Lexington KY— Today is the day that every high school hooper & hoops fan waits for across the bluegrass. If you’re a student athlete on the Hardwood your goal, your dream, all your effort, time, and work longs for ONE PLACE- RUPP ARENA!! From Paducah to Pikeville and everywhere in between, basketball fans will be locked in on Lexington KY & who will have their school cemented in BASKETBALL ROYALTY. We caught up with The Lexington Herald-Leaders Jared Peck ahead of this mornings tip off. This years tournament has no shortage of storylines, household names and parody, despite what you might think. All eyes will be on Lyon County on Thursday, as Tyler Perry sits just 21 points away from becoming the states all time leader in scoring & you can all but put this weeks pay check on him achieving that milestone, on the BIGGEST STAGE in hoops. North Laurel and George Rogers Clark also square off on Thursday. GRC is the defending state champions and they will square go up against Mr Basketball favorite, McDonald’s All American & Kentucky Signee Reed Sheppard. Warren Central finished State Runner Up last season but was inches away from being crowned CHAMPION & they are back this year as the Favorite by most outlets. Peck, however, says wait a minute on that thought.. stating “I think you could throw a blanket over any of those teams on Wednesday. This tournament is wide open and up for grabs.” When asked about the night cap between the 16th Regions Ashland Blazer & 3rd Region champion Owensboro, Peck expressed his praise and excitement for Owensboro Senior dual sport star, Kenyatta Carbon. “I’ve seen a lot of him on the football field over the last couple of years and cannot wait to see what he brings to the basketball court.” On his thoughts of the matchup, Peck says “this matchup on paper looks really close according to our central rankings, and obviously these two programs are tradition-rich.” Peck has seen a lot of high level basketball this season, but has yet to see either Ashland or Owensboro and that, Peck says, “brings a lot of intrigue and interest.” Owensboro comes in after storming through the district and regional tournaments with relative ease, after struggling at times throughout the regular season. Red Devils Head Coach Rod Drake, who is the only coach in Kentucky to win a state championship both as a coach & player says his team is locked in and ready to play. Tip Off is Scheduled for 8:30pm EST. Good luck to the Red Devils.