BG Basketball Mid Season Recap

By Will Derryberry

The Bowling Green Boys Basketball team is off to a phenomenal start this season, bolstering a 17-4 record. The Purples are also 3-0 in district play, claiming wins against South Warren, Greenwood, and recently defeating bitter rival, Warren Central. 

According to MaxPreps, The Purples are currently ranked 11 in the state with wins over #7 ranked Harlon County, #15 ranked Henderson County, and #2 ranked Trinity. 

The starting lineup for Bowling Green is strong, and the bench has endless depth. While this lineup is balanced, two players stand out as the leader of the team: seniors M.J. Wardlow and Mason Ritter. Wardlow is a 6 '1 guard with elite handles and can shoot from anywhere, while also holding his own on the defensive side of the ball. Wardlow has gained interest from multiple college programs but has yet to commit. Ritter is a 6’9 beast who dominates in every part of the game. Whether it’s defending, playing offense, or rebounding, Ritter is a dominant force and will dunk on anyone in his way. Ritter has recently committed to Columbia University, which is where he will spend the next 4 years playing Division One college basketball. 

Many believe that this Bowling Green team can easily compete for a state championship. The Purples haven’t been crowned as state champions since 2017, and you can tell these players are hungry for that state championship hardware to add to the trophy case. When asked what he thinks led to the teams’ success so far, Ritter expressed, ”We have good team morale and everyone gets along well and accepts criticism from each other.”

The road to gold won’t be easy, as Kentucky is filled with high schools that have loaded rosters. The Purples play three of these teams in the upcoming weeks, these teams being #14 ranked Woodford County on February 3, #6 ranked Lyon County on February 10, and #10 ranked Evangel Christian on February 15. 

The game most anticipated and arguably the toughest player matchup this season for Bowling Green is Lyon County. Lyon County has a player who not only has the “Mr. Basketball” award locked up, but is also a University of Kentucky basketball commit, 6 '2 combo guard Travis Perry. Perry has been dominating this season, averaging a whopping 30 points-per-game. Bowling Green has the tools and players to shut down Perry, and if they do, their overwhelming offense should be able to get the job done and secure the win. When asked what their toughest obstacle to winning state is, Ritter claimed, “The toughest obstacle for us is staying solid on defense and not letting anyone get into foul trouble. The faster we can get teams to play the better for us. So we have to apply lots of pressure to speed teams up faster than they want to play.”   

Bowling Green is losing 4 very important players next year so this year might be the last year for a long time that they get to compete for a state championship. However,if the Purples can stay well-rounded on offense and defense and play their game the way Coach D.G. Sherill knows they can, then the Purples might just add another State Championship banner at the end of the season.