For Billy Hicks and Dale Mabrey — the two winningest boys basketball coaches in Kentucky history — the past few days have provided notable milestones.
Hicks, the head coach at Scott County High School, picked up the 900th victory of his career Friday when the Cardinals defeated Bryan Station 76-54. On Sunday, Pleasure Ridge Park’s Mabrey was named the coach of the West team for the prestigious McDonald’s All-American Game set for March 30 in Chicago.
While Mabrey was unavailable for comment, Hicks said his milestone was more about his assistants and players he’s coached.
“One thing you’ll never hear me say is that these are my wins,” Hicks said. “The teams I’ve coached have 900 wins. I had a part in that, but there are hundreds of other people who also had a part in that. …
“I’m fortunate that I’ve made a lot of friends in coaching. It’s 900 wins, but I’ve met thousands of nice people.”
Hicks is Kentucky’s all-time winningest coach with a career record of 900-259. He’s in his 36th season, having also coached at Evarts, Harlan and Corbin. Mabrey, in his 35th season at PRP, has a career record of 867-248.
To the surprise of many, Hicks’ Cardinals are 19-1 and No. 8 in the state in The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings.
Four of Scott County’s top seven scorers are freshmen, including 6-foot-6 Michael Moreno, who leads the teams in scoring (15.1 ppg) and rebounding (9.9 rpg). Freshmen Cooper Robb (11.3 ppg) and Glenn Covington (6.2 ppg) also start, and freshman Cam Fluker (3.8 ppg) is a key reserve.
“In all my years of coaching, I’ve never had more than one freshman start at a time and I haven’t had that many of those,” Hicks said. “But we saw these kids back when they were 5 and 6 and coming to our camps. They’re all gym rats. We knew they’d be pretty good.”
Although his team is young, Hicks believes it’s in the hunt with No. 3 Paul Dunbar, No. 6 Henry Clay, No. 9 Lafayette and others for the 11th Region title.
“I think we have a shot, but are we the favorite? No,” Hicks said. “The 11th Region is a senior-laden region. All the other good teams are loaded with seniors, and Dunbar is probably the most talented team in the whole state.”
Mabrey’s PRP squad is 9-6 this season after falling to Doss 51-39 last week in the second round of the Republic Bank Louisville Invitational Tournament.
Mabrey was one of two Kentuckians selected to participate in the McDonald’s All-American Games. Elizabethtown’s Erin Boley, a 6-foot-2 forward who has signed with Notre Dame, will compete for the East team in the girls contest.