Top 5 Preview: Region 16

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>KHSAA Basketball season is officially underway and this season looks to be pretty open. There is so much talent in the bluegrass state right now and this season is shaping up to be a great one. It's time for my annual "Top 5 Preview" where I break down the top 5 teams and college prospects in each region. These are the top 5 college prospects, not the top 5 high school players right now.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Top 5 Teams:</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ashland - The Tomcats are loaded with talent and are a sleeper team that could win it all when the dust settles. Elijah Neel, Alijah Owens and Justin Hughes are all scholarship level talents. Sophomore Jamari Stokes is a sleeper talent that the coaching staff has high hopes for. Coach Bonner has a lot of weapons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Russell - Ryder Burgess has an early D1 offer from Marshall and Gabe Pridemore also averaged double figures last season and is back for his Senior season. I'm not sure the Red Devils have any post presence and they will likely live and die by the three pointer. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Boyd County - Boyd is going to be very young this season after having a veteran group last season. Caleb Rimmer and Clark Huff are the only returning Seniors but freshmen Blakely Jones, Jacob Carter and Owen McCoy are all likely to step into bigger roles this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Elliott County - Senior Lake Adkins is a potential regional player of the year. Ian Griffith and Elijah Faulkner are returning veterans and there are several Sophomores who got valuable varsity experience last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rowan County - Senior Cameron Cross averaged 24 points per game last year and Sophomore Bentley Barnett averaged a double double last year. In a year that the region is relatively wide open, Rowan is in a good position to make a sleeper run at a title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Top 5 College Prospects:</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2345102' first='Ryder' last='Burgess'], Russell - Ryder has a D1 offer from Marshall and is a high level shooter with good size. Burgess could see his college stock really take off over the next year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2869959' first='Alijah' last='Owens'], Ashland - Owens is an explosive athlete who holds a couple of early D1 offers. With his length and skill set, there will likely be more offers in the future for Alijah.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1745587' first='Elijah' last='Neel'], Ashland - Elijah is a heady PG who doubles as a high level shooter. Neel is a good playmaker who can really score the ball when he needs to, too.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1745588' first='Lake' last='Adkins'], Elliott County - Lake has scored a ton of points in his high school career and has earned offers from multiple levels already. He's been one of the most consistent players in this region for 4 years. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='3186953' first='Bentley' last='Barnett'], Rowan County - A big and physical forward who tries to dunk everything, Barnett averaged a double double last season and could improve on those numbers as a Sophomore.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Most Likely Mr. Basketball Finalist:</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1745587' first='Elijah' last='Neel'], Ashland</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->