Hare Shines at the Rumble on the Ridge

Combo guard Justin Hare from Cleveland, Tennessee had a strong showing at the Rumble on the Ridge for Bradley Central High School.

The 6-foot-2, 192-pound Hare led the tournament in scoring with 25.6 points per game and was named to the All Tournament Team as Bradley Central won two of their three games.

The one game that Bradley Central, the No. 19 team in the nation according to Street & Smith Magazine, lost was their opener against the No. 18 team in the nation Denham Springs High School.

Denham Springs is led by one of the top 2005 prospects in the country Tasmin Mitchell.

Bradley Central was up at half 37 to 31 before Denham Springs pressure defense led them to a 74 to 58 win.

“We had an uncharacteristic meltdown towards the end of the game,” said Bradley Central head coach Kent Smith. “We had the lead for three quarters, then we couldn’t handle their pressure. I guess I had to much confidence in our teams ability to handle the press. We had not worked on it yet this year.”

In the following game, Hare was matched up with Alabama signee Ron Steele of John Carroll High School. Bradley Central defeated the No. 1 ranked team in the state of Alabama 76 to 73, and Coach Smith felt like Hare, who is receiving strong interest from Stanford, belonged on the same court with Steele.

“Yes, he matched up well with Steele,” said Coach Smith. “Strength wise he is there. If Steele has anything on him, he might be a half step quicker on his first step. I think Justin had 29 points and Steele had 25. We were up 17 at half, and then John Carroll cut the lead to one point. At this point, Justin took over the game.”