I’ll be honest, in all my years of writing about high school and middle school ball, I can only remember a few times that I may have written about Millington being pretty good. I can’t say that this year. I think they are sneaky and you will not want to play them when they hit their stride! They are led by Blake Butler and 7th grader, K’cyn Hughes. Others who will play big roles are John Thomas and Kevon Fields.
Hughes is their leading scorer and probably the heart of their team along with Butler. Hughes shoots it with range and he can get his shots off quick which makes him a threat on catch and shoot opportunities and off screens. If he’s making the long ball for them, it really opens up things for Butler. Butler is a physical, downhill driver but can beat you with the pull up and the 3 ball. He really thrives when the ball is in his hands with 1 man to beat. When he makes his mind up to beat you off the bounce, it’s tough to stay in front of him.
Thomas provides a scoring punch as well rebounding. He’s capable of finishing inside and can play with the ball in his hands some. He’s definitely what I label an opportunistic scorer. Thomas and Butler provide toughness and will make Millington a difficult opponent throughout this season. (I heard about a possible addition that could help at the guard spot so that could make them better as well.)
I didn’t get a chance to see their whole game against Houston, who many thought was the second-best team in the city, but Millington used a puncher’s chance to get an upset win over them 39–36. Things got interesting at the end making for one of the more exciting games in the tourney. I’ll say this, if you can’t defend the guard position or don’t have equally as good guards, it could be a long night for you against this Trojans team. They can stay in games and beat virtually anyone.
