The Bowling Green Purples have had a stranglehold on the district, and region, with four straight Region 4 titles.

If Bowling Green is going to make it five in a row, it will have to replace a lot of talent on the court and transition from longtime head coach D.G. Sherrill to Derrick Clubb on the sidelines. Warren Central seems poised to make a run at Bowling Green, with preseason region player of the year Skyelar Potter, while Greenwood, Warren East and South Warren also hope to be a factor.

Here is a look at District 14:

The Dragons were stunned on their home floor in the District 14 tournament, but are determined to make amends with a strong group of upperclassmen.

Potter – who signed with Wright State last month – leads the way, but seniors Jordan Cousin, Micale Mee and Kemal Esmic bring experience. The junior class includes Jamale Barber and Tayshaun Bibb.

Cousin and Potter gives the Dragons size and length, while Mee has shown the ability to light it up on the perimeter.

“I think about it every day,” Cousin said of last year’s season-ending loss in the district tournament semifinals. “Every time we step out on the court, I think about it every day. It motivates me so hard. I use it to try to motivate my team.”

Bowling Green enters the season as the defending state champion, but Clubb will need a lot of different faces to contribute if the Purples want to make it back to the Sweet 16.

Terry Taylor, DeAngelo Wilson and Kyran Jones have graduated, while Zion Harmon transferred to Adair County. Seniors Jay Buser, Eli Thurman and Jarius Key are the most experienced returning players, while juniors Beau Buchanan, Davion Dice, Trevor Dennis and Kolbe Gray also saw time last season.

Seniors Justice Dingle and Ziyon Kenner join the Purples after playing football, while sophomores Tre Wright and Dorian Morrison, and freshmen Conner Cooper and Isiaiah Mason will be asked to add depth.

“As far as having a target on our back, we approach every day trying to find out what this team’s strengths are going to be,” Clubb said. “We are trying to make this team the best that they can be. That has always been our approach, the last six or seven years at Bowling Green. We don’t talk about (a target). It’s a long season and you have to embrace every day. That’s kind of what we talk about.”

In Bob Pels’ first season as head coach the Gators overcame some adversity, losing the top two scorers to a suspension, then shocking Warren Central in the District 14 Tournament and advancing to the Region 4 tournament. Greenwood hopes that momentum can carry over this season despite returning a group that lacks much experience.

Luke Littrell, Andru Burgess and Noah Nash are the lone seniors. Littrell shot 35 percent from 3-point range and averaged more than seven points a night, while Nash appeared in 19 games. Junior guard Jack Roberts emerged as one of the area’s top threats on the perimeter and is Greenwood’s leading returning scorer. Roberts led the team with 59 made 3s, while averaging more than 10 points.

The junior class also includes Bryce Johnson, Josh Potter and Isaac Stansbury. The sophomore class features Ben Carroll, Geovonni Floyd, Peyton Loggins and Parker Williams, while the freshman class includes Nand Patel and Noah Stansbury.

Head coach Brandon Combs will guide one of the youngest teams in the region, with the Raiders losing a ton of experience from last year.

Seniors Adante Barber, Tashawn Neal, Sam Perdue and Brevon Whitney have the most experience, with Thomas Maxey among the juniors hoping to contribute.

“I feel like this is a team that is going to get better as the year goes along,” Combs said. “Their ceiling is pretty high. We return some players that played a lot of minutes and they are going to improve as the season goes along.”

The Spartans were ravaged by injuries last year, but are hoping to build back after a disappointing 2016-17 season.

Second-year coach Nelson Cundiff will have a small team, but one that gained plenty of experience with underclassmen rushed into action last year due to the injuries. The Spartans will have six seniors – Eddie Bahic, Gage Haggerty, Austin Howard, Will Kaufman, Colin Moore and Daniel Moore – along with seven juniors.

Cundiff said his team is hungry after last year’s disappointing season and eager to move forward in taking the program into uncharted waters.

“We have goals that we want to reach,” Cundiff said. “South Warren has never been to the region tournament. That is our No. 1 goal. We would love to get to the region tournament. We are going to continue to work hard each and every day.”