Marshall County HoopFest Brings Great Basketball to Kentucky
by Chris Jung
BENTON, Kent. – If basketball junkies were unable to fulfill their fix this past weekend, they obviously didn’t inhale.
Brought to you by the Marshall County Chamber of Commerce, 31 boys and girls high school basketball teams invaded Reed Conder Gymnasium beginning Thursday to take part in what has become a premiere high school roundball showcase on the national level – HoopFest.
And with eager Division-I coaches, scouts, professional recruiters and basketball-hungry fans looking on, the three days, 16 games and nearly nine hours of basketball bliss at Marshall County High School did not disappoint. With the varying scents of ribeye sandwiches and homemade ice cream cones being wafting through the air, HoopFest records were broken, memories made and legacies established.
In 2003, Oak Hill’s Josh Smith awarded his counterpart and opponent Monta Ellis of Jackson Lanier the MVP trophy after Ellis dropped 41 points on the Warriors in a losing effort.
This year, however, Ellis didn’t need a handout. He broke the HoopFest record for most points in a game, torching Oak Hill again, this time with a 48-point performance. And despite coming out on the losing end again, Ellis was rewarded for his efforts by claiming the game’s Most Valuable Player award.
Regional stars like Lone Oak’s Chase Denson, Graves County’s Randon Cavette and Trigg County’s Jamal Boyd took advantage of a large stage to put their outstanding talents on display, as each led their teams to victory on HoopFest’s opening night.
Aaron Beth, son of Lady Marshals Head Coach Howard Beth, returned to MCHS with his Bowling Green boys squad, and proved that coaching indeed runs in the blood. His dynamic duo of Jordan Blann and Michael T. Jackson earned his team a win on Friday night.
The hosts, the Marshals and Lady Marshals, were kept out of the win category, but both showed significant improvement from just a week ago and played close against worthy adversaries.
In what could be a possible matchup of the Illinois Class A state championship game, Chicago Hales-Franciscan and Belleville Althoff traded blows for the entire 32 minutes Saturday, with Hales’ Nate Minnoy getting the best of Althoff’s Kevin Lisch.
Oh yeah, and Oak Hill lost. Behind the skills and leadership of one of the country’s best seniors, Julian Wright, Homewood Flossmoor dethroned the Warriors from Mouth of Wilson, Va., handing them their first loss in almost 50 games.
Buzzer beaters, arena-rattling dunks, no-look passes, fancy footwork, alley-oops, floor slapping, long runs, long droughts and foot stomping coaches just barely begin to describe HoopFest 2004. In fact, in order to gain a true gasp on the prestige and magnitude of this event, it is essential it been seen in person. One thing is for sure, however – there is nothing like HoopFest.
