The Vashon Wolverines have reached the pinnacle of high school basketball in the United States. Vashon has ascended to the No. 1 ranking in the latest USA Today National Poll, which came out on Tuesday.
The Wolverines are currently 17-0 and riding a 48-game winning streak. Vashon has been a fixture in the USA Today rankings for years, but this is the first time they have been ranked No. 1. The 1988 and 2002 Vashon teams were ranked as high as No. 3 in the country.
Area high school teams have been ranked nationally over the years, but it’s always nice to see a No. 1 ranking attached to a school from St. Louis. If the Wolverines can run the table and finish out the year undefeated, they stand a good chance of getting that mythical No. 1 ranking and national championship.
A few other schools have done that in the past. The first school that comes to mind was that great East St. Louis football team in 1985 that finished with a No. 1 national ranking. Other area schools that have achieved a No. 1 national ranking are Incarnate Word (volleyball), CBC and Chaminade (boys soccer) and Edwardsville (baseball).
The Wolverines will take their new No. 1 ranking to the East Side this weekend for a rematch with the East St. Louis Flyers on Saturday night. It will be a rematch of last week’s Dr. Martin Luther King Basketball Classic game at the Savvis Center, won by Vashon 72-50.
Sign, everywhere a sign
The national signing period for high school athletes, particularly in football, begins on Wednesday, Feb. 2. Many of the area’s top high school football players have already made verbal commitments, but they can make those commitments official by signing letters of intent, beginning on Feb. 2.
The latest player to make a verbal commitment was St. Louis American Player of the Year Jairus Byrd of Clayton, who is headed to Oregon.
Another big catch among area players is Hazelwood East wide receiver Chris Brooks, who appears headed to Nebraska after originally commiting to Missouri as a junior. Hazelwood East teammate Jason Townson, an outstanding defensive tackle, committed to Missouri over the weekend.
Also expected to sign are running back A.J. Jimmerson of Hazelwood Central (Michigan State), defensive end Steve Davis of McCluer North (Minnesota), defensive back Hardy Ricks of Brentwood (Missouri), tight end Troy Wagner of O’Fallon (Indiana), tight end Kazeem Alli of Hazelwood Central (Cincinnati) and linebacker David Bryant of Ladue (Northern Illinois).
Ladue track standout J.C. Butler will sign with Missouri. Butler was the Class 3 state champion in the 800-meter run last season. Ladue girls’ track standout Azraa Rounds will sign with Abeline Christian.
STL in NFC title game
It was nice to see two St. Louisans competing in Sunday’s National Football Conference championship game in Philadelphia.
Hollis Thomas (Sumner) was playing defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles while former Riverview Gardens star Christian Morton was playing cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons.
Having Thomas’ girth in the middle was huge for the Eagles’ defense. He made one big hit on Falcons’ quarterback Michael Vick at the 3-yard line to force a field goal attempt.
Clayborn on a roll
Webster Groves junior center Adrian Clayborn has picked up some nice hardware in recent weeks. The 6’4″ Clayborn was the Statesmen’s only representative on the All-Tournament team at the prestigious Tournament of Champions in Springfield two weeks ago.
He was also the Most Valuable Player of last Saturday’s Superfan Shootout after leading Webster Groves to a 72-67 victory over Francis Howell Central. Clayborn had 19 points and eight rebounds.
Four-figure Grif
Former Normandy basketball standout Jonathan Griffin scored the 1,000th point of his career on Saturday for the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Griffin reached the milestone in UMSL’s 101-91 victory over Lincoln University in Jefferson City. He had 31 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists in the big victory.
