Kentucky Club Should Boost Its Legacy At DSC



These are exciting times for the Kentucky Legacy travel program. The club has established its foundation, and the Spring of ’14 should serve as a launching pad for the program.

“We have a lot of young, very talented players, and this should be our best year,” said Coach Sara Piepho. “We are loaded with eighth graders, and eight of them are now playing for their high school varsity teams, and five of them are starting.”

Those youngsters will get a stiff challenge at the 2014 Deep South Classic will be in Raleigh, NC, on April 25-27. Now in its 17th year, the Deep South Classic annually hosts many of the nation’s elite travel teams in a field that will eclipse 200 squads, and hundreds of collegiate coaches will be on hand searching for talent. The 2014 event will mark the second year that the Deep South Classic has been held at the Raleigh Convention Center. The venue was a tremendous success in its debut last year, with all games played at one site on 18 courts, and it is in a convenient central location.

The eighth grade standouts for the Legacy are all ready to make their mark, with four perimeter prospects topping the list. Ally Niece is a 5-8 guard who has been listed as the No. 45 recruit nationally in the  Class of 2018 by the All Star Girls Report. Other rising stars for the Legacy are 5-10 Tyrah McClendon, 5-8 Lexi Held, and 5-7 Taylor Clos.
“Ally is a very skilled true point guard. She has a high basketball IQ, and she is a coach on the floor for us,” Piepho said. “Tyrah has an inside-out game, and she has played all five positions for her high school team this year. She has a big upside, and so does Lexi. Lexi is another versatile athlete with great skills. Taylor is our shooter. She just has a scorer’s mentality, the type of player who could drop in 30 points at any time.”
ASGR analyst Bret McCormick is anxious to see more of these talented young players when they square off against the competition at the Deep South Classic.
“Niece is their top player. That girl is already smooth as silk,” McCormick said. “She has good quickness and exceptional skills. She can play all phases of the game — shoot it, handle it, pass it. She is a very advanced for her age.
“McClendon is a skilled, versatile athlete who can do a lot of things. Held is an athletic perimeter player who can post up or attack the rim. Clos is a scoring combo guard who has good shooting range.”