Bluegrass Games State Tournament: 17u Preview
The Bluegrass Games State Tournament takes place this weekend at the Kentucky Basketball Commission in Lexington. We’re previewing the 3 age groups and breaking down the teams and players to watch. We finish up our previews with the 17u age…
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Continue ReadingThe Bluegrass Games State Tournament takes place this weekend at the Kentucky Basketball Commission in Lexington. We’re previewing the 3 age groups and breaking down the teams and players to watch. We finish up our previews with the 17u age group.
Top Teams (alphabetical order):
CKY Magic – Morton – Cky Magic 2020 has been one of the better known names in Kentucky over the past few seasons and they’ll be right in the mix to win it all this weekend. They have a talented group with depth at all positions and Amari Taylor Amari Taylor 6'2" | PG Tates Creek | 2020 State KY and Lincoln Bush Lincoln Bush 6'7" | C George Rogers Clark | 2020 State KY are two nice players that make the difference for the Morton squad.
Louisville Prospects – The Prospects are a top program in Louisville and consistently send kids to the next level. Look for the guard duo of Zak Perdew Zak Perdew 6'0" | PG Bullitt East | 2020 State KY and Jake Evans Jake Evans 6'1" | PG Male | 2020 State KY to push the pace all weekend and have the Prospects in the mix to win it all.
Manimal Elite – It’s a little bit of an odd weekend for Manimal as they won’t be playing on Sunday due to conflicts for their Ohio players but they will play a couple of games on Saturday. They’ll have a talented but short handed group.
M.A.T.T.S. Mustangs – The Mustangs are led by some of the state’s best Senior guards with Dayvion McKnight Dayvion McKnight 6'1" | PG Collins | 2020 State #175 Nation KY , Marcellus Vail Marcellus Vail 6'3" | SG Collins | 2020 State KY , Matt Cromer Matt Cromer 6'2" | CG South Laurel | 2020 State KY and Jalen Scott Jalen Scott 6'4" | SG Conner | 2020 State KY making a strong back court. If the front court can be productive, they’ll be in the mix to win it all this weekend.
Pride Athletics – Pride had a good showing at the Pitt Jam Fest a couple of weekends ago and will roll into Lexington hoping to keep the momentum going. Rodrell Dryden Rodrell Dryden 6'5" | PF Greenup County | 2020 State KY and Nick Keeton Nick Keeton 6'3" | C Paintsville | 2020 State KY are solid pieces that could help get Pride to a title this weekend.
Vision Elite – One of the state’s Under Armour Rise teams, Vision Elite has a solid core with Tre Minter and Cam Underwood Cam Underwood 6'3" | SF Butler | 2020 State KY of Butler. Nik Sorrell Nik Sorrell 6'0" | PG Glasgow | 2020 State KY provides some big time scoring for the Vision and their back court is one of the best in the field.
Top Players (no particular order):
Amirion Joyce Amirion Joyce 6'1" | PG Paducah Tilghman | 2020 State KY , Paducah Tilghman/Cky Magic – Morton – Amirion has been one of the most popular names with college coaches in recent weeks as he has gotten a lot of praise for his play so far this season. Joyce will have plenty of chances to match-up against top guards in the state this weekend.
Tyren Moore Tyren Moore 5'11" | PG Male | 2020 State KY , Manimal Elite/Male – One of the better shooters in the Senior class, Tyren is capable of dropping 30+ points when he gets hot. With a short bench this weekend, Moore should get a lot of playing time for Manimal this weekend.
Ksuan Casey Ksuan Casey 6'9" | C Madisonville-North Hopkins | 2020 State KY , Manimal Elite/Madisonville-North Hopkins – Ksuan is big, strong and physical and there’s a reason he has a D1 offer already. Look for him to be among the best post players of the weekend and could be the toughest kid to guard in Lexington this weekend.
Ray Surratt, Cky Magic-Morton/Lafayette – Another big body, Ray and Ksuan matching up will be an interesting clash of styles as Ray is more likely to trail and shoot or pick and pop. Should be a big boy match-up in the post when they play. Hopefully the refs let them go at it.
Nick Keeton Nick Keeton 6'3" | C Paintsville | 2020 State KY , Paintsville/Pride Athletics – One of Kentucky’s top rebounders, Nick is going to be a force in the paint for Pride this weekend. I’ve not had an opportunity to see Keeton play live this weekend and am looking forward to seeing if he can stretch the floor with shooting.
Cam Underwood Cam Underwood 6'3" | SF Butler | 2020 State KY , Butler/Vision Elite – Named one of the top performers in the first session of the Under Armour Rise circuit, Underwood plays bigger than his size and can spot up off the ball or battle in the paint.
Terrin Hamilton Terrin Hamilton 6'6" | SF Scott County | 2020 State KY , Scott County/M.A.T.T.S. Mustangs – Standing 6’6 with a 6’9 wingspan, Hamilton is in the midst of a breakout AAU season before he becomes the go to scorer for Scott County next season. Look for Hamilton to play both in the paint and on the perimeter this weekend.
Riley Bodner Riley Bodner 6'9" | C Lincoln County | 2020 State KY , Lincoln County/M.A.T.T.S. Mustangs – One of the few true posts in the event at 6’8, Bodner is a big body that can block and alter a lot of shots. He also can stretch the floor with some shooting. He could see a rematch with Ksuan Casey Ksuan Casey 6'9" | C Madisonville-North Hopkins | 2020 State KY on Saturday night after the two locked horns at Rupp in March.