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  • Labissiere can't wait to be a part of Kentucky basketball

    By: LARRY VAUGHT





    By LARRY VAUGHT

    BENTON — When he was a high school freshman, Skal Labissiere admits he “fell in love” with Kentucky basketball.

    “Coach Cal, I fell in love with Kentucky my freshman year watching guys like Anthony Davis and that team that won the (national) championship. I was cheering for them. I didn’t say anything, but that is who I was rooting for. I loved watching him (Davis) play,” said Labissiere Friday after he scored 32 points in the Marshall County Hoop Fest.

    The 6-10, 215-pound Labissiere signed with Kentucky last month in a move that surprised some who thought he might play for Memphis, the city where he lives.

    But Labissiere says it was always Kentucky and coach John Calipari for him.

    “I was watching all-access Kentucky (on ESPN) my sophomore year and was just praying that coach Cal would offer me (a scholarship),” Labissiere said. “The first game of the season my sophomore year he offered me, and that’s where I have wanted to go since then. Obviously, I kind of went on all my visits to be sure, but that’s where I wanted to go. I knew two years ago.”

    He now plays for Reach Your Dreams Prep. He transferred to Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis for his senior season but was declared ineligible for athletic play. That led his guardian, Gerald Hamilton, to look for another way to keep Labissiere — who came to the United States after the 2010 earthquake in his native Haiti.

    Hamilton said they are “making the best” of the situation after learning Labissier would be ineligible at Lausanne.

    “We are just playing the hand that was dealt to us,” Hamilton said after Reach Your Dreams lost 97-60 here Friday night.

    He said he has to be patient with a new team and lack of resources. The team has been to Texas twice to play and each time took a 7-hour bus ride. They bused from Memphis to Benton and will play in London Saturday night at North Laurel High School before taking the bus back to Memphis.

    “It has been a challenge. It’s not like a high school team with all the resources and funding. We had to come up with team funding, that’s the roughest part,” Hamilton said.

    If it bothers Labissiere, who was 11-for-17 from the field Friday, it doesn’t show.

    “I have handled it pretty well. Obviously we already had a pretty tough schedule. My schedule is tougher than it has been the past two, three years,” the UK signee said. “It is really getting me ready for the next level because I am playing against guys as talented as I am or the same size every night. It is a pretty good experience.

    “Tonight I just told my teammates to go out and have fun. This is our first year of playing together, so the guys don’t have any experience. It was a good opportunity for them to play against a team like Oak Hill, so we just went out there and played hard and had fun.”

    He also enjoyed being in Kentucky.

    I didn’t know ... obviously I saw how crazy the fans were when I went on my visit (to UK), but here it is pretty crazy. The fans are very welcoming and really love their team,” Labissiere said.

    He signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans on the court after the game, which did not end until 11:30 CST.

    “It is a real blessing to have this opportunity,” Labissiere said. “It can be taken away from me at any time, so I just try to enjoy it and take advantage of it.”

    His coach, Verties Sails III, says Labissiere is a rare talent and personality.

    “I think he does love this atmosphere. He is a people person. On the bus or in the locker room, he is just like all the other guys. He is laughing and having fun like them. He is one of the guys,” Sails said. “I think that will help him at Kentucky. He seems to be a young man who is very focused, very level headed. He has been raised in a good home. He really has a good head on his shoulders and is just a great kid.”

    Labissiere is excited about what lies ahead for him at Kentucky.

    I am very excited. Obviously coach Cal is a great coach and the fans here are crazy, so I am really looking forward to it and having a great freshman year,” he said. “I don’t talk to Coach often. We text every once in a while. We stay in touch. He talks to my guardian a lot, so we stay in touch with him and coach Kenny Payne.

    “He is a great man, great guy. He is honest and it is hard to find coaches that are honest with their players. That is one thing I saw when I went on my visit. The family atmosphere and he treats the guys like his own sons and tries his best to protect them and I really liked that about him. I have watched them play against Kansas and couple of preseason games. They look good out there and I can’t wait to be part of that.”
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