The final games as a high school player for Russellville’s Pedro Bradshaw will be played this weekend, but he won’t be wearing a Panther uniform. Instead, his jersey will say Kentucky.
For the second time this postseason, Bradshaw will be representing the Commonwealth against the best another border state has to offer. Previously he had an excellent game against Ohio.
This weekend, he will be playing for the Kentucky All-Stars against their Indiana counterparts. They will meet Saturday in Indianapolis and Sunday in Frankfort.
The games in Kentucky, originally scheduled to be played at Central Hardin, have been moved to the Frankfort Convention Center. The girls will tip at 2 p.m. (Eastern time) June 11 with the boys’ game to follow. The Indiana portion of the series will be played June 10 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The Kentucky vs. Indiana Lions All-Star Basketball Classic has matched the best Kentucky high school players against the best Indiana players since 1940, producing a rich history and intense rivalry. It is the longest running all-star game in America. It was highly competitive for decades, but the Indiana boys have swept the series the last eight years and the Hoosier state’s girls have won seven straight games.
The proceeds from the Classic benefit the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation. The Foundation's mission is to prevent and cure blindness and provided over 45,000 free vision screenings to Kentuckians last year. Logan County has two active Lions Clubs, one in Russellville and the other in Lewisburg.a
Bradshaw may be the highest honored player in RHS basketball history. A first-team all-stater, the Belmont University-signee has been recognized as the Panthers’ all-time leading scorer and rebounder. He competed this spring in the KABC East-West All-Star Game.
His last game as a Panther came in the Fourth Region championship game. The team which eliminated Coach Phil Todd’s squad was Bowling Green, which went on to win the state championship.
Russellville won the All A Region and won two games at state before losing in the Final Four of that event. The Panthers also played in two invitational tournaments in Lexington during the Christmas break.
The last two Most Valuable Players of the KHSAA Sweet Sixteens will be Bradshaw’s teammates this weekend. They are his close friend, BGH’s Terry Taylor, and Lexington Dunbar’s Tavieon Hollingsworth. Taylor will play for Austin Peay State University and Hollingsworth for Western Kentucky University. Also on the team is WKU signee Jake Ohmer,
Hollingsworth – a 6-foot-2 guard – earned an automatic spot on the Kentucky squad as this year’s Kentucky Mr. Basketball award winner. He earned most valuable player honors in both the Derby Festival Basketball Classic and the Ohio-Kentucky All-Star Game. He was also named the Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year. He's the sixth Kentucky Mr. Basketball in WKU history and the first since Elizabethtown's Steffphon Pettigrew in 2007.
Ohmer, a 6-foot guard out of Scott High School in Taylor Mill, Ky., had a storybook run through this year’s Kentucky state basketball tournament, leading his squad to the semifinals before falling by one point to eventual state champion Bowling Green. His 106 points in three games tied him for the 13th-most ever scored in a single Kentucky state tourney.
Ohmer received the Larry Conley Ultimate Teammate Award at the state tournament and was also named to the all-tournament team.
Other all-star appearances this spring by the Hilltopper signing class include center Mitchell Robinson in the McDonald’s All American Game and Jordan Brand Classic, guard Josh Anderson in the Iverson Roundball Classic and junior-college guard Jordan Brangers in the NJCAA Men’s Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Game.
Others named to the boys’ team for this weekend were: James Baker, Meade County; Peyton Broughton, North Laurel; Lukas Burkman, Trinity; Tim Dalton, Lawrence County; Kel Livers, Bardstown; Sean McNeil, Cooper; Clivonte Patterson, Ballard; and Chris Vogt, Graves County. North Hardin’s Trace Young was selected as an alternate.
Named to the girls’ team were: Jordan Brock, Harlan; Kaylee Clifford; Trimble County; Mackenzie Coleman; Metcalfe County; Rebeccca Cook, Franklin County; Tonysha Curry, Manual; Tasia Jeffries, Butler; Kristen Mayo, East Carter; Jaelynn Penn, Butler; Princess Stewart, Franklin County; Jada Stinson, Elizabethtown; Bre Torrens, Butler.
Coleman led the Lady Hornets to a win over Russellville in the Fourth Region Tournament.
Wayne County’s Rodney Woods will coach the Kentucky All-Star boys with Scott Chalk (Dunbar), James Brewer (Bardstown), Jack Baker (Wayne County) and Landry Woods (Scott County) assisting.
Larry Just, Butler’s head coach, will lead the Kentucky All-Star girls. Joey Thacker (Franklin County), Hager Easterling (East Carter) and Amy Siegel (Assumption) will assist.