First Look - St. Louis Boys Basketball - Public Schools League
There isn't a lot of data on the Post Dispatch website on scoring and even graduation dates. I am not sure why? Does anyone hazard to take a guess? Not sufficient staffing would be my first thought. Insufficient funding for athletic and activities programs? No money to hire a statistician, small coaching staffs, too much on their plate, all of the above.
Most of the teams don't have a full season of scoring so that means that their scores and stats aren't being submitted. Many of the well-to-do schools hire HUDL to watch and score their games on video. That means you have to have the equipment and videographer to do the video and someone to manage and submit stats to the P-D. That all takes money, which many of these fine St. Louis Public Schools don't have. But that's a long and sad story of white flight and St. Louis city vs county and fund sharing and all of that which would make our schools throughout the region more standardized and equal.
Here's a look at the Public School League, with Vashon the cream of the crop. More likely, cream of the state as one of the best, if not the elitist basketball program in the state. The only reason Vashon lost five games all season was because they played nationally ranked teams in a Florida tournament and lost a handful. Otherwise, the Wolverines are nearly untouchable, and while they lost a couple of great players, they have some really top-notch, highly ranked college recruits coming back. At least five or six, the envy of any high school coach. The have Coach Irons, one of the best, and they have a deep and rich basketball tradition. It's tough to beat those components in an elite program.
Outlook for Public School League teams:
Vashon:
Vashon is loaded with talent with seven athletes rated in the top 100 of the 2020 (4) and 2021 (3) PrepHoops boys basketball rankings. Senior Cam'Ron Fletcher (#2) is a Kentucky recruit, while and the other seniors, Kobe Clark (#7), Phillip Russell (#10) and Sergio McClain (#69) are all highly touted. Add in returning juniors Nicholas Kern (#5 2021 PrepHoops ranking), Trevon Love (#33) and Recko Bailey (#61) and Vashon is locked and loaded. I don't know if Vashon will top 140 rating but we will find out at the City of Palms Holiday tournament, whether they can compete with top 25 teams. If they do, no one in Missouri or SW Illinois will touch them. They could win 35 games. Coach Tony Irons "could" win his fourth consecutive state title in four trys. Not could, probably.
Roosevelt:
More than half the teams points came from Terrell Cannamore last year, who is the only significant graduate. That leaves Jaron Brownlee, Malik Leggette and a cast of a baker's dozen untested players to pick up that scoring gap. If these guys find a Go-To Guy for points, the Roughriders might find a way to break through the ceiling of winning basketball record
Soldan:
Senior Elijah Bishop and Juniors Phillip March (#67) and Dylan Martin (#96) provide Soldan with a solid core of experienced and highly rated bucket ball playas. With 10 players returning, Soldan brings back a squad with potential but they also have lost 60% of their scoring in departted seniors Ahain Barnett, Tyon Hughes, Jess and James Little. Soldan might not come close to the Wolversine of Vashon, but everyone else will dread playing the Tigers. Can they keep their three year winning streak going? Probably. Can they get to 20 wins? Maybe, just maybe and a 115 to 118 rating.
Gateway STEM:
6'7" power forward and Prep Hoops senior David Jones (ranked #68 in 2020 class) leads the Jaguars, unfortunately, the combined rosters from the Post, HUDL and MaxPreps has little more to offer than a roster with no class, no positions, no scoring and no playing height. Makes it tough to gauge how Gateway will do this year. 15 wins and a 105 rating might be possible. Who the heck knows?
Miller Career Academy:
Data is sketchy but it appears the 15 out of the 19 players are returning for this year, unfortunately the Phoenix don't appear to have a lot of height returning. Kelin Hill, Dejuan Fields, Devan Edwards and Vemetrius Jackson all return to fill in the void for Chaz Lovett and Vincent Jackson. With as much talent and experience coming back, the Phoenix may find a way to get double digit wins and move their rating up above 100.
Carnahan:
Most of the teams don't have a full season of scoring so that means that their scores and stats aren't being submitted. Many of the well-to-do schools hire HUDL to watch and score their games on video. That means you have to have the equipment and videographer to do the video and someone to manage and submit stats to the P-D. That all takes money, which many of these fine St. Louis Public Schools don't have. But that's a long and sad story of white flight and St. Louis city vs county and fund sharing and all of that which would make our schools throughout the region more standardized and equal.
Here's a look at the Public School League, with Vashon the cream of the crop. More likely, cream of the state as one of the best, if not the elitist basketball program in the state. The only reason Vashon lost five games all season was because they played nationally ranked teams in a Florida tournament and lost a handful. Otherwise, the Wolverines are nearly untouchable, and while they lost a couple of great players, they have some really top-notch, highly ranked college recruits coming back. At least five or six, the envy of any high school coach. The have Coach Irons, one of the best, and they have a deep and rich basketball tradition. It's tough to beat those components in an elite program.
| School | Record | Rating | Returnees | Graduates | ||||
| Vashon | 26 | 5 | 139 | Cam'Ron Fletcher, Phillip Russell, Recko Bailey, Nicholas Kern, Kobe Clark | Mario McKinney, Donyae McKaskill (37% of Scoring) | |||
| Roosevelt | 11 | 12 | 90 | Justyn Boyd, Jaron Brownlee, Malik Leggette | Terrell Cannamore (52% of Scoring) | |||
| Soldan | 18 | 9 | 117 | Elijah Bishop, Phillip March, Dylan Martin | Jesse and James Little, Tyon Hughes Ahain Barnett (59% of Scoring) | |||
| Gateway STEM | 14 | 13 | 108 | Ikel Sevier, Jemard Sykes, Aaron Norman and David Jones (#68 Prep Hoops 2020) | Jason Banks (18% of scoring?) | |||
| Miller Career Academy | 8 | 17 | 97 | Kelin Hill, Dejuan Fields, Devan Edwards, Vemetrius Jackson, Caleb Willis | Chaz Lovett and Vincent Jackson (22% of scoring) | |||
| Carnahan | 5 | 22 | 85 | Jaidon Anthony-Head, Christopher Rodgers, Andrew Jackson | Coreon James, Jathen Jones, Jevonye Johnson (47% of scoring) | |||
Outlook for Public School League teams:
Vashon:
Vashon is loaded with talent with seven athletes rated in the top 100 of the 2020 (4) and 2021 (3) PrepHoops boys basketball rankings. Senior Cam'Ron Fletcher (#2) is a Kentucky recruit, while and the other seniors, Kobe Clark (#7), Phillip Russell (#10) and Sergio McClain (#69) are all highly touted. Add in returning juniors Nicholas Kern (#5 2021 PrepHoops ranking), Trevon Love (#33) and Recko Bailey (#61) and Vashon is locked and loaded. I don't know if Vashon will top 140 rating but we will find out at the City of Palms Holiday tournament, whether they can compete with top 25 teams. If they do, no one in Missouri or SW Illinois will touch them. They could win 35 games. Coach Tony Irons "could" win his fourth consecutive state title in four trys. Not could, probably.
Roosevelt:
More than half the teams points came from Terrell Cannamore last year, who is the only significant graduate. That leaves Jaron Brownlee, Malik Leggette and a cast of a baker's dozen untested players to pick up that scoring gap. If these guys find a Go-To Guy for points, the Roughriders might find a way to break through the ceiling of winning basketball record
Soldan:
Senior Elijah Bishop and Juniors Phillip March (#67) and Dylan Martin (#96) provide Soldan with a solid core of experienced and highly rated bucket ball playas. With 10 players returning, Soldan brings back a squad with potential but they also have lost 60% of their scoring in departted seniors Ahain Barnett, Tyon Hughes, Jess and James Little. Soldan might not come close to the Wolversine of Vashon, but everyone else will dread playing the Tigers. Can they keep their three year winning streak going? Probably. Can they get to 20 wins? Maybe, just maybe and a 115 to 118 rating.
Gateway STEM:
6'7" power forward and Prep Hoops senior David Jones (ranked #68 in 2020 class) leads the Jaguars, unfortunately, the combined rosters from the Post, HUDL and MaxPreps has little more to offer than a roster with no class, no positions, no scoring and no playing height. Makes it tough to gauge how Gateway will do this year. 15 wins and a 105 rating might be possible. Who the heck knows?
Miller Career Academy:
Data is sketchy but it appears the 15 out of the 19 players are returning for this year, unfortunately the Phoenix don't appear to have a lot of height returning. Kelin Hill, Dejuan Fields, Devan Edwards and Vemetrius Jackson all return to fill in the void for Chaz Lovett and Vincent Jackson. With as much talent and experience coming back, the Phoenix may find a way to get double digit wins and move their rating up above 100.
Carnahan:
The Cougars have slipped badly from their high water mark of 15 wins in 2016-2017 so it would be great to see the team have more success than last year's five wins. Coreon James, Jathen Jones and Phillip Johnson have all graduated (46% of the scoring) but a core group of juniors Ezekiel Henning, Christopher Rodgers, Donjuan Everett and sophomores Jaidon Anthony-Head and Andrew Jackson are all returning. These guys have a chance to make a serious impact on Carnahan's season success. Time to go to work to get to 10 wins and a plus 90 rating.
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