So, what will Lyon County do for an encore?
After a magical season that saw the Lyons win the school’s first-ever state championship in any team sport aside from the All-A Classic, it’s well-documented what the big three of Travis Perry, Brady Shoulders, and Jack Reddick were able to give the program during their run, which was capped with Perry winning Mr. Basketball, and the Lyons winning the Sweet 16.
Despite the loss of four starters from last year’s team, coach Ryan Perry feels like they are a postseason contender once again and feels the postseason experience of the past three years – nine region tourney games and eight at the Sweet 16 – will prove beneficial.
“Being able to go through the regional tournament and make it to the regional championship game two or three times for some of these guys is a huge deal,” Perry said. “There’s nothing that can replace being there and the feeling of accomplishment that it takes to get to that point. I think experience is the big thing that we have that I think is going to be really good for us.”
Junior Bray Kirk is the lone returning starter from last year’s team and at times showed breakout capabilities, averaging nine points and five rebounds a game. His ability to get to the rim saw him shoot 61% from the field while also knocking down 36% from the arc.
Bray had a really good summer. I still think he’s really flying under the radar across the state and he’s getting some good college looks now,” Perry said. “When the season starts and people really see what he can do with the basketball, I think it’s really gonna help him a lot. He’s a guy that changed his role completely and he did so in June when we needed him.”
While most of the spotlight will now be directed Kirk’s way, there are other players expected to increase their productivity after gaining valuable minutes in differing roles last year.
Isaac DeFew was one of those players scoring five points and three rebounds a game.
He will be joined in the front court by sophomore Nolan Coffman, a Madisonville transfer who scored five points and pulled down five rebounds last season.
The bigs are players who can run the floor effectively, meaning Perry can continue to play his patented up-tempo offense.
Carson Collins is the Swiss Army knife of the team and is usually the first player on the floor going after a loose ball. He is also usually tasked with guarding the other team’s best player, a role that’s expected to continue this year.
His twin brother Cooper is in shooting range once he steps inside the gym and can give the Lyons an effective perimeter attack in the half-court.
After that, it will be a fight in practice to see who Perry uses in his rotation. One new face on the team this year is senior Eli Baker, who comes over from the baseball team, where he was region player of the year.
Baker is 6-3 and can play multiple positions for the Lyons.
“I think the summer was really good for us as far as guys kind of figuring out what the roles are going to be in and it will probably take us most of December to figure out exactly what everybody’s roles are and what the team’s going to look like,” Perry said.
BIG GAMES
As glamorous a schedule as the past few years, Lyon County has still put together a very challenging slate of games.
The Lyons will play Christian County at Murray State’s CFSB Center on Dec. 5 and will return to the Lexington Catholic Holiday Classic after Christmas where they will face the host in the opening round game. The Knights lost to Great Crossing on a last-second shot in last year’s 11th Region championship game.
Lyon County will also play Owensboro Catholic at the Sportscenter in Owensboro on Jan. 13 in addition to games with Graves County (Jan. 20), Henderson County (Feb. 3), Owensboro (Feb. 8), Paducah Tilghman (Feb. 17), and Calloway County (Feb. 20).
They could also face University Heights Academy in the semifinals of the All A Classic Region Tournament.
The Lyons will only play nine home games this season.
“Last year, every game we played in just felt like a pressure cooker of a game that we couldn’t lose and with a very intense atmosphere and that kind of stuff. We’ve got a really difficult schedule again this year. We scheduled a lot the way we did with last year’s class their junior year with a lot of tough venues,” Perry said.
PLAYERS UNDER THE RADAR
“I think Isaac DeFew is a guy who has a ton of upside and plays hard and does all the little stuff. I think he’s gonna be a guy that people are gonna be like, ‘Wow, that kid’s a lot better than I thought he would be,” Perry said. “The twins – Carson and Cooper (Collins)– are both doing really good stuff.”
OUTLOOK
Lyon County has watched its three Division I level players produce and be team leaders during a three-year run to the Sweet 16, but the big question now is who will fill the leadership role? The quicker that question is answered as well as the question of depth will determine whether or not Lyon County can repeat as region champions in the All-A Classic as well as the Second Region.
Lyon County also had some of the best game-closers to play in the region in a long time with Perry, Reddick, and Shoulders.
“We lost a great deal of our ball handling and a great deal of our scoring so people are going to have to step up and be in uncomfortable situations to do those things. How we handle the basketball is not going to be a secret early on. That’s probably our Achilles heel right now.” Perry said. “We’ve been doing a lot of work on ball handling and I know that we’re gonna be getting pressured a lot.
