By: Ryan Hoot
I made the quick drive down 75 south from Lexington to the birthplace of fried chicken, or fried chicken that matters at least, referring to none other than the Original Kentucky Fried Chicken in Corbin, Kentucky. The excitement filled the building early and “White Horse” by Eastern Kentucky’s own Chris Stapleton rang through the speakers. Night 2 of the All “A” Classic promised to paralleled only by the games of the Sweet 16 in Rupp Arena in atmosphere , but the Road to Rupp was stuck in a traffic jam at the top of the KHSAA “A” division at The Arena in Corbin as 8 teams remain vying for the elusive title of Kentucky’s All “A” Champion.
The first game matched the Newport Wildcats against the Danville Christian Warriors. MilkCrate, myself mainly, was busting with excitement from the game yesterday to see how Danville’s 6’11’’ tower Lual Ayiei can carry the momentum from his impressive performance. Newport’s Power 5 offer holding forward Tay Kinney looked locked in early, nailing a 3 from the left corner under a minute into the game. Not to be outdone, Danville’s own, junior Braden Fugate said “not so fast” and nailed a dagger from three land. That’s when I knew we were in for a fight in the 606. Danville Christian made it rain in the first as all but 1 basket came from deep. DCA took a lead after the first 11-7. Emmanuel Dut, a mid major prospect in my eyes, kicked off the 2nd half with an impressive floater from the top of the paint. Kinney tried to answer on the other end, embellishing contact from a missed midrange deuce that DCA failed to take advantage of in transition. One thing that stands out in particular is Ayiei’s ability to run the court. Most of the 7 footers at this age look a bit awkward when they run, not Ayiei…whom resembles more of a soccer player. Kinney began the 2nd half locked in defensively creating a turnover on DCA’s first possession. Emmanuel Dut, a senior for the Warriors, had an off game a as he only finished with 10 points ultimately proving as a stallworth for the Warriors, a mid major is going to be getting an absolute steal with Dut…..he finishes, handles well, owns a seemingly endless stamina, and has intangible assets that clearly lead his Danville Christian Warriors. The Wildcats from Newport stormed back, largely boosted by a game total of 14 points from Tay Kinney, winning the game in a gutsy comeback 46-34. I don’t expect this to be the last we hear from the Warriors though, barring an upset they certainly will get another shot at the big one in Lexington.
The “big one” of the night put 5000 all time point seeker and Kentucky signee Travis Perry against Walton-Verona from Region 8. Walton-Verona’s top prospect a 6’6” Junior Aaron Gutman who could be described as an athletic 3 whom can handle the rock when needed, looked to pull off the ultimate upset in beating whom many feel is state title favorite in Lyon County. Both teams play fast, this promised to be a fun one, hope the stripes have their running shoes on. Travis Perry looked like he was ready to run through a brick wall in warmups, completely locked in to the task at hand. The first quarter, Walton-Verona came out strong, giving Lyon County a game. The Eddyville Radio announcer seated next to me almost sounded to be as in disbelief that Lyon County found themselves in a game, but with the lead 22-15 after 1. Starting the second quarter, Walton-Verona’s Gutman put Lyon County’s Jack Reddick on a poster. Reddick, a senior guard with elite passing skills from Eddyville, is very under- recruited with no real major offers to speak of. He has been officially invited to MilkCrate’s unsigned senior camp in Lexington this April. The 2nd quarter had Perry and Gutman going back and forth, with Gutman and Walton-Verona storming back to cut the lead to 1 as the game went into half with the Lion’s on top 34-33. Coming out of the locker room, Walton-Verona carried their momentum from the 2nd Quarter taking the lead 43-41 at the first timeout of the Third. Lyon County showed that dawg in them and why they are a state champ favorite taking the lead back 50-47 by an explosive run started by none other than Jack Reddick, who was immediately T’d up after voicing satisfaction for a clutch made bucket from NBA range. 6’2” senior Julian Dixon was the leader for the Bearcats from Walton-Verona. Going OFF in the 3rd with some very difficult and contested layups at rim level bringing Walton-Verona back within 2 heading into the final quarter 54-52. Lyon County, pulled together a team effort to take a 60-52 with 2:15 remaining in the game and the feeling in the arena was that the game was in hand. The first 3 of this one were as good as you can get in high school basketball, it was an absolute treat for the 2,000+ in attendance. The Lions move on to the semi-finals 64-52 where they will face Tay Kinney and Newport. Grab your popcorn, that means Tay Kinney and Travis Perry are lined up for what is sure to be a heavy weight bout where Perry will still be seeking that 5000th point, etching his name once again in the record books. Also, who says basketball isn’t romantic? Perry broke the state scoring record against this same Newport team in Rupp last year.
Hopefully up to task of following up the previous battle, we have other Bulldogs from Clinton county taking on offensive juggernaut Murray from way out West Kentucky in Region 1. Clinton County, bolstered by 6-6 Junior Big Cannon Young will be in for a track meet as 6’3” Lincoln English and ultra athletic Jeremiah Jones, a 6-4 220 pounder who holds a football offer from the Louisville Cardinals look to play fast. Zayvion Carman might be a name to watch from Murray, a 6-6 stretch 4 playing with grit and toughness. However, Jones proved to be too athletic for anyone on Clinton County to properly match up. Although the game was played fast, the scoring started slow as Murray led 16-11 heading into half. Jeremiah Jones came out in the second quickly matching his first half total of 4 points, widening the lead to 10 at the first timeout of the final half. Young earned his 4th foul late in the 3rd and headed to the bench to watch as Murray took an 8 point lead into the 4th. This game ended uneventfully, but look for Murray to get back to their high scoring ways in their semi final matchup tomorrow. Toss this one up to an off night from the field, Murray wins 46-32.
The night cap, tipping off at 9:54pm local time pairs the defending champion from 2023 Louisville’s Evangel Christian Academy against east Kentucky Perennial “A” power Pikeville. Evangel, boasts 6’2” guard Christian Doerr whom is receiving interest from Division 1 programs and teammate Karan Tille, considered to be one of the top floor generals in the state. Evangel will have their hands full however as Pikeville big, 6’9” Charlie Fitzer looked to lead Pikeville to the Semi-Finals against the Tigers from Murray. Evangel was the far superior team athletically but Pikeville showed heart. Unfortunately, heart doesn’t stop the ball from going into the basket and evangel jumped out to an early 9-4 lead. Christian Doerr, a shifty guard with full court vision also put a clinic on in the mid range, going 2 for 2 in the first from the top of the paint. Evangel is an all around team full of players that hold division 1 athleticism, the youth of the program stands to be tested as they will have to come out of the very difficult 6th Region in Louisville. They certainly pass the looks test however, Doerr is the obvious leader and the other 4 on the court look to him for direction. They do take a rather large amount of long 2’s, but are one of the best teams I’ve seen this season on the defensive end of the floor. I don’t just credit that to elite athleticism, these kids were communicating and calling assignments on their own. Evangel wins big, 52-37 in a game that will leave a sour taste in the mouths of the Pikeville Faithful setting up what is sure to be a track meet against Murray for a spot in the ‘ship. I’m tired, it’s late, tournament time is crazy, but I’m ready for some hoop dreams of my own….Hoots out.
The Coach Ryan Report 