LOOKING BACK

 Congratulations go out to Mike Campbell, the tournament director for the 50^th District Tournament, on a job well done. Mike was a very courteous host and kept everything moving.

The Corbin Redhounds played very well and once again showed a strong will to win. There was no all-tournament team, but if there was one, the Redhounds would have placed several players on it led by Travis Smith, Zach Farley and Hunter Grubb.

People often overlook the all-around game of Smith, who rebounds better than anyone in the 13^th region, and is a very clever defender who will account for anywhere from four to six steals each game not to mention that he is one of the leading scorers in the region.

Zach Farley has really become a driving force in the Redhounds offense and is capable of scoring 20 or more points in any game.

Hunter Grubb is a very aggressive young man, who handles the ball very well, and is a threat beyond the three-point line as well as a strong defender and rebounds well in traffic.

With all this said, Robbie Igo, Kyle West, Kaleb Maguet, Trevor Hill and Victor Berezutchi give the Redhounds a solid foundation heading into 13^th region play.

My career as a prognosticator has been put in jeopardy based on my high school pick of football games and my bold prediction that Perry County Central would win the state tournament.

In case you did not notice, Perry County Central lost in the first game of the district.

Well, laugh if you would like, but I am going to pick the winners of the 13^th region games.

I pick North Laurel over Middlesboro. I pick Knox Central over South Laurel in a close game,

I pick Clay County over Harlan County, and I select Corbin over Pineville.

The second-round winners will be Knox Central over North Laurel, and Corbin over Clay County. I believe Corbin will beat Knox Central in the finals and head back to Rupp Arena.

I realize this makes me look like I am biased, that is because I am biased. I am a Redhound fan to the bone.

We are officially into March Madness and while it is exciting, in a way it is sad. The games are great and hard fought, but in the end only one team stands as the champion.

Over the past few years we have been fortunate to see some really good players play in the 13^th region. Josh Crawford, Issac Wilson, Madison Johnson, Josh Smith, Matthew Taylor and Aaron Manns from Corbin. Matt St. John and Ty Proffitt from South Laurel and many more in the last decade.

Charley Reasor and brother Danny, paid penance for what ever wrong they did by attending a football game between Kentucky and Vanderbilt, a fate far too severe to fathom for anything Charley or Danny would have done.

These two gentlemen attended the UK-Vandy basketball game on Saturday, which I am sure was a far more favorable experience.

I do not know how this sensational University of Kentucky basketball team will finish this season, but I can tell you this in my opinion. This is the best Kentucky team I have ever seen on the floor.

I cannot imagine how anyone could not vote for John Calipari as coach of the year.

Nobody is perfect, but Coach Calipari has accomplished more in his unique manner of starting over each year with new recruits.