This will be more of a neutral overview for all of the 16 teams. I will though most likely give a little more lengthily rundown of Ladue. This is for me the most exciting time of the season besides the playoffs because it is the holidays and the players play with a little more flare and energy. On a more serious note it is imperative for every team to get any little consolation at least to help their playoff resumes to see what seeds they get. Still the season is young, but most teams have played enough games by now to know what their roles are and where they stand.
The Bracket:
#1 Duchesne
#16 Brentwood
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#8 Lutheran North
#9 MICDS
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#4 Parkway Central
#13 Francis Howell
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#5 SLUH
#12 St. Mary's
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#2 Ladue
#15 Clayton
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#7 Parkway South
#10 Whitfield
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#3 St. Charles
#14 Trinity
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#6 Miller Career
#11 Westminster
Game Previews:
#1 Duchesne (2-0)
#16 Brentwood (2-2)
9:30 am
Having a 2-2 team as the lowest seed says that this will be a competitive tournament. In the past few years, the #16 seed has either one win or none at all. However Brentwood does have two wins, but there is a reason why they are the last seed. Their two wins came against Construction Career and Crossroads who are both winless. The Eagles also won the 8th place game against Crossroads in the Valley Park Invitational which was won by Trinity who is #14 seed.
Duchesne won this tournament last year in convincing fashion over SLUH as a #4 seed because they had only played two games. This year it is the same scenario, but the tournament committee have either learned their lesson or rewarded the Pioneers. Duchesne has nearly everybody back with their whole starting five from last year with twin towers Ryan Tune and Drew Moore, plus fabulous point guard Sam Briscoe. The team also has more depth this year as well with Briscoe's younger brother Ryan and Moore's younger brother Alex.
This game will understandably be very difficult for Brentwood and most likely brutal to watch for anyone who hates to see blowouts. The Eagles will have to contain Moore and Tune who are 6'6 and 6'7 respectively and their tallest player is 6'4. The Pioneers are one of the best at utilizing their bigs. Brentwood is a faster team than Duchesne however and one way to make the game respectable is to make the Pioneers uncomfortable. All in all I see Duchesne winning by twenty points or Moore. (Pun intended)
#8 Lutheran North (4-1)
#9 MICDS (4-3)
11:00
The hosts will be hoping to make a strong impression in their own tournament, but that is always tough to pull off with the competition their opposition always bring. The Rams are led by Missouri State recruit Robin Thompson, who is a rock solid 6'6 three year starter averaging 13 points and 9 rebounds per game. He does have a couple of cast of characters with Justin Randle and Alec Spence, who are both averaging points in double figures.
Lutheran North are feeling pretty good at the moment with a come from behind win over their friends from Lutheran South, 63-60. The Crusaders are led by 5'9 point guard Isaiah Holman and 6'6 bruiser Renell Wren, who can counter with Thompson. The Crusaders will use their speed to win games and it will soot them well against Metro League opponents.
I will give the edge to the Crusaders because of their guard play, quickness, and ability to limit Robin Thompson with Renell Wren. However the Rams have gotten the better of the Crusaders the last couple of years in Metro League play. Yes both years when Lutheran North made it to state. The Crusaders did beat MICDS in the 2011 tournament when Holman and Thompson were sophomores and both started the game. This is a classic 8 vs 9 matchup and the winner will earn the right to most likely play Duchesne.
#4 Parkway Central (3-2)
#13 Francis Howell (4-2)
12:30
For the past two years the Francis Howell Vikings came into the MICDS Holiday Tournament as the doormats at the #16 seed. Now they are the #13 seed and could possibly get an upset over the Colts. The Vikings can shoot it from the outside with Brett Elifritz, Murphy Hamer, and Clayton Ambrose. They have a nice inside presence with 6'4 Nic Perkins, 6'4 Erich Schark, and 6'2 Sam Hefner. The Vikings go about ten deep and play a zone defense that will slow teams down. They are on a 2 game winning streak and have momentum.
The Parkway Central Colts only wins have come against schools named Parkway. However they are now on a 2 game losing streak, but both of their losses have come to winning teams and were single digit losses. The Colts are led by forwards 6'6 Nathan Biggs, 6'4 Connor Krause, and shooting guard 6'0 Jarrett Cox-Bradley. They go eight deep usually and are coached very well. The thing that stands out for the Colts is their stout defense, which has given up only 50 points per game.
Both teams play zone defense, which means this will be a low scoring game. Both teams like to go inside and score. However, Francis Howell can shoot from outside, but they haven't' been consistent so far. The Vikings will want to finally win a first round game for once and they have a great chance of doing that. The Colts have a good game plan and can take advantage of the baseline on offense and do some damage there. I will give the edge to Central, but do not be surprised if Francis Howell can pull this one out. They are due for a win after all in this tournament.
#5 SLUH (5-3)
#12 St. Mary's (4-2)
2:00
The Dragons of St. Mary's may as well be led by only one ultimate dragon in the form of Josh Robinson, who already has scored over 200 points and is averaging 33 a game. It won't be fair just to include him and him only. Robinson does have DeShawn Wilson, James Wiggins, and Matt Causino as role players. The Dragons do have a nice 59-53 victory over Alton Marquette, who are 7-2. However, besides them, they haven't had any other nice one's to brag about. One thing the Dragons can think about is two years ago when they were in this same scenario and defeated Ladue in overtime. Josh Robinson incidentally hit the game tying basket to send it to OT in that game. Who knows about this year.
The SLUH Jr Billikens are in their second year of the Erwin Claggett era and are in the midst of a potentially exciting year with nearly everyone back from last years 15-13 team. So far 2 of their 3 losses have come to mighty Chaminade and finished as the consolation champions in the Webster Groves Tournament. The Jr Bills are led by 6'5 scoring machine, Austin Sottile, who is averaging 16 points per game. SLUH do have fine guard play with Charlie and Matt Nester, Ollie Tettample, and freshman Davion Nash. Like always the Jr Bills are always big. 6'8 David Schmelter and 6'5 Hunter Schmidt always make a presence in the paint. I officially pick SLUH to be the dark horses of the tournament.
This could be the first of two holy wars if SLUH and Duchesne meet up in the semi finals, but for now it will be SLUH vs St. Mary's. The Jr Bills are obviously favored to win because of their size, depth, and strength of schedule. However, they have been in close games and if Josh Robinson can go off, St. Mary's could do a repeat of 2011. SLUH's main game plan will be to stop Robinson. They could double team him and limit him to under 20 points or just play their normal game and see what happens. Don't be surprised if it is close at half-time or SLUH could be thinking about their next game by half-time.
#2 Ladue (4-1)
#15 Clayton (2-5)
3:45 pm
For the Clayton Greyhounds they can't seem to get a break. This past week they lost a tough close encounter with Lutheran South, 56-54 and then again at Whitfield, 58-47. In both games they shot under 25% from the field. Now they have to play their arch rivals Ladue, who could be the hardest team they have faced to this point. They are led by Jervonte Phillips, Mitch Elliot, John Ginos, and Nick Bax. Phillips and Elliot average 12 and 11 points per game respectively and will most likely key the Greyhounds attack. However, they already have committed 119 turnovers. They are capable of shooting the ball well and most likely the players will be determined to knock off the old enemy.
The Ladue Rams season have started off well with two clutch wins over Vianney and McClure North. They nearly beat Hazelwood Central in the Vianney Invitational finals. The Rams are led by Cornell Johnston and 6'7 center Andrew Maddock. The Rams will have one of the best overall benches in the tournament going nine deep and all of them are capable of scoring and playing good defense. However the Rams haven't played since December 14th in Springfield. They might come out dry, but they will be up for this one since it is against Clayton. The senior class is 4-1 against the Greyhounds all time.
The first thing that stands out against these two teams is height, which clearly favors the Rams. Maddock and Jon Collins at 6'4 have done their fair share of rebounding so far and against Clayton they could have some fun. Johnston has 101 points lifetime against the Greyhounds in five games, including 27 against them 2 years ago in this tournament. He will be looking to repeat that. Ladue is riding a 4 game winning streak against Clayton and it doesn't look like it will stop any time soon. The Rams have beaten top quality opponents and Clayton has only beaten teams with losing records by single digits. I will favor the Rams in this one by 20 points or more. They could easily play tight and nervous, but coach Anderson does not really need to get his kids ready for Clayton, they get amped up themselves.
#7 Parkway South (3-2)
#10 Whitfield (4-1)
5:15 pm
All seems normal again for the Whitfield Warriors after their disastrous season last year when Dimitri and DeVaughn Rucker were lost to early season injuries. Now they have them back and also have 6'6 senior Jacob Ekstrand and Bryce Berry. The Warriors best win so far has been against De Smet in the Whitfield Tournament. Whitfield always has a decent game plan by coach Mike Potsou and will guide the Warriors to make teams uncomfortable to their advantage.
Parkway South is coming off of a rare down year with only two seniors on last years roster. This season they have a nice 2014 class and are led by Jeremy Verges who is averaging 19 points per game with Chris Dandridge averaging 10 a game. They do have a post presence in 6'7 Matt Highsmith and a shooter in 6'2 Luke Bakula. Those four players have been leading the attack for them and have experience doing that since last season. They will be determined to stay in the tournament longer than last year when they lost 2 straight games and went home with nothing. This year they plan on getting more out of the tournament.
Although Whitfield has a better record, the Patriots do have a more experienced roster and have played bigger competition so far. Also Parkway South has dominated Whitfield in this tournament alone since 2007. They most recently beat them in 2011 when both programs were at similar levels. Whitfield will have a good game plan while the Patriots will too. When it comes down to it, South has more depth and individual scoring ability. I can see Whitfield coming away with this one too, but they will need less room for error. For now I see Parkway South getting the better of Whitfield again.
#3 St. Charles (8-1)
#14 Trinity (4-2)
6:45 pm
The Trinity Titans are off to a respectable start by winning the Valley Park Tournament and started off well on a 4 game winning streak. They did give Cardinal Ritter a game in a 59-47 loss. It is pretty incredible that the 14th placed team out of 16 teams record is 4-2 and everybody else ahead of them has a winning record. The Titans are led by Sidney White, Quinton Ward, and Broderick Ross. All of them are averaging points in double figures and can go off.
The city of St. Charles finally seems to have its fair share of talent in high school basketball this year. The Pirates of St. Charles High School is a shining beacon of light and are off to fabulous start at 8-1. They might be more familiar with themselves than any other team because they have played nine games already. The Pirates are led by Casey Teson who has made over 60% of his shots and is averaging 18 a game. Next is Chase Morfeld who is averaging 13 points a game. The Pirates are big too. 6'7 Jason Draggs, 6'5 Luke Joslin, and 6'4 Brice Wiggs are all averaging over 6 points per game . They all have the most rebounds on the team with Joslin as the leading rebounder.
St. Charles has a promising future with their heavy junior class led by Teson. Last year they had a nice year, but good defenses keyed on Teson and shut him down, which shut down the Pirates. Now they have a heavy arsenal of weapons besides Teson that can carry the Pirates. Trinity will need to use their speed to stop Teson and Morfeld. White, Ward, and Ross can counter do damage St. Charles defense. This can be a closer game than what most will say. However, the Pirates can easily get it out to twenty points and think about their next game in the middle of the game. Trinity can stay with St. Charles for only so long if the Pirates play their game.
#6 Miller Career (6-3)
#11 Westminster (3-2)
8:15
The Westminster Wildcats have a new coach and a new look team. Shane Benes, Collin Einerton, and Aaron Cook lead the way. The Wildcats are off to a decent start, but they have already lost to Lutheran North at home in a tight Metro League contest that could have gone either way. Westminster is athletic, tough, and physical, which are key ingredients for a good defense and that is what they have. On offense the Wildcats love to attack the basket and get fouled so they can shoot free throws. In fact, as a team Westminster is the best free throw shooting team making 60 of 68 freebies. (88%) That will be crucial down the stretch in close games.
Miller Career gained one of the most highly regarded coaches in the state in the form of Kelvin Lee. Thus far he has guided them to a 6-3 record with a good win over SLUH in the Webster Tournament. Their record is not pretty though, but they have taken what their opponents have given them and have played to their potential. They are small in size, but make up for it with gritty play, quickness, and good guard play. They have a 2 headed monster attack with Rashad Jordan and Marcel Lee, who are averaging 19 and 18 points respectively.
This game looks to be a good one as it will cap off the first day of hoops in the MICDS Tournament. Both teams could win by double digits if one of the other slips up early. They are both disciplined well and play good defense. Just because of the seeds, I will give the edge to Miller Career. They are quicker than Westminster and the Wildcats already lost to Lutheran North who are quick as well. Jordan and Lee can cause problems all day for the Phoenix. However if this game is close with under 3 minutes to play then I will give the edge to Westminster because of their patience and free throw shooting ability.
I believe I hinted in half of the games that it will be close in them. I can not remember this tournament having as many competitive teams play in it at one time. This looks to have the makings of a great tournament. The good folks at MICDS always puts on a great spectacle this time of year. Good luck to all of the teams competing.
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