The Scribe
11-25-2007, 04:58 PM
BGP Sixth Region Boys' Preview
Special to Bluegrasspreps.com
There’s a surprise in the Sixth Region this season as Pleasure Ridge Park is picked to win yet another regional title.
OK, so it’s no surprise.
But the Panthers are led by three stellar seniors and are again at the top of the heap in one of the Louisville-area regions.
PRP – under 27-year coach Dale Mabrey – didn’t win the title last year (Fairdale represented the region at the Sweet 16) but is heavily favored to get back to Rupp Arena this winter with a solid roster.
DeSales and Iroquois appear to be the top contenders, while Bullitt East, Central and Fairdale are among the other contenders.
Here’s a closer look:
PLEASURE RIDGE PARK – The Panthers have three of the best players in the Louisville area in guards Adam Delph and Adam Decker and center Allen Murry.
The 6-foot-2 Delph averaged 16.6 points a game last season and scored in double figures all but two games on the season. The 5-11 Decker averaged seven points and six assists despite missing some time as a junior with injuries.
The 6-7 Murry is the best big man in the region. He averaged 10 points and 10 rebounds a game as a junior. Senior guard Shawn Brawner is another talented player in the fold for Mabrey’s bunch.
DESALES – The Colts have a solid senior guard in Jeff Mullaney, who averaged 14 points and five assists as a junior.
Coach Lance Hammond has a squad with five other seniors, including center James Melloan, forward Nick Miles and Luke Renfro and guard Cody Cutsinger.
The Colts had a solid summer and have enough weapons to challenge the Panthers and any other contenders in the regional race.
IROQUOIS – The Raiders have drawn some attention in the preseason with solid outings against Seventh Region foes St. Xavier and Jeffersontown.
Senior guard Antonio Sullivan averaged 15 points a game last season and could be one of the most underrated players in the entire state. Along with Dominique Spearman, the Raiders have one of the best backcourts around.
Coach Michael Stinnett will also get help from senior Danny Seaborn.
BULLITT EAST – The Chargers have graduated a ton of talent during the past few years in Mount Washington, but will still have a contender.
Coach Troy Barr’s team will be led by 6-6 junior Willie Moore, who averaged six points and two rebounds and has improved tremendously since last summer.
Seniors Matt Miles, Alex McMahan and Zach Strachan are the other players that Barr is expecting to get key contributions from this season.
CENTRAL – The Yellowjackets have not lived up to lofty expectations in recent years and have now lost a lot of the talent it has on the roster.
But coach Doug Bibby does have some solid seniors.
Guards Leevaughn Morris, Chris Starks and Lorenzo Unseld, along with junior forward Alex Morrison are solid players. Leland Banks is the quarterback on the football team and should give the Yellowjackets a solid inside game.
FAIRDALE – The Bulldogs won’t look the same as they did last season in winning the regional title, but they still have one of the top shooters in the state.
Senior JaQuan Ransom averaged eight points and hit almost 40 percent from behind the three-point line. C.J. Mack, Roderick Ballard and Jake Fahringer are other top players, while freshman Jake Stroud is being touted as a future star.
DOSS – Dwight Bransford, the former head coach at Shawnee, takes over the Dragons program after Shawn Purlee left for Butler.
Bransford has an athletic team but will have to do some rebuilding after losing All-Region seniors Davin Anderson and Jeff Brooks. The latter is in the starting lineup as a freshman for Penn State University.
But 6-4 junior guard Cameron Clemons is one of the best players in the region. He averaged 8.3 points last season and is a sharp-shooting guard.
BUTLER – Purlee had been an assistant at Butler and takes over for Mike Campbell, who retired after a successful stint as the head man.
The Bears won eight straight games towards the end of last season and do have some talent returning. DeWhon McAfee will be the point gard and Kienan Cullen is a solid post performer.
BULLITT CENTRAL – Joe Pat Lee likes his third team at Bullitt Central, which doesn’t have a lot of height but should still be able to post a winning season again.
Brent Smith averaged 15 points a game last season, while Travis Geralds is a 6-foot guard that turned in a solid summer.
HOLY CROSS – After several years of struggles, this season the Cougars have enough talent and experience to perhaps be a factor in the regional race.
Holy Cross went 6-21 last season but many of those games came by 10 points or less. Senior Kevin Cain is 6-6 and should be a solid force in the paint, while guards Rashad Morrison and Matt Hill and center Evan Skaggs will contribute.
WESTERN – Coach Paul Handley has one of the region’s most exciting players in 6-4 forward Tameron Holt. He averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots a game as a junior and is a Division I prospect.
Holt doesn’t have a lot of help this season after nine seniors gradated off last year’s 17-13 squad. Victor Jackson and Davon Robinson are two guards back.
SOUTHERN – In his eighth year, coach Todd Raque has one of the better young players in the city in sophomore Chris Richard. He played on an elite AAU team from Ohio this past summer and was a standout.
Richard averaged 12 points and nine rebounds as a freshman and will get some help from senior center Justin Edwards.
NORTH BULLITT – The Eagles lost a lot of talent from last year’s team but still has a tall and athletic bunch that could make some noise.
Senior Jessie Curry averaged 15.8 points as a junior, while junior center Addison Thomas has improved a lot since the end of the season.
VALLEY – The Vikings went 9-20 last season but one of its top scorers – Tre Bell - returns. The 6-1 junior averaged 12 points and five rebounds.
Senior Tim Schueler is the team’s top shooter, while LeShawn Thomas is back after averaging 10 points a game last season.
SHAWNEE – New coach Montrelle Irvin finds a young team that has a good core of juniors that have played with each other since middle school.
Cory Jackson and Willie Harraway are two of the top juniors on the roster.
BROWN – After winning just seven games in his first season, coach Justin Leonard should see drastic improvement this season.
The Bears have six of their top nine players back from a season ago, including top players Alex Goffner and Kris Ridley. Austin Pegram averaged seven points and five assists as the point guard last season.
ST. FRANCIS – Dominique Betts averaged 10.5 points as a sophomore and will be one of four athletic guards in the lineup for the Wyverns.
John Henry Bonin is one of the top players inside but is only 5-11 for Stephan Butler’s team, which will struggle with any opponents that have a solid post game.
EVANGEL – The Eagles won 15 games and post the school’s first winning season in six years last winter. Senior center Matt Fulks does return to the lineup after averaging 14 points and six rebounds a game last season.
BETH HAVEN – Third-year coach Brad Morgan lost key player Cory Lacefield, who did all the team’s ballhandling and was a solid scorer last season.
While Morgan is looking for a guard to step in, junior forward Allen Clayton is 6-6 and should become the team’s main scoring threat. He averaged eight points as a sophomore last season.
PORTLAND CHRISTIAN – The Eagles have a new coach in Tim Knecht but also only have a handful of players with any varsity experience.
Seniors Raymond Shutt and D.J. Gatewood are both around 6-foot tall and should be the leaders for Portland.
Sixth Region Players to Watch
1. Adam Delph, PRP
*The 6-2 senior scored in double figures in all but two games last season, averaged 16.6 points a game, had a great summer and is a slasher.
2. Adam Decker, PRP
*The 5-11 Decker was hampered by injuries last season but is back 100 percent this season. He’s a true point guard and one of the best passers in the state.
3. Antonio Sullivan, Iroquois
*The 6-foot guard averaged 14.4 points as a junior and is one of the most underrated players in the state. He can create, score and hit the jumper.
4. Cameron Clemons, Doss
*The 6-3 junior could lead the region in scoring. He can hit from outside and his athleticism makes him hard to guard on the drive.
5. Tameron Holt, Western
*The 6-4 forward can jump out of the gym and is a tough matchup. He averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks as a junior.
6. JaQuan Ransom, Fairdale
*The 5-11 senior was a solid role player on the Sixth Region championship team last season; he’s the best shooter in the region and perhaps the state.
7. Chris Richard, Southern
*The best young player in the region and one of the best in Louisville. At 6-3, Rochards plays like a guard and has a forwards body.
8. Allen Murry, PRP
*If the 6-7 post player continues to improve like he did this summer, the Panthers will be hard to beat. He’s about 240 pounds and averaged 10 points and seven rebounds.
9. Jeff Mullaney, DeSales
*The 6-2 guard is as steady as they come on the floor; like having a coach in the lineup.
10. Dominique Spearman, Iroquois
*Spearman is 6-foot and is a solid runningmate along side of Sullivan.
Special to Bluegrasspreps.com
There’s a surprise in the Sixth Region this season as Pleasure Ridge Park is picked to win yet another regional title.
OK, so it’s no surprise.
But the Panthers are led by three stellar seniors and are again at the top of the heap in one of the Louisville-area regions.
PRP – under 27-year coach Dale Mabrey – didn’t win the title last year (Fairdale represented the region at the Sweet 16) but is heavily favored to get back to Rupp Arena this winter with a solid roster.
DeSales and Iroquois appear to be the top contenders, while Bullitt East, Central and Fairdale are among the other contenders.
Here’s a closer look:
PLEASURE RIDGE PARK – The Panthers have three of the best players in the Louisville area in guards Adam Delph and Adam Decker and center Allen Murry.
The 6-foot-2 Delph averaged 16.6 points a game last season and scored in double figures all but two games on the season. The 5-11 Decker averaged seven points and six assists despite missing some time as a junior with injuries.
The 6-7 Murry is the best big man in the region. He averaged 10 points and 10 rebounds a game as a junior. Senior guard Shawn Brawner is another talented player in the fold for Mabrey’s bunch.
DESALES – The Colts have a solid senior guard in Jeff Mullaney, who averaged 14 points and five assists as a junior.
Coach Lance Hammond has a squad with five other seniors, including center James Melloan, forward Nick Miles and Luke Renfro and guard Cody Cutsinger.
The Colts had a solid summer and have enough weapons to challenge the Panthers and any other contenders in the regional race.
IROQUOIS – The Raiders have drawn some attention in the preseason with solid outings against Seventh Region foes St. Xavier and Jeffersontown.
Senior guard Antonio Sullivan averaged 15 points a game last season and could be one of the most underrated players in the entire state. Along with Dominique Spearman, the Raiders have one of the best backcourts around.
Coach Michael Stinnett will also get help from senior Danny Seaborn.
BULLITT EAST – The Chargers have graduated a ton of talent during the past few years in Mount Washington, but will still have a contender.
Coach Troy Barr’s team will be led by 6-6 junior Willie Moore, who averaged six points and two rebounds and has improved tremendously since last summer.
Seniors Matt Miles, Alex McMahan and Zach Strachan are the other players that Barr is expecting to get key contributions from this season.
CENTRAL – The Yellowjackets have not lived up to lofty expectations in recent years and have now lost a lot of the talent it has on the roster.
But coach Doug Bibby does have some solid seniors.
Guards Leevaughn Morris, Chris Starks and Lorenzo Unseld, along with junior forward Alex Morrison are solid players. Leland Banks is the quarterback on the football team and should give the Yellowjackets a solid inside game.
FAIRDALE – The Bulldogs won’t look the same as they did last season in winning the regional title, but they still have one of the top shooters in the state.
Senior JaQuan Ransom averaged eight points and hit almost 40 percent from behind the three-point line. C.J. Mack, Roderick Ballard and Jake Fahringer are other top players, while freshman Jake Stroud is being touted as a future star.
DOSS – Dwight Bransford, the former head coach at Shawnee, takes over the Dragons program after Shawn Purlee left for Butler.
Bransford has an athletic team but will have to do some rebuilding after losing All-Region seniors Davin Anderson and Jeff Brooks. The latter is in the starting lineup as a freshman for Penn State University.
But 6-4 junior guard Cameron Clemons is one of the best players in the region. He averaged 8.3 points last season and is a sharp-shooting guard.
BUTLER – Purlee had been an assistant at Butler and takes over for Mike Campbell, who retired after a successful stint as the head man.
The Bears won eight straight games towards the end of last season and do have some talent returning. DeWhon McAfee will be the point gard and Kienan Cullen is a solid post performer.
BULLITT CENTRAL – Joe Pat Lee likes his third team at Bullitt Central, which doesn’t have a lot of height but should still be able to post a winning season again.
Brent Smith averaged 15 points a game last season, while Travis Geralds is a 6-foot guard that turned in a solid summer.
HOLY CROSS – After several years of struggles, this season the Cougars have enough talent and experience to perhaps be a factor in the regional race.
Holy Cross went 6-21 last season but many of those games came by 10 points or less. Senior Kevin Cain is 6-6 and should be a solid force in the paint, while guards Rashad Morrison and Matt Hill and center Evan Skaggs will contribute.
WESTERN – Coach Paul Handley has one of the region’s most exciting players in 6-4 forward Tameron Holt. He averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots a game as a junior and is a Division I prospect.
Holt doesn’t have a lot of help this season after nine seniors gradated off last year’s 17-13 squad. Victor Jackson and Davon Robinson are two guards back.
SOUTHERN – In his eighth year, coach Todd Raque has one of the better young players in the city in sophomore Chris Richard. He played on an elite AAU team from Ohio this past summer and was a standout.
Richard averaged 12 points and nine rebounds as a freshman and will get some help from senior center Justin Edwards.
NORTH BULLITT – The Eagles lost a lot of talent from last year’s team but still has a tall and athletic bunch that could make some noise.
Senior Jessie Curry averaged 15.8 points as a junior, while junior center Addison Thomas has improved a lot since the end of the season.
VALLEY – The Vikings went 9-20 last season but one of its top scorers – Tre Bell - returns. The 6-1 junior averaged 12 points and five rebounds.
Senior Tim Schueler is the team’s top shooter, while LeShawn Thomas is back after averaging 10 points a game last season.
SHAWNEE – New coach Montrelle Irvin finds a young team that has a good core of juniors that have played with each other since middle school.
Cory Jackson and Willie Harraway are two of the top juniors on the roster.
BROWN – After winning just seven games in his first season, coach Justin Leonard should see drastic improvement this season.
The Bears have six of their top nine players back from a season ago, including top players Alex Goffner and Kris Ridley. Austin Pegram averaged seven points and five assists as the point guard last season.
ST. FRANCIS – Dominique Betts averaged 10.5 points as a sophomore and will be one of four athletic guards in the lineup for the Wyverns.
John Henry Bonin is one of the top players inside but is only 5-11 for Stephan Butler’s team, which will struggle with any opponents that have a solid post game.
EVANGEL – The Eagles won 15 games and post the school’s first winning season in six years last winter. Senior center Matt Fulks does return to the lineup after averaging 14 points and six rebounds a game last season.
BETH HAVEN – Third-year coach Brad Morgan lost key player Cory Lacefield, who did all the team’s ballhandling and was a solid scorer last season.
While Morgan is looking for a guard to step in, junior forward Allen Clayton is 6-6 and should become the team’s main scoring threat. He averaged eight points as a sophomore last season.
PORTLAND CHRISTIAN – The Eagles have a new coach in Tim Knecht but also only have a handful of players with any varsity experience.
Seniors Raymond Shutt and D.J. Gatewood are both around 6-foot tall and should be the leaders for Portland.
Sixth Region Players to Watch
1. Adam Delph, PRP
*The 6-2 senior scored in double figures in all but two games last season, averaged 16.6 points a game, had a great summer and is a slasher.
2. Adam Decker, PRP
*The 5-11 Decker was hampered by injuries last season but is back 100 percent this season. He’s a true point guard and one of the best passers in the state.
3. Antonio Sullivan, Iroquois
*The 6-foot guard averaged 14.4 points as a junior and is one of the most underrated players in the state. He can create, score and hit the jumper.
4. Cameron Clemons, Doss
*The 6-3 junior could lead the region in scoring. He can hit from outside and his athleticism makes him hard to guard on the drive.
5. Tameron Holt, Western
*The 6-4 forward can jump out of the gym and is a tough matchup. He averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks as a junior.
6. JaQuan Ransom, Fairdale
*The 5-11 senior was a solid role player on the Sixth Region championship team last season; he’s the best shooter in the region and perhaps the state.
7. Chris Richard, Southern
*The best young player in the region and one of the best in Louisville. At 6-3, Rochards plays like a guard and has a forwards body.
8. Allen Murry, PRP
*If the 6-7 post player continues to improve like he did this summer, the Panthers will be hard to beat. He’s about 240 pounds and averaged 10 points and seven rebounds.
9. Jeff Mullaney, DeSales
*The 6-2 guard is as steady as they come on the floor; like having a coach in the lineup.
10. Dominique Spearman, Iroquois
*Spearman is 6-foot and is a solid runningmate along side of Sullivan.