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A bit late to the party on the decade retrospectives with this, but better late than never! The 2010s were pretty good to the 4th Region, especially the back half. The region produced five state semifinalists, two state runners-up, and the state champions in 2016/17 when Bowling Green brought home the hardware. There was plenty of talent to come through the region, especially in that same 2016/17 year. Some members of the first team were no-brainers, but there were some tough choices to be made. A note - consideration for this team was judged solely on the time the player spent in the region. I note that in particular because Zion Harmon is not on this list. There is no doubt that he is one of the most talented players to play in this region in the past quarter decade, if not THE most talented. But his 8th grade year was the sole year spent playing in the region, and is the only year considered for this, which is not enough. I also was not a slave to the traditional position format, but loading up a team with too many forwards or guards was a bit of a tiebreaker in one case. With that said, the list: First Team Chane Behanan, F, Bowling Green - Player of the Decade Behanan is an obvious choice for this list and player of the decade. An imposing, physical player, Behanan could also shoot from range. Behanan was named a McDonald's All-American in his senior season, as well as being named to the Parade Magazine All-American second team. He was rated as a top 30 player nationally his senior year, and was twice selected as first team all-state by the Courier-Journal, Herald-Leader, and AP, as well as an all-region first team selection in each year. The only thing he didn't get was a region crown, but I will make the argument that BG may not have even been truly competitive with Warren Central in those years if not for Behanan, and he led them to the 2010 district title. Behanan went on to play two years for Louisville, where he won a national title (despite what the NCAA would have you believe). George Fant, F, Warren Central The other half of the legendary matchup in 2009-10 and 2010-11, Fant emerged as the third leading scorer in the history of Warren Central, and led the team to two region titles and a state quarterfinal finish his junior season. I've always made the argument that while Behanan gained more accolades than Fant, that it was beneficial to have Behanan in the region for George - it pushed him to greater heights. Fant was nationally rated as a top 150 player by Rivals.com his senior season, as well as being named to the first team all-state by the Courier-Journal, Herald-Leader, and AP that year. He was a second team selection his junior year. Fant was all-region first team in his last two seasons, and was a Kentucky All-Star in 2011. Fant was such a natural athlete that he managed to transform his body to ultimately play pro football as an offensive tackle despite not playing a down from 8th grade until his fifth year of college, and that's where he is today. That followed a highly successful career at WKU on the hardwood. Terry Taylor, F, Bowling Green The second Purple on the first team got something Behanan didn't - a region title. In fact, he got four of them, and capped those with a state title in his final game of his high school career. Taylor was named the Sweet 16 MVP for the 2017 tournament, and was a Sweet 16 All-Tournament Team selection his final three seasons. He was named to the Courier-Journal and Herald-Leader's first team all-state his senior year and second team all-state his junior season. Taylor was an all-region first team selection his junior and senior seasons, and was named to the third team his sophomore year. Taylor was a scoring and rebounding monster, finishing his career with 1,704 points and 1,130 rebounds. A true nightmare to match up with, his length was tough to defend inside, but he could also shoot the three. Those four region champion teams were very talented, but they don't all happen without Taylor's ability - maybe none of them. Taylor has risen to become the star of the OVC conference at Austin Peay (aside from some Morant guy), and appears to be well on his way to POY honors in the conference. Tavin Lovan, G, Franklin-Simpson Lovan was one of the most prolific scorers in the history of the region, and ultimately finished as the career leading scorer at Franklin-Simpson - a program that has been around for 75 years and has competed at very high levels for most of them. He did that despite missing the majority of his sophomore year, when he still led his team in scoring with 26 PPG and 260 points in just ten games. He averaged 26.3 PPG as both his junior and senior seasons. Lovan was named 4th Region POY his senior season, and was named to the all-region first team in each of his last three years, in addition to being a second team selection his freshman year. He was the only player in the decade to be named to the all-region teams in all four years of high school. He was named to the Courier-Journal and Herald-Leader's all-state first teams his senior year, the second team for the Courier his junior year, and the second team for the Herald-Leader that same year. His senior year, the Wildcats lost only seven times - three were to eventual state champion Bowling Green, and two others were in the prestigious King of the Bluegrass tournament. Lovan is currently at UAB, where he seems to relish making WKU pay for seemingly ignoring him in their recruiting efforts. Jackson Harlan, G, Clinton County Harlan finished his prep career with 2,128 points, good enough for second all-time at Clinton County. He averaged 23.9 PPG his senior season, and earned his way onto both the Courier-Journal and Herald-Leader's all-state 1st teams for the 2018-19 season while taking home player of the year honors for the 4th Region. Harlan was also named to the Herald-Leader's all-state third team for his junior season. Jackson was twice named to the all-region first team (in his junior and senior seasons), and was named to the third team in his sophomore year. He was also selected to the Kentucky All-Star team for 2019. The Bulldogs advanced to the region semifinals in two of his final three seasons, playing at Diddle Arena, where he is currently playing for WKU. Second Team DeAndre "Pedro" Bradshaw, F, Russellville Bradshaw was a phenomenal ball-handler for a player of his length, and was a star for Russellville. He finished his career as the school's all-time leading scorer (1,938 points) and rebounder (1,169 rebounds). He was named to the all-state 1st team for both the Courier-Journal and Herald-Leader his senior season, and was a Kentucky All-Star in 2017. He was also named to the all-region first team twice, and the second team once. He had the misfortune of being a star in a class filled with stars in the region, though he did lead the Panthers to a region final in his senior year, their first in 16 years. Skyelar Potter, F, Warren Central The region POY his senior season, Potter led the Dragons to their first region title in five years and the most wins in the history of the program. Skyelar averaged 23 PPG as a senior, and finished as the program's fifth leading career scorer. Potter was twice named to the all-region first team, and was a member of the Sweet 16 All-Tournament team in 2017-18. He was also a second team all-state selection by the Courier-Journal, and a third team all-state selection by the Herald-Leader, in addition to being named to the Kentucky All-Star team in 2018. Tyler Robertson, G, Russell County Robertson scored over 2,000 points in his prep career, and led his Laker squad to the region finals in 2013, their only appearance in the finals as a member of the 4th Region. Tyler was twice an all-region first team selection, and was named the region's player of the year in his senior year. He was selected to the Courier-Journal and Herald-Leader's all-state second teams for the 2012-13 season. Keifer Dalton, G, Clinton County Dalton is the all-time leading scorer at Clinton County, with 2,158 points in his prep career. He also finished as the school's career leader in assists and steals. Keifer was named the region's player of the year in his junior season - a rare honor for a junior - and was twice an all-region first team selection, and once a second team selection. Dillon Geralds, G, Monroe County Geralds was twice named as an all-region first team selection, in 2013-14 and 2014-15. In his senior season, he was named the player of the year for the region while averaging 17 PPG - that was actually down from 19.5 PPG as a junior. His Falcon squad advanced to the region semifinals in each of his junior and senior seasons, providing just the third and fourth region tournament victories for the program.