As a little boy growing up in Kentucky, it’s hard to not fall in love with the game of basketball. Most of us are introduced at such a young age.

Dreams of carrying the teammates you’ve played middle school ball with, all the way to becoming state champs, that’s the dream that all kids dream, but only a select few can get it done.

The best of the best battle throughout 16 Regions and 64 Districts hoping to make their way to Rupp Arena where the magic of Kentucky high school basketball happens.

During the long haul to capture last year's state title of Kentucky, Taveion Hollingsworth, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound guard out of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, was named Most Valuable Player.

The then junior led his team to a school record 33 wins,and only 6 losses. He played excellent throughout the entire regular season shooting 53% from the field, and 78% from the free throw line.

This was a breakout season for Hollingsworth and the Bulldogs, winning Dunbar’s first ever state championship with his 21.5 PPG, and a tournament high 86 points in all.

A remarkable season if you ask me, and definitely one that will go up in the ‘All-Time Greats’ in Kentucky high school basketball history.

Although the season has come to an end, Taveion’s is still going- the recruitment process that is. There’s a tough race taking place to land Hollingsworth, and he still hasn’t even played the first game of his senior year season.

The hype around this young man seems to only be growing. Many colleges have been in contact with Hollingsworth, and there’s no telling where his future will take him, but here’s what it could look like:

Offers: UAB, Western Kentucky, LaSalle, Winthrop, Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State.

Interest: Kentucky, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Louisville, Northern Kentucky, UNC Greensboro, Wright State, Xavier, Indiana and Georgia

These schools have been in contact finding any way possible to work their way into his recruiting process, and I’m sure there will only be more to come when his senior season begins.

Shortly after they captured the W in the State Championship Game, Dunbar’s Head Coach Scott Chalk said, “He’s starting to get a lot of interest from the higher Division I schools since the state tournament.”

After proving himself worthy on the biggest stage he’s ever played on, why wouldn’t you want him on your team? We've seen him cutting down the nets once already, will we see him doing the same in Diddle Arena some day?

There’s big hype swarming around campus this week as Hollingsworth will take his official visit to Western Kentucky this weekend.

If Rick Stansbury can add the top in-state prospect to the 2017 class, it will just be another step in putting Hilltopper basketball back on the map