The debate about the toughest district in Kentucky may never end but Doss High School boys’ basketball coach K.C. Goodin thinks he knows the answer.

With two teams ranked in the Top 20 in The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings — No. 12 Iroquois and No. 13 Doss — and three more (Western, DeSales and Butler) capable of pulling an upset or two, the 22nd District may have the deepest field of any district tournament this week.

“Our district has to be the toughest in the state of Kentucky,” Goodin said. “Our fifth seed (Iroquois) is ranked in the Top 20 of the state, so it’s going to be a dogfight every night. There’s not much difference at all in any of the teams.”

Indeed, the 22nd District will be one to watch as district tournaments open around the state Monday. District champions and runners-up advance to next week’s regionals. Regional winners advance to the Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Sweet 16, scheduled March 19-23 at Rupp Arena in Lexington.

Doss was a perfect 4-0 in 22nd District play to earn the No. 1 seed in the tournament that starts Monday at Iroquois. Western and DeSales tied for second at 2-2, with the Warriors getting the No. 2 seed by virtue of their 51-50 victory over the Colts last Monday. Butler and Iroquois tied for fourth with 1-3 records, and the Bears got the No. 4 seed after beating the Raiders 75-71 last Monday.

Both of last Monday’s matchups will be repeated in the district tournament, as Butler will face Iroquois at 6 p.m. Monday in the first round, and Western will meet DeSales at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in a semifinal. Doss will face the Butler-Iroquois winner in Wednesday’s 7:30 p.m. semifinal. The final is 7:30 p.m. Friday.

“Every team in our district is capable,” Iroquois coach Jeff Morrow said. “Doss obviously is the favorite after winning the regular season, but it’s hard to get a handle on it because everybody is kind of up and down right now.”

Morrow is uncertain about the status of one of his top players entering the district tournament. Senior Devon Johnson hasn’t played since Feb. 11 and may not return, Morrow said.

Western got a recent boost when 6-foot-4 senior Carl Brown transferred back to the program from St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, N.J.

“It makes them a better team, makes them deeper,” Goodin said of Brown’s addition. “They’re going to be a factor.”

Here’s a look at three other district tournaments to watch around the state this week:

* In a Ninth District semifinal, Apollo will host Daviess County on Tuesday in a matchup of two of the top teams in the Third Region.

* In the 14th District at Warren East, No. 16 Warren Central could face Bowling Green in Saturday’s final as a possible preview of the Fourth Region championship game.

* In a 42nd District semifinal, Henry Clay will host Bryan Station in a semifinal Tuesday. No. 2 Scott County will meet Sayre in the other semifinal.

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