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Wow, it has been a story book season for Lynn Camp to say the least. I don't think HDE has really dawged them, but a lot of people on here have given them no chance and no respect. A lot of people acused Les of dawging Pineville, Bell County, and Cumberland all season because of his Fear Les Forecast. Now we are down to the Region semi finals and Pineville, Cumberland, and Bell County (all very good basketball teams) are going to have to buy a ticket if they want to go. Lynn Camp, who was in nobody's top 10, is in the semi finals and that is great for the sport IMO. These boys have worked so hard and Coach P is proving to be one of the best around for sure. Who knows what will happen from here? Don't bank on South Laurel overlooking the Wildcats, because I can promise you that this isn't Steve Wright's first rodeo. I bet Lynn Camp will be at least number 4 on the final Fear Les Forecast coming up next week. It has been a great season to watch for all the teams that I have had an opportunity to watch. Congrats again to Lynn Camp!

Congrats to Lynn Camp for a great year. Congrats to Pineville for a great year. Les picked this game so congrats to Les...he is also having a great year. Fun game to watch. Happy for the Wildcats. Talking to some of them after the game makes you realize how much it meant to them. Sad for the Mountain Lions. They had a magical season going. Nothing to be ashamed of.

It was a fun game to watch. Lynn Camp got the early lead, but Casey Lester made some really good adjustments and the Green Dragons got right back in there. Congrats to Les on the win lol.

South Laurel and Corbin are the two favorites at this point. Knox Central also must be considered. I think Pineville and Cumberland have both shown over the last couple of weeks or so that they won't make it through a deep tourny pool. As Ric Flair used to say..."If you're a betting man, always bet on the champ." Look for South to rise again (no pun intended)

Why is it a team or their fans can't just say "hey, the other team was better than us tonight"? Pineville has a good team and a good coach and they are very fun to watch. Same for Corbin. Corbin beat Pineville and that is the bottom line. The shot was after the (very smart play) foul by Cashen. If Strange misses that shot then the ref's are Pineville's heroes for giving them another shot. Williamsburg just lost to Jellico, TN last night. (one of the 4 teams they have actually beaten this year). The Yellow Jackets shouldn't have even been in the game at half time, but they were leading Pineville in the fourth quarter. Doesn't say much for Pineville's postseason chances to me. I think they may have peaked to early and are starting to decline. Williamsburg will play either South or Corbin in the first round of the district....not a snowball's chance of an upset this year.

Strange is definately top ten material. I can see how he may have been over shadowed with Day on his team though. There are also a few pretty good guards in the Region. Seidel on the other hand (who was left off a publication's top ten) was a pretty obvious choice from the get go. How many games do you see Strange covered by a chaser or box-and-one defense? How many times do you see Strange triple teamed? I saw Seidel triple teamed against Scott County and he still scored a game-high in points. This boy is a player... Sorry about getting off topic. Corbin is rounding the corner with their improvement and I think Pietrowski will have them ready to make some serious noise in the postseason.

Strange hit a great shot, however, Cashen fouled him before the attempt. It was a great call by he official despite the hostile environment. Corbin controlled the game throughout. If it weren't for a couple of bad decisions by the Redhounds (unforced turnovers) the shot wouldn't have even mattered. What is lost in the hoopla here is that Corbin handled Pineville from start to finish tonight. Pineville showed that they are a great team as well, by keeping the pressure on and making the comeback.

Sorry for the almost double quote. I tried to edit my first post and it appeared to be gone so I made the new post.

I have seen both girls pay plenty this year (even head to head). Mikkah Rogers is one of the best players I have seen in recent memory on the girls side of the ball. She is a good scorer, rebounder, and plays great defense. She is the absolute feature of her team and does log quite a few minutes which does add to her statistical averages. Lauren Wombles is a great player. I think she has the edge on Rogers as a player (taking absolutely nothing away from Mikkah). Lauren also is a scorer, rebounder, and plays great defense. Lauren makes fewer turnovers than Mikkah and that is one big difference in the two. Lauren is also not used the way that many people feel she should be. She could definately score 25 points a game and grab 10 boards a game if she were asked to do so. SL has a deeper team than Corbin. They have more options and share the ball quite a bit more. Lauren Wombles is the best female athlete in the state of Kentucky this year.

I have to comment on this Rogers/Wombles debate. Sorry Les... I have seen both players play many times this year (including head to head). I think Rogers is one of the best players I have seen in many years. She does it all. She rebounds, she shoots, she handles the ball, and she plays incredible defense. With that said I have to say that Wombles is an even better all-around player than Rogers. Lauren scores inside and out, she handles the ball, plays great defense, and it one of the most fundamentally sound players I have seen. Lauren is IMO the best female athlete in the state of Kentucky this year. BTW - The ratings are right on the money as far as I can tell. Great Job Les. You and the Times-Tribune rock!!!

The ratings are perfect this week man. North Laurel can upset any team in the region. I also agree that after 8 there is a huge drop off. Knox Central is hosting the Region. I think that makes it advantage KC and Pineville (won the district there last year). I am sticking with my pick of KC to win it though. BTW - Clay County is a very fundamentally good team, but they are not top 5 material IMO.

Absolutely no way Larkey takes the Harlan coaching job. I think MJ will take the basketball position.

100% agreed. Maybe not you, but there has been a lot of talk and hype about Cumberland.

Hey everyone is going to have differing opinions. The Fear 'Les' Forecast is not one of the most purchased publications every week for nothing! It is hard to rank teams that play each other so very often and know each other so well, because they are going to take turns beating each other.

I read that post from that guy. I disagree with him as well. I honestly think the two starting guards from Pineville are the best in the Region. A lot factors into that such as the length of time they have played together...it is not just talent. Cumberland seemed to me to lack coaching. I know those are in your home area and you want them to do well. Yeah I take Pineville number one and Cumberland overrated from an overtime game. I have seen pretty much the same Pineville team beat Knox Central at KC last year in the postseason. I think KC (although not number one now) will win the Region. Have said it from the beginning. Corbin is better than Cumberland. Jackson County is better IMO. The big kid from Cumberland absolutely cannot handle the rock. His ballhandling and catching were horrible. Oh, I have seen plenty of Evarts over the years. My roots are Harlan County through and through. Born and Raised there. Cawood as a freshman and then to Harlan High. Just haven't seen them this year. I have seen highlights on WYMT and I read about all the Harlan County teams. I have seen some of the best teams to ever play in the Region and I know you have too. When I say Cumberland is overrated I really believe it. All I have heard is about how they can't be stopped. They are far from unstoppable...end of rant...sorry.