tribe44
PODCAST
Embedded Files
Welcome
Welcome
This podcast is dedicated to the coverage of Adair County sports. Join Clay and Will as they discuss local and national sports stories and interview local coaches, players, etc!
New Episode Is Now Available!
Over the course of the last 18 months, technology has become more and more prominent in our everyday lives due to the global pandemic. Being a school teacher, I know firsthand that technology became crucial to my job and, when it failed, it created detours that were never fun. This week, we at Tribe44 were pumped about our guests, Cameron and Jordan Lasley. These standout cousins in the class of 2016 were a crucial part of some of the most successful athletic teams in Adair County sports history, so we were beside ourselves that we had an opportunity to talk to them about their time at ACHS. The interview was fantastic. Cameron and Jordan shared some awesome experiences with us that took us on a brief tour of their successes at ACHS. Unfortunately, I have to share with you that, at the end of the interview, we looked down to see that the program had some sort of unexpected and unnoticed delay and started recording when the interview was all but over. In an effort to do right by Cameron, Jordan, and our listeners, we are releasing this article about the interview in an attempt to spotlight these two standout athletes.
To give you, the readers, an idea as to how much impact the Lasley’s had on a football game, the two cousins combined for 5,307 yards and 70 touchdowns on offense in three years of varsity football. Considering both Cameron and Jordan had lengthy injuries over the course of their careers, it’s truly untelling what kind of numbers our school record-setting offenses could’ve put up with a fully healthy Cameron and Jordan at their disposals for the entirety of their three varsity seasons. Individually, Cameron led the way for us in receiving during his tenure at ACHS, including a stellar senior season consisting of 886 yards and an astonishing 15 receiving touchdowns that year. Jordan posted over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns rushing during his sophomore and junior seasons, and barely missed this feat during his senior season which saw him begin the season on injury reserve due to a leg injury during the Summer.
The interview started as most do here on Tribe44 with a question everyone likes to hear the answer to:
What game do you remember most during your time at ACHS? Jordan immediately chimed in naming a Taylor County game that he didn’t actually play in due to injury, noting how crazy the atmosphere was surrounding the game. Cameron then said that he, too, recalls that Taylor County game being one he remembers fondly because of the rivalry, plus it also didn’t hurt that Cameron started his senior season off with 142 yards and 3 touchdowns receiving, plus a game breaking kickoff return for a touchdown.
What team did you want to beat the most? Cameron stated that he wanted to beat Caldwell County his senior year more than anybody else because of the way they beat them the year prior. Cameron did his best to make that happen, with a touchdown and 94 yards receiving in a defensive battle against Caldwell County that ultimately ended in a 12-17 loss for the Tribe. Jordan said that it’s always Taylor County for him due to the rivalry and it being the first game of the year. It seems to be a common theme that beating Taylor County is just...the best.
What do you think you’ll always remember about playing sports at Adair County High School? Jordan started off by saying the memories, friendships, and the fun that he had while playing high school football would all be things that he’d remember forever. Cameron then added that he agreed with everything Jordan said but also playing for his hometown school and trying to make Adair County proud.
What motivated you guys the most when you were in high school to blow up like you did? Cameron stated that his growth spurt really helped motivate him because early in high school he wasn’t the long, tall, and insanely strong receiver we came to know him to be, but when he hit the growth spurt he started to realize what he could do. Jordan said that there were some rankings that came out after his freshman year that had Adair County at the bottom of the district and it sparked a fire in him that led him to set up drills in his own backyard that he ran through on a daily basis. These drills helped in developing the quick feet and agility that we all think about when we hear the name Jordan Lasley. (On a side note, we then asked if his dad helped him run those drills, to which Jordan said absolutely not--it was ALL HIM.)
Jordan and Cameron played for an absolutely prolific offensive mind in Coach Travis Gay. Our next question had them expand on that a little:
Your offenses were some of the best this county has ever had. Do you think that was mostly because of the personnel or because Coach Gay was so good offensively? Cameron immediately chimed in that Coach Gay’s scheme was a great one. Jordan then said that he thought it was probably a little of both. Cameron agreed and noted that with guys like Shymez Brabson, Chance Melton, Lonnie Grant, and an experienced, cohesive line, they definitely had the guys to run whatever offense Coach Gay asked.
In my own experiences with the Adair County Middle School program, I know that these guys put up crazy offensive numbers in 7th and 8th grade running the John Peck wishbone, so I think Cameron was onto something with this statement.
The Lasley’s have proven that they are excellent football and basketball players, but we wanted to branch out from those two sports and ask about others.
With the Olympics just ending, what Olympic sport do you think you guys would be best at? Jordan and Cameron both agreed that beach volleyball would be their best bet. This was funny to us because we had actually posed this question to each other, prior to them calling in and we had talked about how we wouldn’t want to play either of them in volleyball.
Here at Tribe44, we love talking sports, but we also love talking silliness. As we always do, we had to ask the Lasley cousins some silly questions as well. When you’ve got cousins as close as these two, we of course had to ask the question:
Who is more athletic between the two of you? Jordan, without hesitation, said it was definitely him. After a long pause and no response from Cameron, we asked him if he agreed and he laughed and mockingly asked if we actually thought that was a real question. It was clear that there was going to be no debating this question with these two, they were both the answer.
Who would win in an arm wrestling match? Cameron confidently says that he’s got that one easily. Jordan, with much less confidence than before, says he’s not sure about that. (For the readers- length is a huge advantage in arm wrestling, so you guys can be the judges for the arm wrestling match.)
Has there ever been a Nathan and Craig vs. Jordan and Cameron 2-on-2 game? Cameron speaks for them both on this one and says that the Lasley dad’s would want no part in a 2-on-2 game with their sons. We at Tribe44 still want to see this happen though.
Who was the funniest teammate you had during your time at ACHS? Both Cameron and Jordan named the same person here, local funny guy Daquan Smith.
If all of your teammates were in a wrestling ring, who is the last man standing? WITHOUT HESITATION, the Lasley’s simultaneously said that the only answer was Lonnie Grant. Cameron expanded on this question saying that Lonnie was the guy during practice who just went way too hard all the time. You didn’t want to do drills with Lonnie because there was going to be no let up. Having coached Lonnie, I can attest to this claim. Cameron is spot on.
Where are the Lasley boys now? Both Cameron and Jordan work for UPS driving trucks in Bowling Green, KY. It seems that even though their athletic careers are over, they can’t help but compete with one another in whatever endeavor they see fit--even in their careers.
Let me end this article by saying that we want to thank Cameron and Jordan immensely for their time in letting us interview them. Although the interview didn’t go as planned, we hope that our listeners still got some sense of how awesome these two standout cousins were for our sports programs here in Adair County.
-Seth Dunbar
Girls 20th District Tournament Preview
This season has had good games and with Covid, there have been some stoppages that we are not used to. All four teams have had games canceled and some teams have had several games canceled. There have been some competitive district games this year and I am sure the district tournament will be the same. The District Tournament starts for the girls on 3/17/21 at Adair County.
Campbellsville (13-8) - The Lady Eagles are the one seed in the district tournament. This is a team who started 0-5 but ever since, they have been red-hot and have won 13 of their last 16 games. They are led by two junior guards, Briante Gowdy and Lainey Watson. Gowdy is a slasher who can create for others and herself, and Watson is more of a shooter. The Lady Eagles are a very fast basketball team that plays a lot of guards and like to play at a fast pace. The Lady Eagles had a 3-0 district record.
Marion County (9-5) - The Lady Knights are the two seed in the District Tournament. They have gone long stretches without playing due to covid this year as they have only played 14 games. Getting in a rhythm is hard to do with so many stoppages. Still, they have had a solid year after losing so much from last year. They have been led by Junior Deyera Spalding. She has come into her own this year as she leads the team in points and rebounds. The Lady Knights had a 2-1 district record.
Taylor County (9-11) - The Lady Cardinals are the three seed in the district tournament. The Lady Cardinals have had a solid year as they have played in a lot of close games. Senior Emma Maynard does everything for the Lady Cardinals. She handles the ball, rebounds, and is the go-to scorer. Taylor plays a lot of kids and they are a team who plays a lot of young kids. The Lady Cardinals had a 1-2 district record.
Adair County (5-14) - The Lady Indians are the four seed in the district tournament. The Lady Indians are very young as they don’t have one senior- the team is full of freshmen and juniors. The Lady Indians have been in a lot of games late but just can’t get over that hump. They have been led by freshman Ellie Cheatham. She leads the team in points and rebounds as the freshman continues to get better. Lady Indians rebound well for a team of their height. Adair had a 0-3 district record.
20th District Matchups
Adair County vs Campbellsville (Wednesday 6:00 central @Adair County)
The Lady Eagles beat the Lady Indians 43-32 in the first matchup. It was a low-scoring affair that was closer than the final score indicated. Can the Lady Indians defense contain Watson and Gowdy like last time and pull off the upset? Or will the Lady Eagles guards get loose and the overall team speed be too much for the Lady Indians to handle?
Taylor County vs Marion County (Thursday 6:00 Central @Adair County)
The Lady Knights beat the Lady Cardinals 48-47 in the first matchup. It was a close game and it went down to the wire. The Maynard vs Spaulding matchup is a key for this one. Can Marion County continue its past success in the 20th district tournament or will Taylor County make region for the third time in the past four years?
Boys 20th District Tournament preview
This year’s 20th district has provided some really good games as we all expected. This year has been like no other as some teams have had to be quarantined during the season. Some teams have also dealt with injuries as well, so this year has been a year of adjusting. The district tournament is in Adair County and it starts 3/15/21.
Adair County (15-7) - The Indians are the one seed in the district tournament and have had a good year. They started a little sluggish but have played well the last month or so. The Indians are led by the trio of Junior Luke Janes, 8th grader Connor Loy, and Junior Lucas Pooler. All three are within two points of each either on points per game. Pooler, the slasher who has a good first step to the rim, Janes, the big who really rebounds well and finishes inside, and Loy, the three-point marksman and late-game free throw shooter. Defensively, they throw multiple defenses at teams and it can get you out of rhythm. The Indians had a 2-1 district record and had the tiebreaker over Taylor County to be the 1 seed.
Taylor County (11-7) - The Cardinals are the two seed in the district tournament and have had a really good year when most expected a big drop off having to play so many youngsters. The Cardinals lost a lot from last year’s team but two seniors have stepped up for the Cardinals. Seniors Carson Watson and Connor Wise have been the go-to guys this year as Watson the shooter, and Wise the one you give the ball to if you need a bucket. Defensively, the Cardinals pressure you all game and can make teams very uncomfortable with full court man to man. The Cardinals did lose a starter due to injury; big man Kaden Smith, but they have adjusted well. The Cardinals had a 2-1 district record and the one-loss being Adair made them the 2 seed.
Marion County (5-11) The Knights are the 3 seed in the district tournament and have had a disappointing year so far. It has been full of obstacles as they have had to go on pause twice due to covid. The good news this year has been getting Junior James Jewell eligible. Since he has been eligible he has been the go-to guy at 6 foot 6, Jewell is a highlight waiting to happen with his athletic ability. He is a two-way player who can cause trouble for opponents. Senior Kanyon Scott-Spalding got hurt and was their best rebounder. If he’s not available they will have to rely heavily on Jewell. Defensively, the Knights like to use their length and athletic ability. The Knights have a 1-2 district record and have the tiebreaker over Campbellsville to be the 3 seed.
Campbellsville (10-18) - The Eagles are the 4 seed in the district tournament. They started rough but have ended the year playing their best basketball. This is a veteran group of players and they are led by two seniors John Orberson and Arren Hash. Orberson is a big physical presence inside while Arren Hash is a three-point shooter. The emergence of Senior Kameron Smith, a slasher, later in the year is a big reason for the Eagles’ recent success. Defensively they play a lot of pack-line defense as they try to make teams beat them with jumpers. The Eagles went 1-2 in district play and lost the head-to-head with Marion to be the 4 seed.
20th District Matchups
Campbellsville vs Adair County (Monday 6:00 Central @Adair)
Campbellsville won the first matchup 60-52. The Eagles dominated the boards 33-21 and shot 31 free throws compared to the Indians shooting 11. The Indians are the favorite but this could be a very good game. Campbellsville’s senior class doesn’t want its basketball career to end Monday night and the Indians would love nothing more than to get revenge and make the region for the first time in three years.
Prediction:
Marion County vs Taylor County (Tuesday 6:00 Central @Adair)
The Cardinals won the first matchup 56-52. This was a very good game and Taylor’s pressure bothered Marion. Marion did however out rebound Taylor 35-21. This should be a good game that goes down to the wire-like their first matchup.
Clay's Player of the Week 2/11/21
Clay's Player of the Week 2/11/21
Clay's players of the week for the week of 2/4-2/11 are Ellie Cheatham and Luke Janes!
Ellie is currently in the running for the Kentucky player of the week in girls basketball after her performance against Burgin where she collected 22 points and pulled down an outstanding 20 rebounds! For the week overall she averaged 13 points and 11 rebounds per game in games against Russell County, Burgin, and Caverna.
Luke Janes also had an impressive week on the glass. Luke only led the Indians in scoring once this week but his efforts cannot go unnoticed. Highlighted by two double-doubles against Caverna and Garrard County, Luke averaged 9.5 points per game and 12 rebounds per game. The Indians put together an impressive week as Lucas Pooler and Conner Loy both had great weeks as well!
Former Indian Chris Lewis Recounts the Handshake That Started it All
The 2021 basketball season is like no other for many reasons; we now do a coin flip to start a game rather than a tip-off, players can dive on the floor after a ball and sweat all over each other, yet must wear masks when on the sidelines where every chair is six feet apart, all of which bring about a lot of confusion but one change is going to prove to be quite entertaining. This season, there will not be a home and away series between district opponents to determine seeding for the tournament, there is simply one game. One game with each team in the district to determine who you play in the district tournament. Competition in the district this year is really tight and all of the games should be close, making seeding that much more important in terms of matchups. This creates a unique environment during the regular season as each game serves as a miniature tournament in its own right. This makes Adair’s opener with the rival Taylor County Cardinal’s that much more interesting.
In honor of the big TC rivalry game coming up, we at Tribe44 Podcast decided to do some digging. The rivalry itself really wasn’t a big deal until the 2006/2007 basketball season. Russell County was the main rivalry of the Indians up to that point, but that 06/07 season provided a shift of focus from the rival down Highway 80 to head north on Highway 55.
Some think that the battles on the court between Taylor and Adair, who both had some of their best teams in school history, is what fueled the rivalry, but what people do not know is that not only the rivalry but the 2007 Sweet 16 State Tournament run was fueled by nothing more than a handshake.
January 30th, 2007 Taylor County played Adair in John Burr Memorial Gymnasium with the top seed of the 20th district tournament on the line. Adair had fallen to the Cardinals back in December by two points. It was a hard-fought game but Taylor pulled it out, winning 58-56, cementing their spot at the number one seed in the district. Chris Lewis, who has now taken over for his dad at Jeffries Hardware in Columbia, was a senior at the time and recounts the events that transpired after that game that ultimately catapulted the Tribe all the way to the state tournament.
“After they beat us at home, one of their players came into our locker room to shake my hand and tell me good game,” Lewis remembered, “ He had already shaken my hand through the line at the end of the game but made it a point to come into our locker room to do it again.”
This is a gesture that could be seen as respectful by some, but, knowing the gravity of the rivalry that had developed, Lewis took offense.
“That lit a spark in me like no other.” Recalled Lewis.
It was then, that he and his fellow teammates made a vow that they would not lose in the first round of district so that they could be sure to play them again.
Not only did the Indians get another crack at the Cardinals (they won in the championship game by a final score of 59-56), they reeled off 12 straight wins to finish out the regular and postseason. This handshake woke the sleeping giant which proved to be Adair’s most successful team in school history. Their only loss the remainder of the season was to eventual 2007 Boy’s Sweet 16 Champion Scott County.
Although Lewis would not reveal the name of the player who came over to shake his hand, the entire community of Adair County owes you a thank you. Thank you for not only igniting the most exciting State tournament run in our history but for igniting the rivalry that has brought my generation so much joy!
Week in Review
The Tribe44 Podcast is designed to provide extra spotlight to our student athletes who work hard every day. With our Special guest appearance this week taking up the majority of the time, we were unable to do a recap on the show but wanted to make sure that we provided our take from the Indians and Lady Indians over the course of the last week.
The Indians have gone 1-2 since the last podcast came out (shameless plug: they come out on Thursdays). They started out with a win over Wayne County in overtime, but rounded things out with two straight losses to Metcalfe and Casey County.
The Lady Indians dropped a couple this week to Metcalfe and Casey as well.
The Positives
Front Court Play
Both the Indians and Lady Indians bolstered a disappointing week with excellent performances on the low block. Luke Janes, the 6’4” inside threat for the Indians posted double-doubles in two of the three games this week. Against Wayne County, he put up a respectable 13 points and 10 rebounds and rounded things out with a huge 12 points and 17 rebounds as well as dishing out several assists in the game at Casey County.
Ellie Cheatham has been the anchor in the paint for the Lady Indians as she posted two double-doubles over the week, while also leading the team in scoring; Cheatham posted a spectacular 15/15 stat line in one such performance. Her momentum didn’t slow at all in the Casey County game as she posted 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Backcourt Scoring
On the boys’ side, we knew coming into the season that guard play was going to be a strength and so far that has been the case. Lucas Pooler led the way in the Wayne County game with an eye-popping 27 points and followed with 10 against Metcalfe and 11 against the Rebels in the heartbreaker. Aaron Steele led the Indians in scoring in both the Casey and Metcalfe games with 11 and 13 points in those matchups. Conner Loy added 20 in the Wayne County win and Steele contributed a respectable 17 points of his own.
The Lady Indians had a jolt off the bench each game this week. Freshman Hannah West put up 11 points in the loss at Casey County and 13 points against the Hornets.
Team Defense
Defensively, both teams have done a good job this week. The boys held opponents to around 40% from the field. The problems have come on second-chance buckets. The girls were able to hold Casey County to just four points in the first quarter and 17 points for the half. Three point defense is still causing problems for the Lady Indians as Metcalfe County added to the list of good outside shooting performances against the Tribe.
Coach’s Comments
Coach Breeze
“Both games our defense played well. We held both teams to around 40% from the field, but we struggled to box out and rebound the basketball and it hurt us in both games. We are boxing out but not driving back and giving up to many 2nd chance points in both games.
Metcalfe's strength bothered us, we missed 14 layups in that game that we should have finished, but were bothered by contact and we didn't finish those well.
Casey County, the game was lost at the free throw line, we had a 58-54 lead in the last minute and missed two front ends of the bonus. We should have run more clock. We are not very efficient right now at knowing time, score, and situation. We went 3-11 from the free throw line that game, three front ends of the bonus.”
Coach Reliford
“We played pretty well in spurts against Metcalfe Co. They hit a barrage of threes to start the 3rd quarter and from then on it was catch-up time. A major struggle was our ability to take care of the ball. On a positive note, as a team we put up 57 points, where we only put up 50+ points in 3 games last season.
Defensively, we played well in the first half against Casey Co. We held them to four points in the 1st quarter and we were up 20-17 at the half. Down two in the last seconds of the third, Casey County hit a three at the buzzer to go up five and never looked back. We struggled to overcome that shot. Also, we missed Laney Stotts, who went down with an ankle injury early in the third. She will be out for a little while. No timetable for her return.”
Newest Podcast is available now!
John Shelley joins Clay and Will.
Topics of discussion-
-Boys/Girls recap
-Preview upcoming games
-John's players of the week
-Smoked Meat
Indians Win Season Opener
The Indians started off the 2021 year with a win against the Nelson County Cardinals. While this game wasn’t always pretty, a win is a win.
The Indians started off strong and took a 16-8 lead after the first quarter. After being held to under 10 points in the first period of play Nelson County hung in there and won the second quarter by 2 points to take a six point deficit into the half by a score of 19-25. The Indians played well in the third quarter as Aaron Steele started to heat up. Behind his hot shooting, AC took a commanding 15 point lead at the end of the third. Still, Nelson county didn’t go away as they cut it to six but this is as close as it ever got and the Tribe secured their first win of the year by the score of 60-48.
The Indians had good play from a lot of players but three players really stuck out tonight. Aaron Steele led the Indians in scoring, as the senior talleyed 18 points getting it done from the outside and by driving to the basket. Lucas Pooler was able to attack the rim all game long and added 15 points of his own. Luke Janes ended up with a double double tonight as he had 11 points and an impressive 15 rebounds.
The Indians will continue to improve as the year goes on and it could be another great year for the Indians.
The Lady Indians opened up their 2021 season with an impressive comeback performance. Without their most experienced starter Anna Marie Day, the Tribe had a tough task to slow down the 2-0 Whitefield Academy Wildcats.
Hannah West picked up the slack on offense early and Adair County looked much improved as they trailed the Wildcats by only 5 at the end of the first quarter.
Missed shots and turnovers plagued Adair in the second quarter and continued into the second half as Whitefield began to pull away at halftime and built an 18 point lead early in the fourth quarter. Foul trouble plagued Carli Carter and Ellie Cheatham who both fouled out with a combined 19 of AC’s 43 boards.
Midway through the fourth, the young tribe began to gel as they started to cut into the lead. Adair’s toughness and length started to wear on the Wildcats and while turnovers (29) proved worrisome, they were able to force 21 turnovers of their own. West stole the ball in a half court trap and cut the score to 55-48 with 1:11 to go.
Late in the game, the Wildcats faced some foul trouble of their own when leading scorer Allison Spieker fouled out with just under a minute to play. Without Spieker’s 31points on the floor, Adair took advantage. Led by Laney Stotts’ back-to-back threes and some missed Whitefield free throws, the lead was cut to 4 with 32 seconds remaining. A third three fell just short for Stotts with under ten seconds remaining and Whitefield Academy’s second leading scorer Sara Ritter put the game on ice following a late game foul, making the final score 60-54.
West led Adair with 18 points followed by Stotts with 14 on 4/8 shooting from beyond the arch. Cheatham fouled out with 8 points and a team leading 12 rebounds. Kaylee Campbell did the bulk of the facilitating, dishing out 7 assists and adding 9 rebounds of her own.
While Adair’s comeback efforts fell short, coach Andrew Reliford has to be excited about the effort this young team showed down the stretch. Stott’s ability to stretch the floor late was able to open up the offense which is still looking for a go-to scorer after the departure of Jadie Smith from last season. Day looks to fill the void and many of Cheatham’s missed buckets inside will eventually fall as bad luck played into a lot of missed opportunities in this game. The length and toughness of this team is going to cause problems for the competition defensively and ACHS has a bright future in girl’s basketball.
Tribe44 Podcast Episode 1 Now Available!
Distract yourself from all the negativity! We are excited to launch our first episode! Join Clay and Will as they preview the 2021 boy’s and girl’s basketball seasons along with special guest Assistant Coach Kyle Burton!
This week’s topics
-Does Will get over his nervous habit of saying uhh between words?(spoiler: eventually, so hang with us)
-Girl’s roster and season preview
-Boy’s season preview with Coach Burton
-Which player would you not want to thumb wrestle in a dark alley?
20th District Girls Preview
The girl’s district this year should be exciting as always. There won’t be as dominant of a team as Marion was last year. There are some teams projected at the top that aren’t usually there so that should bring some excitement for those teams. There is some good individual talent this year like usual in the 20th district. I will give my predictions on how the teams will be this year.
Campbellsville Lady Eagles- Coach David Petett and the lady Eagles bring back a lot of talent from last year. They graduated one player from last year’s squad and returned the six leading scorers from last year’s team. Two juniors, Briante Gowdy, the versatile guard who is a good slasher and Lainey Watson, a sharpshooter will hope to lead the Lady Eagles to a district title.
Taylor County Lady Cardinals- Coach Jamie Vernon’s Lady Cardinals return every player from last year’s squad. They will have a lot of experience and this should be one of the better Lady Cardinals teams in a while. They will be led by senior Emma Maynard. Maynard does it all for Taylor as she is a versatile player who plays inside and outside as she tries to lead the Lady Cardinals back to the region after losing a heartbreaker (53-52) last season to Green County in the first round.
Marion County Lady Knights- Coach Kelly Wood’s Lady Knights lost a lot of talent from last year’s team. They lost 75 percent of their scoring as they will be looking to find offense in a lot of different directions this year. They do return Senior Tanika Williams, who is a really nice player who can really score well inside and out. Marion will try to keep their region streak which has remained intact since the 2005/06 season.
Adair County Lady Indians- Coach Andrew Reliford and the Lady Indians only lost two seniors last year but they were two of the top three scorers. This will be a young Lady Indian team who will rely on a lot of freshmen and juniors. This is a team who doesn’t graduate one player this year so this experience will help for next year. Freshman, Ellie Cheatham is the leading scorer from last year that’s returning. Though she is young, she is very physical inside and showed a lot of potential in her 8th grade year.
-Clay Turner
20th District Boys Preview
The District lost some really good players last year who were the face of their programs last couple of years. Marion, Taylor, and Campbellsville lost players who had been at least 3 year starters. We will be seeing a lot of new faces this year in the 20th District and it should be a very competitive year as there shouldn’t be a lot of separation top to bottom.
Marion County Knights- Coach Maze Stallworth lost a lot of talent last year in Jamison Epps, Tyshay Epps, John Adams, and Mason Sullivan. Most teams would be in a world of trouble, but Marion still is the favorite in the 20th. They will be led by two seniors, guard Dominic White, a quick and feisty guard, and forward Kanyon Scott-Spalding, the lefty big man is strong and very physical. They also got the number one ranked junior via transfer in James Jewell. The 6 foot 7 wing is a huge difference maker with his length and athleticism. Jewell is currently ineligible so this will be something to keep an eye on.
Adair County Indians- Coach Deron Breeze returns four players with starting experience from last season. They lost some key role players but return four of the top six scorers from last year. This should be a pretty balanced team but they return their two leading scorers in junior guard Lucas Pooler who is a slasher and really gets to the rim well, and Junior Center Luke Janes who played great at the end of last year as a finisher around the basket. Being an experienced team could help Adair this year with limited practice due to COVID-19.
Campbellsville Eagles- Keith Adkins is the new coach for the Eagles as he takes over for Anthony Epps. Adkins was previously the head coach at Lindsey Wilson College. They lost four of the top seven scorers last year but the biggest hole will be replacing Malachi Corley. A 4 year starter who was “Mr.-Do-Everything” for them last year. The good news is they have some impact-seniors returning, especially Arren Hash. The three sport athlete is probably the best shooter in the district. Adkins will have some nice pieces to work with in his first season at the helm.
Taylor County Cardinals- Coach Montrelle Irvin’s squad lost 4 of the top 5 scorers from last year. Last year Nick Knifley and Kybrin Smith were the go to scorers so the Cardinals will have to replace that scoring this year. They do return Senior Connor Wise this year who will be the guy, Wise has the best midrange jumper in the district, especially if he can get to his spot. The Cardinals will be having a youth movement this year as they could play a lot of Freshman and even start three Freshman at times. This is a young team but the team you see at the end of the year could be a lot better than you see at the start of the year with them.
-Clay Turner
Bluegrass Preps ranks Indians in top ten
Bluegrass Preps ranks Indians in top ten
Bluegrasspreps.com has completed their preseason rankings for the 2021 basketball season. While Adair ranks inside the top 10, there are two district opponents ranked higher.
The 20th district rankings according to Bluegrass Preps is
Marion (#5)
Campbellsville (#8)
Adair (#9)
Taylor (#11)
Adair County’s projection reads as follows:
“9. Adair County Indians (13-18)- Frankly, it’s odd to see “County Indians” here. Growing up in a school where marching band sets the bar for excellence is not an easy task for a high school athlete. More difficult is when that marching band is not only pretty good, but in the conversation for greatest of all time. Think Trinity Football. That is Adair Marching Band.
This team, however, has a window to make some noise of their own. Coach Jeff Breeze returns 4/5 of the team’s leading scorers from a season ago, including the top four. Lucas Pooler figures to lead the attack as a junior, as he is the team's leading scorer from last season, but he is far from alone. Fellow junior, Luke Janes, is the team’s leading returning rebounder at a little over 4.5/game to go along with just under 9 points per.
Seniors Brice Starks, and Aaron Steele each return with scoring averages above 7 per contest, and the combo of Brady Cundiff and Clay Giles played in all but two of Adair’s 31 games last season. The experience is there, but a lot of AC attention favors 8th grader, Connor Loy, who, as a 7th grader, averaged 8 points and shot 36% from three.
There’s more to the game than scoring, but the pieces are here for Adair to justify a ranking inside the top ten.
Upcoming Games: 1/9 v. Nelson County”
Although there was probably a little too much marching band talk for a basketball article and the author doesn’t seem to have a good grasp on AC hoops (coach Breeze most certainly does not go by “Jeff”) it sounds like the offense of the Indians will provide enough reason to believe that Adair will be more than contenders in the 5th region.
Adair being ranked below Marion and C-ville is discouraging but a lot can happen during the course of any season but especially in a year so mucked up by COVID-19. Give me the team that scores more points than the other guys.
Check out the whole article here
like us on facebook, Twitter, and instagram!
like us on facebook, Twitter, and instagram!
@tribe44podcast
email: tribe44podcast@gmail.com
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse