Can 7-foot-3 Bol Kuir help Belfry make history this high school basketball season?

BELFRY, Ky. — It’s been three decades since the Belfry boys’ basketball team has won the 15th Region. The eastern Kentucky school, most commonly known for its seven football state championships, advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in 1990, 1991 and 1992, but not since.

This year, however, the team has high hopes to upset that precedent, and with a talented team headlined by 7-foot-3 center Bol Kuir, it has a chance to do it.

“Our team goal is to win the region and go to the state championship. That’s our team goal,” Kuir said.

The Pirates have never before won a game in Rupp Arena; the program's lone state tournament win came in 1992 in Freedom Hall.

Kuir, who can nearly touch the rim without jumping, was the state’s leading rebounder (13.4 per game) as a junior, his first year playing high school basketball. A 19-year old South Sudanese native, Kuir came to the U.S. in 2018, where he was first enrolled at South Charleston and then Hurricane High School in West Virginia. However, he was ineligible to play at those schools and then began school at Belfry, just across the border from West Virginia, ahead of the 2020-21 school year.

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He’s become a top prospect, with offers from the likes of Texas, Illinois and West Virginia, according to his guardian. High school coaches statewide rated Kuir as the No. 17 high school player in Kentucky, and Kuir and the Belfry team hope they can make history this season.

Belfry went 10-19 in 2019-20, led by then-freshman guard Sal Dean. Last year, Kuir's first, the Pirates went 17-10 before losing in the region semifinal, and this year, the Pirates figure to be even more talented.

They’ve added Tykee “Ty” Peterson — a smooth, athletic 6-foot-4 college prospect. Peterson, a New York native, previously played at Life Christian Academy in Virginia before enrolling at Martin County in Kentucky last school year; the senior guard transferred to Belfry earlier this school year.

Daniel Deng, a 6-foot-10 skilled forward also from South Sudan, is a college prospect, too, and attends Belfry, but he’s unlikely to be eligible to play this season.

In a Courier Journal poll of coaches, Belfry was picked to be the No. 7 team in the 15th region, but with the aforementioned Kuir, Dean and Peterson — as well as senior guard Cross Taylor and twin junior forwards Jonathan and Steven Banks — the Pirates have high ambitions.

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Paintsville, the region’s defending champions, is among the favorites to repeat. And Pikeville, with 6-foot-5 Division I prospect Rylee Samons, is also expected to be one of the region’s strongest contenders.

Eastern Kentucky sports media personality Darrell McCoy, who operates D&D Sports Network, said he'd rank the 15th region boys' teams as follows: Pikeville, Paintsville, East Ridge and Belfry.

“Honestly, Belfry can win the region," he said.

Landon Slone, the coach of Paintsville, considers his own team the favorites to repeat, but expects Belfry to be “solid.”

“They definitely have the potential to be one of the better teams in our region, it’s just how do you mesh all that talent? How are they gonna react to it?” Slone said. “Personally, in that facet, I think that’s kinda getting out of control in terms of players transferring in and out.”

Dean has been a standout guard for the team for three years, and he’ll be integral to the Pirates' chances this season. He said there has been some growing pains as the team acclimates to the start of the season, but he, too, hopes for a region and state title.

“Of course (there) will be bumps in the road as we add new pieces and talent as we are, but we’ll get over that,” said Dean.

When Kuir, the tallest player in the state, first arrived at Belfry, he was an anomaly, and he turned heads. “At times last year, it was like a rock star mentality as he’d walk through the hallway, kids looking at him, things like that,” said Belfry coach Mark Thompson.

But he’s become a part of the Belfry community and has honed his on-court abilities. He’s always been uniquely long and mobile — he often finishes alongside the guards when the team runs sprints — and he's improved his skills; he's a hard-to-believe shot-blocker, rebounder and dunker.

Plus, since last season, he’s added noticeable muscle to his lanky frame.

“I’ve really seen progression from last year to now,” Thompson said. “He’s impressive to watch. But I’m used to it, too, now, which last year I was just amazed at times. Now my expectations of what he should be able to do, that’s changed. He’s really coming along.”

On the defensive end, he plugs up the lane and often forces opponents to alter shots or pull up for jump shots. On the offensive end, he’s a threat to dunk — whether on an alley-oop, putback, or otherwise — on every possession. Last year, he averaged 14 points per game and converted 66.5% of field goals.

“You can just throw it up, and he’ll just go get it,” Dean said.

Belfry begins its season at Boyd County on Friday and then, later this month, will play in the King of the Bluegrass at Fairdale; the Pirates are first scheduled to play Male, one of the state’s best teams, on Saturday, Dec. 18.

“It’s been great,” Peterson said of the team’s preparation for this season, which they hope will be a historic one. “I like the guys that I play with, we all have a good bond, we all love each other, and we’re just ready to do big things this year.”

Hayes Gardner can be reached at hgardner@gannett.com; Twitter: @HayesGardner.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Bol Kuir and Belfry hope to win KHSAA 15th Region, Sweet Sixteen