Final nominees for Mr. and Miss Basketball revealed

The boys’ 11th Region is so strong this season, it produced two Mr. Basketball candidates among the 18 nominees announced by the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation on Friday.

Paul Laurence Dunbar’s Darius Williams and Henry Clay’s Isaiah “Pun” Tisdale were each named to the ballot by virtue of being named co-Players of the Year in the 11th Region by the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches.

Every region player of the year earns a spot on the final ballot for Mr. and Miss Basketball, which will be emailed to coaches, members of the KABC and media members Friday afternoon and must be submitted by noon Feb. 26. The winners will be announced March 15 during a ceremony at the Lexington Center ahead of the boys’ Sweet Sixteen.

The 5th Region also produced two players of the year — Caverna’s Mason Faulkner, the state’s leading scorer at 35.4 ppg, and Taylor County’s Quentin Goodin, the favorite to take Mr. Basketball honors before the season got underway.

This year’s boys’ race is expected to be a two-man battle between Goodin, a Xavier signee, and Owen County star Carson Williams, who has signed with Northern Kentucky. Male standout Alex Cook and Newport Central Catholic’s Ben Weyer, both Bellarmine signees, should be in contention as well.

Wayne County’s Trey Blevins was awarded the 12th Region spot, leaving Mercer County — which was undefeated until a couple of weeks ago — without a candidate for the state’s top individual honor.

Seventeen girls’ players are up for Miss Basketball honors. Franklin County star Malaka Frank, a Western Kentucky signee, earned the 11th Region Player of the Year spot.

As with the boys’ side, the race is expected to come down to two finalists: Elizabethtown’s Erin Boley, a national player of the year candidate who signed with Notre Dame, and Jenkins’ Whitney Creech, a WKU signee who became the first Kentucky high school player to score 5,000 points.

If Boley and either Goodin or Faulkner were to win their respective awards, it would be the second time both honors have gone to players from the same region. Rex Chapman (Apollo) and Kris Miller (Owensboro Catholic) swept the crowns for the 3rd Region in 1986.

East Jessamine’s Emma Young, who has signed with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and led the Jaguars to their first 20-win season, was recognized as the 12th Region Player of the Year. Anderson County’s Kaci Currens, averaging 18.1 points, was named 8th Region Player of the Year.

The 9th Region produced two girls’finalists: Ryle’s Mallory Schwartz and Newport Central Catholic’s Ansley Davenport.

This story was originally published February 19, 2016 at 6:25 AM with the headline "Final nominees for Mr. and Miss Basketball revealed."