No slam-dunk conclusions from Derby hoops

The most encouraging aspect of the Derby Festival Basketball Classic Saturday night was that the halftime dunk contest was a disaster. Just awful. If there were 30 total attempts by the players, maybe 5 were executed as planned. The fans in Freedom Hall got a little testy with all the missed jams. A.J. Stewart won, virtually by default. So why was the miserable exhibition encouraging? Maybe it means high school stars are no longer spending an inordinate amount of time polishing their dunk techniques, and are concentrating instead on fundamentals. (Nah!)

It’s impossible to glean much reliable information from an all-star game like this. Sure, it’s obvious that a superstar such as Kansas State signee Michael Beasley (23 points, 16 rebounds) has a future in the NBA. But in 48 minutes of run-and-shoot, play-no-defense basketball that featured 223 field goal attempts, there’s no way to accurately judge how a player will fit in or fare on the college level.

That said, here’s a brief review of some of the players, including UK signees A.J. Stewart and Morakinyo “Mike” Williams, and comments from Derby Classic Coach Steve Wright of South Laurel.

A.J. Stewart (shown upper right holding up a UK emblem during introductions) seemed to enjoy himself more than anybody in the Derby Classic. He smiled his way through most of the night, including the dunk contest he won at halftime. Midway through the second half he slid on his chest out of bounds trying to save a ball, and stayed there for several seconds chatting with the cheerleaders before jumping up and rejoining the action. “Stewart really loves the game, and he’s got the personality to play at Kentucky,” Wright said. “I think he’ll endear himself to the fans. He may that big forward they’ve been missing.” Stewart didn’t show much in the way of perimeter skills Saturday night or when he played a couple games at Lexington Catholic in January.

Morakinyo “Mike” Williams (shown at right stretching before the game) looked a little slow afoot, but he’s got a big body (6-11, 260) and seems to have a hungry attitude. “His skill level is going to have to go up a little bit,” Wright said. “But he’s a great big strong kid. He had a good inside game (9 points, 7 rebounds). He’s unflashy, but he’s got a big upside to him.”

Steffphon Pettigrew won the three-point shooting contest in the Derby Classic, and was runner-up in the long-range shooting contest in the Kentucky-Ohio all-star game the weekend before. “I’m trying to prove to some college coaches I can shoot the three,” Pettigrew said. “I’ve been working on it every day.” Wright was impressed by Mr. Basketball. “He can play about anywhere,” Wright said. “He’s skilled enough.” UK Coach Billy Gillispie was scheduled to watch Pettigrew play pick-up hoops in Elizabethtown yesterday afternoon. Gillispie paid a similar visit to Maysville last week and watched Mason County junior Darius Miller work out.

DeAndre Jordan, the 7-foot Texas A&M recruit whom UK fans were trying to win over Saturday night, displayed strength and finesse around the basket, and played with a cockiness you’d expect from one of the nation’s top prospects. He’s got an odd-looking outside shot, though. It’s basically a line drive, but it seemed to work on free throws (he was 4-for-4).