120403NextCats.jpg

2014 guard D’Angelo Russell commits to Ohio State

 Posted by at 8:38 PM on June 7, 2013  No Responses »
Jun 072013
 
D'Angelo Russell committed to Ohio State on Friday night.

D’Angelo Russell committed to Ohio State on Friday night.

Louisville native D’Angelo Russell committed to Ohio State on Friday.

Russell, a 6-foot-4 guard ranked No. 11 in the class of 2014 by Scout.com, played at Central High School in Louisville before transferring to Montverde Academy in Florida, where he was teammates with Kentucky signee Dakari Johnson. Montverde won the National High School Invitational — the equivalent of a national high school title — in April.

Other schools that showed substantial interest in Russell included Louisville, Georgetown, Indiana, Michigan State, Missouri and Memphis. U of L Coach Rick Pitino and Georgetown Coach John Thompson III stopped by his Florida high school just before the end of the most recent live recruiting period.

Ohio State Coach Thad Matta also paid Russell a visit during that time.

Continue reading »

Share

Russell getting a lot of attention at Montverde

 Posted by at 6:11 PM on April 18, 2013  No Responses »
Apr 182013
 
D'Angelo Russell is considered one of the best players in the class of 2014, but the Louisville native doesn't have a scholarship offer from Kentucky.

D’Angelo Russell is considered one of the best players in the class of 2014, but the Louisville native doesn’t have a scholarship offer from Kentucky.

Montverde Academy Coach Kevin Boyle will lose a lot off the team that just won a national championship, but that won’t temper expectations for next season.

McDonald’s All-Americans Dakari Johnson and Kasey Hill will be among the Montverde stars heading off to college. That means expanded roles for such players as D’Angelo Russell and Ben Simmons.

Russell has been a popular kid in the past few weeks. The Louisville native played well at the National High School Invitational two weeks ago, helping lead Montverde to a national title. The effort did not go unnoticed. Last week, the 2014 shooting guard picked up a scholarship offer from North Carolina. Scout.com’s Evan Daniels reported Thursday that Florida had also offered Russell.

Boyle told the Herald-Leader earlier this week that coaches from Louisville — another program that has offered Russell — are expected to visit the Florida school next week for a meeting with the hometown star.

Continue reading »

Share

Huntington Prep-Montverde game has been canceled

 Posted by at 12:07 PM on February 20, 2013  No Responses »
Feb 202013
 

The March 3 game in Louisville featuring UK commitment Dakari Johnson and top high school recruit Andrew Wiggins has been canceled.

The game’s organizer, Clay Dade, said in a statement Wednesday that “exhaustive efforts to attain a title sponsor(s) to cover the cost of using Freedom Hall were unsuccessful,” and the coaches of both Huntington Prep and Montverde agreed to call off the game.

After plans to hold the game at Freedom Hall fell through Tuesday, attempts were made to move the matchup to somewhere else in the area. That plan also didn’t work out.

Continue reading »

Share

Special deal on tickets for Montverde-Huntington

 Posted by at 9:16 PM on January 25, 2013  2 Responses »
Jan 252013
 

Organizers for the Red State Blue State Series announced Friday night that anyone who purchases a ticket to the Feb. 2 doubleheader at Broadbent Arena between now and Monday will get a free ticket to the March 3 game featuring Montverde Academy and Huntington Prep at Freedom Hall.

The Feb. 2 slate starts with St. Joseph (N.J.) vs. Ballard at 3 p.m. That game will be followed by Whitney Young (Ill.) vs. Evangelical Christian (Tenn.) at 4:30 p.m. UK commitment Karl Towns (St. Joseph) and UK targets Jahlil Okafor (Whitney Young) and Skal Labissiere (Evangelical Christian) will play in that doubleheader.

Tickets for the Feb. 2 games can be purchased through Ticketmaster or by visiting the Freedom Hall/Kentucky Exposition Center box office. The promo, which ends Monday at 2 p.m., will apply through both vendors. No promo code will be given, but Ticketmaster and the box office will record the customer’s name at time of purchase for their free ticket.

Continue reading »

Share

Tickets available for Montverde vs. Huntington Prep

 Posted by at 2:19 PM on January 24, 2013  No Responses »
Jan 242013
 

UK commitment Dakari Johnson and Montverde Academy will play Huntington Prep on March 3 in Louisville.
File photo: Scott McIntyre

Tickets went on sale Thursday for the March 3 matchup between Montverde Academy (Fla.) and Huntington Prep (W.Va.).

The game, part of the new Red State Blue State Series, will be played at Freedom Hall in Louisville and features UK commitment Dakari Johnson (Montverde) and top UK recruit Andrew Wiggins (Huntington Prep). Montverde also includes junior guard D’Angelo Russell, a Louisville native who is considering UK and U of L.

Tickets for the game can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or at the Freedom Hall box office (no Ticketmaster fees).

Continue reading »

Share

Johnson, No. 1 Montverde fall in Bass Pro finals

 Posted by at 11:47 PM on January 19, 2013  No Responses »
Jan 192013
 

UK commitment Dakari Johnson and Montverde Academy suffered their first loss of the season Saturday night.
File photo: Scott McIntyre

Dakari Johnson wasn’t on the court for the end of Montverde Academy’s first loss Saturday night.

The UK commitment fouled out less than a minute into overtime, and national No. 1 Montverde (Fla.) was defeated by Paul IV (Va.), 69-67, in the title game of the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions in Springfield, Mo.

Johnson finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, seven on the offensive boards, before fouling out with 3:05 left in the extra period.

Continue reading »

Share

Friday’s roundup: Willis has big game in Missouri

 Posted by at 8:51 PM on January 18, 2013  No Responses »
Jan 182013
 

UK signee Derek Willis had 19 points and nine rebounds in Bullitt East’s victory Friday night in Missouri.
File photo: Jonathan Palmer

UK signee Derek Willis had 19 points and nine rebounds in Bullitt East’s 68-58 victory over Little Rock Hall (Ark.) on Friday night at the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions in Springfield, Mo.

Willis added six assists and six blocked shots for the Chargers, who improved to 15-4 on the season. Elliot Young had 20 points and seven rebounds, and Rusty Troutman chipped in with 14 points for Bullitt East.

Arkansas signee Bobby Portis led Little Rock Hall with 18 points and eight rebounds. Portis, a 6-foot-9 forward ranked by ESPN as the No. 11 overall senior in the country, was held to just three points in the first half.

Bullitt East will play Hillcrest (Mo.) on Saturday.

Montverde (Fla.) 78, Nixa (Mo.) 61: UK commitment Dakari Johnson had 18 points and seven rebounds in limited action during Friday’s rout in the the semifinals of the Bass Pro tournament in Springfield, Mo.

Continue reading »

Share

CRC notebook: Russell working on ‘Top-10 intensity’

 Posted by at 10:58 PM on January 6, 2013  No Responses »
Jan 062013
 

D’Angelo Russell is considered one of the best players in the class of 2014, but the Louisville native doesn’t have a scholarship offer from Kentucky.

WHEELING, W.Va. — D’Angelo Russell is already a five-star prospect in the class of 2014, but there’s still plenty the Louisville native can work on.

Just ask his coach at Montverde Academy, the always-demanding Kevin Boyle.

“He’s definitely a top-10 talent in the country,” Boyle said. “And now if he can match that with top-10 intensity, then he’s going to be a big-time player at a big-time school. And he’s going in the right direction.”

Boyle has been on Russell to work harder and play smarter ever since they both arrived at Montverde in 2011.

Russell’s teammates say the coach gets on his case the most.

Boyle’s message to his starting shooting guard: “You’re an outstanding player, but if you took the top 100 NBA players that are 6-4 to 6-7, a lot of them are more athletic than you. Most of them. … You can still be better, but you have to be fundamental as hell. You have to be tough as hell.”

Continue reading »

Share