February 11, 2008                        Check Out previous Blogs

Christmas in February ?.... some results of district seeding prior to district tournament ? ... overtime specials from around the STATE...a classy Senior night....off the bench for 6 3-balls ?....more.....

This past Wednesday is one of the biggest days in high School coverage. It "Signing Day"!  This day reminds me of Christmas for the Colleges. It's similar to acquiring new toys...some are your favorite for a short time then forgotton or discarded; some continue to "grow" on you with time; some with all the sparkle aren't as much fun as the ol' reliable toys; some are fun but break down early and often. These high school players follow similar patterns at their new environments.  The key is can these players adapt to the faster, stronger, quicker adaptations at the next level. While this day is really great for the high school kids, it's all business for the college staffs. This is their only LIFE blood to success. There aren't any free agents that you can purchase or sign if you misjudge your incoming talent. Many experts have already labeled the signings with a rating. I think time will tell us which toys...oops.. players prove to be the best.

The District seeding meetings took place about a week ago. Some teams who were voted in spots lower than they anticipated, used that vote as motivation during the week. Chaminade (17-6) the winner of the MCC conference, seeded 4th in their competitive district took out their frustration on CBC as they smoked the Cadets 67-45. The Flyers weres seeded behind Parkway South, Kirkwood and Marquette in the District balloting. Meanwhile in Springfield, Coach Roy Green  of Kickapoo (20-4, 7-0 in conference)ended up in the #2 slot of district (behind Ozark). Part of the reason was the voting of the Joplin Eagles who voted Ozark #1 in the district. The Chiefs, upset by the vote, wanted to send a message to Joplin this Friday. The 74-34 drubbing was as bad as it sounds. In fact the fans were chanting late in the first half, "It's all over" as the score approached its halftime score of  42-12! Coach Green utilized all players throughout the 2nd half as his team coasted to victory.

Overtime Time for the week....

Skyline behind the 24 points of Cameron Yates edged Strafford 56-54 !

Mansfield rallied in the 4th quarter and beat Gainsville 61-50 in a Summit Conference game.

How does a team become #2 in the STATE ?  Good coaching, good players, few injuries, great defense and continued improvement throughout the year. Blue Springs(21-2), who barely was able to sneak past North KC in December 43-41, went on a long 23-2 run from mid-2nd quarter to late 3rd quarter to blow open the game on the way to a 58-27 rout. The Lady Wildcats suffocating defense held the Hornets to just 6 field goals in the entire game! Following a similar script, the Lady Delta Bobcats (19-1) shut out Woodland Cardinals in the entire 1st quarter as they rolled to an easy 51-25 win. Delta looks to return to STATE!

"Bombs away"! Shawn Thomas (Chadwick) banged in 7 "three's" and scored 37 points but it wasn't enough as Chadwick fell to Sparta 75-66.

How would you like to have the luxury of having your long-range Sophomore bomber on the bench at the start of each game. This would provide an opportunity to observe the opposition, the defenses (and holes in defense) and let the initial energy get burned off a bit. Such is the case at Rock Bride(20-2) . Soph Ricky Kreklow is the marksman from beyond the arc for the Bruins. He showed off his wares last week as he drained 6 treys coming off the bench as the Bruins beat the Liberty Bluejays(14-6) 62-55.Currently the Bruins are ranked the #10 in the STATE polls.

Lost often are the stars of the smaller schools. Last year I experienced the joy of watching Nick Niemczyk of Bell City in the Final Four. His scoring comes is like candy...it comes in all assortments - inside, outside, drives, fakes, twisting shots..you name it. This week he bombed home 5 treys as part of his 35 points that helped the Cubs hold off Clarkton 81-78.  This prolific scoring isn't new for Niemczyk who's been "the man" for 3 seasons now at Bell City.

Was it a 1 woman show ?  You bet it was this week at Van Horn. Zaneta Lindsey scored 27 of her teams' 35 points as Van Horn as Van Horn  beat Paseo 35-32. Not much doubt who was getting the ball in the final quarter, is there ?

Coach Bill Guinnee of Truman (14-8) has 11 seniors on his Patriot squad this year. First of all, I can't remember ever hearing of 11 seniors on one team--congrats to Coach and his players for working hard and keeping together for all four years the entire group. Obviously, there are 5 usual starters. This week on Senior night, Coach Guinnee started 5 non-starters and let them play the entire 1st quarter together. Too many times, I see coaches start a Senior but yank him in a minute or two. What does that really say to the Senior ? In this case, the "new" starting five held their own against Winnentonka and held a 14-13 lead at the first buzzer. After the entire quarter, Coach Guinnee used his normal rotation of players, including University of MO bound-Steve Moore. The Patriots gradually extended their lead to the 59-53 winning margins. Congrats to Coach Guinnee for a classy move in a setting that seems like he's taught these players far more  than basketball over the 4 years.

This week www.prepcasts.com  has some great action for the final week of the year. On the boys side, Chaminade will take on the defending Class 5 Champion- McCluer North, St Charles West will tip off against red-hot DeSmet. The girls side will see Ursuline Academy tangle with fellow South County foe, Notre Dame. Incarnate Word will host Jefferson City on Tuesday and the sizzling Parkway South Lady Patriots will wrap their season up with the visiting Mehlville Panthers. Check our schedule all week !!

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