DISHING THE WEEKLY DIME: Porter gets it done in G League

Jan. 10—Jacob Porter's head-coaching record now consists of 77 wins at the youth and middle school level — by his best estimation — and one W in the NBA G League.

Porter, a 2013 Russell alumnus, coached in the Marvin Meredith League, Russell's youth program, and then led middle school boys and girls teams at his alma mater from 2013-17 before entering professional basketball as an intern in 2017.

Porter became an assistant coach with the Grand Rapids Drive of the G League in 2019. But that league — one step shy of the NBA — didn't play a full season last winter due to COVID-19.

So Porter stayed busy back home by leading Raceland's seventh-grade boys to a 13-5 record and the Ohio Valley Conference small-school title. Porter was also a middle school football assistant at Raceland and aided the varsity Rams in their kicking game.

Porter is back in the G League with the College Park (Georgia) Skyhawks as an assistant this season and was immediately thrust into a familiar role, even if he's more used to it being with 12-year-olds than grown men.

With College Park head coach Steve Gansey in league-mandated health and safety protocols, Porter took over the Skyhawks on Friday and Saturday night.

Less than 12 months after aiming to beat Wurtland and McKell, Porter set out Friday night to top a roster of players one step away from the Orlando Magic.

He succeeded. Visiting College Park knocked off the Lakeland Magic, 111-100.

The Skyhawks gave Porter a celebratory shower, dumping cups of water on him when he walked into the locker room after the game.

"It was an incredible learning opportunity," Porter said by text message late Friday night. "Really proud of our guys for staying the course and making big plays down the stretch. It's a game of runs and in the second half (Lakeland) made theirs and we never flinched. We stayed together and kept battling one possession at a time. Overall, it was a great experience and really thankful for the guys I shared it with."

The Magic won a rematch, 112-102, on Saturday night. College Park hosts Grand Rapids on Tuesday.

Porter coached what is now the senior classes for both Russell's boys and girls when they were in middle school and has relished seeing their accomplishments at the varsity level.

"I've coached a ton of middle school games," Porter cracked, adding a crying-laughing emoji. "Loved every second of it."

The Dime

—With a 75-57 victory Saturday night over Highlands, Ashland's boys improved to 31-3 in rematches with teams that had previously beaten them under fourth-year coach Jason Mays.

The Bluebirds topped the Tomcats twice last season — in the season opener and in the Sweet Sixteen semifinals. Though Mays understood that storyline in relation to Saturday's game, he urged his team to leave it in the past.

"I didn't want my guys thinking what most people in Ashland are thinking — 'They bookended our season last year with losses,'" Mays said. "The last thing I told our team in the locker room before we took the floor for the last part of our pregame was, 'Tonight has nothing to do with last season. Tonight is all about, whoever the best defensive team is will win.'"

That was the Tomcats, who held the defending state champions 19 points below their per-game average.

Saturday was also Ashland's second victory over a defending titleist in a span of two years and one day. The Tomcats knocked off Trinity, 50-43, on Jan. 7, 2020 in Lexington.

That, too, was a rematch of a state tournament game the year before. The Shamrocks knocked Ashland out of the 2019 Sweet Sixteen en route to the crown.

"It's crazy how the teams that have beat us early in our tenure here, we've come back and found a way to win the game the last go-around," Mays said. "I'm not looking to schedule revenge games; we're just looking to play good teams, and when you play good teams, sometimes you're gonna come out on top, sometimes you're gonna be on the wrong side of the scoreboard."

—Last year's 16th Region All "A" Classic took more than a month to be completed due to COVID-19, inclement weather and the death of host West Carter alumnus Ben Jordan.

The Comets' coaches wanted another crack at hosting the small-school tournament, West Carter athletic director Corey Gee said, so he worked to get it back to Olive Hill, successfully.

The 2022 version, which has already had one weather postponement, tips off tonight at John "Hop" Brown Court with a Fairview-Menifee County girls-boys first-round doubleheader. Elliott County and Rose Hill Christian play a girls-boys double-dip on Tuesday.

West Carter and Raceland drew byes to the semifinals of both tournaments. The Comets await the Eagles-Wildcats winner in both brackets, while the Rams will meet the Lions-Royals victors.

The girls semifinals are scheduled for Wednesday, and the boys semis are Thursday. Both title games are set for Friday.

—Fairview girls coach Mo Mullins expects to make his return to the bench tonight, he said, after missing the Eagles' last six games with a host of medical issues and a pair of hospital stays.

Mullins's saga began with emergency gallbladder surgery. While in the hospital, he developed blood clots in his lungs. Mullins progressed enough from those to be discharged, he said, but developed gout in both feet stemming from the blood clots and went back to the hospital, where a bowel obstruction was also discovered.

Mullins has been cleared to return to his day job today as Fairview High School's assistant principal, he said.

"I've just gotta make sure I stay on my medication and do what I have to do and kinda take it easy, not go into everything 100 miles an hour like I used to do until I'm able to again," Mullins said. "I kid around with my friends and family, it's just called old-itis. It's just stuff you gotta deal with as you get older."

Mullins will also be with the Eagles tonight for their 16th Region All "A" Classic opener in Olive Hill against Menifee County, though assistant Jeffrey Humphrey will continue to play a leadership role, Mullins said, due to having led Fairview's preparation for the Wildcats, along with fellow assistant Katrina Holmes.

"I've got two great assistants," Mullins said. "They know our focus, they know our goals, they know our plan, and they've stuck to it since I've been gone and actually played pretty good basketball."

—Fairview's girls won their fifth game of the season Tuesday with a 49-21 victory over Adams County Christian (Ohio). That matches their win total from last year with 16 games remaining on the schedule.

The Eagles' Kiera Loving is averaging a double-double, with 12.8 points and 12.1 rebounds per game — going for 28 points and 14 boards against Sciotoville East (Ohio) on Dec. 28, and 29 points and 22 rebounds a day earlier at June Buchanan.

Mia Newton is chipping in 6.4 ppg. Newton is part of a group, Fairview coach Mo Mullins said, whose production has been counted on to aid Loving's efforts in the middle.

"Even if it's three or four girls adding eight, nine, seven, six points," Mullins said, "that's when we're at our best and most competitive."

Fairview set out this season to improve its shooting from the field and the foul line as well as cutting down on turnovers, Mullins said. He added the Eagles have cut their giveaways nearly in half.

"Don't get me wrong, we're still not at the level of where we need to be and where we can be," Mullins said, "but the strides that we've made and the improvements that we've made, to be able to win five games heading into January, that's an absolute testimony to how hard these girls have worked and how dedicated they've been."

—Ashland's boys made 20 3-pointers in a 94-41 victory over Spring Valley on Wednesday.

That is the most in a game in 16th Region history, according to records submitted to the KHSAA, and tied for fifth in state lore with two efforts by Southwestern in the 2004-05 season and a North Hardin outing against Leslie County in 1991.

The state record is 41 treys, canned by Jackson City against Millersburg Military Institute on Jan. 28, 1992.

Hat tip to freelance reporter Nate Bryan, who is perhaps best known for regularly raising a ruckus on social media but also has a great command of records and the like.

—Bath County's boys rallied from 13 points down in the second half to top Robertson County, 77-76, on Monday night in Mount Olivet.

Zack Otis scored on a drive in the final seconds for his second late game-winner of the season. He produced a buzzer-beater in the Wildcats' win over Spencer County on Dec. 22.

Otis added a triple-double on Tuesday night — 27 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists — in Bath County's 81-64 win at Powell County.

The Wildcats are 14-1.

—Rose Hill Christian's girls returned to action on Tuesday in their first game since Dec. 11, having paused to reset with injury problems and a coaching change that brought Kevin Nibert back into the fold.

The Royals dropped a 58-53 decision to Teays Valley Christian (West Virginia) at home. Bellamee Sparks scored 31 points and cleared an eye-popping 26 rebounds for Rose Hill.

—Bath County's girls, toting a tie for their best record at this stage of the season in eight years, lost, 60-29, at Russell on Wednesday night. But the Wildcats found some positivity from the experience of being on the floor with the two-time defending 16th Region Tournament champions.

"You have to understand, this thing doesn't define our season," Bath County coach Mark Collier said he told the Wildcats after the game. "This isn't gonna derail what we're doing. This is a really good team, and you just gotta take your lickings as you go.

"We could've easily opted not to play (Russell), but that's not gonna help us get to where we want to be as a program. We can play all these small schools who we can beat by 20, but at the end of the day, that's not gonna help us get out of this district into the region, so hat's off to Russell. ... You love playing this competition to see where your team's at."

Bath County was missing three of its top six players Wednesday, but Collier admirably didn't try to use that to excuse the margin.

"That doesn't take away from the narrative," he said. "It would've still been probably about the same score because (Russell's) players would've played a little bit longer.

"We just have to develop that confidence, and playing teams like this will help you develop that," Collier continued, "show you what you're good at and not good at, get exposed a little bit — but it's OK, being exposed is not always a bad thing."

—Kristy Orem spent 16 seasons building Fleming County's girls basketball program into one of the most consistent in the 16th Region.

She has needed less than six to push Pikeville among the 15th Region's elite.

Orem has become the Panthers' winningest girls coach. Pikeville had 135 wins — and three region tournament titles — under her direction entering Sunday's 15th Region All "A" Classic final against Shelby Valley.

Prior to her time in Pikeville, Orem coached Fleming County from 2000-16.

—Catching up: seven northeastern Kentucky players have reached 1,000 career points this season and two have hit 2K.

Russell's Shaelyn Steele and Brady Bell, Rowan County's Hailey Rose, Ashland's Ethan Sellars, Lewis County's Cheyenne D'Souza, Menifee County's Trey Abner and Lawrence County's Trenton Adkins have all hit four figures this year.

Paintsville's Colby Fugate and Lawrence County's Cody Maynard each cracked 2,000 points in this campaign.

30-Point Club

Lawrence County's Kensley Feltner dropped 41 points on Floyd Central on Saturday in the Kentucky 2A Section 8 Tournament semifinals. Four days earlier, she poured in 31 against Belfry.

Feltner and Rowan County's Haven Ford each scored 31 in the 2A section final on Sunday.

Menifee County's Eli Johnson netted 35 points against Morgan County on Monday. West Carter's Landon Nichols tallied 35 against the Cougars the next night.

Rose Hill Christian's Bellamee Sparks totaled 31 points versus Teays Valley Christian (West Virginia) on Tuesday.

Lawrence County's Cody Maynard produced 32 on Sunday in the 2A section final against Magoffin County.

Reach ZACK KLEMME at zklemme@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2658. Follow @zklemmeADI on Twitter.