16th Region- 2012-2013

[therealcoach]

The last two years Ashland and Rowan have been to the region finals. Is there a chance that either team returns to that stage this year? It is hard to rule out the two teams that have been on top for the last two years. I know Rowan lost three really good players but they have 6'11 Matt Brown back, Tyler Thacker back, Josh Barnard back, Trevor Newsome back. Ashland has Salow, Hart, Thompson and a couple other kids that players minutes back. Everyone is saying it is all Russell and possibly Fleming at this point but i think Boyd is also got a good shot. East Carter should be tough. Like I said i look for Ashland and Rowan to still be pretty good this year.

[spindoc]

Very few people will have a great answer for Stewart from East. You may be correct.

[therealcoach]

I agree Stewart is going to be tough to stop. There are not a lot of mobile big guys like him in the region next year. Thats why i think Rowan could be tough again because they have two bigs that will be tough to match up with.

[spindoc]

Lots of debates about the players that left that team on this site and I don't want to stir it back up. No problem with debating. I agree with Spindoc, they will be fine next year. Regardless of your opinion of that staff, nobody has their team more ready than them.

He is very good at breaking down film. There's no dispute.

[Big Slick]

The last two years Ashland and Rowan have been to the region finals. Is there a chance that either team returns to that stage this year? It is hard to rule out the two teams that have been on top for the last two years. I know Rowan lost three really good players but they have 6'11 Matt Brown back, Tyler Thacker back, Josh Barnard back, Trevor Newsome back. Ashland has Salow, Hart, Thompson and a couple other kids that players minutes back. Everyone is saying it is all Russell and possibly Fleming at this point but i think Boyd is also got a good shot. East Carter should be tough. Like I said i look for Ashland and Rowan to still be pretty good this year.

I don't think anyone is a clear cut favorite, I look for all the teams you mentioned to have a shot.

[therealcoach]

I agree i think the 16th Region at this point could be wide open. This summer we may get more of a feel for who the best teams could be. Net season should be interesting the 16th Region.

[ozzy72666]

The all area Team, has some good underclassmen for next season. Here is the article from the Independent

 

April 15, 2012

A little bit of everything

Rowan repeat garners another Coach of the Year selection for Thacker, Townsend named POY

 

Aaron Snyder

The Independent

 

ASHLAND — The 2011-12 version of The Independent’s All-Area boys basketball team, as voted by coaches, forms a formidable facade.

 

Coated with accomplishments and accolades galore, this combination of talents has an impressive appearance. And they can back it up on the court.

 

There’s Rowan County’s 16th Region repeat, involving All-Area Player of the Year D.J. Townsend and two-time Coach of the Year Shawn Thacker. How about a pair of 2,000-point scorers, in Fairview’s Mike Terry and Ashland’s Corey Gregg? Then there’s KABC (Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches) Co-Players of the Year Adam Wing, of Rowan County, and Derek Lawson, of West Carter.

 

The list goes on, or falls further below in Kyle Skaggs’ case. The junior, already a five-year starter, is on pace to shatter Russell’s career scoring mark.

 

So, for Townsend to carry the tag as Player of the Year, it’s an honor in every sense of the word for the Vikings’ point guard.

 

“It feels good to know that all the hard work’s paid off,” Townsend said. “Knowing that the coaches recognize that ... it’s a big accomplishment at the end of my career.”

 

Back-to-back regional titles seemed far-fetched when Thacker took over the Vikings in 2008. He recalled one area coach even telling him, “It’s going to be a long, long time.”

 

Four years later, Thacker has polished off another trip to Lexington, but he said it couldn’t have been done without his “Big Three.”

 

Townsend, Wing, an Evansville signee, and Jason Egan, were front and center as Rowan County marched to the state championship game a year ago, and then followed it up with yet a second consecutive regional title win over Ashland and a state quarterfinal appearance.

 

According to Thacker, being in the forefront wasn’t Townsend’s goal. Ultimately, the point guard’s apathy towards extra attention granted him more respect around the region.

 

“I think it’s a tribute to how he goes about his business,” Thacker said. “He plays in a first-class fashion. He understood his responsibility on this team. When he needed to try to score, he would.”

 

Townsend tallied 17.8 points per game to go with 4.5 assists. His numbers increased in just about every category this past season, which ended with a 67-57 loss to Southwestern at Rupp Arena.

 

“I had to step up defensively and rebounding-wise,” said the 5-foot-11 guard who added four boards a night. “Offensively, I was scoring, getting to the rim and also getting teammates shots.”

 

Townsend and Thacker, along with son and Viking sophomore Tyler Thacker, have a history that originated when Townsend and Tyler were young children.

 

“Growing up with (Shawn) and Tyler, Coach was almost like a second dad to me,” Townsend said. “Getting to Rupp was something (Tyler and I) talked about when we were younger. It was a dream come true.

 

“Doing it twice was an amazing experience that I will think about every day,” added the senior who has yet to decide where he’ll attend college in the fall.

 

Wing was a First-Team All-State selection as he scored 14.7 points per game and led the Vikings in rebounds (10.6). Egan topped the team in free-throw percentage (72.3) and three-point percentage (40.8). Overall, the Vikings finished top 10 in the state in three-point shooting, at 37.5 percent. Wing and Townsend each also shot better than 37 percent from long range.

 

Wing made his third straight All-Area team, joining Skaggs, Gregg and Terry. It was Terry’s fourth — the 6-7 guard/forward was selected as a freshman at Rose Hill Christian before transferring to Fairview and racking up three more.

 

Since becoming an Eagle, Terry continuously excelled and is still drawing Division-I interest. He helped the Eagles advance to the 2010 regional final and he also set a record with seven 3-pointers in a close loss to Rowan County in the first round of the regional tournament this past spring.

 

Terry remembered some of the past players by whom he’d been surrounded as an All-Area honoree.

 

“It’s pretty neat that I got to be with guys like (Ethan and Evan Faulkner, 2009 Elliott County graduates) and older players that were considered great in our region,” Terry said.

 

Not only did Terry and Gregg, also formerly of Rose Hill, post 2,000-plus points in their careers, but they also grabbed 1,000-plus rebounds apiece.

 

Gregg joined Cody Withrow and Ryan Whetsel to represent the only other school, along with Rowan County, to garner three selections. The trio also represented the Tomcats as All-Area football picks in the fall.

 

“It tells a lot about Ashland,” Gregg said. “We’re all team players. We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t.”

 

Gregg and Skaggs (each at just fewer than 25 points per game) finished among the state’s top five in scoring for the season.

 

Joining Skaggs, who sprained his ankle and sat out most of the Red Devils’ first round regional loss to East Carter, was Luke Bailey from Russell. Bailey missed his entire junior season with a shoulder injury, but returned with a huge impact. The athletic 6-3 forward averaged 12 points and seven rebounds while also making an impressive 60 percent of his shot attempts, placing among the region’s leaders in that category.

 

East Carter turned a season riddled with ups and downs into a success, capped by a regional semifinal appearance. The backcourt tandem of Connor Robinson and Dylan Genung was considered of the best guard duos in the region.

 

The Raiders, in the 62nd District tournament, upset West Carter, which put together another tremendous season paced by junior guard Kyle Brown and Lawson. Brown led the area in free-throw shooting (83 percent) while posting 17 points per game. Lawson led the region with 12 boards a contest while chipping in 15.5 points per game.

 

Rounding out the All-Area squad is: Greenup County senior pair Darius Jackson and Hayden Stephenson, who together helped led the Musketeers to a 63rd District championship under first-year coach Jim Youngman; Fleming County super sophomores Darion Burns and Troy Steward; Boyd County senior Jacob Mayse; and Johnson Central sophomore Shane Hall, whose season ended in the first round of the State Tournament.

 

AARON SNYDER can be reached at asnyder@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2664.

 

2011-12 ALL-AREA

 

BOYS BASKETBALL

 

 

 

Luke Bailey (Russell) Senior

 

Kyle Brown (West Carter) Junior

 

Darion Burns (Fleming County) Sophomore

 

Jason Egan (Rowan County) Senior

 

Dylan Genung (East Carter) Senior

 

Corey Gregg (Ashland) Senior

 

Shane Hall (Johnson Central) Sophomore

 

Darius Jackson (Greenup County) Senior

 

Derek Lawson (West Carter) Senior

 

Jacob Mayse (Boyd County) Senior

 

Connor Robinson (East Carter) Senior

 

Kyle Skaggs (Russell) Junior

 

Hayden Stephenson (Greenup County) Senior

 

Troy Steward (Fleming County) Sophomore

 

Mike Terry (Fairview) Senior

 

D.J. Townsend (Rowan County) Senior

 

Ryan Whetsel (Ashland) Senior

 

Adam Wing (Rowan County) Senior

 

Cody Withrow (Ashland) Senior

 

 

 

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

 

D.J. Townsend (Rowan County)

 

 

 

COACH OF THE YEAR

 

Shawn Thacker (Rowan County)

 

 

 

HONORABLE MENTION

 

BOYD COUNTY: Brandon Lowe; EAST CARTER: Kyle Stewart; ELLIOTT COUNTY: Logan Nickell; FLEMING COUNTY: Travis Taylor; LEWIS COUNTY: Brett Ruckel; MORGAN COUNTY: Jagos Lasic; PAINTSVILLE: Trevor Tiller; ROSE HILL: Andrew Wilhoit; RUSSELL: Jacob Porter

[therealcoach]

If I had to rank them top to bottom based on what i saw from last season here is how it would look from my perspective:

1- Fleming

2-Russell

3-Rowan

4-Boyd

5-Ashland

6-East

7-West

8-Lewis

9-Raceland

10-Greenup

11-Morgan

12-Fairview

13-Elliott

14-Bath

15-Menifee

16-Rose Hill

[16th Lifer]

1- Fleming

2-Russell

3-Rowan

4-Ashland

5-Boyd

6-Lewis

7-East

8-Greenup

9-West

10-Raceland

11-Morgan

12-Elliott

13-Bath

14-Fairview

15-Menifee

16-Rose Hill

 

*Subject to change based on who leaves or comes in as usual.

I would have to agree with the top 5 you have but after those 5 any of these other teams could move up or down several spots. Injuries, transfers, and chemistry will weigh heavily on how they finish. The top 5 could probably take an injury a lot more easily. Are these top schools also the biggest schools in the region?

[Big Slick]

I would guess Greenup is bigger than Fleming and Russell.

[therealcoach]

I seen Ashland, West, Fleming, Rowan, Boyd, Lewis, play this summer. I thought Ashland and Rowan looked good at times and struggled at times. I thought Fleming was tough offensively. West was much better than I anticipated after the last two years graduations. I also thought Boyd was tough at times. Lewis will be a solid team as well this year that could make it to a regional tournament. Did anyone see Russell, Fairview, East Carter, or any other in region teams play this summer? Any thoughts?

[Newman]

I seen Ashland, West, Fleming, Rowan, Boyd, Lewis, play this summer. I thought Ashland and Rowan looked good at times and struggled at times. I thought Fleming was tough offensively. West was much better than I anticipated after the last two years graduations. I also thought Boyd was tough at times. Lewis will be a solid team as well this year that could make it to a regional tournament. Did anyone see Russell, Fairview, East Carter, or any

other in region teams play this summer? Any thoughts?)

 

My thoughts are you know nothing about basketball and why do you feel people want to listen to your analysis it's football season:ylsuper:

[16th Lifer]

Has anyone heard the Thacker to Fleming rumor, heard awhile back and thought it didn't have any merit. Maybe it does.

[spindoc]

Are you talking about the dad/coach, the kid or both?

[Big Slick]

Fleming now looking for a coach, so maybe?