2025 Standouts from Bear Down Jamboree

The Bear Down Jamboree brought out a lot of talent from Kentucky to Butler High School in Louisville, in this article we'll break down some 2025 standouts from the event.    Green County has a lot of talent after adding some 2026 transfers but don't forget about their 2025 returners who are key reasons why they've been a winning program. Green County has nice chemistry and it shows with how often they hit Marr on backdoor cuts for easy layups. Combine that with a couple steals that Marr turned into transition shots and Marr didn't need to do anything fancy to score efficiently. Nice to see players who don't need to dominate the ball to have an impact on the game.     Jeffersontown has a new look squad with a handful of transfers and Kahnplaye stood out on Saturday with a strong shooting effort. Jeffersontown ran Kahnplaye off a bunch of screens and he responded with a couple of jumpers off movement that were smooth. When he got downhill, he liked the floater when attacking with his left hand as well. It'll be interesting to see how quickly the new pieces can mesh during the regular season for Jeffersontown, they have the talent to be one of the best in Louisville this winter.     Playing without their two Division I commits, Griffin gave excellent effort for a Butler County squad that hung tough until the final stretch of action. A utility guard, Griffin talks on defense and makes a lot of hustle plays. Without the two leading scorers for Butler County, Griffin had to take on more of a scoring role with a handful of 3-pointers off kickouts and in transition. I also liked a couple finishes Griffin had at the rim, including one with his left hand in traffic. Without their two main guys, Griffin and Trevor DeWeese stepped up on Saturday and made plays.     Manual got after it on Saturday and put together a dominant effort in a blowout victory. Smith was getting buckets from the perimeter and playing with a ton of confidence. His teammates found him open and Smith was shot-ready off the catch. Near the end of the game when Smith had really found his rhythm, he knocked down a nasty step-back 3-pointer to cap off a great team effort.     Frederick Douglass and Butler had a battle in what was the most highly anticipated game of the day. I was really impressed with Jenkins ability to go coast to coast off rebounds and steals, turning defense into offense for his team. Combine that with a couple 3-pointers off the catch and a motor that never stops and Jenkins was one of the most impactful players on the court. Right now, there aren't many teams in all of Kentucky I'd pick over Frederick Douglass.     Melton Jr was a bright spot for a North Hardin team that struggled to contain Jeffersontown. The lefty wing guard is a tough shot maker who thrives in the mid-range area where he can pull up over defenders and score. Melton Jr also likes the lefty runner shot as a floater type move when driving to the lane and scored on that a few times on Saturday. Expect a more competitive effort from North Hardin once they get their full roster together.

The Bear Down Jamboree brought out a lot of talent from Kentucky to Butler High School in Louisville, in this article we'll break down some 2025 standouts from the event.