Boys’ basketball preview: Sayre ready to take on tougher tests

Last season: 9-19 (lost to Scott County in semifinals of the 42nd District Tournament)

Coach: Rob Goodman (fourth year)

Three key contributors

Jake Duby: The highest-scoring player in Lexington at 24.1 points per game last season likely will have some mid-major offers before the year’s done. “In 25 years, Jake’s as good of a ball player as I’ve coached,” Goodman said of the 6-3 senior. “ ... Just like anybody, he obviously needs to get stronger and better defensively for the next level, but as far as a scorer goes he’s as good as anybody.”

Robbie Goodman: An All-City honorable mention last year, Coach Goodman’s son is a good shooter who’s capable of playing point guard if Duby needs to play off the ball.

Marcus Bowie: The 6-5 junior is developing into a consistent down-low threat for the Spartans, who lack major size outside of Bowie but do have more depth than is typical for the small school. “We’ve always had a couple of good players but now, this whole team, everybody’s a basketball player,” Bowie said.

Others to watch

Senior soccer star Will Newton, who finished third in All-City voting this season, is back after sitting out last season and will make an immediate impact defensively. Junior guard Jayden Blanton has “outstanding vision,” Goodman said. RJ Smith, Kaden Silverburg and Grant Peters will be reliable players for the Spartans whenever called upon.

Games you gotta see

Sayre has beefed up its schedule in recent seasons to help improve its level of play and better showcase rising talents like Duby, and the most eye-catching example of that this season is its participation in Lexington Catholic’s Republic Bank Holiday Classic from Dec. 26-30. “These guys have asked for that,” Goodman said. “ ... We love the challenge. I think they’ve earned that challenge.”

Fast facts

Bowie is the son of former University of Kentucky star Sam Bowie, who was selected second overall in the 1984 NBA Draft, between Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan. ... The Spartans have reached the All “A” Classic, the state tournament for smaller schools, just one time, in 1998. ... No current player was on the roster when Sayre got its last win against a Lexington opponent. That was against Bryan Station, 62-50, on Jan. 24, 2011.

This story was originally published November 26, 2016 at 11:23 AM with the headline "Boys’ basketball preview: Sayre ready to take on tougher tests."