8-ball

Speaking of scrimmages and 13th region teams, when and where are the preseason panorama's being played throughout the region?

I think the thread said Southeast Kentucky. That usually means the 13th Region with some 12th mixed in. So you JBS and Shelby Valley lovers (tunnel visioned fans) will have to sit this one out.

I am not trying to be a jerk but this thread is about players in the mountains. That would consist of regions 13, 14, and 15 with an adoption of Somerset and Morgan County. Of course this is only my opinion, but one that I think most would agree with. Back to the topic: Ty Proffit would have to be a solid #1 in this mountains. Justin Hicks would have to be in the top 5 as the number one player in the 14th although some would argue Clark Stepp. Most experts say Landon Slone is the best in the 15th although he must bounce back from his sophomore slump and try to find himself among all that imbalanced chemistry there at Paintsville. Crawford, Brumback, and Whitaker are other big names in the 13th as well as the kid from Cumberland. Cox, Gay, and Bailey are other big names in the 14th. Of course McCarty and VanHoose in the 15th lead a very strong 57th District. From a fan standpoint, the good news for us is that most of these players are underclassmen which means some good, solid basketball for the years to come in the mountains which hopefully means that the mountain teams will be able to go out of the area and compete.

We see a lot on here about the 12th, 14th, and 15th Region but what about the 13th Region this upcoming season? Does anyone have a chance vs. South and if so, who and why? What can we look for from within this region? The talk is Jackson County, Bell County, Cumberland and of course South. Who are the other top teams and can any of them make a run as well? The region is at Corbin so don't count out the Hounds'.

They will be the favorite but not overwhelming as they have been in the past two years. Remember, they were only one point away from not going this past season and they will not be as good as they were then because of the loss of Allen, just as they weren't as good last year without Fields. I just think that there are more good teams this year than in the last couple of ones which make it a greater possibility of an upset happening but no doubt, South will be the team to beat but other teams do have a better shot than they have had lately.

The 13th doesn't really have a state power this year unless you want to consider South Laurel but, in my opinion, their days as one of the state's elite are over although they do have a very good player (one of the state's best) in Ty Proffitt. It is a very balanced region this year with multiple teams that could knock off South Laurel such as Bell County, Jackson County, and Cumberland. There are some others who could make some noise by the end of the year such as Harlan, Cawood and Corbin. A couple of sleepers this year would include Clay County (if you could ever call them a sleeper), OBI, Pineville, and Barbourville. This region may be more balanced than it has been in a while which should lead to an exciting year and possibly unexpected finish.

No one said it was all about Hazard. No one mentioned Leslie County. It was just mentioned that no one wanted to hear the back and forth between fans over things not related to this the topic. It was about dominating performances in the region last year. Cody Gilbert had a dominating performance vs. Hazard in the All A regional which allowed Wolfe to win that game. Chuckie O'steen had a dominating performance in the 2nd half vs. JBS which allowed Hazard to beat them in the semi's of the region. The point guard from Buckhorn, can't recall his name, had a dominating performance vs. PCC last year which almost allowed them to upset the Dores' on their home floor. I think these are the types of the things the topic was addressing and there were many more. It just seems that the same old people get on here and argue the same old things no matter what the subject matter. Stick to the point. And one last side note, Hazard did play bad in the Sweet 16 to a very good 11th Region champion and when you put those two things together, bad performance vs. a really good team, it can make for a very ugly game which isn't the first time it has happened in the Sweet 16 and won't be the last. I will say this, there were probably 16 other teams in the region that would have liked to have ended their season in that fashion vs. any other way, especially if those teams in that other 16 would have been so highly rated at the beginning of the season and during the season only to come up short of reaching any of their goals. The Hazard kids, on the other hand, weren't ranked that high in the beginning or during the season and battled all sorts of off the court problems to live a dream of playing in the state tournament that most former players still only dream about. And the excitement that was brought to our community for that week totally will outlast the disappointment of that or any 40 point loss. Keep dreamin'

I will have to agree with westsider, Perry did have some pretty good teams and sticking up for Coach Spurlock, I would say that during his first season Perry had the much better team. The other two years Hazard was probably better but that is how the ball bounces sometimes. I am glad, Master of the Hardwood, that you think the All A was a great accomplishment but what about the winning percentage and the WYMT tournaments and other invitationals he won plus the excitement he helped to bring back to Hazard basketball? Do these things not count? And the last I saw, most teams that win a region have some pretty good players. Anyways, maybe it was time for Spurlock to move on and I am sure he will work just has hard at Clay as he did at Hazard and hopefully have a lot of the same success he had at Hazard. I am sure Hazard will continue in its winning ways and Coach Morris will do a good job there as well. By the way, what silly stuff are you referring too. Just curious.