Augusta’s Kason Hinson is hopeful his Panthers can break through this season with an All “A” and district title. (Evan Dennison, The Ledger Independent)
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Rewind back to Kason Hinson’s freshman year and he’s been knocking at the door.
He’s still knocking, but looks poised in his senior season to break through.
During that freshman year, Hinson was at Bracken County nearly leading the Polar Bears to a district title, a minute away before losing a late lead to Mason County and eventually falling, 71-70, after a couple of last second shots wouldn’t fall.
That’s the time when Hinson announced his arrival, scoring 51 points in that district tournament in two games in an efficient manner, hitting 19 of 36 shots from the field.
After transferring to Augusta his sophomore year, following his father in heading back to coach the Panthers, they went through a bit of a transition year, but were still right there again with Mason County come district tournament time, suffering a five-point loss in the championship.
Add in a buzzer-beating loss to Paris in the first round of the 10th Region All “A” classic that season and the close losses are starting to pile up.
Fast forward to Hinson’s junior season and it looked like everything was in the cards for the Panthers to break through. They did just about everything right in the 39th District semifinals, up double digits on a Royals team that had won 12 straight games at the time.
But foul trouble started to mount up, as did turnovers and the double-digit lead quickly turned into a deficit, before bowing out to the Royals, 95-89, effectively ending the Panthers season in which they shot 68 percent from the field and 71 percent from three in that contest. They threw the kitchen sink at the Royals and then some.
While many in Hinson’s shoes would want and try to forget those games, he doesn’t shy away from them.
“I try to forget about those games and then someone will bring them up and I’m like ‘Yeah, I was there.’ I’ve watched the games, even last year I’ve watched the game multiple times, we were right there. That should have been us. Just using it for motivation,” Hinson said.
An even extra motivated Hinson can be a scary sight as he starts his senior season. He’s got a chance at 2,000 points for his career this season, coming into the season with 1,418 and has 67 in the Panthers first four games, off to a 3-1 start.
He’s not really focused on his point total or where others rank him individually in the region. Playing at a small school and often overlooked, Hinson at times is underrated considered what all he brings to a team. Not only his knack for scoring, but he pulled down 6.5 rebounds a game last season and dished out a couple of assists per game, handling the majority of the point guard duties.
“Of course 2,000 points would be awesome, would be great. I can do it this year and if I continue to do what I’ve been doing I’ll get there,” Hinson said. “I know I can play and what I can do for my team to help. As long as I’m doing that I don’t really care about the rankings or what so and so thinks if I’m good.”
The Panthers, off to a 3-1 start pending their Tuesday night game with Paris enter the season with a lot of high hopes. They’re one of the favorites to win the 10th Region All “A” tournament and are expected to challenge Mason County for a district championship. They’ve been slotted right in or around the top five in 10th Region polls, so people are taking notice of the potential that is there in Augusta.
“I feel like this is the year we’re going to do some damage. Really looking forward to the Class A, really think we have a great shot to win it as long as we play our basketball,” Hinson said. “I just feel like this is my last chance, I’ve got to get to it now.”
While it may be Hinson’s last chance, he and Evan Brooks the lone seniors on the team, they can still help lay the foundation for the rest of the roster for years to come. They only have six upperclassmen to go with seven underclassmen, including Kason’s brother, Kylan.
Kason helps mentor his younger brother, who also has loads of potential, standing at 6-foot-5 with a deadly 3-point shot.
“Still trying to get on him to drive the ball. He does not drive the ball and needs to drive the ball. Once he gets in there, he’s 6-5, has a nice floater like I do. He just needs to drive the ball more, can’t just settle for jump shots. He can drive too and needs to show that this year,” Kason Hinson said.
What’s next for Kason Hinson still remains to be seen, but he’s hoping to see his team earn an All “A” trophy and get one more crack at Mason County in the district tournament.
His father knows Kason can help guide them there.
“He’s just so efficient and bought into being a great teammate. He can get 40 every night if he wanted to. It’s about getting a W and everybody is bought into that,” Jason Hinson said.
