Top Players at the Fayette County Hoop-O-Rama
After sitting through nearly 10 hours of action Saturday, I came away impressed with the development of some players since the last time I’d seen them and was very impressed with a shooter I had never heard of before. Here are the players who had strong showings on Saturday at Dunbar in the annual Hoop-O-Rama.
- Franklin County Junior Zyshonne Atkinson has tremendous length for only being about 6’2. Playing both wing spots for the Flyers, Atkinson was really good in transition and scoring at the rim. He struggled with his jump shot in his few attempts but had a really good game overall. Zyshonne’s frame looks like he may not be done growing and if he gets to 6’4 or so, he could be a really good D2 or NAIA prospect with some serious upside.
- Lafayette’s Junior big man Ray Surratt continues to be a matchup problem for opposing teams when he’s in the game. He battled at the rim and hit a jumpshot or two over the course of the game against Franklin County. The issue continues to be that Ray has heavy feet and struggles to get up and down the floor when the tempo dictates. As is, Ray is a solid D2 prospect because of his size and skill. If he can improve his foot speed, he could land at the low D1 level.
- Lexington Catholic’s Ben Johnson seems to have the green light this season to create offense that he didn’t have much last year and he scored in the low 20s during the game against Douglass. Johnson looks to have grown and started to add bulk in recent months. Look for Johnson to average around 20 points a game this season and could have several 30 point games.
- The surprise of the day was Lex Cath Junior Luke Wedding. Wedding hit 6 threes on his way to 25 points for the Knights. If he can produce even half of that output on a nightly basis this season, Catholic could be much more formidable than I originally thought heading into this season.
- Douglass sophomore Dashawn Jackson is going to be right up there with Ben Johnson when discussing the top sophomores in the city this year. Jackson had a smooth 25 points on Saturday and was highly efficient with his scoring. He also played solid defense on Johnson down the stretch. Dashawn could have the highest ceiling of any player in 2021 if he reaches his potential.
- Senior Keaston Brown picked up where he left off last season for Henry Clay. Brown knocked down a bunch of jumpers and had a bushel of assists created by driving and kicking to open shooters. Brown is often overlooked in conversations of most valuable players in the 11th but he is invaluable to his team.
- Along with Brown, Junior Marques Warrick had a monster game on Saturday. I’m not sure he missed a shot in the first 2 and a half quarters while he scored 26 points against a Lincoln County zone that had no answer for the Henry Clay guards. Warrick should have a scholarship offer by now and should get one if he has a big Junior season I expect to see out of him.
- Lincoln County Junior big man Riley Bodner showed flashes of being a really good post presence for the Patriots. He started the game with 9 points in the first half on 4-4 from the field but was held scoreless in the second half. Finishing with 9 points and 8 rebounds, Bodner will need to average a double double this season and be an efficient low post scorer to make a difference for a Lincoln team that some think can win the 12th region.
- Central sophomore point guard Devin Perry had another strong game as a heady floor general who distributes the ball. Perry does not have the prettiest jump shot but he hit perimeter shots that I didn’t see him make last week in Louisville. After back to back Saturdays seeing him play, count me as a fan of the young point guard from Louisville.
- Dunbar’s trio of transfers underwhelmed but I was intrigued by a few members of their program. Freshman Tim Hall has great size for his age and could be a contributor down the line. Fellow freshman Lionel Kumwimba is about 6’8 and very bouncy but it appears he is very limited on offense right now. His development will be interesting to track. No one else at Dunbar blew me away but they are going to be interesting to track as the season moves along.