I think the eligibility of Fugate (DCA) and Barnes (Mercer) are huge factors in this region.  Both, would add a ton of value to their teams. 

1 hour ago, LethalPG said:

I think the eligibility of Fugate (DCA) and Barnes (Mercer) are huge factors in this region.  Both, would add a ton of value to their teams. 

Totally agree. And in my comments about Mercer, I failed to mention Barnes. All of that is assuming he’s eligible and that would give them what I think are two top 5-7 players in Ellis and Barnes.

1 hour ago, QueenoftheSouth said:

Totally agree. And in my comments about Mercer, I failed to mention Barnes. All of that is assuming he’s eligible and that would give them what I think are two top 5-7 players in Ellis and Barnes.

Yes, for me I would give them the talent edge over everyone else by a small margin with Barnes and Ellis.  Their collective depth is impressive with a lot of experience. 

On 10/24/2023 at 10:56 AM, LethalPG said:

Some notable players that come to mind that could easily be a top 10 players in this region this season:

• Dumpford (if he plays) and Seth Farmer from Wayne Co. 
• Zach Hutchinson- Southwestern 
• Ethan Warren- Somerset Christian 
• Titus Boyd and other 7 footer-DCA 
• Mari Brown, Guy Turner and Hager- Boyle Co
• Ashton Drakeford- Mercer Co.

Point being, there are some solid players in this region for the year.  (I'm sure I missed some)

Agreed.  They are all great players but at this point I don't know who you replace them with in the top 10. Boyd is one that sticks out that I think should be top 10.    Some on here may prove it as the season goes on.  I have heard Drakeford got hurt in football and might be out for basketball season. 

4 hours ago, titan101 said:

I have heard Drakeford got hurt in football and might be out for basketball season. 

He got rolled under while blocking in their game against Garrard last week. He looked to be in a lot of pain and they carried him off the field, but he didn't leave in an ambulance (at least not that I saw). It didn't look good, but hopefully he'll be able to bounce back before basketball season.

If Dumphord is playing for Wayne and the chemistry is right they will be the team to beat. Wayne was pretty scary last season and didn't have him; they're relatively young as well.

Hearing DCA is worried Fugate won't be eligible but regardless, they will be a hand full with all the size, as @LethalPG mentioned.

Somerset is going to be tough to match up with and will be a team nobody wants in the postseason.

I've also heard that there won't be a Bishop for Lincoln which is part of the reason Jackson went and got the Horton twins back.

I'm really excited to see what the 12th region holds this season. As everyone has mentioned, it's a little more spread out than usual and there are plenty of teams who could make some noise.

I think Wayne County is the best team in the Region, if they get Dumphord out they will have everything you need to win. Size, Shooter, PG and a great coach. Connor Davis is definitely one of the top 10 players in the Region. If Barnes gets eligible nobody in the Region will have a better front court than the Mercer County Titans. Ellis and Barnes will be a load. DCA will have IMO the best player in the Region in Dut. He's the real deal. Boyle County will have the fastest backcourt in the region with Quisenberry and Brown so I wouldn't even try to press the Rebels. Walker Craig is going to explode this year for Rockcastle County, could see a few games with him putting up 40. 

 

11 hours ago, Statsdontlie said:

I think Wayne County is the best team in the Region, if they get Dumphord out they will have everything you need to win. Size, Shooter, PG and a great coach. Connor Davis is definitely one of the top 10 players in the Region. If Barnes gets eligible nobody in the Region will have a better front court than the Mercer County Titans. Ellis and Barnes will be a load. DCA will have IMO the best player in the Region in Dut. He's the real deal. Boyle County will have the fastest backcourt in the region with Quisenberry and Brown so I wouldn't even try to press the Rebels. Walker Craig is going to explode this year for Rockcastle County, could see a few games with him putting up 40. 

 

I like all these takes, other than Wayne being a clear favorite.  One of the favorites, but not clear.  I really like the Craig take.  Kid has really high upside @ 6"7 and is a lights out shooter.

Reading through all of this I see a lot of teams with a tandem of a couple players that are pretty good. 
 

Phillips and Dumphord ( if playing) Farmer if not at Wayne. 
Whitaker and Godfrey at Somerset

Qusinberry and Brown at Boyle

Barnes (if eligible) and Ellis at Mercer

Davis and Nuckols at Lincoln

Jones and Radford at East

Dut and Aiyel at DCA 

Just to name a few 

So now I’m thinking who develops players to go with them and got to thinking about the coaches in the 12th.  This region is loaded with coaches that are outstanding.  Just off the top of my head I came up with this.

Jackson- multiple State appearances 

Woods- multiple State appearances 

Fraley- multiple State appearances 

Webb -State appearance 

Adkins- coached an NAIA National Champion game and multiple appearances 

Oddly enough these teams are all being mentioned as contenders for the region and I may have missed some that have coached state tournament teams  

Should be fun  

 

I went back and looked up Dumphord’s stats from when he last played two years ago. He averaged 8.2 points and 8.8 rebounds. 49% FG & 52% FT. Didn’t take any threes. Is that in line with what you’d expect from him this year? Is he more of a skilled kid or a physical banger type? Just trying to figure out how much his presence is going to impact Wayne and the balance of power in the region.

1 hour ago, QueenoftheSouth said:

I went back and looked up Dumphord’s stats from when he last played two years ago. He averaged 8.2 points and 8.8 rebounds. 49% FG & 52% FT. Didn’t take any threes. Is that in line with what you’d expect from him this year? Is he more of a skilled kid or a physical banger type? Just trying to figure out how much his presence is going to impact Wayne and the balance of power in the region.

The rebounding and finishing around the hole is a given with his physical strength and jumping ability.  He was a FR. that season, and was very raw.  I seen some monster dunks from him this summer.  He's developed a jump shot and some handles.  I would think 16 PPG and 12 Rebs. type of kid for this region.

3 hours ago, BasketballFan24 said:

Reading through all of this I see a lot of teams with a tandem of a couple players that are pretty good. 
 

Phillips and Dumphord ( if playing) Farmer if not at Wayne. 
Whitaker and Godfrey at Somerset

Qusinberry and Brown at Boyle

Barnes (if eligible) and Ellis at Mercer

Davis and Nuckols at Lincoln

Jones and Radford at East

Dut and Aiyel at DCA 

Just to name a few 

So now I’m thinking who develops players to go with them and got to thinking about the coaches in the 12th.  This region is loaded with coaches that are outstanding.  Just off the top of my head I came up with this.

Jackson- multiple State appearances 

Woods- multiple State appearances 

Fraley- multiple State appearances 

Webb -State appearance 

Adkins- coached an NAIA National Champion game and multiple appearances 

Oddly enough these teams are all being mentioned as contenders for the region and I may have missed some that have coached state tournament teams  

Should be fun  

 

Davis and Knuckles have big shoes to fill in the backcourt.  Maybe they can, but that backcourt has had some dynamic talent the past decade. Several collegiate players.

@QueenoftheSouth Other than DCA (maybe Mercer), Wayne Co. will have the most size in the front court with Dumphord 6'5, Farmer 6'6ish maybe and Phillips 6"4.

Lincoln will do their thing, so this may be the slowest tempo they've played at since the Blake Smith/Riley Bodner days.

Who else does Pulaski have other than Fraley? I know he's very talented and can do a ton of damage by himself, but they won't win another region without more help.

I've got the same question for Somerset. Young is a great coach, and they've got a tremendous backcourt, but who else do they have? That's a legitimate question, no jabs or anything. I need to get to a game this season.

DCA unquestionably has a boatload of talent but I got to watch them several times last season and the lack of basketball feel in key moments really haunted them, even with Don Story as coach. 

10 hours ago, Lank said:

Lincoln will do their thing, so this may be the slowest tempo they've played at since the Blake Smith/Riley Bodner days.

Who else does Pulaski have other than Fraley? I know he's very talented and can do a ton of damage by himself, but they won't win another region without more help.

I've got the same question for Somerset. Young is a great coach, and they've got a tremendous backcourt, but who else do they have? That's a legitimate question, no jabs or anything. I need to get to a game this season.

DCA unquestionably has a boatload of talent but I got to watch them several times last season and the lack of basketball feel in key moments really haunted them, even with Don Story as coach. 

PC had a good JV team last year, and a heralded Freshman class coming in.  Similar to Lincoln with being the biggest school in region, it's easier to reload and not rebuild for those two schools because of sheer numbers.  Somerset has Godby and Whitaker who both avg. 18 per game, and look to elevate even more this year.  Around them, they have 3 other guards that started @ times last season.  The one to keep an eye on is Aedyn Absher.  He started every game as a Freshman last season, and has grown to be around 6'4 giving them good size in the backcourt.