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Fear 'Les' 13th Regional Rankings March 1 - March 7

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Les

Les

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Boys Top 5

 

1. South Laurel (24-5 overall, 12-0 vs. 13th Region)

What’s the scoop: Steve Wright’s South Laurel Cardinals are winners of 14 straight and haven’t lost since their 83-63 loss to Marietta High School on Jan. 6.

To make things worse, the other teams that have hopes of knocking off the Cardinals in post-season, have to worry about the fact South Laurel is 12-0 against 13th Region opponents this season and 30-0 dating back to February of 2004.

Who’s the last 13th Region team to have beaten the Cardinals?

You guessed it ... Tony Pietrowski’s Corbin Redhounds. The same team that will be squaring off with South Laurel for the 50th District title Friday.

 

Surprise, surprise: A lot of people were surprised the Cardinals only beat Williamsburg by 23 points (83-60) in the semifinals of the 50th District Tournament.

During the two teams’ regular season match-ups, South Laurel knocked off the Yellow Jackets by 49 and 52 points.

This is what Wright had to say after his team’s win over Williamsburg.

“A lot of times, teams don’t want to give anybody else credit,” he said. “They just want to talk about how well they played or how bad they played.

“I think they had nothing to lose and they came in and played better than they did when we played them before, but at the same time I subbed and played 15 guys and a bunch of their kids never did get in,” he added. “We could have left ours in, but we didn’t and I chose not to. There are still times when we beat them by 40 or more and we still played all 15 guys.

“That may concern people and give them something to talk about, but I think we were going to beat them if we had our best game or an average game. It’s tough to coach a game like that, but in the end, I would rather be on our end of it than their end of it.”

 

What’s ahead: South Laurel will host Corbin in the finals of the 50th District Tournament Friday. The Cardinals won the first two meetings between the teams 86-68 and 67-60.

 

2. Bell County (22-4, 15-2)

What’s the scoop: The Bobcats will be guaranteed a spot in the 13th Region Tournament if they can find a way to knock off rival Middlesboro today.

 

Surprise, surprise: Bell County held its own against South Laurel last week. The Bobcats dropped a 56-55 decision at home, but proved they can play with the defending 13th Region champions.

 

What’s ahead: Bell County has a match-up with Middlesboro in the 52nd District Tournament today.

 

3. Corbin (22-6, 15-4)

What’s the scoop: The Redhounds continue to roll.

Corbin struggled against Whitley County during the semifinals of the 50th District Tournament - trailed by one at halftime - but the Redhounds prevailed and ran their win streak to 10 games, while winning 16 of their last 18 games.

Despite the struggles against the Colonels, Corbin coach Tony Pietrowski said he was happy his team was able to pull through and get the win.

“I thought the big thing was that it was a physical game and we kind of got frustrated at times,” he said. “We knew this would be that way and we let that affect the way we played in the first half. I challenged my kids at halftime to just go out there and do the things we had been doing the last 15 games and not get caught up in everything else.

“I thought we did a much better job of that in the second half,” he added. “I felt like Josh Crawford did a good job for us and showed why he is one of the best players in the 13th Region.”

 

Surprise, surprise: Josh Crawford stepped up and led the way against Whitley County with a 26-point effort and don’t be surprised to see the sophomore continue to dominate on offense and defense the remainder of the post-season.

 

What’s ahead: Corbin has a 50th District Tournament final match-up against rival South Laurel Friday. The Redhounds are the last 13th Region team to beat the Cardinals and have the talent to do the same Friday.

 

4. Pineville (15-11, 13-7)

What’s the scoop: The Mountain Lions are winners of four straight and picked up an impressive 79-63 win over Lynn Camp Tuesday to solidify Pineville a spot in the 13th Region Tournament.

 

Surprise, surprise: When Pineville needs a spark, who steps to the forefront? Both James Strange and Dustin Day.

The two players combined to score 42 points during the Mountain Lions’ 16-point win over Lynn Camp.

When those two players are clicking, Pineville is a hard team to beat.

 

What’s ahead: Pineville will try and unseat Barbourville as 51st District champions. The two teams square-off against each other Friday at Knox Central High School.

 

5. Knox Central (14-12, 10-7)

What’s the scoop: Brandon Elam’s Knox Central Panthers look like they have hit stride after dismantling Barbourville at home in the semifinals of the 51st District Tournament.

I was really impressed with the way Knox Central played, espcially on defense. Elam had his squad ready.

 

Surprise, surprise: Knox Central had its way with Barbourville after surviving a minor scare late in the first half. The Panthers domianted on the boards and limited the Tigers to only one 3-pointer.

That was key.

 

What’s ahead: Elam’s Panthers will play against Pineville Friday to see who will be crowned champion in the 51st District.

 

 

The Best of the Rest

 

No. 6 Clay County (19-8, 10-4)

What’s the scoop: The Tigers are still struggling, but can be a dangerous team.

 

No. 7 Cumberland (19-9, 13-7)

What’s the scoop: The Redskins are still struggling.

 

No. 8 Harlan (12-13, 10-11)

What’s the scoop: The Green Dragons have improved tremendously since the beginning of the season. Harlan’s John Smith is finally getting some offensive help.

 

No. 9 Barbourville (17-10, 12-8)

What’s the scoop: Phipps’ magic came to an end against Knox Central.

 

No. 10 Red Bird (14-11, 4-11)

What’s the scoop: Red Bird moves into the Top 10 after defeating North Laurel.

americanman

americanman

Posted
Posted
Boys Top 5

 

1. South Laurel (24-5 overall, 12-0 vs. 13th Region)

What’s the scoop: Steve Wright’s South Laurel Cardinals are winners of 14 straight and haven’t lost since their 83-63 loss to Marietta High School on Jan. 6.

To make things worse, the other teams that have hopes of knocking off the Cardinals in post-season, have to worry about the fact South Laurel is 12-0 against 13th Region opponents this season and 30-0 dating back to February of 2004.

Who’s the last 13th Region team to have beaten the Cardinals?

You guessed it ... Tony Pietrowski’s Corbin Redhounds. The same team that will be squaring off with South Laurel for the 50th District title Friday.

 

Surprise, surprise: A lot of people were surprised the Cardinals only beat Williamsburg by 23 points (83-60) in the semifinals of the 50th District Tournament.

During the two teams’ regular season match-ups, South Laurel knocked off the Yellow Jackets by 49 and 52 points.

This is what Wright had to say after his team’s win over Williamsburg.

“A lot of times, teams don’t want to give anybody else credit,” he said. “They just want to talk about how well they played or how bad they played.

“I think they had nothing to lose and they came in and played better than they did when we played them before, but at the same time I subbed and played 15 guys and a bunch of their kids never did get in,” he added. “We could have left ours in, but we didn’t and I chose not to. There are still times when we beat them by 40 or more and we still played all 15 guys.

“That may concern people and give them something to talk about, but I think we were going to beat them if we had our best game or an average game. It’s tough to coach a game like that, but in the end, I would rather be on our end of it than their end of it.”

 

What’s ahead: South Laurel will host Corbin in the finals of the 50th District Tournament Friday. The Cardinals won the first two meetings between the teams 86-68 and 67-60.

 

2. Bell County (22-4, 15-2)

What’s the scoop: The Bobcats will be guaranteed a spot in the 13th Region Tournament if they can find a way to knock off rival Middlesboro today.

 

Surprise, surprise: Bell County held its own against South Laurel last week. The Bobcats dropped a 56-55 decision at home, but proved they can play with the defending 13th Region champions.

 

What’s ahead: Bell County has a match-up with Middlesboro in the 52nd District Tournament today.

 

3. Corbin (22-6, 15-4)

What’s the scoop: The Redhounds continue to roll.

Corbin struggled against Whitley County during the semifinals of the 50th District Tournament - trailed by one at halftime - but the Redhounds prevailed and ran their win streak to 10 games, while winning 16 of their last 18 games.

Despite the struggles against the Colonels, Corbin coach Tony Pietrowski said he was happy his team was able to pull through and get the win.

“I thought the big thing was that it was a physical game and we kind of got frustrated at times,” he said. “We knew this would be that way and we let that affect the way we played in the first half. I challenged my kids at halftime to just go out there and do the things we had been doing the last 15 games and not get caught up in everything else.

“I thought we did a much better job of that in the second half,” he added. “I felt like Josh Crawford did a good job for us and showed why he is one of the best players in the 13th Region.”

 

Surprise, surprise: Josh Crawford stepped up and led the way against Whitley County with a 26-point effort and don’t be surprised to see the sophomore continue to dominate on offense and defense the remainder of the post-season.

 

What’s ahead: Corbin has a 50th District Tournament final match-up against rival South Laurel Friday. The Redhounds are the last 13th Region team to beat the Cardinals and have the talent to do the same Friday.

 

4. Pineville (15-11, 13-7)

What’s the scoop: The Mountain Lions are winners of four straight and picked up an impressive 79-63 win over Lynn Camp Tuesday to solidify Pineville a spot in the 13th Region Tournament.

 

Surprise, surprise: When Pineville needs a spark, who steps to the forefront? Both James Strange and Dustin Day.

The two players combined to score 42 points during the Mountain Lions’ 16-point win over Lynn Camp.

When those two players are clicking, Pineville is a hard team to beat.

 

What’s ahead: Pineville will try and unseat Barbourville as 51st District champions. The two teams square-off against each other Friday at Knox Central High School.

 

5. Knox Central (14-12, 10-7)

What’s the scoop: Brandon Elam’s Knox Central Panthers look like they have hit stride after dismantling Barbourville at home in the semifinals of the 51st District Tournament.

I was really impressed with the way Knox Central played, espcially on defense. Elam had his squad ready.

 

Surprise, surprise: Knox Central had its way with Barbourville after surviving a minor scare late in the first half. The Panthers domianted on the boards and limited the Tigers to only one 3-pointer.

That was key.

 

What’s ahead: Elam’s Panthers will play against Pineville Friday to see who will be crowned champion in the 51st District.

 

 

The Best of the Rest

 

No. 6 Clay County (19-8, 10-4)

What’s the scoop: The Tigers are still struggling, but can be a dangerous team.

 

No. 7 Cumberland (19-9, 13-7)

What’s the scoop: The Redskins are still struggling.

 

No. 8 Harlan (12-13, 10-11)

What’s the scoop: The Green Dragons have improved tremendously since the beginning of the season. Harlan’s John Smith is finally getting some offensive help.

 

No. 9 Barbourville (17-10, 12-8)

What’s the scoop: Phipps’ magic came to an end against Knox Central.

 

No. 10 Red Bird (14-11, 4-11)

What’s the scoop: Red Bird moves into the Top 10 after defeating North Laurel.

Les, What do you think Coach Wright was meaning by his comments made after the S.L. / Williamsburg game Momday night?

Bubba Wilson

Bubba Wilson

Posted
Posted

I think he was saying he controlled the game and kept the score as close as it ended up not the Williamsburg kids. Maybe Coach Wright was tired of being accused of running up the score and wanted to let people know that he did not run the score up in this one. That would be my guess, but who knows. I would not think he had an axe to grind with anyone in Jacket Land.

americanman

americanman

Posted
Posted
I think he was saying he controlled the game and kept the score as close as it ended up not the Williamsburg kids. Maybe Coach Wright was tired of being accused of running up the score and wanted to let people know that he did not run the score up in this one. That would be my guess, but who knows. I would not think he had an axe to grind with anyone in Jacket Land.

I agree that there shouldn't be any reason why he would be upset with Williamsburgs' basketball team. The intent of his comment may have very well been to show people that he can play with restraint. For whatever reasons he made the comments they were mean and uncalled for. He could have just as easily complimented Williamsburg on their effort and left it at that. The comment came off making him look a little full of himself and a bit overconfident. We all sometimes forget that the players read the sports sections of the Newpapers front to back and they read the comments Wright made. I think that for the comment "We didn't play all that well, but then again, we didn't have to.". he should have to apologize to the team. Those boys went through a lot this Summer & Fall and they worked very hard to get where they are today, even if it's not on the same level as Coach Wright. I didn't see Coach P get on his high horse after their game with Whitley. His comments were classy. unlike Coach Wright's.

Bubba Wilson

Bubba Wilson

Posted
Posted

I can see where you are coming from AmericanMan. I doubt you will get any retribution from Coach Wright. Hopefully the Jackets can save that information and turn the table one day on teams that have beaten them this year. I am sure Coach Robinson has a plan to begin the next phase of progress.

luvbasketball

luvbasketball

Posted
Posted
I agree that there shouldn't be any reason why he would be upset with Williamsburgs' basketball team. The intent of his comment may have very well been to show people that he can play with restraint. For whatever reasons he made the comments they were mean and uncalled for. He could have just as easily complimented Williamsburg on their effort and left it at that. The comment came off making him look a little full of himself and a bit overconfident. We all sometimes forget that the players read the sports sections of the Newpapers front to back and they read the comments Wright made. I think that for the comment "We didn't play all that well, but then again, we didn't have to.". he should have to apologize to the team. Those boys went through a lot this Summer & Fall and they worked very hard to get where they are today, even if it's not on the same level as Coach Wright. I didn't see Coach P get on his high horse after their game with Whitley. His comments were classy. unlike Coach Wright's.

 

:thumb: You took the words right out of my mouth Americanman.

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