On the subject of University City, it was a special night at University City High School last Friday night. Prior to the Lions’ basketball game against Webster Groves, two men were honored in a very special way in a pre-game ceremony. The U. City gymnasium was re-named in honor of former head basketball coach Ed Crenshaw while the floor was named in honor of former U. City basketball star Hasaan Houston.
Mr. Crenshaw was a former star athlete at Sumner High School in the 1950s who went on to have a Hall of Fame collegiate career at Quincy University. He enjoyed a very successful coaching career at St. Dominic High in O’Fallon, Mo. before coming over to University City, where he coached and mentored some of the top players in the St. Louis area. One of the those players was Houston, who was one of the area’s most dominant scorers during the 1970s. Houston could fill it up from everywhere as he averaged more than 30 points a game. After beginning his career at Kansas, he went on to Bradley, where he helped the Braves to the 1980 NCAA Tournament and 1981 National Invitational Tournament title.
Congratulations to these two men on such wonderful honors. It doesn’t get any better than that.
STL vs. ChiTown
The best of St. Louis will take on the elite of Chicago in two of the featured games at today’s Coaches vs. Cancer Basketball Shootout at the Scottrade Center.
Public High League powerhouse Soldan will take on Chicago area power Whitney Young in the finale of the eight-game event at 8 p.m. Soldan is one of the big favorites in Missouri Class 4A this season.
The Tigers are a veteran team led by senior guards Paul McRoberts and Pete Sanders and forwards Kawan Griffin, Randy Holmes and Rashad Simmons. Whitney Young features two of the nation’s top sophomores in 6’9″ 260-pound center Jahlil Okafor and 6’8″ small forward Paul White. Both are being recruited by several major NCAA Division I schools.
In the other St. Louis vs. Chicago showdown, St. Joseph’s Academy of St. Louis will take on Bolingbrook (Ill.) in a battle of nationally-ranked girls’ powerhouse programs. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.
St. Joseph’s is led by the standout senior backcourt of 6’1″ twins Maddie and Morgan Stock and 6’3″ junior center Sydney Stipanovich. Bolingbrook is the three-time defending Illinois Class 4A state champion. Bolingbrook has team loaded of Division I prospects, which are led by forward Morgan Tuck who has signed with Connecticut.
The rest of the lineup is as follows: MICDS vs. Westminster (girls), 9:30 a.m., MICDS vs. Parkway South, 11 a.m.; Belleville East vs. Belleville West, 12:30 p.m.; Alton Marquette vs. Glenbard East (Ill.), 2:15 p.m.; Webster Groves vs. McCluer, 3:45 p.m.; Vianney vs. Cardinal Ritter, 7 p.m.
Vianney enters the contest ranked in the Top 25 in the latest USA Today national prep rankings for the first time in the school’s history. Vianney is currently No. 24. They will face Cardinal Ritter and standout guard Cameron Biedscheid, who is nationally-ranked player who’s headed to Notre Dame.
Condolences
I would like to pass along condolences to the family of William Coby, Sr., who recently passed away. Coby was the father of former Chaminade College Prep basketball standout Billy Coby, who was a great player during the late 1990’s. William Coby Sr. was also a tremendous coach and leader in youth sports in the University City community for more than 40 years. He was a past president of the University City Sports Association. Mr. Coby was a wonderful man and he will be missed in the youth sports community. I feel very blessed to have known him.
