The Kentucky AAU 17 and Under Tournament was played  from June 21st through June 24th, 2000. The games were played at Frankfort High School, Franklin County High School, Farnham Dudgeon Civic Center, and Western Hills High School.  The semifinals and finals were played at Western Hills High School. Although Ballard and Male are missing from this year's field, some teams expected to be among the state's elite this season are among the 46 teams entered in the tournament.  Some of the strong contenders are Lexington Catholic, Paul L. Dunbar, Lafayette, Madison Central, Newport Central Catholic, Pleasure Ridge Park, Scott Co. etc.

I managed to view several excellent games and some promising young players but unfortunately you can't observe every game.  I will attempt to give a brief recap of the games I did see and apologize for the games and fine players I missed in the tourney.  The stats are unofficial but recorded by me personally.

Pool Play

Thursday June 22nd

Franklin County vs. South Floyd  (Franklin Co. H.S.)
Franklin County defeated South Floyd by a score of 74-64.  Franklin County was led by 6-0 Sr. Justin Durham with 21 points including 5 three-pointers.  5-9 Sr. Gordon Miles tallied 18 points and 6-2 Sr. Marcus Thomas added 14.  South Floyd was led by 5-11 Jr. Rusty Tackett and 5-10 So. Michael Hall with 17 each.

Newport Central Catholic vs. Lincoln County  (Franklin Co. H.S.)
Newport Central Catholic survived a close one to defeat Lincoln County 70-67.  Newport Central Catholic was led by 6-1 Sr. Ronny Dawn with 29 points.  Newport Central Catholic needed every point to offset an outstanding 30 point performance by Lincoln County's 5-8 Sr. Keith Withrow.

Shelby County vs. Madison Central (Franklin Co. H.S.)
Madison Central defeated Shelby County 80-70.  Madison Central was led by 6-2 Sr. Lloyd Walker and 6-3 Sr. Eric Broomfield with 17 and 16 points respectively.  Shelby County was led by 6-3 Jr. Brian Silverhorn with 23 points including 5 three-pointers.  6-3 Jr. Robert Daniels added 18 points.

Russell County vs. Bell County  (Franklin Co. H.S.)
Bell County defeated Russell County 79-60.  Bell County was led by 6-3 Jr. Jim Corum and Adam Warren with 16 points each.  Russell County was led by Thomas Cooper and Jason Bradshaw with 11 each.

Pleasure Ridge Park vs. Oldham County  (Franklin Co. H.S.)
PRP easily defeated Oldham County AAU by a score of 86-39.  PRP was led by 5-9 Sr. Scott Whitenack with 19 points.  Oldham County was led by 6-4 Jr. Donta Smith with 11.  Oldham County's 6-5 Travis Liedtke was reduced to a cameo appearance in this tourney due to a knee injury.

Pikeville vs. East Jessamine  (Franklin Co. H.S.)
Pikeville came from behind to defeat East Jessamine 79-73.  Matt Branham led  Pikeville with 27 points and 6-5. Chase Gibson added 19.   East Jessamine  was led by 6-3 Jr. Butch Jointer with 36 points including 5 three-pointers. Jointer is a powerfully built young player who can score both inside and out. Cory Wade also added 17 points for East Jessamine.

South Laurel vs. Lafayette  (Franklin Co. H.S.)
South Laurel won a thriller over Lafayette by a score of 81-78.  South Laurel was led by 6-4 Sr. Nathan Valentine with 36 points and 6-1 Sr. Richie Riley with 19.  Lafayette was led by 6-2 Sr. Robert Madison with 34 points.  6-1 Sr. Nick Everman added 17 points.

Boyle County vs. Tates Creek  (Franklin Co. H.S.)
Boyle County finally subdued Tates Creek 76-72 in a triple overtime thriller.  Boyle County was led by 6-2 Jr. Tyler Pittman with 20.  6-5 Sr. Travis Leffew and 6-2 Jr. Zac Recerd added 16 and 15 points respectively. Tates Creek  was led by Josh Stegall with 20 points.
 
 

Championship Bracket

Friday June 23rd

Rowan County vs. Boone County  (Franklin Co. H.S.)
Rowan County took an early lead and went on to win a 73-53 decision over Boone County.  Rowan County was led by 6-2½ Sr. Troy Sanders, 6-1 Sr. Chris Sparks, and 6-0 Jr. Jordan Grevious, all with 18 points.  Boone County was led by Sr.'s 6-2 Ben Brown and 6-1 Dan Noble with 11 points each.

Boyle County vs. Frankfort  (Franklin Co. H.S.)
Frankfort defeated Boyle County by a score of  78-54.  Frankfort was led by sharp shooting 6-2 So. Chris Current with 33 points including 6 three-pointers.  John Clay Gabbard added 17 points.  Boyle County was led by 6-2 Jr. Tyler Pittman with 11 points and Slone with 10..

Scott County vs. Franklin County  (Franklin Co. H.S.)
Scott County led by 4, 48-44, at the end of three quarters, but pulled away to win by a score of 71-52.  Scott County was led by 5-10 Jr. Clennard "C-3" Brown with 35 points. .  Franklin County was led by 5-9 Sr. Gordon Miles with 17.

Greenwood vs. Lafayette  (Franklin Co. H.S.)
Lafayette overpowered Greenwood and won by a score of 83-56.  Lafayette was led by 6-2 Sr. Robert Madison with 23 points.  5-9 Sr. James Gentry added 19.  Greenwood was led by Richie Abercrombie with 10 points.

St. Xavier vs. Shelby County   (Franklin Co. H.S.)
Shelby County won this contest by a score of 78-65.  Shelby County was led by 6-3 Jr. Robert Daniels with 27 points.  St. Xavier was led by Coury Mascagal and Josh Thieneman with 16 and 14 points respectively.

Southeastern Bears vs. Lincoln County   (Franklin Co. H.S.)
Southeastern used their of quickness to secure a 87-70 victory;  They were led by 6-0 Jr. Petey Brown and Choo Fields with 20 and 18 points respectively.  Lincoln County was led by 5-8 Sr. Keith Withrow and Bo Upton with 16 and 15 points respectively.

Louisville Fairdale vs. Lexington Catholic   (Franklin Co. H.S.)
Fairdale led 36-31 at the end of the half but Lexington Catholic went on a 20-2 run which allowed them to defeat Fairdale 64-52.  Catholic was led by 6-2 Sr. Brendon Woody with 14.  6-3 Jr. Ryan Morton added 10 points.  Fairdale was led by 6-3 Coric Riggs and James Peterson with 18 points each.

Wayne County vs. Madison Central   (Franklin Co. H.S.)
Madison Central defeated Wayne County by a score of 64-53.  Madison Central was led by Josh Land with 17 points and Joe Cornett added 12.  Wayne County was led by Jerrod Gibbons and Evan Dick with 18 and 14 points respectively.
 

Saturday June 24th

Quarterfinal No. 1

Shelby County vs. Lexington Catholic  (Western Hills H.S.)
Lexington Catholic held on to win a close 69-66 decision over Shelby County.  6-4 Jr. Klint Rose led a balanced Lexington Catholic attack with 14 points.  Shelby County was led by 6-3 Jr.'s Robert Daniels and Brian Silverhorn with 23 and 19 points respectively.
 

Shelby County	9	26	15	16	-	66
Lexington Catholic	17	22	14	16	-	69

Shelby County	(66)	-	Daniels 23, Popp 1, Silverhorn 19, Miller 12, Gensheimer 2 Jones 9.
Lexington Catholic	(69)	-	Rose 14, J. Heissenbuttel 13, R. Morton 10, Woody 10, Wolford 9, Nichols 4, Smith 5, H. Morton 2, Green 2.

Quarterfinal No. 2

Madison Central vs. Pleasure Ridge Park  (Western Hills H.S.)
Madison Central utilized good outside shooting and a big offensive output from Eric Broomfield to defeat Pleasure Ridge Park 78-74. Eric Broomfield, a 6-3 Sr., led the victors with 37 points. Pleasure Ridge Park was led by 5-9 Sr. Stevie Gaines and 6-5 Jr. Brad Lightle with 17 and 16 points respectively.
 

Madison Central	24	21	15	18	-	78
Pleasure Ridge Park	25	12	19	18	-	74

Madison Central	(78) -	Broomfield 37, Stephens 8, Walker 12, Land 4, Ballard 9, Gayheart 9.
Pleasure Ridge Park	(74) -	Kelly 10, Delorch 8, Lightle 16, Gaines 17, Whitenack 6, Bukar 9, Hodge 2, Bibelhauser 6.

Two other quarterfinals were played this morning at Franklin County High School.  Lafayette defeated Frankfort 89-80 and Paul Dunbar defeated Newport Central Catholic 71-56.

Semifinal No. 1

Lafayette vs. Lexington Catholic  (Western Hills H.S.)
6-2 Sr. Robert Madison hit the deciding three-pointer and 6-0 Sr. Quinton Roberts hit two insurance free throws to give Lafayette a 95-92 double overtime victory.  Lafayette was led by Madison with 28 points.  6-0 Sr. Quinton Roberts and 5-9 Sr. James Gentry added 20 and 18 points respectively.   Lexington Catholic was led by 6-2 Sr. Brendon Woody with 27 points. 6-3 Jr. Ryan Morton added 24 points.
 

Lafayette	13	27	18	20	6	11	-	95
Lexington Catholic	18	17	27	16	6	8	-	92

Lafayette	(95)	-	Madison 28, Gentry 18, Roberts 20, Everman 4, Smith 5, Hall 8, Riley 12.
Lexington Catholic	(92)	-	Rose 4. J. Heissenbuttel 15, R. Morton 24, Woody 27, Wolford 6, Green 4, H. Morton 2, Nichols 4, Smith 5.

Semifinal No. 2

Madison Central vs. Paul Dunbar  (Western Hills H.S.)
Paul Dunbar pulled out a tough 65-62 victory over Madison Central  to advance to the championship game.  Dunbar was led by 6-3 Sr. Clay Tate with 24 points.  6-4 Sr. Rod Lyvers added 16 points and 10 rebounds.  Madison Central was led by Josh Land with 19 points.  6-3 Sr. Eric Broomfield added 15 points despite sitting out the final minutes with leg cramps.
 

Madison Central	9	21	17	15	-	62
Paul Dunbar	14	19	13	19	-	65

Madison Central	(62) -	Broomfield 15, Land 19, Walker 6, Ballard 4, J. Cornett 1, Gayheart 10, Stratman 7.
Paul Dunbar	(65) -	Tate 24, Byars 6, Lyvers 16, Conner 11, Fox 4, Hale 4.

Championship Game

Paul Dunbar  vs. Lafayette   (Western Hills H.S.)
Dunbar claimed the championship with a 73-66 victory over Lafayette.  Dunbar was led by 6-3 Sr. David Byars with 30 and  6-3 Sr. Clay Tate added 21 points.  Lafayette was led by 5-9 Sr. James Gentry and 6-0 Sr. Quinton Roberts with 25 and 20 points respectively. Robert Madison, who had starred throughout the tournament, suffered from leg cramps and played sparingly for Lafayette.
 

Paul Dunbar	25	18	15	15	-	73
Lafayette	14	20	13	19	-	66

Paul Dunbar	(73) -	Tate 21, Byars 30, Fox 7, Conner 2, Lyvers 10,  Matthews 3.
Lafayette	(66) -	Madison 3, Gentry 25, Smith 4, Everman 3, Roberts 20, Riley 4, Hall 5, Green 2.

All Tournament Team
 

Chris Current	Frankfort
Ronny Dawn	Newport Central Catholic
Jeremy Asher	Clay County
Brad Lightle	Pleasure Ridge Park
Brendon Woody	Lexington Catholic
Clay Wolford	Lexington Catholic
Eric Broomfield	Madison Central
Josh Land	Madison Central
Robert Madison	Lafayette
Quinton Roberts	Lafayette
James Gentry	Lafayette
Rod Lyvers	Paul Dunbar
Clay Tate	Paul Dunbar
David Byars	Paul Dunbar
Robert Daniels	Shelby County

Conclusion

While Male, Ballard, and some other top school teams did not enter the tournament, there were several talented teams that will make a run for the title this winter.  Congratulations to Coach Oakley and his Dunbar squad.  The 11th region should be interesting to watch this year as they had five teams in the final eight.

Coach Feldhaus has a nice squad in Madison Central.  They have several seniors, shoot the three-pointer well, and seem to subscribe to their coach's hard-nosed intensity and approach to the game.  Every year he loses a lot of talent and still turns out a good team.

Coach Damon Kelly had Lafayette firing on all cylinders during the tourney.  Lafayette could make a lot of noise if they can get some inside play.  Lexington Catholic, Newport Central Catholic, Scott County, etc. will have good years.

Dunbar has the athletes inside and some excellent outside shooting from Clay Tate.  Dunbar is capable of giving anyone a hard time if they get consistent guard play.  Rod Lyvers is tremendously athletic and if his shot is consistent, he could be one of the best in the state by the end of the season.

There were several outstanding players present this week.  Ronny Dawn can shoot with anybody and is also taking the ball to the basket.  Scott County's "C-3" Brown is instant offense.  Fairdale's 6-3 Coric Riggs is an athletic high flyer.  Chris Current of Frankfort can shoot the ball.  Eric Broomfield of Madison Central can definitely play the game.  Brendon Woody could put up big numbers at Lexington Catholic.  Jeremy Asher of Clay County can put up large numbers on the scoreboard.  Robert Madison continues to improve for Lafayette.  Robert Daniels and Brian Silverhorn played well for Shelby County.

Everybody knew about Dunbar's Rod Lyvers, but Clay Tate and David Byars played extremely well during the tournament. Brad Lightle is a promising post player for Dale Mabrey at PRP.  South Laurel's 6-4 Sr. Nathan Valentine and 6-1 Sr. Richie Riley played well and should make their team a force to be reckoned with in the 12th region.  There were several good players I didn't get to see, but I saw enough to look forward to another good year in Kentucky high school basketball.