Star-studded King of the Bluegrass tournament officially underway

A total of five future Power 5 college basketball players are up in Louisville this weekend for the state of Kentucky’s premier high school event. The annual King of the Bluegrass tournament kicked off at Fairdale High School on Friday evening with plenty of star-studded talent taking the floor.

With Kentucky’s class of 2023 commit Reed Sheppard as the only one of the five in action on Friday, he was easily the main attraction. His North Laurel squad sealed a 72-56 win to cap off the opening day, escaping a pesky Eastern team that fell apart down the stretch. Let’s talk more about Sheppard and the other three games that were in action.

No. 7 North Laurel 72, Eastern 56

All eyes were on Reed Sheppard as North Laurel played the final game of the night, tipping off around 9 p.m. EST. His team finished up the last batch of school finals, took a 2.5-hour bus drive to Louisville, then had 30 minutes to spend at the hotel before heading over to the gym.

Out of the gate, you could sense that Sheppard and his teammates were dragging. The future Wildcat was sloppy with his play early on and letting his teammates create instead of attacking on his own. However, North Laurel controlled a slight lead throughout the entire affair as Sheppard came alive in the second half.

A 21-10 fourth-quarter run for North Laurel was all it needed to put Eastern into the consolation side of the bracket. Sheppard did finish with a game-high 11 turnovers but countered that with a stacked stat line of 15 points, 14 assists, eight rebounds, five steals, and five steals on a 7-14 shooting clip. Just a light 5×5 for the high school junior. The Jaguars also saw Ryan Davidson drop 22 points and six rebounds while the sharpshooting Clay Sizemore went 6-8 from distance for 18 points.

North Laurel moves onto the next round where it will face No. 17 North Oldham, who we’ll talk about next, on Sunday at 7:30 p.m

No. 17 North Oldham 75, No. 11 Dunbar 54

In the biggest surprise of the night, No. 17 North Oldham controlled No. 11 Paul Laurence Dunbar from the opening tip to the final buzzer. The game was blown wide open in the third quarter as North Oldham pounded Dunbar to the tune of 27-6. PLD would win the final eight minutes of action, 22-19, but Oldham’s victory was never in doubt from the second half on.

Led by a foursome of talented juniors, North Oldham made a big statement against a Dunbar squad that might be a tad overrated at this stage in the season. Guard Dallas Roberts continues to power the Mustangs, posting 18 points and three assists in the win. He was joined by catch-and-shoot specialist Jack Scales, who added a game-high 24 points on a 6-9 shooting mark from deep. Forwards Ian Higdon and Luke Anderson combined for 19 points and 23 rebounds, as well.

Those four will give North Laurel a run for its money on Sunday, and should probably be considered the favorite.

Dunbar’s Nick Spalding, one of the better point guards in the state, added 15 points, as did Zach Carter. But without 6-foot-6 Tim Hall, who transferred during the offseason to attend Vertical Academy, the Bulldogs are void of the talent necessary to win these types of games right now.

No. 2 Covington Catholic 68, Trinity 51

CJ Fredrick couldn’t watch his alma mater play as he’s spending time with his Kentucky teammates in Las Vegas, but we’re sure he’s proud of how this one went down. In what was another blowout from the second quarter on, Covington Catholic won the final three periods to secure a smooth 17-point win.

Cov Cath features three impressive ballplayers, led by Miami (OH) commit Mitchell Rylee, who posted 15 points and 12 rebounds on 5-10 shooting. Standing at 6-foot-8 with two boulders for shoulders, Rylee is a tough ask for any posing frontcourt to defend and that was especially true against Trinity.

Guard Evan Ipsaro was impressive all night, as well, contributing 21 points, six rebounds, and five assists for CC. Fellow guard Kascyl McGillis poured in 21 points of his own. The trio of Rylee, Ipsaro, and McGillis combined to score 57 of the Colonels’ 68 points. Covington Catholic will play its second-round game on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. against Faridale, who we’ll talk about right now.

Fairdale 77, Marion County 30

Marion County actually burst out to a quick 9-2 lead in the opening minutes. Unfortunately, the good vibes were immediately shattered. Fairdale came right back, winning the first period 20-11 before preventing Marion County from hitting double-digits in the second, third, or fourth frames.

Fairdale was led by 27 points (the most from any single player on the day) from Jacob Tucker, who shot 12-17 overall and an incredibly efficient 12-13 from two-point range. Dalton Hicks added 17 points of his own as the final score was never in doubt. Marion County actually has a highly-talented player on its roster in 6-foot-7 James Jewell, but not much more. Jewell scored 10 points on 4-14 shooting in addition to seven turnovers as Fairdale had his number all game.

---

Looking ahead, Saturday’s lineup will include several more stars than what we saw on Friday. With most of the Kentucky-based teams already moving onto the second round, it’s time for some of the out-of-staters to get in on the action.

4:30 – Dorman (SC) vs. Ensworth (TN)

• Noah Clowney – 4-star Alabama ’22 commit (Dorman)
• Malik Dia – 3-star Vanderbilt ’22 commit (Ensworth)

6:00 – No. 3 George Rogers Clark vs. Lake Highland (FL)

• Brice Sensabaugh – 4-star Ohio State ’22 commit (Lake Highland)

7:30 – No. 24 Male vs. Belfry

• Kaleb Glenn – 4-star Louisville ’23 commit (Male)

9:00 – No. 5 Ashland vs. No. 14 Lyon County

• Colin Porter – Liberty ’23 commit (Ashland)
• Travis Perry – 3-star ’24 noncommitted (Lyon County)