Old School Dr.

Lincoln has some very good guard play, very well coached and are a fun team to watch. It will be a tough task for anyone in their region to keep them out of Rupp Arena in March IMO.

Sounds like it was a great game! Congrats to Boone and also to Corbin for an impressive run to the finals in this tournament.

I really hate to disagree with so many people, but I would very much love to see a 35 second shot clock, 45 wouldnt change things much at all. It would make the game a little more complex and advance the high school game a notch IMO. It would require more preparation for coaches and players and would be more beneficial to kids moving on to play at the college level and overall make the game a little more interesting and exciting.

this score doesnt settle anything sir, but it does suggest Rose Hill may be quite a bit behind Elliot Co. I dont think I would go writing anyone off this early in the year and give them more incentive than they already have??

Corbin is playing very good right now, but dont get carried away. They will not ever be head and shoulders better than Cumberland even IF and that is a BIG IF Josh Crawford can get back to anywhere near 100% this year. It may be next year before he really completely recovers and gets back to what he is capable of. The team without Crawford will have a very difficult time dealing with the inside presence of The Skins and even with him healthy Cumberland is a very tough matchup for Corbin or any other team in the state of Kentucky 'Bar None'

Wow!! Ole Jim Bob Hicks can coach a little basketball cant he?? Rose Hill and their 2 stars sound to be a bit Overrated. Lets see, Elliot beats Bath by 33 and Bath beats Rose Hill by 18. Ouch, it could get ugly when Elliot gets on to of the Hill>

I believe South will get this one. North is really only getting scoring out of one kid and I just dont think a well coached team like South will let Seidel beat them by himself. If his supporting cast can step up and get anything done they might have a shot. Just because they caught South early in an emotionally charged game at home doesnt mean they are a better team than them.

1A. - Cumberland (dominant inside, best defensive team in region, veteran guards, stong senior class) 1B. - Corbin (playing great, still fairly young, good depth, dont know what to expect with Josh Crawford injury) 3,4,5. - Knox, Jackson and Pineville all fairly even. (Knox, a solid team with an excellent young scorer and good talent around him) (Jackson, good veteran group with a horse inside) (Pineville, very good big man, excellent guard with some good shooting around them) 6. - Clay County (good shooter, with some very good YOUNG talent around him) 7. - South (A solid big man, good supporting cast) 8. - Middlesboro (Very talented staring 5, good shooters, still a little young) 9. - North (One excellent scorer, good point guard, vulnerable inside) 10. - Whitley/Bell (havent seen Whitley, but sound like a solid pretty athletic team) (Bell, One solid returning starter with a lot of good, but inexperienced players around him)

That is a strong list of teams and just a thought in regard to the strength of the 13th compared to the 14th region, if Whitaker and Warren had stayed at Bell Co all 10 of these teams listed would be stronger than any team in the 14th with the exception of June Buchanan.

Skins starting to roll

I could see how he would be a tremendous loss for you guys to have to deal with, especially against teams with some size and beef inside.

Excellent post BogeyMan.

He was the big strong built kid that played with them in the AAU State Tournament wasn't he, and played very well!!

Cumberland beat Tates Creek in the first round, a solid team from the tough 11th Region, then beat Franklin Simpson (the top ranked team in their region in the cats pause yearbook) so they didnt have a cake walk. Having said all I have said, I do realize and admire what a special team Elliot county is, but I do believe their lack of an inside game could hurt them against a team with a really good inside game and quality guard play to handle their pressure, along with a track record of playing great defense. These 3 things are what Cumberland is known for, so I think it would be a great matchup. Good luck to the Elliot bunch also, they are truly a fun bunch to watch!

So Cumberland is just possibly someone that might give them problems, is that the way you see it?? Actually Cumberland would probably give them more problems than any of those teams you mentioned, I guess time will tell. Elliot did beat Cumberland at AAU in each teams first game, but then later Cumberland advanced to the final four of the single elimination tournament while Elliot was bounced in the round of 16. Cumberland actually has two big kids inside playing very well now that Garfield Wilson has a few games under his belt after not playing or practicing at all last year, they also have quality guard play that would do a good job against Elliots pressure. So dont be surprised if at some point these two teams meet in Richmond if they both take care of their business and it would make for a great contrast of styles.

When they get to the All A state they might just run in to a team or two that plays defense, and also have an inside game that would be hard to stop. They wont walk through the field in Ricmond IMO, as a matter of fact I can think of a couple teams that could give them major problems (JBS and Cumberland) JBS has the ability to score with them and Cumberland Plays defense and has a very strong inside game!

I believe LCA will take care of business in this tournament and take home the big trophy.

Actually Breeze, my pick in the Corbin/South game was way off also, so I guess that makes 2 of us that can be thankful for our day jobs. Maybe we should listen to Les and HDE a little more. As for the Skins, this was their 3rd game with all of their players and maybe they are starting to show some signs of what they are ultimately capable of.

Hey Breeze, you might need to stick to your day job!!! A handicapper you are not!! It sounded good though

I totally disagree with the part about the Region being down kyboy, Cumberland, Corbin, Knox Central, Jackson County, Pineville, Clay Co., South Laurel and North Laurel will probably all win 20 + or close to 20 games this year against competition from all over the state. Also, Middlesboro, Bell County, Whitley County, Lynn Camp, Red Bird and possibly Cawood will be above .500 teams or at least close, so I think the Region is actually the strongest it has been in several years. When South Laurel joined the Region, I think most schools realized they had to raise the bar or get left way behind. Congrats to all these schools mentioned on rising up to meet this challenge. In regard to the job as coach of the new Harlan County High School, I think Mike Jones resume is a very strong one and if he really wants this job, he has probably earned this opportunity and would do a great job. If he doesnt apply, it would be wide open, with Billy Hicks on the wish list. There are some quality coaches in the county that would very much deserve to be part of the staff if they apply and I would love to see some of them be part of this new team.

Dominant win for the Skins

That was a good prediction there Les (hounds by 14) Great win for Corbin, but Wow South must be weaker than I realized. From what I saw in the summer I didnt see how they could be very strong.

If JBS could win this one they would gain a great deal of confidence for the rest of the year. I really think they have a very good shot at this game. I think it will be a toss up.

South 68 Corbin 66

Corbin beat JC pretty bad in preseason and you are picking JC in this one??????? As for depth, Cumberland has some of that too. Cumberland in this one by 15 plus