OPERATES NEAR THE BASKET.
DRAGONS TAKE 5-0 RECORD TO MATCHUP WITH DeSALES
William Unseld is looking for the ultimate challenge with his Warren Central High School boys basketball team.
“People talk about, ‘Go undefeated,’ that sort of thing,” Unseld said on Tuesday night, after the Warriors’ workmanlike 71-43 victory over visiting Franklin-Simpson. “That’s not what I’m looking for. I’ve told the guys, ‘I don’t want to be 29-4 (last year’s impressive record), something like that.
“I want to get some battle scars.”
It was that fourth defeat, over the course of the Dragons’ amazing 2021-22 season, that resonates with Unseld’s squad.
The Dragons reached the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen championship game, winning 17 consecutive games, before dropping a gut-wrenching, 43-42 decision to Winchester’s George Rogers Clark High School, their second game in a matter of six, seven hours at Lexington’s famed Rupp Arena.
SHOT SELECTION IN THE SECOND HALF.
Expectations are certainly high at Warren Central, which returns the bulk of last year’s roster to the 2022-23 team.
The Dragons lost swingman Jaiden Lawrence, their leading scorer and top 3-point shooter, and backup forward Dalton Farley, but little else from the state runner-up squad. They’ve had to retool a little bit, with new roles for a handful of players, but so far, they’ve been up to the task.
GIVES THE DRAGONS DEPTH OFF THE BENCH.
Senior forward Chappelle Whitney struck for 26 points last week in the Dragons’ 64-57 victory over Louisville’s Western High School, and they’ve been without the services of junior swingman Kade Unseld for a couple games with an ankle injury.
Kade Unseld was back in the Warren Central lineup on Tuesday night, for the Dragons’ home opener against nearby Franklin-Simpson High School.
William Unseld admitted his team “mighta been a little too amped up” because the Dragons were finally playing before their home crowd. Warren Central got a little “3 happy” at times.
Franklin-Simpson, meanwhile, pulled to within 10 points of the Dragons in the early moments of the third quarter, when the Wildcats’ Gabe Jones drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing to make it 35-25.
Unseld called a timeout and told the Dragons to stick with the game plan.
THE TEAM WITH 17 POINTS TUESDAY NIGHT.
Warren Central is at its best when it exploits its quickness and athleticism, and William Unseld made sure the Dragons understood that when the game was over.
“It was sloppy. We were 3 of 17 on 3-pointers,” senior WCHS forward Chappelle Whitney said. “There’s no room for mistakes … We’re still feeling things out, (Franklin-Simpson) gave us their best shot tonight.”
Kade Unseld, the son of the Dragons’ head coach, was quick to agree.
“Honestly, we didn’t play all that great tonight,” he said. “We’ve still got a lot to work on. We’re gambling too much on defense, shooting the 3 too quickly sometimes.
“We’re just trying to make a statement, every night.”
TAKES THE ENTRY PASS AGAINST THE WILDCATS.
The bar has been set unusually high at Warren Central, which emerged from a three-way scramble with Bowling Green and Greenwood to take the KHSAA’s 14th District championship in February. The Dragons seemed to catch fire in postseason play, and once they upset Louisville’s Male High School in the Sweet Sixteen, they seemed to be a team of destiny in Lexington.
Warren Central then knocked off Murray HIgh School, 54-48, in the Sweet Sixteen quarterfinals before outlasting Covington Catholic 61-58 in the second semfinal matchup.
William Unseld got his players back to their hotel, and off their feet, for a few hours, but the Dragons’ quickness had been neutralized for the championship game, and George Rogers Clark survived in a defensive title tilt, winning 43-42.
RECORDS A FIRST-QUARTER BLOCKED SHOT.
Most of that WCHS roster is back, and the Dragons have seven seniors this season.
“We know what we have. We’ve got a special group,” Unseld said.
One of those seniors is steady point guard Izayiah Villafeurte, who needed to hit a free throw, the second shot of a 1-and-1, to force a likely overtime against George Rogers Clark, with 3.2 seconds showing on the Rupp Arena scoreboard clock.
GRC coach Josh Cook called a timeout from the Cardinals’ bench, after Villafuerte’s first free throw fell through the net.
HIS SENIOR YEAR WITH THE DRAGONS.
AND HIS PLAYERS AFTER THE
KHSAA SWEET SIXTEEN TITLE GAME.
Villafuerte practiced his free-throw shooting motion during the timeout, his image carried to the large crowd on the video board at Rupp Arena. After the foul shot rimmed out, the Cardinals had survived, but Villafuerte and his WCHS teammates said they’d be diligent in getting another shot at glory for the 2022-23 season.
“We really don’t feel any pressure, to be honest with you,” Villafeurte said Tuesday night. “We know how to block out the noise, we know what we can do on the court.
“(The title game) didn’t really get to me or anything. It made me work harder in the summer.”
HARD-NOSED SENIOR POINT GUARD.
That’s what William Unseld has emphasized, as the Dragons try to negotiate the path back to the Sweet Sixteen.
George Rogers Clark and Warren Central are 1-2 in this week’s AP statewide boys basketball poll, with unbeaten Bowling Green checking in at No. 6.
“The (KHSAA) 14th District, the 4th Region, it’s an animal,” Unseld said. “That’s what we’re working for, right now, the 14th District.”
Kade Unseld led the Dragons with 17 points against Franklin-Simpson, while Chappelle Whitney finished with 11 points. Villafeurte had nine points, and football/basketball star Omari Glover finished with eight points.
IS A CATALYST AT BOTH ENDS OF THE FLOOR.
Glover received a KHSAA 4th Region Player of the Year football award after the third quarter of the Warren Central girls’ game with Franklin-Simpson. Glover brought the WCHS home crowd to its feet with a steal and second-quarter dunk, pushing the Dragons’ lead to 15 points, but the Wildcats threatened to make a game of it after halftime, pulling to within 10 points in the opening moments of the third quarter.
GRABS A SECOND-QUARTER REBOUND.
ON SATURDAY NIGHT IN LOUISVILLE.
That’s when William Unseld got after the Dragons about their shot selection, and Franklin-Simpson coach Dee Spencer thought his team broke down, defensively.
“They made us play their style of play,” Spencer said. “We have to do a better job, defensively. It was a layup line, in the first quarter. They’ve got a lot of guys who can score. If you have one mental breakdown, they’re going to make you pay for it.
“Anytime you play a team like this, you’ve got to play 32 minutes.”
That’s why Unseld kept his squad in the locker room for several minutes when it was over, picking some nits because of the Dragons’ vast potential.
“I kept telling them, ‘Take it to the rim.’ We weren’t shooting the 3 very well, at all,” Unseld said. “We need games like this, because it allows me to coach them tomorrow … I know our kids were excited to be playing at home.
“We don’t have another home game until January 17.”
FOR A SHOT FROM THE PERIMETER.
That’s all by design, of course, because the Dragons’ bar is set so high. Warren Central (5-0) faces a talented DeSales squad (4-3) at Louisville’s Fairdale High School in the King of the Bluegrass Tournament, with a scheduled 9 p.m. EST tip-off on Foday night.
Franklin-Simpson (3-2) tangles with Warren East (4-1) on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. in the Kentucky 2A Sectional Tournament. Gabe Jones had a team-high 14 points against the Dragons, while teammate Mathias Dickerson finished with seven.
DEFENDS AGAINST THE WILDCATS’ O.J. GAMBLE.
A LOT OF TIME AT THE FREE-THROW LINE.
FRANKLIN-SIMPSON GIRLS 66, WARREN CENTRAL 31
The Lady Wildcats never trailed in improving to 4-2 on the season.
Warren Central trailed 33-19 at halftime, after which Franklin-Simpson began to extend its lead with a sturdy defensive effort over the final two quarters.
Hadley Turner led Franklin-Simpson with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and teammates Malyea Partinger and Katelyn McAlister added 13 and 11 points, respectively.
PULLED AWAY IN THE SECOND HALF.
Senior guard Kennedee Robinson led Warren Central with 11 points and teammate Aida Akhmedova finished with nine.
Warren Central (3-6) plays host to KHSAA 14th District rival South Warren on Friday evening, at 6 p.m., while the Lady Wildcats will return to the court after the Christmas break.
WAIT FOR THEIR CHANCE TO TAKE THE FLOOR.
