Class Four, Five and Six championships - March 19th, 2021
It has been an interesting and enjoyable basketball season and it was one that I really did not expect to pan out. I, along with most head coaches, was worried that they might not be a season at all. Coaches were scheduling games early in December just to get in a few before the pandemic shut it down. Except for a few unfortunate teams like Confluence, Parkway North, and Barstow, to name a few, most teams were able to finish their schedule and compete in district, sectional, and state playoffs.
I have had my favorites, besides the Eureka team, with grandsons Nate and Andrew Parker, where I took game statistics for all 65+ games for Frosh, JV, and varsity teams. Some of those favorites were teams with Larry Hughes 17U players like Ethan Lattimore and Luke Schueler at Vianney, Sam Thompson, Preston Fortner and Dave Tripiano at Howell, Anthony Phiffer at Webster Grove, Logan Wich at Parkway West, and Myles Estrada at Francis Howell Central.
I have been pulling for Fort Zumwalt North all season, and, while I think they are a long shot, I would love to see Coach Uffman pull off an upset victory over Liberty and give Chaminade a good tussle. That class six championship is almost too close to call but I think the dominance of Tarris Reed makes Chaminade the favorite over Liberty by 3 in the final. Or you could flip a coin.
Vashon has been my favorite in Class four and I do not believe anyone can touch them at state unless their outside shot goes stone cold. They should win by 20 in both their semi-final and final.
On the girl's side, Vashon girls have a chance to win the title in the same year as their boys, which has only been accomplished by Scott County Central (five times). Westminster should be in the final and could make it a barnburner.
In class five girls, I have Whitfield with a slight edge but it is not worth putting money on this game. West Plains is a tough opponent. Pick Em.
Same with class six... while Incarnate Word has been dominant all year, I think Kickapoo will give them a good game after knocking of Webster Groves. I wouldn't mind being wrong on Webster and I wish them all the best of luck.
But there was one team I watched and rooted for from afar. Many of the Cardinal Ritter team played on Team Ramey and always gave LHBA a great game, often topping the Eric Bain-coached Larry Hughes team. Mario Fleming played briefly with Eric before moving to Team Ramey. Ilyaas Harris, nicknamed Biscuit, was another dynamic Team Ramey guard who a budding star for Marquette as a freshman and sophomore. So I will be rooting for those guys tonight vs. Bolivar. I expect that Bolivar will give them a good game but Ritter should come out on top by 14 points or so. Good luck to both teams.
I don't know if I should tell this story but there is a lesson here. Sometimes life takes us on interesting journeys. We start off heading in one direction and find ourselves looking down a different path and wondering how we arrived there. That was the case for "Biscuit" Harris who looked like he would have a good career as a Marquette Mustang. But then a series of events put Ilyaas on a different journey and one that might help bring Cardinal Ritter another state title. A title Biscuit might have never experienced if he had stayed at Marquette. The 2019 IAABO summer camp might have been bitter medicine but it took Biscuit on a journey that he will remember the rest of his life.
I do not know all of the particulars but the Francis Howell Central IAABO basketball weeklong tournament in the summer of 2019 was bust for the Marquette team. "Biscuit" was in a "zone" and it wasn't a good zone. With Devon Barstow open on the inside and a number of 'Stangs sharpshooters open on the arc all week long, Ilyaas went about one for thirty from the three-point arc and was not handing out many dimes. Remember what I said in an earlier post? Pass First, Shoot Second point guards direct winning teams. It all came to a head after the week of frustrating games, Ilyaas headed to Ritter and Barshow transferred to McCluer where he had an outstanding senior year. Ilyaas, had an okay season for Ritter, playing behind Luther Burden (note: Burden transferred to East St. Louis in mid-January). Despite the losses of two great players, Marquette had a good season and won their district.
But this year is different and, Biscuit is in a different zone. A good zone. With nearly seven points per game, a forty percent three-point percentage, four assists, and two steals, he is making his mark in the second half of the season, as a leader of this team and has learned the lessons of a "pass-first, shoot second" point guard. They may have been painful lessons, but the reward was worth the pain. The journey has been circuitous, but he and Mario and company are about to win another title for Cardinal Ritter. Their ninth title over the years. Good luck to the Lions tonight.
Postscript: I saw that Viola won the class one Arkansas boys title last night. Home / Twitter When Rick Luna was unceremoniously fired by the Dora school board last Spring, Rick was at loose ends for just a short period before Viola came a calling. What was a bitter ending to the Dora magical basketball era became a new beginning for Rick, his senior triplets and another son that play for him.
What wonderful retribution and irony for Luna to get sacked and have his team score a state championship the next year. Life takes us to strange places and we should embrace that opportunity rather than dwelling on the events we can no longer change. Congrats to Rick and his team.
Here are my picks and results for boy's and girl's semi-final games.
I might get them all right. I might not get any right but it has been a fun ride giving you my basketball ratings. Hope you enjoyed it.
Girls
Here is how the predictions have gone for boys and girls for the entire playoffs (updated 11:30 AM):
Missouri Girl's Basketball Predictions 165 41 80%
Totals 366 93 79%
Comments
Post a Comment