The 2020 Lexington Herald-Leader All-State Boys’ Basketball Team is here

Collins’ Dayvion McKnight began the year as the coaches’ preseason pick as the top player in the state and, according to their postseason votes in the 2019-20 Herald-Leader Boys’ All-State Basketball Team and Player of the Year ballot, they got it right.

McKnight, a 6-foot-2 senior point guard committed to Western Kentucky University, came away as the clear choice for Player of the Year among the 88 coaches who participated, with 29 of them marking McKnight first on their ballot. Every varsity boys’ coach in Kentucky was emailed the Herald-Leader’s All-State survey, which asked them to name their picks for the state’s 10 best players.

McKnight averaged 20 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in helping the Titans to an 8th Region title and a spot in the Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Boys’ Sweet 16. The state tournament has been indefinitely postponed amid the coronavirus crisis.

Bardstown’s JJ Traynor, a Louisville commit; McCracken County’s Jackson Sivills (Murray State); Henry Clay’s Marques Warrick (Northern Kentucky); and Madisonville’s Kenny White (Tennessee Tech) rounded out the top five.

Two juniors earned first-team honors, Marshall County’s Zion Harmon and Lexington Catholic’s Ben Johnson.

John Hardin’s Alex Matthews, Male’s Tyren Moore and South Laurel’s Matt Cromer filled out the rest of the first-team honorees. Mattews garnered 2020 Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year honors on Thursday.

Every senior on the Herald-Leader First Team is among the 17 finalists for Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball, the state’s highest high school individual honor. Judging by this coaches’ vote, the race will be close. The Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation and Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches survey media and its coaches for the award. That ceremony has also been indefinitely postponed.

Below are the Herald-Leader All-State Teams based on coaches selections in a statewide survey conducted by the Lexington Herald-Leader/Kentucky.com. Players are listed in order of point totals based on coaches’ votes.

FIRST TEAM

SECOND TEAM

THIRD TEAM

HONORABLE MENTION

Brayden Sebastian, Garrard Co.; Logan Hall, Hazard; Jaden Rodgers, Fern Creek; James Taylor, Pleasure Ridge Park; Will Minter, Butler; Scotty Draud, Beechwood; Isaiah Mason, Bowling Green; Grant Disken, Covington Catholic; Kaleb Glenn, Male; Kelly Niece, Simon Kenton; Kobe Bowling, Buckhorn; Wade Pelfrey, Hazard; Jamison Epps, Marion Co.; Travis Perry, Lyon Co.; Amarion Joyce, Bourbon Co.; Blake Stewart, Boyd Co.; Colby Fugate, Paintsville; Dylan Knight, Buckhorn; Spencer Baird, Casey Co.; Sekou Kalle, DeSales.

Methodology: Our annual All-State survey was emailed to all 272 KHSAA boys’ basketball coaches in Kentucky, using their email registered with the KHSAA. Multiple attempts were made to encourage every school to participate. Coaches were asked to select their top 10 players and points were assigned based on a player’s position on the ballot (10 points for No. 1, nine points for No. 2, eight points for No. 3, etc.), and tabulated across all ballots received. The top 50 players receiving votes made our All-State list.

A total of 90 teams participated in the All-State ballot. They are listed here: Adair Co.; Allen Co.-Scottsville; Anderson Co.; Ashland Blazer; Ballard; Ballard Memorial; Bardstown; Barren Co.; Bath Co.; Belfry; Bell Co.; Boyd Co.; Breathitt Co.; Brown; Buckhorn; Butler; Campbellsville; Carlisle Co.; Central Hardin; Clark Co.; Clinton Co.; Collins; Daviess Co.; DeSales; Eastern; Elizabethtown; Estill Co.; Fleming Co.; Frankfort; Franklin Co.; Frederick Douglass; Garrard Co.; Graves Co.; Grayson Co.; Great Crossing; Greenup Co.; Greenwood; Harlan Co.; Hazard; Henry Clay; Henry Co.; Hopkinsville; Jackson City; John Hardin; LaRue Co.; Lexington Catholic; Lexington Christian; Lincoln Co.; Louisville Holy Cross; Lyon Co.; Madison Central; Madison Southern; Madisonville; Male; Male; Martin Co.; Marshall Co.; McLean Co.; Menifee Co.; Mercer Co.; Metcalfe Co.; Middlesboro; Model; Monroe Co.; North Laurel; Owen Co.; Paintsville; Perry Co. Central; Pineville; Pleasure Ridge Park; Prestonsburg; Rowan Co.; Ryle; Scott Co.; Simon Kenton; Somerset; South Laurel; St. Xavier; Tates Creek; University Heights; Walton-Verona; Warren Central; Warren East; Washington Co.; Wayne Co.; Western Hills; West Jessamine; Whitefield Academy; Wolfe Co.; Woodford Co.

This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 8:12 AM.

Jared Peck

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-488-2883

Jared Peck, the Herald-Leader’s Digital Sports Writer, covers high school athletics and has been with the company as a writer and editor for more than 20 years. Support my work with a digital subscription