The Fossil

I know the Harlan folks are proud of their new gym (and I dont blame them)but, this is the 13th Region Tournament with 17 schools and not 1. The current hosting system is completely unfair to the smaller schools. I advocate for each school to have a vote in holding the tournament at The Arena. You should not be penalized for having a smaller enrollment. I also propose that the next meeting be held at The Arena so school representatives can view the facility first hand.

True, but the only "parking problems" encountered were the 4 events that were sold out resulting in 6,000+ people attending an event. I doubt that the 13th Region Tournament will have 6,000 people attending at any one session. If so, there is parking for 1500+ at the old car lots and Technolohy Center with busses used to transport folks from their cars up and down the hill. This has proved to work very well.

This conversation seems to have nothing to do with EC now, its all about holdbacks. Since were on that subject, what is the difference, starting a kid early in school and then deciding to have him or her repeat a grade or waiting until he or she is as old as possible to enter 1st grade? either way, the kid only can play 4 years of varsity sports and the kid has to turn 19 on or before August 1st of its senior year. There is no difference.

If parking in level lot immediately adjacent to the Arena is "ATROCIOUS", then what do you call parking along a highway, in the mud, in the grass, or on a hillside, like we endure every year at other high schools, HORRENDOUS?...I'll take attrocious.

Vote is postponed for a couple of weeks.

You have a 2 part comment. 1. The City of Corbin isnt going to reap a very noticeable economic benefit from the tournament being held at The Arena but if it does, it will be because there are a few good restaurants close by The Arena and All Fans of the 13th Region took the oppurtunity to enjoy a nice meal before a game. If the tourny is held in Manchester, Harlan, Barbourville, Williamsburg, or McKee, the fans and players wont be able to enjoy near as many meal options. 2. As for atmosphere, the smaller gym and the home team will always be louder but The Arena makes every team have an equal oppurtunity. I think that playing in The Arena will also take some pressure off of referees too.

If the vote comes down to Lynn Camp, Red Bird, Pineville, Williamsburg, Jackson Co., Barbourville etc...why wouldnt those schools vote to have the Tournament at The Arena? They arent getting anything now since their gym's arent large enough to host. Now, they can take home a check for $10k when its their time to host by having the Tournament at The Arena.

You must have missed something...The Arena has parking for about 2000+ cars (which are all on level with Arena) with another 1000-1500 space parking lot within site of the arena and busses available to transport from those sites, if needed. Parking is better at the Arena than any high school gymnasium in the 13th Region.

It is a "no brainer". Surely getting to host the tourny once every seven years or so, isnt going to cause a school to punish their fans for 6 out of those years? And yes, it is punishment to make your team and fans drive past Corbin (with some good restaurants too) sometimes a significant distance, fight for a parking spot, and wait outside til your team's turn to play while previous games' fans are being forced to clear the gym. Repeat again. The concept of having several teams and their fans going to 1 beneficial location seems to have been proven to work...KY Sweet 16. It doesnt seem that any of the Fayette County Schools have a home court advantage when playing at Rupp?

Corbin lost 2 starters...Josh Crawford and Josh Smith.

He will definitely be in the top 5 candidates for Mr Basketball but Im with you on the comparisons with Wall and Bledsoe. The bar is set very high now (about time). So high, that it takes a lightning quick 6'3"+ guy with about a 40"+ vertical to reach it. We do wish him the best of luck wherever he ends up.

When St John is out, they may be looking to become "Wrights Runts". Hey, it worked for a guy named Rupp...

Corbin will be playing Scott County. Id say thats some good competition.

Your points make perfect sense but my reason for "advantage Corbin" is due to the size advantage that Corbin will have over the 4 guards that South will put on the floor most of the time. Youre right about Crawford and J.Smith but Corbin had a bunch of really good JV players last year that had to sit because of all of the senior talent. Corbin's JV only lost 1 game after getting all of their players back from football and injuries plus they had the task of playing against those seniors in practice everyday. Besides Wilson, Corbin will have 3 or 4 people capable of handling the ball when needed. It will be a very competitive game each and every time these guys play.

My guess is... Madison Johnson, Isaac Wilson, Aaron Manns, Josh Hopkins, Travis Smith with Mathew Taylor, Luke Stewart, Brody Freeman, Hunter Sizemore and others coming off the bench. Of course, if Caleb Watkins were to have decided to play this year, he would be in the top 7 for sure. He will be greatly missed by his teammates this year for sure.

Ditto Les...Manns will be very aggressive and is probably the only guy in the 13th that can effectively guard St John. Thats why I think it will be a 4 on 4 game between South and Corbin...advantage Corbin.

I heard this is the most depth South's had in a few years. The only spot to fill is at the 4 spots. South, is stacked at guard with the addition of Carr and the KC kid. It will be interesting to see how Wright, handles his young freshman guard and the Smith kid with this much depth. Who do you see in the starting rotation? I see South playing 4 gaurds and St. John. I see some benefits with the ball handling and tempo but you cant run ahead of your go to guy. Id say Corbin will start 4 guys at 6'3"-6'5" which should create some matchup issues in itself for South...especially in the paint. One thing is for sure, it will be some good basketball when these 2 meet.

With Hooker out this season, I drop Clay to 3rd-6th with Corbin and South battling it out for the Region Crown. Corbin and South are probably more equal this year than at any time before. The home team will have the slight advantage each time they play each other. I give Corbin a slight edge in bench depth/ experience.

The top 3 in the 13th this season will be Clay, Corbin and South...in that order. As for depth, Id put Corbin and South at a tie with Clay not far behind.

Thanks for the updates. Great Job!

I agree. As for Watkins, I believe he will get more attention as the season goes on. Corbin's watered down schedule doesnt help anyone get noticed but yards per carry does. Watkins will be a good pick up for any school and we wish him good luck. Hopefully we'll see him in Wildcat blue.

You can say the same for Caleb Watkins at Corbin High school (2A). He plays on both sides of the ball for the entire game.

Heard the other day to not be too surprised to see a certain coach from Scott Co. coaching at KC. You never know...:ohbrother:

My two cents worth would be... G- Wilson G- Smith W- Johnson F- Hopkins C- Manns with Stewart, Freeman, Jones, Taylor, and others seeing time. The Hounds will have the ability to go with a big lineup or a small, quick lineup.

I dont think Coach P was sending any messages or punishing Caleb, he just felt that he was doing what he needed to do in order to continue winning. He doesnt like to change what is working. There are plenty of players (and their parents) who felt like they should have gotten more playing time but after reflecting upon the season, things went pretty well at 29-4. Without players like Caleb and several others, the Team would not have captured the Region Crown and played in Rupp. I hope Caleb and the others who wanted more PT last year, choose to look forward and not backwards and return to play next season. The team definitely needs Caleb and others to shine next season in order to repeat as the Region Champs.