David and Goliath - the dynamics of Haves and Have Nots
I used to run on the Roosevelt Roughrider track back in the 1980s when I worked at Anheuser Busch. I would use my lunch hour to go out for a run and that sometimes took me over to their cinder track. It was a time before school shooters, lockdowns and perimeter security became high priorities for public schools.
The track and the school itself were not much to write home about but Roosevelt kids who came out for PHY-Ed were gracious and I felt welcomed to their facility. Over the years and years of white flight and a vanishing tax base, the St. Louis Public schools have been in a slow decline. It is hard to get teachers to work, coaches to coach, in these situations. A number of schools are being closed and kids are being shuffled around. But the people who are at Roosevelt are committed and proud of their programs.
Like many public and charter schools in the city, coaches don't just coach and teach, they become surrogate fathers and mentors for their players. As one coach pointed out to me, besides being a dad to these kids, he is also a cook, a chauffeur, a trusted advisor, a protector, a role model, and much, much more. It is exhausting and, while the job is immensely rewarding, by the time the season is done, a coach's stipend comes out to about $3 per hour.
And then there is the frustration of the inequities between the well-funded private schools that recruit the best area athletes and these struggling programs that try to play by MSHSAA rules. It is hard to keep good kids in a school like Roosevelt or Confluence when they could be playing for a vaunted
Vashon team or some elite private school. In 8th grade, PHL students throughout St. Louis city can pick to attend any public or charter city school. Football players opt for Roosevelt to a large part while the best basketball players want to attend Vashon and they can do that. Vashon has the entire city to draw their talent from to continue their strong basketball program.
I worked near Vashon between 2006 and 2010. The neighborhood is dilapidated. Blocks with empty lots and shuttered homes, some falling brick by brick from neglect. Some of the most beautiful mansions that could have been in the movie "Meet me in St. Louis" are now roofless, walls falling into themselves. Again, it is a sad testament to white flight and the tax dollars that were needed to maintain the community infrastructure and its schools.
The school is a modern, first-class facility from the street. A Taj Mahal compared to Roosevelt. They seem to get a lot of great athletes. Good for them. It provides these players the opportunity to move on to a college and possibly Pro careers. It is not quite like the recruiting that a CBC, De Smet or Chaminade does, but Vashon gets great ballers that gravitate to a school with a long and rich basketball tradition.
So, David meets Goliath on Tuesday. Roosevelt at a 95 rating, faces Vashon, with an147 rating, the best in the state. The gritty Roughriders are 4-11 but on a two-game winning streak. Led by 6'6" senior D'Andree Lockett and 5'6" junior Kameron Davis, 6'6" sophomore forward Casey Williams, and a supporting cast of Derrick Bunting, Jr., Richard Lewis, Kylin Thornton, Dominic Williams, Isiah Thomas, Devon Anderson. Muhamed Ali, Anthony Andres, and Jarrell Cotton fill out the Roughrider squad that won't quit. If they don't lose their cool with the Vashon full-court pressure and can play a decent zone to slow the Wolves down, they can leave the court heads high. If they can't, at least they have tried and they know very few teams had their opportunity to compete next Tuesday night.
It probably won't be pretty but Roosevelt, who, until Tuesday, had not won a district championship in 45 years, do not care. They are playing a sectional game for the first time in umpteen years. They have their little rock and sling and will do their best against Goliath.
It is hard for most public schools in the St. Louis area to compete with the elite private schools. Marquette will have to play the Chaminade and it probably won't be pretty. Marquette stayed within 20 of Chaminade in a mid-January game but the sectional could be a 30 point blowout. It happened to Eureka a couple of years ago when CBC won 60-33.
It has to be tough to continue coaching when you know good kids have eschewed your public or charter school to go Private. It is always an uphill battle. It is frustrating to coach a team with a six-foot line-up when you are facing a private school with a front line of 6'7" plus and 6'3" or 6'4" guards that can shoot out the lights from 25 feet. But the facts are this. Kids and their parents want to play in the best opportunities and show their abilities for the next level and they flock to the great programs.
Some may never play a minute but they at least gave their dream a shot. The rest of the programs do miracle work with the students they get and their hard work gets them a date with a powerhouse team. At least they get that opportunity. Many teams won't next week but they wish they did. Roosevelt is taking their shot. Living their dream. Good luck Roughriders.
Here are the latest St. Louis area boys basketball ratings (prior to Friday night's games). You can find the St. Louis area girls' large and small school ratings here.
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