The last basketball game of the season involving a Land of Logan team was a disappointing downer. The Russellville Panthers were a virtual no-show in a lopsided loss to Warren Central in the semifinals of the Fourth Region boys tournament.

Since then, we have had ample reinforcement of the belief that it's no disgrace to lose to a Tim Riley-coached Warren Central team. The night after they dispatched the Panthers 57-40, the Dragons won what may be the most memorable regional finals ever by holding off powerful Bowling Green 63-58 in double overtime. Then Wednesday in the first game of the 2010 state tournament, Central eliminated 16th Region champion East Carter 55-36 to advance to the state quarterfinals.

On Friday, the state tournament's best game found Central coming back from a 22-point deficit to tie the contest, only to lose on a running, off-balance, 20-foot bank shot by Louisville Ballard's Ian Chiles as time expired. Ballard went on to reach the state finals by beating top-rated Scott County in Saturday morning's first semifinals. That's how close the team which eliminated the Panthers came to being in the state championship game.

Consider these numbers for Tim Riley. His teams are now 12-6 in state tournament games, and his Dragons are 6-1 in state tournament openers. He's coached Central to seven regional championships in the last nine years. Along the way his teams have reached three state Finals Fours, winning two of them. They have trophies for a state championship and a state runner-up finish in the display case.

The players have a lot to do with it, of course. But it's apparent to anyone who is familiar with his teams that former Dragons haven't fared well in major college basketball. Without trying to embarrass anyone, let's just say that the players' greatest successes so far have been in high school. With Tim Riley coaching, it's obvious that the total is greater than the sum of the parts.

This regional championship is especially meaningful to Riley because he has been reminded what it feels like not to go to state and because of how good Bowling Green is. "It may have been the first regional finals that Tim went in as an underdog," says his brother Steve, who coached Barren County successfully for several years. Tim remembers the most pressure: "The game versus Greenwood in 2007 was a can't lose game...my seniors had too much on the line that year....four of the starters were playing to go to their fourth state tournament and Jeremy Anderson was playing for his fifth state tournament. We did not want to lose that game and almost did." That team made it to the state semifinals, losing to Louisville Ballard 61-55 on Saturday morning. Ballard was the one who knocked them out this year.
During one of the halftime ceremonies, Tim Riley was inducted into the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches Court of Honor, a place he certainly belongs. He will be enshrined in many others before his career ends.

Steve Riley , the former Barren County coach, was much in evidence at this year's state tournament. He is now a member of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Board of Controls, being named to a spot that opened when Roger Cook left the Fourth Region last summer. Cook resigned as Russellville superintendent to take a similar position at Taylor County.

The Rileys are the sons of former LCHS and Chandlers social studies teacher Douglas Riley and of Jean Drake Riley, an Auburn native.

Serving as ball boys in the state semifinals were Landon and Lincoln Powell, the 12-year-old twin sons of Logan County natives James and Renee Powell of Somerset.

One of the public address announcers for state tournament games for years has been Rick Leigh of Georgetown. He's the husband of Russellville High School graduate Ann Sosh Leigh the brother-in-law of Lon Sosh and Jean Reynolds of Russellville.

We seem to have a monopoly on the Rupp Arena sound system, since RHS graduate Patrick Whitmer is the man behind the microphone for UK basketball and football games.

Officiating in state tournaments this year were two referees very familiar to basketball fans here. Barry Vincent did the girls state tournament, and Will Jones, who has been a regular at the girls state tournament in recent years, not only was an official for the boys this year but had the tough task of calling the semifinals Saturday morning between the two favorites, Ballard and Scott County.

The LoJo

I got to see both the state champions play the last few days. I though the Louisville Mercy girls and Shelby Valley boys were worthy champions, not only in the way they played the game but also in the way they handled themselves. There was no show to either one of them; they just went out and got the job done. Their coaches acted as gentlemen, and their players reflected their coaches on the court. Shelby Valley star point guard Elisha Justice was a joy to watch. He could become Rick Pitino's next Travis Ford, except at the University of Louisville.

Shelby Valley, which is located in the Pikeville area, was the second smallest school in the field. Only Newport Central Catholic, which draws from a large population as a Cincinnati suburb, was smaller. Ballard, (Shelby) Valley's opponent in the finals, is triple the size of the champions.

Ballard was one of the classiest schools in the state tournament in the seventies, but the school's cheering section kept ushers and law enforcement officers busy during the state championship games. The students were rude during the always impressive introduction of "The Greatest Show in Hoops," and they didn't want to stay out of the aisles or off the rails during the game. At least three-fourths of the crowd at Rupp Saturday night was cheering for Shelby Valley, a reminder of the old days when it was the state versus Louisville in the late sixties and early seventies. Shelby Valley joins the list of legends like Edmonson County and South Laurel.