BCAT Evaluations: Classes 1A–3A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>PICTURED: [player_tooltip player_id='2195034' first='Cole' last='J. Amonett']</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>BCAT Hoopfest is a magical time of year during which we get to see numerous teams in their rawest off-season form. New roles are established and veterans often reveal sizable steps towards upperclassman dominance. For this article enjoy a scanning of a 1A, 2A, and 3A team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Class 1A</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2195034' first='Cole' last='J. Amonett'] </strong>initiated the attack for Pickett County though he was not the only passer. For example,<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='2441906' first='Nathaniel' last='Cobb']</strong> delivered a sharp backdoor pass to a cutting teammate. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Amonett appeared to run the designed plays with exactitude. Facing Houston he inbounded from the baseline and dashed to the far corner, caught a swing pass and smoothly made a three-pointer. Cobb's backdoor pass came on a designed play too. June is a time for teams to add or introduce and Pickett County showed off familiarity with their plays.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both Cole and Nathaniel will battle for District Player of the Year. More than that they will seek a deeper playoff run than the 2025-2026 team managed. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Class 2A</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">Forrest High</span><br>#2 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3670483' first='Jon' last='Hightower']</strong>*<br>#3 Drew Bailey*<br>#4 Grant Todd<br>#5 Ivan Ferrell<br>#11 Maverick Burnette<br>#12 Lucas Harber<br>#13 Rylan Anderson*<br>#14 Mason Obney<br>#20 Sutton Delk*<br>#21 Tristan Goad<br>#22 Elijah Leverette*<br>#23 Hunter Evans<br>#24 Kellen Bailey<br>#30 Henry Hearnberger</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a game against Bolivar Central, Forrest High started Drew Bailey,<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='3670483' first='Jon' last='Hightower']</strong>, Rylan Anderson, Elijah Leverette, and Sutton Delk.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jontorious "Jon" Hightower stood out as a above average athlete for Forrest. He played a lot of primary ball-handler. Head Coach Ryan Sharpe mentioned that Tristan Goad was missing BCAT and that Goad will be among the team's best players in 2026-2027.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At 6-foot-1 Jon stood tall and moved with grace. He also competes in football for FHS. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the first half Forrest High missed a lot of three's. On one possession they fought for offensive rebounds hard, but ultimately missed three straight 3-point attempts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Elijah Leverette</strong> played scrappy and defended pretty well. His brightest series occurred midway through the third quarter when he cleaned up some slop for a putback layup. Within the very next two possessions he drew a charge and then curled off of a high screen, attacked and finished an athletic left-handed scoop layup. Leverette's inclusion in the lineup is pivotal as he gives the team post defense and post offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Class 3A</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A 20-win team last winter Bolivar Central's Tigers must replace <strong>Kealan Polk</strong> (17.9 ppg) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2862293' first='Jordan' last='Dixon']</strong> (11.7 ppg). As always the play scrappily. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3559690' first='Keavin' last='Gray']</strong> and<strong> Jadariun Morrow</strong> are senior leaders. Keavin is the perfect Tiger always giving full effort defensively. He denied a post feed to initiate a counter attack against Forrest High. After a quick FHS timeout Gray intercepted<em> another </em>pass, this time flipping it high into the air as he was falling out of bounds. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3670492' first='Julian' last='Williams']</strong> is a bull-strong guard who defended [player_tooltip player_id='3670483' first='Jon' last='Hightower'] in BCHS's matchup with the Forrest High Rockets. Williams will be able to defend three or four positions at the high school level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->