article 2014-15 Kentucky High School Basketball Preview - 6th Region

[GoHardITP]

6th Region Preview

 

1. Pleasure Ridge Park- Can Coach Dale Mabry have his Panthers primed for another run to Rupp Arena? A very depleted starting lineup would cause problems for most teams and the Panthers are losing some really good players such as Antonio McDaniels, LaMontray Harris and D'Angelo Hunter to name a few from their State Tourney team last year. However, the system at PRP just keeps finding replacement parts and they have the most exciting player in the region in Richard Gaines. He will lead his squad along with Hunter Stevenson and Drew Glass. They should easily win their district and make another deep region run but can they be at the top? If the past is the best predictor for the future they deserve the nod, but with Bullitt East and Doss there is at least two other teams capable of taking the 6th this season.

 

2. Bullitt East - There will be times during the season that the Tyler twosome of Tyler Sharpe & Tyler Bacon will be as good as any outside/inside combo in the region and they have significant help with Bailey Rakes and Jared Farris giving additional outside/inside punch. This is a talented and experienced team led by Coach Bob Blackburn that on paper should win their district again this year and be a major contender to win the 6th region.

 

3. Doss - By a good margin this team is the most athletic and physically imposing team in the region. DuJuanta Weaver will be back at PG and Terrell Grey just gets after it when he is locked in to play. Word is that Tyler Jefferson, the WKU football commit, is deciding to play which translates into a terror on the glass for this squad. There is also a talented young sophomore class that has considerable size. 1st year Coach Tony Williams will be smiling come the end of the season if the team reaches its full potential.

 

4. Fern Creek - Heavy losses to graduation have the Tigers relying on freshmen this season possibly more than any team in the state. This does not usually work well in the 6th region. Trey Cook (PG) is the only senior with meaningful game experience, but all 5 starters from last season's surprise team in the region are gone. Junior transfer Tony Washington brings an outside scoring threat. The good news is that the three freshmen who will possibly be starting or at a minimum playing significant roles are not the ordinary freshmen. Coach James Schooler will lean heavily on 6'3" Trey Hill, 6'2" Ahmad Price, and 5'10" Anthony Wales who all have hit the radar as major college prospects from the 2018 class. Ohio State, Mississippi State and U of L have all sent assistants to check in on these young players during Fern Creek's early season practice. Can this 2nd year Head Coach who has plenty of buzz himself win with such a young team?

 

5. Desales - Desales, will go as far as Chase Shellman carries them. Aside from Jeffersontown, there is likely no other team whose season rides as much on the shoulders of a single player. Chase is just that special and valuable. He is a 6'5" wing that can play inside or outside effectively. As long as his supporting cast can get him the ball and play good defense there is a good chance they will win close games with scores in the 40's or 50's. Look for Desales to again come in 2nd to Doss in their district, but advance to the 6th Regionals where they could ride the hot hand of Shellman. In an late development there was a coaching change recently where former Desales & Male coach Tom Crews replaced Coach Mingus who took an elementary teaching job that prevented him from continuing again this season.

 

6. Jeffersontown - The Chargers failed to get past District foes Fern Creek & Bullitt East last year, but the district race is wide open this season. They return some talent, but nobody is as talented as Brandon Johnson. Johnson can score in bunches, but who could be the surprise player for the team? Johnson will need some help as Coach Clay Moody will need more than Johnson in order to get their first Region championship since 2008. Johnson could very well be the Region's MVP.

 

7. Butler - The Bears look to make improvement behind Coach Ricky Gibson in his 2nd season at Head Coach. On paper Butler should have been better last season than their record showed. There was talent on the roster, but the bond between new coach and players took more time than the season afforded. There has been some turnover in players and if the kids who remain buy into the coaching staff then year #2 could be much better even with less talent. William Johnson will be the most impacting player on the court, but will he be the positive leader that his coach needs him to be?

 

8. Western - Coach Terrence Moorman posted several big victories last year, but very few players with any experience return. The good news is Coach Moorman has the ability to do more with less and they always field an athletic squad that can get up & down the court.

 

9. Fairdale - New coaching change at Fairdale with David Hicks taking over for Coach Longacre. The bad news is the very best players in Fairdale uniforms in recent season are also gone as Corey Thomas & Caleb Longacre (former coach's son) no longer are suiting up. It will be a rebuilding effort, but Coach Hicks has a long history at Fairdale and seems to know what it takes to get Fairdale back to those glory days of the past.

 

10. Iroquois - Coach Jeff Morrow will have to replace a great group of seniors that led the team for the past few seasons. It will be a youth movement as only 1 senior is on the team and nobody with varsity experience. However, Coach Morrow will have his team well prepared and capable of a top 10 finish in the region. He is that good and his teams have always done well. There also is supposed to be a key transfer with Chris Drabo in the lineup.

 

11. North Bullitt - Coach Brian Courtney hopes the youth he played a season ago pays off this season. The problem is Bullitt East has traditionally been the basketball power in the area and it will take some big seasons to turn the tide. Not sure this season is lining up as that type of run they will need.

 

12. Bullitt Central - Coach Lee and the Bullitt Central team has played rival Bullitt East team very tough last season and at times looks ready to break through. However, the balance of power at Bullitt East makes it tough to pull in the better players. It will be tough to change the draw of Bullitt East and this is likely not the season to make a dent.

 

13. Holy Cross - There is a rivalry with Desales and Holy Cross for the 6th region mythical Catholic School title. Recently Desales has been the better of the two and this year looks no different. There are some young talented players in the school, but still will take a few years to be competitive.

 

14. Whitefield Academy - Coach Billy Edge will try to make the transition of a first year coach a seamless one. Mostly experienced players from last years teams will be back to battle their way to the regional tournament. A talented group of experienced players could make Whitefield a dark horse in the district.

 

15. Moore - A few years ago Moore was a very competitive team under Coach Rich Gatewood before he left to Taylor County. Last season had some returning players, but there was turmoil within the program that caused a move to go young and rebuild. That rebuilding has started but still has a way to go. However, they will be a group that could surprise some teams if they are taken lightly.

 

16. Southern - Coach Shedrick Jones has been trying to rebuild the Southern basketball program and has had a young team that should be turning the corner. This will be a year to see if the younger kids who have had early playing time are developing under this coaching staff.

 

17. Beth Haven- Coach Michael Stinnett just does not have the numbers to really compete, but will have his team believing in themselves.

 

18. Valley- Coach Joe Harris is in year #1 of a major rebuilding job. If the school gives him time, he is a veteran coach in the middle school system in Jefferson County that can perhaps convince kids to come to Valley to play early. He has the best gym in Jefferson County as a selling point. However, it is not going to happen in his first season. Patience is the key with this program.

 

 

TOP 10 RANKED PLAYERS

 

1. Richard Gaines-PRP-SR- Gaines hands down is the most exciting player with his energy and smile. He plays with a bounce that is hard to match. He is more of an undersized 4, but if he pushes his game out on the floor he could play the wing in college which he has worked hard to prove he is capable of doing. Very athletic and uses it well. He also is a leader that his team will lean on during tough games.

 

2. Brandon Johnson-Jeffersontown-SR- Johnson is one of the best, if not the best shooter in the city of Louisville and also the state. Late in the summer he showed he is more than a shooter when he gets aggressive as he did with The Ville when they won the National AAU 17U championship.

 

3. DuJuanta Weaver-Doss-SR- As long as he is healthy from a knee injury suffered in the late spring, he will be the best facilitator in the region. Streaky shooter at times, but capable of filling it up in bunches.

 

4. Terrell Gray-Doss-SR- Like Gaines, Gray is very athletic and plays with an edge. He can be the most competitive player on the court when he is focused. He does not like to lose, just needs to make sure he does not get distracted.

 

5. Chase Shellman-DeSales-SR- Chase has a very all round solid game. He will help handle pressure and he will help rebound. In between he shoots from anywhere and is not afraid to drive to the hole.

 

6. Tyler Sharpe-Bullitt East-JR- With Johnson, he is clearly one of the premiere shooters in the region. If he continues to add other facets to his shooting ability, he will be tough to defend.

 

7. Tyler Bacon-Bullitt East-SR- Just plays physical and understands what his role on the team is. He has a leadership value as well with his younger teammates.

 

8. William Johnson-Butler-SR- He is one of the strongest players in the region and will be tough to handle for kids not as physical. He probably needs to dedicate himself to football as he could likely play Division 1 football. However, he is too good in basketball to walk away now.

 

9. Jared Farris-Bullitt East-JR- He will continue to get better and next year will have more responsibility to carry the team from the post.

 

10. Three freshmen from Fern Creek (Trey Hill, Ahmad Price, & Anthony Wales)-All three of these freshmen could have breakout seasons. Unfortunately as freshmen they will struggle with doing it on a routine basis. Each game could produce a different one leading their team. In the years to come, they will form a nucleus of the major talent from the region that seems to be developing well under Coach Schooler.

[TheVille30]

Good work... Not a lot not complain about.. Coaching in the region needs to get stronger. I think the 6th has fallen well behind the 7th lately.

[6thregionguy]

great job. I only see a few things I would change as fare as ranking. Fairdale lost everything and is going to struggle a lot. I would have Iroquois a head of them. Also I'm hearing Beth Haven has about 3 to 4 transfers That will make his team look completely different if they are ruled eligible. This region is wide open and should see a lot of teams beating each other.

[coachforlife]

Is Courtney coaching at NB?

[GoHardITP]

Is Courtney coaching at NB?

 

My mistake, Courtney is still the assistant principal there at North Bullitt, but not the coach anymore. The coach is Cory Craddock.

[TheVille30]

great job. I only see a few things I would change as fare as ranking. Fairdale lost everything and is going to struggle a lot. I would have Iroquois a head of them. Also I'm hearing Beth Haven has about 3 to 4 transfers That will make his team look completely different if they are ruled eligible. This region is wide open and should see a lot of teams beating each other.

 

Iroquois has Chris Drabo who had a lot of hype his freshman year but for some reason or another never found the court at Male. Sure coach Morrow will do good things with him.