High school notebook: Paris, Bourbon revel in rare postseason success
Bourbon County and Paris have suffered through a lot of brutal basketball winters for more than a decade, so they were overdue the warm glow that accompanied the boys' 40th District semifinals Tuesday night.
In the opening game, host Bourbon County ended a 23-game losing streak to Montgomery County by upsetting the Indians 67-65.The Colonels' fans stormed the court to celebrate their team earning a trip to the 10th Region Tournament for the first time since 2005.
In the nightcap, Paris ended a 26-game losing streak to Clark County by upsetting the Cardinals 68-49. The Greyhounds' fans stormed the court to celebrate their team earning a trip to the 10th Region Tournament for the first time since 2002.
"Oh my goodness, it was incredible," Bourbon County Coach Nick Sosby said. "Our game was exciting, then watching Paris beat Clark County, I was thinking something magical is going on here. I mean, wow, Paris and Bourbon both going to the region."
Paris Coach Terence Brooks, a former Greyhounds star, confessed he got caught up in the atmosphere and even felt happy for bitter rival Bourbon County.
The Colonels certainly have had it rough. The win over Montgomery County nudged their record to 9-18, which means they're guaranteed a ninth consecutive losing season. Sosby, who took over in mid-December when Bob Eades stepped down after only a few months on the job, is Bourbon County's fifth coach in four years.
Sosby, who played for the Colonels a decade ago, has preached a message that has apparently taken root. "We've got great kids, and I told them that if they stayed positive something good would happen. And it did." Seniors Landon Sexton, Austin Jones and Zach Treiblos combined for 50 points against Montgomery County.
Brooks, in his second year as Paris coach, has guided the Greyhounds to a 17-9 record, their first winning season since 2004. He wasn't surprised they beat Clark County. "I knew when we practiced Monday the kids were focused. I didn't know we'd play as well as we did, but I was pretty confident we'd win." Senior Jamaal Washington, sophomore Jekobi Wells and junior Koebe Garrard combined for 53 points in Tuesday's win.
Paris defeated Bourbon County 53-50 in the district title game Thursday night.
■ Voting for Mr. and Miss Basketball, which ends Friday, has been brisk, according to Jennifer Hunt of the sponsoring Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation. Hunt said this week that almost 300 coaches and media had voted for the awards.
The selection process for Mr. and Miss Basketball was changed this year, but it wasn't improved. Yes, being able to vote online increased participation, but there were way too many candidates on the ballot. Last year there were seven finalists each for Mr. and Miss Basketball. In 2013 and 2012, there were five finalists for each award. This year there were 19 candidates for Mr. Basketball, and 18 for Miss Basketball. They included the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches' players of the year in each of the 16 regions. That's absurd. Not every region has a legitimate Mr. or Miss Basketball candidate, and anybody who thinks they do doesn't know a basketball from a snowball.
There should have been another round of voting to pare the list to a handful of finalists. By giving coaches a chance to play provincial politics and vote for one of their own instead of the best player in the state risks corrupting the process. "I don't think so," Hunt said. "I don't think it will change the outcome of who will be Mr. and Miss Basketball if we have five candidates or 20 candidates."
Even though the list of candidates was expanded almost threefold, not all of the best players were included. The most glaring omission was Hopkinsville star Jaqualis Matlock, rated one of the top five seniors in the state in the preseason and a virtual lock to be first-team all-state. Henderson County's David Simmons was voted the KABC's 2nd Region player of the year over Matlock. Fine. But Matlock should have been put on the Mr. Basketball ballot, too. "I think it's unfair there are 19 guys on the ballot, and Jaqualis isn't one of them," Hoptown Coach Tim Haworth said.
Voting for Mr. and Miss Basketball should extend through the state tournaments. That was the case when Dominique Hawkins of Madison Central and Anthony Hickey of Christian County won Mr. Basketball honors after they led their teams to the state title.
Instead, the voting concludes this week, and the winners will be announced on March 17, the night before the boys' Sweet Sixteen, at a banquet in the Bluegrass Ballroom at Lexington Center. All 37 candidates will be recognized. Let's hope at the end of the long evening we have deserving Mr. and Basketball winners.
■ Basketball, like life, isn't always fair. Especially for boys' basketball teams in the 42nd and 43rd districts, which had three semifinals between top 25 teams: No. 11 Lafayette beat No. 23 Lexington Christian; No. 12 Lexington Catholic beat No. 14 Paul Laurence Dunbar; No. 22 Henry Clay beat No. 20 Scott County. Most top 25 teams have cupcake semifinals to qualify for the region. None of Dave Cantrall's top 10 teams played anybody in the top 100 in their semifinals: No. 1 Ballard beat No. 121 Louisville Christian 77-65; No. 2 Trinity beat No. 126 Atherton 73-30; No. 3 Newport Central Catholic beat No. 181 Highlands 67-28; No. 4 Knott County Central beat No. 236 Jenkins 74-27; No. 5 Taylor County beat No. 161 Campbellsville 89-53; No. 6 Henderson County is in a three-team district and had a bye into the finals; No. 7 Hopkinsville played No. 242 Fort Campbell on Thursday night; No. 8 Warren Central beat No. 134 Warren East 96-58; No. 9 Wayne County is in a three-team district and had a bye into the finals; No. 10 Mason County beat No. 205 St. Patrick 74-43.
■ Madison Central's boys hold the state record for most consecutive district titles with 18. It will shoot for No. 19 Friday against Model. Madison Central almost had its streak snapped Tuesday, but escaped 70-62 in overtime against Madison Southern in the 44th semifinals. How's this for an oddity: the last time Madison Central didn't win the district was in 1995 when it lost in the finals to Madison Southern 70-62 in OT. Madison Central has qualified for the 11th Region Tournament for 30 years in a row.
■ Defending 11th Region boys' champ Scott County's loss to Henry Clay in the 42nd semifinals meant Billy Hicks' Cardinals won't play in a region tournament for the first time since 2003. They were in the 8th Region then, and lost to Grant County in the 32nd District semifinals.
■ Defending 1st Region boys' champ McCracken County lost to Paducah St. Mary 62-57 in the 2nd District semifinals. Two-time defending 8th Region champ South Oldham lost to North Oldham 68-61 in the 29th semifinals. The only girls' defending region champ to be eliminated from the playoffs is Danville, which lost in the district semifinals to Boyle County and won't be in the 12th Region Tournament.
■ Leslie County's Katie Moore has broken the state records for career free throws made and attempted (1,128 of 1,412). Highlands' Jaime Walz's records (1,121 of 1,393) stood for 19 years. Leslie County (23-4) played Perry Central in the 54th District finals Thursday night.
■ Sayre's 6-foot-3 senior Gabby Bowie finished her career with the third-most blocked shots in state history. Bowie, daughter of former UK star Sam Bowie, had 689 blocks. Only Jackson County's Sarah Elliott (821) and Fern Creek's Teonia McCune (741) had more. Bowie also had 1,801 points and 1,312 rebounds. Sayre Coach Scotty Sutton said Bowie doesn't plan on playing college basketball.
■ Jenkins junior Whitney Creech had 40 points and 19 rebounds in her season finale Wednesday night, a loss to Knott Central in the 53rd District semifinals. Creech averaged 42.0 points and 11.6 rebounds this season. She led the state in scoring for the third year in a row. She has 3,851 career points, fourth-most among girls in state history, and she has another year to challenge for the top spot. Creech scored 1,050 points this season. If she matches that as a senior, she would come close to Jaime Walz's record of 4,948.
■ Former Tates Creek coach Nolan Barger brought to my attention that I left Vince Taylor off a list of Lexington boys' high school players who scored at least 50 points in a game. Taylor had 52 for Tates Creek against Jessamine County in February 1978, despite fouling out early in the fourth quarter. Taylor went on to play at Duke, and for one season in the NBA with the New York Knicks.
■ Merle Kidwell is out as boys' basketball coach at Russell. Kidwell had an 84-125 record in seven years. Before that he won 113 games in five years as coach of Russell's girls.
■ Harrison County has named Neil Furnish its new football coach. Furnish, a Harrison County graduate (class of 2000), was an assistant at Bourbon County the last three years. He replaces Jim Carr, who had a 4-29 record in three seasons, including an 0-11 mark last fall.
This story was originally published February 26, 2015 at 7:11 PM with the headline "High school notebook: Paris, Bourbon revel in rare postseason success."