Off and running at KSD
Athletic achievements at Kentucky School for the Deaf sometimes slip by below the radar, but the good start by this year’s boys basketball team deserves some notice. The Colonels are 4-0 in the young season after their victory Tuesday night over St. Francis, and that ranks among the best starts in school history.
KSD defeated deaf schools from Virginia, South Carolina and Tennessee in a round-robin event last weekend in Knoxville, Tenn., then beat St. Francis in the first of seven or eight straight games against hearing schools. (The next one comes tonight at 0-2 Eminence.) (UPDATE: Eminence defeated KSD 55-49 Wednesday to hand the Colonels their first loss.)
Here are the hottest starts in KSD’s basketball history, courtesy of first-year coach Mike Yance:
- 1931-32: 5-0 with wins over St. Joseph (46-10), Kavanaugh (20-10), Junction City (30-14), Frankfort (24-21) and Mount Vernon (36-21).
- 1930-31: 4-0 with wins over Middleburg (24-17), Forkland (21-20), Brodhead (19-17) and Mount Vernon (33-27).
- 2007-08: 4-0 with wins over Va. School for the Deaf (59-24), S.C. School for the Deaf (55-50), Tenn. School for the Deaf (44-21) and St. Francis (56-52).
- 1951-52: 3-0 with wins over Camp Dick Robinson (52-36), St. Charles (39-36) and McKinney (42-34).
- 1952-53: 3-0 with wins over Poplar Creek (56-52), Camp Dick Robinson (53-48) and St. Francis of Assisi (40-39).
In addition, the 1978-79 team started 6-1, losing its season opener to Western Anderson 66-64 before winning six straight.
Having won the Knoxville tourney, this year’s Colonels can aim for one more championship before competing in the most important tournament of their season, the Mason-Dixon Tournament for Southern deaf schools next month in St. Augustine, Fla. They’ll host the inaugural KSD Small School Invitational, an event created by recently retired athletic director Paul Smiley for some of the state’s very smallest schools. Covington Latin, Piarist and Riverside Christian — all of whom are currently 0-2 — will fill the field for the boys and girls event Dec. 14-15 at Thomas Hall.
