Polar Bears prepped, ready for All “A”

Evan Dennison [email protected] - January 26, 2022

DeVante Jefferson and the Bracken County Polar Bears will play at EKU’s McBrayer Arena on Thursday at 5 p.m. against Walton-Verona in the first round of the All “A” state tournament. (Evan Dennison, The Ledger Independent)

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

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While it’s their first trip to the All “A” state tournament since 1998, Bracken County doesn’t plan on making it a one-night visit to Richmond.

The Polar Bears enter the tournament believing they can make a run in this thing, starting with Walton-Verona on Thursday night at EKU’s McBrayer Arena at 5 p.m.

They’ve got the go-to scorer in Blake Reed, that killer instinct with Cayden Reed coming up clutch in big moments and have played a ton of close games leading into it with big contributions from the likes of JuShod Commodore, DeVante Jefferson and others.

Bracken County has won seven straight leading into the tournament, their last loss nearly a month ago against South Laurel in the Gateway Holiday Classic at Montgomery County on December 28.

They’ve gathered some pretty impressive victories since then that include Campbell County and Harrison County along with the 10th Region All “A” title run in which they won a close one over Augusta and then left no doubt against Bishop Brossart and Calvary Christian.

“We’ve got some guys stepping up offensively that we know have it in them and are capable. Just situational stuff, driving to the rim, getting to the foul line, we have more options than people think,” Polar Bears coach Adam Reed said. “These guys have had the right mindset about preparation and knowing what they can do for our team. Our practice yesterday was intense, it was like first day of practice with guys getting after it.”

Their first trip in 24 years to the All “A” state tournament can also add some more history to it. The Polar Bears have never won at the All “A” state level, losing in the first round in their two prior trips in 1992 and ‘98. Coming into the season, they were regarded as one of the teams that could win the regional Class “A” title, now they want to be regarded as one of the teams that could win the Class “A” state title.

“We kind of walked through the Class A, felt like we were the best school in the region and think we’re one of the best Class A schools in the state. Looking at our season, we can’t be mentioned unless we win the Class A and now we want more. Want to keep the winning feeling alive and do it for the community and our friends. The ‘92 team beat in first round, ‘98 team who I played for lost to Hazard, both top teams in the state,” Reed said. “So we have the opportunity to do something that’s never been done. We’re emotional and looking forward to this. Can’t wait to represent, go down there and stay focused and locked in on the defensive end.”

Walton-Verona presents a tough first round matchup. They’ve got numerous guys on the floor that can score and they can score it in bunches, averaging 73.7 points per game and three guys in Brant Smithers, Cameron Christy and Carter Krohman that average in double figures.

“First year of me coaching these guys we went to Walton and they dogwalked us. A lot of those guys were sophomores then. After watching all the film I’ve watched, I haven’t seen anybody pressure them. Our ball pressure is going to be relentless. We’ll make it uncomfortable on them as much as possible. We know who can knock shots down and Smithers is a star, Christy is not too far behind,” Reed said. “We feel like we’re better now and have a good chance. They’ve definitely been around, have a really good coach, run a lot of good stuff and run a lot of action to get the ball to his guys. They guard and play extremely hard.”

Both teams have had some time off to prepare. Bracken County’s last game came on January 18 in a win over Harrison County, Walton-Verona playing Covington Catholic in a loss on January 20. They’ll both be well rested and ready to get after it.

Reed said he expects a big contingent to be there from Brooksville and the surrounding area, the team headed down on Wednesday to get prepared for their Thursday, 5 p.m. game. Reed said the support over the last two weeks since they cut the nets down on their home floor on January 13 after beating Calvary Christian has been remarkable.

“It’s been overwhelming. Everyone is making sure the kids are well taken care of. The amount of backing has been unreal. These people are ready for this. They’re ready to be in the winner’s circle, they’ll walk into the gym tomorrow with BC on and we’re here and we’re here to stay. This is our time. Some older guys that watched me play are starting to come back out, guys making fun of me saying my kids are better than me. We want to get used to that, that grows here and think we’ve got a really good stretch ahead of us,” Reed said.

If the Polar Bears win Thursday, they’d then play in Friday’s quarterfinals at 8 p.m. against the Harlan-Campbellsville winner. Get past that one and then Saturday’s semifinal game would be at 4:30 p.m. and if they can win those three, the All “A” title game on Sunday is at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $10 at the door and the game can be streamed via PrepSpin at go.prepspin.com. WFTM will also have a radio broadcast of the game. The Ledger Independent’s Evan Dennison will live-tweet the game and allaclassic.org posts box scores after the game online.

Based off Cantrell ratings, Bracken County enters the tournament ranked seventh, Walton-Verona is sixth.

Here’s the full ratings:

1. Pikeville — 76.0

2. Murray — 75.3

3. Lyon County — 71.8

4. Covington Holy Cross — 69.6

5. Harlan — 66.6

6. Walton-Verona — 65.1

7. Bracken County — 64.1

8. Evangel Christian — 63.4

9. Breathitt County — 62.2

10. Danville Christian — 59.8