C-J file photo/David Sloan is leaving Ballard High School before ever playing a game there.
Ruled ineligible to play at Ballard High School by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, David Sloan announced via Twitter on Monday he will play his senior season at Conrad Academy in Orlando, Florida.
“Before anything, I would like to thank everyone at Taylor County High School and Ballard High School for the continuous support and always welcoming me as family,” Sloan wrote. “I’m humbled to have been a part of the first back-to-back regional championship team and having a great place to grow as a player and a person away from home.
“But, due to my current KHSAA eligibility status, my family and I have decided I will be finishing my senior year at Conrad Academy in Orlando, Florida.”
A 6-foot guard, Sloan averaged 20 points and 4.4 rebounds during the 2015-16 season at Taylor County, helping the Cardinals reach the state tournament for the second straight year. They finished with a 25-9 record after falling to Doss in the quarterfinals.
Sloan played as an eighth-grader at Moore before transferring and playing three seasons at Taylor County. He transferred to Ballard last March after the basketball season. His coach at Moore and Taylor County, Richard Gatewood, had become Sloan’s guardian when the two moved to Campbellsville.
“The main reason I left Taylor County is because I’m only a teenager and I missed seeing my parents in the stands and my family,” Sloan said in March. “I just want to play in my city. You only get this opportunity once.”
In a text message to The Courier-Journal, Ballard coach Chris Renner wrote Sloan “has been let down by many people over the past three years. … I hope they realize the only one being screwed in this whole situation is a kid that trusted adults to make the right decisions. David is a good kid and has a bright future.”
Sloan is rated a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and has scholarship offers from Butler, Eastern Kentucky, Iowa State, Louisville, Memphis, Missouri, Murray State, Samford, Southeast Missouri, Tennessee and Western Kentucky.
Sloan likely would have been a top candidate for Kentucky’s 2017 Mr. Basketball award at a Ballard program that will return two starters – Jamil Wilson and Clivonte Patterson – from a team that finished 22-11 after losing to Trinity in the semifinals of the Seventh Region Tournament.
Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046 and jfrakes@courier-journal.com.