthsatz (CovCath) 33 points
10. Ben Toebbe (Beechwood) 25 points
Others players receiving votes: Tyler Schreck (Dixie Heights), Chris McNeil (Cooper), Donnie Miller (Newport), Jamal Neal (Lloyd), Chad Ohmer (Scott), Braydon Runion (Cooper), Joel Day (Campbell County), Vince Rankin (Ryle), Tanner Clos (Campbell County), Ravvi Commodore (Holmes), Scotty Draud (Beechwood), Jaycob Pouncy (Scott), Brett Maehren (Bellevue), Tanner Craddock (Conner).
