Sophomore point guard Jordan Miles will run the show for Christian County
It would probably be a safe assumption to say that the 2020-2021 basketball season was not the one Coach Toby Miles envisioned when he agreed to take over the Christian County Colonels’ basketball program. The Colonels were coming off a season in 2019-2020 that saw them come within a whisper of knocking off Madisonville-North Hopkins in the regional semifinals and they figured to be among the teams contending for the regional title the following season.
However, the pandemic and other issues took the wind out of the sails on what promised to be a potentially big season for the Colonels. And “took the wind out of the sails” would likely be a big understatement.
First of all, the 2020-2021 season start was delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It was delayed even longer for the Colonels, who began the shortened season in COVID protocols. Christian County finally was able to begin the season January 26. The Colonels would get to play just four games before going back into protocols for another two weeks.
Christian County was able to get in six games before postseason play started, with the season then abruptly ending with a district semifinals loss to eventual region champion University Heights.
The Colonels would end the year at 0-11. And, when they were able to get on the court, the Colonels had trouble getting the ball to find the basket. How much of that can be attributed to the pandemic and all of the schedule impacts of that, we may never know.
What we do know, is that with a new season, hopefully, a bit closer to normal, comes new hopes and aspirations for a Christian County team that will return some players that might be able to make the 2020-2021 season a distant memory.
One issue that the Colonels will not face is a lack of returning experienced players. Christian County will have seven players back that saw action in at least ten of the eleven games that the Colonels played last season. Seven seniors are on the roster for 2021-2022. On those seniors, Coach Toby Miles added “we have a pretty heavy senior class this year, and we are looking for them to lead as a whole. They’ve been together for quite some time, and it’s now their time to lead. The younger guys playing with them will need that support because they will be alongside them a lot throughout this season.”
Point guard Jordan Miles is the team’s top returning scorer at 7.8 ppg. Derrell Bateman finished the season at 6.5 ppg, while JaSean Riley averaged 5.5 points per contest.
Bateman was the team’s top rebounder last year at 6.7 boards a game. Riley was second at 5.1 rebounds.
In addition to those three, Coach Miles added that he needs big seasons from Herb Forte, Trez Vaughn, KJ Vaughn, and Jalil Farrow.
As for new faces to be on the lookout for, Miles pointed to 6-2 sophomore Breland Morrision as a player that could play a big role for Christian County this season.
For a turnaround season, one area that has to improve for the Colonels is getting shots to fall. During the shortened 2020-2021 season, Christian County connected on just 34.9 percent from the field, and just 20.1 percent from behind the 3-point line.
You figure a more normal off-season and a more normal preseason would help in those areas. Coach Miles noted “it’s starting to feel like a little normalcy is coming back into place. The steps before the season begin are starting to take shape because up to this point, we’ve been able to do what we are supposed to do.”
After not picking up a win last season, Miles thinks a good start to the year could be key for his Colonels this season. “Winning early is something that needs to happen for our kids. And, at the same time, I have to make sure of that by having my guys be well prepared to face whoever. Now, if a team beats us this year, they are going to have to beat us. So, to me, success also comes in that form as well. The guys will be able to ‘successfully’ say that they gave it their all, and made their opponent work extra hard, either us having a loss or a win at the end.”
The Colonels will be tested over the course of the season. In addition to the district-run of UHA, Hopkinsville, and Fort Campbell, the schedule includes home matchups with Muhlenberg County, Paducah Tilghman, Bowling Green, Pearl-Cohn, and Warren Central. Road trips include games against Madisonville, Caldwell County, Henderson County, McCracken County, and Owensboro Catholic.
The Colonels will open the season at home November 30 when they host Muhlenberg County.
