In the big cities, suburbs, down in the hills and 'hollers, and up on the mountains themselves, Kentuckians hold basketball in reverence right along with the father, son, and holy ghost.
The WYMT Mountain Classic is an annual hoops event that allows the region to attract some attention, and gives everybody a chance to see how basketball is done in them 'thar hills.
The event never fails in it's goal of presenting good basketball action, and a feverish enthusiasm from the thousands who attend the event, and this year's tournament showed one other aspect to 'Mountain Basketball' that perhaps is the most important: It's got a very bright future.
This year's winners were Perry County Central, who upset favorite Knott County Central, 67-62 at the John C. Combs Arena, in Hazard.
The Commodores were led by Justin Johnson's 18 points and 11 boards, while on the other side the Patriots of Knott Central were led by an inspired performance by Camron Justice, who poured in 32 points and shot a very proficient 7 of 10 from behind the 3-point line.
And just in case you think Rob Fullford has the market on Canadian talent cornered, as far as bringing them to the area, think again. A small school in Hazard is embracing NAFTA like no other.
Rodrick Rhodes, yes that Rodrick Rhodes, has recently gotten a court approved go ahead that will allow two more Canadians to get their basketball visas punched, and they will be suiting up for his Cordia High School Lions.The two players are D1 level recruits. Emmanuel Owootoah, a senior, is a 5'10'' guard and has received an offer from UCLA. He is also being courted by the likes of Arizona, and of course Florida State who has quite the attraction to Canadians playing in the area having already signed Xavier Rathan-Mayes from Huntington Prep, and according to what you read and who writes it, the front runner for Andrew Wiggins. Tennessee has also come on as a potential suitor for Owootoah.
The other kid from the land of what's that "aboot" and misnamed bacon, is Marlon King. King is 6'3'', plays the guard position as well, and will also be playing as a senior. King comes from Toronto, and he averaged 26 points and 9 rebounds a game while leading his former school in his homeland of the Great White North, to the city finals in Toronto last season.
And the list of Canucks doesn't end there for Coach Rhodes and Cordia. They are hoping to get word that another Canadian, 6'8'' guard Fritz Lucien, will be eligible. Cordia also has a uniform waiting to be thrown on by, yup, another Canadian. Felix Frimpong is awaiting word that he can bring his 5'8'' guard play to the courts of Eastern Kentucky , too. Frimpong, who is an underclassman, is described as a strong, tough type of baller. More so than that, the tag 'Speed Kills' is said to be very applicable of this kid's game.
This type of thing once raised red flags in the area, when the OJ Mayo Show set up shop at Rose Hill. (Not so much raised red flags as it made Ashland jealous). So, naturally, one has to wonder if this is going to cause ramifications for Cordia and Rod Rhodes in regards to how the KHSAA will view all this.
One thing is for certain though, a red flag has been raised at Cordia. It's white in the middle and has a maple leaf. Get ready 4th region, you're about to meet the Can-Am Connection (obscure 80's wrestling reference).
I wonder if they should start playing 'Oh Canda' instead of 'My Old Kentucky Home' down in Hazard?
9 comments:
"speed kills" to describe Felix Frimpong?? Not a chance!! Wow....somebody in Kentucky is getting really fooled by AAU coaches from Toronto! I hope the money being paid for these kids to end up in Kentucky is not a substantial amount!
So, is this something that should be looked into?
This should be looked into 110%!!!
All three kids happen to come from the same AAU program, that by the way 'stole' them away from separate programs before that. AAU programs in Toronto love to sell kids on playing in the 'promised land' of the US, and often prey on kids who come from difficult situations.
This is a problem for a variety of reasons, but mostly because these kids are being taken advantage of immensely. They are being taken away from their country, their home towns and damaging their academic record because of it.
The reality is, so many Canadian kids end up coming back after a year. What does that do? It takes the spot of an American player who actually grows up in a certain town, city, etc., but it also sets the Canadian kid back an entire year because many of the 'courses' if they actually go to school (that has been the case with many of the situations already made public with Canadian basketball players going down south) are not transferable to the Ontario curriculum.
There are several AAU programs based out of Toronto who are absolutely notorious for 'selling' kids. If you want proof, check out the CBC website and look for an episode called "Fast Break".
It will not allow the video to be views over an American connection.
That's too bad, because the CBC did a great story on the corrupt AAU dealings between certain Coaches/Programs from Toronto that filter kids to the United States to play high school basketball.
Very eye opening and extremely sad at the same time. Put it this way, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if some coach from Toronto got paid to send the three Canadian players (Owootoah, King, Frimpong) to Cordia. In fact, Owootoah was supposed to be headed to a school in NC called Quality Education and for some reason ended up at Cordia? It is the situation that nobody is really watching over these kids and slime coaches are taking over as guardians and mentors. The only problem with that is that they are a negative influence and have things to gain such as money and recognition.
In Toronto especially if a young basketball player heads to the US to play high school ball, that is seen as "making it". Sad to say, but that's not even close to the case. these kids are often lied to and taken advantage of in so many respects.
Owootoah and Frimpong both attended the same high school and even played in the same rep program before getting scooped up by a crooked AAU program and eventually shipped to Cordia. At their high school (Martingorve CI), they played for an excellent coach, they had a strong academic school, and had the support and comfort of being at home. It's not like they wouldn't have gotten looks if they were here. In fact, a starting guard for St. Bonaventure (Matthew Wright) is a MCI graduate and he is most likely the best talent to ever come out of that school, Owootoah included.
There is a perception that going down south is the thing to do, and it is preached by those who are set to make money and get recognition off of the kids.
Being a coach in the Toronto basketball community for quite some time it bothers me a lot that these kids are being used....and so is Cordia and any other school who let's this sort of thing happen.
Everyone needs to understand that children are not rentals. These kids need to understand that they don't have to leave where they live just to play the game of basketball. Toronto is the fourth largest city in North America, and to be honest the talent that is coming out of this city is crazy! I understand the appeal for a guy like Andrew Wiggins or a kid like Anthony Bennett (now at UNLV), but those are special cases that could play anywhere RIGHT NOW.
I'd like to offer more, however I'm not sure what can be done regarding things like this. Being a coach in this city (and the basketball community in Toronto is small....minded that is)I am very close to situations like this and it has been frustrating.
Wow. That's some good insight, thank you for sharing this. Still trying to find a way to view that report.
Hopefully you find a way to view the episode, it was well done and quite the investigation. However, more things like that need to seriously happen.
From what I have been reading about Eman in particular is that he is doing quite well, which is not surprising, he is a very good player who can really run an offence. He has been well coached in the past. Not sure about now.
Does anyone know the specifics of why it took so long for him to get clearance to play? Why hasn't Felix Frimpong suited up yet? These types of things are absolutely fishy. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if these kids came home for spring break after the season there is over and you never see them again....it wouldn't be the first time this has happened with kids from TO.
Some of the kids who go prep in the US that are from the Toronto area switch schools every year...only to not really finish high school. They (or their handlers) are always waiting for a 'better' deal and will jump on it at any second. There aren't too many '1 player' deals either....so you may have a few Canadian players at Cordia right now, but as soon as one leaves, they all leave....All three Canadian players suited up for the same AAU program this past summer....coincidence, I think not!
22ft Academy is already lurking. They have a couple Canadians and their coach has been in contact with a Cordia player from Canada....
Cordia is being used!
Felix Frimpong is a phenomenal PG. There's absolutely nothing he can't do. I was a teammate of his, and he pulled through for us and gave our team 110% every game. Hes very quick, agile, and has crazy bouncing abilities. And he has a shot like no other. This guys going somewhere
Post a Comment