Madisonville-North Hopkins is seemingly always on the list of contenders for the 2nd Region.
When you’ve won 15 straight 7th District championships, you give yourself a chance to make a run in the regional tournament every year.
The Maroons are in the same situation again, with most observers pegging Madisonville as the team to beat in the district.
However, other schools in the district feel like they may have closed the gap on the Maroons this season.
Dawson Springs is expecting to field one of its best teams in a long time, and Caldwell County is a potential dark horse in the region. Hopkins Central is also looking to be a challenger in the district.
But everyone acknowledges that the path to the 7th District title goes through Madisonville.
The Maroons will rely heavily on all-region performer Kanyon Johnson, who was the quarterback on the Madisonville football team. The 6-foot-5 senior could make a run at 2nd Region Player of the Year this basketball season after averaging 13.3 points and 5.2 rebounds a game last season as the Maroons went 18-16.
A couple of key losses may put even more focus on Johnson.
Junior guard Lemontae Ratcliff scored 11.5 points a game last season. However, he suffered an ACL injury in travel ball play over the summer and is expected to miss the upcoming high school season.
Another player who was supposed to a key contributor this season, 6-5 sophomore Nolan Coffman, transferred to Lyon County.
That will test the depth of a Madisonville team that should still be athletic enough to compete with almost everyone on the schedule.
Senior Landen Smith returns after netting 10.8 points a game and connecting on 40.2 percent of his 3-point tries last season.
Senior big man Ryan Bryant is back after getting 7.5 points and 4.6 rebounds a contest a year go.
Aaron Richardson returns as well. He scored 7.1 points a game.
PLAYERS UNDER THE RADAR
Senior guards Antonio Grant and Davin Cheirs could be poised to take on bigger roles this season as the Maroons look for someone to take over Ratcliff’s minutes.
BIG GAMES
Madisonville faces a difficult schedule out of the gate, with a trip to University Heights Academy (Dec. 3), a date against Evangel Christian in the Marshall County Hoopfest (Dec. 5) and a home matchup against Christian County (Dec. 10).
The 7th District dates will all be important this season as all four schools jockey for seeding for the district tournament.
OUTLOOK
The 7th District appears as competitive as ever this season, but Madisonville stays in the favorite’s role, even without Ratcliff or Coffman in the lineup.
Any team good enough to advance out of the district this season should be a challenger in the 2nd Region as well, with Henderson County, University Heights and Lyon County all expected to contend in the region.
Madisonville will be a tough out in the regional tournament — provided it can avoid a misstep in the district, where every team will be trying to end the Maroons’ 15-year dominance.
