[CC Tigers 4435]

Clay County has all the tools again this year to win the region.....but they aren't no where close to the 2003-2004 clay county tigers....That tiger team was LOADED!

[dontknow]

jackson and williamsburg will also be good

[Lookin In]

Clay has to be the favorite. I was impressed with Harlan County's young talent this summer, but its hard to compete for regional championships with freshmen playing a lot of minutes.

[CC Tigers 4435]

Clay will win the region but will have a tough road doing it....

[JagNation]

There might not be anybody play within 10 points of Clay this season.......

[CC Tigers 4435]

I totally agree with you JagNation.....I know they have Mcdaniel and Allen, but they also have some sophmores and juniors that can play and very athletic.....Like I said before Allen is what clay has been missing since the mid 2000's......Clay has always had some decent guard play but no big man to really go to. Can't wait till November rolls around to see how well Allen and Mcdaniel play together.

[HDE]

There might not be anybody play within 10 points of Clay this season.......

I'm sure Clay will have a good team, but I don't see them being that much better than last year. They lost a lot.

[UKCC]

I really like this Tiger squad, Jake Allen is literally a huge addition, and I feel when the dust clears they should/will be at Rupp. However, anybody who thinks (without some absolutely hot shooting) that we will go to Jackson for example and win by 20 is crazy. Do I think we're better? Yes. Is the gap 10-20 points? No.

[EKYBubbaWatson]

CC is probably 10 points ahead of Jackson and Knox in my opinion. The reports I've been giving is this team is better right now than last years team at the end of the season. While we lost a lot people need to realize they were role players... Even though they played their roles great. The sophomores Wolfe and Smith are more athletic, and better basketball players. Even though they are young they will be ready. Farmer is a monster and if he can get his head on straight will be a force. Allen is 6'8 260 and determined.. Who's going to stop that? McDaniel is more excited than anyone on the team. He is wanting to go out on a high note, at Rupp. Good luck to anyone in the 13th stopping that. As long as the young kids buy in and play hard, I'll take Clay's talent all day.

[BellCOUNTYfaithfull]

bell should be good there returing everyone

[HDE]

I've admitted you guys were right about Bowling last year, which makes it odd to say that Bowling was better than Allen when the year ended.
It's ironic that now they graduated they have become "role" players. Yes, McDaniel was the star, but Bowling was one of the top centers in the region and Lyttle made the difference in the regional finals with his huge game.
Clay has two proven players. Knox and Jackson both have star guards and good role players around them. Bell has its top two players back from a team that took Clay to the final seconds last year.
As UKCC said, it doesn't add up.

[UKCC]

We won't know much until December. Then we'll be able to get a feed on who will do what. Until then, it's really just guessing. As far as role players, I believe Bubba means that although they were really good players, McDaniel was still the leader. Not taking anything away from Reed, Lyttle, Rice, or Bowling.

[ArJay]

Clay County is the defending champs. They deserve respect and to be #1 in rankings but to say they are far and away the best team is silly. There are too many unknowns about them and everyone else for that matter. Corbin and South and North are all out of the top 5 for example but they have great programs and are gonna compete with everyone. I think there will be balance again this year.

[General Jackson]

Clay gets the nod early on. Gonna depend a lot on how well Allen fits in . The House kid from North is another great addition for them. Don't know about the Farmer kid but I've heard he was solid. After that, I think Jackson Co. would be second. Collier seemed to fit in very good this summer with them. Knox central will be a nice team this year as well as Bell county. The Potter kid can flat out score but they need an inside game. Middlesboro has a shot and it wouldn't surprise me to see Williamsburg beat a lot of teams this year. South had a big kid this summer that definitely made them a contender but I heard that he went back to Lex.

[ArJay]

Is Jackson going to have any size besides Collier? I'm not saying they have to have it, but I was wondering. I didn't know if they had any big guys on the roster.

[BellCOUNTYfaithfull]

potter is the best shooter in the 13th region and bell does have inside game his name is zack partin and lest don't for get about jake patterson he can shoot from anywhere and play inside out i m look from them to win region

[Mountain]

I believe any of these 4 teams can win the region.

1. Clay Co.
2. Knox Central
3. Bell Co.
4. Jackson Co.

[UKCC]

The region has some of its best talent in years. However, I still feel like its top heavy. I personally don't expect anyone outside that top 3-4 to make a run. Maybe Middlesboro. That's about it.

[CC Tigers 4435]

Here's My Top 5 Ranking's
1. Clay County- Defending Champs, Allen Transfer, Best guard in region in Mcdaniel. Plus some talented, athletic soph and junior players.
2. Knox Central- Soild ball club, really smart point guard.
4. Jackson County- Fox is a great player. got a couple players that athletic.
5. Bell County- Potter is a great scorer, but he's the only one for bell that can take over a game.

[Black Bear Cuz]

IMO the only way Clay doesn't win the region is if on their bus ride to the Arena they take a wrong turn and wind up in BFE... Lol.. Mentally speaking, McDaniel is like a grown man playing with a bunch of little kids in the region!! I would love to see some of the teams in the region step up and challenge them, just don't see a team capable of doing it...

[EKYBubbaWatson]

Absolutely agree with you Black Bear Cuz. Clay is heads and shoulders above the rest. McDaniel is stronger and bigger thanks to those good meals in Leslie County. I wish I could lay some money on CC making a return to state. Barring injury, it'll be a fight for runner up.

[Olred]

Heard the Lawson kid may be out for the season at Jackson. I hope not.... I hate hearing about injuries. They usually play a big part of things. I believe clay is the most talented but I will have to see how the Allen boy plays this year to see how big of a gap it is. I did hear he lost some weight, which will help.

[dontknow]

I think you left out a good team

[HDE]

Middlesboro and Williamsburg each have a couple of very good players, and I don't think you can ever count out Corbin, North and South.
It's interesting how Harlan County has fallen off the map. Their JV team was the best in the region the past two years and didn't lose a game last year. They may be a year away from being among the favorites again, but Jones' teams usually do awfully well when no one thinks they will.

[Black Bear Cuz]

Middlesboro and Williamsburg each have a couple of very good players, and I don't think you can ever count out Corbin, North and South.
It's interesting how Harlan County has fallen off the map. Their JV team was the best in the region the past two years and didn't lose a game last year. They may be a year away from being among the favorites again, but Jones' teams usually do awfully well when no one thinks they will.

Those 2 boys for Middlesboro are really fun to watch (Foister and Poindexter) but don't think they have enough with those two to be a threat to win it all. As for Harlan County, the center piece of their Jv team that won state (Miller) is gone! Also, the way that most smaller schools have fewer numbers in their program and good freshman and sophomores a lot of times play varsity only, HC is able to play more older and seasoned players on the Jv and have been able to win a lot of Jv games. That doesn't necessarily translate to great varsity success.

[HDE]

As for Harlan County, the center piece of their Jv team that won state (Miller) is gone!

He played the most varsity basketball, no doubt, but I don't know about center piece. The JV team was undefeated last year and Miller didn't play. As for the AAU state tournament, here's the scoring in the tournament. That's a pretty good group and had real nice balance:


Harlan County (62) — Tyler MIller 4, Zach Caldwell 2, Zach Wilson 18, Cody Bumgardner 11, Trey Sanders 19, Fred Massey 6, Patrick Smallwood 2, Caleb Hogue 1.
Bryan Station (29) — Andre Davis 16, Tim Dunn 8, A.J. Gibson 3, Jahlon Mock 2.
———
Harlan County (47) — Zach Caldwell 3, Trey Sanders 8, Fred Massey 7, Cody Bumgardner 5, Zach Wilson 18, Tyler Miller 4, Kolby Vanover 2.
Rowan County (24) — Callahan 6, Graham 8, Pollitte 8, Ravenscraft 2.
———
Harlan County (56) — Zach Caldwell 13, Trey Sanders 13, Cody Bumgardner 10, Zach WIlson 4, Fred Massey 15, Patrick Smallwood 1.
Tates Creek (32) — E. Davis 2, Barksdale 1, Sloan 2, Neal 9, Sturdivant 4, I. Davis 6, Duke 8.

[Black Bear Cuz]

He played the most varsity basketball, no doubt, but I don't know about center piece. The JV team was undefeated last year and Miller didn't play. As for the AAU state tournament, here's the scoring in the tournament. That's a pretty good group and had real nice balance:


Harlan County (62) — Tyler MIller 4, Zach Caldwell 2, Zach Wilson 18, Cody Bumgardner 11, Trey Sanders 19, Fred Massey 6, Patrick Smallwood 2, Caleb Hogue 1.
Bryan Station (29) — Andre Davis 16, Tim Dunn 8, A.J. Gibson 3, Jahlon Mock 2.
———
Harlan County (47) — Zach Caldwell 3, Trey Sanders 8, Fred Massey 7, Cody Bumgardner 5, Zach Wilson 18, Tyler Miller 4, Kolby Vanover 2.
Rowan County (24) — Callahan 6, Graham 8, Pollitte 8, Ravenscraft 2.
———
Harlan County (56) — Zach Caldwell 13, Trey Sanders 13, Cody Bumgardner 10, Zach WIlson 4, Fred Massey 15, Patrick Smallwood 1.
Tates Creek (32) — E. Davis 2, Barksdale 1, Sloan 2, Neal 9, Sturdivant 4, I. Davis 6, Duke 8.

HC should be very competitive, hopefully they fill the Miller void well, but I don't believe we have any more talented 6'6" guys roaming the halls of HCHS. This group of Juniors has had a lot of success, that will give them confidence moving forward I do believe!

[JagNation]

I personally think Harlan Co has a better shot at the Region than Jackson or Bell. Corbin is always in the hunt. But Clay is the odds on favorite.

The big question is what's happened to South Laurel..... They dominated when they first moved from the 12th... but the last few years haven't been a factor at all.

[ArJay]

Harlan County is just unproven. They have talent but only Bumgardner and Caldwell have much experience. Now they look a big hit with Miller. But they will still be a solid team.

[UKCC]

Neither South nor Corbin have been the same in the last couple years.