I’ve been hunkered down in my man cave watching the NBA playoffs, and have not missed a game yet.
One takeaway I have from watching the first round games is that I am very excited about the future of the league. The level of talent in the 23-and-under age group. The league is in very good hands in the future. The ringleader is 23-year old Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves is a young star.
Other great youngsters starting to make their mark are Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons (23), Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers (23), who was just named the Defensive Player of the Year, Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic (22), twins Amen and Ausar Thompson (both 22) of Houston and Detroit, and Chet Holmgren of Oklahoma City (23).
Of course, the biggest and perhaps the brightest of the youngsters is 7’5” Victor Wembanyama (21) of the San Antonio Spurs, who was going to be the runaway winner for Defensive Player of the Year before being shelved for the season because of deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.
The future definitely is very bright in “The Association.”
Weekend Track Roundup
The road to Jefferson City begins for small school track and field programs around the state with district meet competition taking place at the Class 1,2 and 3 levels this weekend.
St. Louis area schools will be participating in Class 2 and 3 district meets in the area. Lutheran North will be hosting the Classes 2 and 3, District 2 meets on Saturday. Area schools will also be at Owenville on Saturday for the Class 3, District 3 meet.
The top four finishers in each event will advance to the sectionals on May 15. The state championships for small schools will be held on May 21-22 in Jefferson City.
The Lutheran North Crusaders tuned up for its district meet with an excellent showing at the Marion Freeman Invitational at Clayton High. Junior sprinter Michael Clark finished first in the 200- and 400-meter dashes. Zahir Harvey was second in 400 and the 110-meter high hurdles. Karvon Jefferson finished first in the long jump while Joshua Hastings was second in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles. The Crusaders also won the 4×400- and 4×800-meter relays.
On the girls side, Genesis Garner of Lutheran North swept all three of the sprints as she won the 100, 200 and 400.
The Riverview Gardens’ girls had a strong performance at the Vicky Reeves Invitational at Parkway South. Jalaeh Lewis finished first in the 100 and 200. Pamela McFowland won the 100-meter high hurdles and the long jump. The Rams also finished first in the 4×100-meter relay.
In the field events, Priya Cheatham of Parkway Central finished first in the shot put and discus.
Parkway South was also the host of Jim Schmuck Invitational for boys teams last week. Lift for Life had a strong showing in the sprints. Dai’Shawn Houston finished first in the 100 in 10.9 seconds and the 200 in 21.7. Laquan Witt also finished first in the 400 in 49.9. The Hawks also finished first in the 4×100 and second in the 4×400.
Earl’s World
.A pair of former St. Louis area prep basketball standouts found new homes via the NCAA Transfer Portal. Former Vashon High standout Kennard Davis Jr. is headed to BYU next season. Davis played at Southern Illinois University last season where he earned All-Missouri Valley Conference recognition. As a sophomore at SIU, Davis averaged 16.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists while shooting 45% from the field and 37% from 3-point range. BYU advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season…Former Westminster Christian standout Kobi Williams recently committed to Missouri State University. The 6’4” Williams played the past two seasons at Division II Truman State. Williams averaged a team-high 14.5 points a game this past season. He also averaged 5.2 rebounds while shooting 49% from the field, 38% from 3-point range and 84% from the free throw line.