SPORTS

5-star forward Carlton Bragg hearing from Cats, Cards

Steve Jones

FISHERS, Ind. –

The University of Kentucky's success in producing NBA draft picks has made an impression on Carlton Bragg of Cleveland, who listed the Wildcats as one of the teams recruiting him most actively.

"Kentucky, if you go there — I'm not trying to brag or nothing — but it's one and done, regardless," Bragg, a 6-foot-9 power forward, said Saturday morning. "It's success all day."

Bragg, a five-star recruit, is ranked No. 7 in the Class of 2015 by 247Sports.com. After a morning victory with the Ohio Basketball Club at the Adidas Gauntlet session, he said UK, Ohio State, Arizona and "especially Illinois" have been in the most contact with him since last month's live evaluation period. He added, though, that nearly every school, including the University of Louisville, that has made him an offer is also in regular communication. He plans to narrow his list of potential colleges in September.

UK offered Bragg a scholarship in January. He previously had said an offer from the Wildcats was the only one he lacked that he coveted.

Bragg said he was impressed that coach John Calipari started five freshmen in the Final Four last season.

"I love that he loves playing freshmen," Bragg said. "… Coach Cal gets it done."

When asked who he hears from the most, Bragg did not initially mention U of L, which made Bragg an offer well before UK. But when asked specifically about the Cardinals, he said they remain heavily involved.

"They call every day, every single day," he said.

Bragg heard last week from a U of L coach who reminded him he remains a priority.

He is friends with U of L sophomore point guard Terry Rozier, who is also from the Cleveland area, and said Rozier is trying to recruit him.

"I'd love to go there," Bragg said. "… It would be good to play with him."

Ivory quick on Peay offer

Confident he was good enough to be an NCAA Division I player but lacking an offer that would make it a reality, Trinity point guard Tre' Ivory made sure not to miss the call from Austin Peay coach Dave Loos when the phone rang while he was at home typing a paper about 10 days ago.

"He called and offered me, and I just broke down in tears," said Ivory, who otherwise was being recruited mostly by NAIA schools. "… It was a major emotional time. … I didn't even let him finish the sentence before I said, 'I'm going to commit.' "

Ivory, who averaged 10 points for the state semifinalist Shamrocks, said that phone call was the greatest moment of his life. He signed with the Governors on Thursday during a ceremony attended by Trinity's entire team. He is following in the footsteps of his father, Willie, who played at Austin Peay from 1996 to '98.

In a release, Loos called Ivory "a solid point guard who is pass first, score second."

"Tre' has done a lot of winning at Trinity," Loos said, "and has been coached very well. He has played in a great program."

UofL goes big in Texas

The Cardinals' coaching staff apparently liked what it saw during its football recruiting evaluation of Dallas' South Oak Cliff High School. Louisville offered scholarships to 10 — yes, 10 — of its players Friday.

South Oak Cliff defensive coordinator R.J. Bond tweeted the news of offers going to seven members of the 2015 class and three in the Class of 2016.

The juniors who received offers are four-star running back Jordan Stevenson, who is committed to Texas, three-star safeties Jamile Johnson (Oklahoma commit) and Prentice McKinney (Notre Dame commit), three-star wide receiver J.F. Thomas (TCU commit), two-star defensive tackle Jalen Goss, and unrated cornerbacks Takadrae Williams and X'zaviae Ausborne. The sophomores are four-star defensive end Marvin Terry, unrated cornerback Juice Parker and unrated defensive end Hal Vincent.

U of L is the first offer for Parker and Vincent.

AAU State champions

Three teams made up largely of Louisville players won championships last Sunday at the boys' AAU state tournaments at the Kentucky Basketball Academy.

The Ville 2015, which features Knott County Central's Evan Hall, Trinity's Jax Levitch and Michael Stafford and Male's Will Parker, won the 11th-grade division. Hall had 15 points in the title game — a 69-43 win over the Retros. It was The Ville's sixth state title for the players from the 2015 class, who also won championships from grade four through eighth grade.

The Kentucky Heat won the 10th-grade division with the same core of players who won last year's ninth-grade title. The Kentucky Gators, made up of eighth-graders, played up a level and won the ninth-grade title.

Basketball quick hits

• Tall 2015 wing Ray Smith of Las Vegas said at the Adidas Gauntlet that he'll make his official visit to U of L on Sept. 27. He also plans official visits to Georgetown and UCLA in June and to Arizona at a date to be determined. Smith, 6-8, is ranked No. 32 nationally by Rivals.com. He recently listed the 10 schools he has interest in as Arizona State, California, Oregon, Texas, Southern California, Wake Forest, and the four previously mentioned.

• The UK women's team recently received a 2015 commitment from second-team All-State guard Morgan Rich from Allen County-Scottsville, and a 2016 commitment from Indianapolis Roncalli guard Lindsey Corsaro.