Saint Louis University is coming off a record-setting season in college basketball and Billikens fans are hungry for even more.
How do I know this? It has been evident in what I have witnessed during the Billikens’ summer practice sessions. Saint Louis U. has hosted two open practices at Chaifetz Arena in July where the fans could get a sneak peek at the new team.
In past years, it was cool to see a couple of hundred fans show up to watch these open scrimmages. These were mostly the hard-core fans. Things were quite different this summer as these open practices attracted more than 1,000 fans to Chaifetz. The first open practice on July 2 drew close to 2,000 fans. Last Friday night, another big crowd turned out to see the Billikens final summer workout of the season.
Big crowds at summer sessions are common at places such as Kentucky and Kansas, but seeing this big turnout at Chaifetz Arena is something I haven’t seen in my 35 years of broadcasting Billiken basketball games. It is a testament to what head coach Josh Schertz and his staff are building at SLU.
The anticipation is quite high after a 29-6 season, which included an Atlantic 10 Conference co-championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Several key players are back, including Amari McCottry, Quentin Jones, Trey Green, Ishan Sharma and former Pattonville High standout Kellen Thames. The Billikens also have some impressive transfers and some talented young players joining the program, including local products Jamison White (East St. Louis) and Sheek Pearson (John Burroughs).
The non-conference schedule is much more challenging this season. The highlight is a date with the University of Missouri on Friday night, Nov. 6 at the Enterprise Center. Mizzou also has high hopes for the season as head coach Dennis Gates has assembled an outstanding team for the upcoming season. It should make for an exciting night in early November.
Local track star Brandon Miller is on a hot streak
Former John Burroughs track and field star Brandon Miller has been enjoying a breakout season this summer on the professional circuit.
Miller, 24, has won four consecutive races this summer in the 800-meter run, which is his specialty event. He won the event at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon. In that race, he defeated young sensation Cooper Lutkenhaus, the defending world indoor champion.
Miller then traveled to London, where he defeated a talented field in the 800 in the Diamond League Classic. Miller ran a personal best time of 1 minute 42.19 seconds, beating a field that included Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi. Miller unleashed a tremendous finishing kick in the last 250 meters to run away with the victory.
Miller, 24, has been a shining star on the track since his grade school days competing in age-group events on the Amateur Athletic Union circuit. He set numerous records in the 800-meter and 1,500-meter runs at the national and world-class levels.
That success continued into his high school days at John Burroughs, where he set the state record in the 800 at the 2020 state meet in Jefferson City. He went on to run collegiate track at Texas A&M.
Miller has been running professionally since 2022 with the Brooks Beasts Track Club. He earned a spot on the 2024 USA Olympic Team and qualified for the 800-meter semifinals.
AAU Junior Olympics are held this week
The AAU Junior Olympics Track and Field competition is being held this week in Des Moines, Iowa, on the campus of Drake University. The event features athletes from summer track and field clubs across the United States. Several clubs from the St. Louis metro area will compete. We will keep you updated on how area athletes perform in Iowa throughout the competition.
Bailey Hensgens to compete in World U20s in Oregon
Incarnate Word Academy track and field star Bailey Hensgens is competing in the World Athletics U20 Championships this week in Eugene, Oregon. Hensgens will compete in the high jump. She qualified for the World U20 Championships by winning the high jump at the USATF U20 National Meet, which was also held in Eugene in June.
Hensgens was a three-time state champion in the high jump, long jump and triple jump at the Missouri Class 4 state meet in Jefferson City.