The Professor

I believe Breathitt County is an easy choice for number 1 with what they have returning. Austin Sperry will lead the guard attack. The 6’2 sophomore is already getting looks from D1 schools. Senior Luke Bellamy, a very good long range shooter will be an impact player. 6’7 senior Christian Collins and 6’5 senior Bryce Hoskins will provide size and interior strength. Collins is also a threat from the 3 arc. Andrew Combs, senior forward, will round out the starting 5. Combs is the only non-starter from last year’s team but saw quite an amount of court time and does have experience. He is also a good outside scorer. Breathitt County was runner-up to Pikeville in last year’s All A Classic state tournament at EKU. They defeated an excellent Lyon County team on their way to the finals in that tournament. If Coach King can get the Bobcats to play solid defense to go with their already good offensive strength this team will be difficult to beat. Perry Central is hosting the tournament this year and that’s an advantage to play in a familiar practice and game environment, but I believe when the 14th region championship trophy is hosted next March the Bobcats will claim their first title in 27 years. I have Perry Central rated 2nd , Letcher Central 3rd, Hazard 4th and a tossup at 5th between Estill County and Wolfe County. It feels strange not having traditional region power Knott Central in the top 5 but with graduations and transfers their roster will be very young and inexperienced this season.

Breathitt County fans comments on Facebook this morning are not satisfied with the officiating in this game and that is putting it mildly. They were really doing some heavy venting. I wasn’t there and saw only a little of the game on the BSN stream, so I don’t know. I did see back to back big offensive plays wiped off with holding calls in the second half, but on a steam from a phone you can’t see anything in detail to know one way or the other. I suppose holds could be called on about every play in high school football, or football at any level for that matter, if referees so desired. They happened a lot more than they’re called. But the timing on these really hurt Breathitt. There was also a TD that Lloyd made in the first half, which I didn’t watch, which the fans felt the runner was down before he scored.

Lloyd 22 Breathitt County 19 Half

Perry County Central (14th region) @ Harlan County (13th region). Two of the better teams in my neck of the woods of SE Ky.

Free throws were their biggest nemesis. Toward the end they were going 1-2 while MSU was going 2-2. For some reason Cal’s teams struggle with free throws. Also, he sure puts some weird combinations out there sometimes. Looks like he would have some of that figured out in practice by now.

This is one game that they could sure use Big Oscar. Michigan State is very physical. I’ll still take the Cats by 7.

I got to know him at the annual Athletics Director’s Conference in Louisville when I was our school’s AD from 1995-2005. He was a great guy and a lot of fun to be around with all his basketball knowledge and stories. Back to back state championships haven’t been done many times. I know Seneca did it back in the ‘60’s when Wes Unseld and Mike Redd starred for them.

6’3 eighth grader Macey Brown of Buckhorn and eighth grade guard Kenzie Grubb, who played at Jackson County last year, have transferred to Owsley County. These two girls have played AAU together for the past 3 years. Although middle schoolers, they will be a good addition to the Lady Owls, who are returning 4 starters from last year’s regional runner-up team, a championship game determined by a last second basket and 1 point loss in OT. Brown will give the Lady Owls height, something they haven’t had since the graduation of All State player Macie Gibson (Murray St) in 2018.

I’m hearing Great Crossing has a 6’10 player that is the real deal. His brother starts for EKU and played high school basketball at Scott County. Could someone give a description of his game, his upside, and what schools are looking at him. I think he’s only a sophomore.

I think the 2023 regional title is between Breathitt County and Perry County Central, with Breathitt winning their first regional championship in 27 years when all is said and done. Breathitt has size and good guard play. Sophomore guard Austin Sperry, who already has a D1 college offer, has the experience and talent to lead this team in a potent attack under new coach B.B. King, former Knott County Central coach. Senior Luke Bellamy will help with the guard duties and is one of the team’s best long range shooter. Senior Andrew Combs will move into the starting lineup this season. He was a dependable sub last year and is another good shooter. The Bobcats have size with 6’5 Bryce Hoskins and 6’7 Christian Collins. They also have junior Isaac Bellamy, a great defensive player, and several more good bench players. Perry County Central lost quite a lot of talent to graduation but the defending regional champs will still be a formidable foe. The Commodores are led by super talented sophomore guard Rydge Beverly. The interior will be held down by two senior bigs in Dylan Knight and Tyler Day. They also have Kiser Sloan who transferred from Knott, and a solid freshman guard in Dalton Combs. So the Commodores won’t be a pushover by any means but I believe Breathitt has enough experience to prevail over them and make it to Rupp. Other teams that could make some noise in the region are Hazard (always a factor due to being led by one of the state’s top coaches, Al Holland) Letcher County Central, Estill County, Wolfe County, and Leslie County. Perennial power Knott County Central is in a rebuilding phase and will be competitive as usual but not a factor in the regional race.

Georgia 43 Tennessee 27

After watching UK get humbled by UT last night in Knoxville the Cards probably feel pretty good about their chances in that matchup.

When the Cats could have cut the score to 20-13 and had only a few yards to score, Levis threw the interception and suddenly the score was 27-6. Instead of being down 1 TD they were down by 3 TD’s. You could see by their body language that most of their fight was gone. That’s a recipe for a blowout, particularly with 100,000 orange lit fans loud as multiple sonic booms fanning the fire. Levis is a a warrior and has talent but he gets intercepted too much. And he was a huge ingredient for the loss at Ole Miss with his two red zone fumbles late in the game. I’m sure he will be drafted by the league but he’s got a lot of work to do to play in the NFL.

Owsley County scrimmages at Whitley County November 15th and at Floyd Central November 23rd.

If this is a fashion statement contest UK needs to wear their black and blue uniforms along with their chrome helmets.

I hope UK can find a way to win but it’s going to be a tough row to hoe in Knoxville before 100,000 orange clad fans. I saw a game there in the years Cobb was at UK and the orange lighting in their huge stadium will blind you. It’s a tough place to play. Final score will not be humiliating for the Cats but they will lose. Probably something in the neighborhood of 31-20.

I have a great niece that plays on the Ashland 6th and 7th grade teams. It’s a good distance to Ashland from my home in southeast Ky but thanks to streaming services I get to watch her games. Their 6th grade went undefeated and won the conference championship.

I’d like to see a few of the smaller counties merge, namely the one I live in. Owsley County has 4,000 population and the school district has about 750 K-12. Kentucky has too many counties. Combining Owsley and Lee, who’s county seats of Booneville and Beattyville are just 10 miles separate, would be logical. Even with a merger the new county would have only 10,000. The new high school, if they chose to build one, would have an enrollment of approximately 500.

I don’t know the John Turner that this tournament is named for but I would make a good guess that his roots trace back to Breathitt County. That county has numerous big Turner families, probably all related if one goes back far enough in ancestral documents. It’s could be the most common surname in the county. In the post WW2 years there was a big exodus of east Kentucky mountain folk to northern Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana, looking for jobs. Scores of Turners ended up in the Newport and Covington area. Breathitt County High’s basketball teams made a point to play there once a year for a long time. I don’t know if they still schedule in the area, though.

In my opinion Ole Miss didn’t beat Kentucky as much as Kentucky beat Kentucky. Shot themselves in the foot too many times. Two missed extra points and a field goal, not to mention a safety. If they take care of those mistakes it wouldn’t have mattered how many times Levis fumbled at the end of the game. I think Ole Miss played at the peak of their game and UK played average, or below, and still nearly won an SEC road game.

Sorry to hear this. He was a good poster and loyal fan of Mason County sports. My condolences to family and friends.

That’s a beautiful gym. I’ve only been there a couple times, before these renovations, and was highly impressed with their facility. It is old but has been very well taken care of over the years. Nostalgia at its best!

Wheeler looks like he’s pack on a few pounds since last year but it hasn’t slowed him any.

He enrolled at North Laurel but that doesn’t mean the school had requested eligibility for him. They would have most likely done that after school starts. So technically he is still a Harlan County player as far as the KHSAA is concerned. His Harlan County eligibility shouldn’t be a problem regardless of where he has moved or lived this summer.

NBA legend Bill Russell has passed at the age of 88. He was on teams throughout his career that won championships at all levels He was a 2 time high school state champ, 2 time NCAA champion, 11 time NBA champion and also coached NBA teams to two championships.