Fern Creek guard-forward Chance Moore puts up a shot over Pleasure Ridge Park center Micah Kinnebrew. Pleasure Ridge Park forward Darius Osborne pressures from behind. 15 February 2017
Fern Creek High School boys basketball coach James Schooler said he had three main questions for Chance Moore when he decided to transfer from Eastern before his senior season.
“Would he be coachable? Would he play hard? And would he play defense?” Schooler said. “He’s been extremely coachable and an extremely good teammate, and his defense has improved tremendously. And he’s still working hard every day.”
Moore is a big reason the Tigers are 29-2, ranked No. 4 in the state in The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings and the favorites to win their first-ever Sixth Region title.
The 6-foot-6 guard/forward leads the Tigers in scoring (17.1 ppg) and rebounding (5.1 rpg) and has been named The Courier-Journal’s Sixth Region Player of the Year in a vote of the region’s coaches.
“I’m as hard on Chance as I am any of the players who have been with me for three years,” Schooler said. “He takes it all and goes out and tries to improve on it.”
Also earning Player of the Year honors were Trinity’s Jay Scrubb (Seventh Region boys), Butler’s Jaelynn Penn (Sixth Region girls) and Male’s Ciaja Harbison (Seventh Region girls).
Sixth Region boys
Moore led Eastern in scoring (13.2 ppg) as a junior before choosing to transfer to Fern Creek for his senior season.
“He came here with a lot of question marks surrounding him,” Schooler said. “He’s answered a lot of things.”
► MORE COVERAGE: All-Sixth Region team
Moore received the L.J. “Butch” Charmoli MVP award when Fern Creek won its first-ever Louisville Invitational Tournament title in January.
Moore said several NCAA Division I schools are showing interest, but he still is working on his ACT score in order to be eligible as a freshman. He said he might attend a junior college next season.
Seventh Region boys
Scrubb took the honor with five votes, beating out runner-up J.R. Mathis of Kentucky Country Day (three votes).
A 6-foot-5 junior in his first season at Trinity, Scrubb leads the Shamrocks in scoring at 16 points per game and chips in four rebounds per contest. He’s shooting 60.1 percent from the field overall and hits 46.6 percent (41 of 88) of his 3-point tries.
Trinity’s Jay Scrubb (31) drives against St. X’s Tyler Barnes (15) during their game at Broadbent Arena. Jan. 6, 2017
Scrubb, a transfer from Central, spent the first part of this season coming off the bench for the Shamrocks but recently joined the starting lineup.
► MORE COVERAGE: All-Seventh Region team
Scrubb has helped Trinity to a 28-3 record and a pair of regular-season tournament titles in the King of the Bluegrass Holiday Classic at Fairdale and the Arby’s Classic in Bristol, Tennessee. Trinity is ranked No. 3 in the state in The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings.
Sixth Region girls
Penn (eight votes) beat out Bullitt East’s Lindsey Duvall (four votes) in a battle between two of the top candidates for Kentucky’s Miss Basketball award.
Penn, a 5-9 junior guard who has signed with Indiana University, leads Butler in scoring (14.8) and rebounding (7.1 ppg). She’s shooting 58.4 percent from the field, 32.8 percent (20 of 61) from 3-point range and 79.2 percent from the free-throw line.
Butler guard Jaelynn Penn comes between Mercer County forward Faith Lake, left, and Mercer County forward Lyric Houston on the way to the basket. 07 January 2017
Penn has led Butler to a 28-2 record and the No. 1 state ranking. She also helped Butler win a trio of regular-season tournaments: the Traditional Bank Holiday Classic at Lexington Catholic, the Winterfest Shootout in Sevierville, Tennessee, and the Louisville Invitational Tournament.
► MORE COVERAGE: All-Sixth Region team
Penn was the Sweet 16 MVP last season and is trying to lead Butler to its third state championship in four years.
Seventh Region girls
Harbison received four votes, one more than runner-up Jaela Johnson of Manual.
A 5-5 junior guard who has committed to Saint Louis University, Harbison is averaging 13.2 points, 4.9 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game. She’s shooting 46.1 percent from the field.
Male guard Ciaja Harbison drives to the basket in the Girls’ LIT championship. 28 January 2017
“Last summer she really took a step forward, and I consider her the best player on the floor every time we step into a game,” Male coach Champ Ligon Jr. said. “She gained a lot of confidence when we played Paul IV, which was the No. 1 team in the nation at the time, and she scored 25 points and was named the MVP of the tournament in a losing cause. That says a lot.”
► MORE COVERAGE: All-Seventh Region team
Harbison has helped lead Male to a 28-2 record and the 26th District Tournament title.
Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046 and jfrakes@courier-journal.com.