New head coach Chris Sullivan steps into a good situation at Hopkins County Central.
Many observers are picking the Storm as the team to beat in the 7th District and one of the top contenders in the 2nd Region as well.
However, Sullivan knows his team still has its work cut out for it to fulfill those prognostications.
“Our team will have a lot of growing to do this season,” he noted. “There is a lot of talk about how good we are, but we haven’t won anything yet and are putting guys on the floor without a lot of experience. We are talented, so that helps out for sure, but with the lack of real minutes played we could be in some wars with our schedule.”
Sullivan, a longtime assistant coach at Hopkinsville and a former head coach at Todd County Central, was hired to take over the Storm in May.
He inherits three returning starters and two newcomers that figure to make the Storm formidable in 2025-26.
Senior Davonyae Butcher will play a key role this season “because of his ability to shoot the ball so well,” said Sullivan. A streaky scorer, Butcher averaged just over 18 points a game last season while shooting over 40 percent from 3-point range.
Sophomore Channing Stone is back at point guard.
“Channing Stone will also be the guy that sets the tone for our pace of play, so we expect Channing to have a breakout season for us this year,” said Sullivan.
Sophomore Devante Jagoe also returns.
“Jagoe only played 10 games last season and he’s a guy that could also have big nights for us. In his 10 games, he averaged 4.8 points per game.”
Hopkins Central essentially made a trade with Madisonville-North Hopkins in the offseason. Lake Sumner left the Storm for the Maroons while junior Peyton Smith transferred in from Madisonville.
“He earned All-Region team award last season and played a big role off the bench for them,” Sullivan said of Smith. “He’s a good shooter from 3 at over 38 percent. He’s capable of having big scoring nights.”
Another “newcomer” is 6-foot-4 sophomore Samari Pettus.
“Samari Pettus is a guy that played here his middle school years and moved away to Georgia his freshman year, but returned at the end of the school year last year,” noted Sullivan.
“Blaze Sumner (a sophomore) will also be a very important player for us. He handles the ball well, is a good shot maker and can play multiple positions for us.”
Sullivan expects to have a balanced outfit.
“I think we’ve got a team full of guys, that on any given night could lead us in scoring. Samari Pettus and Channing Stone will surprise some people with how much they can impact a game. Both guys are sophomores that are talented and play well when the lights come on.
“We are inexperienced in a lot of facets of the game for the most part,” Sullivan added. “Devonyae Butcher is really the only player that has logged significant varsity minutes for us. We are a team that’s capable of being very competitive within our district/region, but due to a lack of experience could struggle at times. We want to be playing in the regional championship at the end.”
However, Sullivan knows the 2nd Region could have some very good teams at the top of the list this season.
“Lyon County will be very good. They return some very good players that know the system their program has in place. Hopkinsville will be very talented as well and have added a couple of transfers. Despite what Henderson lost last season, they’re still Henderson and will be very well coached. Union County is talented as well, so I could see them making a run late in the season too. I also think we’re right there in the mix with our team. Hopefully, we’re able to keep guys healthy and growing in maturity as our season plays out.”
The Storm is scheduled to open its season on Tuesday against 3rd Region school Muhlenberg County.
An early-season 2nd Region showdown happens on Thursday when Hopkinsville visits Mortons Gap.
