Lyon County coach Ryan Perry will coach the Kentucky all-star team against Ohio Saturday. (Les Nicholson Photo)
To be able to beat Ohio in the annual Battle at the Border, game director Randy Ward knows what kind of roster Kentucky needs.
“To beat Ohio you have got to get the best kids in Kentucky. We only missed on one boy, Trent Noah of Harlan County, because he wanted to go to his prom and I get that. But we have some great players and this year we have size. For a change, we are bigger than Ohio in the boys game,” Ward, a former coach, said.
The BSN Sports Ohio-Kentucky All-Star Game will be on April 20 at Thomas More College in northern Kentucky. The girls will play at 5 p.m. and the boys’ game will follow at 7 — or 20 minutes after the girls’ game ends.
Ward locked in Kentucky’s all-time leading scorer, Lyon County guard Travis Perry, long before he was named Mr. Basketball or Lyon won its first state championship. The team’s head coach is also Lyon coach Ryan Perry, Travis’ father.
“I saw them at Martin County at a preseason shootout,” Ward said. “Travis was already the all-time leading scorer in Kentucky and I was trying to find out if he would want to play in our game. I talked to his dad and told him we also needed a coach. His dad said Travis would like to play and he would consider coaching and eventually he also said yes.”
Travis Perry, a Kentucky signee, is the marquee name on the roster but his teammate, 6-6 forward Brady Shoulders, is also playing. He will play college basketball at Mercer.
“I think some higher Division I schools are missing out on him. He was the most aggressive rebounder at the state tournament,” Wards said. “He hits the boards, takes the ball to the basket, and has a good stroke from 3. I was surprised Eastern Kentucky and Western Kentucky did not jump all over him. He can guard bigger players and is very, very physical.”
One player who might surprise fans who attend the game is 6-4 guard Emmanuel Dut of Danville Christian Academy. Ward said he reminds him in some ways of Adou Thiero, who has played the last two years at Kentucky.
“He is a great, great athlete. We heard about him, checked on him, and really liked what we saw. He runs, jumps, plays defense. He’s just a great athlete who can change a game in a lot of ways.”
Players on the roster who played in the state tournament are Kade Unseld of Warren Central, Christian Doerr of Evangel Christian and Jeremiah Godfrey of Great Crossing. Others on the roster are Daniel Allen of Larue County, Derrell Bateman of Christian County, Tyler Doyle of Lexington Christian, Ayden Evans of Elizabethtown, Jamison Glass of Todd County Central, Max Green of Oldham County, Quel’Ron House of Seneca, Damone King of Desales and Mason Ritter of Bowling Green.
Mr. Basketball Colin White, an Ohio State signee, headlines Ohio’s roster. He helped Ottawa-Glandorf reach the state semifinals for years and was a starter each season.
He scored over 2,000 points and averaged 24.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.6 steals a game last season when Ottawa-Glandorf went 24-4 record. He is his team’s all-time leading scorer and his team went 95-15 in his four seasons.
“He is really a player that I think fans will enjoy seeing,” Ward said.
3 Responses
I think trent Noah will end up transferring to kentucky.
Reed has made his choice declared for Draft, will not leave option open.
Read Perry is going to make a decision soon weather be a cat or not.