Who is the best team in Kentucky high school basketball history to not win the Sweet 16 and cut down the nets?

 

The criteria is simple...

 

1. They must have been the clear favorite all season long

2. They must have had a sterling record, ie. no more than 3-4 losses

3. They must have advanced to the state championship game before losing

 

My pick would have to be Scott County in '98-'99. They were the defending champs and returned two future Mr. Basketball's in Rick Jones and Scott Hundley. I saw them destroy a pretty good Boyd County team at Boyd and thought, "Who's gonna beat that team this year?"

 

The answer, was Ballard.

Easy one , mason county 2003-2004

 

Won it the year before, favorite agai ran table then in biggest stage not their star but a very good player was suspended

I'll offer up the 2004 incarnation of the team I most closely follow - Mason County. Lost one in-state regular-season game to a strong LexCath squad at Memorial. Went into the Sweet 16 as defending state champion; then had a key player suspended right before the tourney. Defeated Wayne County fairly handily in the opener, then the triple-OT win over Trinity (with the Saxtons and Brian Brohm). An OT win over Scott County in the semis, and the Royals were pretty much done by the time they met a very strong Warren Central team in the finals.

Easy one , mason county 2003-2004

 

Won it the year before, favorite agai ran table then in biggest stage not their star but a very good player was suspended

 

I'll offer up the 2004 incarnation of the team I most closely follow - Mason County. Lost one in-state regular-season game to a strong LexCath squad at Memorial. Went into the Sweet 16 as defending state champion; then had a key player suspended right before the tourney. Defeated Wayne County fairly handily in the opener, then the triple-OT win over Trinity (with the Saxtons and Brian Brohm). An OT win over Scott County in the semis, and the Royals were pretty much done by the time they met a very strong Warren Central team in the finals.

 

Yep. They win the title if Wes Jones isn't suspended.

Yep. They win the title if Wes Jones isn't suspended.

 

You could say the same for Warren Central the year before in 2003 with suspension of 6'5 Leroy Wilson during the regional tournament.

Yep. They win the title if Wes Jones isn't suspended.

 

Agreed. Central had some weapons, but the guy who (in my mind) did the most damage was Brock Whitney running the floor and getting ahead of the Mason County defense.

Agreed. Central had some weapons, but the guy who (in my mind) did the most damage was Brock Whitney running the floor and getting ahead of the Mason County defense.

 

stay away from the Ol' Dutch Inn, kids.

stay away from the Ol' Dutch Inn, kids.

 

The poor guy never went inside. Was waiting for a friend to take him home and it was past curfew.

 

He seems by all accounts to have gotten long past that particular episode.

And I'll repeat a story I've told before.

 

Standing in line to get tickets for the '03 final. The guy standing in front of me said something along the lines of, "Two in a row would be nice, wouldn't it?" My immediate reply was, "I'll be tickled to death with one."

Ballard 2013. They gave it away just like Golden State did.

I'll echo Mason County in 03/04. Although I've grown so tired of the second part of the argument I see here, that'll I'll leave it alone. But Mason County easily fits the criteria.

You could say the same for Warren Central the year before in 2003 with suspension of 6'5 Leroy Wilson during the regional tournament.

 

Halfway through the year, actually. Preseason POY thrown off in January. Considering that Henry Clay worked them on the boards, it really hurt.

And I'll repeat a story I've told before.

 

Standing in line to get tickets for the '03 final. The guy standing in front of me said something along the lines of, "Two in a row would be nice, wouldn't it?" My immediate reply was, "I'll be tickled to death with one."

 

It's hard to repeat as champs in any sport at any level, but Kentucky HSBB takes the cake. One repeat champion in the last 45 years. Mason County in '04 and Scott County in '99 are great examples of how hard it is to run that Sweet 16 gauntlet two years in a row.

 

Paintsville comes to mind as well. It's hard to believe that with all that they had coming back after '96, that bunch never got back to the top of the mountain.

I'll offer up the 2004 incarnation of the team I most closely follow - Mason County. Lost one in-state regular-season game to a strong LexCath squad at Memorial. Went into the Sweet 16 as defending state champion; then had a key player suspended right before the tourney. Defeated Wayne County fairly handily in the opener, then the triple-OT win over Trinity (with the Saxtons and Brian Brohm). An OT win over Scott County in the semis, and the Royals were pretty much done by the time they met a very strong Warren Central team in the finals.

 

I actually sort of saw it as the opposite at the time. With Jones being suspended, I thought it was amazing that MC made it back to the finals. IMO it just shows how great a HS player Lofton really was. He CARRIED that team in the 3OT and OT wins. EVERYONE in Rupp knew he was going to take the shots and he still got it done.

 

With his shooting ability, I'm still surprised no NBA team gave him a shot. I think if he was just now getting out of college, he would get a chance with the way the NBA is evolving to a shooting league.

 

Looking back now it does have a lot of similarities to Golden State this year.

With the exception of being the clear favorite, Ballard 06/07 fits everything else. 3 losses, only two in state, both of those to Scott County (the first game of the year and the state title tilt). Those two teams were miles and miles ahead of every team in the state that season.