Coach Q’s Takeaways: Butler Jamboree

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Saturday I was able to catch 10 teams at the annual Butler Jamboree in Louisville. There were some very good games, a couple of blowouts and 2 different ambulances getting called to the gym (more on that later). Here were some of my takeaways from the games I saw on Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline"><strong>Not Your Typical Green County:</strong></span></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The additions of Juniors Eric Jame and [player_tooltip player_id='2628796' first='Modi' last='Kouyate'] have added some much needed athleticism to the Dragons roster. James especially impressed with his athleticism and even knocked down 4 threes in the first half. Modi is a little more raw but can be a total X factor with his rim protection. At 6'7, he provides something that Green County has certainly lacked. The last few seasons, [player_tooltip player_id='1123543' first='Hayden' last='Blakeman'] has had to do a lot for Green County but now he can have an off game (like he did on Saturday) and his team still came out with a big win. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1587777' first='Jayden' last='Marr'] continues to be one of the most underrated players in the state and freshman [player_tooltip player_id='2522912' first='Cooper' last='Stone'] is a very, very solid contributor at this early stage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Transfers Paying Dividends for J-Town:</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There may not have been a school in Louisville to get more transfers this summer than J-Town and Juniors [player_tooltip player_id='1543629' first='Dayvone' last='Harrison'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1702598' first='Bryonn' last='Faulkner'] played at a high level on Saturday. The game ended early after Harrison landed hard on his head after a layup attempt. His mom has told me that he's ok but it was a very scary sight. Faulkner is a player who has always flashed a ton of potential and it's possible he's starting to figure it out. The Chargers are not the biggest team (6'6 [player_tooltip player_id='1485712' first='Cayon' last='Gaines'] is out with an injury right now) but they will cause a lot of problems for 6th region foes with their quickness and athleticism. There are a lot of dogs on that roster.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">[player_tooltip player_id='1751495' first='Ja'Rye' last='Brown'] May Lead All Sophomores in Scoring:</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Unfortunately, Butler County's [player_tooltip player_id='1229151' first='Ty' last='Price'] sat out the scrimmage against DuBois so we were robbed of Price vs Brown. Instead we were treated to Brown taking over down the stretch and putting DuBois on his back for a win. Basically unstoppable in the second half, Brown got to the rim any time he wanted against the Butler County defense. DuBois got hit hard by the transfer portal this summer when they lost [player_tooltip player_id='1563829' first='Brandon' last='Heath'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1751496' first='Ferlandas' last='Wright'] so Brown is going to have to do even more this year for DuBois to be competitive in the 7th region.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Butler is going to be Really Dangerous by February:</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Late in their loss to Douglass, Coach Geary told his team "we're really freaking good. It's going to be a fun season" and he was right. The Bears lack a true big but they run good offense and get a lot of open shots though the flow of the offense. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='2647506' first='Adrian' last='Wilder'] had a really strong showing Saturday and fellow Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1563828' first='Santana' last='Anderson'] was really good at attacking the rim and even made some shots from distance. A roster with 5 Seniors and 7 Juniors won't lack for experience and Butler will be firmly in the mix in the 6th region.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Douglass Will be Tough:</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1543594' first='DeMarcus' last='Surratt'] made several highlight plays against Butler Saturday but the player who impressed me most was transfer Nick Robinson who recently came to Kentucky thanks to a dad on Coach Pope's staff at Kentucky. Robinson has a pure jumper and every shot looked like it was going to go in. Nick also has good size and length on the wing and wasn't afraid to stick his nose in for rebounds and loose balls. The Broncos were missing 3-4 football players who will help their varsity this season too. The biggest surprise in the 11th may be [player_tooltip player_id='1955757' first='Nate' last='Coen'], if he continues developing like he has. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1582396' first='Jaunte' last='Jenkins'] was really good Saturday too. Lots of talent on the Bronco roster this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->