The St. Louis Metro Area has been churning out elite basketball talent faster than Black Twitter can church out celebrity memes. Bradley Beal (Wizards), Jayson Tatum (Celtics), Patrick McCaw (Warriors), Otto Porter Jr. (Wizards), Jordan Barnett (Bucks), Jeremiah Tilmon (Mizzou), Torrence Watson (Mizzou), Terrell Ramey (Texas) and Carte’Are Gordon (SLU) just to name a few.
There was a time where the top St. Louis area players couldn’t wait to hop in the first plane, train or automobile to exit the state in hopes of finding bigger and better basketball glory. Now with talented coaches and recruiters in place at the state’s five Division 1 schools, players like Tilmon, Watson and Gordon are opting to stay home.
That might help explain how Marcus Wilson, the executive director of the Monsanto YMCA, has seemingly pulled off the impossible by getting Cuonzo Martin (Mizzou), Travis Ford (SLU), Dana Ford (Missouri State), Rick Ray (SEMO) and Kareem Richardson (UMKC) together at the same time.
The five men’s basketball coaches will participate in a panel discussion at the Monsanto Family YMCA’s first-annual Missouri Coaches Luncheon on Monday, Aug. 27. Tickets for the event are $45 for individuals or $400 for a table of 10. The event will take place at the O’Fallon Park Rec Complex, located at 4343 West Florissant Ave.
“It’s a testament to the coaches, as these guys could easily become very divisive and not want to share the spotlight,” Wilson said in an interview with STLTV. “But they are coming together to benefit North St. Louis because they are recruiting North St. Louis.”
The event will help to raise funds for important services and programs at the Monsanto YMCA. LIVESTRONG provides free YMCA memberships to cancer survivors. The ‘Y’ also features diabetes prevention and blood-pressure monitoring programs aimed at helping to build a healthier, stronger community. Funding will also go towards enhancing the YMCA’s teen leadership program, youth sports and subsidized swim lessons. Additionally, it will help provide financial assistance for those who cannot afford memberships.
Most importantly though, Wilson believes that in order to build leaders in the community, you must bring leaders to the community. When it comes to leaders in Missouri, you’d be hard-press to find a group with higher expectations, pressure, complexity and responsibility than the five D-1 basketball coaches in the state. The coaches have more than 43 years of combined college basketball coaching experience.
In addition to discussing hoops, the coaching quintet will also dive into the business side of major college sports. After all, when it comes to D-1 basketball, coaching isn’t just Xs and Os. Coaches are responsible for making decisions regarding games, practices, workouts, scheduling, travel, sponsorships, media appearances and more. Oh, and they also have to make sure that a large group of 17-to-22 year-olds take advantage of their educational opportunities and grow from talented kids into responsible adults.
“Coaches are able to demonstrate that their programs are more than just basketball,” Wilson told The American. “They are teaching their student athletes the importance of community service and helping others.”
Hopefully, the spirit of service and benevolence in the building can help cultivate a renewal of the in-state rivalry between Mizzou and SLU.
The last time the Tigers and Billikens faced off on the hardwood was on Dec. 3, 2001 when the Tigers beat the Billikens 69-67 on a buzzer beater by Wesley Stokes.
Fans from each school have clamored for the teams to meet during the non-conference play, but so far those calls have fallen on deaf ears. Since Martin and Travis Ford arrived at their respective schools, the hopes and chatter of seeing Mizzou vs SLU has gained renewed traction.
Why stop there? Since each school is active in recruiting players in the St. Louis basketball gold mine, it would be great to see all the schools play against each other. If that’s asking too much, maybe we ensure that Missouri State, SEMO and UMKC play games in or around the St. Louis area.
As a Mizzou grad and St. Louis native, I want to see every basketball team in the state of Missouri shine. Enough about my hoop-watching dreams, let’s get back to the event.
The Missouri Coaches Luncheon is open to the public (with a ticket of course). Wilson believes that anyone and everyone can benefit from the discussions that will take place Monday afternoon. As a former college coach, himself, Wilson is also grateful that his former colleagues have pledged their time to come and make a positive impact on North St. Louis.
“The event is great for aspiring coaches, alumni, sports fans and business leaders to learn from some of the best coaches in the business,” Wilson said. “This event demonstrates that everyone plays a part in making necessary resources equitable and within reach for all, regardless of ability to pay for them.”
Full disclosure: Ishmael H. Sistrunk is the co-founder of GodFamBall, a basketball mentoring and ministry organization that partners with the Monsanto YMCA. GodFamBall meets at the Monsanto YMCA Saturday mornings from 9am – noon.
Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @ishcreates.
