Players to Watch: Anderson County Christmas Tournament

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2022 Anderson County Christmas Tournament kicked off on Tuesday night with a variety of schools from four different classifications. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's a quick look at the players to watch (teams listed alphabetically):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Anderson County&nbsp;</strong>– Host Mavericks enter their own event with a sub-.500 record. Their first opponent was Clarkrange, a much smaller school. Astute scheduling maneuver. :) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2762526' first='Brandon' last='Dake']</strong> and fellow sophomore <strong>Hayden Craig</strong> are leaders already. Dake looks like a four-year starter an potential college basketball player the way he plays. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Clarkrange </strong>– </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gibbs&nbsp;</strong>– Vertically unimposing Gibbs runs out <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2343066' first='Zack' last='Turner']</strong> (2025), <strong>Kamen Shown</strong>, <strong>Connor Atkins</strong> (2023), and <strong>Bryson Walker</strong>. Walker, at 6-foot-3 is the tallest starter, and he plays center. Perhaps because the team is on the shorter side they like to use some 2-3 zone. <strong>Braden Graves</strong>, a senior, plays a lot for Gibbs too. He has showed some nice mid-air agility around the rim.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hardin Valley Academy (HVA)&nbsp;</strong>– <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1708952' first='Ben' last='Brophy']</strong> is a classic high school guard. He runs the floor well, tucks in his shirt amazingly, and shoots with consistency. You probably enjoyed him as the star player in the movie Hoosiers. Not really, but he does look the part. Brophy can pass very well too. He sees opportunities wherever they exist on the offensive end. Judging by his body language and decision-making he enjoys setting up a teammate just as much as finishing off his own shot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Powell </strong>– <strong>Bryce Jardet</strong> is a deep threat. With nice guard size and a quick release, Jardet is always dangerous to flick a three-pointer in. Jardet's ability to run the fastbreak gives the team some versatility up and down their roster. PrepHoopsTN Combine alumnus <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1465836' first='Kaleb' last='Walker']</strong> is versatile too. Standing 6-foot-3, he can defend the low blocks or help on guards out high, all while possessing a repeatable, reliable jumper at the other end.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Providence Academy</strong>– <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1173208' first='Cross' last='Chadwick']</strong> is a must-see prospect, a two-time PrepHoopsTN Combine All-Star. Chadwick projects as a college faceup four-man. Light on his feet with wonderful shooting touch. His ceiling is tantalizingly high.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Scott </strong>– Losing Trey Morrow hurt. It would hurt any program. The dude scored 3000+ career points! He was not the only star to leave Huntsville though. <strong>Grey Todd </strong>and <strong>Toby Garrett</strong> are team leaders with this new bunch. In a win over Gibbs High, Todd scored 25 points (4 3-pointers). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>William Blount &nbsp;</strong>– Deep, deep team. Ready for a deep postseason run. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1305604' first='Caden' last='Windle']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1659744' first='Grady' last='Robertson']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1237820' first='Reece' last='Pride']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1136123' first='Riley' last='Everett']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1262534' first='Bryson' last='Stewart']</strong>. The Governors should win the Anderson County Christmas Tournament. There is a reason they were placed on the far side of the bracket from the hosts. All five WBHS starters will play college basketball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"textAlign":"center"} --> <h2 class="has-text-align-center">Rosters</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Anderson County</strong><br><br>#1 PG [player_tooltip player_id='1370806' first='Carter' last='Nelson'] (2024)<br>#2 [player_tooltip player_id='1370813' first='Tate' last='Russell'] (2023)<br>#4 Ethan Degenhart (2024)<br>#12 Hayden Craig (2025)<br>#13 Ryan McGhee (2024)<br>#15 [player_tooltip player_id='2762526' first='Brandon' last='Dake'] (2025)<br>#21 Trent Strickland (2025)<br>#0 Jacob Dooley (2024) 6'5"<br>#23 Gracen Bradshaw (2024)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clarkrange#0 Kristopher Beaty* (2024)#1 Case Cordell (2023)#3 Xander Reagan (2022)#12 Ethan Jones (2022)#13 Ryan Larue* (2022)#15 Evan Cantrell* (2022)#23 Anthony Brandon (2022)#24 Joshua Durham (2022)#30 Logan Pannell (2025) 5'11"#33 Lane Byrd (2024)Bo Ramsey (2025)Justus Durham (2025)Ethan Phillips (2025)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <blockquote> <p><strong>Partial Rosters w/ starters*<br><span style="text-decoration: underline">Clarkrange<br></span></strong>#0 Kristopher Beaty* (2024)<br>#1 Case Cordell (2023)<br>#3 Xander Reagan (2022)<br>#12 Ethan Jones (2022)<br>#13 Ryan Larue* (2022)<br>#15 Evan Cantrell* (2022)<br>#23 Anthony Brandon (2022)<br>#24 Joshua Durham (2022)<br>#30 Logan Pannell (2025) 5'11"<br>#33 Lane Byrd (2024)<br>Bo Ramsey (2025)<br>Justus Durham (2025)<br>Ethan Phillips (2025)</p> </blockquote> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->