High school notebook: Let Miss Basketball candidates stand on their own merit

The race for Miss Basketball was settled before the season got underway, at least in some folks’ minds.

Many believe that Erin Boley, perhaps the most complete girls’ player to ever put on a Kentucky high school uniform, is a shoo-in to become the award’s 41st recipient. The 6-foot-2 Elizabethtown star has posted top-dollar numbers in her best categories (25 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 61.8 field-goal percentage) while opening up her game from behind the arc (she’s shooting 52.1 percent on three-pointers after connecting on only 35.8 percent a season before). She’s among 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy, awarded to the nation’s top high schooler, and is ranked as the fifth-best player … in the nation.

Whitney Creech, the small-town sensation who’s scored at a record clip to become the state’s all-time leading scorer, is trying to play David. The 5-foot-9 pride of Jenkins leads the nation at 50.9 points per game, a mark that would be third-best in U.S. girls’ history, while grabbing a state-best 14.3 rebounds per game. She’s signed with Western Kentucky, joining former Perry County Central star Kendall Noble to bring a bit more Eastern Kentucky seasoning to Bowling Green.

Those firmly in Boley’s camp point to her national accolades and E-town’s two consecutive trips to the Sweet Sixteen in addition to her outstanding numbers. The Panthers’ success this season against a brutal schedule — and a likely third trip to the state tournament — has only reaffirmed their stance. Those facts should stand strongly on their own to build a killer case for Boley.

But, a lot of those same folks insist on tearing down Creech to help bolster Boley: “She wouldn’t put up those kind of numbers if Jenkins played anybody. Boley would be smashing the record if they switched teams. Creech’s team isn’t good.”

They surely won’t acknowledge these truths: Elizabethtown is much closer to the state’s best basketball programs than is Jenkins, whose population is about 28,000 fewer and whose median income is significantly lower than E-town’s. Boley has played with multiple Division I prospects throughout her career, including this season, which one imagines has played a role in her team’s success.

The Elizabethtown standout would likely own the state scoring record if she had switched spots with Creech, but I’d also guess that Jenkins’ six-deep rotation would still have a hard time coming up with victories. Is E-town still a Sweet Sixteen threat with Creech and without Boley? I’d wager yes. It’s as stupid to discredit Creech for being born in Letcher County as it is to rip Boley for being the daughter of a Division I basketball player (her father, Scott Boley, was an all-state player at LaRue County before starring at Western Kentucky University).

Both Boley and Creech are driven athletes whose personalities shine off the court as much as their skills do on it, and either would be a deserving wearer of the Miss Basketball crown. Folks should let their games do the talking and stop trying to play down the performances of girls who have yet to dance at their senior prom.

Mr. Basketball race heating up

After a slew of transfers left the state, Taylor County’s Quentin Goodin entered the season as the favorite to win this season’s Mr. Basketball honors.

He was not a presumptive runaway thanks to the presence of Owen County big man Carson Williams, who’s averaging 26.1 points and 10.7 rebounds. The Rebels were 26-3 including a perfect 16-0 mark against 8th Region competition entering Thursday’s game against Oldham County. Williams, a Northern Kentucky signee, most likely earned the respect of many voters thanks to a head-to-head against Taylor County in the King of the Bluegrass in which the Rebels prevailed 75-63.

Goodin, ranked as the nation’s 91st-best player by ESPN, hasn’t slacked as he’s averaged 22.7 points and 8.4 boards, both higher than a season ago. Doubt settled in for some as the Cardinals got out to a .500 start through 14 games, but they’ve since gone 12-2 and are playing their best basketball headed into the postseason. As is Goodin, who followed up a triple-double in a win over then-No. 1 Paul Laurence Dunbar with a quadruple-double — 14 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and 10 steals — in only three quarters against Nelson County on Tuesday.

Not to be discounted are local standouts Isaiah “Pun” Tisdale (Henry Clay) and Darius Williams (Paul Laurence Dunbar). Both teams have been fixtures in the top 10 this season and are ranked inside the top three entering the postseason behind Covington Catholic. The 11th Region Tournament field figures to be tougher than the statewide bracket; now it could contain two Mr. Basketball finalists.

Male’s Alex Cook (17.3 ppg, 9.1 rpg) and Newport Central Catholic’s Ben Weyer (21.3 ppg, 11.3 rpg) will join forces at Bellarmine next season and tout strong résumés for the award as well. Not to mention Mason Faulkner’s state-best 35.4 ppg for Caverna. Or Tyrik Edwards leading Christian County to a 20-0 record against in-state competition.

We’re in for a fun finish.

Milestones

▪ Two black head coaches faced off for the first time in 16th Region history last Friday when Fleming County, led by Lamont Taylor, hosted Russell, guided by Jason Strader. Taylor played for the Panthers in the late ’80s/early ’90s while Strader starred at Ashland Blazer about the same time. Fleming County won 63-37.

“Leading up to the game, we both were just trying to win a basketball game. When we shook hands afterward and hugged, that’s when reality set in,” Strader told The Ledger Indepedent in Maysville. “I was the losing coach and hope we played better, but as my dad told me Saturday morning, there’s things that are bigger than the game. That really hit me.”

▪ Wayne County senior Trey Blevins was named the 12th Region Player of the Year and a Mr. Basketball finalist, the latest honors for the three-sport standout. He’s been the Cardinals’ starting point guard since eighth grade and has eclipsed 2,600 points and 725 assists in his career, both second all-time at the school.

Blevins has been on the school’s golf team since he was in fourth grade and led the school to only its second day-two round at the state tournament this season. He’s been a shortstop and pitcher for the baseball team since seventh grade and holds school records for the most hits, runs scored and stolen bases.

Oh, he also has a weighted GPA of 4.13, putting him on track to be Wayne County’s valedictorian. Not bad.

▪ McCreary Central star Kaylee Cotton reached 3,000 career points in the Raiders’ loss at East Jessamine last Friday. The senior, who’s committed to Lipscomb, became the 24th girls’ player in state history to hit that mark (that count includes Whitney Creech, Erin Boley and Caverna’s Madison Faulkner, the latter two reaching 3,000 points earlier this season).

▪ Mason Faulkner joined his sister in Caverna’s 3,000-point club after dropping 42 against Campbellsville in the Colonels’ 65-44 win at home Monday.

▪ Anderson County Coach Glen Drury earned his 500th win when the Bearcats defeated Simon Kenton 66-52 last Friday. Drury is the ninth active head coach to reach that mark.

▪ Robertson County sophomore Mason Burden scored his 1,000th point in the Black Devils’ loss at Model last Friday. He’s averaging 22.5 points and 7.2 rebounds.

▪ Savannah Gregory scored 38 points in Allen County-Scottsville’s 65-44 win over Warren Central, the fourth-highest girls’ total in school history. The Patriots are 23-3 and the only Western Kentucky team to have defeated No. 8 Bowling Green this season.

▪ Presentation’s Dara Jackson made a layup with 1.2 seconds left to lift Presentation over Louisville Holy Cross 58-57. The Toppers, 15-13 entering Thursday, have won three of their last four games.

▪ Kaleb Britt, a senior at Warren East, joined the 1,000-point club and moved into 10th place on the school’s all-time scoring list against Bowling Green on Saturday.

Locals making noise

▪ Former Tates Creek and Louisville football player Pete Nochta was named Louisville’s director of on-campus recruiting on Wednesday, a month after it was revealed he was cancer-free following a battle with Stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma the previous year.

Nochta was a member of the Cardinals’ 2007 Orange Bowl team and coached tight ends at the school before most recently working for TEKsystems, a technology staffing and services company.

▪ Daniel Kiesling, who starred at Henry Clay and now plays at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, was named an Academic All-District honoree last week by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Kiesling, a 4.0 student pursuing his master’s degree in mechanical engineering, now has a shot at being named an Academic All-American. He’s averaging 10.3 points, five rebounds and 1.3 assists for the Eagles, an NCAA Division II team.

Etc.

▪ Condolences to the family, friends and fans of Owen Hauck, who died Wednesday morning. He was 88.

Hauck coached football at Highlands and Boone County, winning a state title with the Bluebirds in 1964. He retired with a career record of 284-130-4.

▪ Mason Gooch, an all-state linebacker from Montgomery County, signed to play football at Gallaudet University on Thursday.

Gallaudet, a private school for the deaf and hard of hearing located in Washington, D.C., plays at the NCAA Division III level. It is perhaps best known as the place where the football huddle originated, when quarterback Paul D. Hubbard realized opponents were stealing the team’s hand signals and began using the strategy to call plays in the early 1890s.

▪ Iroquois, which won the girls’ state championship in 2009, chose to forfeit the remainder of its regular season and won’t participate in the 22nd District Tournament. The Raiders began the year with 18 players but their roster was whittled to five by January after a slew of injuries, academic problems and job conflicts, the Courier-Journal reported. First-year coach Greg Schackert intends to stay at Iroquois and play at the varsity level next season.

This story was originally published February 19, 2016 at 6:24 AM with the headline "High school notebook: Let Miss Basketball candidates stand on their own merit."