With the wraps put on another basketball season, I'd like to see Trigg County beef up their basketball schedule in 2011-12.
I'm not saying schedule home and homes with Christian County, Warren Central, and Paducah Tilghman. But they also don't need to have the weakest non-district schedule in the Second Region like they did this year.
Trigg's Courier-Journal Litkenhous Rating this week of 52.2 ranked them 10th out of the 15 teams in the Second Region. I used the Lit Ratings to determine the non-district strength of schedule (SOS) of each team in the region. A couple of factors went into it:
First, district teams aren't included because you aren't given a choice of what district you are in and you have to play teams in your district. You are given a choice when making your non-district schedule.
Second, All-A Tournament games aren't counted because not everyone is eligible.
Third, holiday tournaments are counted because you get to choose where you go and you have an idea of what teams are in those tournaments.
Last, the SOS takes the Lit rating of every non-district game you played, adds them, and divides it by the number of games to get an average rating. If you played a team twice, you add their rating twice.
With that said, here is the SOS of the Second Region teams:
1. Christian County (86.0)
T2. Henderson County (69.9)
T2. Madisonville (69.9)
4. UHA (65.2)
5. Hopkins Central (61.9)
6. Hopkinsville (61.8)
7. Union County (60.2)
8. Fort Campbell (59.7)
9. Webster County (58.5)
10. Dawson Springs (52.0)
T11. Caldwell County (51.9)
T11. Lyon County (51.9)
13. Livingston Central (48.4)
14. Crittenden County (44.3)
15. TRIGG COUNTY (39.1)
Trigg won 17 games this year, but it came against a schedule that is the equivalent of playing the 13th best team in the Second Region every game. 14 of the 17 wins came against non-district opponents and two were against out-of-state teams that don't factor into the Lit Ratings.
Next year, the KHSAA changes the way games are counted on the schedule. Currently, teams are allowed to have 23 games, and with separate formulas for counting single and double elimination tournaments such as holiday tournaments and the All-A Classic.
Under the new system, all games count as one game up to 30. If you play four games in a holiday tournament, it counts as four games. If you play three games in the All-A Region tournament, it counts as three games. You get the point. 30 regular season games.
Trigg played 24 regular season games this year (losing one to bad weather) and 25 last year. Under the new system, there's no excuse not to have a tougher schedule to get better prepared for the postseason.
Six district games. Three games in the All-A if you fail to win the region. Four if you do. Four games in the KME Classic. Four more games in another post Christmas tournament. That leaves 13 to 14 non-district games for Trigg County to schedule.
Home and homes with Caldwell County, Dawson Springs, and Fort Campbell are acceptable because of their proximity and series history.
That leaves seven games.
Hopkinsville, Hopkins Central, Todd County should also remain on the schedule.
That leaves four games.
I'd like to see Madisonville back on the schedule. They aren't the region power they used to be, and Trigg would be competitive with them.
I'd like to see Stewart County, Tennessee remain on the schedule because of geography.
That leaves two games.
Why not a First Region team like Calloway County, Murray, Mayfield, or Carlisle County instead of one that has a Christian in their title.
Of the non-district teams on Trigg County's 2010-11 schedule, only one (Hopkins Central) won their opening round district game, and that's because they drew six-win Caldwell County. Of their 15 non-district games, 14 of the 15 were against teams with a lower Lit Rating than Trigg. The only exception was the regular season finale against Hopkinsville.
Trigg County averaged 65 points a game this year. They lose 17.4 ppg. to graduation. Juniors account for just 4.8 ppg. The rest comes from this year's sophomores and freshmen.
It's time to upgrade the schedule. This upcoming group of players has nothing to gain from playing the Christian Fellowships and Community Christians twice or Dawson Springs three times in a season. I expect coach Mike Wright to recognize this as he has in the past. Better opponents make your team better and it brings more people to the gym to watch your team.
Trigg County's basketball team is headed in the right direction despite the early exit from the district tournament this season. But the future schedule must head in that same direction or the early exits will become frustratingly commonplace.