Sports news
Wednesday evening coaches gathered at Liberty to draft players for the annual high school basketball all-star game.
The games will be played at Liberty High School on May 30. The day will begin with a 3-point contest for girls and boys followed by a dunk contest. The girls will play first followed by the boys’ game.
Lexington coach Andrew Hicks is a coach for the North team along with Humboldt’s Ron Abernathy, and the two got three players Hicks has coached before.
Both Lexington players – Nick Marshall and Dillon Smith – were drafted to the North team, along with Humboldt’s Troy Agnew, who Hicks coached during the 2013-14 season.
The South team is coached by Ripley’s Lonnie Starks, and he started drafting players he is familiar with in District 15-AA play.
Starks took Chad Culbreath from his own team, and then picked Kyler Douglas and Jordon Varnado from the state champion Haywood squad. He also got Covington’s Bobby Shanks and Jalen Claybon, as well as North Side’s Khylan Sullivan.
The two South Side seniors will get to play against each other as Chris McNeal, a Western Kentucky signee, was drafted by the North and Terrikous Smith was drafted by the South. The same is true with Middleton teammates Steven Wright (North) and Latavvis Golden (South).
Rachelle Parks and Averyale Joy have started for coach James Burkley since they were freshmen at Middleton, so it is only fitting that both players’ final game as high school athletes will be played with Burkley as the coach.
Burkley along with Covington’s Katrisha Glass will be coaching the girls’ South team.
Along with the two Middleton players, Burkley and Glass also drafted all three Riverside players – Kendall Walker, Bree Linton and Holly Chumney.
Whitney Baird is the coach of the girls’ North team, and she did much like Starks did for the boys’ South team. Baird went with players she has coached or coached against.
Summer Cunningham and Idalias Flagg are both Haywood players, and they are on the South team. Baird also selected Covington’s Iesha Tipton and Chelsie Dye, North Side’s Jada Perkins and Liberty’s Brindy Fuller.
Two other sets of teammates are on the North roster with Crockett County’s Aja Robertson and Libby Hart, along with Greenfield’s Shaynece Clemons and Alle Dees.
Clemons and Dees will be playing against teammate Brittany Peoples, who was drafted by the South team.
Michael Odom, 425-9754
West Tennessee All-Star rosters
North All-Stars – Boys
Chris McNeal – South Side
Nick Marshall – Lexington
Dillon Smith – Lexington
Troy Agnew – Humboldt
Cortavious Miller – Fayette-Ware
Jay Howard – Dyersburg
Tay Gibbs – Scared Heart
Breshuan Ogelsby – McKenzie
Kalen Johnson – Liberty
David Johnson – Sacred Heart
Steven Wright – Middleton
T’Varsky Freeman – Fayette-Ware
Tyree Owens – McKenzie
Nigel Peeples – USJ
Coaches — Rob Abernathy (Humboldt) and Andrew Hicks (Lexington)
South All-Stars – Boys
Kyler Douglas – Haywood
Jordon Varnado – Haywood
Chad Culbreath – Ripley
Bobby Shanks – Covington
Tristan Anthony – South Gibson
Hayden Cary – Obion County
Alex Northcut – TCA
Latavvis Golden – Middleton
Terrikous Smith – South Side
Hunter Garner – Clarksburg
Jalen Claybon – Covington
Khylan Sullivan – North Side
Ryan Smith – TCA
Coach — Lonnie Starks (Ripley)
North All-Stars – Girls
Summer Cunningham – Haywood
Idalias Flagg – Haywood
Adi Hale – Lexington
Chelsie Dye – Covington
Iesha Tipton – Covington
Jada Perkins – North Side
Aja Robertson – Crockett Co.
Brindy Fuller – Liberty
Emani Milton – West Carroll
Libby Hart – Crockett Co.
Shaynece Clemons – Greenfield
Raven Fair – Union City
Alle Dees – Greenfield
Coach – Whitney Baird (Haywood)
South All-Stars – Girls
Rachelle Parks – Middleton
Averyale Joy – Middleton
Kendall Walker – Riverside
Myah Taylor – Dyersburg
Kimbrique Tate – Dyersburg
Nakeeta Franklin – Bolivar
Bree Linton – Riverside
Haven Phelps – McNairy Central
Holly Chumney – Riverside
Brittany Peoples – Greenfield
Kierra Linton – Liberty
Kaylah Johnson – Humboldt
Coaches – James Burkley (Middleton) and Katrisha Glass (Covington
