With the rise in talent amongst area high school programs, it is easy to see how so many former local prep stars dot the rosters of teams in the NCAA Men’s and Women’s tournaments, as well as the National Invitation Tournament.
When watching the men’s tournament, Providence and Xavier will both feature local players. Both however transferred to basketball prep schools for their respective senior seasons. The Providence Friars, the 9th seed in the East Region, will have former CPA guard Jalen Lindsey in their backcourt. Lindsey spent three years with the Lions before transferring to Huntington Prep in West Virginia. Lindsey could be on a collision course with Williamson County’s other representative. Makinde London, a former Summit forward, will also be in the East Region. London, a forward for 2-seed Xavier, began his career with the Spartans before going to Florida’s Montverde Academy for his senior season.
It won’t only be players from area schools on the sidelines. Current Virginia Commonwealth coach Will Wade, one of the youngest head coaches in the country, graduated from FRA in 2001. Wade would coach Chattanooga before returning to VCU, where he had previously served as an assistant.
After being upset in their conference tournament, OVC regular season champion Belmont will play in the National Invitation Tournament. The Bruins feature two local players, senior guard Craig Bradshaw and redshirt sophomore forward Josh Lester. Bradshaw, a two-time academic All-American, graduated from CPA, while Lester is a Brentwood Academy alumnus.
READ MORE: CPA Alumnus Named Academic All-American
In the Ladies tournament, Oklahoma and Belmont both feature local talent. Oklahoma, a 6-seed in the Lexington regional, stars Derica Wyatt, a guard from Franklin Road Academy. OVC champion and 13-seed in the Bridgeport regional Belmont has three local players; CPA alumnae Lauren Thompson and Meredith Roman at guard and freshman forward Jenny Roy from Brentwood High.
With local talent all over the brackets and games on television all the time, there is a great ability to watch these players over the next three weeks.
[scroller style=”sc1″ title=”More March Madness” display=”tags” tags=”March-Madness” number_of_posts=”12″ auto_play=”5000″ speed=”300″]
