JJ Mandquit (Utah Prep Photo)
Utah Prep program director Shane Hayden likes the idea of the Grind Session once again having events in Kentucky during the 2024-25 basketball season.
“I think with the Grind Sessions kind of having roots in Kentucky, it is really big for those guys who have put together this amazing league and produced this incredible talent the past few years to bring the Grind Session back to where it started,” Hayden said.
“We have played all over.We have players from around the world. Going to Chicago and Los Angeles is cool but getting that diversity and seeing something a place like Kentucky that is the heart of high school sports and seeing the level of fans, there’s no other experience quite like that for our guys. It’s going to be a great experience.”
The Grind Session Bluegrass Signature Series will have events Dec. 5-9 in Calloway County, Dec. 12-14 in Christian County, Jan. 2-4 in Louisville and Jan. 9-12 in Paducah.
“I think it will be the first time for our kids to play in Kentucky and will be almost a mini education piece of the history of the area and all the talent and great college basketball tradition in the state and how much of an influence that small area has had on basketball,” Hayden said. “They are kids and probably really don’t know that much about the history of basketball in Kentucky but once they see and hear it, they will know how special it is.”
Utah Prep in Hurricane, Utah, is a private boarding school but has a big-time roster like other Grind Session teams.
Point guard JJ Mandquit of Hawaii is a 6-2 four-star recruit who played on the Team USA U16 team last summer and already had offers from several SEC, ACC, Big 10 and Big 12 schools. He recently got an offer from Louisville.
Antony Felesi, a 6-6 guard from Hawaii, had multiple Division I offers and is a four-star prospect with several recruiting services. “He plays above the rim,” Hayden said.
Shooting guard John Southwick has offers from Washington, South Florida and others. Hayden calls him “one of the best pure shooters” in the country.
Guystone Kasenga, a 6-10 center from The Congo, is a “high motor shot blocker and big dunker,” according to Hayden.
“We have a couple of amazing shooters. Kentucky values shooters and the way we play should be fun for fans to watch because we shoot more 3’s than any team in the league. We love the 3-ball,” Hayden said. “We also have a couple of players committed and will be announcing soon and they are very high profile players.”
3 Responses
I like this idea and hope it gives kids from other parts of the country a feel for how basketball crazy our state is. I hope there will be some of the better Kentucky high school teams in this event.
I love this idea. The only problem with it is most of next years Kentucky high school class is playing for prep schools in different states other than Kentucky. I know Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno are 2 must haves from the state. But I love Ty Price. To me he’s what a point guard is supposed to be. He knows how to facilitate and get everyone involved and he’s a knock down shooter. I think he’s 5’10" which I think alot of great guards under 6 foot get overlooked. He would be the first True Point Guard recruit that we’ve had in a long time. Sheppard and company this year was missing a pass first true point guard this past year. We always get combo guards off guards or shooting guards. Wagner is a shoot first point guard. That is why Sheppard got the nod to run the point but he still isn’t a true point guard. Ty Price is a Tyler Ulis type point guard who will pass first but if left open will drain the 3 pointer. He’s a very good shooter. That would be 3 players from Kentucky and I doubt Pope fills up the team with Kentucky players. Another great one is Kaden Magwood.
One more thing I think Kaden Magwood and Ty Price will go to Louisville if Kentucky doesn’t start really getting after them. I know they have offered Magwood and are going to host Ty Price on a visit. We could really use both of them but I would be happy if we at least get one of them. Magwood is a very long 6’3" PG. He is more of a shoot first point guard but not as much as Wagner. He loves to get other people involved and feeds off the momentum of the team. He’s an above average 3 point shooter and very good at defense for a high school kid. He’s a good decision maker and by his sophomore year should be able to start for any college team he chooses. With Ty Price your getting a guy who regularly scored 30+ points with 10+ assists. He’s not as good as Magwood on the defensive end but is a better shooter and he’s lightning fast. I would love to have Johnson Moreno Magwood and Price, but I know that’s not going to happen. I would like to get the best 3 that would help the team because there is really 6 or 7 great players coming out the state in next years class. You could actually have a starting 5 of all Kentucky kids. Lets have fun with this. If we did the first year we would struggle probably 17-16ish? Year 2 would be much better probably 22-11ish. Year 3 we would compete with anyone probably 29-8ish..Elite 8 or final 4 maybe better. Senior year unstoppable. Probably 36-4 and national champions. It would be a fun wouldn’t it?