Top 10: The 11th Region’s best boys’ basketball teams for the 2021-22 season
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2021-22 High School Basketball Preview
The Herald-Leader/Kentucky.com is publishing season preview stories leading up to the start of the 2021-22 high school basketball season on Monday, Nov. 29. You can read everything we’ve published to this point by clicking on this drop-down list. All of the stories are also available in our print and e-editions.
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The week before Madison Central began its five-game winning streak on the way to last season’s 44th District and 11th Region titles, the Indians lost to Covington Catholic by 29 points — at home.
In fact, Madison Central didn’t look particularly impressive in home losses to Lexington Catholic and North Laurel or at Pulaski County a few weeks earlier.
But as the saying goes, “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”
And after shooting a ridiculous 70.5% from the field with 15 three-pointers in a 101-97 win over a highly rated Lexington Catholic team in the region’s first round, the Indians finished pretty well.
Madison Central Coach Allen Feldhaus Jr. knows this year’s squad undoubtedly will start slow, too, especially with several of his expected players still participating in playoff football past Thanksgiving.
“We struggled early in the year, because we had three starters out for about a month because of COVID. And when they started to come back we were out of shape. Finally, toward the end of the year, we got our conditioning back and hit our stride at the right time,” Feldhaus said. “This year when we do get our football players, it’s going to be like starting all over again. I’m sure we’re going to struggle until we can get those guys acclimated.”
Regardless, in a survey of the region’s coaches, Madison Central received nine No. 1 votes from the 15 coaches participating. Paul Laurence Dunbar came in second with three No. 1 nods, ahead of Frederick Douglass with two and Lexington Catholic with one. There are 19 teams in the 11th.
“It’s a tossup,” Feldhaus said of his chances against his 11th Region competitors. “I like my team just because we are the defending 11th Region champs and that’s what (the players) are counting on doing again. That’s what their goals are. We want to repeat.”
Dunbar begins the season with first-year coach Murray Garvin, but without standout forward Tim Hall Jr., who transferred to an out-of-state prep school for his senior year.
Other new coaches this year include Champ Ligon Jr., who returns to Bryan Station more than a decade after he led the school to a No. 1 ranking with future pro Shelvin Mack in the fold. Joining him as first-year coaches are Berea’s Eric Fields, Frankfort’s Butch Jointer, Frankfort Christian’s David Crutchfield and Franklin County’s Jonathan Moore.
Here’s a breakdown of the 11th Region’s best teams for the 2021-22 season and how they were rated, according to our Herald-Leader preseason coaches’ survey which asked them to rank their preseason top 10.
1. Madison Central
The Indians return two double-digit scorers off the team that finished 21-10 with the district and region titles. Jaylen Davis (14.2 ppg), a 6-5 junior, and Will Hardin (16.2 ppg), a 6-4 senior, both shot better than 40% from three-point range.
“We’re similar to last year. We’re not really that athletic, but we’ve just got smart kids that can shoot — we’ve got four guys who can step out on the floor and shoot the three,” Feldhaus said. “And we are long. We’re going to start 6-7, 6-6, 6-5 and 6-4. We’re going to mix it up and try some zones, because I can’t afford to get in foul trouble.”
Robert Todd, a 6-7 senior transfer from Rowan County, averaged 12.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game for the Vikings and should step into a starting role at center.
Meanwhile, another transfer, Hagan Harrison, a 6-1 junior standout from Montgomery County, has yet to be declared eligible to play basketball even though he’s been the Indians’ starting quarterback nearly all fall. Harrison is a reclassified junior and will be able to play junior varsity if the KHSAA doesn’t clear him. The Indians will also be missing Kenyatta Hardge, a sophomore power forward who provided valuable minutes off the bench last season. Hardge suffered a season-ending knee injury playing football and won’t recover in time for basketball this year.
“We’re not going to have the depth that I thought we’d have initially, but we’re going to put five pretty good ones out there, still,” Feldhaus said.
2. Paul Laurence Dunbar
New head coach Murray Garvin takes over a team that went 13-6 and won the 43rd District title despite not having any seniors last season.
Garvin expects a “breakout year” from Nick Spalding (16.7 ppg), a 6-1 junior guard, who returns with his knack for clutch three-point shooting. Powerful forwards Lionel Kumwimba, a 6-8 senior, and Shyheim Drew, a 6-6 senior, make Dunbar particularly intimidating in the post, while Max VanDyke, a 6-1 junior guard, adds another perimeter threat with his 42.4% three-point accuracy.
Though Garvin acknowledges the Bulldogs will have to adapt to life without district tourney MVP Tim Hall Jr., he feels he has more than enough weapons to contend.
“We will be one of the best perimeter shooting teams in the region,” Garvin said. “Nick Spalding will be at the top of everyone’s scouting report but we also have other guys that have made strides this offseason. … I feel we are up to the challenge and looking forward to the journey.”
3. Lexington Catholic
Expectations don’t diminish at LexCath even after the loss of their first Mr. Basketball, Ben Johnson, to graduation.
Reece Potter, a 7-foot junior center, has begun drawing big-time recruiting interest and has been “improving every day,” Coach Brandon Salsman said.
Jack Gohmann (12.3 ppg), a 6-4 senior, had another spectacular season at quarterback for the Knights and was the basketball team’s second-leading scorer last year. He takes on point guard duties this season.
Hudson Sparks (8 ppg), a 6-5 junior forward, Blake Busson, a 6-0 senior, and Brody Turner, a 6-3 sophomore, figure to step up in a big way this year.
“This will be one of the deepest teams we have had,” Salsman said. “Our sophomore class is very deep and talented. They will push the older guys for minutes on the court.”
4. Frederick Douglass
Like Lexington Catholic, the Broncos, who won the 42nd District title and finished the year 19-2, must replace a dynamic scoring guard (Dashawn Jackson, now at EKU).
But they return one of the best inside-out combos in the state with 5-11 point guard Kai Simpson and 6-7 forward Tyson Barrett. Simpson averaged 12.4 points per game last season while Barrett went for 11.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
Coach Jason Moseley also expects contributions from Shemar O’Roy-Ford, a 6-7 senior center, and 5-5 freshman Armelo Boone. Baseball standouts Thomas Howard, a Louisville commit, and Leighton Harris, a Kentucky commit, help round out the roster.
“We just want to compete every night and hope our defense will allow us to create easy scoring opportunities,” Moseley said.
5. Henry Clay
Aziel Blackwell (18.9 ppg), a 6-2 fifth-year senior, returns to a backcourt Coach Daniel Brown believes is “one of the best backcourts in the region and maybe the state.”
He’s joined by Kanye Henderson (13 ppg), a 6-2 senior, and coach’s son Konlin Brown (7.5 ppg), a 5-10 junior, who made 35.9% of his three-pointers a year ago.
The Blue Devils also pick up Brenden Wicker, a 6-8 senior transfer from Georgia, and expect senior Sincere Madison, and juniors Mason Hawkins and Kyan Miller to make an impact.
“We have a veteran group as well as a deep bench, so that is a plus for sure,” Brown said. “We need to shoot the ball consistently and be a really good rebounding team to reach our goals of winning the district, region and state.”
6. Madison Southern
The Eagles hope Nate Turner, a 6-6 senior lost to an ACL injury last season, returns to form. He averaged 11.1 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game as a sophomore.
Jay Rose (12 ppg), a 6-4 forward, ranks among the top players in the region and is one of three players taking advantage of Senate Bill 128 to repeat their sophomore year. He’s joined by brothers Braden and Zach Hudson, two players who “can really shoot it and are scrappy,” Coach Austin Newton said.
Madison also features junior center Brett Erslan (7.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg), a 6-6 junior who checks in at 300 pounds. Nicknamed “The Mountain,” he has “great hands, great feet and can dunk,” Newton said.
“We feel from a talent standpoint, this Madison Southern team could have the most potential of any team here in a long time,” Newton said.
7. Great Crossing
The Warhawks skew young with six freshmen and two sophomores on the varsity roster, but Coach Steve Page says his top eight players return from their 11-12 campaign of 2020-21, including seniors Carson Walls (11.2 ppg) and Tye Schureman (6.2 ppg).
The freshmen include 6-10 center Malachi Moreno, who popped for 33 points in a game as an eighth-grader, already has an offer from Eastern Kentucky (where older brother Michael Moreno plays) and has “unlimited upside,” according to Page.
Three freshmen, Junius Burrell (11.3 ppg), Vince Dawson (8.4 ppg) and Christian Martin (6.1 ppg), opted to take advantage of SB 128, which means they’ll develop and graduate alongside Moreno. Shrewd.
“We have a nice young core to go with some battle-tested seniors,” Page said. “If the youngsters grow up this year, we could be pretty good.”
8. Bryan Station
Coach Champ Ligon Jr. built the Defenders into a team that earned a No. 1 ranking in the mid-to-late 2000s and stated when he got the job back in May that he believes he can do it again.
“It’s just about getting in there and grinding every day until you find that success you want,” Ligon told the Herald-Leader six months ago.
The foundation begins with J’Marious “Petey” Lindsay (14.6 ppg), a 6-0 senior and the team’s leading scorer last year. Back too, should be leading rebounder Terik Mulder (4.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg), a 6-5 senior, who had his football season cut short due to an injury.
Jaden Biggers, a 6-6 junior, Andrew Cairel, a 6-0 senior, Jaden Green, a 6-1 senior and 6-0 sophomore Trenton Cutwright, who had a breakout year as Station’s football quarterback, all figure into Ligon’s plans.
“We play a very tough schedule and we won’t have several of our top players out until the football season ends … so we may start out slow but I think we can be pretty good by the end of the season if not sooner,” Ligon said.
9. Scott County
The Cardinals only lost a pair of seniors from last season’s uncharacteristic 8-11 campaign.
“With the type season we had last year, lots of players got experience with COVID protocols and a couple of injuries during the year,” Coach Tim Glenn said.
Returning players include three of their top five scorers, 6-2 senior Isaiah Haynes (11.5 ppg), 6-4 junior Nick Mosby (10.9 ppg) and 6-3 senior Jeremy Hamilton (7.4 ppg), a football standout who also led Scott County in rebounding (5.8 rpg).
“We have the potential to defend like the Scott County teams of old with pressure defense and toughness,” Glenn said. “I really like the scrap this group has.”
10. Frankfort
Edward “Butch” Jointer takes over the Panthers this season after three years as an assistant for Chris O’Bryan, who stepped down to spend more time with family.
Frankfort lost standout forward Jackson Twombly to transfer, but returns juniors Jordan Blythe (15.4 ppg) and Caleb Hack (12.8 ppg) along with senior point guard Charlie Ellis (4.7 ppg).
“We will shock a lot of people this year,” Jointer said. “Once we buy in on the defensive side of the ball, the offense will come. Our scrappiness on defense will set us apart from a lot of teams.”
Rounding out
The rest of the order of votes: Lexington Christian, Tates Creek, Lafayette, Western Hills, Sayre, Franklin County, Model, Frankfort Christian, Berea.
2021-22 Season Preview
This is the fifth of eight stories the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com is publishing in the coming days previewing the 2021-22 high school boys’ and girls’ basketball seasons, which are scheduled to tip off Nov. 29.
This story was originally published November 26, 2021 at 8:36 AM.
