Kentucky All A: Thursday Evening Standouts

The Kentucky All A state tournament got underway on Thursday and I attended each of the round of 16 games, in this article I'll take a look at some standouts from the evening session of games.    Lowe carried his team to the next round with an acrobatic buzzer beating layup for Newport. In a tight contest the whole way, Lowe scored the last four points of the game for Newport, two from the free throw line and two on the game-winner. I saw Newport a couple of weeks ago and Lowe didn't play and his presence immediately made a difference in this one. A quick guard at the point of attack, Lowe found success attacking and finishing on the left side of the rim with his right hand. I also liked that Lowe usually finished off two feet, keeping himself on balance when attacking the rim.     Despite the heartbreaking loss, Marshall still stood out as one of the elite shooters in Kentucky's 2028 class. Making shots off pin-down screens and DHO actions, Newport did a nice job not letting Marshall simply catch and shoot, making him work for his perimeter attempts. Liking to finish with his right hand on the left side, Marshall had a sweet righty reverse layup past a shot contest. While Marshall is having a huge sophomore season, improvements physically will make it easier for him to score when he's ran off the 3-point line.     A gritty effort from an extremely well-coached Harlan squad saw them advance in a thrilling contest over Nicholas County. Despite struggling with foul trouble in the first half, Noe was the most productive player on his team with an efficient game in the paint. Noe has a high basketball IQ, knows how to use his frame to create space to score both catching in the paint and getting position for offensive rebounds. I was surprised when Noe popped out to knock down two 3-pointers, one from above the break and the second from the corner. Really liked what I saw from Noe in this one.     My first time seeing Martin with his high school team, I left a big fan of his game. Very skilled on the ball for his size, Martin can dribble, pass and shoot on the perimeter. Once Martin adds some weight to his frame, he will be a big-time college player because the offensive ability at his size is rare to find. Disappointing loss for Nicholas County as Martin battled foul trouble all night and could've had a greater impact on the game if he was able to stay on the court for longer stretches.     Raceland had a steady performance to advance to the next round of the tournament. A balanced scoring effort, a handful of players were making plays for Raceland at both ends of the court. I ended up spotlighting Arnett, the team's leading scorer on the season. Despite this scoring talent, I was more impressed with Arnett on the defensive end of the court, using his fast hands and quick feet to disrupt what Kentucky Country Day wanted to do. In the trapping zone full court defense Raceland ran, Arnett flew around and forced turnovers that led to easy shot attempts for his team. One of the better 2027 prospects from the northeast part of Kentucky.     The newest member to the 1,000 point club in Kentucky, Coffman went over the milestone in the fourth quarter of Lyon County's win over Mayfield. A team that has consistently found success at the All A tournament, Lyon County brought a heavy traveling fan section on Thursday. Lyon County did a nice job of beating traps with passes as Coffman has the size to read over the defenses stretched arms. With the 1-2 punch of Coffman and [player_tooltip player_id='1543608' first='Bray' last='Kirk'], Lyon County has a chance to win another All A title this year.

The Kentucky All A state tournament got underway on Thursday and I attended each of the round of 16 games, in this article I'll take a look at some standouts from the evening session of games.