Alabama signee Brandon Miller visited UK for Big Blue Madness in 2019. (Twitter Photo)
Lincoln County coach Jeff Jackson coached basketball at Marshall County for six years so he’s very aware of just how special Marshall County Hoopfest is,
“It’s just an incredible event. It’s well run and well sponsored,” said Jackson. “The atmosphere is second to none. The gym is the best I have been. It’s just a great place to play.”
Marshall County Hoopfest opened with three games Thursday night. Five games are scheduled tonight, nine on Saturday and two on Sunday. Some of the state’s best high school teams — Ballard, Male, Ashland, Highlands, McCracken County — will play in the event along with marquee teams from out of state.
Lincoln, the preseason 12th Region champion, will face Cane Ridge (TN) Saturday at 4 p.m. (CST). Cane Ridge was Class 3A state runner-up last year and features 6-8 Brandon Miller, an Alabama signee and consensus top 20 player nationally.
“Miller is a tremendous player,” said Jackson. “He will be a big challenge for us. He’s 6-8 and plays the point. He runs the team and is a tremendous passer in the open floor. He can shoot the 3 but also goes to the rim and dunks. He is just fun to watch.
“We just have to try to be solid defensively and give help where we can. I hope we can make it tough on him but they have really good players around him. They are so good defensively as a team and really get after you and guard you.”
Cane Ridge is 3-0 after a 66-60 win over Independence Tuesday where Miller had 14 points but teammate Da’ron Hall had 19 and Joshua McDaniel added 16. Lincoln opened the season Tuesday with a win over Lafayette.
Miller was a one-time UK recruit before picking Alabama over Kansas. He visited Big Blue Madness before his sophomore season.
“My opinion of Kentucky basketball is like, ‘Wow, Kentucky.’ It’s one of the biggest basketball schools in the country. You have to be doing something to do that,” Miller told The Cats Pause after his Madness visit.
He had 16 Division I offers, including seven from SEC schools, when he committed to Alabama in June.
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Other games tonight (all times CST are: Marshall County vs. Massac County (Ill.), 4; Lyon County vs. Goodpasture Christian (TN), 5:30; Ballard vs. Prolific Prep (Calif.), 7; North Gwinnett (Ga.) vs. Ashland, 8:30; and Highlands vs. Cane Ridge, 10.
Go to https://www.thegrindsession.com/event/marshall-county-hoopfest21/ to see the schedule for Saturday and Sunday.
One Response
Hopefully next year they will invite North Laurel so i can see Reed Sheppard play. I’m only about hour and half drive to Marshall Co and it be great to see him play in person.