Kyky Tandy noticed that coaches Rick Stansbury and Will Wade — along with several others — were at Marshall County Hoopfest Thursday night to watch him play.
“I noticed it but they are just regular people. They are just watching the game,” said Tandy.
Maybe but the reality is that Wade and Stansbury were there to see the University Heights Academy junior point guard play against Graves County. Tandy’s team lost 69-65 but only after he led a furious second-half comeback that cut the lead to one point with about 30 seconds to play.
Tandy had a game-high 34 points on 14-for-23 shooting from the field — including 3-for-7 from 3-point range. He also had four rebounds and two assists.
Coaches cannot talk about potential recruits and who they came to see play. Stansbury will be back at Hoopfest Sunday to see Aspire Academy junior Charles Bassey and others. Wade won’t be back but he left his assistant coach here to see games through Sunday.
“This is probably the best attended high school event I go to all year long. Nowhere in the country do people come out and support young men like they do here,” Stansbury, a Kentucky native, said. “Always great talent and competition. People in Kentucky love basketball.
“It is also a chance for me maybe to get to see some kids that I have not had a chance to see. There is always a kid or two that comes out of this thing who makes a name for himself.”
Wade, a former head coach at Tennessee-Chattanooga and Virginia Commonwealth, was at Hoopfest for the fourth time.
“It is great coming here. Every time the atmosphere is great, the basketball is great. It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “The competition is what I love and seeing how people react in a high level game. That can tell you a lot.
“You know there are a couple of guys here to see, but you want to catch all the games. You know every team here is good, so you want to make sure that you get a good feel on everybody.”