‘Learn as we go.’ New coaches trying to turn around Tates Creek and Dunbar boys basketball
Lexington boys high school basketball has two of Kentucky’s best teams with No. 3 Frederick Douglass and No. 5 Bryan Station, both legitimate threats out of the 42nd District to dethrone second-ranked defending 11th Region champion Great Crossing in a few weeks.
In other parts of town, success isn’t measured so much in wins and losses as it is by the small steps it takes to turn a losing team into a winner.
Progress can be halting. It can be maddening. But it can be had.
Tates Creek took some of those small steps Thursday and got an 85-59 win at 43rd District rival Paul Laurence Dunbar.
Both the Commodores (9-11, 2-3) and the Bulldogs (2-17, 0-5) have endured an unfortunate string of losing seasons.
Tates Creek turned to former Pendleton County and Ryle coach Keaton Belcher to right the ship. Dunbar looked to George Baker, one of its legendary players, to return the program to its glory days.
Tates Creek staying in it
“Our record doesn’t indicate how much we’ve improved,” Belcher said after Tates Creek used a 24-7 scoring run in the third quarter to break away from the Bulldogs. His team trailed 21-15 after one period and led 38-36 at halftime. “We played in a lot of close games against some really good teams. We took (No. 10) Clark County and Lexington Catholic down to the wire on our home court and had a chance to win.”
The Commodores endured a seven-game losing streak this month that included an 80-52 loss at 43rd District leader Lexington Catholic just 10 days after nearly pulling an upset against the Knights in a 59-58 defeat.
Stephen Franklin, a junior guard who led four players in double figures with 20 points against Dunbar, said he and his teammates took the lessons they learned in their losses and applied them Thursday. Tom Haubenreich added 19 points. A.J. Slaughter and Josh Pinkelton scored 13 each.
“We learned that we’ve got to come out in the third quarter and play extremely well,” Franklin said. “And we’ve got to come out a lot faster and a lot better in the first half. We came out slow tonight, but we ended up picking it up.”
Tates Creek hasn’t had a winning season since it went 17-14 in 2019-20. That year the Commodores stunned 44th District champion Madison Central in the first round of the 11th Region Tournament before falling to eventual champion Scott County. They haven’t made a region tournament since and won only four games last year.
“That’s low-key why I wanted the job,” Belcher said “I wanted to take a four-win team and see if we can be competitive with folks. And to a degree, we’ve done that. Now, our losing record probably doesn’t show that, but the 43rd District is, right now, is competitive enough for us where we have a chance now.”
The Commodores had a number of doubters in the preseason. They’ve already overshot those low expectations.
“We were picked 18th or 19th in the region and fifth out of five teams in the district in preseason, according to ‘Cats’ Pause.’ So we knew it was going to be an uphill battle,” Belcher said. “We’re not perfect, but we’ve made great strides.”
An automatic berth into the district semifinals as the No. 2 or 3 seed is within Tates Creek’s reach with three regular season district games left.
“Our team goal going to this year to be the one, two or three seed in our district to give ourselves a chance to make the regional tournament. That’s a big deal for us,” Belcher said. “If we can avoid that four-five (seed) play-in game ... that would be crucial for us.”
Relentless optimism at Dunbar
Dunbar’s Baker has had a larger struggle turning around the Bulldogs.
“We’re young. We have one kid, Clayton Hilt — who played his butt off tonight — who played varsity ball last year,” Baker said. “I don’t use that as an excuse, but I know the reality of what’s going on.”
Amid its 2-17 season are a pair of one-point losses and close games against district rivals Lexington Christian and Lafayette.
“Typically, we get beat on turnovers, offensive rebounds and not consistent effort,” Baker said. So I tell the boys all the time … ‘Let’s learn as we go, whether we lose about 30, we lose by four, we win by two. It does not matter. Let’s learn as we go.”
Against Tates Creek on Thursday, Dunbar held the lead nearly the entire first half. Hilt scored 12 points in the first two periods, all on 3-pointers. Sophomore forward Asher Horn held the team lead for the game with 22 points.
“My biggest job is to not let them see me be discouraged. They have to see me be upbeat, see me be positive. They need to know I believe in them, and I tell them that every single day,” Baker said. “Now, when I go home, I might throw some things. I might have some broken furniture. That’s a possibility.”
Baker praised his players’ attitudes and willingness to work, and he believes they are building a foundation for future success.
“We’re going to look down the line in three or four years, and we’ll be one of the best teams in the city,” Baker said. “I think we’ll be one of the best teams in the city next year.”
Baker is Dunbar’s third coach in three seasons. The Bulldogs last made it to the 11th Region Tournament in 2022 under Murray Garvin, now the head coach at Douglass.
The year before, the Bulldogs knocked off then-No. 1 Lexington Catholic to win a district title under longtime coach Scott Chalk, who retired that year. Chalk coached Dunbar to the Boys’ Sweet 16 title in 2016. Dunbar had great success during Baker’s playing days, too. He was a sophomore when Dunbar win its third of four region crowns in 1997.
Basketball can be a cyclical thing, Baker noted. Dunbar’s time will come around again.
“All you can do in points like this is just keep teaching these kids,” he said. “I would like to get to the point where we’re consistently a powerhouse. That’s my goal. But you can’t be a powerhouse, you can’t be successful until you walk through some fire. That’s what we’re doing right now.”
