Event Preview: Traditional Bank Holiday Classic

<p>The Traditional Bank Holiday Classic has been one of the best tournaments in the state for longer than I can remember and this season's bracket is loaded once again. This year's edition won't start until Thursday at Bueter Gym and is full of talented teams from across the state.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Opening Round Match-Ups:</strong></span></p> <ul> <li>Things get underway with at 4 pm as <strong>JJ Traynor </strong>and Bardstown take on 9th region powerhouse Cooper. The Jaguars will look to shut down the Bardstown offense while Coach Brewer's team will be looking to get out and push the pace.</li> <li>At 4:30 in Alumni Gym, Hancock County and <strong>Jaxson Gray </strong>take on <strong>Kyle Stivers</strong> and Franklin County. Hancock has their best team in some time while the Flyers have a lot of veteran talent.</li> <li>5:30 sees a match-up between Frederick Douglass and UHA. Sophomores <strong>Dashawn Jackson</strong> and <strong>KJ Crump </strong>are AAU teammates but will go against each other here.</li> <li>Alumni Gym's 6 pm game pits <strong>Kelly Niece </strong>and <strong>Simon Kenton </strong>against Robertson County and freshman <strong>Justin Becker.</strong> Should be a high scoring affair.</li> <li>Lexington Catholic opens up with Bellevue at 7 pm in the big gym. <strong>Tommy Ratterman</strong> and <strong>Ben Johnson </strong>should get up plenty of threes in that contest.</li> <li>At 7:30 in Alumni gym, Bryan Station goes up against visiting Deltona, Florida. Station will be coming off their first win of the season.</li> <li>The last game at Bueter Gym is a dandy as George Rogers Clark takes on Newport. GRC is led by <strong>Jordan Graham and Brennan Canada. </strong>They'll be faced with slowing down Newport's <strong>Tahj Harding and Makhi McGuire.</strong></li> <li>The final tip of the day is between the Webb School from Tennessee and Landstown from Virginia. They'll play in Alumni Gym with a late tip-off at 9 pm.</li> </ul> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Ten Players to Watch (in no order):</strong></span></p> <ol> <li><strong>Jared Courtney, Franklin County</strong> - The Junior point guard can score it and dish it out. For the Flyers to make a run in this tournament, Courtney will need to play his best.</li> <li><strong>Brice Scott, Lexington Catholic</strong> - A bruising post player, Scott plays well below the rim but uses position and brute force to overpower his defender. If he can average a double-double for the tournament, the Knights could win it.</li> <li><strong>Jared Wellman, George Rogers Clark</strong> - Just a sophomore, Wellman is starting to prove himself as a quality third scoring option behind Canada and Graham. He also rebounds very well for a wing. </li> <li><strong>Daeshawn White, Newport</strong> - Recently returned from an injury, White is likely to draw the defensive assignment on Jordan Graham in the opening contest. How well he defends could be the difference in staying in the Championship bracket or moving to the consolation bracket.</li> <li><strong>Kelly Niece, Simon Kenton</strong> - One of the state's top scorers as a Sophomore, Niece should earn a few looks from college coaches who are in the building this week.</li> <li><strong>Justin Becker, Robertson County</strong> - A top freshman in the state, Becker has shown the ability to stretch the floor with his shooting and will need to have a big game for Robertson to knock off Simon Kenton.</li> <li><strong>TJ Deere, Cooper</strong> - Deere has a couple of small school offers after transferring from Covington Catholic over the summer. Deere could draw more college attention with a big week in Lexington.</li> <li><strong>JaRel Montgomery, Bardstown</strong> - The Tigers leading scorer is at his best in attack mode trying to get to the rim. For them to knock off Cooper, Montgomery will need to be at his best for Coach Brewer's team.</li> <li><strong>Montaveon Bean, Frederick Douglass</strong> - The leading scorer for the Broncos is off to a strong start to his Senior year. To make it a special season, they can start by knocking off UHA on Thursday.</li> <li><strong>T<span style="font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal;">aQuan Hollo</span>well, University Heights</strong> - Hollowell is the least well known of the UHA stars but came up big this weekend with a game winning shot over Male at the King of the Bluegrass. </li> </ol>