With the harsh reality that the KHSAA Basketball State Tournament will not be played for the first time, there are plenty of question marks still up in the air. One is what might have been?
There are plenty of story lines coming into the first round which usually sets the stage for the second round and the Elite Eight. With no clear cut champion being crowned, there are lots of conjecture.
Perhaps the biggest is the first round matchup of Elizabethtown , the 5th Region Champion against Ashland Blazer, the 16th Region Champion.
Many saw this as the top match of the Wednesday afternoon (it was suppose to be a 1:30 pm tip) because the Panthers were one of the top shooting teams in the state, the Tomcats were the hottest team in the entire state of Kentucky.
Last season, Ashland Blazer was one of the biggest surprises of the State Tourney. After going 13-15 during the regular season and then only qualifying because they beat Rose Hill Christian in the semi-finals of the District Tournament, the Tomcats beat Lewis County by one (56-55), then Elliot County (69-65) and finally Boyd County in the Region Tournament Championship game to make the State Tourney. Then they went out and survived the first round knocking off Owensboro (58-50), before finally falling to eventual State Champ Trinity (Louisville) in the second round, 60-30.
They were led by leading scorer Forward Devaunte Robinson, who was also the top rebounder, Forward Ethan Hudson (2nd leading scorer), Guard Hunter Mays, who was the top three-point shooter and Center Ryan Bryant.
The following season, the Tomcats averaged nearly 70-points a game on the way to a 33-0 record, which in some ways was reminascent of the John Hardin team of the previous year which ran the table going into the state tourney. Head coach Jason Mays basketball team was able to accomplish that despite losing Robinson, Mays and Bryant. Instead, this year’s team was led by top scorer guard Cole Villers (sophomore), second leading scorer point guard Colin Porter (freshman), third leading scorer and top three point shooter Ethan Hudson (forward) and sophomore shooter Ethan Sellers (sophomore).
Also, this team’s path to the State Tournament was through Rose Hill Christan (95-52 semi-finals), Boyd County (62-55 District final) and then it was a breeze with wins over Russell (61-41 first round), Rowan County (67-39 second round) and Lewis County (84-60 Region final).
Meanwhile, the Elizabethtown Panthers were quite a surprise themselves. After struggling through a 13-14 season in 2018-2019 behind a completely different starting lineup, coach James Haire’s youngsters would overcome a lack of size by outshooting teams and using a smothering full court press that forced the opposition into turnovers. This season’s Panthers were indeed a different breed of Cat after going 16-straight games to open the season before finally having a loss and finishing 23-2 during the regular season. Elizabethtown was introduced to the pressure of high expectations immediately when they were neck to neck with last season’s champion in John Hardin and the national media descended on their two regular season games which they split (E-town won game one and JH won game two). The Bulldogs got the last laugh when they beat the Panthers in the 17th District Championship, but Bardstown spoiled the possiblity of a Region final rematch between the two teams when they knocked off John Hardin in the Final Four of the Region Tournament. Elizabethtown finally came out on top over the Tigers in the final thanks to timely shooting and pressure packed free throw shooting. It was the first time Haire beat Bardstown head coach James Brewers’ Tigers in three attempts. It also put the Panthers back in the KHSAA State Tournament for the first time since 2005.
Elizabethtown was led by five players who scored over 250-points starting with junior guard Jacquais Franklin (leading scorer), junior forward Camden Williams (second leading scorer), junior Guard Khia Sherrard (third leading scorer), junior forward Myles Fields (leading rebounder) and junior forward Alandre Murphy (fifth leading scorer).
When the tournament was orginally postpond, the question being how late could they have played it without issue? The reaction was varied, but with the players unable to practice together, the sharpness and conditioning would be lost, so who knows what you would get if the teams restarted the tourney say in early June and how long would they have to practice to be ready.
Obviously, a team which likes to press and run like the Panthers might have an advantage and the Tomcats had not seen a press like Elizabethtown, yet. However, the opposition had underestimated Ashland Blazer all season long and that could play into their advantage.
The Panthers on the otherhand had played in the public eye all season long and only suffered a real mental lapse in the 17th District Final against the Bulldogs and very few teams play well there anyway.
However, Elizabethtown unlike Ashland Blazer had NEVER played in Rupp Arena and visiting teams always complain about the lack of depth perception because of the colorful backdrop and the Panthers are a outside shooting team. Brandon Price, who had the fortune of playing there twice once said his first three was always an airball.
Also, the Tomcats had the added pressure of entering the Tournament unbeaten. Just like John Hardin the previous season and we know what happened there. The circus atmosphere, colorful backdrop, the fans and the possiblity of playing a team with a style different than yours. Also, sometimes you play a team and one player gets hot (Reid Jolly of Campbell County) and you suddenly fall behind early and can’t get going in time before you run out of time.
The bigger question being, with a long layoff, which team would suffer the most?
Lots of questions with no answers. The good thing is both teams return most of their squads again next season and we might just have another chance to revisit this question.
The bad thing is “We’ll Never Know this season.” Unfortunately, the DREAM matchup turned out to be a Nightmare not for just two teams, but for so many people and we’ll always wonder what if?
