I have been attending youth sporting events for more than four decades, and what I witnessed last week in Louisville was truly special.
The 14th annual Run 4 the Roses Classic, an enormous girls’ basketball tournament that brings together more than 1,400 U.S. teams, runs over three days.
The games were spread out over 85 courts at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, and if you are a fan of girls’ basketball, I recommend taking a trip to Louisville to see this spectacle.Â
Everywhere you turn, there is a big-time girls’ basketball prospect displaying her talent on this big stage. Scores of college coaches are seated at each baseline in search of the next star talent. More than 1,000 college programs sent coaches to Louisville to recruit, and a large board with logos of each is displayed.
Many teams from the St. Louis area were in action, and they did not disappoint. Our city is booming with talent, the Roses Classic was a great chance to see players against national level competition.
The Napheesa Collier Elite, named after the former Incarnate Word Academy star who now plays for the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA, took to the courts. Joining that squad was The Lady Brad Beal Elite program and the Midwest United 3SSB program team led by George Merritt, a longtime force in local girls’ grassroots basketball.
 Our St. Louis girls did the city proud and returned home with championship hardware. As a bonus, a group of young ladies had the opportunity to perform in the national television spotlight for the first time.
  Napheesa Collier Elite’s, coached by Jordan Olufson, won the championship of the Elite 40 Tournament. They defeated Griffin Elite of Oklahoma 52-44 in a game televised on ESPNU. It was the first time an ESPN Network channel televised a grassroots girls’ basketball game and young ladies from “The Lou” took center stage.
 Incarnate Word Academy standout Natalie Potts scored a game-high 26 points to lead her team to victory in the title game. The 6’2” Nebraska commit dominated the game at both ends of the court. The team also featured Potts’ IWA teammates Brooke Coffey, Olivia Hahn, and Kaylynn Janes. Their team won the 2022 Class 6 state championship team and was nationally ranked.
The point guard is junior Allie Turner, who led John Burroughs to the Class 4 state championship, while senior Shannon Dowell of O’Fallon and junior Hannah Wallace were big additions to the team at the beginning of the spring.
 It was also a big week for Midwest United as the program left Louisville with a pair of championship trophies. The 2022 team won the Platinum Bracket in the Horizon Blue Division with a 54-46 victory over Drill 4 Skill Miller.
This was an entertaining team to watch with plenty of speed and quickness. Midwest United was led by senior guard Shakara McCline of East St. Louis, who scored 17 points and senior Raychel Jones of Vashon, who had 13 points.
 The Midwest United 2024 team won a Gold Bracket championship in the Indigo Division with a victory over Southwest Academy. The top standout in the championship game Dasia Scott, an incoming eighth grader who was playing three grade levels up.
The 6’0” Scott dominated the action with a game-high 20 points along with some strong rebounding and blocked shots. The Lady Brad Beal Elite 2023 team advanced to the Gold Bracket championship of the Elite 40 Division. They were led by top area players such as Chantrel “TuTu” Clayton of Vashon and Ai’Naya Williams of Cardinal Ritter.
