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Five-star 2015 center’s upper respiratory illness results in game postponement

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Kelly Kline/Under Armour

The recent happenings in the career of five-star 2015 center Skal Labissiere have been well-documented, with the most recent move being made by his legal guardian to start a new basketball program in order to make sure Labissiere plays in games this season. The reason behind Gerald Hamilton’s decision to establish Reach Your Dream Prep was a simple one: with the the State of Tennessee’s high school athletics governing body declaring Labissiere ineligible following his transfer to Lausanne HS, there was the risk of the 6-foot-10 big man not playing any high school basketball in 2014-15.

And without a senior season on the court, it was likely that Labissiere would be left out of the showcase high school all-star games of the spring, with the McDonald’s All American Game being one of those events, hence the new program.

Having put together a roster and schedule of games, Reach Your Dream Prep looked to be well on its way to beginning its season with a game against the Memphis Mustangs Thursday evening. However the game has been postponed according to John Martin of 92.9 FM ESPN in Memphis, and the reason behind the postponement is that Labissiere has an upper respiratory illness to overcome.

But Michael Spradlin, the Mustangs coach, told 92.9 FM ESPN Wednesday afternoon that the game will be postponed. A date has not been set.

Labissiere’s guardian Gerald Hamilton phoned Spradlin late Tuesday night and informed him that Labissiere, a five-star prospect in the Class of 2015, was dealing with an upper respiratory illness and would be unavailable to play. Spradlin, in order to accommodate Hamilton, offered to postpone the game — to which Hamilton agreed.


Also of note in Martin’s story is the fact that there isn’t much information on the Reach Your Dream Prep team, such as who Labissiere’s teammates are. Suffice it to say, but Labissiere’s experiencing a senior year of high school that’s anything but common.

Labissiere cut his list down to six schools in August, with those programs being Baylor, Georgetown, Kentucky, Memphis, North Carolina and Tennessee. He’s already taken all five official visits, with his stop at Memphis in mid-October being an unofficial visit.

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