5thregionbasketball

11 hours ago, SnottieDrippen said:

Only other change I’m aware of is throw-in spots, and I doubt this is noticeable to casual fans.

My understanding is as follows:

On a foul or violation in the backcourt, ball goes to the spot closest to the interruption. In the front court, there are four spots(two on each side of the court) along the baseline and sideline for inbounding following a foul. A ball deflected out of bounds by the defense will still go to the spot the ball went out. 

Not entirely certain what that means for a ball dribbled off the defender’s foot though. 

Would go to the spot. And a timeout in the frontcourt will move the ball to one of those 4 spots except a timeout after an out of bounds. In that instance the ball still goes to the spot it went out of bounds. 

3 hours ago, TimeWillTell said:

Doesn't matter. There are no appeals process at KHSAA like someone said above. 

There are reviews in place for cases like this, but they will not overturn a judgement call. If it was the judgment of the official that the play was excessive or flagrant and that was what warranted the ejection, it will stand. If the official ejected the player because they believed that was the penalty by rule, it will get overturned. It happened in basketball last season in the district tournament, where 2 players were ejected because of a misapplication of the rule and those players were reinstated. 

24 minutes ago, ACfan4 said:

Think you can argue as many as 6-7 teams could win the region this year. It has that much depth and seems to be wide open. 

Agreed. I think teams 1-7 could all be there at the end. I think Green County is outside of that top tier of teams, but they are not a team I'd want to play come postseason time, especially if they get everything going well. 

Saw the video on NFHS Network. I didn't see anything that justified an ejection. A 15 yard unsporting foul would have been sufficient. Interested to see how the appeal goes, as KHSAA typically will not overturn ejections such as this because it's a judgement call. If the officials mistakenly ejected him by a misapplication of a rule then it could get overturned but that didn't seem to be the case from the video. 

11/14- Adair County @ North Hardin
11/16- Barren County @ Bardstown
11/18- East Jessamine @ Campbellsville
11/20- Bullitt Central @ Washington County
11/21- Somerset @ Green County
11/21-Greenwood @ Adair County
11/21- Meade County @ Caverna
11/21- Henry County @ Bethlehem
11/21- Breckinridge County @ John Hardin
11/21- Frankfort @ Thomas Nelson
11/25- Bowling Green @ Larue County
 

38 minutes ago, ACfan4 said:

Logsdon is no longer at Caverna as he transferred to Grayson County. 

Thanks, wasn't aware of that!

The 5^th Region looks like it could be as competitive as it has been in a long time. This seems to be the first year in several years where there is no clear-cut favorite to win the region, which should make for a fun basketball season. Here are my pre-season rankings:

1.      Washington County- The Commanders take the top spot to begin the season. They finished last season with a 23-10 record and had their season end in the regional semifinals. They lost none of their nucleus from last season, returning all starters that include 4 double digit scorers. Beau Baker averaged 14.5 ppg and 8.5 rebounds per game, along with point guard Noah Reynolds who averaged 12.3 ppg, Riley Brown who averaged 10.2 ppg and Gabe Weiss who averaged 11.5 ppg but may be the most improved player in the region this season and already garnered a number of D1 offers. The Commanders will make their (I believe) first trip ever to the King of the Bluegrass tournament this year.

2.      Elizabethtown- The Panthers are the defending regional champions. This year’s squad will see the return of Ayden Evans, who led the team in scoring last season with 16.1 ppg. He’ll also have alongside him his younger brother Alex Evans and Jquan Williams, who averaged 8 ppg. The Panthers lost Obian Howard and JuJuan Williams who were both double-digit scorers’ last season. On paper, it would seem that the Panthers may be down just a bit, but you can never count out any team led by James Haire.

3.      Taylor County- The Cardinals bring back a loaded team this season. They lost Mason Guffey to graduation, however Guffey didn’t play any last season due to an injury. They also lost Landon Blakey to Larue County. But the 24-7 Cardinals will return Layken Lyons, 18.8 ppg, Jackson Wise 13.4 ppg, and big man Keeton Clements 13.3. Taylor County will also participate in the King of the Bluegrass tournament, making this (again, I believe) the first time there have been two 5^th Region teams in the tournament in a single season.

4.      North Hardin- Michael Baffour’s Trojans will look to continue their improvement in the 17^th district. Last season, the Trojans fell in the semi-finals to Central Hardin, and ended their season with a 15-12 record. North Hardin didn’t lose any of their core nucleus of players and return this season Taveon Smith, 17.4 ppg and Trevion Ross, 8.3 ppg. The Trojans will look to UofL football commit Shaun Boykins to lead the team. Boykins was the team’s leading scorer last season with 21.2 ppg.

5.      Larue County- The Hawks round out the top 5. The Hawks season came up just a bit short of Rupp Arena, losing in the regional finals to Elizabethtown. They return Daniel Allen, who emerged as one of the best players in the region, averaging 22.2 ppg. Jagger Mardis had a great freshman season averaging 14.9 ppg and they added Taylor County transfer Landon Blakey, 8.4 ppg. Larue did lose two considerable factors from last season’s team in Carson Childress, 13.7 ppg and Luke Trumbo, who did so many little things that don’t show up in stat sheets. Trumbo did contribute 6.3 ppg and 5.3 rebounds per game.

6.      Adair County- Coach Deron Breeze should be excited about this season. His Indians finished 23-10 last season with a trip to the regional tournament. They return all of their key players from last season including Connor Loy, 20.5 ppg, Brayton Coomer 11.1 ppg, Dawson Gilbert 10.5 ppg and Collins transfer Isaiah Cochran 11.2 ppg. The Indians should be fun to watch this season.

7.      Central Hardin- The Bruins could arguably be higher on the list. They finished the season 19-14 last year with a trip to the region tournament. They also return star player Brett Decker who averaged 23 ppg. Ace Jaggers will be counted on to contribute when he returns from injury. Jaggers suffered an ACL tear shortly after last season ended. There will be two new faces for the Bruins this season. Head Coach Tavon Johnson begins his head coaching career this season after being an assistant at Bardstown for a number of years. Donovan Stone has transferred from Bardstown. Stone averaged 12.9 ppg and will likely help Decker with the ball handling responsibilities.

8.      Green County- Expectations are high in Greensburg this season. Jordan Gilbert seemed to get his team playing much better toward the end of last season that culminated with a trip to the regional tournament. Haydon Blakeman will provide the bulk of the scoring for the Dragons. Blakeman averaged 19.3 ppg. Alongside him will be Jayden Marr who averaged 15.1 ppg last season.

9.      Hart County- The Raiders are coming off a 14-13 season last year. They’ll lean heavily on the Shoulder brothers. Jaxon averaged 15.4 ppg and Jacob added 11.3 ppg. Clark Rexroat added 11.1 ppg last season.

10.  Bardstown- Boo Brewer’s crew rounds out the top 10. The Bardstown Tigers, coming off a 12-16 season that still saw them become the #2 seed in the 19^th district and make an appearance in the regional semifinals, will look a little different this year. The Tigers will have to replace Donovan Stone, who transferred to Central Hardin. They’ll also have to replace the scoring of Grant Bowling, who averaged 16.7 ppg and Jay Trell Curtsinger who added 14.3 ppg. They will look to Tyleeq Williams, who averaged 7.4 ppg and Jtown transfer Brenton Moore. The large unknown is Nice Ngandu, who is 6’9 and is from the Congo. He came to the U.S. through B. Maze Elite AAU.

The Rest of the Region

11.  Caverna
12.  Bethlehem
13.  Nelson County
14.  Campbellsville
15.  Thomas Nelson
16.  John Hardin
17.  Marion County
18.  Fort Knox

District Predictions

17^th District

1.      Elizabethtown
2.      North Hardin
3.      Central Hardin
4.      John Hardin
5.      Fort Knox

18^th District

1.      Larue County
2.      Green County
3.      Hart County
4.      Caverna

19^th District

1.      Washington County
2.      Bardstown
3.      Bethlehem
4.      Nelson County
5.      Thomas Nelson

20^th District

1.      Taylor County
2.      Adair County
3.      Campbellsville
4.      Marion County

Players to Watch (No Particular Order)

11/14- Green County hosts South Warren
11/16- Hart County hosts Allen County-Scottsville
11/17- Taylor County hosts Glasgow
11/17- Adair County hosts Williamsburg
11/17- Fort Knox hosts Seneca
11/18- Thomas Nelson hosts Western Hills
11/18- Washington County hosts East Jessamine
11/21- Washington County hosts Adair County
11/21- Bardstown hosts South Oldham
 

11/18 All Games at Elizabethtown High School
Bethlehem vs Male
Bullitt Central vs Green County
Christian County vs Casey County
Ohio County vs Boyle County
Meade County vs Bowling Green
Elizabethtown vs Breckinridge County
 

Here's 5th Region Preview. I hope to have the boys up in the next week or so. Feel free to disagree, agree and discuss. 

5^th Region Girls Preview

1.  Bethlehem- The rankings could possibly say Bethlehem and then everyone else. The defending region champions will be the heavy favorite coming into this season. They return Carlie Thurmond, Tessa Miles, and Alyssa Miles. They did lose standout player Emma Filiatreau, but transfer Leah Macy, the number 10 ranked junior in the country, should fill her shoes nicely. The Banshees will be a heavy favorite to win the All-A championship and anything short of a return to Rupp will be a disappointment.

2.  Taylor County- Taylor County returns every player from last year’s regional runner-up squad. Taylor was 3 points away from a trip to Rupp Arena. Last year Taylor County finished the season with a 27-7 record. The big factor for Taylor County will be the health of point guard Grace Bale, who averaged 16.9 ppg last season. A knee injury followed by surgery will most likely limit her early but by Christmas, you can expect that she will be much closer to full strength. Bale will be joined by returning players Kennedy Jackson, Alexis Knifley, and Kaylee Benningfield. 

3.  North Hardin- The defending district champions will look to repeat as district champs. They’ll look to improve their record from last year’s 19-13 season that ended in a semi-final defeat to eventual region champions Bethlehem. North will return Payton Isom, who averaged 15.8 ppg last season and Destiny Scott who averaged 5.6 rebounds per game. They will have to have some players step up and fill the void left behind by graduates Dez Bryant and Ella Scherer.

4.  Hart County- The Lady Raiders have a new coach at the top in Jessica Lindsey. She’ll look to take Hart County back to the regional tournament this season. The Lady Raiders finished last season with a 19-12 record, were district champions and ended their season with a semi-final loss in the regional tournament. Hart County will go as Dea Bradley goes. Bradley is one of the top players in the region. She averaged 26.1 ppg last season. While Hart County lost their second and third top scorers, the Lady Raiders have a strong upper-class group who should be able to fill that void easily.

5.  Elizabethtown- Things will look drastically different for the Lady Panthers this season. Coming off one of the worst seasons in recent memory with a record of 13-19 and a loss in the first round of the regional tournament to Hart County. Amber Courtney takes over on the sidelines, but she’ll have her work cut out for her in replacing Sarah Clark’s 14. 2 ppg and 8.4 rebounds per game. Gone also is Janisse Armstrong who contributed 10. 1 ppg and the Cann twins. Harper Gregory is the highest point scorer returning, averaging 6. 3 ppg. Coach Courtney does bring with her 2 daughters Miyah Courtney who will help with the scoring, averaging 12.7 points last season at Bardstown.

6.  Green County- Finished the season with a 16-13 record and was the district runner-up. That looks to be the most likely spot again for the Lady Dragons. Green County lost Caity Church, who averaged 9.5 ppg, but will return the coaches daughter Mia Blaydes and teammate Lily Beard, both of whom averaged double digit points. Scout Brockman will be someone to watch out for as well. As a 7^th grader last season, she played lots of minutes and added 6.5 ppg.

7.   Adair County- The Lady Indians have a familiar face sitting in a new chair at the top of the bench this season. Stacia Hill takes over for Jerald Bryant. Hill was an assistant on last year’s team. Adair County finished the season last year as the #2 team in the district and was the district runner-up. They lost in the first round of the regional tournament to Bethlehem. This team will go as Ellie Cheatham goes. Cheatham averaged 16.5 ppg last season. She’ll look to match that in her senior season this year.

8.  John Hardin- The Lady Bulldogs were heavy favorites in the 17^th district season. That season ended in disappointment for Nikki Coleman and the Lady Bulldogs. They would eventually end up as the #4 seed in the district tournament and lose to North Hardin in the semifinals. Coach Coleman will have to replace Xaviera Smalley’s 18.6 ppg and 11.5 rebounds per game. She’ll also have to replace Sharon Tidwell’s 13.9 ppg and 6.5 rebounds. The most likely candidate to pick up that slack will be SR PG Destini McCallister. McCallister averaged 16.1 ppg last season. McCallister should be regarded as one of the top players if not the top player in the district.

9.  Central Hardin- The Lady Bruins also have a new head coach this season. Assistant coach Glenn Peterson moves up a chair and will lead Central Hardin this season. He’ll have to replace Khania Jones who transferred to George Rogers Clark. The Lady Bruins will lack some size in the post with the loss of Kathryn Gray as well. They’ll count on Julianna Stith to run the point and produce most of the scoring. She averaged 12.7 ppg last season. Senior Allie Link will also be heavily relied on.

10. Thomas Nelson- The Lady Generals saw some improvement last year and hope to build on that this season. Raeann Nix and Haleigh Martin will lead Thomas Nelson this season. Nix averaged 13.2 ppg. Martin contributed 9.7 ppg. The Lady Generals finished with a 13-16 record.

11. Nelson County- Trey Dugan has officially taken over as the head coach for the Lady Cardinals. Dugan’s father was the interim head coach last season, but Trey did much of the coaching during some health issues that his father had to deal with. The Lady Cardinals roster will look quite a bit different with graduation losses of leading scorer Kaia Grabbert, point guard Macy Runner, and guard/forward Shayla Redmon. Alivia Morris will be the top returning scorer. Morris averaged 10.1 ppg last season.

12.  Larue County- The Lady Hawks will have to find a replacement for Natalie Gentry. Gentry was the igniter for Larue County last year and everything went through her. Gentry averaged over 18 ppg last season. The Lady Hawks will be a very young team this season. The top returning scorer will be Macaul Bryan, who averaged just over 6 ppg. The Lady Hawks finished last season as the #3 seed in the district and had a record of 8-20.

13. Bardstown- Ashley Buckman will lead the Lady Tigers this season. He’ll hope to improve on the 14-17 record from last season, but he’ll have to do so without Miyah Courtney, last year’s leading scorer. Addison Riley and Nariyah Crowe will be two players that the Lady Tigers will depend on heavily.

14. Marion County- Marion County will be young but will lean heavily on senior Keke Adams and junior Mya Scott. The Lady Knights finished the season last year with a 9-14 record and ended their season with a first-round district loss to Adair County. Adams, who only played in 6 games last year, averaged 10 ppg and Mya Scott averaged 10.6 ppg for Marion County as well.

15.  Campbellsville- Kyvin Goodin-Rogers girls will play hard for her. The Lady Eagles, who finished last season with a record of 10-21 and a first-round loss to Taylor County in the district tournament, will have to replace their leading scorer from last year Brianna Hayes. Mylee Bell looks to be the most likely to do so. The sophomore has incredible 3-point range and will shoot often.

16.  Washington County- The Commanderettes won a district tournament game for the first time in a long time when they defeated Thomas Nelson in the 4-5 play-in game. Washington County will have a new coach at the helm this season in Daniel Sheckles.  Washington County loses their top scorer in Tasheria Smalley but will return point guard Kylie Newton and guards Izzy Medley and Natashia Riley. They’ll be a young squad again this season and probably a year or so away from competing for that 2-3 spot in the district.

17.  Caverna- Last year, very few things went right for the Lady Colonels. They have a new coach this season in Andre Barbour, but he will have his work cut out for him. Caverna finished the season with a 3-23 record. They lost their top 2 scorers to graduation in Kaliana Richardson and Tavi Gonzalez. Kadence Brown, averaging 4.2 ppg last season will be the top returning scorer.

18.  Fort Knox- The Achilles heel for Ft. Knox for the past several years has been instability in its roster. The mobility of those who live in Ft. Knox make it difficult to build continuity from season to season. That looks to be the case this year as well. Neither of Ft. Knox’s top scorers from last season, Asia Charles, an 8^th grader last season, and LeShay Jones, a sophomore last season, are listed on their KHSAA roster.

19.  North Hardin Classical- The Falcons will play more KHSAA schools this year. They return their top 2 scorers from last season in Sharon Riis at 9.8 ppg and Paige Haddle with 6.1 ppg.

Players to Watch

1.  Leah Macy- Bethlehem
2. Dea Bradley- Hart County
3. Destini McCallister- John Hardin
4. Payton Isom- North Hardin
5. Grace Bale- Taylor County
6. Carlie Thurmond- Bethlehem
7. Tessa Miles- Bethlehem
8. Ellie Cheatham-Adair County
9. Mia Blaydes- Green County
10. Raeann Nix- Thomas Nelson
11. Miyah Courtney- Elizabethtown

District Predictions

17^th District

1.       North Hardin
2.       Elizabethtown
3.       John Hardin
4.       Central Hardin
5.       Ft. Knox
6.       North Hardin Classical

18^th District

1.       Hart County
2.       Green County
3.       Larue County
4.       Caverna

19th District

1.       Bethlehem
2.       Thomas Nelson
3.       Nelson County
4.       Bardstown
5.       Washington County

 20th District

1.       Taylor County
2.       Adair County
3.       Marion County
4.       Campbellsville

Weis and Stone definitely deserve some attention. Will be interesting to see if Boykins actually plays for North this season. Early rumors were that he was not going to play basketball this year. That will drastically effect North. As far as the rankings of teams goes, I pretty much agree assuming that Boykins plays. I'll be putting out the 5th Region preview for BG Preps in a few weeks. 

HC Chase Greenwell resigned his position as head coach last week. Feel like this job would garner some interest but with school already in session, wonder if they'll take an interim approach this season and then open up the job for next season?

That certainly improves Bethlehem (I know major understatement). But gotta think eligibility would be an issue for Leah? Anyone have insight to that?

14 hours ago, PP1 said:

Whatever happened to Paul Stone?

The last that I saw Paul, he was in Carroll County coaching. Not sure if he's still there or not. 

Ashley Buckman was named the new coach. Don't know much about him. I do know that surprisingly (at least to me) that they did not have very many applicants.

28 minutes ago, Purple88 said:

And I think I got this right, but didn't they insinuate that the Dad was at home plate celebrating the grand slam home run.  Or did I get that wrong?  That's not appropriate if it's the case.

That's how I understood it as well. My first thought was what's he doing on the field? Then just through a google search found out he's an umpire (or at least umpired) so he knows better. And then a comment on here says he used to be the assignor for the 8th? Wow!! So many things wrong with this situation. And he wanted the injunction but the letter said because of this incident and a previous incident?? Adults know better and should do better!!!

With Amber Courtney taking the position at Elizabethtown, Bardstown now has an opening for head coach.

Amber Courtney from Bardstown has been named the new Head Coach at Elizabethtown

Madison Faulkner resigned last week as head coach for Caverna. Caverna went 3-23 last season. 

Daniel Sheckles will take over at the helm for the Washington County Commanderettes. Sheckles takes over for Scott Elder. The Commanderettes were 13-18 last season.

Epps has officially been named as the new head coach.

My guess is Epps, but wouldn't be shocked if it were Bryan Milburn

John Burd resigned/retired from coaching at Hart County sometime in the last few weeks, and Jessica Lindsey has been hired as the new head coach for Hart County.

That could be correct. Person may have meant that but either way, it sounded like Epps was ready to come back to the area.

It will be at the Corbin Arena. EKU will not be available due to remodeling. 

On 5/4/2023 at 8:38 AM, LethalPG said:

Why was he let go @ Northern KY.  He was an assistant in the girl's program, correct?

I talked with someone close to the program this past week. Said he thought it was more of a chemistry issue between HC and Epps at NKU. Epps left and went to Covington Catholic as an assistant where his daughter plays. That person seemed to think Anthony was very much interested in coming back to C-Ville.