“font-family: Verdana; line-height: 13px;”>After a stellar summer of 2010 where the St. Louis area saw the emergence of Bradley Beal, B.J. Young and Ben McLemore as national prep basketball stars, it was another solid summer for young ballers from the STL in 2011.
“font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>While the area did not produce any Top 20 players like last year, there were three players who did crack the Top 50 rankings nationally while leading their respective summer teams. The Summer of 2011 was a very good follow-up to what was a spectacular Summer of 2010. More young players in the metro area are continuing to emerge and the college recruiters are still coming around to see what’s happening.
“font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>One player who really saw his profile raised was Belleville East junior guard Malcolm Hill, who is currently ranked No. 43 in the Scout.com rankings for the Class of 2013. The 6’5” Hill enjoyed a big summer while playing for the Southwest Illinois Jets 16U team for coach Patrick Smith. Hill averaged more than 20 points a game for the Jets while establishing himself as one of the top players in the state of Illinois’ very loaded 2013 class.
“font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>Hill has also seen his recruiting profile increase as well with offers from schools such as Missouri, Illinois, Kansas State and Xavier. He also took unofficial visits to Michigan, Ohio State and several other top programs around the country.
“font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>The area’s most highly-rated player is 6’7” Cameron Biedscheid of Cardinal Ritter College Prep. Biedscheid concluded the summer as the No. 31 player in the Class of 2012 by the recruiting website, Rivals.com. Biedschied played for the St. Louis Eagles 17U team that played in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League and advanced to the championship game of three summer tournaments. Biedscheid was also named to the All-Tournament Team at the recent Nike Global Games in Hillsboro, Oregon. Biedscheid is headed to Notre Dame.
“font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>DeSmet’s Nolan Berry joined Malcolm Hill in Scout.com’s Top 50 rankings in the Class of 2013. The 6’8” Berry was ranked No. 46 at the end of the summer. Berry played for the St. Louis Eagles 16U team that won two tournaments during the summer. Berry has offers from Missouri, Butler, Loyola (Ill.) and has taken several unofficial visits to schools such as Notre Dame, Purdue, Stanford and Santa Clara. He also participated in the Nike Elite 100 Basketball Showcase at Saint Louis University in June.
“font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>Another Class of 2013 player who is emerging into a national force is guard Deshawn Munson of East St. Louis. The 6’3” Munson also played for the Eagles 16U team with Berry. Munson earned several rave reviews with a string of stellar performances at the prestigious Nike Peach Jam in North Augusta, S.C. in July.
“font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>Rockwood Marquette’s 6’9” senior Ryan Rosburg really saw his recruiting interest pick up after an excellent summer of play with the Gateway Basketball Club 16Us. Rosburg has offers from Missouri, Tennessee, Missouri State, TCU, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Utah.
“font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>The Baylor Youth Foundation 17U team made a national splash as they advanced to the championship game of the Amateur Athletic Union Super Showcase Silver Division. Baylor was national runner-ups and got a chance to play on ESPN-3 in the championship game with Division I prospects such as Darrell Johnson (Parkway North), Paul McRoberts (Soldan), Travon Williams (University City) and Demetrius Floyd (McCluer).
