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March 19, 2010

Seniors will go down as one of the best groups in Corbin history

Les Dixon - The Way It Is

The Times-Tribune

CORBIN — To say this year’s group of four Corbin Redhound seniors will be missed is an understatement.

They accomplished something no other senior group had accomplished in 58 years at Corbin by leading the Redhounds to consecutive 13th Region championships.

They also captured some 50th District championships along the way and not to mention 105 wins during their four-year career in the red, white and grey.

I know I enjoyed covering Madison Johnson, Isaac Wilson, Aaron Manns and Luke Stewart the past four years.

• Johnson put his name on the high school radar by hitting a last-second shot against Bell County as a freshman during the 2007 13th Region semifinals against Bell County and he’s been hard to stop since.

He turned into one of the best scorers and rebounders in the 13th Region during his career and showed his toughness during Wednesday’s first round battle with Scott County in the Sweet 16.

Every one of his 18 points were earned the hard way, as he had to deal with consistent defensive pressure from the Cardinals the entire game.

• Wilson showed that hard work, determination and a big heart can take you a long way. During his first couple of years, he was needed to distribute the ball, but this past season, coach Tony Pietrowski expanded Wilson’s role and he gladly accepted. His 43-point effort against Bell County will go down as one of the most memorable individual performances in Redhound history.

• Manns was one of the quietest players I’ve ever covered, but boy was he good. He did a lot of the post work for the Redhounds the past four years, and he didn’t mind at all. He was a scrappy player that could rebound with the best of them. I thought his effort against Scott County was one of his best. He never backed down — something he never did his entire career at Corbin.

• Stewart was a pleasure to cover. He was one of the hardest workers I’ve covered and he didn’t mind what role he had to play — he accepted it and made sure to give 110 percent to help his team win. He also turned in one of his best efforts against Scott County.

Like I said, these four players will be missed and they’ll go down as one of the best senior groups in Corbin basketball history.

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