[OrangenowBlue]

EKYHoops, what exactly has the 53rd district done in the region in basketball that is so earth shaking in the last 20 years? Knott had a good run in the 1970s when they first consolidated, and a few region titles in the 1980s and in the early 1990s (they were actually in the 55th district with Breathitt then, but that's a technicality). Then they went from 1993 to 2010 before winning another region. Whitesburg won a region just before they closed their doors to consolidation, their second regional championship in their history, the other coming in the 1950s.

I admit, the 56th hasn't been as dominate as the 54th and the 55th. Lee won the region in 1968 and 1973, and Powell won it in 1974 and 2003. There have been several runner-up finishes---Owsley in 1983 and 1985, Wolfe in the early 2000s. But the 53rd hasn't set the world on fire either. Now that they have consolidated to have 1000 students Letcher Central will eventually have to break through and win a region simply due to the size of their enrollment, but it hasn't happened yet. Don't act like the 53rd is so much better than the 56th.

And by the way, the 56th has the 3rd and 4th largest enrollments in the region. Powell is 3rd with about 750 students and Estill is right behind them with around 730. Only Perry and Letcher are larger. With schools that size, the right coaches and building programs, there's no reason they can't compete with the Perry's, Hazard's, Letcher's and Knott's. Of course, they may have to throw in a transfer or two to keep up with the boys from the "Center Of The Region"!

1. Although it still isn't much, but Whitesburg actually won three regional championships. LOL

2. If you are throwing transfers, throw some our way.