jtb12882

Don't see much change at the top next season. Will be 4-5 teams with a legitimate shot to win it. DCA lost a 9pt lead with 43 secs left in regulation to lose to a good Somerset team in triple overtime. As far as "peaking too early" goes... They were 7-3 prior to January 1st, and 18-3 in the last 21 going into Region semis. I don't think it was a matter of peaking too early as much as it was losing a game they win in that circumastance 99.9999999% of the time. They were 25-7 with zero bad losses. Basketball can be cruel, and it is never easy to win no matter who you have on the floor! Looking forward to next season!

Fantastic Work- Much appreciated!

I would be real surprised if this one was close. Raceland beefed up the schedule this season for a game such as this. Sayre played very weak schedule, and I think that gets exposed in this game. Big game coming from RB Noah Wallace. Got Raceland big in this one!

Anyboby have any dates on scrimmages? I'd like to get a peek at Woodford county, SK and Oldham County.

Feel like the preseason ranking below is more practical based on last season, and portal adds. 1. Wayne 2. Boyle 3. Somerset 4. Pulaski 5. Mercer 6. DCA Wayne has it all with Dumford and Phillips. HOF coach and Big Tradition. Looking like they could cruise thru that district with a lot of Momentum come Region tourney time. The Danville transfers Brown and Bixler to go with Quisenberry, Turner and Hager is really stout. Gonna be hard to keep up with this fast paced group! According to Cats Pause Somerset has 2 of the top 5 players in the region. Hard to rank them outside top 3. They also have a few other under the radar kids that can play. Pulaski has starting PG back from regional championship team - that has to mean something in a region where 5-6 teams could win it. And they always have guys that can play. Will also have home court advantage if they advance to region. Mercer has Barnes, Ellis and Drakeford. Could argue that trio is as good as any. Add a New coach with loads of winning experience. Would not shock me if they won it. DCA has Boyd, Dut, and Ayiei. In addition, one unknown player eligible late in the season, as well as Fugate as a potential. Solid on paper, but that means absolutely nothing.

I love the GC gym!

Thoughts... Very odd not seeing at least one of the Big Three ; Lincoln, West Jess , or Pulaski in the top 5. Still wouldn't count any of them out at the end. Dumford will make a massive difference for Wayne , and Mari Brown will do the same for Boyle. Both of those teams are gonna be very difficult to beat late in the year. Big props to Coach Young for developing a couple of off the radar players two short years ago, into tops in the region. This very well may be Somerset's year! I think DCA may be number 1 or 2 on paper, but I don't think they deserve that kind of ranking. They did have some real quality wins last year, but lost momentum heading into tournament time. It is hard for me to give the nod to a team who has yet to prove really anything. They have not made a regional tournament, and have not even advanced out of the 4/5 play-in game in the 45th district tourney. I personally feel DCA has a lot to prove this year, maybe more than any team in the region. Having said that, they will have plenty of opportunities as they play arguably the toughest schedule in the 12th region. Mercer may be somewhat of a Darkhorse, especially if Barnes is eligible.

Players: 1. Phillips - Wayne 2. Godby - Somerset 3. Dut - DCA 4. Barnes - Mercer 5. Whitaker - Somerset 6. Fraley - Pulaski 7. Quisenberry - Boyle 8. Ellis - Mercer 9. Ayiei - DCA 10. Craig- Rockcastle

1. DCA 2. Wayne County 3. Boyle County 4. Somerset 5. Mercer County 6. Rockcastle County 7. Pulaski County 8. Lincoln County 9. Southwestern 10. East Jessamine

Raceland has a BIG home field presence, winning culture, and they believe they can win every time the lights come on. They also have lower-profile kids who can play. QB has loads of ability, and may be most underrated player in class A. And of course they are Riding that MO-train after knocking off top 15 Pikeville on road! Don't sleep on this game- Raceland will compete! Highlands 33-27

I'm hearing Brian Britt.

Congrats to Lewis County! Tough place to win for sure. Looks like Russell has one quality win on the schedule (vs Morgan), so this is not surprising at all. Good luck to both teams next week!

Great job covering this region all year!

Just curious to see what some of you think about this. Over the last several years I have attended numerous local Christmas tournaments, and they are unbelievably poorly attended, which creates a very cold environment for these kids to play in. I know there are still a few ones in the state that may be better attended, but overall attendance seems to be very poor. Maybe I am wrong, but with all the upsets it just seems like it has something to do with how lifeless the environment is in these tournaments. I'm not sure of the solution. Thoughts?