Pikeville is the defending district champs and have an outstanding backcourt duo with Ethan Rowe and Will Branham.
Shelby Valley is the defending 15th Region champs and have most of their team returning including 6 foot 11 inch center Cody Belter. The Wildcats are youthful, talented and, with Belter’s size, intimidating.
East Ridge brings the unknown in the 59th District equation. Gone are coach Raymond Justice and standout guard Cameron Justice. Enter new coach Preston LeMaster and a couple of transfers to the mix and the Warriors bring the surprise factor to the table.
Pikeville: The Panthers have been known to take the air out of the ball and slow the game down to dictate their pace, but now they will be trying to push the tempo and turn the game into a helter-skelter atmosphere.
Guard play will be Pikeville’s strong point. Rowe and Branham were the Panthers’ top scorers last season and will look to do the same this year. Lefty Rowe averaged 14.4 points per game, while sharpshooter Branham averaged 14.3 points per game.
“We return two quality guards,” Pikeville coach Bart Williams said. “We feel like we have one of the best backcourts in the region. They both stepped up last year and we are looking for them to be even more productive this season. They have both worked hard and they can both shoot the ball well. They have worked on getting quicker and stronger and we feel that with them leading the way that we can have a good year.”
The Panthers will be the smallest team in the district, but Williams will look to use that to his team’s advantage.
“We will probably have to play a little different than normal,” Williams said. “We will have to push the pace and get up and down the court and use our speed and guard play to our advantage instead of slowing the game down like we have had to do in the past.”
Pikeville will rely on a deep bench to help them play a more up-tempo pressing style of play.
“Obviously our top two guys returning are our guards, but we think we have some depth too,” Williams said. “We lost Wes Rowe and Layne Cecil inside, but we have Jared Tackett returning this year. He didn’t play last year because of an injury, but we think he will be solid for us inside. We also have Chase Hall coming out and Wes Anderson is back. We think we can go eight or nine deep. We think that Richmond MacAnallen, Jacob Hamilton, Austin Estep and Larry David Keene will all step up and do good jobs for us this year.”
The Panthers finished with a 22-8 record last season. Pikeville and Shelby Valley battled it out four times last season. The Panthers went 3-1 against their rival and won the 59th District championship, but fell to Shelby Valley in the 15th Region championship.
“Last year we won the district and made a run to the region finals,” Williams said. “Hopefully we can do the same in the district and give ourselves that chance to get back to the Expo Center and make another run at the region title. It’s not going to be easy though. Both Shelby Valley and East Ridge are going to be big strong teams. Every year we know that we are going to have to go to battle when we play our district games. We just hope that with our experienced guards that we will be able to give ourselves a chance at winning the district and making a run at the region.”
Pikeville tips off the season with a trip to Allen Central at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6.
Shelby Valley: Somebody forgot to tell the Wildcats that they weren’t supposed to win the 15th Region title last season, but nobody will look over them this season.
One reason nobody will look over them is because of their size. Wildcat sophomore center Cody Belter stands at 6 foot 11 inches and power forward Andrew Newsome brings his 6 foot 4 inch frame to mix as well as 6 foot 3 Cody Bentley.
The Wildcats struggled early last season, but when tournament time came around they went on the hunt.
They weren’t supposed to make the region tournament the year after Elisha Justice, Ashley Hatfield Tyler Newsome, Taylor Newsome and Cody Varney led them to the Sweet 16 State title. Former coach Jason Booher also departed to take over the helm at Covington Holmes.
Enter in longtime assistant and mastermind Greg Newsome. He knew that the Wildcats had a shot to make some noise if they kept improving throughout last season. The Wildcats did just that as they captured the 15th Region crown.
This season, Newsome is optimistic that his young bunch of Wildcats will be even better.
“We had a great summer,” Newsome said. “They are a year older now and are stronger and more confident. They’ve all gotten a lot better and they’ve put in a lot of hard work to get better. We are going to be a big team, but this year we won’t surprise anybody. We have to be ready to play every night. We are still young and if we can keep improving until the end of the season, like we did last year, then we can be pretty good.”
Belter will get a lot of attention just because of his size, but he has plenty of talent surrounding. Dalton Richardson started at point guard as an eighth-grader last year and fellow eighth-grader Andrew Newsome got a lot of playing time. Look for them two to start alongside Belter, Logan Lucas and Cody Bentley.
“It’s nice to have a seven footer on the floor,” Newsome said. “You don’t see size like that very often, especially in Eastern Kentucky. He keeps working hard and improving and he has a shot to be a very special player. We also have Andrew Newsome inside and Cody Bentley is a senior and he will surprise some people with his ability.”
“For Dalton (Richardson) to have never have played point before, he did an excellent job last season. We look for him to be even better and more comfortable there this year. He is not a true point guard. His size and ability make him a natural scoring guard, but he’s such a good athlete he can play the point and nobody knows that’s not his natural position.”
Shelby Valley will kick off the season Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m. as the Wildcats visit Boyd County.
East Ridge: The unknown. The element of surprise.
That’s the advantage the Warriors have until the season tips off.
Former University of Kentucky walk-on Preston LeMaster will enter his first-season as East Ridge coach.
Raymond Justice and his son Cameron Justice are at Knott Central, but East Ridge will try and make some noise without them.
The Warriors have two transfer players from Canada. Raynold Kasongo and Tony Wolter have a lot of buzz around their playing abilities, but not too many people have seen them play yet.
“Tony Wolter and Ray Kasongo are two very talented kids,” LeMaster said. “They have a long way to go, though, before they reach their full potential. They both possess a tremendous amount of athleticism and talent. Our biggest concern is just for the whole team to mesh together and if they do, we can be a pretty good team.”
LeMaster is still getting used to his team and the area and is having to teach a young team how to play his style.
“It’s definitely different than basketball in the Lexington area,” LeMaster said. “We are very young. We like our team and think that we can be pretty good. We only have a total of three juniors and seniors on the team. We are really inexperienced, but I like what we have and I like the talent in the school. We think that if we develop and work hard that we can be good for the next three to five years.”
One of the returning players that caught LeMaster’s attention was sharp shooting freshman Johnny Miller.
“Johnny Miller shoots lights out,” LeMaster said. “He has been working harder and trying to improve on his weaknesses on the court, but he can shoot the ball. As a team our biggest weakness is just our inexperience. Just like Johnny, the rest of the guys are young, but they play hard and are working hard everyday to get better.”
Look for the Warriors to try and push the pace and play an up-tempo style of play.
“What I’d like to see these guys do is get up and down the court and use their speed and athleticism,” LeMaster said. “I think I’ve learned a lot about the press style in my time at UK and depending on the opponent, we think that our press will be a strong point for us.”
East Ridge finished with a 16-9 record last season and will try and make LeMaster’s first year even more successful.
The Warriors will kick off the season at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1, as they visit Grundy, Va.
