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13th Region preseason picks
#61
That's why I believe it is so wide open. Harlan County has all the tools but it's been the same team for 3 years, North Laurel is really big inside, and Clay County has a serious duo at 1 and 2.
#62
Aaron Caldwell was one of the most improved players in the region this summer. Tyler Miller and Zach Caldwell were probably the best 1-2 post tandem last year in frosh/JV basketball.
#63
It's hard to tell from JV and Freshman games about player talent as some schools go all out having a kid start and play the whole game. Then start an play the varsity game also,and some coaches choose to let kids that don't get to play varsity play the JV game.That being said, I did see Harlan Co this summer a couple times and they have a lot of talent.It should be a great year and I'm looking forward to coming to Harlan for the region.I hadn't thought about it until the last sentence but this may get Coach Jones over the hump and get THE BEARS there first region championship.
#64
Yeah, it doesn't always carry over but you can get a pretty good idea.
I don't think any of the top teams do that. All the freshmen in the region played freshmen basketball last year except for McDaniel, Barger and Baxter. I don't think there is anyone I'm forgetting.
#65
I did not see Baxter play, but McDaniel and Barger are two of the top players in the region.
#66
Baxter has a ton of upside as a big guard and could lead the underrated Cardinals far. Barger is a very solid PG that runs the show nicely and could have a very nice supporting cast. McDaniel might be the quickest PG the region has seen in numerous years as just a sophomore. If Clay County can get some help off the bench and add some size they will be very hard to handle. I think Harlan Co might be the best on paper but this is going to be one fun year to watch the 13th.
#67
Farley at Corbin, played as good as anyone at end of last season and I hear he had a good summer. Hill also played some big minutes as a 8th Grader and I hear he had a real good summer of AAU ball. Look for those two to make some noise in the back court for Corbin.
#68
TexasRanger Wrote:Farley at Corbin, played as good as anyone at end of last season and I hear he had a good summer. Hill also played some big minutes as a 8th Grader and I hear he had a real good summer of AAU ball. Look for those two to make some noise in the back court for Corbin.

Corbin has IMO the best coach in the region.They always play a good schedule that get them ready for tournament time.They may lose some games early but it would not surprise me if they made a deep run.
#69
Farley is a very good player and you could make a case for him to be a top 10. Corbin has had some really good players during the time of Coach P. I guess we will see how he does with less talent before we give him that title. Do they still have the big kid back to go with Farley also?
#70
Igo is back.
#71
FIRST Wrote:Farley is a very good player and you could make a case for him to be a top 10. Corbin has had some really good players during the time of Coach P. I guess we will see how he does with less talent before we give him that title. Do they still have the big kid back to go with Farley also?


They have Igo back. He's 6'5-6'6 range. Been inconsistent so far but he has the tools and skill to become a very solid force in the middle for the hounds. Corbin will be a hard out as they always are with Pietrowski.
#72
Top players in Region:
1.) T.Brewer Harlan Co.
2.) J. Fox Jackson Co.
3.) J. Allen N L
4.) Z. Baxter S L
5.) T. McDaniel Clay Co.
6.) M. Barger KC
7.) J. Simpson Pineville
8.) A. Sergent Harlan Co.
9.) Z. Farley Corbin
10.) S. Griffith Williamsburg

Two players to watch are T. Hill Corbin and A. Griffith Williamsburg. Both are Freshman and will make some noise for their teams. By the end of the season they both could be in top 5 of this list!
#73
Top 10 Teams
1) Harlan County

2) Pineville

3) North Laurel

4) Clay County

5) South Laurel

6) Jackson Coutny

7) Corbin

8) Bell County

9) Middlesboro

10) Harlan
#74
Igo has all the tools to be up there as one of the best bigs in the region. LexBaller, can't quite agree with your top 10 teams. Hard for me to believe South Laurel and Knox Central won't be in the mix and Clay County behind Pineville is a bold prediction.
#75
1. Harlan County
2. Clay County
3. North Laurel
4. Knox Central (Could be higher if Canady plays)
5. South Laurel
6. Pineville
7. Jackson County
8. Corbin
9. Bell County
10. Middlesboro
#76
Sorry LexBaller, didn't notice South at 5.. Still its absurd to not have Knox in top 10.
#77
The 13th region is a 3 team race with maybe 2 or 3 other teams competing to get in.
#78
Bubby. your right about Knox Central, it was a over site I orignally had them in at number 6 right behind South laurel, just over looked them. Bubby, I hear a lot of different rumors out of Knox County about Merida and Canady not playing this year. I will say if both plays this really moves KC up in the region.

I heard over the weekend that South Laurel's Sanders, is out again do to health issues, if true South laurel will struggle.
#79
Canady playing, I here Merida has some health issues but is planning on playing.
#80
Great group of teams this year in the 13th. Should be a great season and put the 13th back on the map.
#81
The thing that will make Harlan County so tough to beat this year will be the fact that they have their star freshmen class from last year moving up as sophmores. They have another year of experience under their belt and also have had another year in the weight room.

This year Jones can make substitutions with little to no dropoff from a talent standpoint. You can sub in the sophmores Miller and Zach Caldwell into the 4/5 spot for Aaron Caldwell. At the guard spots you bring Bond off the bench who plays starters minutes and have the Sanders, Wilson and Bumgardner kids to spell the PG/SG/SF slots.

Black Bears should have a monster season this year and if the Freshmen/JV season from last year and summer ball have any indications then they also look to be in great shape for atleast the next 2 years after this one.
#82
I agree UPSCat, it's Harlan County, region to lose this year. They have the talent, coaching and home court advantage to sweep through the regional tournament.
I thinks there's some teams that could challange them because you have to lace up the old sneakers and put the ball in the basket.
Pineville, North Laurel, Clay County, Jackson County, but only 2 of the 3 will make the regional tournament out of the 49th district. South Laurel and Knox Central could make a run. South Laurel's Sanders,will have to be back 100%. and Knox Central's Canady , will have to play for them to be in the mix.

You can't rule out coach P's hounds with Igo and Farley.
#83
I don't get the fascination with Canady. He's a great athlete and tremendous football player and good basketball player, but I think he's only played one year of high school basketball and came out late then. KC had three or four good freshman guards last year. I expected them to give the Panthers a pretty good backcourt.
#84
To say it's Harlan County's to lose is a bit of an overstatement. Yes, they are the best team but saying it's there's to lose is like comparing the SEC to Kentucky. North Laurel and Clay County will have something to say about that. North Laurel plays team away in December and Clay County may play them twice in just a few days depending on how the WYMT Classic goes. That being said, nothing matters until late February.
#85
HDE Wrote:I don't get the fascination with Canady. He's a great athlete and tremendous football player and good basketball player, but I think he's only played one year of high school basketball and came out late then. KC had three or four good freshman guards last year. I expected them to give the Panthers a pretty good backcourt.

I don't get it either, and when they told me he was playing I could not believe it. I think all you get from him is defense and some rebounds. Knox Central has excellent group of Freshman coming in. They might have had better groups before but some of them would go to Barbourville and other schools. I think this group all stayed together.
#86
insideinfo Wrote:I don't get it either, and when they told me he was playing I could not believe it. I think all you get from him is defense and some rebounds. Knox Central has excellent group of Freshman coming in. They might have had better groups before but some of them would go to Barbourville and other schools. I think this group all stayed together.

People said he was playing last year, too. I'm sure he'll be signing a Division I football scholarship, so it's hard to say how busy he'll be getting ready to play on the next level.
#87
The fascination with Canady is that he can be an absolute lockdown defender. He was the only guy that could keep up with Madon from Bell and Mitchell from CC 2 years ago. He gives Knox someone that could potentially shut down pr at least limit Brewer, McDaniel and Carson, something no other teams will have much of an answer for.
#88
While Canady isn't going to drop 25 on anyone, he has comparable speed to Brewer, McDaniel, and Carson with an extra 30-40 lbs which is going to make them work that much harder.
#89
Even with Canady I don't feel like Knox has the tools right now to be a top 3 team. Maybe in 2 or 3 years.
#90
Knox probably won't be rated in the top three but they are very capable of beating anyone in the region.
I'm not saying Canady isn't a great athlete who could help, but it's the same story every year. He's playing. He's not playing. He's playing. He's not playing.
If he liked basketball he'd be there in the summer and it wouldn't be such a mystery every year.

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