A group of talented teams from the area will convene at Maryville University of Saturday, Feb. 2 for the Private-Public American Heart Association Showcase. The four-game event will match private schools against public schools. The featured game of the event will be matchup between CBC and Hazelwood Central in a rematch of the Meramec Holiday Tournament finals, which was won by Hazelwood Central.
Here is the schedule for the Private-Public Showcase:
Whitfield vs. Ladue, noon
Maplewood vs. Duchesne, 1:30 p.m.
SLUH vs. Webster Groves, 3 p.m.
CBC vs. Hazelwood Central, 4:30 p.m.
Top teams
As we head into the 2013 portion of the schedule, we now have a better idea of who are some of the top teams are in the area.
Among the large schools, I am looking at CBC, DeSmet (with big man Nolan Berry back), Hazelwood Central, Edwardsville, Belleville East and emerging East St. Louis. Also watch out for Ladue, Belleville West and McCluer North. Chaminade and Webster Groves are quite young, but could be interesting to watch down the stretch.
As far as small schools, Madison Prep, Duchesne and John Burroughs are still undefeated after impressive holiday tournaments championships. Cahokia has the most talent while Maplewood and Alton Marquette are also very good.
Stay tuned. The next month and a half should prove to be every exciting.
National matchup at MoBap
One of the most talented teams in the area is the crew from St. Louis Christian Academy. Coach Casey Autenrieth’s talented team travels around the country and plays a national schedule. A great opportunity to see St. Louis Christian in action will be on Saturday, Jan. 19 when it plays Prime Prep out of Texas at Missouri Baptist University. Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m. Prime Prep is a school founded by NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. If you want to see two absolutely loaded high school teams, get out to Missouri Baptist on the 19th.
Current events
Crossroads Prep made history last season when it won its first ever district championship in boys basketball. The Current have followed up that historic season with an 9-1 start to the season, which includes two tournament championships. Crossroads has already won the Valley Park and Affton Tournament titles this season.
The Current is built around the dynamic backcourt of 5’9” senior Milton Spaulding and 6’1” junior Trevor Clay. Spaulding is averaging 16.4 points, five rebounds and three assists per game. Clay is averaging 15.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Clay has drawn the interest of several NCAA Division I schools. Senior forward Sean Monroe checks in at 11.9 points a game.
Comeback kid
One of the area’s best comeback stories has been junior Brandon Hollins of Jennings. After some promising moments as a freshman, Hollins missed the entire 2012 season with a knee injury. Hollins is back and enjoying a big junior season, averaging 18.9 points and 11 rebounds a game. His biggest performance came on Dec. 18 when he had 33 points and 18 rebounds in a 71-69 victory over Lutheran North.
You can follow Earl Austin Jr. daily on his basketball website, www.earlaustinjr.com. You can also follow Earl at twitter.com/earlaustinjr.
