[Old School Hound]

Look, this is not an opinion piece advocating for a change of leadership in Corbin basketball.  I'm just throwing this out there for discussion. Someone mentioned on here a few months back that Tony looked like he was burnt out, just going through the motions, so to speak. I really can't say that I've seen that on a grand scale.  Although, it is just human nature, after you've done the same thing for so long, it's not uncommon for a coach to lack the fire and passion he once had.  Does Tony have that same fire that he had when he first took over the reigns of the Redhound program more than two decades ago? I'll leave that for you fans to judge.

I like Tony. I think he is a very good basketball coach. Tony secured his 500th win of his career the other night against Lynn Camp in the CFIT. That's a lot of wins. However, I must point out, that in his 23 or so seasons as coach, Tony has won but four region titles and his teams have never made much noise in the Sweet 16. In recent years he has been absolutely dominated by his friend, Jeff Davis, at South Laurel. I think at one point Jeff won about a dozen straight against Tony.  

This is the second year in a row that Corbin has struggled in its own watered down Cumberland Falls Invitational. This year's field might have been the worst ever. Last year, the Hounds suffered back-to-back double digit losses in their second and third games of the tourney. And tonight, we see yet another double digit loss to a decent, but not great team in Little Miami. That's three double digit losses in the last two CFIT tournaments. Let's face it. In a tourney that Tony claims is extremely important for him and his team to win, recent results have been poor. His team looked about as inspired to be there as the coach did tonight.

Look, Tony P. is never gonna be on the hot seat at Corbin, any more than the Pope is on the hot seat at the Vatican.  Both are in the position for life.  Is four region tourney titles in nearly a quarter of a century good  enough? Again, I think Tony is a good basketball coach. Whether he is as good or as engaged a coach as he used to be is for others to decide. It's frustrating seeing schools like Harlan County and the Laurel schools making waves on the big stage, while Corbin struggles to get over the hump.

Congratulations to the Corbin coach on 500 wins, the winningest coach in Corbin history. Here's hoping that somewhere in the next 500 wins is going to be a couple of state titles.