A trio of former St. Louis area prep basketball standouts learned of their new professional futures during last week’s NBA Draft night. Former Trinity Catholic standout Ryan Kalkbrenner was selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the second round with the 34th pick. A 7’0” center, Kalkbrenner was a four-time Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year at Creighton.
Former CBC standout Caleb Love signed a two-way contract with the Portland Trailblazers as an undrafted free agent. Love enjoyed a tremendous career at North Carolina and Arizona.
Former Vashon High standout Keshon Gilbert signed with the Washington Wizards as an undrafted free agent. Good luck to all three players as they try to make their NBA dreams come true.
Haywood brings home the gold
Sophomore girls’ basketball standout Jordyn Haywood of MICDS earned a gold medal as a member of Team USA at the recent FIBA U16 Americup Tournament in Mexico. The 6’1 guard averaged seven points and two assists a game for an undefeated Team USA squad. Her best performance of the tournament came on June 20 in a victory over Panama. Haywood scored 20 points on eight of nine shooting from the field and a perfect four of four from 3-point range. She also had six assists in the game.
TJ Hargrove gets a Mile High experience
Former East St. Louis and Saint Louis U. standout Terrence Hargrove will be playing in the NBA Summer League with the Denver Nuggets. Hargrove attended a two-day camp with the team and was signed to a summer contract to play for Denver, which will begin play in the Las Vegas Summer League on July 10.
Hargrove spent this past season in Denmark, where he helped lead the Bakken Bears to the Basketligean Championship.
St. Louisan Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx will be one of the team captains of the upcoming WNBA All-Star Game.
Collier and star guard Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever earned their captain’s roles by garnering the most fan votes. Clark received 1,293,526 fan votes to lead the way, while Collier was second with 1,176,020.
Collier, the former Incarnate Word Academy star, is enjoying another tremendous season and is considered one of the early front runners for the Most Valuable Player award. She is averaging a career high 24.5 points, along with 8.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks while shooting 51% from the field. She has led the Lynx to a league-best 14-2 record heading into this week.
The All-Star Game will be held on July 19 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Earl’s World
A trio of talented high school basketball players with NBA family lineage are transferring to new schools in the St. Louis area for the 2025-26 season. Seniors Jamison and Jahidi White Jr. are now at East St. Louis after playing the past three seasons at Chaminade College Prep. They are the sons of former Cardinal Ritter star Jahidi White, who played nine seasons in the NBA. They were starters on Chaminade’s teams that played for the Class 6 state championship in each of the past two seasons. Both have already suited up for the Flyers in respective Romeoville and Rockford,Ill. events in June…Brock Bass-Bonner is also on the move. He announced on social media that he will attend Cardinal Ritter College Prep. A 6’8” junior forward, Bonner is the son of former Vashon High and Saint Louis U. star Anthony Bonner, who played several seasons in the NBA. Brock Bass-Bonner played his past two seasons at North Cobb Christian in Georgia, where he was an All-State selection. He averaged 18.7 points and 6.2 rebounds in leading his team to a berth in the state championship game last season… Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky finished fifth in the 2025 WNBA All-Star fan voting for frontcourt players as the full list of starters was officially revealed and did not earn a starting spot. The fans voted her in, but when media votes were added, she missed by one spot. The 12 All-Star reserves will be announced on July 6.