[Go Blazers Go]

For University Heights, a lot of folks assume that they are a "one man show" in Kyky Tandy. And that reputation is somewhat earned. In my opinion he's the best player in the state. For those who have never seen him play, think a "high school" Russell Westbrook. When he played as an 8th grader through his sophmore year he was small and slight of build. he could be pushed around. Now he's a legit 6'1 or 6'2 with broad shoulders and big legs. He's incredibly strong and explosive. In the high school game you usually don't see both. he has both. His ability to get to the rim is off the charts, he can score from all 3 levels and he's terrific from the free throw line. He's not been "quite" as good from 3 point range this year but he's been much better in all other phases of his game including defense.

In terms of the team... UHA is relatively undersized. They start
5'9 KJ Crump (He should be back) - soph
6'1 Kyky tandy - senior
6'1 drew McGowan - senior
6'3 Taquan Hollowell - senior
6'4.5 Weston Wood - junior

Key subs.
William Bryan 5'10 guard (has been starting in crump's abscence)soph
DJ Quarrels - 5'10 guard - soph
Amani McGee - 5'11 guard - soph


However, Wood plays only about 10 minutes per game.

Crump - He's perhaps the fastest player in the state. he's a legit contender for the 100 meters and 400 meters in track. An absolute jet and a true point guard. Amazing ball handling and on ball defense. Probably could have played in the all a regional tournament but they rested him after an ankle injury in their blowout win of Christian County.

Tandy - See above... Best player in state

McGowan - Could have been a OVC level basketball player, instead is playing baseball on a full scholarship at Miss. State. Close to leading the state in 3 point %. Explosive too. Very strong and finishes well at the rim. Very good rebounder and defender. One weakness is ball handling against intense pressure. But nobody in the all a will be able to pressure UHA.

Hollowell - Younger brother of Wofford guard Tray hollowell. he's really embraced his role as a "junk yard dog" this year. Strong and athletic guy who rebounds, defends and finishes around the rim really well. He's very good in the middle of the zone catching the ball at the free throw line and taking one and two dribble drives to the basket. has improved his game tremendously in the last year. Explosive and a very good shot blocker for his size.

Wood - He's the tallest guy on the team. Some wonder why he still starts but the one game he didn't they struggled against LCA. So they've put him back in. In games where he's not able to match up athletically he will only play 7 or 8 minutes. But in the All a he will probably play more to give guys rest and because he will be able to match up better.

Subs -

Bryan - Bryan is a standout soccer player who has started the last 3 games with Crump out. He's a terrific ball handler, passer, defender and is an amazing rebounder for somebody his size. He can get tons of offensive rebounds with his anticipation.

DJ Quarrells - Son of former UHA and Transy point guard and state champ DQ Quarrells. Tremendous athlete who is an elite defender. Has improved his shot and ball handling since last year. A key player who sometimes gets 20 or more minutes in a game off the bench.

Amani McGee - A silky smooth combo guard who is probably the 3rd best shooter and 2nd best pure "scorer" on the team. Is growing into his body and starting to earn more and more minutes. When teams really sag a zone in against UHA he can come in and shoot you right out of it. When McGee, Tandy and McGowan are all on the floor you're facing 3 guys who you can't leave open. That causes a ton of trouble for defenses because everybody thinks you have to zone UHA.

On Most nights it's all about how UHA plays. If they play well they win. Teams have tried everything against them this year. What has hurt them? Rebounding. Mayfield and LCA killed UHA on the offensive boards. Team's first shot offense against UHA is awful. The two instate teams that beat them really worked the offensive boards hard. After the LCA loss UHA buckeled down and did a much better job on the glass. Mayfield exploited them there and got them with Crump on the bench.

UHA should make it to the semifinals, and candidly, they should make it to the finals. If I was them, the one team I'd want to avoid was mayfield. Mayfield is the one team in this tournament who can match up with them physically and athletically. UHA had a chance against them without Crump, who is, in my opinion, their second best player. But that's the one team I don't want to see. LCA was an absolutely embarrassing effort by uha and they still had the lead down to 3 late in the game before a terrible no call and technical gave LCA a 7 point possession.

My prediction for UHA's tournament is as follows.

They beat Bishop Brosart, Newport, Danville and Walton Verona on their way to the 10th All A title in school history.

Sorry for the rant.. But having played for UHA and now as a fan I'm excited that we are "back"... Well, when we won the region last year I think we were "back". But coming back to Richmond (where the tourney needs to stay) as the favorite is nice...