Wednesday Standouts: King of the Bluegrass

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>King of the Bluegrass brings out some of the top teams from Kentucky in a four day, bracket style event. In this article I'll break down the top performing prospects from Wednesday's opening round games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1359137"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Kinney continues to establish himself as an elite national prospect with another terrific performance finishing with a game-high 19 points. One of the biggest areas of improvement for Kinney this season was his 3-point shot and after going 3/5 on Wednesday, he continues to show the confidence to knock down shots off the catch from that distance. Kinney also had the highlight of the game with a monster slam dunk after a blow by of a defender. The next time 2026 rankings are updated nationally, Kinney needs to be on the list.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1675737"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"You won't find many tougher high school senior guards that can help you win games than Jackson. His strength, patience and poise were on full display on Wednesday as he finished with 17 points on 8/9 shooting and a game-high 7 assists to just 1 turnover. I love the pace that Jackson plays with and his ability to get all his teammates involved throughout the game. Combine that with the toughness he plays with and he's a flat-out winner at the high school level. If I believed in the jumper at all from 3-point range, he would be a Division I prospect in my eyes. If Jackson winds up at the Division II, NAIA or JUCO level and finds his shot, he could be a transfer up target after a few college seasons.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1122207"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Wardlow gets the praise finishing with 25 points to lead all scorers, but I thought the depth of Bowling Green was the difference in their game. Getting 20 points combined off the bench from [player_tooltip player_id='2175420' first='Luke' last='Idlett'] and Braylon Banks were huge sparkplugs for the Purples. Back to Wardlow, he did a great job playing with tempo and getting easy looks before the defense could get set. When Harlan County sat in their zone, Wardlow found the open man and hit both of his 3-point attempts that came to him. Overall, I was very impressed with Bowling Green as they dominated the glass, winning the rebounding battle 39-23.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1130313"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Both Huff and [player_tooltip player_id='939116' first='Trent' last='Noah'] did all they could to keep Harlan County competitive for about three and a half quarters on Wednesday. Huff was knocking down some very tough shots with some rainbow swishes. A shooter that you have to get out to with a quick closeout, whenever he found daylight, the shot was going up. I thought Huff's best move of the night came on a spin fallaway shot that was heavily contested.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["1144955"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Trinity was absolutely dominant in their win over Butler County, firing on all cylinders to jump out to a 30+ point lead in the third quarter. I thought Edmonds was their key piece with his physicality in the paint, scoring at the rim and using his strength to grab rebounds. His motor looked much improved from when I watched Edmonds during the summer, playing hard on both ends of the court and doing the little things it took to win. Wanting to attack and go up with his left hand, Edmonds had a couple power finishes in the paint including a transition dunk that got the crowd going. In the second half Edmonds even popped out and knocked down a 3-pointer. After catching Trinity early in the season with Edmonds still ineligible, he makes a big difference for a team that has the potential to win it all this season.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65847e214d650"} /-->