The spectacular high school career of All-American Jayson Tatum will come to an end this weekend on the floor of the Mizzou Arena at the University of Missouri in Columbia.
The 6’9″ McDonald’s All-American will lead Chaminade College Prep into the Final Four of the Class 5 state tournament. A young man who has accomplished everything at the prep level, Tatum will try to finish his career by leading the Red Devils to the state championship that has eluded him and his teammates for the past four years.
Chaminade (25-5) will face Metro Catholic Conference rival SLUH (20-9) in the state semifinals on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. Springfield Kickapoo (28-2) will face Lee’s Summit (29-0) in the other semifinal game at 8:30 p.m.
The winners will meet for the state championship on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. The third-place game will be held on Friday at 2:45 p.m.
Tatum enters the semifinals averaging a team-high 29.1 points and 9.9 rebounds a game. He scored 45 points in Chaminade’s 80-61 victory over CBC in the state quarterfinals. He is just 23 points away from surpassing former Chaminade All-American Bradley Beal as the school’s all-time leading scorer.
The Red Devils has plenty of other weapons, led by 6’9″ senior Tyler Cook, who is averaging 12 points and seven rebounds a game. Senior guard Mike Lewis is averaging nearly 10 points a game. Providing more size up front for the Red Devils are 6’10” senior Will Gladson and 6’7″ sophomore Jericole Hellems.
Chaminade will be taking on SLUH for the third time this season, with the Red Devils winning both previous contests. SLUH will be making its second consecutive appearance in the Final Four under the guidance of head coach Erwin Claggett.
The Jr. Billikens are led by its talented backcourt of junior Brandon McKissic and senior Matt Nester. The 6’2″ McKissic is averaging 15.4 points a game while the 5’11” Nester is averaging 12.7 points. Juniors B.J. Wilson and Brett Smith are a pair of capable 6’7″ post players while senior guard David Jackson has really come on strong during the postseason.
The second semifinal game features the two top Class 5 teams outside the St. Louis area. Undefeated Lee’s Summit is led by its talented backcourt of seniors Blake Spellman and Nick Larkin. The 6’0″ Spellman has signed with Northern Kentucky.
Springfield Kickapoo has not lost a game to a team from the state of Missouri, having lost two games to national competition. The Chiefs are led by 6’7″ forward Jared Ridder and a trio of talented guards in Isaac Johnson, Niekie Thomas-Fontleroy and Cameron Davis.
