Cincinnati Knights Dominate 9th Grade Division of BP Invitational

The Cincinnati Knights have long proven to be one of the top 8th grade teams in the nation.  This weekend in the 7th Annual Buckeye Prep Invitational, they proved to be too tough for even 9th grade teams to handle, as they breezed through the 9th grade division to claim the championship.  Although the Millennium Fire put up a good fight early, the machine-like Knights switched gears and went on to claim a lopsided win.  At the end of the day, the Knights team is simply more talented than most other teams. 

With arguably the top guards in the class with AJ Harris and MaCio Teague, plus one of the best bigs in the class in Nate Fowler, then throw in Luke Kennard, the Knights are just too tough.  I have talked a lot about Harris and Teague on this site, but the play of Fowler and Kennard was very impressive this weekend.  I knew Fowler was a quality post player with his simple but effective game, but the way he finished around the bucket the entire weekend was incredible.  Nothing fancy, the kid simply finishes everything. Luke Kennard surprised me with his productiveness.  Kennard has good length, solid ball skills, can hit open shots and is a great long-term prospect.

I have to mention that the Millennium Fire is no chopped liver; that is a quality team with great players. John Davis and Korey Pearson are the top kids on that team, but Greg Alexander and Marcus Bagley do a good job running the point and John Cirillo holds it down in the paint.

All-Tournament Team

Amos “AJ” Harris- MVP Cincinnati Knights
Luke Kennard-Cincinnati Knights
Nate Fowler- Cincinnati Knights
John Davis- Millennium Fire
Korey Pearson- Millennium Fire

Other Players to Watch


Dequandre Dentmond















Arius Moore 6’0 PG Beavercreek HS
Tysean Powell 6’4 WG Benedictine HS
Mike Angers 5’3 PG St. Edwards HS
Evan Bailey 6’3 WG Jackson HS
Michael Clark 6’1 WG Findley HS
Dequandre Dentmond 6’8 Lansing Catholic Central HS
Carlos Jackson 6’1 WG Cincinnati Roger Bacon HS
Aaron Odon 6’0 PG Cincinnati Hughes HS
Damon Willis 6’1 WG St. Ignatius HS