Jim Mashek

PURPLES REMAIN RANKED IN STATEWIDE POLLS; DRAGONS HAVE WON FIVE STRAIGHT

(Editor’s note: This is a re-write of last week’s preview of the Warren Central-Bowling Green High School boys basketball game, which was twice postponed last week, including Friday night.

(The Dragons (6-5 overall, 2-0 in KHSAA 14th District play) will tangle with BGHS (16-4, 2-0) about 25 minutes after the conclusion of the WCHS-Bowling Green girls game, scheduled for a 6 p.m. tip-off at Warren Central.)

It’s been a tough nine or 10 days for boys and girls basketball coaches across the Mid-South, including South Central Kentucky.

About four inches of snow began to fall a week ago Monday, which was the Martin Luther King holiday, and schools remained closed on Tuesday because of the road conditions.

Bowling Green High School had to postpone a girls/boys doubleheader against Barren County at the BGHS Arena, and the Purples’ archrival from crosstown Warren Central High School, the defending KHSAA Sweet 16 boys state champion, hasn’t held classes since last week, although they did have NTI days (Non-Traditional Instruction) on Wednesday and Thursday.

They resumed classes in the BGISD — “our district is just seven square miles,” BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill said — on Wednesday, but snow and frozen rain was in the forecast for Friday morning, so there’s some uncertainty about the KHSAA 14th District showdown between Warren Central (8-5, 2-0 in the 14th District) and Bowling Green (16-4, 2-0) on Friday night.

“I’m just waiting to hear from Coach (Anthony) Hickey, our athletic director,” WCHS coach William Unseld said Thursday night. “I have no clue, really, but we’re going to have to be ready to play. They’re a really good team, ranked in the Top 10.”

Icy roads returned on Friday, however, so the girls/boys doubleheader at Warren Central was postponed a second time.

They’ll tip off with the girls game at 6 p.m., followed by the boys game.

Bowling Green is ranked 11th, statewide, by Maxpreps, and ninth in this week’s Courier-Journal poll. The Purples are ranked 11th in the state by Kentucky Sports Radio, and they’re the No. 1-ranked team, followed by defending state champion Warren Central, in the Daily News’ area poll.

BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill said the Purples had to roll with the punches after the arctic-like blast hit South Central Kentucky eight days ago.

“We were able to get in some (practice),” Sherrill said via text message Tuesday morning. “But the weather kept us out of the gym for a few days. Nine days between games is not ideal, but it’s something we’re all dealing with, because of the weather.”

Warren Central coach William Unseld was able to get in some practice time with his team before WCPS schools re-opened eight days after the Martin Luther King national holiday on January 15.

“Yes sir, we’re good to go. We practiced all weekend,” Unseld said via text message Tuesday morning.

Basketball was finally back in Bowling Green on Monday night, with Greenwood and South Warren making up their girls/boys doubleheader at South.

The Spartans swept the two games, with South’s girls stopping Greenwood 58-49, before Coach Carlos Quarles’ boys squad defeated the Gators 71-62 in overtime.

Bowling Green, ranked ninth in the latest Courier-Journal statewide poll, takes a nine-game winning streak into the game. Warren Central’s girls squad (3-10 overall, 0-2 in the 14th District) will square off with Bowling Green (10-4 overall, 2-0) at 6 p.m., with the boys game to follow.

“We’ve still got a high ceiling, but we’ve got a ways to go,” Sherrill said.

Warren Central needed four hard-fought victories over Bowling Green last season, on its way to the Sweet 16 championship and an overall 34-1 record. The Dragons lost the bulk of that squad, which started four seniors — Chappelle Whitney, Omari Glover, Izayiah Villafuerte and Damarion Walkup — along with junior swingman Kade Unseld, the son of the WCHS coach.

Kade Unseld, who will play next season at Western Kentucky University, missed the Dragons’ first five games after undergoing surgery for a torn meniscus. He’s worked his way back from the injury but is still on a “minutes restriction,” according to William Unseld, and the Dragons have other recent additions in 6-foot-5 senior forward Elijah Starks and guard Robbie Dye.

“We’re going to be really good, but we’re playing one of the Top Ten teams in the state,” Unseld said. “We’ve got to play better in the fourth quarter, we’ve got to do a better job of closing out games.”

Senior swingman Drevin Bratton leads the Dragons in scoring while averaging 17.6 points and eight rebounds per game. Starks has quickly made his mark, however, and he finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the Dragons’ 69-60 victory over South Warren last week.

Bowling Green nearly knocked off the Dragons in last year’s KHSAA 4th Region championship game, with the Dragons pulling out a 52-50 victory at WKU’s E.A. Diddle Arena. The Purples returned four starters from that team — senior center Mason Ritter, who’s headed to the Ivy League and Columbia University, senior guard M.J. Wardlow and junior guard Braylon Banks, along with junior point guard Deuce Bailey — in addition to role players such as Jace Wardlow and Luke Islett while winning 16 of their first 20 games.

M.J. Wardlow leads the Purples with 18.8 points per game, while the 6-foot-8 Ritter averages 14.8 points and a team-high 8.2 rebounds per game. Bailey, the starting quarterback on the BGHS football squad — the Purples won a KHSAA Class 5A state title in December — excels in his role as the team’s point guard, and Bowling Green has plenty of scoring threats on the perimeter.

“We’re going to be really good, but we’re playing one of the Top Ten teams in the state,” Unseld said. “We’ve got to play better in the fourth quarter, we’ve got to do a better job of closing out games.”

Senior swingman Drevin Bratton leads the Dragons in scoring while averaging 17.6 points and eight rebounds per game. Starks has quickly made his mark, however, and he finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the Dragons’ 69-60 victory over South Warren last week.

Bowling Green nearly knocked off the Dragons in last year’s KHSAA 4th Region championship game, with the Dragons pulling out a 52-50 victory at WKU’s E.A. Diddle Arena. The Purples returned four starters from that team — senior center Mason Ritter, who’s headed to the Ivy League and Columbia University, senior guard M.J. Wardlow and junior guard Braylon Banks, along with junior point guard Deuce Bailey — in addition to role players such as Jace Wardlow and Luke Islett while winning 16 of their first 20 games.

M.J. Wardlow leads the Purples with 18.8 points per game, while the 6-foot-8 Ritter averages 14.8 points and a team-high 8.2 rebounds per game. Bailey, the starting quarterback on the BGHS football squad — the Purples won a KHSAA Class 5A state title in December — excels in his role as the team’s point guard, and Bowling Green has plenty of scoring threats on the perimeter.

“Kade (Unseld) is one of the four or five best players in the state,” BGHS coach D.G. Sherrill said. “He’s a deep threat and he’s in his range when he steps off the school bus. They’re big, they’re physical and they’re gonna crash the boards.

“I think the shadow of Warren Central’s last two teams (the Dragons were the Sweet 16 runner-up in 2022) has been tough for them, but they’re very good.

“I really like the vibe around my team, when we’re all pulling in the same direction. It doesn’t matter if you bring a lot of horses to the barn … in the end, it’s a basketball game.”