The best of the Bluegrass did not fare too well in the recent release of the Rivals150 for the Class of 2010. In fact, the only prospect that made it from the state of Kentucky is Scott County point guard Ge'Lawn Guyn (photo), coming in at #122. Guyn is listed as a 3-star prospect, the # 31 PG overall, and is described as "a bouncy athlete with versatility."
Obviously Guyn will not be the only D-I product in the class of 2010. The Rivals150 usually is limited to those prospects earning a 5 to 3-star rating. Dakotah Euton's stock has dropped significantly since the high school season, as the UK signee is currently a 2-star. Look for him and teammates Chad Jackson and Guyn (along with c/o 2009 star Richie Phares) to make a run at the state title with Scott County this year. If they have as good a year as they could have, they could all be moving up in the Rivals rankings.
Madisonville North Hopkins High School - Madisonville, KY - 6'6" , 190 lbs. - AAU: Nashville Celtics - Verbally committed to the University of Kentucky
ESPN Evaluation: ESPN has Hood rated as the #25 shooting guard in the nation, giving him a scout's grade of 78. According to their grading scale, Hood's grade of 78 classifies him as a major/mid-major product, meaning he is worthy of a scholarship from a top D-I program or could go mid-major and start right away. Their most recent evaluation from June 2008 was this:
"Jon is a talented and skilled wing. He has good size for a combo wing. He can play either wing forward or scoring guard. Jon is talented, he has range on his jumper to 20 feet. He can also do some things off the bounce like slashing to the basket or creating his own shot. He will need to get stronger to be effective at the next level but he has the talent. He can sometimes be passive and unaggressive but that should change with added strength. He is a below average defender but hopefully more strength and a concerted effort should help alleviate that issue. He is an above average rebounder for his position."
Rivals Evaluation: Rivals gives Jon 4-stars, ranking him as the number seven shooting guard and number 32 overall in the Rivals150. Here is the evaluation from Jerry Meyer:
"Versatility is Hood's greatest attribute. Lanky and athletic, he has the all around skill base to effectively play every perimeter position. Very good at making plays off the bounc, Hood mainly needs to gain strength to improve his game."
Outlook for 08-09: Hood is going into his senior season as the consensus preseason Mr. Basketball favorite. After a great junior season which ended just short of a trip to the Sweet 16 with a loss in the regional finals to Christian Co., a state championship and Mr. Basketball award are both realistic goals for Jon in his final season of high school ball. Expect lots of coverage of Mr. Hood and his Madisonville squad this season from Bluegrass Hoops Report.
Bud Mackey, who led the Scott County Cardinals to a state championship in the 2007 Sweet 16 as a junior, is now facing a possible six months of jailtime after pleading guilty to an amended drug charge yesterday.
Bud was set to stand trial yesterday in Georgetown on a drug trafficking charge, which could carry a sentence of 5-10 years, but Commonwealth's Attorney Gordie Shaw made an offer to reduce the charge to first degree possession of a controlled substance, which carries a maximum five year sentence. Mr. Shaw recommended that Mackey serve six months in jail followed by five years of probation. He is free on bond for now until his sentencing set for October 6th.
Mackey was arrested at Scott County High School with 1.6 g of rock cocaine last September, hidden in his shoe.
Mike Melton of Basketball Spotlight News has done a report on the Hoops Dreams Showcase which took place recently in Kentucky, reviewing the top players from the competition. I don't know where this tournament was held or where any of these kids are going to high school next year, but it's worth a look.
Apparently Jaylen Beckham of Lexington was the most impressive out of the incoming freshmen in the tournament. Mike also mentions Chris Harrison of Louisville, whom I have seen a few times and agree that he is a solid point guard with the necessary swagger to lead his high school team to success. These are two names to remember for the future.
It has been a long, frustrating summer for junior hoop stars Chad Jackson and Dakotah Euton as they battled with the KHSAA over their eligibility to play this season after transferring from Rose Hill to Scott County. Now it is finally over.
The KHSAA Board of Control voted by a count of 16-0 that Jackson and Euton be reinstated to play for the Cardinals this season.
Dakotah Euton has already signed with the University of Kentucky, while Chad Jackson is considered one of the top unsigned players in the state's class of 2010.
Dakotah Euton and Chad Jackson are set to have their hearing with the KHSAA Board of Control on Monday, August 25th. They will likely be reinstated to play this coming season for Scott County.
Domonic Tilford, former J'Town Charger and 2005 Kentucky Mr. Basketball award winner, was arrested Wednesday in Louisville and charged with first-degree possession of cocaine. He also was charged with tampering with physical evidence. A $500 cash bond was set.
Tilford has been a bit of a journeyman since graduating high school. He signed with the Cincinnatti Bearcats out of high school where he played one season (2005-2006). He then transferred to New Mexico Junior College where he also played only one season (06-'07). Last season he played for the Jaguars of South Alabama, where he seemed to have finally found a good home, averaging 12.5 points and 2 assists per game en route to a surprising NCAA tournament at-large bid.
With so much going for him right now, I really hope that he learns his lesson but still is allowed to finish up his career at South Alabama and graduate. We have already seen one great basketball talent from Kentucky wasted due to cocaine charges (see: Bud Mackey), hopefully this story has a happier ending.
Aaron Cosby, a junior-to-be at Jeffersontown High School in Louisville, has recently announced that he received a scholarship offer from former UK coach Tubby Smith. Even in Minnesota, Tubby is still keeping an eye on Kentucky and its most talented prospects.
Cosby was originally a UMass commit, before Travis Ford bolted for Oklahoma State. Cosby reopened his recruitment after Ford's departure, and apparently he has received a lot of interest. He said Minnesota, Oklahoma St., Miami(OH), and Western Kentucky have offered. He has also heard from Louisville, Purdue, Auburn, Dayton, and Tennessee.
The Courier-Journal reports today that officials from J'Town, Manual, and Seneca high schools in Louisville confirmed to have reported violations by their coaches to the KHSAA.
Apparently the violations come from the coaches attending the Kentucky HoopFest this summer during the KHSAA "dead period" when coaches are prohibited from watching/interacting with athletes.
J'Town's Jeff Morrow, Seneca's Steve Seargent (both head coaches), and Manual assistant John Cole are involved. Both Seneca and Manual AD's said they would recommend two-game suspensions of their coaches.
Jeff Morrow served a 4-game suspension last year for violating KHSAA recruiting by-laws, and the J'Town officials would not say what suspension he would serve for this season's violations. Morrow was a former UK student manager (like myself!!) under Rick Pitino and he led the J'Town Chargers to the State Title in 2006.
The KHSAA has the power to add on, subtract from, or keep the recommendations given by the schools. Commissioner Brigid DeVries is in the process of reviewing those recommendations.
Seneca's Coach Sergeant said he was at the Hoops basketball facility on July 9 to oversee Seneca students who were working at the scorer's table for the HoopFest event.
"I thought the dead period ended (July 8) instead of (July 9)," he said. "I didn't even realize I was committing a violation. … I'll take the punishment and move on."
After being ruled ineligible to play this coming season by the KHSAA, it seems teammates Chad Jackson and Dakotah Euton may take the court after all for the 2008-09 season.
After playing two seasons together at Rose Hill, the two phenoms decided to transfer to Scott County and play for Coach Billy Hicks. They were unexpectedly deemed ineligible by the KHSAA in a bizarre turn of events which saw one player (Euton) announced ineligible and the other (Jackson), eligible at first - only to have KHSAA commissioner Brigid DeVries come back and say that the notice announcing Jackson’s eligibility was a clerical error and that he was in fact ineligible as well.
With Dakotah Euton being a UK signee and Jackson on the Cats’ radar as well, the KHSAA took much scrutiny for this decision, and deservedly so in my opinion.
Then this past Sunday came the news that the KHSAA Hearing Officer assigned to Euton and Jackson’s appeals gave them a favorable ruling saying that they should be eligible for the coming season.
Euton and Jackson are not out of the woods yet, however, as there is still plenty of red tape to get through for the Hearing Officer’s ruling to be made official. Here is what lies ahead for them: (Courtesy A Sea of Blue)
Each party to the hearing has 15 days from the date that the findings were mailed to them to object to anything in the findings; 15 days after that, Brigid DeVries must act. She can:
- Accept the Hearing Officer’s decision and adopt it as final;
- Reject or modify the order in whole or in part;
- Remand the order to the Hearing Officer, in whole or in part, for “further proceedings as appropriate.” After issuance of a final order, the order may be subjected to judicial review (i.e. a lawsuit may be filed).
