As usual, the NCAA Tournament has provided something for everybody as we enter the Sweet 16 tonight.
If you’re a fan of the powerhouse programs, you will love that all four No. 1 seeds (North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA and Memphis) are still alive as are the four No. 3 seeds (Louisville, Stanford, Wisconsin and Xavier), plus No. 2 seeds Texas and Tennessee.
If you enjoy the underdogs, you will love the fact that No. 10 seed Davidson and No. 12 seed Western Kentucky are still alive. That introduces you to new collegiate stars such as Stephen Curry of Davidson and the duo of Courtney Lee and Tyrone Brazelton of Western Kentucky. All three have been dynamite in the first two round of the tournament, especially Curry, who is averaging 35 points a game for the tourney.
By the way, I hope none of you placed any bets based on my bracket that you saw in last week’s American. You might be homeless now. Currently, I am virtually last in the American tournament pool. One of the people near the top is Jessica Bassett, our young and talented 20-something news reporter. I’m not sure if she knows that a basketball is round. Go figure.
IL 60, MO 57
A good time was had by all at the Missouri vs. Illinois basketball All-Star Games, presented by Rameybasketball.com. A group of talented eighth-grade boys and girls all-stars got a chance to show their stuff in games before the high school players took over. In the girls’ game, the Illinois All-Stars defeated the Missouri All-Stars 60-57. East St. Louis standout Teandrea Smith was selected the Most Valuable Player of the game. Both of the boys’ All-Stars games were won by the Missouri All-Stars. In the first boys’ game, Soldan’s Kendrick Brown was the MVP of the game after scoring a game-high 25 points. In the second game, McCluer North’s Femi John reaped MVP honors.
Cotto to SLU
Alton High standout guard Reuben Cotto gave Saint Louis University coach Rick Majerus a verbal commitment on Saturday. A transfer from Miami, Cotto was one of the top guards in the St. Louis metro area in leading the Redbirds to a 24-6 record. Cotto averaged 22 points, five rebounds, and four steals a game. Cotto is the seventh high-school players to commit to the Billikens this season. He will sign an official letter-of-intent in April. Also committing to SLU last weekend was Kyle Cassity, a 6’6” guard from Pinckneyville High in Southern Illinois. Cassity led the Panthers to a fourth-place finish in the IHSA Class 2A state tournament.
Run South
As the high school track and field season begins, it looks like the powerful Southeastern Conference has been busy in St. Louis as several high school standouts will be heading South next fall. McCluer South-Berkeley’s pair of twin standouts Alishea and Ashley Usery will be headed to Florida. Another Suburban East Conference star headed South is Ladue’s Denisha Bennett, who signed with Alabama. Bennett is the defending Class 3 state champion in the 300-meter low hurdles. Hazelwood Central’s Gerren Hendricks will be headed to Mississippi State. Hendricks is one of the state’s top returning sprinters. You will be hearing a lot more about these talented young people in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.
HSSU at NAIA
Congratulations to the Harris-Stowe State University women’s basketball team on their showing at the NAIA national championships in Jackson, Tenn. The Hornets won their first game of the tournament over No. 1 seed Oklahoma City 73-64. They were eliminated by Carroll (Mont.) in the second round 62-53. The Hornets finished the season with a 23-10 record. Harris-Stowe will lose the services of NAIA All-American guard Chanel Ross to graduation, but coach Chris Lewis has established a nice program going with two consecutive national tournament appearances and some fine local talent in the mix such as Sheri Jones (Normandy), Erica Anderson (Gateway Tech) and Carmen Weaver (Lutheran North). It also goes to show, if you are a top area girl’s basketball player and you might be overlooked by college recruiters, there is a rising national powerhouse women’s program right here in the ‘Lou where you can showcase your talents.
Angel and Ellis
Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville enjoyed an historic day when the Cougars finished fourth at the recent NCAA Division II women’s track and field championships in Mankato, Minn. St. Louisans Angel Royston (Hazelwood East) and Coreen Ellis (Hazelwood Central) played a big part in the Cougars’ great showing. Both ran legs on the Cougars’ 4×400-meter relay team that won a national championship. Ellis also finished second in the 800-meter run while Royston finished seventh in the 400-meter dash to earn All-American honors. Former Lutheran North standout Kim Prater of Abeline Christian ran a leg on her team’s 4×400 relay team that finished second to SIUE. Former Riverview Gardens standout and world champion Miles Smith of Southeast Missouri State finished sixth in the 400 at the NCAA Division I indoor track and field championships. With the sixth-place finish, Smith became a three-time All-American.
WU No. 1
Congratulations to coach Mark Edwards and his Washington University Bears on winning the NCAA Division III national title last weekend in Salem, Va. A former Division I assistant coach to George Raveling at Washington State, Edwards has been doing his thing at Wash U. for more than 20 years. Not only is he one of the top coaches in his profession, but one of the most classy as well. Job well done, Mark.
