Mercer County 2018/2019

What does Mercer County need to do to be successful in the 2018/2019 season? Please be constructive.

The Titans were one shot away from cutting down the nets in the 12th Region tournament this past season but lost in the last second of the game to Southwestern. Mercer County will miss Mr. Basketball Trevon Faulkner next season as he ended a historic career and will go down as one of the greatest players to ever put on the red and blue for the Titans.

Next season Mercer County will be building their team around returning starter and senior to be Carter Baughman. Baughman was the second highest scorer for the Titans averaging over 13 points per game. Mercer County will also have junior to be Kaelin Drakeford who saw significant minutes at the varsity level last season.

Yes Baughman and Drakeford are the only two returning starters and top two returning scorers. Nobody can replace Trevon but hopefully they can do it as a team. Most all of the top 12th Region teams lost key starters and will be relying on new people to step up. Who does everyone think will be the pre season favorites in the 12th region?

Yes Baughman and Drakeford are the only two returning starters and top two returning scorers. Nobody can replace Trevon but hopefully they can do it as a team. Most all of the top 12th Region teams lost key starters and will be relying on new people to step up. Who does everyone think will be the pre season favorites in the 12th region?

Because everyone lost so much in the region I am going to say Wayne County & West Jessamine.

Because everyone lost so much in the region I am going to say Wayne County & West Jessamine.

I agree with you on Wayne. I am not sure about West. Bruner will probably be best player in the region but they lost everybody other than him off last years team. I don't know that I would put West over Mercer. They will be pretty even.

I like Wayne as well, but losing Jakson Baker will hurt them as well. All Region Performer, who was a double/double guy. This is the first time in a long time that I couldn't pick a favorite. Off-Season development will be crucial for the 12th this season. I will say JR. to be Guard Brayden Sebastian will have a breakout year for Garrard Co. He averaged 16 and 8 as a SO, and recently averaged 24 and 14 for his AAU team at an event in ATL this past weekend. Expect a big season for him.

Love watching Baughman play. Tenacious on-ball defender with a great motor.

Yes Baughman and Drakeford are the only two returning starters and top two returning scorers. Nobody can replace Trevon but hopefully they can do it as a team. Most all of the top 12th Region teams lost key starters and will be relying on new people to step up. Who does everyone think will be the pre season favorites in the 12th region?

The 12th will be more wide open next year than it was this year.

Wayne County, Lincoln County and Danville are the 3 teams that stand out to me right now as they appear to return the most experience.

Garrard County has a legit stud in Sebastian.

Boyle County returns Reese Smith and Grant Hotchkiss and has a strong incoming freshman class.

Everyone else has lost a lot and I don’t know much about who will fill those spots for those teams.

The 12th will be more wide open next year than it was this year.

 

Wayne County, Lincoln County and Danville are the 3 teams that stand out to me right now as they appear to return the most experience.

 

Garrard County has a legit stud in Sebastian.

 

Boyle County returns Reese Smith and Grant Hotchkiss and has a strong incoming freshman class.

 

Everyone else has lost a lot and I don’t know much about who will fill those spots for those teams.

Danville is an intriguing team to look at as well. They lost a lot of veteran players, but still have a lot of returning talent.

Danville is an intriguing team to look at as well. They lost a lot of veteran players, but still have a lot of returning talent.

DeShaud St. Martin, Zach Thornton, Tevin Kavanaugh and Dante Hayden is a strong nucleus.

DeShaud St. Martin, Zach Thornton, Tevin Kavanaugh and Dante Hayden is a strong nucleus.

Ethan Wood, Darrian Bell, Caden Hill, and Nick Price will also see minutes for Danville next year. Darrian Bell is the toughest kid on the team, if he dont see mins next year something is wrong. He should've seen clock this year. Kid just plays with heart and plays so hard.

Word is Danville will be better without the seniors they are losing.

Yes Baughman and Drakeford are the only two returning starters and top two returning scorers. Nobody can replace Trevon but hopefully they can do it as a team. Most all of the top 12th Region teams lost key starters and will be relying on new people to step up. Who does everyone think will be the pre season favorites in the 12th region?

Mercer will certainly have to retool. Baughman is definitely a competitor and things will and should be built around him and his skill set. Drakeford will have an opportunity to step up. Foul trouble got him last year. Expect Lewis to get more minutes. They will lose some to football so they may get a slow start but the coaching staff has a good sense of weaknesses and strengths. They were able to compete with Collins and Danville without some key big men. Should be interesting.

Mercer will certainly have to retool. Baughman is definitely a competitor and things will and should be built around him and his skill set. Drakeford will have an opportunity to step up. Foul trouble got him last year. Expect Lewis to get more minutes. They will lose some to football so they may get a slow start but the coaching staff has a good sense of weaknesses and strengths. They were able to compete with Collins and Danville without some key big men. Should be interesting.

Baughman will probably be the leading scorer as he will take the majority of the shots but I am not sure that is really what you want your point guard doing. For Mercer to be successful they will need to get some other scoring. Baughman at 5"9 can't take games over like Trevon did. He has a great outside shot but isn't going to get to the rim and finish like Trevon. Hopefully coach Hamlin is smarter than this and will not play that style or it will be a long frustrating season.

Baughman will probably be the leading scorer as he will take the majority of the shots but I am not sure that is really what you want your point guard doing. For Mercer to be successful they will need to get some other scoring. Baughman at 5"9 can't take games over like Trevon did. He has a great outside shot but isn't going to get to the rim and finish like Trevon. Hopefully coach Hamlin is smarter than this and will not play that style or it will be a long frustrating season.

When I mention Baughman's skill set, I mean as a true point guard... pushing the ball down the court, involving others, reading the floor, etc. I don't expect Baughman to be the only scorer. He has always had a tendency toward being generous. It will definitely need to be a team effort for them to win rather than fall to one to take over a game. They had a new 6'5" student with a nice perimeter shot who has been playing with them this summer. He could be a very nice addition. It seems that others in the region will also need to rely on team play with big departures such as Fitzgerald.