First Look - Catholic Metro boys basketball 2019-2020 outlook



One of the premier conferences in St. Louis has been, and will probably remain for many years, a hotbed of basketball talent.  All five schools have been a preferred destination for aspiring young hoopsters because of the excellence of their academic and sports programs.

This past year, the Catholic Metro was a young conference with sophomore and junior laden teams  that competed at the highest level, and this coming year will be an even stronger group of senior players with D-1 credentials.  In any other conference, Vianney and SLUH, the current doormats of the conference, would be near the top of their league.  Unfortunately, both the Golden Griffins and Jr. Billikens have to play Chaminade, CBC and De Smet twice which means they automatically have six losses to start.

CBC was undefeated in their league and runner-up in the state championship but expect both Chaminade and De Smet to challenge their #1 position.  Both have significant fire power and are deep squads.  CBC has Caleb Love and a number of potential stars who had been waiting in the wings to get their moment in the spotlight.

The league will be a dog-eat-dog battle and any other teams should hope they can avoid these teams in tournament brackets and their non-conference schedule.  They will destroy a lot of good teams.


Catholic Metro 2018-2019 Record # % % Avg 2020 Avg 2019
2019 Rating Wins Losses  Returnees Return Scoring Hgt(") Hgt(")
Chaminade 124 13 12 13 76% 86% 75.3 75.75
Vianney 106 7 19 8 57% 37% 73.5 73
CBC 127 24 8 10 56% 54% 73.9 73.3
SLUH 104 5 22 11 69% 72% 73 71.8
De Smet 121 23 6 13 81% 70% 73.4 74.94
Catholic Metro 116.4 14.4 13.4 11 68% 64% 73.82 73.7575


Chaminade
Returnees:
Luke Kasubke, Harrison Vickers, Matteus Case, Jaden Winfield, Tarris Reed Jr.
Graduated/departed:
Keyyaun Batchman, Keelen Handy (14% of scoring)
Outlook:
Chaminade was a whole lot better than their 13-12 record last year and they bring back an envienable group of returnees and most of their scoring.  Luke Kasubke, Kansas State recruit, leads a star-studded line-up that will will 25 games and inch up to a 130 rating this year.  Of the 12 losses last year, only one was 10 points and all the rest were low single digit losses.  Don't expect the Red Devils to be on the short end of many games this winter.  The only teams in their way to a state semi finals would be CBC or De Smet.


Vianney
Returnees:
Ethan Lattimore, Luke Schueler, Gabe Ducey
Graduated/departed:
Josh Kleinheider, Sam Ederle (63% of scoring)
Outlook:
Vianney had big shoes to fill with Colin Braun graduation a year ago.  With a solid but young backcourt, Vianney took its lumps in the Metro league and competed well outside the conference.  Lattimore and Schueler can bring it from the arc but the Golden Griffens will need to find some point getters on the inside to be successful this coming winter.  10 wins and a 110 rating might be as much as they can expect.


CBC
Returnees:
Caleb Love, Robert Martin, Chevalier Brenson, Justin Smith, Kyle Henderson, Larry Hughes Jr.
Graduated/departed:
Joshua Wallace, Ari Jackson, Jackson Andrews (46% of scoring)
Outlook:
Two words describe CBC.....  Caleb Love.  The heavily recruited senior is the #1 rated player in PrepHoops rankings and he will bring it every night.  Martin and Brenson add great experience and secondary scoring and the deep roster of the cadets will showcase others, like Larry Hughes Jr., who have been waiting for their opportunity to shine.  Shutting down Love might be an opponents main objective but CBC has too much fire power to miss a beat.  30 wins and 130 rating are within reach.  A state championship could be in the cards if the ball bounces the right way in the play-offs.


SLUH
Returnees:
Luke Johnston, Nick Kramer, Freddie Cooper, Jaden McClain
Graduated/departed:
Christian Wallace-Hughes, Nick Lange (28% of scoring)
Outlook:
SLUH had an atypical season last season after posting 21 win seasons in 2016 and 2017.  SLUH brings back some quality returnees and up and comers but they are playing in one of the toughest conferences in the state.  If they can improve on their 0-8 league record, the Jr. Billikens have a shot at winning 10-12 games and improving their rating to 110 or better.  A program rich in tradition, expect them to be back to 20 wins by the 2020-2021 season.


De Smet
Returnees:
YaYa Keita, Sekou Gassama, Jeremiah Walker, Mike Skoff,  Thomas Redmond, Rico Barfield and others
Graduated/departed:
Evan Asleson, Collin Goodwin (32% of scoring)
Outlook:
Last year, De Smet was a very young team that gelled and matured quickly.  Three losses to CBC, including a 17 point quarterfinal loss to the Cadets, were the major blemishes on a great season.  If the Spartans can figure out how to stop CBC, they could be a state tournament semi-finalist or champion.  Most teams would like to have one "Big" on their team but De Smet has two in Keita and Gassama, which will make them hard to defend.  Add in the outside shooting of Redmond and Barfield and De Smet could be unstoppable.  30 wins and 130 rating are in their immediate future.


That's my first look at the Catholic Metro league.  Flip a coin, CBC, Chaminade, De Smet.... the league champion could be 5-3.  It could be a three way tie.
 

Corrected:  Caleb Love has not made a college decision to date.  He has narrowed down his choices to Arizona, North Carolina, Indiana, Kansas, Louisville and Mizzou.

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