Buckles, Siva, Orton and Hood all shine in Derby City Classic

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - UK bound Jon Hood, Kentucky’s reigning Mr. Basketball, was one of eight double-figure scorers for the Gold team tonight, scoring 13 points to go along with five boards and four assists, in the Gold’s 151-145 victory over the Black in the Derby City Festival Basketball Classic in front of 13,111 fans at Freedom Hall.

UK signee Jon Hood, guarded by Nolan Dennis

Daniel Orton added 12 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots for the Gold. Orton hit the glass hard and showed nice touch on his long outlet passes in helping his team outscore the Black 44-34 in the second and build an 11-point halftime lead.

As the Herald-Leader’s Jerry Tipton reports, Hood worked on Orton all weekend (the two were roommates) and even offered him a UK flag to carry during introductions, a flag which Orton declined.

Daniel Orton throws down two of his 12 points

The Gold’s lead reached 19 points in the third, before University of Louisville signee Rakeem Buckles took over. There wasn’t a lot of defense in the game, but during this stretch in the third, Buckles made several spectacular defensive plays, putting his athleticism on display, and pulling the Black within one point twice in the fourth. The Black were never able to make it over that hump though.

Buckles finished with a team-high 26 points, showing his ability to finish strong inside and a nice touch from beyond the arc. His future teammates performed well also: Peyton Siva had 15 points and 11 assists to earn most valuable player honors for the Black.

Van Treese, Marra, Siva and Buckles

Stephan Van Treese added 11 points and seven rebounds. And Mike Marra won the slam-dunk competition at halftime with an off the backboard windmill jam that brought the Louisville faithful to their feet. Marra, whom Rick Pitino called the ‘greatest high school shooter I have seen in my life’, couldn’t find his stroke during the three-point competition. His form is good and he gets good lift on his shot, which along with his height should create some serious matchup problems for most teams.

Eric Bledsoe, an unsigned point guard who, as Guy Smiley has mentioned, is said to be considering UK, added nine points and eight rebounds for the Black.

Florida State-bound Michael Snaer, scored a game-high 30 points, grabbed seven boards and handed out six assists to win MVP for the Gold. A pair of future Hoosiers, Christian Watford and Maurice Creek, had 26 and 21 points respectively.