I just got back from the Kentucky AAU State Championship which is still going on in Lexington,KY at the Kentucky Basketball Academy. If you haven’t been there it is a sight to see for basketball freaks. When you walk in there are 5 courts spread out as far as you can see. You can practically watch 3 games when you sit in certain spots. It was my first big AAU event and I was quite impressed on how well the event was ran. Now, the main reason I went was to watch a couple of potential Kentucky recruits that were playing, and a couple of kids that I have been around while coaching at Mason County.
The first game I saw yesterday was Daryl Hicks and his team “The Ville.” Hicks is about 6’3″ but plays like he is 6’6″ on the defensive end. He had several big blocks and intimidated several shots. Hicks also can shoot the basketball. He looked good early in the game but as the game got out of hand he seemed to drift a little. His team is very good as they were a lot more athletic than the Shining Stars team they played. I believe I tweeted about the Stars saying they were the “whitest team in America.” They were out hustled, out skilled, out shot, and basically out everythinged(if that is such a word.) The second game Hicks played was almost a copy cat of the first as his team rolled to another big win. Hicks is a future star in the state and is probably the front runner in the 2013 Mr. Basketball race. He lists his top 3 college choices as Cincinnati, Indiana, and Kentucky. It would be really nice to see this kid in blue one of these days.
The next player that everyone was talking about is Chane Behanan. Behanan is ranked as the #1 player in the state and plays at Bowling Green High School. He is listed as the overall #16 rated power forward in the Nation. The schools listed as interested in Behanan by Scout.com is Alabama, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, and Western Kentucky. I watched Chane last night at 10pm as he was playing for the Kentucky Blazers. This was the first time he had played with this team and it showed. He looked out of sorts most of the game and really uninterested. I really can’t blame him though as his teammates seemed to be playing keep away from the 2011 KY Mr. Basketball favorite. The team still won but you can see the talent oozing out of him. Behanan is built like a brick ****house. He could crush my head like a peanut with his bicep. He played at a different gym this morning so I didn’t get to see him play, but Evan Daniels from Scout.com was there and I asked him on twitter how he played. This is Evan’s return tweet: “he’s taken a few plays off…but in general scores when he wants and thru contact, is passing it very well too.” Behanan has it all, and I would not be surprised at all if he starts getting some attention from Kentucky. Chane is a physical specimen, and I would rather have him on my team, rather than on one of the opposing SEC school which are recruiting him.
If you ever get a chance to go to one of these types of AAU events, it is surely something to see. Basketball all weekend long and you can pick any game you want. There are always 5 games going at once and all you have to do is go over and sit down. You also never know who you are going to see, as I got to hang out with former Kentucky players Preston LeMaster and Adam Williams. Jodie Meeks was also there and I also saw Georgetown Hoya Vee Sanford. I am looking forward to my next opportunity to go to an AAU tournament at the KBA. Of course, I love watching basketball anytime, unless it is the NBA.
