Area basketball fans will have another great opportunity to see many of the area’s top seniors in action at this weekend’s McDonald’s Riverwar All-Star Basketball Game. The four-game showcase will be held on Saturday evening at the brand new Chaifetz Arena, on the campus of Saint Louis University. The event will feature more than 50 players who have signed with NCAA Division I colleges and universities.
The headline game will be at 7:45 p.m. when the Missouri All-Stars take on the Illinois All-Stars. The Missouri roster consists of 6’7” Scott Suggs (Washington), 6’0” Drew Hanlen (Webster Groves), 5’11” Kramer Soderberg (St. Charles West), 6’3” Marcus Denmon (Kansas City Hogan), 6’4” Torres Roundtree (McCluer North), 6’4” Femi John (McCluer North), 6’8” Anthony Booker (McCluer North), 6’7” Johnny Coy (St. Joseph Benton), 6’9” Steve Moore (Independence Truman), and 6’11” John Brandenburg (DeSmet).
The Illinois All-Stars are made up of: 5’9” Lewis Jackson (Decature Eisenhower), 6’0” Ruben Cotto (Alton), 6’5” Kyle Cassity (Pickneyville), 6’0” Kenyon Smith (Chicago Simeon), 6’0” Kevin Dillard (Homewood Flossmoor), 6’3” Kenny Leverette (O’Fallon), 6’7” Anthony Campbell (Edwardsville), 6’8” David Ruckman (Freeburg), 6’9” Stan Simpson (Chicago Simeon), 6’9” Jeremy Robinson (Decatur Eisenhower) and 6’11” Brett Thompson (Vienna).
At 6 p.m., the St. Louis All-Stars will face the Kansas City All-Stars in the second game of the evening. The St. Louis All-Stars are as follows: 5’9” Antonio Campbell (McCluer South-Berkeley), 6’0” Kendrick Brown (Soldan), 6’0” Derron Hobbs (Gateway Tech), 6’1” Cornelius Walker (Vashon), 6’2” Anthony James (Normandy), 6’2” Courtney Belger (University City), 6’5” Kenny Harris (Gateway Tech), 6’7” Abel Tillman (McCluer South-Berkeley), 6’8” Tony Meier (Lafayette), 6’8” Ryan Willen (Cape Girardeau Notre Dame), 6’9” Isiah Rhine (Versailles).
The Kansas City All-Stars are: 5’11” Justin Henderson (Lincoln Prep), 6’1” Milton Garner (Ruskin), 6’1” Beaumont Beasley (Lincoln Prep), 6’2” Ryne Betchel (Lebanon), 6’4” Tyrone Hooker (Don Bosco), 6’6” Dominique Morrison (Raytown), 6’5” Beau Brinkley 6’5” (Kearney), 6’5” Dominique Lane (Northeast), 6’6” Brad Schneske (Shawnee Mission), 6’6 Alden Smith (Raytown), 6’8” Spencer Ladner (Pembroke Hill) and 6’11” Garrett Stultz (North Kansas City).
The Missouri vs. Illinois girls game will begin the event at 3 p.m. The Missouri girls consist of: 5’6” Yvonne Anderson (Columbia Hickman), 5’6” Ryan Leifeld (Visitation), 5’8” Meghan Lewis (McCluer South-Berkeley), 5’9” Patrice King (St. Joseph), 5’9” Jasmine Bailey (Normandy), 5’11” Devonna Smith (Kirkwood), 6’0” Channon Haywood (Hazelwood East), 6’2” Kathleen Scheer (New Haven), 6’2” Alina Voronenko (Smithton), 6’2” Meghan Shefield (Windsor), 6’2” Myrtie Riley (St. Joseph).
The Illinois All-Stars are made up of: 5’6” Morgan Harrington (Belleville East), 5’6” Jenisha Geralds (Bolingbrook), 5’7” Alisha Goodwin (Althoff), 5’8” Jamie Russell (Rock Falls), 5’10” Candace Sykes (Momence), 5’10” Katie Broadway (Bethalto), 5’11” Miame Giden (Proviso East), 6’2” Teandrea Smith (East St. Louis), 6’3” Suzanne Grossnickle (Belleville East), 6’2” Anya Covington (Edwardsville), 6’5” Sarah Boothe (Warren).
Swish ‘n Dish
The St. Louis Eagles Basketball Club enjoyed a stellar weekend at the Swish ‘n Dish Spring Warm-up Tournament in Milwaukee over the weekend. The Eagles advanced to the championship game in each of the three age groups (15s, 16s and 17s) and had a combined record of 20-1 for the weekend. The Eagles won championships in the 16-and-under and 17-and-under divisions while finishing second in the 15-and-under division. Well done, guys.
Meet and greet
Track and field season will begin to pick up this weekend with a bevy of excellent meets. The Henle Holmes Invitational (boys and girls) will be held at Parkway Central, today and Friday, beginning at 4 p.m. on both days. Boys meets will be held at Granite City (Friday at 4 p.m.) while the girls will be at Lafayette (Saturday at 10 a.m.) and Wood River (Friday at 4 p.m.).
Last weekend’s Jackie Joyner-Kersee relays at East St. Louis featured an early-showdown between state champions Alishea Usery of McCluer South-Berkeley and Ronecia Nash of East St. Louis in the 100-meter dash. Usery won the duel by a very close margin, but Nash led the Flyerettes to the team title with 100 points. Both are headed to big-time programs. Usery signed with Florida while Nash is headed to UCLA. We’ll starting getting into some heavy track coverage beginning next week.
Earl goes DVD
My new DVD production of “The PHL of the STL” (history of the Public High League basketball) is about a month away from completion. One of the features of this special presentation will be some music from gospel jazz recording artist Elder Gregg Haynes and his “Happy Guitar.” On April 25-27, Haynes and his wife, Lady Shirley Haynes, will be hosting the 8th Annual Music and Word Conference at the Life Center International Church (800 N. Union @ Enright. The event will be three days of knowledge, information and empowerment featuring the area’s finest musicians, singers, choirs and dancers. For more information on the event, you can go on-line at www.happyguitar.com or call (314) 869-6594.
