[Van Hagar]

Just noticed on KHSAA scoreboard that these two teams are a combined 27-1 (Bell 14-0, Whitley 13-1), with the only loss being a two-pointer by Whitley to Wayne Co. in very first game of the season. Yet I’ve heard very little about them on here. Are either legit? Could they make a run at the region? Or just a product of weak schedules?

[Grannyshot]

Definitely weak schedules but the 13th drops way down after your top 3-4 teams.

[dodger]

Really weak schedule for Whitley. Only three of those wins have winning records: Pineville, Knox Central, and South-Doyle, Tennessee. Don't think that Bell's is much better. Both of those teams and Knox Central have played tissue soft schedules, but I kind of understand why KC did that after last year's nightmare. Not much in-between in the 13th. Teams are either playing a gauntlet like Harlan County and South Laurel or looking for as many Cordia Home School for the Blind wins as possible.

[Gridiron_Raid]

Is whitley for real? That’s a debate but they have won 13 in roll. How many teams can say that. Bell has beat 7 teams with winning records and 4 wins over ten win teams. Not a lot of cupcakes on there for who thought that. Scott county took Fredrick Douglass to Overtime, Bell then was up by 30 in the first half. “Definitely weaker schedules” “tissue soft” … no schedule compares to HC probably in the state outside Great crossing, South has played tough teams, but the 4th and 5th best teams in the 13th route any other regions.

[Cactus Jack]

Is whitley for real? That’s a debate but they have won 13 in roll. How many teams can say that. Bell has beat 7 teams with winning records and 4 wins over ten win teams. Not a lot of cupcakes on there for who thought that. Scott county took Fredrick Douglass to Overtime, Bell then was up by 30 in the first half. “Definitely weaker schedules” “tissue soft” … no schedule compares to HC probably in the state outside Great crossing, South has played tough teams, but the 4th and 5th best teams in the 13th route any other regions.

That's a bold statement.

I'm all for Mountain basketball, but I don't know that you could combine the 13th through 16th and wind up with a set of teams that routs the 7th, 9th or 11th's.

[Gridiron_Raid]

Is whitley for real? That’s a debate but they have won 13 in roll. How many teams can say that. Bell has beat 7 teams with winning records and 4 wins over ten win teams. Not a lot of cupcakes on there for who thought that. Scott county took Fredrick Douglass to Overtime, Bell then was up by 30 in the first half. “Definitely weaker schedules” “tissue soft” … no schedule compares to HC probably in the state outside Great crossing, South has played tough teams, but the 4th and 5th best teams in the 13th route any other regions.

That's a bold statement.

I'm all for Mountain basketball, but I don't know that you could combine the 13th through 16th and wind up with a set of teams that routs the 7th, 9th or 11th's.

I’ve said 4th, 7th, 11th in other threads. I think the 9th is top heavy with cov cath and newport but i can see that opinion. But if you take the top ten of each region i’m saying the 13th is fourth toughest. The rest of the mountain regions are laughable.

This year, but definitely not other years, i might take a Corbin, Whitley, Bell, (who is 3,4,5 in any order) over the 3.4.5 of the 4th.

[Franchise]

Not sure how much stock to put into RPI, but Bell is #12 and Whitley #17 in the state.

[Cactus Jack]

Not sure how much stock to put into RPI, but Bell is #12 and Whitley #17 in the state.

Nothing against either of those teams (or any team individually), but RPI at this point in the season is going to be flawed due to the lack of data points and available information. I feel this is especially true for teams who've took early losses then played out of state competition (that isn't included in RPI & won't help "balance" their numbers), or for teams that have one or more lopsided margins that will skew the results.

We don't know the RPI formula, but by eyeballing some of the teams who grade really well, I do wonder if large margins of victory are either given too much weight (especially when correlated to a high overall winning percentage) and/or needs more time to self-correct.

Haven't seen Bell County or Whitley County and am definitely not trying to disparage them, but I don't know that anyone other than the RPI has them in "Top 15 in the State" discussions right now.

Bell County is currently at .66885.
Whitley County is currently at .64145.

It will be interesting to see what their RPIs are after they play one another.

[64SUR]

Thinking about going to this one .

[Gridiron_Raid]

Bell won 49-47. Bell is now 15-0 and will go to owensboro next week for the 2A tournament.

[Houndsmam1947]

Brad Sizemore coach of the year! In the state!

[fridaynightfights]

Brad Sizemore coach of the year! In the state!

going to be hilarious when he’s at region and Clay County is at home.

[Granny Bear]

I've watched Bell and Whitley play sports for more years that I care to admit. You NEVER look past these teams; especially in tournament play! If you DO look past them, you could very well find yourself and your team, in the loser's bracket.

[fridaynightfights]

I've watched Bell and Whitley play sports for more years that I care to admit.  You NEVER look past these teams; especially in tournament play!  If you DO look past them, you could very well find yourself and your team, in the loser's bracket.

In basketball I’d agree on Bell, but Whitley County has some of the worst basketball history in the region, they haven’t won a game at the region tournament since 1974, and they’ve only been to the region tourney one time in the last twenty years.

[SocratesKy]

Play somebody then lets talk about how good Bell County is. Middle of the pack team. Not rooting against them but teams that don't play good teams and have good records should not get a participation trophy. Prove yourself then come get your "atta boy!", until then it be best to keep head down and and focus on the next game which be Harlan County. If you take care of business against them, then you deserve it. Either way, you will know how good Bell County is after that game. Real Good, OK, or the record is 100% the result of a cupcake city schedule - find out the 9th.

[fridaynightfights]

Play somebody then lets talk about how good Bell County is. Middle of the pack team. Not rooting against them but teams that don't play good teams and have good records should not get a participation trophy.  Prove yourself then come get your "atta boy!", until then it be best to keep head down and and focus on the next game which be Harlan County. If you take care of business against them, then you deserve it. Either way, you will know how good Bell County is after that game.  Real Good, OK, or the record is 100% the result of a cupcake city schedule - find out the 9th.

They have no seniors, 1 jr, 2 soph, 2 freshmen, and a 7th grader in their main rotation. And everyone could see the two that play football wouldn’t be available for practice or games until at least Thanksgiving and it actually wound up being December. Who exactly would you suggest they have scheduled to start the season?

[Gridiron_Raid]

Play somebody then lets talk about how good Bell County is. Middle of the pack team. Not rooting against them but teams that don't play good teams and have good records should not get a participation trophy.  Prove yourself then come get your "atta boy!", until then it be best to keep head down and and focus on the next game which be Harlan County. If you take care of business against them, then you deserve it. Either way, you will know how good Bell County is after that game.  Real Good, OK, or the record is 100% the result of a cupcake city schedule - find out the 9th.

The only team in the region that has played more teams with winning records or at least 10 wins is Harlan County. Guess every team in the region is a cupcake?

[SocratesKy]

Play somebody then lets talk about how good Bell County is. Middle of the pack team. Not rooting against them but teams that don't play good teams and have good records should not get a participation trophy.  Prove yourself then come get your "atta boy!", until then it be best to keep head down and and focus on the next game which be Harlan County. If you take care of business against them, then you deserve it. Either way, you will know how good Bell County is after that game.  Real Good, OK, or the record is 100% the result of a cupcake city schedule - find out the 9th.

The only team in the region that has played more teams with winning records or at least 10 wins is Harlan County. Guess every team in the region is a cupcake?

Beat somebody. That's it. Look at the schedule and the teams, I don't care what the combined record is - that is cupcake city to anyone but a bell county homer. Again, no participation trophies. Harlan County is up next, the only legit team to this point. I'm not expecting a win, but if they make a game of it then you could START a conversation about them being somewhat of a legit team. If its not a game, then we see the true colors regardless of record. You gotta earn that respect!

[Gridiron_Raid]

Play somebody then lets talk about how good Bell County is. Middle of the pack team. Not rooting against them but teams that don't play good teams and have good records should not get a participation trophy.  Prove yourself then come get your "atta boy!", until then it be best to keep head down and and focus on the next game which be Harlan County. If you take care of business against them, then you deserve it. Either way, you will know how good Bell County is after that game.  Real Good, OK, or the record is 100% the result of a cupcake city schedule - find out the 9th.

The only team in the region that has played more teams with winning records or at least 10 wins is Harlan County. Guess every team in the region is a cupcake?

Beat somebody. That's it. Look at the schedule and the teams, I don't care what the combined record is - that is cupcake city to anyone but a bell county homer. Again, no participation trophies. Harlan County is up next, the only legit team to this point. I'm not expecting a win, but if they make a game of it then you could START a conversation about them being somewhat of a legit team. If its not a game, then we see the true colors regardless of record. You gotta earn that respect!

“no i don’t care if their opponents win pretty much every game other than Bell. I don’t care if they’re 16-0 something that nobody has done in this region in a while. I dont care what their opponents record is… They aren’t good cause I SAID SO!! And anyone who doubts me is wrong!”

Thanks for the ‘logical’ opinion

[SocratesKy]

Play somebody then lets talk about how good Bell County is. Middle of the pack team. Not rooting against them but teams that don't play good teams and have good records should not get a participation trophy.  Prove yourself then come get your "atta boy!", until then it be best to keep head down and and focus on the next game which be Harlan County. If you take care of business against them, then you deserve it. Either way, you will know how good Bell County is after that game.  Real Good, OK, or the record is 100% the result of a cupcake city schedule - find out the 9th.

The only team in the region that has played more teams with winning records or at least 10 wins is Harlan County. Guess every team in the region is a cupcake?

Beat somebody. That's it. Look at the schedule and the teams, I don't care what the combined record is - that is cupcake city to anyone but a bell county homer. Again, no participation trophies. Harlan County is up next, the only legit team to this point. I'm not expecting a win, but if they make a game of it then you could START a conversation about them being somewhat of a legit team. If its not a game, then we see the true colors regardless of record. You gotta earn that respect!

“no i don’t care if their opponents win pretty much every game other than Bell. I don’t care if they’re 16-0 something that nobody has done in this region in a while. I dont care what their opponents record is… They aren’t good cause I SAID SO!! And anyone who doubts me is wrong!”

Thanks for the ‘logical’ opinion

Hardly what i'm saying. To clarify again, the teams they have beaten are not good teams. There is no arguing that. Name the good teams they have beaten. You are solely relying on combined record of opponents.  Everyone else cares if each individual opponent is good. I said they are playing Harlan county and that alone is going to be their measuring stick because that is the only quality team that they will have played. I even said if they lose and have a close game then its logical say they are a good team.  You are obviously speaking from a Bell County homer perspective and no that is not logical.

[Gridiron_Raid]

Play somebody then lets talk about how good Bell County is. Middle of the pack team. Not rooting against them but teams that don't play good teams and have good records should not get a participation trophy.  Prove yourself then come get your "atta boy!", until then it be best to keep head down and and focus on the next game which be Harlan County. If you take care of business against them, then you deserve it. Either way, you will know how good Bell County is after that game.  Real Good, OK, or the record is 100% the result of a cupcake city schedule - find out the 9th.

The only team in the region that has played more teams with winning records or at least 10 wins is Harlan County. Guess every team in the region is a cupcake?

Beat somebody. That's it. Look at the schedule and the teams, I don't care what the combined record is - that is cupcake city to anyone but a bell county homer. Again, no participation trophies. Harlan County is up next, the only legit team to this point. I'm not expecting a win, but if they make a game of it then you could START a conversation about them being somewhat of a legit team. If its not a game, then we see the true colors regardless of record. You gotta earn that respect!

“no i don’t care if their opponents win pretty much every game other than Bell. I don’t care if they’re 16-0 something that nobody has done in this region in a while. I dont care what their opponents record is… They aren’t good cause I SAID SO!! And anyone who doubts me is wrong!”

Thanks for the ‘logical’ opinion

Hardly what i'm saying. To clarify again, the teams they have beaten are not good teams. There is no arguing that. Name the good teams they have beaten. You are solely relying on combined record of opponents.  Everyone else cares if each individual opponent is good. I said they are playing Harlan county and that alone is going to be their measuring stick because that is the only quality team that they will have played. I even said if they lose and have a close game then its logical say they are a good team.  You are obviously speaking from a Bell County homer perspective and no that is not logical.

i’ll say it one more time to clear it up, they have played more teams that have 10 wins by themselves and are +.500 wins by themselves than any other team in the region except Harlan County. Not all the teams grouped together, each individually.  The only teams that have a higher opponents win percentage not factoring in out of state in the 13th are Harlan County and South, who would be the only two teams that have had harder schedules than Bell so far and when healthy are the only teams i see beating bell in the arena.

[dodger]

I think Bell High has a good ballclub, but let's not act like they've played anyone in-state outside of the 2A regional that's particularly good. That schedule doesn't compare at all to Corbin playing Ashland, CAL, or Danville Christian.

Let's look at Bell's opponents outside of the 2A regional:
Out of state:
Daniel Boone 7-10
Tri Cities Christian 13-5 against very weak 1A schedule
Bishop England 11-6
Hilton Head Christian 6-7
Scottsboro Skyline 13-4 (most impressive win outside of Whitley)
Cumberland Gap 5-7
In-state:
Cordia 0-14
Lynn Camp 2-10
Buckhorn 3-11
Leslie County 7-6
Owsley County 3-12
Scott County 5-10

Not much meat on the bone with those wins. I'd love to see Bell High be a serious contender, but the jury is still out for me and lots of other folks until we see them beat some better teams.

[SocratesKy]

I think Bell High has a good ballclub, but let's not act like they've played anyone in-state outside of the 2A regional that's particularly good.  That schedule doesn't compare at all to Corbin playing Ashland, CAL, or Danville Christian. 

Let's look at Bell's opponents outside of the 2A regional:
Out of state:
Daniel Boone 7-10
Tri Cities Christian 13-5 against very weak 1A schedule
Bishop England 11-6
Hilton Head Christian 6-7
Scottsboro Skyline 13-4 (most impressive win outside of Whitley)
Cumberland Gap 5-7
In-state:
Cordia 0-14
Lynn Camp 2-10
Buckhorn 3-11
Leslie County 7-6
Owsley County 3-12
Scott County 5-10

Not much meat on the bone with those wins.  I'd love to see Bell High be a serious contender, but the jury is still out for me and lots of other folks until we see them beat some better teams.

100% correct. The proof of how great or not so great will come when they play Harlan Co. only a homer would see it otherwise.

[SocratesKy]

The only team in the region that has played more teams with winning records or at least 10 wins is Harlan County. Guess every team in the region is a cupcake?

Beat somebody. That's it. Look at the schedule and the teams, I don't care what the combined record is - that is cupcake city to anyone but a bell county homer. Again, no participation trophies. Harlan County is up next, the only legit team to this point. I'm not expecting a win, but if they make a game of it then you could START a conversation about them being somewhat of a legit team. If its not a game, then we see the true colors regardless of record. You gotta earn that respect!

“no i don’t care if their opponents win pretty much every game other than Bell. I don’t care if they’re 16-0 something that nobody has done in this region in a while. I dont care what their opponents record is… They aren’t good cause I SAID SO!! And anyone who doubts me is wrong!”

Thanks for the ‘logical’ opinion

Hardly what i'm saying. To clarify again, the teams they have beaten are not good teams. There is no arguing that. Name the good teams they have beaten. You are solely relying on combined record of opponents.  Everyone else cares if each individual opponent is good. I said they are playing Harlan county and that alone is going to be their measuring stick because that is the only quality team that they will have played. I even said if they lose and have a close game then its logical say they are a good team.  You are obviously speaking from a Bell County homer perspective and no that is not logical.

i’ll say it one more time to clear it up, they have played more teams that have 10 wins by themselves and are +.500 wins by themselves than any other team in the region except Harlan County. Not all the teams grouped together, each individually.  The only teams that have a higher opponents win percentage not factoring in out of state in the 13th are Harlan County and South, who would be the only two teams that have had harder schedules than Bell so far and when healthy are the only teams i see beating bell in the arena.

Still think they are a top team?

[Gridiron_Raid]

Beat somebody. That's it. Look at the schedule and the teams, I don't care what the combined record is - that is cupcake city to anyone but a bell county homer. Again, no participation trophies. Harlan County is up next, the only legit team to this point. I'm not expecting a win, but if they make a game of it then you could START a conversation about them being somewhat of a legit team. If its not a game, then we see the true colors regardless of record. You gotta earn that respect!

“no i don’t care if their opponents win pretty much every game other than Bell. I don’t care if they’re 16-0 something that nobody has done in this region in a while. I dont care what their opponents record is… They aren’t good cause I SAID SO!! And anyone who doubts me is wrong!”

Thanks for the ‘logical’ opinion

Hardly what i'm saying. To clarify again, the teams they have beaten are not good teams. There is no arguing that. Name the good teams they have beaten. You are solely relying on combined record of opponents.  Everyone else cares if each individual opponent is good. I said they are playing Harlan county and that alone is going to be their measuring stick because that is the only quality team that they will have played. I even said if they lose and have a close game then its logical say they are a good team.  You are obviously speaking from a Bell County homer perspective and no that is not logical.

i’ll say it one more time to clear it up, they have played more teams that have 10 wins by themselves and are +.500 wins by themselves than any other team in the region except Harlan County. Not all the teams grouped together, each individually.  The only teams that have a higher opponents win percentage not factoring in out of state in the 13th are Harlan County and South, who would be the only two teams that have had harder schedules than Bell so far and when healthy are the only teams i see beating bell in the arena.

Still think they are a top team?

Corbin trailed by 18 to Harlan County at one point, Bell 21 being the most. Two guys shooting over 35 percent from 3 went 0-8 combined. Outrebounded by 20. Is harlan county better, yes. But they are as high as #5 in the state in rankings. I can find them anywhere from 5 to 10. Just because you are outmatched by a top 5 team doesn’t mean you aren’t top 25. Will the game make them better and are they still gonna be in the region semis at minimum, yes.

[pjdoug]

I've watched Bell and Whitley play sports for more years that I care to admit.  You NEVER look past these teams; especially in tournament play!  If you DO look past them, you could very well find yourself and your team, in the loser's bracket.

In basketball I’d agree on Bell, but Whitley County has some of the worst basketball history in the region, they haven’t won a game at the region tournament since 1974, and they’ve only been to the region tourney one time in the last twenty years.

Whitley County is a program on the rise.

[HCS]

[/quote]
Corbin trailed by 18 to Harlan County at one point, Bell 21 being the most. Two guys shooting over 35 percent from 3 went 0-8 combined. Outrebounded by 20. Is harlan county better, yes. But they are as high as #5 in the state in rankings. I can find them anywhere from 5 to 10. Just because you are outmatched by a top 5 team doesn’t mean you aren’t top 25. Will the game make them better and are they still gonna be in the region semis at minimum, yes.
[/quote]

It was 71-46 with about 2 minutes left and Bell scored the last six points. I agree though that Bell missed quite a few shots they normally make.

[SocratesKy]

Corbin trailed by 18 to Harlan County at one point, Bell 21 being the most. Two guys shooting over 35 percent from 3 went 0-8 combined. Outrebounded by 20. Is harlan county better, yes. But they are as high as #5 in the state in rankings. I can find them anywhere from 5 to 10. Just because you are outmatched by a top 5 team doesn’t mean you aren’t top 25. Will the game make them better and are they still gonna be in the region semis at minimum, yes.
[/quote]

It was 71-46 with about 2 minutes left and Bell scored the last six points. I agree though that Bell missed  quite a few shots they normally make.
[/quote]

No, Bell is not a top team.