Luke Kennard of Ohio’s Franklin High School passed Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James on the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s all time scoring list.
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Cavaliers forward and general NBA legend LeBron James might be the king of everything else in Ohio, but he has a challenger when it comes to high school scoring in the state. Senior Luke Kennard, a guard for Ohio’s Franklin High School, scored 44 points during a Friday game against Brookville to move into fourth on the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s all-time scoring list and pass James on the list. It also gave Kennard 2,652 points for his career, according to ESPN.com.
Entering Friday’s game, Kennard was behind James by 38 points, but it took him until the end of the third quarter to pass James with an opportune 3-pointer at 1:03 left in the quarter.
“I pulled up from 3, saw it went in — gave it the little LeBron,” Kennard told reporters. “That was just for fun. I’m really excited. I’m blessed to have that opportunity.”
Kennard, a recent Duke signee, was quick to add that he didn’t think he was the new LeBron by any means. He said instead that to be considered in any category with LeBron was a great blessing and he’s excited about the opportunity.
Coming into Friday’s game, which Franklin went on to win by a score of 90-64, Kennard was averaging 38.8 points per game. He obviously lived up to the average and then some with 44 points on the night.
As for what LeBron had to say, he said he wasn’t aware of how close Kennard was to passing him, but he was plenty aware of Kennard himself, who played on his AAU team.
“He’s good,” James said when asked about Kennard. “He’s going to Duke. He’s one of my kids. That’s great. I’m happy for him.”
While going to St. Vincent- St. Mary at Akron from 1999-2003, LeBron James had 2,646 points, but the all-time leader for Ohio scoring is Jon Diebler with 3,208 points while playing for Fostoria/Upper Sandusky from 2003 to 2007.
Even if Kennard says he’s no LeBron, he’s working towards some LeBron numbers with his scoring and his accolades, such as being named McDonald’s All-American and he’s also the reigning Ohio Mr. Basketball. LeBron is still the only player to win the award three times since its inception in 1988.
Kennard will definitely be a player to keep an eye on as he soon takes the next step in his career by playing for Duke.
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