Weekend Recap: Fayette County Hoop-O-Rama

<p>Saturday, I spent nearly my entire day in the gym at Frederick Douglass. Showcasing 7 of the teams in Fayette County, there was a full schedule of games with no shortage of talent. Here’s a quick breakdown of who impressed. I was not in the gym for the Bryan Station/Somerset game so no performances from that game are included here.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Franklin County vs Lafayette:</strong></span></p> <p>Lafayette big man <strong>Ray Surratt</strong> is an old school 5 man who knows how to use his body to get great position and finish around the rim. He was 0 for the game from 3 and missed several free throws (he typically is a very good free throw shooter) but when he posted on the block, no one from Franklin County could guard him after he buried them in the post. For Franklin County, Sophomore <strong>Zac Cox</strong> was the ultimate high risk/high reward player. Over the course of the game, he shot some absolutely crazy shots, but several went in. I was never able to see a stat sheet, but I’d guess he had close to 30 points, including a hot streak late in the game where he buried multiple very deep threes. </p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Lexington Catholic vs Frederick Douglass:</strong></span></p> <p>This game was extremely sloppy and hard to watch at times. Catholic pulled out the win after hitting several threes in the 2nd half. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="604116" first="Ben" last="Johnson"]</strong> struggled to hit shots from deep but was able to get to the rim and even made one tough two off a high post post up. Frederick Douglass can use more solid play from the point guard spot as Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="922995" first="DaShawn" last="Jackson"]</strong> is better served off the ball. Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="926891" first="Jack" last="Gohmann"] </strong>hit multiple threes in the second half to help spur a run by Catholic that put them ahead for good.</p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Tates Creek vs Christian Academy of Louisville:</span></strong></p> <p>This was easily the least competitive game of the day as Tates ran CAL out of the gym pretty much from the outset.Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="783041" first="Amari" last="Taylor"]</strong> had a solid day and scored the ball well. He looks ready for a big Senior season. Junior <strong>James McKensie </strong>also had a good showing. After watching CAL the last two Saturdays, they look like they may struggle this season but Junior <strong>Brayden Daniels</strong> was a bright spot and shows the ability to score the ball and shoots the trey well.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Paul Laurence Dunbar vs Louisville Central:</strong></span></p> <p>The next to last game of the day was also the most exciting. Central is a joy to watch and Coach Bibby is one of the best coaches in the state. The Jackets ran, pressed and trapped for 32 minutes while Dunbar’s length and athleticism gave them all kinds of trouble. The Sophomore class at Dunbar is even more loaded than I thought. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="638847" first="Tim" last="Hall"] and [player_tooltip player_id="926900" first="Robby" last="Todd"]</strong> both started for the Bulldogs and <strong>Zach Carter</strong> hit a bunch of threes on his way to almost 20 points in the first half alone. I’d guess that Dunbar had 15 blocks in the scrimmage. Their length and athleticism is going to cause teams a lot of issues in the 11th region.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Henry Clay vs Lincoln County:</strong></span></p> <p>The last game of the day featured the likely favorites in the 11th and 12th regions facing off. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="783031" first="Marques" last="Warrick"]</strong> has reached the point that I’m now surprised when he misses shots. He’s also hard to stop when you let him get to his left hand. The Devils have good guard depth but really lack interior play. I proposed a trade this summer between Dunbar and Clay where each would get better if Henry Clay got some size from Dunbar and Dunbar got a guard or two from Clay. Regardless, Henry Clay won the scrimmage pretty easily. Lincoln County was hurt by poor shot selection but Sophomore <strong>Cruise Wilson</strong> was a bright spot for the Patriots while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="923057" first="Baylor" last="Mattingly"]</strong> hit several threes. He’s a guy you can’t leave open and have to force him to put the ball on the floor. Lincoln will be fun to watch this season as they shoot a ton of threes.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>