Lexington Catholic Quartet Evolves
AAU seasons allow high school teammates to grow independently before unifying back together.
Powerhouse Lexington Catholic will be even stronger this upcoming winter because Max Sparkman, TC Price, Luke Johnson, and Alexander Payne improved.
Lexington Catholic boys basketball won the All “A” Classic State Championships in 1992 and 1997. The 2002 squad captured the Kentucky State Championship. Can 2017 replicate?
“Our goal is to win the state championship, to be the best we can be,” said TC Price. “I think we have the potential to go that far.”
Price ran with West Virginia Flight 16u all summer. From Cincinnati to Columbus to Ft. Wayne and Indy, Price’s role was to “do-everything I can to help my team win whether it was score, guard, defend, distribute. I played on the ball some, but I was on the wing most of the time.”
Sparkman (Hoop Dreams) sees Price helping Johnson in the scoring column this season.
“He has a nice jump shot,” said Sparkman. “He attacks the rim a lot. He is a lot bigger than guards who guard him. He has a good pull-up. I played with TC since we were freshmen.”
Between Price and Johnson the backcourt will give buckets to anyone. Johnson saddled the scoring burden last year and will dump them in again.
“Last year he was our go-to guy to put the ball in the bucket,” said Price. “He can fill it up.”
Sparkman raved about Johnson too.
“He is probably one of the best passers I have ever played with,” said Sparkman. “That is what makes him so good. He is creative. He is probably also going to be our leading scorer. He can shoot. He can get to the basket. He has a floater.”
The 6-foot-3 Johnson gives the unit size in the backcourt, but Sparkman and Alexander “Xan” Payne create problems under the rim.
Frontcourt
“Xander is probably about a 6’5″,” said Sparkman. “Pretty good athlete…He can score when he wants to, from elbow and post. His main strength is rebounding. He is a really good competitor. He gets hyped for big games.”
Payne competed with Travelers EYBL 16u throughout the AAU season. His bounce and tenacious rebounding impressed his AAU coaches.
“Xan is just a monster,” said Price. “He is a rebounding machine. As a sophomore he averaged 10-11 rebounds. He has a really high motor. He is a machine. He can play.”
For Payne the adjustment is coming on the offensive end, where he is stretching out his shooting range.
“He has gotten a lot better,” said Price. “He has stepped out and hit shots now. When he starts hitting those shots he is really hard to guard. He is a tough matchup for anybody.”
Sparkman is also tough to defend. At 6-foot-7, the 210-pound Sparkman bounds around the lane or runs the floor for the cause.
“Max is a really skilled big,” said Price. “He can step out and shoot. He guards the position well. He is great to have.”
The pieces are there. After maturing physically and developing individually the state dream is tangible. Instead of competing all over the United States, as they did in July, the quartet returns to their home gym soon, aiming at a title.