It’s that time of the year to look ahead to next season. Yep, it’s never too early to talk about who the top teams, and top returning players are in our annual “Very early look at the 13th Region Boys’ Basketball Players and Teams.”
It’s a whole lot harder to project on what teams will be ranked where due to so many rumors being thrown out there currently about “Player A” moving to “School B”, and “Coach C” stepping down and leaving one region to go back to his former school to coach at “School D”.
Will those things happen?
Who knows, but that’s the stuff we deal with when attempting to put out a very early rankings. But hey, no one is twisting my arm to do it. It’s fun to say the least.
With that said, let’s not waste any time and take a look to see what the 2023-24 high school boys’ basketball season could look like.
2023-2024 13th Region Top 10 Teams
1. Harlan County (27-6)
The Black Bears return the most talent, and will be the preseason favorite, but there are some concerns.
Since reaching the 13th Region title game in 2017, Harlan County is 2-4 the past six years when participating in the 13th Region Tournament along with three first round exits, and twice missing the regionals.
With that said, Harlan County returns enough talent to get over the postseason hump, and could very well capture the program’s second region title with soon-to-be senior Trent Noah returning along with senior Jonah Swanner, junior Maddox Huff, and handful other of talent that can wreck havoc against regional teams.
2. Corbin (23-8)
The Redhounds flew under the radar the entire season, and turned in a runner-up appearance in the 13th Region Tournament while stunning Harlan County with a 61-53 win during first round action of the region tournament.
Corbin does lose four seniors off this season’s team, most notably Hayden Llewellyn, Brody Wells, and Marc Warren, but will return the likes of Carter Stewart, Zander Curry, Eli Pietrowski, and Trey Worley.
3. (Tie) Clay County (15-16)
Look for the Tigers to bounce back in a big way next season with an abundance of talent returning.
The big question is, who is the next coach?
With Hayden Harris, Landon Dezarn, Aiden Wagers, Grayson Hooker, Elijah Bundy, and Ethan Jackson, someone is gonna take over a talented team.
Look for Clay County to maybe regain the top team status in the 49th District while making a push as one of the top teams in the region.
3. (Tie) North Laurel (25-11)
The two-time defending 13th Region champions lose two huge pieces off its roster in Reed Sheppard, and Ryan Davidson. Those are two huge pieces to lose, but the cupboard isn’t bare at The Jungle.
With players such as Gavin Chadwell, Colton Rawlings, Brody Brock, Reece Davidson, Kole Jervis, Jordan Rawlings, and Joe Smith expected to return, look for the Jaguars to attempt to reign supreme in the 49th District once again next season.
5. South Laurel (24-9)
Losing Parker Payne, Eli Gover, Caden Jones, and Ashton Garland is going to hurt for sure, but Aouth Laurel coach Jeff Davis always finds a way to field a competitive team.
A host of players will be competing for starting spots this upcoming season. Jordan Mabe returns, which is a huge piece to the puzzle along with Hunter Bundy, Max Fullmer, Josh Steele, and an abundance of young talent will return next season.
6. Whitley County (20-10)
The Colonels lose five seniors of this season’s squad but I really like what coach Eric Swords is building.
Whitley County returns Bryce Anderson, Danny Ellis, Evan Ellis, Jackson Petrey, and Lucas Queener along with a lot of young talent. The Colonels might start slow, but are talented enough surprise next season.
7. Pineville (18-11)
The Mountain Lions are a team I’m keeping on my radar. They could very well have a special season, especially with them being host of the 13th Region Tournament next year.
Coach Brad Levy has done a fantastic job building Pineville’s basketball program, and it could very well pay off during the 2023-24 season.
Sawyer Thompson, and Ashton Moser return along with Sam Caldwell. Levy will have some talented players to work with once again, and the key is to build some depth as well.
8. Bell County (15-16)
The Bobcats went through some growing pains this past season, but look to be much stronger during the 2023-24 campaign.
Coach Brad Sizemore will have to find someone to step up and take over Dawson Woolum’s scoring role, but he has some players that are capable of doing just that.
Blake Burnett, Ethan Buel, and Logan Stepp are just the beginning of some really good younger players that will be stepping up for Bell County.
9. Harlan (24-8)
The Green Dragons surprised many this season but losing Will Austin, Kaleb McLendon, and Jae’dyn Gist will be huge losses.
Hunter Clem, Trenton Cole, Dylan Cox, and Kyler McLendon return, which will be a huge plus.
10. Jackson County (17-13)
The loss of Jude Lakes will hurt but the Generals will have a talented team returning with players such as Tydus Summers, Jameson Marcum, Keagan Ward, Connor Cunagin, Andrew Gabbard, and Peyton Singleton returning.
2023-2024 13th Region Top 10 Players
1. Trent Noah, Senior, Harlan County
Noah can do it all for the Black Bears. He averaged 26.5 points per game, and 12.8 rebounds per game this past season. Look for him to have even better numbers during his senior season.
2. Kyler McLendon, Senior, Harlan
McLendon had a fantastic junior campaign as a Greed Dragon. He averaged 22.3 points per game, and 3.5 rebounds per game.
3. Sawyer Thompson, Junior, Pineville
Thompson had one heck of a sophomore season, and I expect him to have an even better season as a junior. He averaged 22.7 points per game, and 4.6 rebounds per game last season.
4. Jordan Mabe, Junior, South Laurel
Mabe became a force this past season, and will look to be even more dominate next season.
He led South Laurel in points scored with 14.4 while also leading South Laurel with a 6.8 rebounding average. Heck, he was a solid defender that can block shots as well.
5. Maddox Huff, Junior, Harlan County
Huff is another scoring and rebounding threat for the Black Bears. He averaged 16.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
6. Jerrod Roark, Junior, Williamsburg
Roark is one of the best scorers within the region. He turned in a solid sophomore campaign, averaging a team-best 20.9 points, and 6.1 rebounds per game.
7. Hayden Harris, Senior, Clay County
Harris is ready to lead the Tigers once again in 2023-24 after averaging 18.4 points, and 6.5 rebounds per game this past season.
8. Gavin Chadwell, Senior, North Laurel
The former 13th Region Tournament MVP turned in a solid season for North Laurel, averaging 11.3 points, and 6.4 rebounds per game.
9. Zander Curry, Senior, Corbin
Curry is a warrior. He played a huge role in Corbin’s success this past season. He averaged 7.8 points, and a team-beat 6.4 rebounds per game.
10. (Tie) Landon Dezarn, Junior, Clay County
Dezarn turned in a fantastic sophomore campaign, averaging 13.9, and 1.7 rebounds per game.
10. (Tie) Colton Rawlings, Junior, North Laurel
Rawlings improved as the season progressed. He is also one of the most athletic players in the region.
Rawlings averaged 66 points, and 2.0 rebounds per game.
2023-2024 13th Region Boys’ District Rankings
49th Boys District
1. (Tie) Clay County
1. (Tie) North Laurel
3. Jackson County
4. OBI
5. Red Bird
50th District
1. Corbin
2. South Laurel
3. Whitley County
4. Williamsburg
51st District
1. Pineville
2.Knox Central
3. Barbourville
4. Lynn Camp
52nd District
1. Harlan County
2. Bell County
3. Harlan
4. Middlesboro
