[jammin' jamey]

I am gong to say, WOW what a tournament. Four years ago, the seniors made a decision to come to Betsy Layne and who would have thought what they would have accomplished. I hope this 8th grade group makes the decision the same as the senior class to stay together.

A few side notes: Dylan Maldonado was awesome. He was so sick, coughing and dry heaving and played like a champion. The fans were absolutely amazing. I seen BL graduates from a long time ago there. I listen to the Jammin Jamey on radio while watching Wazoo on Friday night. I think he really done a good job and was supportive of the Bobcats. I was watching Wazoo and seen most of the football coaching staff, its great to see how they support the basketball team.

One last note: I am proud to say that even though 15th region teams beat up each other on here, that we support each other.

Thank you Tebow!!! :Thumbs:

Frosty and I enjoyed being with Betsy Layne this week and I have enjoyed following them closely this season. Most know where I'm from and sometimes that comes back to bite me, but I can't tell you how much I enjoyed watching a Floyd County team win a championship and you're right, everyone in the 15th Region can support each other when it comes to bringing home a trophy to the mountains. I love my county and my region equally...it's been my pleasure to be just a small part of it, trying to give recognition to those young men who deserve our praise on message boards more than our put downs. And the coaches, there's none better than Junior Newsome, what a story his life has been and I hope he understands the impact he's having on these kids and how positive his influence is on them and his assistant's...Keathley, Brandon K...great guys and I appreciate them and the fans welcoming EKB and WDHR to go along for the ride.

I wanted to post this for those who were wondering about some history about Betsy Layne basketball. I was limited to only online records while in Lexington this week, but since I've been home I've been able to find more details to the basketball past of Betsy Layne outside of their runs in 1976 & 1980.

The first state tournament was held in 1916, yet official records don't recognize the first two years and the KHSAA took over control of the state tournament in 1918 and that's when official records begin. A 16 regional numerical system was put in place from 1922 until 1926, then was shrunk to only 8 regions (even then the KHSAA couldn't just make up their minds about regions/districts/classes!!)

Betsy Layne made it's first of 3 consecutive state tournament appearances beginning in 1929 - 1931 as runners' up from the 8th Region. Betsy Layne was a runners' up to Ashland in 1929, Mt. Sterling in 1930 and Ashland again in 1931. During that time, "2" teams from the 8 regions made the state tournament to my understanding.

Nevertheless, Betsy Layne lost to Eminence in 1929 in opening round action 19-14. In 1930, Betsy Layne defeated Paducah 21-14 before losing to Hazard in the quarterfinals 23-19. Finally, in 1931 (which was a banner year for Betsy Layne basketball) the team defeated University High 23-13, defeated Woodburn in the quarterfinals 21-16 and lost to Tolu High School (Crittenden County) in the semifinals 28-11. The current 16 region system was implemented the following season and hasn't changed since.

Just to clarify, Betsy Layne has reached the state tournament 5 times, 3 times a runner-up and twice as regional champions in 1976 and 1980. During the last two trips, the team lost to Edmonson County and Ashland in opening round play respectfully.

All the above information comes from the official state tournament program book provided every season at the Sweet 16. It's a great read and I wanted to share this info with those who may not have those programs or simply never knew. As a side note, Nathan Martin, Casey Adkins, Derek Tackett and Andrew Roberts became the first "all state tournament" players chosen from Betsy Layne since Gordon George in 1930 and Palmer Crum in 1931.