[Hoot Gibson]

Let me say first off that I m a fan of 13th region basketball and have been since the early seventies. And because I am a fan of 13th region basketball and its history, I am a fan of the Clay County Tigers.  I can remember listening to every game of the 13th region tournaments throughout the seventies on WCTT- AM in Corbin.  Clay would win most of those regional tournaments and Don Estep would interview Coach Keith after each tournament win. I always rooted the Tigers on in the Sweet Sixteen and was thrilled when they finally broke through and won their championship in '87.  

 As a Corbin fan, I am well aware that no one has a richer tradition in this region than Clay.  I think Clay and Corbin has combined to win almost half of the regional titles,  with Clay winning a third of them . (Clay- 29 ; Corbin - 15).  Clay completely dominated the region from the mid-seventies and throughout the eighties . I think they won all but four region titles  over a span of eighteen years.  No one is likely to impose their will on the rest of the region over a period of two decades ever again. They didn't lose a home game for something like nine years during one stretch.

So, OSH, get to the damn point.  Here it is.   Where does Clay County basketball go from here? What has to happen to return the Tigers to their position as the top basketball program, not only in the 13th region, but in all of eastern Kentucky?

Let me say this. I thought the Clay kids played very hard in both of their tournament games this year ;  not very well a lot of the time , but very hard. Gave good effort.  But just giving good effort without getting championship results is not something that I have ever equated with Tiger basketball. I went to a Corbin-Clay game in Manchester several years ago when this group of seniors were either eighth-graders or freshmen. I really liked what I saw from a very young group of Tigers. I remember telling a Clay fan that night that I thought that group of kids would do some special things over the next three or four years.  

Let's look at Clay's 13th region results the last five years:

2017 :   One and done   (0-1)

2018 :    Failed to make region

2019  :   Failed to Make region

2020   :  Semifinal round  (1-1)

2021   :  Semifinal round   (1-1)


In five years , Clay County has played a grand total of five region games, winning just two. If you had told me five years ago that Clay would win just two region games over the next five years,  I would have done like Hoot Gibson and called you a liar.  Btw, prior to 2018, the Tigers had failed to make the 13th region tournament just one time in the previous 67 years !!! That's a big old have mercy! 

Congrats to the six seniors for all the hard work they put in over the years.

What does Clay County do from this point to get back to being the dominant team in the 49th district as well as the 13th region???

Why don't you take up whatever issues you have with me in the Politics forum and stop taking cheap shots everywhere else? Losing political debates and retaliating in sports and other forums makes you look very small.