[Head_Viper]

Final from Rupp Arena.

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Extremely low scoring state tournament overall. Will be interested in the replay to see the penultimate possession with the free throw, rebound, and ball going out of play. Both teams had great tournaments and neither has anything to hang their heads about.

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Warren Central has a great program as their longevity under Riley and Unseld shows. Their results in Rupp since the 2001-2002 season:

2002 - lost in quarterfinals to eventual Runner-Up & tournament favorite Male by 6
2003 - lost in quarterfinals to Henry Clay by 7
2004 - State Champions
2005 - State Runner-Up, lost to South Laurel by 11
2006 - lost to Mason Co. by 3 in opener
2007 - lost to Ballard by 6 in semifinals
2010 - lost to Ballard by 3 in quarterfinals
2011 - lost to Eastern by 3 in opener
2013 - lost to Montgomery Co. by 8 in opener in Unseld's 2nd year
2018 - blown out by Scott Co. in semifinals
2019 - lost to Scott Co. by 18 in semifinals
2020 - won region, State Tournament cancelled due to COVID
2022 - Runner-Up, lost to George Rogers Clark by 1 in finals

Totals in their 21 year run:
1 State Championship
2 Runner-Ups
6 Final Fours
13 Regional Titles

I didn't count them all, but at least 7 of their tournament losses were to either the State Champion or Runner-Up.

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After a blowout of Perry County Central in the opening round, GRC's margins of victory were 5 (Pikeville), 3 (Lincoln Co., 2OT), and 1 (Warren Central). 

Coming into the final, Warren Central's margins of victory were 3 (Male, OT), 6 (Murray), and 3 (Covington Catholic).

[Panther Thunder]

Warren Central has a heck of a program. Love watching them play.

Congratulations to GRC.

Very good Sweet 16.

[Spud]

GRC went through a gauntlet in Pikeville, Lincoln County and Warren Central. They deserve this ring for sure!

[clipperw]

Congratulations to George Rogers Clark and head coach Josh Cook!

[Head_Viper]

Good final but this has to be one of the lowest scoring finals in awhile. I'd also guess that this was one of the lowest scoring tournaments overall as well (especially given the number of overtimes if you were to average out a pace of play stat).

[jamesclay]

How many transfers on that GRC team?

[DukeBoy]

6A vs 5A finals. Size don’t matter. GRC might as well been a Private with 4 starters living out of their district. Didn’t hear nothing but Landon Napier from Estill County from the broad casters on the NFHS/KHSAA stream during GRCs game with Perry. Nothing about all GRCs recruits. All the smaller teams got close but no cigar.

[PREZCAT]

6A vs 5A finals.  Size don’t matter.  GRC might as well been a Private with 4 starters living out of their district.  Didn’t hear nothing but Landon Napier from Estill County from the broad casters on the NFHS/KHSAA stream during GRCs game with Perry.  Nothing about all GRCs recruits.  All the smaller teams got close but no cigar.

I noticed that also.  Hoskin brothers don't recruit on that level, got to step there game up.

[DukeBoy]

Well they recruit well but all I was referring to was how KHSAA commentators talked about Perry’s one recruit and never mentioned one word about GRCs entire first 5 being from out of their district. I guess it’s ok for the BIG MONEY schools to do as they want and nothing be said.

[Big Daddy Bull]

GRC went through a gauntlet in Pikeville, Lincoln County and Warren Central.  They deserve this ring for sure!

Gauntlet??

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GRC went through a gauntlet in Pikeville, Lincoln County and Warren Central.  They deserve this ring for sure!

Gauntlet??

Not having to play the 6th, 7th, 9th or 11th, to win a state title bet that doesn't happen very often. Congratulations to Clark Co. Cardinals.

[Panther Thunder]

Good final but this has to be one of the lowest scoring finals in awhile. I'd also guess that this was one of the lowest scoring tournaments overall as well (especially given the number of overtimes if you were to average out a pace of play stat).

The game has changed. Much more physicality allowed. Defense appeared to trump offense in most games.

[Head_Viper]

GRC went through a gauntlet in Pikeville, Lincoln County and Warren Central.  They deserve this ring for sure!

Gauntlet??

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GRC went through a gauntlet in Pikeville, Lincoln County and Warren Central.  They deserve this ring for sure!

Gauntlet??

Not having to play the 6th, 7th, 9th or 11th, to win a state title bet that doesn't happen very often. Congratulations to Clark Co. Cardinals.

I'll preface with this: George Rogers Clark looked to be one of the best teams coming into the tournament and you can't take it away from them because they beat all of the teams put in front of them and definitely deserve it, but I think Spud6 raises a really good point about the history of champions who've never had to go through the 6th, 7th, 9th, or 11th to win. I'd even throw the usually tough 2nd in there as well. 

Spud's post got me thinking: assuming you dropped the following teams in this year's draw for GRC (i.e., ignore the fact that they'd possibly be playing the same region that they came out of, and just assume that they'd be playing this year's Perry Central, Pikeville, Lincoln Co., and Warren Central teams) how far do you see each of these teams advancing?

*You'll see a trend that these were really good mountain teams who didn't get the best draw and/or didn't make deep tournament runs. Team's actual result is in parenthesis. 


1998 - 
Clay Co. (lost in 1st Round to Runner-Up Paintsville)

1999 - 
Perry Co. Central (Ben Bowling team; lost to a very strong PRP team in first round) 
Clay Co. (lost in 1st Round to Madison Central)

2000 - 
Corbin (Brock team that was very underrated; lost to Russellville by 8 in first round) 

2001 - 
South Laurel (Riley, Valentine & Sizemore team; lost to runner-up Male by 10 in quarterfinals) 

2002 - 
Ashland Blazer (Surgalski & Beach team; lost to State Champion Lexington Catholic in first round)

2003 - 
Shelby Valley (Tackett, Friend & Kiser team; lost to runner-up Ballard in first round) 

2004 - 
Wayne Co. (Bell, Sexton, Gibbons, Green team; lost to runner-up Mason Co. in first round) 
Hazard (Sizemore, Oligner, Carter, Gabbard, Combs team; won All A, lost to Perry Central in first round district upset) 

2006 - 
South Laurel (Proffitt, Allen, Hammonds team; going for repeat, lost to Runner-Up Graves Co. by 1 in OT quarterfinal) 

2008 - 
Elliott Co. (Faulkners, Knipp, Fergueson team; lost to eventual State Champion Mason Co. by 4 in first round) 

2013 - 
Knott Co. Central (Justice, Christon, Hall team; lost to eventual Runner-Up Ballard in quarterfinals)

2014 - 
Johnson Central (Gullett, Hall team; lost to eventual Runner-Up Scott Co. by 9 in quarterfinals) 
Clay Co. (McDaniel, Smith, Allen team; lost to eventual State Champion Covington Catholic by 2 in first round) 

2015 - 
Knott Co. Central (Justice, Christon, Hall team; lost to Bowling Green in first round)

2020 - 
Ashland Blazer (undefeated in regular season; COVID year)

[PHSFAN]

Pikeville's 2022 sweet 16 played out similar to their 1999 sweet 16 appearance...though I do believe this year's team was definitely better.

In 1999 they also beat another mountain team in the 1st round, Boyd County, and then in the 2nd round they lost to Ballard if my memory is right...and I believe Ballard went on to win the state championship.

[Head_Viper]

Pikeville's 2022 sweet 16 played out similar to their 1999 sweet 16 appearance...though I do believe this year's team was definitely better. 

In 1999 they also beat another mountain team in the 1st round, Boyd County, and then in the 2nd round they lost to Ballard if my memory is right...and I believe Ballard went on to win the state championship.

You are exactly right. The KET documentary that follows Ballard that season shows Renner laying into his team for fighting with one another out on the court and Pikeville being so close at the half. That was the year that Scott Co. beat Paducah Tilghman in a semifinal that had fans irate over some questionable calls. Ballard narrowly beat Henderson Co. (who'd knocked off Jared Lorenzen, Derek Smith, and Highlands in the first round) in the other semi. Most pro-"Louisville school" crowd I'd seen when the Bruins took the floor for the final. 

Overall that was one of the more memorable tournaments I'd seen. The Madison Central (Estill, Jenkins, Fritz, Campbell) vs. Scott County semi had a big fight feel and was one of the most attended sessions in tournament history. Tilghman and PRP was the other game in that session.

One of the stronger fields I can remember honestly. Probably leaving a few out, but other than those I've already mentioned, Scott Co. had Rick Jones (Vandy), Scott Hundley (Vanderbilt), and AW Hamilton (Wake Forest/Marshall), PRP had King (Penn), Paschall (Murray St.), Griffith (Florida A&M), and Blake Downing (Georgetown College); Ballard had Brandon Bender (Louisville), Adam Chiles (Kentucky), and others I'm sure I'm leaving out. North Hardin had Jarius Sykes (Louisville); Boyd County had Tyler Zornes (Florida Atlantic); Henderson County had Tim Barnes (Iowa State), Perry County Central had Ben Bowling (Tulane) and Muhlenburg North had Patrick Sparks (WKU/Kentucky). Tilghman's George Wilson went on to play football at Arkansas and for the Tennessee Titans and Brett Jones was Kentucky's Mr. Golf and played at Louisville.

There are a lot of Power 5 players in that field and probably one of the strongest fields top to bottom that you'll see. Three players who were recruited by or went on to play at Kentucky or Louisville (Bowling and Sykes) didn't make it out of the first round, and two more (Estill and Sparks) didn't make it past Friday.

[Head_Viper]

Gonna answer my own question for a few years:

1999 Clay County
Makes a deep run in Bobby Keith's finale. The only team they don't definitively beat in a 7 game series is Warren Central, but their coaching and size to see over the Dragons' press coupled with how hard the crowd would be behind them makes it a toss-up in a 7 game series with Unseld's young team.

2000 Corbin
No one GRC faced was as talented as the Russellville team with Tony Key, Morris, Hampton, and Dickerson team that they hung with. They rout PCC but their lack of athleticism and depth means they possibly go out at any point past that, but they were also capable of reeling off three more.

2001 South Laurel
Win if they stay hot from the perimeter and their lack of size doesn't kill them. They're a no call against Campbell from possibly not even being in this discussion, but they gave a Male team with 7 D1 athletes all they wanted and more. The match-ups of Riley-Worrix and Valentine-Sammons are fun discussion.

2004 Wayne County
Run it. Next question. No team that GRC overcome has the talent or style of play to touch them. Woods' system and Green as the X Factor is the difference.

[Big Daddy Bull]

Pikeville's 2022 sweet 16 played out similar to their 1999 sweet 16 appearance...though I do believe this year's team was definitely better. 

In 1999 they also beat another mountain team in the 1st round, Boyd County, and then in the 2nd round they lost to Ballard if my memory is right...and I believe Ballard went on to win the state championship.

You are exactly right. The KET documentary that follows Ballard that season shows Renner laying into his team for fighting with one another out on the court and Pikeville being so close at the half. That was the year that Scott Co. beat Paducah Tilghman in a semifinal that had fans irate over some questionable calls. Ballard narrowly beat Henderson Co. (who'd knocked off Jared Lorenzen, Derek Smith, and Highlands in the first round) in the other semi. Most pro-"Louisville school" crowd I'd seen when the Bruins took the floor for the final. 

Overall that was one of the more memorable tournaments I'd seen. The Madison Central (Estill, Jenkins, Fritz, Campbell) vs. Scott County semi had a big fight feel and was one of the most attended sessions in tournament history. Tilghman and PRP was the other game in that session.

One of the stronger fields I can remember honestly. Probably leaving a few out, but other than those I've already mentioned, Scott Co. had Rick Jones (Vandy), Scott Hundley (Vanderbilt), and AW Hamilton (Wake Forest/Marshall), PRP had King (Penn), Paschall (Murray St.), Griffith (Florida A&M), and Blake Downing (Georgetown College); Ballard had Brandon Bender (Louisville), Adam Chiles (Kentucky), and others I'm sure I'm leaving out. North Hardin had Jarius Sykes (Louisville); Boyd County had Tyler Zornes (Florida Atlantic); Henderson County had Tim Barnes (Iowa State), Perry County Central had Ben Bowling (Tulane) and Muhlenburg North had Patrick Sparks (WKU/Kentucky). Tilghman's George Wilson went on to play football at Arkansas and for the Tennessee Titans and Brett Jones was Kentucky's Mr. Golf and played at Louisville.

There are a lot of Power 5 players in that field and probably one of the strongest fields top to bottom that you'll see. Three players who were recruited by or went on to play at Kentucky or Louisville (Bowling and Sykes) didn't make it out of the first round, and two more (Estill and Sparks) didn't make it past Friday.

Remember it well, at the time and still could be the SC-MC was the largest crowd ever. Shame that Scott County split up, only sports power in Kentucky to ever split I think. Christian County could become a power in the near future with them and Hopkinsville becoming 1 school.

[basketballbilly17]

How many transfers on that GRC team?

4 out of 5 starters are transfers.