[Mountain]

HDE, I am shocked that you have not responded to my question. I guess that is a stump the shwab kind of question (LOL). HDE who is your top 5 players to start the season in the 13th.

[bear claw]

Hey WideRight 05, that is BOND, JAMES BOND.

[HDE]

I think Cawood won nine of 11 against Harlan from 84 to 86.
But no one has won more than Scott County in the last 20 years.
Like I said though, those are top two coaches in the state as far as I'm concerned.

I'd go with Brewer, Carson, Fox, Allen and Simpson
Fox didn't make it back to the 13th Region in time to be included on the Cats Pause list. He was on it last year before he transferred to Dixie Heights.

[Mountain]

Corbin and Harlan also played a few times in the early to mid 90's.

My top 5 players
1. Brewer
2. Allen
3. Simpson
4. Carson
5. Reed

[Granny Bear]

"I'm going with Harlan County. That's awesome that they have a guy named James Bond lol. And this isn't a knock on the young man - I'm sure he's a great young man and I wish him all the best. But I love that name lol!"


I'm not sure he likes the notoriety! They used to introduce him as "Bond......James Bond".

Tough kid, and lots of hustle!! Love to watch him play.

[LexBaller]

Fox, Jackson Co. Sanders, South laurel and Massingle, Harlan Co.

These 3 Kids can ball would be in the top 5.

Fox, makes Jackson Co a strong contender for their district, It's not going to be the auto title game of North Laurel and Clay Co in the district championship game. Watched Fox, play this summer he's a big strong guard with some D one attention. Jackson county will be a dark horse in the region with adding Fox.

Sanders, is the most underrated player in the Region it showed after his injury last season. South Laurel, was lost with out his floor leadership. Heard South laurel's new coach turned Sanders, loose with the team this summer with a tempo that suited Sanders and South Laurels. I like South Laurel as my second dark horse with a healthy Sanders.

Massingle, is the scorer that make Harlan Co go. I really like this kid he can score in bunchs and really make it hard on the defense. He's a scorer every team needs a scorer to make a strong run. He's another underrated kid in the region. Massingle, must play at the top of his game for Harlan to win the region.

I would take Fox, Sanders, Massingle, Simpson, Allen and play with anyones top 5.

[UKCC]

Clay returns 3 of their top 4 scorers. All averaged over 10 ppg, which is considered very solid in high school basketball. I believe I saw someone below say Reed which I agree with. Must have been at the Harlan County game last year were he went for like 27 I believe it was. I would also put McDaniel in there.

Top 10 Players:

1. McDaniel (Laugh while you can. If cut loose, would average 20+. Doesn't play like a mountain boy.)
2. Brewer (Very solid scorer.)
3. Fox (Overrated but still good.)
4. Carson (Athlete.)
5. Reed (Taller Athlete.)
6. Allen (Is 6'7" a good enough reason?)
7. Massengill (Gets buckets.)
8. Simpson (Does his thing.)
9. Henson (Finds a way to make things happen.)
10. Baxter (Had a good freshman campaign.)

Honorable Mentions:
Allen, Sergent, Lyttle, Farley, Barger, Potter, Merida, etc. I'm sure there's a few more guys here and there you could plug in.

The Top 5 could be flipped depending on how you look at it but I feel pretty firm with those being the end results, not necessarily the preseason. For the second year in a row, wide open region.

[hoops_town]

Fox is far from overrated. He will have Jackson Co challenging for the 49th and 13th titles this season. He is a very strong PG with great ball handling ability. If he can become more aggresive scorer then I wouldnt be suprised to see Jackson beat both Clay and North Laurel. Parrott can get it done on the sidelines too.

[hoops_town]

Sanders from South missed all but 5 games for South last season but to not have him in the top 10 is laughable. He was top 10 his sophomore season and he is back 100% now and stronger than he's ever been. Baxter has actually grew some from last year and looks like he has picked up about 20 lbs. Led by Sanders and Baxter and returning Slavey, Schaser, Rader, Grubb, Jones and possibly Mitchell, this team could be a sleeper in the 13th this season. Last I heard 6'8 jr Jon Helton could be back by Christmas also to help along with 6'4 Tyler Vandeventor who was impressive this past summer with his improvement.

[hoops_town]

Teams

1. North Laurel
2. Harlan Co.
3. Clay Co.
4. South Laurel
5. Knox Central
6. Jackson Co.
7. Corbin
8. Pineville
9. Bell Co.
10. Middlesboro

[hoops_town]

Players in no particular order

1. Allen
2. Carson
3. Fox
4. Sanders
5. Baxter
6. Brewer
7. Massengill
8. Simpson
9. McDaniel
10. Reed (?) Not sold completely on him, tends to dissappear at times but he has the talent.
Alot of kids that could be 8-10 in this region. Hill, Farley, Merida, Barger, Potter, Sergent, Slavey, Lyttle , Mills

[insideinfo]

Clay
Harlan Co
South Laurel
North Laurel
Knox Central
Corbin
Pineville
Bell
Barbourville
Jackson Co

[UKCC]

I think it's pretty set who the top 10-15 players are. Nobody else comes close. However, I think it's toss up between Brewer, Fox, and McDaniel. The reason I put McDaniel so high is that he is just a sophomore who shoots in the upper 90's from the line, very consistent from 3, and has speed. Has to get bigger.

Jackson County will have a nice season. They have a star guy and like 2 more solid players. It takes more than that to win a region or even district championship.

North Laurel is probably the best overall team heading into the season. Now, whether Harlan County decides to finally put the pieces together or Clay County can get there big 3 going remains to be scene.

[FIRST]

The 13th region will have some really good PG's this year (Brewer, McDaniel, Carson, Fox, and Barger).

[OffTheHook]

Clay is always a tough out.

[EKYBubbaWatson]

I think the favorites will be the Clay, North and Harlan. These teams bring back the most talent and experience, along with solid point guards (McDaniel, Carson, Brewer). Knox is a sleeper as the Barger kid is a very solid player along with the beast Merida inside.

[LexBaller]

I think the favorites will be the Clay, North and Harlan. These teams bring back the most talent and experience, along with solid point guards (McDaniel, Carson, Brewer). Knox is a sleeper as the Barger kid is a very solid player along with the beast Merida inside.

Rumor of KC, Merida, may not be playing. Having some health issue ? Does anyone have any information on Merida, not playing.
Does anyone know if Canady going to play this year?

[EKYBubbaWatson]

If Merida isn't able to go this hurts Knox big time. They have some nice young kids like Marsee who is a big body, but you simply cannot replace Merida. If Canady does play and Merida is able to go this puts Knox right at the front. Canady has the ability to lock down players such as Carson, Brewer and McDaniel. Right now the 13th is totally up in the air.

[UKCC]

Knox is another team right there ready to do something. The region is more open now that it was even last year. You really have your big three teams in Harlan Co., Clay Co., and North Laurel. Then like 4 teams right on the outside.

[FIRST]

I agree with UKCC, the 13th region will have great balance this year.

[HDE]

There should be eight or nine pretty good teams.
Harlan County lost less than North or Clay though and had the best JV and frosh teams in the region. They were very good during the summer.

[EKYBubbaWatson]

I think Harlan County deserves to be the preseason number one even though they haven't proven they can win in the postseason. I honestly think North overachieved last year, not taking anything away from their region title. CC lost a lot of role players but they have their two best players back and one of the biggest sleepers, Bowling. I think Knox, IF Canady and Merida are on the court are as good as anybody. They could be the favorites IF this happens.

[UKCC]

I've said for a couple years, once Harlan County sports gets it right it will be over. No disrespect to Letcher County but when they put their schools together they weren't all that good to begin with. When Harlan County did it, they had some schools with talent already. Clay County seems to have had lost it's love for basketball as far as the players go but I feel like it's picking back up since 2011. Should be a really fun year.

[tehot05]

harlan county hands down is above the rest of the region...


remember this name Tyler Potter (bell County) jr guard that is one of the pure shooter ive seen in a long time, averaged 16 pts per game last year

[bear claw]

I am just glad that I will get to see the regional tourney this year and not be a mile away from the floor. At least one more time we get the real feeling again, just like it used to be.

[UKCC]

Definitely, the region being in Corbin really took that old stuffy, loud, passionate feeling out of high school basketball.

Just a question, is it to remain in Harlan County or begin a new cycle?

[FIRST]

I disagree with tehot05, there is not that much difference in Harlan Co., North , and Clay Co. in my book. I also believe Pineville, South, Knox Central, and Jackson Co. have very dangerous teams. I do agree with both of the last two posts about the stage for the region.

[tehot05]

I disagree with tehot05, there is not that much difference in Harlan Co., North , and Clay Co. in my book. I also believe Pineville, South, Knox Central, and Jackson Co. have very dangerous teams. I do agree with both of the last two posts about the stage for the region.

anyone once again can with this region, but im just saying as for a starting five, harlan county will have the best at each position

[FIRST]

You are correct, there are several dangerous teams, but North has that combo of speed and size which is rare in the 13th region.

[EKYBubbaWatson]

tehot 05, the region is definitely open at this stage, but Harlan County definitely doesn't have the best player at each postition. The PG position is a tossup, I will agree that Harlan has the best wing combo in Brewer and Massingale but there bigs aren't at the level of Allen from North or Simpson of Pineville.