Several current and former Harlan Countians were among those selected to the 13th Region Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday during halftime of the regional championship game at The Corbin Arena.
Casey Lester helped lead Harlan to 13th Region Tournament titles in 1993, 1995 and 1996 with first-round wins all three seasons and a semifinal finish in 1995. The Dragons won All “A” Classic state titles in 1994 and 1995. Lester scored 2,298 points in his career, earning all-state honors as a senior in 1996 before going on to play at Berea College. He was the head coach at Harlan for nine seasons from 2002 to 2011 and recently completed his first season as an assistant at Harlan County High School.
Harlan County coach Kyle Jones helped lead the Black Bears to a 13th Region title and state runner-up finish in 2024 in only his second season on the job. He has posted and 86-20 record with three 52nd District Tournament titles in three seasons. He played for his father, Mike, at Harlan and was a four-year starter. He played on the 1996 regional championship team and was regional player of the year as a senior in 1999.
Lewis Morris was a basketball and baseball standout at Cumberland High School, earning the award as the Kentucky Associated Press Athlete of the Year as a senior in 1985. He helped lead Cumberland to the state final four in baseball in 1985 and led the Redskins to a regional runner-up finish in basketball earlier that year. He coached basketball at Hazard, Bell County and Middlesboro in Kentucky, leading the Bobcats to a 13th Region title in 2011.
Ralph Roberts was one of the most successful 13th Region coaches in history with over 615 wins in stops at Prestonsburg, Fleming Neon, McCreary Central and Cumberland. He coached 14 years overall during three separate stints at Cumberland with seven 52nd District Tournament titles.