For the fourth time in five seasons, Warren Central emerged victorious in the fight for the region crown last season.  They went 13-2 in region games, losing two by a combined nine points and rolling to a 21.33 average margin of victory en route to the title.  They were pushed in the title game by Bowling Green, but in the end the Dragons took it down.  It was the 21st region title in a row won by the 14th District, a mind numbing number that is seems almost certain to increase again this year.  Unlike last year, there is a clear favorite that it is hard to envision losing.

Preseason 4th Region Rankings

1. Warren Central - One point.  That’s all that separated Warren Central from the second state title in school history.  But Villafuerte’s free throw rolled off the left edge of the rim, and Omari Glover’s would-be game-winner was blocked away from behind.  It was an incredible run by the Dragons who knocked off the #2 and #5 teams in the state en route to that loss to #1 George Rogers Clark in the finals.  While nothing is promised, the only salve on the bitterness of that loss is knowing that almost the whole squad returns to try to run it back and finish business.  Jaiden Lawrence is the only starter not returning from that team, one of only two seniors on the squad.  His 13.8 PPG will be missed, but the Dragons’ strength – and occasional weakness – is their total balance as a squad, one that plays almost positionless.  Four players return who averaged between 9.1 and 13.6 PPG.  The team is long and athletic.  Chappelle Whitney is a strong candidate to lead the team in scoring, as he finished just five points behind Lawrence for the team lead last year.  Whitney shot almost 50% from the floor, a strong 42.6% from three, and averaged 6.4 RPG playing the closest to what passes for a post player.  As good as Whitney is, it’s Omari Glover that most people will tab as the best player on the Dragons.  Glover led the team in rebounding (7.2 RPG), shot 56.5% from the field, and averaged 11.4 PPG himself.  A great rebounder and defender, it was Glover who the team went ISO with down the stretch against Male, with Whitney in foul trouble (and eventually fouling out), and Glover put the Dragons ahead for good.  Joining the tandem to lead the team will be junior Kade Unseld, who should join the starting lineup this year.  Unseld has grown to 6’5”, and has picked up offers from SEMO and Bellarmine.  Unseld hit 40% from three as a sophomore, knocking down 60 of 150 threes.  Like the others on the team, he can play inside and outside and drive to the rim.  He should make a big leap this year.  Central plays a punishing schedule, appearing in the Marshall County Hoopfest, the King of the Bluegrass, and Lexington Catholic’s holiday tournament.  In all likelihood, they will receive little push within the region outside of Bowling Green, so the tough schedule will be crucial for their run.

2. Bowling Green – While it wasn’t surprising that the Purples were good a year ago, it was a bit surprising at times how good they were.  They notched their ninth consecutive season with 23+ wins, and every single one of those seasons resulted in a region title appearance at worst for their finish.  A 10-0 start set the tone, which included a win over presumptive region favorite Greenwood.  Bowling Green eventually ended the Gators’ hopes resoundingly in the district semifinals, and led Warren Central by three with just a hair over two and a half minutes left in the region final, before falling by eight.  The season was strong enough to bring Bowling Green their second Mr. Basketball when Turner Buttry took home the honors.  His loss is naturally the largest for the squad by far, as his 23 PPG represented one of only two efforts of over 10 PPG for the team.  The greatest challenge facing Bowling Green is that no senior on the squad has experience from last year.  It’s a youth movement still for Bowling Green, which bodes well…. after this year.  The greatest matchup advantage for Bowling Green comes from the post position - junior Mason Ritter.  Ritter is 6’8” and hit 62.3% from the field last year, averaging 5.1 RPG.  They will need him to improve on the boards and defend the rim, while shouldering a bit more of the load on offense.  While not a true post, junior Elijah Starks can often be found down low.  Starks was the team’s third leading scorer at 7.8 PPG and led the team with 249 rebounds on the season.  Each brings physical play that the Purples will want in the head to heads with Central.  MJ Wardlow is the team’s leading returning scorer and most versatile player.  Wardlow is strong off the dribble, knocked down over 41% of his perimeter attempts, has a good transition game, and very good on the defensive side of the ball as well.  They’ll likely look to him as the leading scorer.  The Purples have some strong teams on the schedule as well, and their most notable early season contest will be when they face North Laurel at Barren County on December 10th, testing their mettle against the likely next Mr. Basketball, Reed Sheppard.  The battle to win the region from Central will be uphill, but after this year – it’s theirs for the foreseeable future.

3. Warren East – The greatest challenger to the 14th District supremacy will be a team very familiar with the district, and looking likely to have a clear path to the promised land at last.  The Raiders are entering their first year in the 15th District, moving over to take the place of Monroe County who moves back to the 16th.  East moves from having to go through either Warren Central or Bowling Green to get back to the region tournament for the first time since 1997 – two teams they’ve gone 4-104 against since the 99/00 season – to playing teams like Glasgow and Allen County-Scottsville, who they’ve been far more competitive against.  And it is well timed as the Raiders have one of their best teams in a decade.  They lose only three seniors, and only Kaleb Matlock scored over 2 PPG from that group.  Chief among the returnees is Isaiah Andrews, the region’s leading returning scorer.  Andrews poured in 20.2 PPG a year ago, while also leading his team in rebounding with 7.2 PPG.  That earned Andrews second team all-region honors.  He’s part of a roster that features seven seniors and two juniors – as veteran a group as the Raiders have had in recent years.  They’ll need that experience to step up fast to provide other scoring options to complement Andrews.  Connor Doyle will be one to watch there.  The Raiders attempt roughly 1/3 of their shots from behind the arc, and Doyle is the second leading returner in three-point attempts behind Andrews.  Doyle knocked down 35.3% from the perimeter a year ago – they’ll need a larger conversion rate from him.  East will not play either of the teams ahead of them this year, so it will be tough to envision them moving ahead of either without some stumbles.  They will get into 15th District play relatively quickly taking on Barren County on December 9th, the third game of the year.  The Raiders will also be a team to watch in their Kentucky 2A section – they open that play with a road trip to Logan County on December 2nd.

4. Franklin-Simpson – The Wildcats enter the 22/23 campaign off an 11-3 close to their 21/22 season, culminating in a district title – their second in a row, and their most wins since the 16/17 season.  They bowed out against Bowling Green, increasing their frustration against the Purples, who have beaten them 15 times in a row, which includes six matchups in the region tournament.  They’ll look to turn the page with a team filled with upperclassmen, featuring five seniors and four juniors.  Critically they do lose leading PPG scorer and second team all-region selection Andreyas Miller, but return a pair of double digit scorers in Jalen Briscoe and Gabe Jones.  Briscoe actually led the team in total points a year ago due to missed games by Miller, averaging 14.4 PPG with 388 points in 27 games.  Briscoe has a habit of getting to the line, averaging almost seven free throw attempts per game.  He’ll shoot the three ball (18/54 last year), but he will do the majority of his damage getting to the rim.  Gabe Jones is the opposite.  Averaging 11.4 PPG last year, he scored 57% of his points on three point attempts, leading the team in makes (56), attempts (150), and percentage (37.3%).  He was a significant boon to the team after shooting sparingly the year before, and they’ll want to see him take yet another step to lead them to contention.  The Wildcats will play mostly region opponents in December, with their second game of the new year being when they’ll really need to ramp up – a home date with Todd County Central, their primary rival for the district this season.  Franklin swept three meetings with the Rebels last year, winning all three by a combined 15 points.  But the two games played away from Franklin-Simpson were decided by a combined three points.

5. South Warren – A new era dawns at South Warren as Carlos Quarles moves over from Russellville after three seasons to take the helm from the departing Jason Holland, who takes over at Graves County.  Quarles is the seventh coach in the 13 years for the program, which hasn’t seen a coach last more than two seasons since the first coach for the program, Derrick Clubb, coached four seasons.  It’s not a strong recipe to produce the first region tournament appearance in the history of the school, but they do get an assist this particular season with the departure of Warren East.  Not only was a more difficult team removed from competition for a spot – the team that eliminated them last year - but it will remove the need to win a play-in game should the Spartans have failed to grab a top three seed.  Win one postseason game, and in.  The Spartans did take a blow during the offseason with the transfer of leading scorer Ty Price, leaving the squad without any returning player who averaged over 10 PPG, but they’ll look to make up for it with a squad that has seven seniors.  Brandon Rowe is chief among those seniors, just barely averaging under 10 PPG with 9.8 last year, hitting 55.7% from the field while leading the team in rebounds with 5.6 boards per game.  The Spartans will also get a rare and unexpected head start on prepping for the season, as their football team was eliminated in the second round, freeing up several players to turn their focus to basketball early.  Quarles’ Russellville teams had a lower emphasis on perimeter shooting as compared to the recent editions of the Spartans, which attempted a three on roughly 44% of their shots.  Quarles spent significant time in the Warren Central system which emphasized run and gun, and that may eventually become the Spartan style, but look for a greater focus on controlling pace and looking to score more inside the arc from this edition.

6. Metcalfe County – The Hornets enter the season with an experienced group and returning scoring, but perhaps most importantly, they are motivated.  The Hornets were strong last year with 18 wins, but were stunned in the 16th District semifinals by rival Cumberland County, who they had swept during the season and beaten four straight times coming into the game.  That ended the career of third team all-region selection Peyton Dial, but the Hornets will compensate with the best 1-2 scoring punch returning in the region.  Senior guard Wyatt Blythe averaged 17.7 PPG last year, nailing 40% of his attempts from the perimeter to lead the team in both categories, which earned him second team all-region honors.  Senior forward Jax Allen returns alongside him, averaging 16.3 PPG last year, knocking down 46 three pointers for the squad.  The perimeter game helped the Hornets post over 66 points per game on average, a mark that they may not quite hit this year without Dial, but they should score plenty.  Metcalfe County should go 7-8 deep in their rotation.  They’ll compete in an expanded 16th District tournament this year as rival Monroe County returns after 17 years away, a team that dominated them most of the last decade before Metcalfe ran off four wins in five meetings. 

7. Todd County Central – Last season was a banner year for the Rebels – literally.  Todd County Central posted their highest win total in 20 years, their first 20-win season since 2002.  En route to that mark, they won the All A region tournament for the first time since 2004, advancing to the quarterfinals.  The performance earned head coach John Stigall coach of the year honors from the region athletic directors, and he’s taking aim on building on that year.  Aiding in that will be forward Jamison Glass.  Glass was the leading scorer for the Rebels as a sophomore, posting 12.7 PPG.  The 6’5” junior finished 17th in the state for field goal percentage, hitting 65.1% of his 272 attempts – that total was 12th highest attempts among the top 50 in the state for field goal percentage, so it wasn’t for lack of volume! Glass also pulled in 7.5 rebounds per game, cleaning the glass and putting the ball back in.  He’s a great matchup advantage for the team to build around, and he should only increase those numbers in his junior campaign.  There isn’t much returning from a scoring perspective around him, and the Rebels are tremendously young – featuring only three seniors.  Their best days may come in the following season, but they will be co-favorites with Metcalfe County to win the All A region tournament.  Fittingly, those two will meet in the opening round of that contest in mid-January.  Todd Central plays South Warren, Bowling Green, and Warren East in three of their first eight games, so they’ll have every opportunity to move up fast.

8. Barren County – The Trojans are going to have to experience life after Nyekan – their ever-present leader graduates after four stellar years for Barren, with only a torn ACL interrupting that span.  He takes his 17.1 PPG with him, and the Trojans lose second leading scorer Mason Griggs (12.1 PPG) as well.  That leaves coach Warren Cunningham’s team in an unusual time of transition, which they’ll try to offset with a roster that fields six seniors, albeit many with limited floor time previously.  Aiden Miller is the leading returning scorer, posting 8 PPG last season, and pulled in 154 boards to lead the returning players in rebounds as well.  Miller is an inside player, scoring on 53.2% of his field goal attempts last year.  Eli Brooks returns with much the same style of game – averaging 6 PPG and attempting very little from the outside.  The good news is that fits the identity of the Trojans, who attempted a three on less than 25% of their shots last year, and making around the same percentage.  Cunningham enters his 15th year leading Barren County, who will play four of their first five at home, but the one away is the critical road game with Warren East.  If they can win that game, then the climb to the region tournament will not seem nearly as steep.

9. Greenwood – A lot of things went wrong for Greenwood in a very short amount of time last season.  The pre-season region favorites went to Warren Central on February 14th needing a win to clinch the top seed in the district tournament.  They lost that game by 22, lost a three-way coin flip for the top spot, and nine days later, they were eliminated by Bowling Green in the 2-3 district tournament game.  Eight seniors departed from that team, leaving big man Lofton Howard and guard Luke Stansbury as the proverbial last men standing among returning players.  Howard is a big body down low with a football frame that will see him playing at WKU next year.  He averaged 6.9 PPG a season ago while pulling down six boards.  They’ll look to him to do a lot more this season. Luke Stansbury also returns – the second leading scorer from three for the Gators last year, he hit a 36.4% clip from outside while averaging a modest 4.7 PPG.  They have an uphill battle to make it back to the region tournament, seeking just their fourth appearance in the last 15 years.

10. Clinton County – The Bulldogs find themselves in an extremely rare time of transition.  Last year’s team won 22 games, a district title, and finished in the region semifinals, but it was the swan song for head coach Todd Messer.  Messer compiled 314 wins over 16 years at Clinton County, and gives way to Nick Irwin.  Irwin was been an assistant coach for the entire run by Messer, so does provide continuity from a program standpoint.  He’ll have the task of replacing his top three scorers from last year’s team, which averaged only 57 PPG to begin with.  Their young roster features only five players from the junior class or higher, and will be led by Cohen Davis.  The junior point guard averaged 6 PPG last year, shooting 35.3% from three.  Braden Stockton also returns, averaging 5 PPG last season.  Expect the Bulldogs to continue to exhibit the trademarks of the Messer regime – low scoring games with a deliberate pace and extreme focus on defense.  Clinton County allowed less than 55 PPG last year.

11. Monroe County – The Falcons move back to the 16th District, but likely find themselves with two teams ahead of them just as they would in the 15th District.  Monroe County hasn’t been to the region tournament in four seasons. Austen Arnett returns off a 13 PPG season.

12. Glasgow – The Scotties have a new head coach – William Buford takes over for departing James Willett.  Buford is the first black head coach for Glasgow, and moves in from Chicago.  He’ll have to replace the lion’s share of last year’s scoring, with Clay Pippen’s 4.1 PPG serving as the highest returning.

13. Allen County-Scottsville – The Patriots saw a string of three straight region tournaments end last season, and it will be tough to get back this year.  Jordan Turner leads a senior class of six with 11.3 PPG from last year. 

14. Russell County – A pair of 16 PPG scorers return for the Lakers in Mayes Gosser and Owen Loy, both just now sophomores.  Brandon Leach is the only senior for a team that will take its lumps but build valuable experience.

15. Russellville - The fifth year senior movement that carried their football team in 2021 did not lead to success on the hardwood, and the Panthers have very little experience returning. Outside of head coach - the legend Phil Todd returns for another stint as HC, having led the Panthers to three region titles from 1998-2001.

16. Cumberland County – Sophomore Zachery Harwood (7.3 PPG) is the leading returning scorer for a team that lost Ty Seay and his one-man show of 27.6 PPG.  With an expanded 16th District for the first time since 1985, the Panthers may not even make the district semifinals.

17. Logan County – Josh Frick takes over a Cougar team that would have gone winless last year if not for a bone thrown their way by the next team on our list, a hastily scheduled road game days before district. Only one senior was lost from that squad – not much direction to go but up.

18. Foundation Christian Academy – The Falcons are technically in the region for the first time, condemned to play in the dominant 14th District while providing Warren East with a lifeboat out. It remains to be seen if FCA will actually compete in postseason play, and they have not scheduled a single game against 14th District competition.

 

Top Players in the 4th Region

1. Omari Glover, G, Sr. (Warren Central)

2. Chappelle Whitney, F, Sr. (Warren Central)

3. Isaiah Andrews, F, Sr. (Warren East)

4. MJ Wardlow, G, Jr. (Bowling Green)

5. Kade Unseld, G, Jr. (Warren Central)

6. Wyatt Blythe, G, Sr. (Metcalfe County)

7. Mason Ritter, C, Jr. (Bowling Green)

8. Jalen Briscoe, G, Sr. (Franklin-Simpson)

9. Jamison Glass, F, Jr. (Todd County Central)

10. Elijah Starks, F, Jr. (Bowling Green)

Great stuff like always @DragonFire, thank you.

Boy, I sure do know more about the 4th Region than I did! Thank you.

There is not a better guide for the 4th Region on the planet than right here!

Just an incredible job!  Thank you!

Bump.