14th Region Boys Basketball Preview

October 29, 20241 yr

Three Team Race or More The Merrier?

Just about year it's the same ole story with Hazard, Breathitt County and Perry County Central being the top dawgs in the 14th region. Last season, Perry County Central shocked a lot of people by winning the regional tournament and making the trip to Rupp Arena. Most of everyone had Hazard or Breathitt County winning the region, but I guess that's why it's played on the hardwood and not on paper.

Will this year be the same or will someone, a dark horse if you will, come away with some big upsets and possibly cut the nets down?

The Top 10:

1. Hazard Bulldogs:

Coach: Al Holland

District: 54th

'23-24 Outcome: 27-6 (Overall), 22-2 (Region), 8-0 (District). 54th District Champions. Lost Regional Semi-Final Breathitt County 47-44.

'24-25 Outlook: Hazard mainly steam rolled most of their opponents last season, with a young class at that. No seniors, 5 Juniors, 5 Sophomores, 4 Frosh and 4 8th graders. Hazard won their second straight 54th district championship which made their 4th district championship in the last 5 seasons. The 54th District is usually a two team race between Hazard and Perry County Central.

Hazard and Breathitt County would meet four times last season with both winning two games a piece but the one that would count would be in the regional tournament semi-final, with Breathitt County edging out the Bulldogs 47-44 in overtime. Hazard shot 44% from the field and a lousy 28% from 3. That won't and didn't get the job done.

With Hazard returning their entire team and possibly an addition of Rydge Beverly, this gives them the preseason favorite to cut the nets down in March at the Knott County Central Sports Complex.

2) Breathitt County Bobcats:

Coach: Jeff Honeycutt

District: 55th

'23-24 Outcome: 20-12 (Overall), 14-4 (Region), 5-0 (District). 55th District Champions. Lost Regional Championship to Perry County Central 62-55.

'24-25 Outlook: Breathitt County had an up and down season last year. Yes they won 20 games but they also lost 12. Breathitt County put on a three game win streak at the end of the season, when it mattered, including one of those wins over the region favorite, Hazard but that would be about as far as they would get as they would run out of gas and fall to Perry County Central 62-55 in the regional tournament championship game.

Breathitt County loses three to graduation but two of those were their leading scorers, Isaac Bellamy (11.8 PPG), Jaxon Hamilton (10.8 PPG). Breathitt County, however, returns probably the region favorite for MVP in Austin Sperry who averaged over 22 PPG last season.

The Bobcats return the core of their team from a year ago and will be a senior led team with 7 seniors on the roster. Can Jeff Honeycutt and the Bobcats send these seniors off with a trip to Rupp Arena or will they run out of gas?

3) Perry County Central:

Coach: Shannon Hoskins.

District: 54th.

'23-24 Outcome: 22-14 (Overall), 13-6 (Region), 5-3 (District). District Runner-Up, 14th Region Champions.

'24-25 Outlook: Perry County Central, done what most people thought was a two man race but they said, no-no, and won the 14th region tournament. It was their second regional tournament championship in three years. Most of the season, the Commodores struggled. They put on a nice little streak at the end of the season, winning 6 of final 8 games. The Commodores would meet a familiar foe in the state tournament in Magoffin County, a team the Commodores defeated to begin the season 78-73. Magoffin County would get revenge and send the Commodores packing early in the state tournament, winning 54-47.

So why is the defending 14th region champions, ranked 3rd, you ask? Sure they return most of they're players from a year ago but they also lost several key players including one of they're leading scorers in Kizer Slone. Sure the Commodores can Anchor Down and claim another region title but the mountain is tall when it comes to Hazard and Breathitt.

4) Knott County Central:

Coach: Casey Huff

District: 53rd.

'23-24 Outcome: 24-9 (Overall), 14-4 (Region), 8-1 (District). District Champions, Lost Regional Semi-Final to Perry County Central 59-54.

'24-25 Outlook: Casey Huff had a great season in his second season as head coach, leading the Patriots to a 24-9 record and a regional semi-final birth. The Patriots had a win over Perry County Central but they struggled with picking up wins over the rest of the top teams in the region, in fact, Perry County Central was the only top team the Patriots defeated all of last season. When I say top team, I mean teams that were ranked ahead of them.

Looks like it's back to the drawing board, however. The Patriots lose both of they're leading scorers, Hunter Haddix and Jayden Huff, both averaged over 15 PPG. With three seniors on this year's team and the rest sophomores and juniors, it looks like Coach Huff has his work cut out for him. Can the Patriots do the unthinkable and pull off some upset wins this season? Only time will tell!

5) Letcher County Central:

Coach: Trevor Noble.

District: 53rd.

'23-24 Outcome: 16-13 (Overall), 8-9 (Region), 6-3 (District). District Runner-Up. Lost to Hazard in opening round of regions 56-39.

'24-25 Outlook: New man at the helm. Trevor Noble takes over the Letcher County Central program, replacing Matthew Taylor, who was there for just three short years. The only significant win the Cougars had last season was a 53-50 win over Knott County Central. Letcher County Central would struggle badly against the rest of the top teams in the region, falling by double digits in most of they're games.

Coach Noble has his work cut out for him, replacing both leading scorers Brady Boggs and Peyton Dixon will be a challenging task. The Cougars will have 6 seniors on this year's team but none of which averaged double digits in scoring last season.

6) Powell County:

Coach: Josh Crowe.

District: 56th.

'23-24 Outcome: 17-15 (Overall), 10-8 (Region), 7-1 (District). District Champions. Lost first round regional tournament to Perry County Central 77-62.

'24-25 Outlook: For the second year in a row, Powell County would defeat Estill County to win a district championship. With the region being at Powell County, the Pirates wouldn't have to travel anywhere to play a region tournament game but that wouldn't matter as they would have an early exit, falling 77-62 to Perry County Central.

New man at the helm. A familiar face is now leading the Ship in Stanton. Middle School coach Josh Crowe was named head coach, replacing Allen Martin, who was let go. The Pirates struggled at the beginning of the season but turned it on towards the end. The Pirates lost 4 key players from this year's team including most of they're starters. Can the Pirates and coach Crowe find a way to keep the district title in Stanton? Can they find a way to win a regional tournament game?

7) Estill County:

Coach: Brian Hall

District: 56th

'23-24 Outcome: 21-11 (Overall), 13-5 (Region), 6-2 (District). District Runner-Up. Lost first round regional tournament to Breathitt County 65-62.

'24-25 Outlook: Estill County had another terrific season last year, winning over 20 games, which is something that doesn't happen quite often in Irvine. Engineers had wins over both Perry County Central (Regional Champion) and Breathitt County (Regional Runner-Up) towards the end of the season.

Coach Hall has his work cut out for him as well, replacing all four of the Engineers leading scorers won't be an easy task. New comer, Peyton Angel, who transferred from Lee County, could help, but will it be enough? Coach Hall has put together a tremendous schedule, which includes a trip to the famous, Hoosier Gym along with a game with Knott County Central.

? Lee County:

Coach: Joshua Broadwell.

District: 56th.

'23-24 Outcome: 8-22 (Overall), 4-13 (Region), 2-5 (District). Lost opening round of 56th district tournament to Estill County 101-68.

'24-25 Outlook: The Bobcats have struggled most years and last year was no different. In fact, the only win streak Lee County seen last season was when they won they're own Bobcat Memorial, defeating Francis Parker, Cordia and OBI. Outside of those three games, Lee County never seen a back to back win streak. You may ask why is Lee County, ranked #8 in this preseason, it's because they picked up a big time transfer from Wolfe County, in Corey Flinchum who is a dangerous sharp shooter and can fill the bucket up quickly. Along with Flinchum, Lee County also returns two of they're leading scorers from last season but, replacing they're main leading scorer, Bryce Angel won't come easy, can Flinchum be the answer Coach Broadwell and the Bobcats desperately need?

9) Leslie County:

Coach: John Noble.

District: 54th.

'23-24 Outcome: 15-15 (Overall), 9-8 (Region), 2-6 (District). Lost to Perry County Central 65-44 first round of district tournament.

'24-25 Outlook: Leslie County struggled last season but injuries didn't help. Coach Noble and the Eagles picked up Tripp Brashear who transferred in from Hazard. Rumors circulating that the Eagles are getting healthy, if that's the case then they very well could pick up some big wins this season. Coach Noble didn't really make any significant changes to the schedule, it's about the same as last season. Can Leslie County finally get a good draw and make it to the regional tournament? Can they upset one of the big teams?

10) Wolfe County:

Coach: Robert Scott Creech.

District: 55th.

'23-24 Outcome: 12-16 (Overall), 8-9 (Region), 3-3 (District). 55th District Runner-Up. Lost opening round of region tournament 70-55 to Knott County Central.

'24-25 Outlook: Wolfe County struggled last season, in fact they only won 6 games in all of 2024. They lost 7 of they're final 9 games. They didn't even come close to beating any of the Hazard's, Perry County Central's, Knott County Central's. If that doesn't make any matters worse, Wolfe County lost one of they're best players in Corey Flinchum who transferred to Lee County. The good news for Coach Creech and the Wolves, they return all but two from last season's team, Corey Flinchum and Dalton Voils.

What do the Wolves need to do to get this thing fixed? Wolfe County hasn't won a district tournament championship since 2021, Can they pull a massive upset this season?

Bottom of the Barrel:

11) Jenkins:

Coach: Winston Lee.

District: 53rd.

'23-24 Outcome: 17-14 (Overall), 3-9 (Region), 2-5 (District). Lost opening round of the 53rd district tournament to Letcher County Central 70-52.

'24-25 Outlook: Jenkins in their second year after moving back to the 14th region, after spending the past 7 years in the 15th region. 3 of the 17 wins for the Cavaliers came against KY opponents, they practically played an out of state schedule. Jenkins returns all of they're leading scorers from last season and they had a new addition to the team in Cameron Hayes as well. This has all the makings of a potential upset in the district tournament for the Cavaliers. It's been a hot minute since they've seen a regional tournament game. Will this finally be the year?

12) Buckhorn:

Coach: Shannon Blank

District: 54th.

'23-24 Outcome: 8-23 (Overall), 6-15 (Region), 1-7 (District). Lost to Hazard 72-43 in the opening round of the 54th district tournament.

'24-25 Outlook: Buckhorn struggled all last season, including losing they're final 7 games from last season. Buckhorn returns most of they're talent but do they have what it takes to win when it matters? With them returning two of they're leading scorers, anything is possible but the key question is, who will take the place of Hayden Neace who was they're leading scorer last season, averaging over 15 PPG.

13) Owsley County:

Coach: Tyson Gross.

District: 56th.

'23-24 Outcome: 9-22 (Overall), 3-13 (Region), 0-7 (District). Lost to Powell County in the opening round of the 56th District Tournament.

'24-25 Outlook: Owsley struggled all of last season, ending they're season on a 3 game losing streak and having lost 6 of they're final 7 games. Owsley lost both leading scorers from last season, Jacob McCoy to graduation and Andrew Terry who, along with his sister, Addison Terry, transferred to Montgomery County. Owsley County also, has a new man at the helm in Tyson Gross.

14) Jackson City:

Coach: Karmit Back.

District: 55th.

'23-24 Outcome: 7-20 (Overall), 5-11 (Region), 0-5 (District). Lost to Wolfe County 81-67 opening round of the 55th district tournament.

'24-25 Outlook: Most of the Tigers' wins' came towards the end of the season last year, in fact, they were winless in the first part of the season. They didn't get they're first win until Jan. 4th, defeating Cordia 70-38. Things won't be any easier this season, as the Tigers lost both of they're leading scorers last season, Braxten Jett and Payton Tharp. As small of a school as Jackson City is and the talent pool they have to choose from, doesn't give them not much help but the Tigers schedule sure will, especially with the likes of Hazard, Letcher County Central, Frankfort and Estill County on it.

15) Cordia:

Coach: Mitch Smith.

District: 53rd.

'23-24 Outcome: 3-28 (Overall), 0-16 (Region), 0-7 (District). Lost to Knott County Central 83-38 in opening round of the 53rd district tournament.

'24-25 Outlook: Cordia struggled last season. They didn't pick up they're first win until February. They're wins consisted of June Buchanan and LIGON Home School. Cordia returns they're leading scorer in Andrew Neace but, it will be a tough task to win more than three games this season, if they can win three games.

16) June Buchanan:

Coach: Bo Hammonds.

District: 53rd.

'23-24 Outcome: 0-3.

'24-25 Outlook: JBS only played three games last season and only fielded 7 players. This season they have 11 games scheduled and 9 players on the roster.

Pre-Season Player to Watch / MVP's:

Austin Sperry (Breathitt County PG).

Sperry led the Bobcats to an appearance in the regional championship game where they fell to Perry County Central 62-55. Sperry led Breathitt County in scoring at 22.2 PPG and shot 31.6% from 3.

2024 Highlights:

Breathitt rallies past Harlan, advances to All 'A' state finals – harlancountysports.com

Evin Eversole (Hazard SR F/G).

Evin led Hazard in scoring at 21.2 which put him right behind Sperry last season. Evin is the motor that makes this Bulldog team roll and when he's on his game, he's on his game.

Highlights:

Evin Eversole - Hudl

Seth Caudill (Hazard JR/G)

Averaged 17.4 PPG last season for the Bulldogs and was second on his team in scoring. Seth is one of these guys, that you do not wanna leave open because he will make you pay and he's super fast on fast breaks.

Several Highlights

Seth Caudill - Hudl

Trayten Woods (Perry County Central / SG / SR).

One of the leading scorers for Perry County Central last season at 15.3 PPG. Shot 44.% from 3. He's one of these guy's that you just got to have on your team if your a head coach.

2023-24 Highlights

Trayten Woods (@Trayten_w) / X