Trevor Lacey, Butler
Photo by Joe Boyd
Tuesday night in an 87-36 blowout over Ardmore,
Butler (Huntsville, Ala.) senior star
Trevor Lacey torched the nets for 41 points.
For most players, a 41-point performance would be a career night. For Lacey, he was five points under his season average.
The 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard is averaging 45.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game as the Rebels are out to a 6-0 start. Lacey has scored 50 or more twice already, including 50 in the season-opener against Parker and 54 Nov. 22 in a 103-61 win over West Limestone.
"Our offense is based on a lot of movement and teams have tried to box-and-one and double- and triple-team him," legendary Butler head coach Jack Doss said. "With our offense we can pick it and get him open."
Lacey – rated the 22nd-best senior in America by MaxPreps.com – is one of just four Top 50 prospects yet to make a college commitment. Alabama, Auburn, Connecticut, Kansas and Kentucky are regarded as the leaders for his services.
"He is looking for a place where he feels at home and has a solid relationship with the head coach," Doss said.
While Doss says there is no chip-on-the-shoulder mentality entering this season, Lacey missed the 2010 state playoffs with an injury after leading the Rebels to a 5A state title as a freshman and sophomore.
Butler basketball is a family affair for the senior All-American candidate. Younger brother Tray Lacey (3.8 points, 1.0 assist per game) and cousin Justin Pride (11.0 points, 8.8 assists per game) join Trevor in the starting lineup.
Lacey's exploits are beginning to draw serious national attention, and Doss doesn't dismiss the idea that he can maintain a 40-point plus scoring average.
"He is the best shooter I have ever had," Doss said. "If he shoots the percentages he is now (53 percent from the field) and continues to distinguish between a good shot and a bad shot, he can keep the pace up."
Lacey and Butler hit the floor again Friday for a matchup with Huntsville rival Johnson.
Big weekend for Melrose, Oak Hill Academy
Nashville plays host to a pivotal early-season showdown Friday night when No. 1-ranked Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) faces Melrose (Memphis, Tenn.) at the Battle of the Best on the campus of Tennessee State University.
While the pairing lost some luster over the weekend with Melrose losing, it still serves as Oak Hill's first big test. The Warriors are 6-0 and averaging more than 105 points per game.
Melrose entered the season ranked No. 4 by MaxPreps.com, but was humbled following a 13-point loss to rival White Station (Memphis, Tenn.) last week.
Both Melrose and Oak Hill Academy will travel to Benton, Ky., for the Marshall County Hoopfest the following night. The Memphis school takes on Christian County (Hopkinsville, Ky.), while OHA tackles Quality Education Academy (Winston-Salem, N.C.).
The Battle of the Best also features No. 23 Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville, Fla.) taking on Central Park Christian (Birmingham, Ala.) and Vanderbilt signee Kedren Johnson and Marshall County (Lewisburg, Tenn.) facing Lee (Huntsville, Ala.).
Hoosiers tap Indiana Elite pipeline again
Indiana's recent run of impressive verbal commitments has a common denominator – the Indiana Elite club team.
When Park Tudor (Indianapolis, Ind.) junior point guard Kevin Ferrell – No. 13 in MaxPreps.com's 2012 Top 100 – committed to the Hoosiers last week, he became the seventh member of the adidas-sponsored travel squad to make a pledge to IU.
Ferrell joins fellow Indiana Elite players Austin Etherington and Cody Zeller, juniors Peter Jurkin, Ron Patterson and Hanner Perea, as well as sophomore Collin Hartman in the Bloomington pipeline.
Tom Crean and the Hoosiers also have commitments from sophomore Devin Davis Jr. of Warren Central (Indianapolis, Ind.) and freshmen Trey Lyles of Arsenal Tech (Indianapolis, Ind.) and James Blackmon of Bishop Luers (Fort Wayne, Ind.). Davis, Lyles and Blackmon did not appear on any of Indiana Elite's roster listings in 2010.
Indiana Elite's under-17 team is coached by Mark Adams, the father of IU basketball Director of Operations/Video Coordinator Drew Adams.
Mark Adams is also the founder and president of A-HOPE, a non-profit organization designed to help foreign student-athletes transition to the United States. A-HOPE was instrumental in bringing Jurkin and Perea to the United States, where they eventually played for Mark Adams' Indiana Elite club.
