article Bluegrasspreps' 2015-16 14th Region Basketball Preview

The basketball season is here and should be another exciting season for basketball in the bluegrass, especially in the 14thRegion. With transfers, players leaving due to graduation, the 14th region this season will be open to any and all teams, no really heavy favorite. With that being said, here’s the run-down of the 14th Region Boys Basketball 2015/16

1.Perry County Central:

The Commodores were expected to be the heavy favorite to knock the Knott Central Patriots off their throne and take over but with the loss of star guard, Braxton Beverly, who transferred to Hargrave in VA this past offseason, opened the door for this region to be wide open. Despite the loss, the Commodores will still be the favorite to win the region crown but it won’t be easy by any stretch of the imagination.

2.Knott County Central:

Coach King and the Patriots were hammered by graduation last season, losing Camron Justice, Evan Hall, Simon Christon, Chance Cornett. With Isaac Caudill, Austin Combs and Dalton Cornett, this team could very well defend and retain the region crown. Experience will be a factor as the Patriots will be young but they will still be deadly from the 3pt line.

3.Cordia:

The Lions are still banned from post season play but the number of games they are allowed to play have been lifted. The Lions return some solid players that they could have made a run at the region crown if they were allowed to play this season.

4.Letcher County Central:

With what the Cougars return in talent, they will be in contention for the region crown. Leading the way for the Cougars will be talented JR Torell Carter, who was 4th in the state last season in scoring. 3rd team all-state per the courier journal and is as good as Jarrod Polson was when he was at West Jessamine. Jordan Gregory and Tyler Collins will be the big man that the Cougars go to on the inside and Austin Banks on the outside.

5.Hazard:

Coach Holland and the Bulldogs will always be in the hunt for a region crown. With the returns of Austin Spurlock, Griffin Wells, Connor Whitaker among several others, the Bulldogs will be knocking on some people’s doors come regional tournament time.

6.June Buchanan:

Coach Justice is in his second season as a head coach and the head coach of the Crusaders, who finished last season at 12-10. JBS only lost 2 players from last year’s team, meaning, what they return and if they play their cards right they could be playing in the regional tournament.

7.Buckhorn:

The Wildcats return some good talent, Connor Hoskins, Josh Crank and Ryan Boggs the Wildcats could upset a team or two and sneak into the regional final but the Cats weakness will be getting the younger kids playing time, which is where their size is.

8.Powell County:

The Pirates lost some of it’s scoring from last season but return a great deal of players that can light it up on any given night and with the schedule that Coach Whitaker has put together for his Pirates, they most certainty will be the favorite to win their district and make another run at the region crown that they won back in 2003.

9.Breathitt County:

The Bobcats aren’t what they use to be. With losses to several of their best players over the past couple of seasons have left a mark. The Bobcats return two starters from last season, Ethan Little and Justin Baker who can shoot the lights out which is good for the Bobcats, the bad news? The Young Bobcats as Breathitt will be in-experienced. The Bobcats will also be under a new direction under Coach Robert Amis.

10.Estill County:

Engineers have entered re-building mode as they lost several key players from last year’s team. Although this year will be a re-building season, the good news is that the Engineers have a lot of good young talent coming up that will play big roles for them in the future. Engineers will call on SO Forward Caleb Bonny and 8th grader Joe Benton this season.

11.Leslie County:

The Eagles should be in good condition this season with some returning talent from last season, the bad news, their in a brutal district with Hazard, Perry Central and Buckhorn.

12.Lee County:

The Bobcats have struggled past couple of seasons and it looks like it could be the same this coming season but the good news is that the Cats have enough returning talent that could push them into the regional tournament for the first time since 2010/11. Bobcats will be led by Joel Shelton and Michael Ammerman who both led the Bobcats in scoring last season at 12 PPG.

13.Jackson City:

The Tigers lose a lot of their scoring from last year but return some talent that could help them to the regional tournament.

14.Owsley County:

Owsley County will be young again this season.

15.Wolfe County:

The Wolves will be like several teams this season, re-building mode. Good news is that they should be better by 2016/17..Bad news is that they have to play a full season in 15/16 to get to 16/17. Wolfe County was led in scoring by Bradley Lawson at 16 PPG a last season, FR Devin Stone looks to take over and run the team in replacement of Lawson.

16.Jenkins:

The young Cavaliers struggled all last season and it doesn’t look any better this season, especially after losing 9 players from a year ago.

17.Riverside Christian:

One of the smallest schools in the region, if not the state, always plays one tough schedule. The Rams will be under a new direction this season under Coach Ryan Hamblin. The Rams are hoping to surprise some people and get some wins under their belts.

Top 10 Players:

1.Torrel Carter (Letcher County Central):

The high scoring machine, Torell Carter is the #1 ranked player in the 14th region this season. The talented SO averaged 28 points a game last season and was the 4th leading scorer in the state and 3rd team all-state. Coach Hammonds compares Carter to Jarrod Polson.

2.Connor Hoskins (Buckhorn):

Although this team wasn’t able to bring home a district title or region title, the star forward for the Wildcats was their man go-to guy last season. Leading the Wildcats in scoring at 19 points a game and shooting 28% from long range. Connor will be the main horse that makes this Wildcat team run. Connor gets going, he can put up enough to help his Wildcats knock off anyone in the region tournament.

3.Ajenee Chisolm (Cordia):

The talented guard for the Lions was their second leading scorer last year at 14 points a game in what was a short season. The Lions have been granted extra games this season and Chisolm looks to help lead his Cordia Lions to an All-A State Tournament appearance.

4.Oumar Keita (Cordia):

The talented center for the Lions was a monster on the inside last season averaging a double-double every game at 11 & 11. Keita will look to continue to be that dominate this season.

5.Damon Tobler (Perry County Central):

Damon was one of the biggest helps to the Commodore’s last season right behind Braxton Beverly. Damon averaged 12 points and 9 boards a game to help lead his Commodores to a regional runner-up finish. Damon will be the main horse that runs this Perry County Central team this coming season.

6.Austin Combs (Knott County Central):

The short time Austin got to play during games, he made the best of it. The guard for the Patriots averaged just 8 points a game but was almost money from the charity stripe at 70%. Austin will be one of the starting 5 for the Patriots this season and will play a big role in their offense.

7.Griffin Wells (Hazard):

Griffin was the second leading scorer for the Bulldogs last season at 13 PPG last season. Griffin will be one of the names that Coach Holland calls on this season to help lead his Bulldogs.

8.Princewill Anosike (June Buchanan):

In the 18 games that Anosike played, he averaged 8 points a game. Shooting 48% from the field and 60% from the charity stripe for the Crusaders. Anosike also grabbed 10 boards a game for the Crusaders.

9.Josh Crank (Buckhorn):

Crank was the second leading scorer for Buckhorn behind Connor Hoskins, averaging 12 points a game. Crank made 54 3’s out of 150 last season for the Wildcats shooting 36%. Crank among Hoskins will be the two guys that run Coach Noble’s offense this season.

10.Isaac Caudill (Knott County Central):

Isaac only averaged 5 points a game last season for the Patriots but when your coming off the bench behind 3 DI players (Camron Justice, Evan Hall and Simon Christon) that’s about all you can do. Isaac will play a big role for the Patriots this coming season, hoping to help lead them back to Rupp.

Good work. I got to see alot of them play this summer and Buckhorn is really good. Would have them higher up the list to at least #4. With Cordia still not in the post season, I would have Buckhorn at either #2 or #3. Those kids play hard and play together.

Just my opinion.

Good work. I got to see alot of them play this summer and Buckhorn is really good. Would have them higher up the list to at least #4. With Cordia still not in the post season, I would have Buckhorn at either #2 or #3. Those kids play hard and play together.

 

Just my opinion.

What did you see about Buckhorn that makes you think they should be higher?

What did you see about Buckhorn that makes you think they should be higher?

They gave a very good Mercer County team all they wanted in the KBA summer tournament and had a chance to win that game. If you were at KBA this summer and got to see Scott County, JC, Pikeville, Buckhorn, Mercer, Lafayette, etc. you would have said Buckhorn was the most complete team outside state contender Mercer. They dont wow you with athleticism, but play very very hard to make up for it. They can all shoot, pass and dribble and know the game very well (i.e. they dont beat themselves). They are deep and have decent size and have the go to guy in Hoskins. They are well coached with Noble at the helm.

Having been around basketball all my life, this team plays the way a coach dreams of. I would not want to play them come tournament time as 5 playing as one and playing hard is difficult to beat.

I really like this Buckhorn team and its hard to explain unless you watch them play. They are very strong and very easy to route for. Again, just my opinion but there is no other way to say it but Buckhorn is just really good as a basketball team.

Great information 15th. Thanks for giving us the scoop.

Thank God an answer to the Cordia rumor. What's their complete schedule?

I put this together. I haven't heard anything about Cordia. How did their appeal turn out?

I put this together. I haven't heard anything about Cordia. How did their appeal turn out?

There was no official appeal! Cordia had some coaches, players and community people go talk to the Board of Control, at the last Board of Control meeting. But it didn't work they are still banned from post season. So putting their team and players in the top 10 rankings is useless.

Serious question -

How many transfers or foreign exchange students does JBS have?

Idris Akinyemi

Princewill Anosike

Elijah Branham

Steven Silvers

Any others?

Serious question -

 

How many transfers or foreign exchange students does JBS have?

 

Idris Akinyemi

Princewill Anosike

Elijah Branham

Steven Silvers

 

Any others?

Did they all transfer in this year?

Idris Akinyemi, Princewill Anosike pretty sure these two have been at JBS 3 years, Silvers came last year and Branham this year.

Didn't know this but Breathitt County added a transfer over the summer, Jordan Barnett who transferred from Jackson City.