Mike's Thursday Standouts

On Thursday night I caught three intense Kentucky battles with top talent from around the state. In this article I'll break down the standout performers I saw.    Jenkins was active on both ends of the court, using his motor and athleticism to make an impact. Finishing with 21 points and 11 rebounds, Jenkins was crashing the offensive glass and scoring on second chance points. I really enjoy how hard Jenkins plays, with six offensive rebounds and five fouls drawn, Jenkins combines that motor with impressive athleticism and is a very productive player. Jenkins also had a game-high four steals and led Frederick Douglass in minutes played, showing his value to his team on the court.     South Laurel earned this victory in overtime in a gritty contest that was played in the half-court. Mabe simply willed his team to victory with his ability to score in the paint. The biggest player on the court, Mabe does an excellent job of using his frame to seal off defenders and give him room to finish at the rim. South Laurel also does an excellent job playing through their best player, an underrated skill for complimentary teammates to have. With South Laurel down three points late, Mabe hit a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game and send it to overtime, his only 3-pointer of the night. I expect Mabe to be an impact player at the college level, already committed to Alabama Huntsville, Mabe seems to have found the right level for him to play early.     Boone was another player who did everything it took to help his team win in overtime. Maybe the most athletic player in Kentucky, Boone had a couple early steals that led to monster slam dunks. Able to attack the rim with force, Boone is a guy who looks to get all the way to the rim in the half-court. After starting the game slow from the perimeter, Boone knocked down three 3-pointers in the third quarter to help eliminate the biggest Ashland Blazer lead of the day. The biggest aspect of the game where Woodford County won the game was the rebounding battle. Woodford County outrebounded the Tomcats 38-18 and Boone led the way with 10 rebounds.     Great players hit you before you hit them and they don't fall over. Not sure any two skills describe [player_tooltip player_id='1089524' first='Zander' last='Carter'] better than that. Carter is an experienced wing who can also run the point guard position and uses his size, strength and balance to be tough to stop at the rim. Carter does an excellent job playing and landing off two feet, which allows him to handle contact, grab offensive rebounds of his own misses and get back quickly on defense. It's the little skills that sometimes separate the elite players from the really good ones and while Carter does so many obvious things that impact winning, it's skills like that which make me confident in his ability to succeed at the college level.     Jennings was flat out hooping on Thursday night, playing with a ton of confidence. A quick guard, Woodford County had a lot of trouble keeping Jennings out of the paint off the dribble. Ashland Blazer ran some nice sets where the defense was focused on defending shooters running off screens and allowed Jennings to get an isolation look on the wing with no help-side defense. Transition was another aspect of the game where Jennings made his impact and he even knocked down two 3-pointers. I was really impressed with Jennings and think Ashland Blazer have the potential to make another deep playoff run with their experience and depth.

On Thursday night I caught three intense Kentucky battles with top talent from around the state. In this article I'll break down the standout performers I saw.