BEST OF THE BEST

Last week, I mentioned the boys in each class. This week let’s look at the girls.
Best Freshmen
Three freshmen stand out the most, starting with Corbin’s Kelci Jones, a 5-10 forward-center. No one even heard of Jones last year except maybe the Corbin coaches. Jones has been the Redhounds leading scorer four times this season. Her season high came during the first game of the season when she scored 18 against Madison Southern.
Whitley County’s Tabatha Gray also had a big opening night when she scored nine points against Jellico. She has yet to break the Lady Colonels starting line up, but she has logged a lot of minutes.
Williamsburg’s Samantha Burr has made a big impact for coach Jim Rains at Williamsburg. Just last weekend she helped lead her freshmen team to the second place finish in the 13th region freshmen tournament. She has scored 37 points in varsity play.

Best Sophomores
The sophomore class may be the most talented group in the area. At Williamsburg, Kat Hoffman, a 5-6 forward leads the way. She is currently the seventh leading scorer in the area with a 12.7 average. She had a season high 24 points against Jellico. This young lady is not afraid to take it inside against the much taller girls.
Whitney Rains has been a key player for the Lady Jackets as well. She had a big night against Barbourville in the All “A” Region scoring 19 points.
Holly Jones and Kayla Osborne seem like veterans at Whitley County. The two have been instrumental in the success of the Lady Colonels. Osborne runs the team from the point and doesn’t score a lot of points. But, she has scored in all but three games this season. Her high came against Casey County with 10 points. Jones is a big scorer, she has hit in double figures in 14 games and is averaging 11.3 points per game.
Lynn Camp’s Ashley McCreary, a 5-6 guard is also one of the top players in the area. She had a huge game against Pineville when she poured in 26 points. She has the ability to light up a scoreboard.
At Corbin, Lyndsay Champlin was a surprise at the start of the season as well. Champlin has the ability to become one of the best to ever come out of Corbin High School. She can handle the ball, she can rebound and she can score points. She helped lead the Lady Redhounds past Cawood when she tossed in a season high 20 points.
Two other players that have really stepped up during the second half of the season are: Kendra Igo and Meredith Grove. The two have gained confidence and are starting to show it in the scorebook and on the floor.

Best Juniors
Whitley County has two of the best juniors in the area in 6-2 center Amanda Brimm and 5-8 forward Randall Holbrook. The sky is the limit for Brimm who can be a force in the middle and is just now coming into her own. She has had several double-doubles with a season high 16 points against Williamsburg. With dedication and hard work, she could go to the next level about anywhere she wants to.
Holbrook is a firecracker, she can be as explosive as anyone in the area. She has speed and hustles 24-7. I really like her style of play and she too can go far in this game. She had 22 points against one of the toughest teams on the Lady Colonels schedule, South Laurel.
Shawnda Lovett at Williamsburg came into the season with high expectations and has lived up to that billing. She has led the Lady Jackets in scoring seven times with a high game of 24 points.
Corbin’s Mikkah Rogers and Abby Baylor are players too. They give 110 percent day in and day out. Rogers has rebounded nicely from the ankle injury she sustained in the 2006 regional tournament. She has been in double figures 16 of the 21 games for Corbin and many times was in double figures in rebounding.
Baylor is probably the most coachable of the juniors. She will do anything to help her team win. She is the complete team player. The 5-8 forward is probably the most all-around player in this group. Baylor might not score a lot but as Whitley County found out, you have to defend her or she can hurt you. She had a season high 11 points against the Lady Colonels.

Best Seniors
Brittany Jackson, a 5-6 guard from Corbin and Stephanie McCullough, a 5-9 forward from Whitley County lead this group of seniors. The two are definitely the clue that holds their respective teams together.
Both should go on to play at the next level as they can score and seem to be getting stronger as the season progresses.
Jackson opened the season scoring in double figures 12 of the first 13 games. She is currently the area’s second leading scorer, behind McCullough. Jackson is the ‘Hounds point guard and does an excellent job running the team.
McCullough is more of an offensive threat on the wing. When she gets set she can burn up the nets from three-point range. She has set all the Whitley County records from beyond the arc. She has scored over 20 points five times and had a season high 22 points against Williamsburg and Prestonsburg. She too is one of those players that works extremely hard.
Williamsburg’s Kelly Bryant, a 5-8 guard, has had a good season as well and deserves being mentioned among the best of the senior class. She is a steady player and can hurt you if you don’t play defense against her. She had a season high 12 points in a tournament win over Pineville.
Lynn Camp has two seniors that are helping coach Richard Jones rebuild his program at Lynn Camp. Whitney Meyers and Christy Helton. Meyers had 15 points against Jellico and Pineville, just to show you her ability to score while Helton had 18 against a tough June Buchanan and 19 against Red Bird. Jones has the two on the right track and they have responded to the Wildcats coach.

UC Hall of Fame
Congratulations to Bill Sergent, Missy Irvin and Raymond Cox. The three will be inducted at half-time of the UC-Georgetown game February 17.
Since meeting Bill Sergent when he was SID at Cumberland College back in the late 80’s, I have found him to be one of the most helpful on the campus at the University of the Cumberlands. He is second to none in my book and is very deserving of this honor. He currently coaches the golf teams at UC and is one coach that gives the local golfers a chance. He has probably signed more local kids than anyone at UC or Union. It just goes to show you, nice guys don’t finish last.
Missy Irvin as I know her, proved hard work will get you this honor. Irvin, played high school basketball in Laurel County and was inducted into the 2000 Laurel County Hall of Fame.
She was a tremendous player at both the high school and college (Cumberland) level and is an even better coach. She just last week celebrated her 200th win at the college level and is quietly building a dynasty at the University of the Cumberlands.
Raymond Cox, another Laurel County Hall of Fame inductee will be one of the four honored next week. I got to know Cox when I was chairman of the Laurel County Hall of Fame and he was quite the player/coach back in his days at Hazel Green. He was a star on the floor for Cumberland College. Another outstanding choice by the UC Hall of Fame committee.