Basketball

“Don’t tell people your dreams, show them.” With four D-I college offers under his belt, Corbin High School junior Andrew Taylor is doing just that. Being part of Hoop Dreams, a 16u AAU team, has afforded him the opportunity to showcase his skills on a national level. Most recently, Hoop Dreams was in Orlando, Florida at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World where approximately 4,800 elite athletes from across the nation went head-to-head at the 16U/17U AAU Boys’ Basketball National Championship and Super Showcase events. Hoop Dreams went 3-0 in pool play. In the first game against Martin Brothers, Taylor scored 22 points, had 8 rebounds...

With summer now in full swing, it won’t be long before the annual NIBROC festival returns once again to downtown Corbin. The yearly celebration always includes several sporting events, and in 2016 the News Journal’s 3-on-3 basketball tournament will be returning for it’s fourth installment. A total of eight teams participated in the inaugural tournament in 2013, with Team Buckets (Tyler Wagner, Isaac Wilson, Travis Raper and Madison Johnson) being crowned the first-ever champions, receiving plaques and $150 dollars in prize money. Interest grew between 2013 and 2014, with an additional ten teams showing up to compete in the second annual 3-on-3 tourney. Team Buckets (Wagner, Johnson, Wilson, Travis Cowden and...

On Tuesday, Randy Crider was introduced as the new varsity girls basketball head coach at Williamsburg High School. A press release from WHS said, “Randy Crider has accepted the position of head girls basketball coach at Williamsburg High School. He becomes the tenth coach in modern program history.” “The Burlington, KY native is a graduate of Conner High School, and earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts degrees from the University of the Cumberlands.” “Crider has served this summer as the interim coach, and has been tabbed by the school’s search committee from fourteen applicants. Prior to these assignments, coach Crider had worked in the Lady Jacket program as...

Each summer, local high school basketball teams get the opportunity to take the court for a few weeks and compete against other squads in a series of offseason scrimmages. During this time, coaches get the chance to see their respective players in action and consider which areas of need will be the most pressing when preseason preparations begin in earnest later in the year. Earlier this week, the Corbin Redhounds hosted the first-ever Tim Short Auto Mall Summer Shoot-Out, which also featured the Williamsburg Yellow Jackets, the Whitley County Colonels, the South Laurel Cardinals and the Harlan County Black Bears. The event kicked off Monday with pool play, and then...

The News Journal has learned that Amanda Vermillion’s contract has not been renewed at Williamsburg Independent Schools for the 2016-17 academic year. This applies to both her position as an elementary school teacher, as well her position as the head coach of the Lady Jackets varsity basketball program. According to Vermillion, she was called to the front office during the day Thursday, at which time she was informed that the decision had been made by school administrators to not renew her contract. She says that no specific reasoning was given for why she would not be welcomed back to coach or teach next year. When asked what she would like to...

On Tuesday, May 3, senior Corbin Lady Hound Candice Gulley signed with the University of the Cumberlands women’s basketball program. Gulley has enjoyed a very successful career at Corbin, helping the girls’ basketball team win four straight 50th District titles, as well as 13th Region titles in 2013 and 2014. When asked about bringing Gulley on board, UC women’s basketball Head Coach Melissa Irvin said, “We feel like Candice will be a great addition to our program. She has been coming to our camps since age seven, and when she chose us we were all thrilled. She has had a great career at Corbin.” “We believe Candice’s best days are ahead of...

On Thursday, April 7, the University of the Cumberlands men’s basketball program gained a very talented local player when Barbourville High School senior Brentley Perry signed his letter of intent to become a Patriot this fall. Perry helped lead the Tigers to 14 wins and an appearance in the 13th Region tournament this past season. He and sophomore teammate Markelle Turner proved to be a dangerous combination on the court, with each of them possessing the ability to seemingly score at will. Lynn Camp Wildcats Head Coach Dinky Phipps, who coached Perry for three of his four seasons at BHS, said, “Brentley is one of those players who always came in...

The University of the Cumberlands (UC) Men's Basketball team went into Saturday's quarterfinal round of the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship Tournament looking for their 2nd berth in school history into the NAIA Fab Four. It would take a win over #4 seeded and NAIA #14 ranked Mid America Christian University (MACU) to earn that opportunity. Both teams would battle back and forth, but in the end, it was the Evangels of MACU coming away with the 77-73 win over UC. The loss finishes UC's season at 24-12 overall. In the first half, UC would hold its largest lead of the game of just two points, but...

The University of the Cumberlands (UC) Men's Basketball team continued their pursuit on Friday in the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship Tournament as they faced Talladega College (TC) Tornadoes. After a slow start for UC in the first half that saw the Patriots trail by 18 at one point, the Patriots would surge from behind to come away with an 82-80 victory, moving on to the Round of 8. The win moves the Patriots to 24-11 on the season. In the first half, the Tornadoes would come out firing on all cylinders, especially from three point range where UC would find themselves down by as much as...

The University of the Cumberlands (UC) Men's Basketball team opened up the 2016 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship Tournament on Wednesday morning as they took on the Lions of Langston University (LU). In the first ever meeting between the two teams, they wouldn't disappoint the crowd as they would take the game to overtime, the first time in the history of the tournament that the opening game would go into overtime. It was there that UC would hit some crucial, late free throws to come away with an 80-78 victory, advancing the Patriots to the second round of the championship tournament. UC would start off strong, but...