A pair of local summer basketball clubs came away with tournament championships in the past week.
The Terrellrameybasketball.com 16-and-under boys basketball team won the Battle of the Bluff Tournament, held at the University of Memphis. Coach by Terrell Ramey, the team won all six of its games it winning the championship. Guard Gerald Jones of McCluer South-Berkeley was voted the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament. Jones is the son of McCluer South-Berkeley head coach Gerald Jones.
The other team members are Joe Harms (Althoff), Meyers Leonard and Ben Jones (Robinson, Ill.), Wendell Crowder (Cardinal Ritter), Derrick Dillworth and Jason Meehan (Webster Groves), Alex Rudd (Whitfield), Patrick Bowens (Gateway Tech), Jake Fechter (SLUH), Kevin Dwyer (Rockwood Summit), Keonte Minor (East St. Louis).
The Gateway Basketball Club’s 16-and-under team won the Kansas City Honda Tournament, which was held in Shawnee Mission, Kan. over the weekend. The members of the team are Nathan Scheer and Tyler Ressel (St. Francis Borgia), Corey McArthy and Ryan Pierson (CBC), William Triggs (Edwardsville), T.J. Brown (Crossroads), McPherson Moore (MICDS), Michael Messer (Lafayette), Don Shumpert (Hazelwood East), Tim Cooney (SLUH), Maurice Burns (Whitfield) and Patrick Sodemann (Parkway West). The team is coached by Kevin McArthy, Mike Scheer and Jeff Messer.
What this shows is that the Class of 2010 in St. Louis, which is the incoming junior class, has some pretty talented players.
Legends in print
All of you know how much I enjoy sports history books, since I have written one and I’m in the process of writing two more as we speak. I have just picked up a book that I strongly recommend, especially if you enjoy high school football. Former Pattonville High football coach Don Greco has just completed two books, which chronicle the 120-year history of high school football in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The “Legends Series” is a collection of two books. The first book is the Legends of the Gridiron and the second book is The Legends Playbook. These two books give you a comprehensive history of virtually everything that has happened in high school football in the past 120 years. With high school football season just around the corner, this is a good publication to have in your collection. To purchase your copy, you can go on-line at http://STLLegends.tripod.com.
Running to Detroit
Congratulations to all of the area track and field athletes who have qualified for the upcoming Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympics, which will be held in Detroit. The track and field portion of the games will be held from July 28 to August 2. Several of the area’s summer track programs will be participating. Athletes from the St. Louis area always bring home a pile of medals from the AAU Nationals. Good luck to everyone.
Home stealer
Former Cardinal Ritter baseball standout Darian Sanford is enjoying an excellent summer playing for Bridgeton in the Metro Collegians League. Sanford has a batting average of .309. He is first in the league in runs (27), stolen bases (31) and third in triples with three. Sandford stole home in Bridgeton’s victory over Arnold last weekend in the first round of the Metro Collegians playoffs. As a sophomore at Florissant Valley Community College, Sanford led the entire National Junior College Athletic Association schools in stolen bases.
ESL to Highland
Former East St. Louis basketball standout Anthony Mitchell will attend Highland Community College (Ill.) next season. The 6’4” Mitchell spent his freshman year at Saint Louis University during the 2008 season before leaving the program. Mitchell was a former St. Louis American “Fab Five” member after the 2007 season when he led the Flyers to a 25-4 season.