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06-04-2011, 04:36 PM
Other than the 10+ times that the Dragons have won the 13th region, only the 2003 Cumberland Redskins and back in the 30s the Benham Tigers won the 12th region, which is odd. I think that some of the negitive spin that is directed toward the Green Dragons is brought on by the fact, that there have been some great players and some greater teams that have been in the regional tournament from within our county, and for whatever reasons they have never been able to compete with HHS when it comes to success on the hardwood at the state level. BTW when the 2003 Redskins made it to Rupp they had a young and talented coach on their bench that did most of the coaching if you ask the players that were on that team, and that was Derrick Akal, so I guess he would be worth all of the fuss. Here is another tidbit for you, Rodrick Rhodes has been in contact with HHS about the boys job, so maybe its more important than some may think. Stay tuned its getting hot in Harlan City.
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06-04-2011, 06:48 PM
Mountain pride 10 Wrote:Other than the 10+ times that the Dragons have won the 13th region, only the 2003 Cumberland Redskins and back in the 30s the Benham Tigers won the 12th region, which is odd. I think that some of the negitive spin that is directed toward the Green Dragons is brought on by the fact, that there have been some great players and some greater teams that have been in the regional tournament from within our county, and for whatever reasons they have never been able to compete with HHS when it comes to success on the hardwood at the state level. BTW when the 2003 Redskins made it to Rupp they had a young and talented coach on their bench that did most of the coaching if you ask the players that were on that team, and that was Derrick Akal, so I guess he would be worth all of the fuss. Here is another tidbit for you, Rodrick Rhodes has been in contact with HHS about the boys job, so maybe its more important than some may think. Stay tuned its getting hot in Harlan City.
Quite possibly the best team ever in Harlan County was the 1936 Benham Tigers. Spider Thurmond was the star of the team. Benham went undefeated in 1936. The Tigers beat Corbin easily during the regular season. However, due to a flue epidemic Harlan County was quarantined during the state tournament. Even though no one associated on the Benham team had the flue, no one was allowed to enter or leave Harlan County. Corbin, the second best team in the area, ended up being the state champs in 1936. Spider Thurmond later played for Eastern and as coach, built the basketball tradition at Clay County.
06-05-2011, 10:50 AM
I thought my last statement would have had more of an impact than what it seems. Either the naysayers are not going to comment or they think that it is not possible that poor down trodden Harlan, could end up with another home run hire, a year after coach Akal came to them. Oh well let's just let a little time pass and see how this unfolds.
06-05-2011, 11:53 AM
I watched Coach Akal at Cumberland and later with Harlan girls and he does a tremendous job with coaching kids, both boys and girls. Not many coaches can be successful coaching both sexes. He has a special gift of being able to motivate kids and that is a big part of sports today because today's kids are extremely difficult to motivate. I do think he will stay at least another year with the girls program because he has a good team coming back.
06-05-2011, 02:08 PM
I thought Rhodes was a lock at Owsley County? I think the only official wins Coach Akal has are the ones he got with Harlan Girls. All the other wins are with Coach Edwards, otherwise his resume would speak for itself. And the other wins are with boys. There are some who would not want him to have a coaching job anywhere and I don't believe that is has anything to do with his coaching ability.
06-05-2011, 03:50 PM
Mountain pride 10 Wrote:I thought my last statement would have had more of an impact than what it seems. Either the naysayers are not going to comment or they think that it is not possible that poor down trodden Harlan, could end up with another home run hire, a year after coach Akal came to them. Oh well let's just let a little time pass and see how this unfolds.
Interesting news. Thanks to Mountain Pride 10, a report is on harlancountysports.com
06-05-2011, 11:03 PM
Alright my first scoop in the news business.
06-06-2011, 10:10 PM
A new story just up on the Harlan Daily Enterprise Website with comments from Rhodes.
http://harlandaily.com/view/full_story/1...eft_column
http://harlandaily.com/view/full_story/1...eft_column
06-08-2011, 06:50 PM
Great scoop MP10. You da man!!! Oh, and what that would mean for Harlan basketball. The football team might even benefit from a hire like that. It could bring in athletes that might just play both sports. If he is considering Harlan then obviously Owsley Co. is not a lock. There's something he likes about the Harlan job for him to be interested this late in the process.
06-10-2011, 01:10 AM
Come on Harlan just hire a coach. I do feel for coach Lester, but not enough wins. Harlan has been to the sweet sixteen and the county has not. Big deal. We (the county) will never get there as long as we are in the 13th region. Too much competition in our region. I hear coach Jones is trying to get us in another region. Good luck coach---I am with you---get us out of the 13th.
06-10-2011, 06:31 AM
watcher Wrote:Come on Harlan just hire a coach. I do feel for coach Lester, but not enough wins. Harlan has been to the sweet sixteen and the county has not. Big deal. We (the county) will never get there as long as we are in the 13th region. Too much competition in our region. I hear coach Jones is trying to get us in another region. Good luck coach---I am with you---get us out of the 13th.
How would you like to be in the 7th, or maybe the 11th? The 13th does not have nearly as much "competition" as you think the last several years.
06-10-2011, 08:40 AM
Bell Co. just went to the Sweet 16 and, while they were very good, I would think other teams in the area have to feel they are capable of beating Bell (I think Harlan Co. did once). I think that logic would then suggest that those same other teams could also make a run out of the 13th region. Of course, I know I'm an optimist.
06-10-2011, 03:10 PM
watcher Wrote:Come on Harlan just hire a coach. I do feel for coach Lester, but not enough wins. Harlan has been to the sweet sixteen and the county has not. Big deal. We (the county) will never get there as long as we are in the 13th region. Too much competition in our region. I hear coach Jones is trying to get us in another region. Good luck coach---I am with you---get us out of the 13th.
The county is what ,going into their 4th season? I think they gotta give it some time. Harlan didn't go in their 4th year either. Also, I'm not a big fan of running when the competition gets too tough and I don't think coach Jones is either. You gotta pay your dues to get to the top. Coach Jones took Harlan to the Sweet 16 and given some time he'll do it for the county too. If you think you are going to get in an "easier" region and go to the dance every year, or even every other year,you are mistaken. Just give it some time and have a little faith in coach Jones. It will happen.
06-10-2011, 11:29 PM
If Coach Jones is trying to get out of the 13th, I'd imagine it has more to do with the deal of who hosts the tournament than the competition. Jones isn't the type to run away from a challenge, imo.
06-11-2011, 01:00 AM
If Coach Rhodes is basing his decicision on proximatey to his daughter,who lives and goes to school in Virginia,depending where she lives and goes to school,we could be the favorite. Of the schools that have open positions in the state we are the closest to Virginia,I would imagine. I wouldn't mind knowing where the daughter goes to school or at least the county.
06-12-2011, 11:19 AM
Rhodes update
Former UK player Rodrick Rhodes interviewed for the head coaching job at Harlan High on Friday. Rhodes, who is an assistant coach at Texas-Pan American, did the interview via Sykpe.
Harlan Athletics Director Kevin Ballsaid he and a search committee had interviewed seven candidates for the position.
Rhodes, who told the Harlan Daily Enterprise that he wanted to get closer to a daughter living in Virginia, has also been mentioned as a possible candidate for the vacant head coaching position at Owsley County.
Ball first learned of Rhodes' interest in coaching a high school in Kentucky while checking an Internet site that lists job openings.
"I thought either this isn't the Rodrick Rhodes I know or this isn't the Owsley County I know," Ball said.
Ball left a message at Texas-Pan American. Within an hour, Rhodes called back to confirm his interest.
"A lot of people were surprised," Ball said of the reaction to Rhodes as a candidate. "Or they thought it's a joke. Or didn't think we'd been in contact or he was willing to be interviewed.
"It's really true."
The job at Harlan High drew what Ball called "early interest" from about 16 to 18 possible candidates, Ball said. The goal is to hire a new coach before June 25.
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/06/12/17717...z1P4TRug1k
Former UK player Rodrick Rhodes interviewed for the head coaching job at Harlan High on Friday. Rhodes, who is an assistant coach at Texas-Pan American, did the interview via Sykpe.
Harlan Athletics Director Kevin Ballsaid he and a search committee had interviewed seven candidates for the position.
Rhodes, who told the Harlan Daily Enterprise that he wanted to get closer to a daughter living in Virginia, has also been mentioned as a possible candidate for the vacant head coaching position at Owsley County.
Ball first learned of Rhodes' interest in coaching a high school in Kentucky while checking an Internet site that lists job openings.
"I thought either this isn't the Rodrick Rhodes I know or this isn't the Owsley County I know," Ball said.
Ball left a message at Texas-Pan American. Within an hour, Rhodes called back to confirm his interest.
"A lot of people were surprised," Ball said of the reaction to Rhodes as a candidate. "Or they thought it's a joke. Or didn't think we'd been in contact or he was willing to be interviewed.
"It's really true."
The job at Harlan High drew what Ball called "early interest" from about 16 to 18 possible candidates, Ball said. The goal is to hire a new coach before June 25.
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/06/12/17717...z1P4TRug1k
06-19-2011, 02:01 PM
Quote:I have a great deal of respect for Derek Akal and his coaching abilities.The mark of a truly good coach is how they do with mediocre talent and the results they produce. Anybody can come in and fine tune a bunch of good athletes and lead them to victory or at very least stay out of their way so they can win.
06-19-2011, 07:48 PM
Hitters_Count Wrote:The mark of a truly good coach is how they do with mediocre talent and the results they produce. Anybody can come in and fine tune a bunch of good athletes and lead them to victory or at very least stay out of their way so they can win.
I disagree. How a coach does with mediocre talent is certainly one measuring stick. However, BUILDING A WINNING PROGRAM is a bigger measure. What I mean by building a program is putting the system in place to be competitive EVERY year. I also disagree that anyone can coach talent. I have seen a lot of coaches that could not coach talented teams. Some of the most talented teams I have ever seen in Kentucky high schools didn't accomplish very much.
06-20-2011, 10:14 PM
Tommy Hensley will be the new coach at Harlan City.
06-20-2011, 10:43 PM
The 13th will be up for grabs again next year. Knox Central, Bell Co, Clay Co, Harlan Co, and Barbourville will all be in a close race next season. All of those teams will have pretty much equal talent.
Harlan JobTommy Hensley? That name does not ring a bell to me. Did he coach in the Kentucky last year?
Harlan JobTommy Hensley? That name does not ring a bell to me. Did he coach in the Kentucky last year?
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