During his four years at Wheelersburg, Drew Spradlin showed his opponents why he was one of the best basketball players in southern Ohio. Today, Spradlin will get a chance to show that he is one of the top players in all of Ohio.

Spradlin, a senior, was selected to play in the Kentucky-Ohio All-Star game, which will be played at Thomas More College today. Only 15 of the state's top players get a chance to hoop it up with the best from the commonwealth. It was an honor bestowed to his former teammate Camden Miller last year, giving the Pirates two representatives in the past two years.

"They're all really good players," Spradlin said. "A couple players (from Ohio) are going to the Southern Conference (for college basketball). I'm just here to participate, work hard and have fun."

Spradlin, who will attend Elon College, another SoCon team, will also participate in the one-on-one contest today and well as the 3-point contest.

Joining Spradlin will be two state champions, Chillicothe's Ray Chambers and Anthony Hitchens, who led the Cavaliers to the Division II title this year. Showing the amount of talent on the Ohio side this season, Spradlin said a number of the players on the squad have Final Four war stories to tell.

"It's fun. It's a good time," Spradlin said. "This one isn't like other all-star games (I've been to). They get pretty serious."

The game is set up so everyone has a chance to play. The teams will be put into three groups of five and will rotate into the game every five minutes, which means Spradlin will get at least 10 minutes of playing time.

Last year, the Ohio boys won 105-104. Game time will be 7:30 p.m. right after the girls game, which will start at 5:30 p.m.