The 2024-2025 season got started off with a big bang in the 16th region with lots of excitement. Ashland, despite missing three players, went into state ranked #1 Great Crossing and took them to overtime in a thriller then played a Hazard team that many are projecting to win the 14th and some are also saying will win the All A. Fleming County came out of the gate looking impressive with Hickerson hitting an amazing full court shot in the last seconds of the first quarter against Greenup. Elliott County picked up their third win three months and one day earlier than they did last season. I expected them to be tremendously improved, but not looking as good as they have been so far. Lewis County played impressive against Boyd County, giving them a great run at Boyd County and then turned around and picked up a 24 point win over Rowan County. Not a bad start at all for them and they'll be another to keep an eye on. Boyd County, in addition to Lewis County, defeated Greenup County and then a multi-time defending state champion from Maryland in Lanham Christian. 

This week all eyes will be on Boyd and Ashland who play Tuesday night at 7:30 PM. The game will be streamed live on My Town TV. That should be a great game. Last season Boyd won three of the four meetings, but Ashland won the one in the regional finals. Two of the games they played, including the 64th District championship, went into overtime. If Boyd beats Ashland, no question they will move into the number one spot. Elliott County, with their hot start, will be tested against a 2-0 Raceland team with several football players that are being integrated at the moment from the team's state runner-up finish. Raceland defeated Elliott County by 35 last season. Russell plays Lewis County this Tuesday night, the game being played at East Carter. This one will feature two great big men in Drew Noble of Lewis County and Caleb Rimmer of Russell. Lewis County had a good first week and Russell finished 2-0 and looks to be putting the pieces together after the departure of Elijah Neel. Friday night Greenup County plays at Johnson Central who finished in the 15th Region semifinals last season and has always been a threat under coach Tommy McKenzie, with multiple appearances in Rupp Arena. Greenup County made some improvements over week one and that should be a fun matchup.

1. Ashland (0-2) - No change from preview - -  A tough opener for Ashland taking the #1 team in the state in Great Crossing to overtime follow by a loss to Hazard on the road, a Hazard team that avenged a loss to a Breathitt County team that beat them twice in overtime last season, is 3-0, and expected to make some noise this season. Big test coming up against Boyd County on the 10th and if they drop that one or any other game this week, then their regional ranking will change.

2A. Boyd County (3-0) - No change from preview -  Won against a scrappy Lewis County team 72-65 that may be better than expected. Won big against Greenup County who typically starts slow and is a late bloomer. A big win was picked up against Lanham Christian from Maryland this weekend, a physical team that has won six of the last ten championships in their division of the Maryland Christian Schools State Tournament. Boyd trailed by two at halftime and then in the second half grew as a team, going 11-16 during the field during a stretch to seal the win. Big opportunities this week for Boyd with Ashland along with a tournament in Knoxville coming up.

2B. Fleming County (3-0) - Instead of ranking 3rd like in preview, ranked as 2B -  Took care of business this week. Defeated an East Carter team that lost some key players from last season but typically is a late bloomer. Same with Greenup County. Menifee County, although they're 0-3, has Brevin Ricker who is one of the region's best scorers and had 36 and 37 in his first two games. He has had big games against some of the regions best and Fleming was able to hold him to 11. Having seen Fleming County play, they're a team that will be in contention to try to dethrone Ashland.

3. Russell (2-0) - No change from preview -  Defeated Menifee County after Brevin Ricker went off for 36 points. Tyler Cordial stepped it up with 17 points and 10 rebounds and freshmen Kaden Benge and Ryder Burgess combined for 35 points. Remember, not a single senior on this roster and it will take time for them to develop after the losses of strong leadership to graduation in Noah Quinn and Tatum Fleming. The loss of point guard Elijah Neel to transfer didn't help matters but Russell could be a serious threat if they get solid point guard play. Also picked up a nice win against West Carter.

4. Elliott County (3-0) - +6 increase - What a turnaround to start the season. 5-25 last year, already 3-0 winning by 19 against Fairview, 23 against Menifee, and 23 against Phelps. Elliott County was 0-5 against these teams combined last season. I had a feeling they would make some major improvements, but didn't expect them to jet out like they have. It's still early, though, and this team is still young with only one senior. Will have Raceland and Morgan County coming up. Elliott County picked up their third win three months and one day earlier than last season.

5. Raceland (2-0) - +3 increase - Solid wins over West Carter and Letcher County Central to start the season. This while getting multiple football players acclimated due to Raceland reaching the state finals this season.

6. Lewis County (1-1) - +1 increase - Played Boyd County tough to start the season at Boyd County losing 72-65. Julian Puente with an impressive 30 points in that game, followed up by a nice 68-44 victory at home against Rowan County. Historically, Lewis County has been a late bloomer. Two of their three teams that have reached the regional finals (The 2009 and 2020 teams) were both 18-16. The 2009 team lost their first six games while the 2020 team started 3-9. Joe Hampton is back on the sidelines as an assistant to Scott Tackett, who is no stranger to the state tournament. The two have great chemistry and I'm sure will have Lewis County in contention late in the year as usual. 

7. Rowan County (1-1) - -1 Decrease - Defeated Mason County, but had a big loss to Lewis County. Coach Thacker had nine players graduate from last year's 23-11 team that reached the regional final. It's expected they will take their lumps early in the year, but this is not a new situation to Coach Thacker and it's likely they will be peaking at the right time.

8. East Carter (1-1) - +3 Increase - Loss to one of the region's best in Fleming County, followed by a win over Model. Lost some key players from last season to graduation but like some of the other quality coaches in this region, Cole Brammer has his teams playing their best ball at the right time.

9. Greenup County (1-2) - -4 Decrease - Losses to two of the region's best with Fleming County and Boyd County, followed up by a win over Fairview. Corey Allison started 3-12 in his first year before concluding 8-6 and last season started 7-9 before finishing the year 11-6 and winning the 63rd district championship in a tough field which features Greenup County, Lewis County, Raceland, and Russell. Expect this young team to make noise at some point in the year.

10. West Carter (1-3) - +2 Increase - The only team in the region to open up playing four games. A tough start for the Comets who have struggled in the last three seasons. After playing Rowan this Tuesday, their fifth game in eight days, they will have a few days off before being scheduled to play Powell on the 16th. They did play a tough schedule this week with Lawrence County being one of the best in the 15th (scoring at least 80 points in each of their first three) and Russell who is a top five team in the 16th.

11. Bath County (0-2) - +3 increase - Two losses by a combined ten points for the Wildcats. One against Estill who finished 21-11 last year and is 3-0, one of the wins against a team that beat them last year. Bourbon County last year was in the middle of the back in a loaded 10th region and is 2-1 so far.

12. Menifee County (0-3) - -3 Decrease - Brevon Ricker goes for 36 and then 37 in his first two games, but still looking to get some help around him. Defense has struggled, giving up at least 83 points in their losses. They were against Fleming County, typically high scoring and a top team in the region. Russell is not far behind them and Elliott County has been a surprise team to start the year so it's not like Menifee struggled against weaker competition. They played three tough opponents.

13. Morgan County (0-2) - No change from the preview - Lost big to Lawrence County who is a top team in the 15th, then to Jackson who is 3-0. The Cougars looking to replace several seniors from last season.

14. Fairview (0-3) - No change from the preview - The Eagles with a bright young coach in Cameron Conley and still looking to gel. Lost close ones at home against West Carter and then on the road at Greenup County.

It's still early, and given how some of these teams are likely to gel late in the season to put together a tough run I anticipate we will see a lot of changes in the rankings.

On 12/8/2024 at 9:11 PM, TCR said:

4. Elliott County (3-0) - +6 increase - What a turnaround to start the season. 5-25 last year, already 3-0 winning by 19 against Fairview, 23 against Menifee, and 23 against Phelps. Elliott County was 0-5 against these teams combined last season. I had a feeling they would make some major improvements, but didn't expect them to jet out like they have. It's still early, though, and this team is still young with only one senior. Will have Raceland and Morgan County coming up. Elliott County picked up their third win three months and one day earlier than last season.

The Lions are probably the easiest program to root for outside of whatever team is nearest to your heart. Basketball means so much more in Sandy Hook than most places.

They lost to Raceland tonight, but the future is looking up and may get here sooner rather than later. As I'm sure you know, they're relying heavily on their sophomore class.

Not a region threat this season, but the district is there for the taking.

On 12/8/2024 at 9:11 PM, TCR said:

6. Lewis County (1-1) - +1 increase - Played Boyd County tough to start the season at Boyd County losing 72-65. Julian Puente with an impressive 30 points in that game, followed up by a nice 68-44 victory at home against Rowan County. Historically, Lewis County has been a late bloomer. Two of their three teams that have reached the regional finals (The 2009 and 2020 teams) were both 18-16. The 2009 team lost their first six games while the 2020 team started 3-9. Joe Hampton is back on the sidelines as an assistant to Scott Tackett, who is no stranger to the state tournament. The two have great chemistry and I'm sure will have Lewis County in contention late in the year as usual. 

If Elliott's the easiest to root for, Lewis may be #2. You can truly never count out the boys in Vanceburg. They're almost always a factor in the district and capable of winning games in Morehead. After being a little down last season, the early results suggest they may trend back toward the top of the region.

17 hours ago, DevilMayCare said:

If Elliott's the easiest to root for, Lewis may be #2. You can truly never count out the boys in Vanceburg. They're almost always a factor in the district and capable of winning games in Morehead. After being a little down last season, the early results suggest they may trend back toward the top of the region.

Nice takes on both posts! Elliott County does have a lot of heart, it's a basketball community for sure. I'm beginning to wonder more and more about Raceland if they are/will be better than advertised. This is a team that still has several players who have played football and given their deep run, it will take a little longer for Raceland to gel where on the other end Elliott County, at this time, does not have a football team. They Lions came out blazing this year and this is definitely a win that can be a confidence booster for Raceland. I also note you mentioning the future may get here sooner rather than later and that does make a lot of sense! Reminds me of the days in the 2000's when they had the Faulkner twins (Both of whom are coaching at Youngstown State now), Jonathan Ferguson, and that bunch. 2006 wasn't their time to shine but they were able to make it to the regional finals. 2007 wasn't their time to win the region with Russell having nearly everybody back from their championship team the prior year and the addition of Austin Robinson but it really hurt them when Jonathan Vanhoose got hurt. Elliott, however, still had to get through an Ashland team that had a lot of strength on the inside with Drew McDavid (Who scored 43 points in a game that year against Knox Central) along with Ryan Bonner who is now a 2-time regional champion as Ashland's head coach. After a tight game throughout, Elliott County pulled away late in the second half to take an 85-68 win and go to what would be their first of three trips in a row to Rupp Arena - a year earlier than expected.

As for Lewis, your statement that you can never truly count them out couldn't be more accurate. Thinking back to some of the years like 2000, they took eventual 16th region champion Boyd County to overtime. Boyd would win the region, lose 52-50 to Antwain Barbour and Elizabethtown and afterward E-town would win two of the next three games by double digits on the way to the state championship. It seems like no matter what their record is (Two of their three regional finalist teams finished 18-16) they have always caused problems for their opponents. One of my all-time favorite games of theirs is in 2004. After defeating Rowan County (Who would win the region the next year) they played against Ashland and it took two overtimes for the Tomcats to defeat Lewis County. Tyler Clark was an amazing scorer and I believe he is still involved heavily with the school today. Ashland was led by point guard Adam Howard who is now an assistant at Nebraska. In 2019 they were a tip-in away from ending Ashland's run, a run where they pulled a massive upset of Elliott County in the next game and ended up in the elite eight of the state tournament. Then the following season would defeat a Russell team that beat them twice in the regular season by a combined 36 point to win the district and make it to the regional tournament where they would beat Boyd County with one of the all-time greats in Blake Stewart and make the regional finals. Then in 2023 they took Boyd County to overtime in a classic. I could go on and on. They're so much fun to watch.

Starts for each Lewis County team I mentioned:

• 2000 (5-14 after an 0-7 start, finished 11-15)
• 2004 (6-6 - finished 20-11)
• 2019 (11-9 - finished 21-10)
• 2020 (3-9 - finished 18-16)
• 2023 (6-17 - finished 12-19)

This is an interesting start for Lewis and I think the win over Russell was big in part because Puente, who averaged 24.5 points over the first two games - had an off night yet they still pulled out a nice win. Even with figuring some areas out I still think Russell is a tough out for anybody.

Lastly, a fun fact on Lewis County since Ashland was brought up a couple of times. It was Bob Wright who was known for leading the Tomcats to the 1961 state championship and later on coaching at Morehead State University. But it would be Bob Wright who had two separate runs at Lewis County (Then Vanceburg High School) in the 1950's leading them to a 26-11 season in 1953, the most wins the school has achieved in a season that would also involve one of their three regional finals appearances. Ironically that team would lose to Ashland, who came two points short of knocking out eventual state runner-up Paducah Tilghman in the first round.