The Vashon Wolverines graduated a stellar six-man class that netted back-to-back Class 4 state championships in 2016 and 2017.
The 2017-18 edition of the Wolverines is a young and dynamic team that is looking to make their own way and create their own legacy. These young Wolverines made their first big statement last Saturday night when they knocked off perennial Illinois state power Chicago Whitney Young 81-73 at the Chicago Elite Classic.
Junior guard Mario McKinney has emerged as Vashon’s newest standout and he put on a show on Saturday night with a game-high 32 points, including 15 points in the fourth quarter where he simply took over the game. Guard Cam’Ron Fletcher, a talented 6’5” sophomore, had his own coming out party as well as he scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in his first game on the high school big stage of a national event.
The Whitney Young game was the first in what will be many big tests for the Wolverines as they embark on another national schedule.
Webster Classic begins today
Defending Class 5 state champion Webster Groves will begin its season today by hosting the 18th Annual Webster Classic at Roberts Gym. The tournament will also feature Class 3 state champion Northwest Academy, Soldan and Lee’s Summit North and Staley from the Kansas City area. The semifinals of the tournament will be held on Friday night at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. The championship game will be played on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
GAC-Suburban Challenge on Tap for next week
The 2017 GAC-Suburban Basketball Challenge will be held next week at Lindenwood University in St. Charles. The annual week-long event features teams from the Gateway Athletic Conference and St. Charles County against teams from the Suburban St. Louis conferences. This year’s event features 17 games, starting on Monday, December 11 and concluding on Saturday, December 16.
A few of the marquee matchups to watch at the GAC-Suburban Classic next week include Parkway South vs. Fort Zumwalt South, Thursday, Dec. 14 at 8:30 p.m.; Hazelwood Central vs. Francis Howell, Friday, Dec. 15 at 5:30 p.m.; Parkway Central vs. Wentzville Liberty, Friday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m.; and Jennings at Duchesne on Saturday, Dec. 16 at 8:30 p.m.
Sager Shootout at MICDS
MICDS will be hosting the first Sager Shootout on Saturday, which will pit four Missouri schools against four Illinois schools. The event will benefit the Sager Strong Foundation, in honor of the late Craig Sager the long-time NBA television reporter, who died last December of leukemia.
The schedule of the Sager Shootout includes Clayton vs. Freeburg, noon; Priory vs. Mater Dei, 1:30 p.m.; MICDS vs. Mascoutah, 3 p.m.; and Duchesne vs. Pinckneyville, 4:30 p.m.
Tournament Champions
Several early-season tournaments were held last week to start the regular season. Whitfield won the Pattonville Tournament with a 62-51 victory over Jennings. The Warriors were able to avenge a lost to Jennings, who won the tournament last year.
Hazelwood Central won the championship of the Vianney Tournament with a 64-37 victory over Ladue. The Hawks also posted convincing victories over Gateway STEM and Farmington en route to the championship.
Mehlville won the Southside Classic with a 55-48 victory over John Burroughs. Sophomore guard King Waller was the individual standout with 23 points to lead the Panthers to the victory. In the semifinals, Waller also scored the game-winner in the final seconds of a 36-35 victory over Lindbergh.
Parkway Central won the championship of the Gerald Linneman Classic with big victories of district rivals Parkway North, Parkway South and Parkway West. The Parkway North girls also won the championship of the Linneman Round Robin by going 3-0 last week.
On the girls’ side, Lutheran North defeated Metro League rival MICDS 61-60 to win the Lutheran St. Charles Tournament. Junior guard Maddie Buford scored a game-high 28 points to lead Lutheran North to the victory.
