Regions 9-16 Sleepers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With region tournaments beginning tonight, it's time to highlight some underrated teams in each region that could make some noise and potentially make it to Rupp Arena. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Region 9: Cooper: </strong>Cooper had a solid regular season going 16-12 and 7-7 against regional opponents led by promising Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1513491' first='Yamil' last='Rondon'] who is averaging. Although Rondon can get sped up at times due to his lack of experience, he has made significant strides which has led them to winning 4 of their last 5 games. Cooper also gets Junior transfer [player_tooltip player_id='1208147' first='Jashaun' last='Pouncy'] eligible just in time for the regional tournament where he averaged 14.2 ppg for Boone County last season. If Cooper can mesh in Pouncy with the current roster quickly, they can make a run. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Region 10: Campbell County:</strong> The Camels received a very favorable draw getting Paris in a first round match-up setting up to play Mason County in the semi-finals where they lost earlier in the season by 4. The Camels are the 12th highest scoring team in the state led by all-time leading scorer in school history [player_tooltip player_id='932779' first='Aydan' last='Hamilton'] and Senior leader Jake Gross. This team is very dangerous this time of the year with a ton of regional tournament experience. Don't be surprised if you see the Camels at Rupp. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Region 11: Western Hills: </strong>Western Hills seems to be playing its best basketball of the year after taking Great Crossing to three overtimes last week but eventually losing by 5. They are led by the Campbell forward dup [player_tooltip player_id='1369439' first='Walter' last='Campbell'] averaging 20.1 ppg and 13.1 rpg and forward [player_tooltip player_id='1409546' first='Javeon' last='Campbell'] averaging 19.1 ppg and 10.8 rpg. There may not be a better big man combo in the state as they do a good job controlling the paint. Although Western Hills lacks consistent outside shooting, they have the ability to control the game in the paint. Keep an eye on Western Hills as they have won 10 of their last 12.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Region 12: West Jessamine: </strong>The Colts enter the regional tournament as the 11th highest scoring team in the state having 4 guys averaging double figures. This is one of the better collective shooting teams making 201 field goals from 3pt range shooting 36.7%. They are led by 5th year Senior Daniel Waters who is a versatile forward that is highly efficient from all three levels. Senior Jacob Jones does a great job for them pushing the tempo and getting to the paint. This West Jessamine wants to get in an uptempo game and if they make a couple shots, they can beat anyone in the state. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Region 13: South Laurel:</strong> This team doesn't get a enough credit with rival North Laurel taking center stage in the county but this South Laurel team is the 7th ranked defense in the state giving up 49.3 ppg while shooting 49.7% from the field offensively. They are led by the trio of [player_tooltip player_id='1212935' first='Jordan' last='Mabe'], Eli Gover and [player_tooltip player_id='1215561' first='Parker' last='Payne'] who collectively score 41.2 ppg. Gover is one of the best shooters in the area that can score in bunches when given time to shoot. They are clicking at the right time winning 9 of their last 10 and will undoubtedly be a tough out. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Region 14: Knott County Central:</strong> KCC has made huge strides this season that is prevalent in their match-ups with Letcher County Central where their margins in which they've lost were 30, 19 and most recently 6 points. They seem to be playing with immense confidence led by Junior shooter Hunter Haddix who can get his shot off with little space. PG [player_tooltip player_id='1130309' first='Drake' last='Slone'] does a good job running the show and getting them into offense. This team is playing with nothing to lose which can be a dangerous team to run into in an elimination tournament. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> <strong>Region 15: Shelby Valley:</strong> They are one of the more balanced teams in the state with the 6th ranked defense giving up 48.9 ppg. They have 5 players averaging 9 ppg and above with big man Caleb Lovins controlling the paint averaging 9.8 ppg. With teams typically getting nervous in single elimination tournaments and missing shots, Shelby Valley knows they can always hang their hat on their defense. This team has the makeup to make some noise.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Region 16:</strong> <strong>Fleming County:</strong> Fleming County is one of the hottest teams in the state having won its 10 last games by an average margin of 19.9 points. They can hurt you in a multitude of ways with Junior [player_tooltip player_id='2087593' first='Adam' last='Hargett'] scoring ability from 3pt range, Seth Hickerson's play making ability or Isaac Frye's post play who is averaging a double-double on the year. With them getting a pretty favorable draw, this is my dark horse out of the 16th to make a legitimate run. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->