Top Five Preview: Tenth Region

<p>Over the next month, we'll continue to preview the top teams and players in each of the 16 regions as we move toward the 2019-2020 regular season. As part of our preview, we are breaking down the regional title contenders and the top college prospects in every region. We continue with the tenth region, where it's more wide open than it's been in years.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Top Five Regional Title Contenders:</strong></span></p> <p>Bourbon County - They have a lot of length and athleticism as well as a Senior dominated roster hungry for wins in their final season. The Colonels could be the most complete team in the region and will play hard for coach Lamont Campbell. <strong>Nakyir Joyce, Amirion Joyce, Nakwan Joyce, Koko Lukongo and Amari Faulkner</strong> make a tough and athletic lineup that should be able to press and trap teams and turn them over.</p> <p>George Rogers Clark - Coach Josh Cook lost several key pieces off last year's team but he says the Cards will start to play faster this year as he implements a new system. Sophomore <strong>Jerone Morton</strong> will need to step up and <strong>Jared Wellman and Lincoln Bush </strong>will become primary options on offense after being complimentary pieces to Jordan Graham and Brennan Canada in the past. Watch out for <strong>KJ Rucker </strong>to make a leap in his Senior season.</p> <p>Campbell County - The thing about the Camels is that they keep graduating impact players and then show back up at Rupp Arena in March anyway. <strong>Jordan Gross, Hunter Reinhart and Kyle Hart </strong>have waited their turn to be the go to players for Campbell County but <strong>Dane Hegyi</strong> could be the best of the group. Regardless of the names, Campbell County always competes.</p> <p>Montgomery County - A roster that has a couple of nice players but could take a while to gel, Montgomery is a dark horse to compete for the regional title by the end of the year in Steve Wright's first year at the helm. Transfers <strong>Cole Benson and Rickey Lovette </strong>will form a long front court duo that should be able to rebound and defend the rim while Sophomore <strong>Hagan Harrison </strong>is the leading returning scorer for the Indians at 5.8 points per game with Senior <strong>Austin Eichenburger</strong> right behind him. MoCo has some talent and could surprise some people in the 10th by the end of the season.</p> <p>Mason County - Brian Kirk has a lot of reasons to be excited in his second year at the helm. <strong>Xylon Frey </strong>is back after leading the team in scoring as a Junior. <strong>Alex Schalch </strong>made the transfer from Robertson County to Mason County and brings a post presence to the team. The Royals bring back 4 of their top 5 scorers and added an impact transfer in Schalch and will boast a Senior dominated team hungry to return Mason County to the prominence they experienced in the days of Chris Loftin, Darius Miller and the Setty Brothers.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Top 5 College Prospects:</strong></span></p> <p>Jerone Morton, GRC - One of the best prospects in the 2022 class, Morton is a smooth lefty scorer who should be ready to make the leap in his first year as the go to scorer for the Cards.</p> <p>Amirion Joyce, Bourbon County - Joyce's future may be on the football field but he will have scholarship offers for basketball before he graduates. An athletic combo guard, he could lead the state in free throw attempts as much as he gets to the line.</p> <p>Alex Schalch, Mason County - Alex is a very skilled big who is also a great passer. Consistently underrated as an athlete, Schalch is going to be one of the best Seniors in the region.</p> <p>Justin Becker, Robertson County - Schalch's former teammate, Becker is a skilled big who can also shoot the ball. He's going to get a lot of shots this year and should have big scoring numbers.</p> <p>Jared Wellman, GRC - Jared can score 30 or totally disappear over the course of the game. I'm betting he'll have a lot more big games than duds and his college stock should improve as he has a chance to be a scholarship level player by graduation.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Predicted Mr. Basketball Finalist:</strong></span></p> <p>Amirion Joyce, Bourbon County</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Predicted Regional Champion:</strong></span></p> <p>Bourbon County</p>