BluegrassPreps.com 5th Region Boys Basketball Preview

[5thregionbasketball]

5th Region Pre-Season Rankings/Prediction

1.       Central Hardin- Central Hardin returns potential Player of the Year in Brett Decker, who averaged over 20 points per game last season. He’ll have a strong supporting cast with Ace Jaggers and Jakob Fredrickson and Etown transfer Jett Williams, once he gets ruled eligible.

 

2.       Washington County- If the Commanders don’t take the 19th district this year, well there is always next year as they should be strong next season as well. Beau Baker will lead the Commanders. Baker averaged 15 ppg last season and will be a force on the boards as well. Stevie Woodson’s squad will also have seasoned pg Noah Reynolds to run the offense and Kamar Phillips as a double digit scorer to lean on. Adding Riley Brown from Thomas Nelson could be the difference maker for the Commanders.

 

3.       Elizabethtown- James Haire will return an upper classmen heavy squad, however most of the experience will be found with his juniors. Losing Alandre Murphy’s 16.9 ppg will be tough to replace, and the supporting cast of Ryan, Peeler and Hall will be a difficult rebuild. The Panthers will need Ayden Evans to show the region why he should be in the conversation for player of the year.

 

4.       Bethlehem- The Eagles return everyone, that includes Casey Steadmon who averaged 17.9 ppg last season, Hayden Osborne who averaged 14 ppg and Nicholas Osborne who averaged 10.2 ppg. The Eagles will be eying a return to the 5th Region tournament for the first time since 2018.

 

5.       Larue County- The Hawks have been dominating in the 18th district and they hope to continue that this season. Carson Childress and Daniel Allen return a big chunk of the Hawks offense from last season, averaging 15.3 and 11.8 ppg respectively. Of course, the noticeable missing piece will be Cutter Boley who transferred before the beginning of the school year.

 

6.       Bardstown- The Tigers have been in the 19th district like Larue County has been in the 18th district. Boo Brewer’s team will have to replace a lot of scoring this season without Andrew Mason and Bryce Riley. They’ll look for Grant Bowling to shoulder the bulk of the load. Never count out the Bardstown Tigers.

 

7.       Green County- The Dragons could be a sleeper team to watch in the region. They have a new coach in Jordan Gilbert, and they lost Kellen Whitlow to graduation. But the Dragons return Hayden Blakeman, who averaged 19 ppg as a Freshman. Jayden Marr, Houston Hodges and Kelson McKinney will be counted on to contribute quite a bit as well.

 

8.       Taylor County- The Cardinals are probably underrated in this list but they’ll be without Mason Guffey, who averaged 18.6 ppg last year due to a torn ACL. Layken Lyons will have to pick up the slack, he’s certainly capable, and they’ll have Jackson Wise running the point. The Cardinals will depend heavily on the defense to make up for what they’ll miss in Guffey’s scoring.

 

9.       North Hardin- The Trojans will have a whole new look on the sideline this year. After the way the season ended for them, they’re looking for a bit of a culture change. Michael Baffour will be the new man at the helm to lead the Trojans. He’ll have returning Taveon Smith, who could quietly be one of the best players in the region. Shaun Boykins 9.5 ppg returns this year as well.

 

10.   Hart County- Justin Line will have the Raiders ready to go when the season gets started. Jaxson Shoulders will look to build on a solid season from a year ago, where he averaged 12.6 ppg. He’ll have Jordan Bradley and Clark Rexroat to help the Raiders make a run in the 18th district.

 

11.   Adair County

 

12.   John Hardin

 

13.   Campbellsville

 

14.   Marion County

 

15.   Nelson County

 

16.   Caverna

 

17.   Thomas Nelson

 

18.   Fort Knox

 

17th District

1.       Central Hardin

2.       Elizabethtown

3.       North Hardin

4.       John Hardin

5.       Fort Knox

18th District

1.       Larue County

2.       Green County

3.       Hart County

4.       Caverna

19th District

1.       Washington County

2.       Bethlehem

3.       Bardstown

4.       Nelson County

5.       Thomas Nelson

20th District

1.       Taylor County

2.       Adair County

3.       Campbellsville

4.       Marion County
 

[ACfan4]

5th Region is very wide open this year. Central Hardin is for sure the favorite. After that would not shock me if anyone ranked 2-12 beat each other on any given night. 

[Hoops Junkie]

Guessing John Hardin lost a ton from their Sweet 16 appearance last year?

[5thregionbasketball]

21 hours ago, ACfan4 said:

5th Region is very wide open this year. Central Hardin is for sure the favorite. After that would not shock me if anyone ranked 2-12 beat each other on any given night. 

Agreed. Outside of just a few teams I think they're should be many competitive games all season. 

[5thregionbasketball]

43 minutes ago, Hoops Junkie said:

Guessing John Hardin lost a ton from their Sweet 16 appearance last year?

 

43 minutes ago, Hoops Junkie said:

Guessing John Hardin lost a ton from their Sweet 16 appearance last year?

Yes, lost basically everything they had. Top 7 scorers all gone due to graduation. Highest returning scorer will be Jake Owens who averaged about 4 ppg.

[ACfan4]

Thought I would add a list of the top ten players in the region. These are in no particular order either:

Brett Decker, 6'1 JR (Central Hardin)- has multiple D1 offers, best player in the region most likely and will Central a chance at a region title.

Jacob Fredrickson 6'7 SR (Central Hardin)- Forms a great duo with Decker and is an inside/outside threat.

Ayden Evans 6'8 JR (Etown)- Has some high major D1 looks and offers. Will be the go to man for Etown this season after graduation of Alandre Murphy.

Casey Steadmon 6'4 SR (Bethlehem)- Averaged 18 ppg last season, very athletic. Will give Bethlehem a chance to make the region tournament again.

Meek Ater 6'9 SR (Caverna)- averaged 13 and 11 last season. Looked vastly improved in the summer, and will be a load inside this season.

Carson Childress 6'0 SR (Larue County)- The lefty averaged 15 ppg last season, hitting 87 threes at a 39% clip. One of if not the best shooter in the region. 

Hayden Blakeman 6'4 Soph (Green County)- Averaged 18 ppg last season, versatile player that can play inside and out.

Connor Loy 5'11 Soph (Adair County)- Loy has been starting varsity since his 7th grade year and averaged 15 ppg as a freshman. One of the best ball handlers in the region he will be the go to guy for the Indians now. 

Taveon Smith 6'1 JR (North Hardin)- Smith can score in bunches. Athletic and long armed player, that can create his own shot.

Beau Baker 6'7 JR (Washington County)- One of the best bigs in the region. The 3 sport athlete averaged near a double double last season and will try to lead Washington on a deep tournament run. 

Honorable Mentions:

Layken Lyons 6'1 Soph (Taylor County)- averaged 15 ppg last year and will be the go to guy with Guffey injured with a torn ACL

Riley Brown 6'2 JR (Washington County)- versatile player who moved over from Thomas Nelson. Averaged double figures last season

 

[DevilMayCare]

On 11/18/2022 at 11:32 AM, Hoops Junkie said:

Guessing John Hardin lost a ton from their Sweet 16 appearance last year?

 

On 11/18/2022 at 12:16 PM, 5thregionbasketball said:

 

Yes, lost basically everything they had. Top 7 scorers all gone due to graduation. Highest returning scorer will be Jake Owens who averaged about 4 ppg.

I kept scrolling, looking for John. Their expectations are probably as low as they've been in eight or nine years.

[Hardin County Preps]

Considering Central Hardin hasn't won a Region title in its 32 years as a high school, I would be hard pressed to pick them as a District or Region favorite. I'll take Elizabethtown to take District 17. 

[Hardin County Preps]

At some point, coaching has to be part of this ranking. Coach James Haire of the Elizabethtown Panthers has consistently been the best boys basketball coach in District 17 and Region 5. Central Hardin might have the most talent, but definitely not the best coaching. 

[theguru]

Bump.