PORTSMOUTH — Not only do the stars come out Friday night, they’ll be big and bright.

Friday, April 1, 1999

PORTSMOUTH — Not only do the stars come out Friday night, they’ll be big and bright.

The Ohio-Kentucky All-Star game is 8 p.m. Friday, April 2, at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth and headlining the event will be Ohio’s Mr. Basketball and a state champion.

"We’ve got some big time players on both rosters. This game has grown over the years and really developed into one of the premier all-star games in the country," said Chesapeake head coach Norm Persin who serves as the Ohio All-Star Game director.

Euclid’s 6-foot-3 Emmanual Smith will play for the Ohio stars along with Mike Monserez, a 6-5 point guard headed for Notre Dame who led Cincinnati Moeller to the Division I state championship.

Six local players will be on the roster led by first team All-Ohio guard/forward Joe Dressel of Ironton St. Joseph.

Coal Grove’s 6-7 center Brad Miller, Rock Hill’s 6-2 Jeff Fraley, and Chesapeake’s 6-2 Chris Lovely will play for the Ohio team. Fraley was second team All-Ohio in Division II and Miller honorable mention in Div. III. Lovely was third team in Div. III.

Doug Williams, a 6-4 senior from Piketon, is headed for Miami, Ohio, and is scheduled to play, as is first team All-Ohio center Jerry Barlow of Northwest. Wheelersburg’s 6-3 Mike Leesburg will join the Ohio roster as well.

Other players in the game include Jon Higgins of Shaker Heights who signed with Tennessee, 6-9 Adam Wolfe of Westerville South who has signed with Michigan State, Joe Bills of Zanesville Rosecrans who is going to Wright State, and Mike Tucker of Shaker Heights who is being recruited hard by Cleveland State.

Smith is looking at a junior college or possibly Dayton whose coach plan to attend the game.

The Kentucky team includes 6-11 Bill Powell of Lewis County and 6-9 Jim Tackett of Greenup County, both Morehead State signees.

Euclid’s Doc Daughtery will coach the Ohio All-Stars. His assistants are Rick Scarberry of Rock Hill and Tom Barrick of Wheelersburg.

Tickets are $8 for both games.

Thursday at 7 p.m. will be the skills contests. There will be a slam dunk and 3-point goal shooting contests, plus a one-on-one and three-on-three tournament. Contests will match Ohio against Kentucky.

Admission on Thursday is free to the public.