Impressive Performances Over Christmas Break

Starting in the next couple of weeks, we’ll begin to update our 2020-2022 class rankings and launch our initial 2023 class rankings. Heading into the new year, I managed to get to several games in Louisville and Lexington at the King of the Bluegrass and the two Lexington tournaments. These are some of the most impressive performances I saw over the last two weeks. [player_tooltip player_id="530673" first="DeAjuan" last="Stepp"], West Jessamine - Stepp had a huge weekend at LCA’s tournament as he put up games of 24, 30 and 26 points. Dee never came off the floor in the games I watched and had to handle the ball and guard the ball on the majority of possessions. Dee continues to raise his stock and should be a top 10 player when we update rankings again. [player_tooltip player_id="692942" first="Christian" last="Spalding"], Eastern - Spalding was one of the most impressive players I saw over the course of the Christmas break. He’s only a Sophomore (and a young one at that) but he was in control of the Eagles offense and knows how to run a team and when to create his own offense. Looking ahead, Christian’s combination of positional size and skill bodes well for his college prospects. [player_tooltip player_id="915102" first="Jackson" last="Sivills"], McCracken County - Jackson is such a high IQ player and has tremendous feel for the game. Capable of playing inside or out, Sivills showed that he can score against elite athletes and gets his shot off against almost anyone. He’s going to play his college ball at Murray State and should be an impact player there over his career. [player_tooltip player_id="926882" first="Maker" last="Bar"], Ballard - Bar got eligible just in time for the King of the Bluegrass and is going to be an impact player for the Bruins for the next three seasons. Maker is long and athletic with decent feel for the game. He’s only going to get better over the next couple of years and has already shown the ability to score the ball in addition to being a good rebounder and rim protector. [player_tooltip player_id="604116" first="Ben" last="Johnson"], Lexington Catholic - Ben was the most impressive pure scorer I saw over the break. On his way to being named MVP of the Traditional Bank Classic, Johnson put up big numbers in 4 wins and has helped get Catholic to a 13-0 start. The Junior is scoring 25 points per game with shooting splits of 52/42/79. If he can raise his free throw percentage, he could make the elusive 50/40/90 club. [player_tooltip player_id="706008" first="JJ" last="Traynor"], Bardstown - Much has been said and written about Traynor leading up to his commitment to Louisville but the thing that stood out for me was how much JJ has bulked up since the last time I saw him in July. JJ looks like he has added 10-15 pounds of muscle. Many of his detractors say he won’t see the floor for the Cardinals next year but if he continues to develop the way he has in the last 6-9 months, it will be hard for Coach Mack to not play him next season. [player_tooltip player_id="801625" first="Tanner" last="Walton"], Lexington Christian - Tanner, like his LCA teammates, does not blow you away in the layup lines but man can he score the ball! And he does it efficiently. Walton put up big scoring numbers at the LCA tournament and is averaging nearly 25 points per game while shooting 59% from the field and 46% from three. If Tanner can show college coaches that he can effectively guard his position (LCA plays primarily zone) then he will impress some coaches in the near future. [player_tooltip player_id="783077" first="Treshawn" last="Cody"], Lloyd Memorial - Cody was the best athlete I saw all week and that includes Traynor and Eastern’s [player_tooltip player_id="926883" first="James" last="Jewell"]. Treshawn got a steal and just casually threw down a two handed reverse dunk like most players shoot a layup. Cody isn’t just an athlete though. He scored the ball from midrange, shot his free throws well and rebounding the ball at a high rate. He’s only shooting 25% from three on the season but if he keeps improving as a shooter, he could be a good wing prospect. [player_tooltip player_id="706003" first="Dayvion" last="McKnight"], Collins - Collins went 5-3 while playing a very tough stretch of games between the King of the Bluegrass and the Traditional Bank Classic. McKnight was electric and consistent over the 2 week stretch as he runs the point, defends the ball and leads his team in scoring and rebounding while shooting almost 60% from the field while taking the most shots for the Titans. [player_tooltip player_id="716839" first="Justin" last="Powell"], North Oldham - Unfortunately, Powell was injured at the Traditional Bank Classic last week but before that, he was named MVP of the King of the Bluegrass and looked awesome while leading his team to a 3-1 week. The future Auburn Tiger would have had a triple double against Fairdale if his teammates had made their layups. It remains to be seen how much time Justin misses with the injury he suffered last week but he was electric at the KOB and deserved his MVP award. [player_tooltip player_id="915105" first="Ksuan" last="Casey"], Madisonville North-Hopkins - Madisonville also played the KOB and then the Traditional Bank Classic. [player_tooltip player_id="783030" first="Kenny" last="White"] was really good for both events but the fact that Ksuan is seemingly an automatic bucket every time he gets a post touch is super impressive to me. The stats he has put up this season are not indicative of the impact Ksuan has on a game. He remains one of the state’s best available prospects and will be a steal for a college coach in the spring. [player_tooltip player_id="923001" first="Cam" last="Pope"], Male - While he’s quietly having one of the best seasons of any Bulldog, Pope hasn’t gotten a ton of recognition. The shooter is hitting 50% of his three point attempts while making 3 per game and is surprisingly second on the team in scoring for the loaded Male squad. When I watched them beat McCracken in OT, Cam was an efficient 4/7 from the field for 11 points. This time next year, we are likely to be seeing him average closer to 20 points per game while keeping up his efficiency numbers.