David Lee for NBA All-Star Team

It is time to get the ball rolling to get St. Louisan David Lee into this year's NBA All-Star Game.
The former Chaminade College Prep star is having a tremendous season with the New York Knicks. It's a season that's worth serious consideration for this year's All-Star Game.
David has been a double-double machine ever since he entered the league four years ago. Now, with increased minutes, he's on the cusp of being a consistent 20-point, 10-rebound a night player. That's rolling in high cotton in the NBA.
D-Lee's numbers have been fantastic. He is averaging 18.9 points, 11 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. He is shooting 58 percent from the field and 77 percent from the free throw line.
Lee is currently seventh in the league in rebounding, fifth in field goal percentage. He is also eighth in the league with 17 double-doubles.
In his last three games, Lee had 28 points and 10 rebounds against San Antonio, 30 points, 12 rebounds and five assists at Detroit and 26 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists against New Jersey. After his performance against San Antonio, future Hall of Fame performer Tim Duncan reportedly told D-Lee that he deserved to be an All-Star. I'm in total agreement with the Big Fundamental on this one.
In recent years, as international players have become stars in the NBA, people have been wondering if there will be any more white American-born NBA stars on the horizon.
Well, we have one in David Lee. Born right here in St. Louis and doing his thing every night in the Big Apple.
He deserves to be displaying his game on All-Star night in Dallas.

Holiday Tournament Recap

Wow, what a whirlwind it was during the last few days of following these holiday tournaments.
Over the past four days, I zig-zagged around the metro area and saw six different tournaments while keeping a close eye on all of the other action going on in the two-state area.
Here is a recap of the holiday tournaments, which produced some exciting basketball.

Meramec:
Webster Groves defeated Hazelwood Central for the championship 62-56 in a battle of unbeatens.
It was a fun game as both teams took turns making big runs at each other. One team looked as if they had control only to see the other team respond with a big surge of its own.
HC led 54-52 only to see WG take control of the game down the stretch with a 10-0 run. The Statesmen got great games from its three perimeter players. Senior Cortez Conners scored a game-high 19 points. Senior Derrick Dilworth added 16, including 10 in the fourth quarter, while smooth 6'3" sophomore Rayshawn Simmons had 14 points.
These three players make WG very hard to beat. All have good size, quickness and they can create their own shot and hit the 3-pointer. They are fun to watch. Junior post player Jason Meehan was an unsung hero during the game for the Statesmen. His physical work inside was a big key against Central's young big men in 6'5" sophomore B.J. McFarland and 6'6" freshman Jordan Martin.
Those two young bigs are going to be outstanding players for the Hawks, but Meehan's experience and muscle played a big role in WG "toughing" out this championship. There were several times where the Statesmen outfought the Hawks for loose balls and offensive rebounds during key stretches of the game.
Central was led by senior forward Chris Babbitt's 15 points and nine rebounds. It is good to see Babbitt back in action after missing all of last season with a knee injury. He is so active and always around the ball, creating steals and crashing the offensive boards.
The Hawks were hurt by the early foul trouble of leading scorer Jordan Wilson. He picked up his second foul midway through the first quarter and hit to sit the rest of the first half with no points. Wilson responded with 12 second-half points to help put his team in a position to win.
It was a hell of game to watch with two teams that have the talent to make very deep tournament runs in March.
WG has the look at a Final Four team. Their success is even more impressive when you look at the fact that most of these young men were key players on their state-championship football team. Coach Jay Blossom done of great job to get them so basketball-ready in a month. They are only going to get better.
The same goes for Hazelwood Central. They are still a very young team, and they are going to get better as well. The Hawks are still re-adjusting to playing without top scorer B.J. Young, who was removed from the team for disciplinary reasons. Young was averaging 17 points a game and could really create shots with ease.
McCluer defeated CBC for third place as junior Shaquille Boga scored 24 points while sophomore Demetrius Floyd added 20.
It was a good bounce-back game for the Comets, who lost a 72-70 heartbreaker to Webster Groves in the semifinals. WG's Conners hit a dramatic 3-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation to force overtime.
Troy defeated DeSmet for fourth place while Marquette defeated Rockwood district rival Lafayette for the consolation title.

Collinsville:
Lincoln High defeated the host Kahoks 64-56 for the championship. The Railsplitters (love those Illinois nicknames) finished second last year to Belleville Althoff.
I attended the semifinal games. Lincoln defeated Althoff 71-61 in a great game. Lincoln put on a wonderful shooting display, hitting a tournament-record 14 3-pointers. They couldn't miss. Every time Althoff made a push, Lincoln would respond with a 3-pointer.
Junior guard Jordan Nelson was incredible for Lincoln. He had 31 points against Althoff in the semis, then followed up with 29 points in the finals against Collinsville. The 6' Nelson could stroke the long-range jumper, take defenders off the dribble for mid-range jumpers while still running the show and getting the ball to Bucknell-bound teammate Ben Brackney, who can also shoot it from deep.
A tip of the cap also has to go to new Collinsville head coach Darrin Lee on making the Kahoks competitive again. After a 6-22 season in '09, Lee has come in and instilled some discipline and the Kahoks have responded. It should be no surprise. Lee was one of the state's top coaches during his very successful run at Nashville.
Oakville won three games in the tournament, thanks to the play of 6'5" senior Garrett Reeg, who scored 99 points in four games. I watched Reeg dominate Belleville East in the consolation semis with 34 points. If you are a college coach in need of a young man with a textbook low-post game, Garrett Reeg is the man for you. Oakville also got some good news with the return of 6'4" junior guard Javier Duren to the lineup. Duren saw his first action of the season after missing several games with an injury sustained during football season. With Duren, Reeg and a excellent supporting cast, the Tigers have a chance to make a lot of noise down the road. They snuck up on a lot of people last year in advancing to the Final Four for the first time in the school's history. Don't sleep on the Tigers!

Centralia:
There is no program in the area that sneaks up on people like the Cahokia Comanches. Coach Darris Nash has perfected the art of laying in the weeds, then springing up and pulling stunning upsets and winning championships. His Comanches have won a couple of regional championships in such a manner. Cahokia pulled off another stunner when they knocked off undefeated O'Fallon 62-60 to win the Centralia Tournament. Senior forward Jarrion Norris scored 13 points to lead a very balanced Cahokia attack as they won their first Centralia title. Cahokia defeated the host Centralia Orphans earlier in the day to advance to the championship game.

Other Tourney Action:
Chaminade defeated Parkway Central 65-57 to win the championship of its won tournament. All-American guard Bradley Beal scored 29 points to lead the Red Devils. On another positive note, CCP head coach Kelvin Lee is back at home and resting after being rushed to the hospital with chest pains a few days ago before his team was to play in the first round against Bayless.
Breese Central defeated Nashville 40-36 to win the Mater Dei Tournament. Sophomore forward Brandon Book scored 18 points to lead the Eagles.
Murphysboro defeated Triad 69-62 in the championship game of the Columbia/Freeburg Tournament in a battle of unbeaten teams.
Edwardsville defeated Effingham 52-51 in the championship game of the Charleston Tournament as 6'6" senior William Triggs scored 25 ponts.
Fort Zumwalt South rallied to defeat Holt 67-62 in the championship of the St. Dominic Tournament. South trailed by nine points at halftime, but rallied behind their young kids. Sophomore guard George Cater had 17 points and eight assists while freshman Jordan Swopshire had 15 points and eight rebounds.
Seckman won its won tournament with a 57-51 victory over Rockwood Summit. Senior Travis Leslie scored 29 points to lead Seckman. He averaged 30 points a game for the tournament. Summit's Kevin Dwyer had a game-high 31 points in the final.
In girls action, Mater Dei won the Mascoutah Tournament with a trilling 54-51 overtime victory over Belleville Althoff. It was the second time that these two teams have met in a tournament final with Mater Dei winning both games. MD defeated Althoff to win the Alton Tip-Off Classic in November. It also marked the 400th victory in the coaching career of Mater Dei coach Dave Kohnen. Congratulations, Coach. Mater Dei is now 15-0 on the season.

Wow, that was a lot of basketball and I had the chance to sample a little bit of everything. It should set up a nice conference season as we get ready for the postseason rush.

Normandy Tournament Recap

The McCluer North Stars made their debut in the Normandy Holiday Tournament a memorable one with a championship performance.
The Stars defeated Raytown South 55-50 in the championship game to remain undefeated at 9-0. The Stars employed a good defensive effort and a methodical power game to stop the high-flying athletes from Raytown South.
Senior forward Denzel Reed had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead North while beefy 6'5" senior Ryun Davis added 16 points. The senior trio of Reed, Davis and point guard Ollie Roundtree led the Stars to yet another tournament title.
It was McCluer North's second tournament win of the season. The Stars won the Troy Tournament earlier this month, defeating highly-regarded Columbia Rock Bridge in the finals.
In the past five years,McCluer North has won tournament titles at Normandy, Chaminade (three times), Carbondale (twice) and Troy (four times). That does not include the three Final Four banners and state championship in 2007.
McCluer North got another bit of good news this week when it was learned that junior power forward Brandon Hannah was going to enroll in school on Monday at the beginning of the second semester. The 6'3" Hannah was a major force in helping lead Chaminade to the Class state title last year. Hannah was at Hazelwood West, but was rumored to be returning to Chaminade. Who knows? If he does turn up at North, it will bolster the Stars even more in 2011. Hannah has missed the entire year of sports with a knee injury.
Chicago Orr defeated Cardinal Ritter 86-79 in a very entertaining third-place game. Orr's Michael Henry turned in a magnificent performance with 46 points. The 6'6" was the best player in a tournament full of top-flight talent.
Congratulations to Normandy High Athletic Director Malcolm Hill on putting together an excellent tournament full of talented teams and players. The Normandy Tournament is definitely on its way back. Anybody who didn't come over to Viking Hall because they thought the Normandy Tournament was lacking talent and pizazz really missed out on some dynamic players. Malcolm has really done a nice job of reaching out to some top teams for the tournament in and out of St. Louis. He has a nice waiting list of teams wanting to get in future tournaments.
Orr's Mike Henry is one of the top players in Chicago and he displayed his talent all week long at Viking Hall. He could hit the 3-pointer easily, slash to the basket and dunk with authority. He had one highlight reel play in the semifinals when he dunked over Raytown South's 6'11" senior Joe Cooper.
Raytown South was led by senior point guard Corey Hilliard, who is being recruited by several NCAA mid-major programs. The Cardinals also boasted one of the nation's top freshmen in 6'6" swingman Ishmail Wainright, who is already on the radar of many of the nation's top programs.
Wellston's outstanding junior forward-guard Ben McLemore was also excellent in leading the Trojans to the consolation title. The 6'5" McLemore averaged nearly 30 points a game and wowed the crowds with 3-point shooting and big-time dunks. He had one breathtaking run of 14 consectuive points which turned around the game in Wellston's victory over Hazelwood East in the consy finals.
Fourth-place Ritter really kept things exciting with close games against Normandy, McCluer North and Chicago Orr. Senior guard Mylin Jordan was whirling dervish all week long with his daring drives to the hoop. A young man to watch in the future is 6'5" small forward Cameron Biedschied, who has a tremendous upside. He scored 25 in the third-place game. By the time he's done, Biedschied could end up being the top college prospect in Marvin Neals' very successful tenure at Cardinal Ritter. The kid has a lot of talent.
Soldan won the fourth-place trophy by defeating Normandy. Coach Justin Tatum has a nice young team that has a chance to make a little noise in Class 4 this year and in the future. Senior guard Brier West and sophomore standouts Partice Sanders, Paul McRoberts and Randy Holmes give the Tigers plenty of young firepower.
Once again, congratulations to the good folks at Normandy for putting on a good tournament.
I'll have more tourney recaps and my thoughts coming up.

Earl on the air this week

Tuesday, December 29: Hall of Fame play-by-play man Bob Ramsey and I will be calling the Saint Louis U.-Eastern Illinois game on 101-ESPN at 8 p.m. (7:45 pre-game)

Wednesday, December 30: Earl and Charlie Kennedy will be calling the championship game of the Meramec Holiday Tournament on Prepcasts.com at 7 p.m.

Saturday, January 2: Earl and Bob Ramsey will be calling the SLU at Bowling Green game on 101-ESPN at 6 p.m. (5:45 pre-game).

Holiday Tournament Action

Some championship hardware will be handed out in the next two nights as the holiday tournaments come to an exciting conclusion.
At the Normandy Holiday Tournament, No. 1 seed McCluer North will take on No. 2 seed Raytown South in the championship game at 5:45 p.m. Both teams won their semifinal games with buzzer-beaters.
McCluer North outlasted Cardinal Ritter 69-67 when senior Ryun Davis picked up a loose ball and scored on a layup at the buzzer. In the other semifinal game, Raytown South's Earl Peterson drilled a pull-up 3-pointer with one second remaining to give the Cardinals a thrilling 61-60 victory over Chicago Orr.
Cardinal Ritter and Chicago Orr will meet for third place at 4 p.m. Soldan will play Normandy for fifth place at 2:30 p.m. Hazelwood East will play Wellston for the consolation title at 1 p.m.
The best player at the tournament is Chicago Orr's Micheal Henry, an athletic 6'6" shooting guard, who can score, handle, dunk and get his own shot. He is a terrific player.
Raytown South has a 6'6" freshman wing player named Ishmail Wainright, who is one of the top freshmen in the country. Unfortunately for local fans, Wainright was injured in the Cardinals' semifinal victory over Soldan and had to sit out the rest of the tournament.
Another player big swingman on display at Normandy is 6'5" junior Ben McLemore of Wellston. He scored 34 points in a victory over Sumner earlier this week. The multitalented McLemore is enjoying an excellent tournament.

SLUH will play Jennings for the championship of the MICDS Tournament. SLUH knocked off Whitfield 75-65 in one semifinal contest while Jennings took care of Miller Career Academy to punch their ticket to the championship game. Jennings won the tournament last year. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
The Junior Billikens had to withstand a 39-point performance from Whitfield's Julian Johnson to take the victory. The 6'3" 220-pound Johnson got to the basket at will against SLUH with powerful bull-moose drives to the basket. However, the Junior Bills were able to prevail with a balanced attack.
The loss for Whitfield was much more than the game. Alex Rudd, their 6'6" senior standout, left the game in the third quarter with a knee injury when he collided with SLUH's Mike Butler while going for a loose ball. Rudd is one of the top perimeter shooters in the area. He missed the entire 2009 season with a knee injury. Hopefully, his injury will not be serious and he can get back into the lineup.
Whitfield will play Miller for third place at 6 p.m. Trinity and Parkway South will play for fifth place at 4:30 p.m. while host MICDS will take on Ladue at 3 p.m. in the consolation final.
The moment of the tournament came in the quarterfinal game between Clayton and Miller Career Academy when senior guard Sumner Ahearn of Clayton threw in an improbable 3-pointer at the end of regulation to force overtime. It was an great moment and equally emotional moment for the Ahearn family. Sumner's father, John Ahearn, died in September after a long illness. His uncle Danny, was a former star player at Clayton, while his cousin Blake, was a former DeSmet and Missouri State standout who spent some time with the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs.
The Ahearn family went wild after Sumner's dramatic shot, including Blake, who ended up on the floor. Big John had to be smiling down on his son on this day.

The top four seeds advanced to the semifinals of tonight's Meramec Holiday Tournament. No. 1 Hazelwood Central will face No. 4 CBC at 7 p.m., followed by No. 2 Webster Groves and No. 3 McCluer at 8:30 p.m.
It should be an exciting night of hoops at Meremac as the winners will advance to Wednesday night's championship game.
CBC got quite a scare on Sunday night when senior guard Cory McArthy went down awkwardly with a knee injury in the Cadets' first-round victory over Eureka. It looked bad at first, but McArthy was able to return to the lineup for CBC's 69-38 victory over Parkway West in the quarterfinals. McArthy had 10 points and three assists in the game.

Congratulations to Breese Central coach Stan Eggelson on reaching the 500-victory plateau for his coaching career. Eggleson reached the magic mark when his Central team won its first two games in the Mater Dei Tournament. Breese Central has one of the top small-school teams in the state of Illinois this year.

On the girls side, nationally-ranked Incarnate Word Academy defeated rival St. Joseph's 57-51 to win the championship of the Visitation Holiday Tournament. Senior forward Jazmin Hitchens scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Red Knights, who are ranked No. 14 in the country. The 5'11" Hitchens was voted the tournament's Most Valuable Player for the second year in succession.
Fort Zumwalt West defeated Hazelwood Central for third place.
I was on hard for Saturday night's semifinal games between Hazelwood Central/St. Joseph's and IWA/Fort Zumwalt West.
I was really impressed with 6'2" sophomore center Taylor Manuel of Hazelwood Central. The young lady has an excellent shooting touch and some nice moves in the low post. She can also pass the ball and find the open teammate. Whoever has worked with this girl was really on their job. It was nice to see Taylor and St. Joe's 6'2" freshman phenom Sidney Stipanovich match up in the low post.
I was also impressed with 5'8" junior guard Kelsey Jones. She scored 24 points against Incarnate Word in the semifinals. She has a lot of offensive skills and a little old-school flavor to her game.

On a final note, I want to extend my best wishes to Chaminade head coach Kelvin Lee, who was hospitalized on Monday night when he complained of chest pains before his team was to play Bayless in the first round of the Chaminade Tournament. Kelvin is resting comfortably at St. John's Mercy Hospital where he is undergoing futher tests to see what happened to him.
Hang in there, Kelvin. We're all thinking of you.

Bills vs. Panthers

The Billikids conclude the home portion of their nonconference schedule with a game against the Eastern Illinois Panthers tonight at 8 p.m.
Eastern Illinois comes into tonight's contest with a 7-4 record. What is most unique about the Panthers' record is that five of their victories have come on the road.
One of those road victories was a 63-60 win at Belmont, which gave the Bills all they could handle a couple of weeks ago. Belmont actually beat EIU by 33 points in an earlier meeting on the Panthers' home court. What a strange turnaround that was.
With that in mind, we must proceed with caution before we can automatically chalk this one up in the win column. We have to put some work in to get the job done. I think we learned our lesson last week against UMKC when we trailed in the second half, only to see Kwamain Mitchell go on his 33-point rift to pull us through.
By the way, congrats to Kwamain for being tabbed the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week for his heroic effort last week against UMKC.
As for Eastern Illinois, the Panthers should be bolstered by the return of their top player Romain Martin to the lineup. He has been their leading scorer for the past three years and an All Ohio Valley Conference performer.
Martin has played in only one game this year before suffering an injury. I heard he is supposed to be in action tonight, so that would be a plus for the Panthers if he is able to go.
Their leading scorer is 6'1" senior guard Tyler Laser, who averages 15.8 points a game. The scoring is pretty spread out after Laser. Sophomore guard Jeremy Granger averages 8.5 points while frontcourt players Edin Suljic and Shaun Pratl average about seven points a game. Senior swingmen T.J. Marion and Curry McKinney, both 6'4', average about six points a game.
The big man in the middle is 6'8" 250-pound senior Ousmanne Cisse, who averages six points and leads the team in rebounding. I imagine he will try to put the arm on Willie tonight.
It will be the last home game of this home stand, then it's six of the next eight games on the road, beginning with the game at Bowling Green on Saturday. It would be great to finish this homestand on a great note with some solid defense and excellent perimeter shooting, which would provide a little extra working room for Willie Reed in the post.
Willie's touches have been limited by the sagging defenses in the past two games and it's been a little frustrating for him. Hopefully, we can knock a few shots down from the perimeter and make life a little easier for No. 33.
It would also be good if we could create some easy scoring opportunities off of our defense. In earlier games, we've been able to get some defensive stops and turn them into transition baskets, especially with Kwamain on the prowl. That can take some of the pressure off of our half-court offense, which gets stagnant at times.
And yes, we have to shoot our free throws better. We took a giant step backwards in our last game. Hopefully, we can do better.
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. Look forward to seeing you at the Chaifetz Arena tonight. If you get a chance, show up a little early and check out Shimmy Gray-Miller's women in action tonight. They have some nice players as well such as Amanda Kemezys, Lauren Woods and Katie Paganelli.
If you can't make it, you can hear the call on 101-ESPN with myself and my SLU Hall of Fame play-by-play partner Bob Ramsey on the call.
Go Bills!

Cody Ellis

Tuesday was a good day for the SLU program with the news that power forward Cody Ellis had finally been cleared to play for the Billikens by the NCAA Clearinghouse.
What an ordeal that must have been, but I give credit to the young man for his persistence in making this day happen. At last night's game, I also made it a point to give SLU academic coordinator Janet Oberle a big hug for the work she put into Cody's situation.
Cody is expected to be here pretty soon and suit up for the Billikids.
It was a good day.
As for Cody's impact on the team, I have two thoughts.

Thought #1: (The excited SLU fan)

Cody Ellis is a potential game-changer for the SLU program, especially in the future. Cody is a big body at 6'8" and 240 pounds and he can really shoot the basketball. He has a nice skill set for a big man, which comes in handy with opposing teams now holding team meetings around Willie Reed in the low post area. Cody has the ability to stretch defenses with his shooting, thus opening things up for Willie down low or Kwamain Mitchell's penetrating drives to the basket. He is a very talented young man with a lot of international experience. For a program like ours to get quality size is truly critical for any future success we may enjoy. He is a great fit for Rick's offensive schemes.

Thought #2: (The more realistic basketball lifer)

As excited as I am to have Cody Ellis in a Billikens' uniform, my enthusiasm is also tempered with a dose of reality. I am not going to put great expectations on Cody right away because he has missed so much. If it happens, I will be overjoyed, but to ask him to step in and be an immediate force would be unfair to the young man. I hope Bills fans everywhere will take the same realistic approach.
Just imagine a player who is a rookie in the National Football League. He misses the mini-camps, the OTAs, training camp, the preseason games and nearly half of the regular season. Now, he's finally able to play. And by the way, he has to fly halfway across the globe to get to his team. Even if he's the second coming of Jim Brown, missing all of that time is going to affect what he can do for that team right away. And we all know Rick is pretty detailed in everything he does, so he will have a lot ot take in in a short amount of time. Plus, he's trying to get into basketball game-shape as well.
That is what Cody is looking at as he makes his Billikens debut.
I'm taking the attitude that I don't expect great things right away, but hope to be pleasantly surprised at what he might accomplish after missing so much.
So, keep all of this in mind if Cody misses all of his shots and struggles early. Be very excited that he's here, but also be patient at the same time.
Also, keep it in mind if he scores 12 points, makes five of seven shots and drills a couple of 3's in his debut. Don't get too overjoyed if that happens either and let your expectations really run wild.
With that being said, he does have a chance to contribute to this team because he brings many things that this team doesn't have in great supply. His size and shooting ability can potentially make a difference. It is always nice to have another big in the rotation.
It is the beginning of a long process which will turn out to be fruitful for Ellis and the SLU program. Cody Ellis is another big and important piece to the puzzle of this growing program.
There is also the possibility of Cody taking a redshirt, thus having four full years of eligibility, not to mention a full off-season workout regimen and pre-season with his teammates before he starts his SLU career.
One thing is certain. The Billikens will become a better basketball team the minute Cody Ellis puts on a uniform.
Needless to say, I am quite excited.
Welcome to St. Louis, Cody. Look forward to seeing you soon.
Go Bills!

Cody Ellis photo courtesy of: basketball.net.au

Mitchell's 33 leads Bills past Roos

How do you win a basketball game when you make only two of your 12 3-point attempts, miss 16 of your 37 free throws while your top big man is held to only three points and two field goal attempts.
You turn the ball over to your leader Kwamain Mitchell and let him do the rest.
That is exactly what happened last night at the Chaifetz Arena as Kwamain exploded for a career-high 33 points to lead the Billikids past UMKC 61-54.
After sitting out SLU's loss to Missouri State, Kwamain came back with a vengence on Tuesday night. With the Bills trailing 41-35 in the second half, Kwamain was determined not to let his team lose another game to an in-state opponent.
The little guy keyed a 12-0 run with one daring drive to the hoop after another to wake up an otherwise lethargic basketball team that was being out-played and out-worked by an inspired UMKC squad up to that point.
That is what great players do. They sense the moment when their team is in trouble and they step up their level of play to a place where the other nine players cannot reach. Kwamain is one competitive little dude. I haven't seen that kind of take-it-to-the-basket backcourt dominance since the days of Marque Perry. Boy, I loved me some Marque Perry.
It was a fantastic effort by Kwamain. Had he made a few more free throws (he was three of nine from the stripe), he would have reached the level of some of the truly great SLU individual performances such as Larry Hughes' 40-point masterpiece at Marquette or Anthony Bonner's 45-point game during his senior year.
Other than Mitchell's performance, we really had trouble with the Roos. They started three athletic 6'5" to 6'6" wing players on the front line and we had trouble matching up with them. They were either too big for our smaller players or too quick for our bigs. Plus, they ran some nice backdoor motion and scored several easy layups. We usually have trouble with one of those mid-sized athletes, but here come the Roos' with a whole slew of those interchangable 6'5" parts. They were giving me a headache with their slashing moves to the hoop.
Defensively, they put a crowd around Willie Reed and limited him to only two shots. Willie has finally earned his college bonafides. After several big performances, Willie is now seeing defenses determined to stop him down low.
It is something that he is going to have to get used to, especially when we struggle to hit shots from the perimeter. Opposing teams are also backing off our four man (Brian Conklin, Corey Remekun or Jon Smith) when he has the ball and staying in front of Willie. When Cody Ellis arrives, he can potentially solve that problem with his ability to shoot. (I'll have more thoughts on Cody in my next blog report).
You can tell that Willie was frustrated at being bottled up offensively, but he has to play through that and not let other parts of his game slip. He has to continue to rebound, block shots and run the court with great energy and intensity. His offensive touches will come around soon enough.
As many basketball coaches will tell you; you only have the ball in your hands a few minutes out of the 40 that you play, especially if you are a big man. What you do the other 30+ minutes when you don't have the ball can determine your performance. Big Willie just has to keep pushing.
Sometimes, Willie could just turn and shoot the short turnaround jumper or jump hook. With his size and elevation, Willie can just shoot over most defenders. No double-teams can combat that. Just keep it nice and simple. He does not always have to use his up-and-under or baby Dream Shake moves (his new toys). Just a nice turnaround jumper will do.
Freshman Corey Remekun was fun to watch with his effort plays last night. Corey got the start and he grabbed six rebounds and block a shot. He was all over the place, crashing the boards and getting on the floor for loose balls. He gets a little excited on offense (5 turnovers last night), but that's not his game at this point. I enjoy his effort and enthusiasm. He could turn out to be a bigger version of Jeff Harris before he's done.
After an excellent performance at the free throw line againt Mo. State, we took a step backwards by shooting 21 of 37 last night. At one point, we were below 30 percent. I thought my broadcast partner Bob Ramsey was going to have a heart attack because he has always been a huge stickler for free throw shooting. Plain and simple, we have to improve.
That's about it for the UMKC game. It wasn't pretty, but it's nice to get back on the winning track. The kids now get a chance to enjoy the Christmas holiday for a few days, then it's back to work to get ready for Eastern Illinois next Tuesday night.
I'll have a preview then.
Until then, Go Bills.

Bills vs. Roos

The Billikens welcome their second consecutive in-state opponent to town on Tuesday night when the UMKC Kangaroos visit the Chaifetz Arena.
The Billikens had some pretty good games with UMKC during the mid-1990's during Charlie Spoonhour's tenure at SLU. The Roos even came in to St. Louis and took a game by twenty points during the '96-'97 season. Future NBA player Tony Dumas really put it on us that night.
UMKC is a member of the Summit Conference. They are not blessed with a lot of size, but they have some pretty good players. The top scorer is 6'6" junior Jay Cousinard, who is averaging 14.6 points, three rebounds and two assists a game. His brother is former Wichita State standout P.J. Cousinard.
Sophomores Latreze Mushett (6'5") and Trey McKinney-Jones (6'4") are the Kangaroos' other double-figures scorers. Mushett averages 11.9 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds a game. The aptly named Trey McKinney-Jones shoots 42 percent from 3-point range while averaging 10 points a game.
Junior Spencer Johnson, a 6'6" forward, averages 9.7 points while 6'1" junior Bakari Lewis averages 9.2 points.
Freshman guard Alex Bazzell, from St. Charles West High, is doing a nice job in 22 minutes a game. He is averaging 4.6 points and 2.8 assists per game. His assist to turnover ratio is 3.5 to 1, which is very good, especially for a freshman. Alex and Kramer Soderberg formed quite a backcourt combination at SCW for coach Terry Hollander.
Adding a little more size is 6'7" freshman Kirk Korver (Yes, of the Pella, Iowa Korvers) and 6'9" freshman Fred Chatman.
We are hopeful to have Kwamain Mitchell back in the lineup after missing the Missouri State game. Kwamain returned to practice on Monday, so we'll see what happens.
If Kwamain can go, it will be great. It goes without saying what Kwamain means to the team when he is in the lineup. If he is held out, it is another opportunity for others to step up and perform. It will be nice to see Willie Reed establish his inside presence early. He has posted nice numbers in the past two games, but we have had trouble getting the ball inside to him early in the game. Willie's first attempts in the last two games have been 17 foot jumpers. Usually, when the bigs start to float outside, that means he's not touching it in the post and he is itching for a shot, which usually results in a forced jumper.
Willie has a decent touch from the mid-range area, but we need to get him the ball early if the opportunity is there. If he faces double teams, like he did for much of the Mo. State game, he must do a better job of passing out of it to open teammates and trust that they can make open shots. Willie turned the ball over four times last Saturday and most of those TO's came against those hard double teams when he tried to force the issue.
Brian Conklin continues to battle, but from watching him, he still looks a little banged up to me. He is leaving some of his shots short, which means he's not getting the lift on his shots that I saw in Chicago when he scored against the bigger post players of Iowa State and Notre Dame. When BC is in the 10-12 point range and gets six to seven rebounds, it means so much.
I'd love to see Corey Remekun have another active performance like the one he had against Belmont. I would not be surprised to see increased minutes for the 6'7" freshman.
If we can hit some perimeter shots and be a little more stout defensively, we should be in a good position. We have to regain that defensive presence that we've displayed for much of our home schedule, but disappeared for large parts of the Mo. State game when they held us off. Once again, a little success from the perimeter early in the game would mean so much to the confidence of our young wing players.
It will be an interesting bounce-back game for the kids, but it's good to get right back out there to re-establish our home court advantage.
On a side note, I'm hearing that we could hear something about Cody Ellis this week, maybe as soon as Tuesday. We shall see. Every Bills fan I see asks me about Cody's situation with the NCAA Clearinghouse, but I'm in the same boat as everyone else. I know very little. I'm just waiting and hoping for the best. Or at least some closure one way or the other for the young man.
Naturally, I hope we have some good news on the young Aussie. We can use some after all the injuries that have beset the Billikens this season. I can't even imagine what this young man has gone through in his efforts to get over here to be a student-athlete. Hopefully, he will be rewarded for his persistence.
The action gets underway at 7 p.m. Hope to see you all there. If not, you can listen on 101-ESPN with yours truly and my Hall of Fame play-by-play partner Bob Ramsey on the call.
Welcome home Alex Bazzell and Go Bills!

On the SLU women's front, congratulations to senior center Amanda Kemezys on being named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week. Amanda averaged 20 points a game in two games, posted two double-doubles and reached the 1,000-point plateau for her career last week. AK-55 is putting together quite a senior season.
You go girl.

Mules ranked No. 1 in Division II

The Central Missouri State University Mules are currently the No. 1 team in NCAA Division II basketball.
The Mules(10-0)have the top spot in the most recent NABC Division II rankings, thanks to the efforts of a pair of former area standouts. The Mules are led by former St. Louis Post-Dispatch Co-Players of the Year Sanijay Watts (Jennings) and Alex Moosman (St. Francis Borgia). The former prep rivals have now joined together in Warrensburg to make Central Missouri State one of the nation's top Division II programs under the direction of former Mizzou assistant coach Kim Anderson.
Watts (pictured left), a 6'4" senior forward, has been dominant for the Mules this season. He is averaging 20 points and nine rebounds a game. He also leads the team in field goal percentage.
Watts had 33 points and 10 rebounds in the Mules most recent victory over LIU-C.W. Post in Las Vegas over the weekend.
Moosman (pictured, right) is the team leader in the Mules' backcourt, averaging 16 points a game while leading the team in 3-point shooting.
Central Missouri State is seeking a return to the Final Four of the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Mules finished 30-5 last season and lost a heartbreaker in the national semifinals.
It's great to see the local kids doing their thing at the next level and making us in "The Lou" very proud.

Watts and Moosman photos courtesy of umcoathletics.com

SLU-MSU post-game thoughts

Hello Bills fans. I just got back from a full day of watching my nephews play in a youth basketball tournament.
Now, I have a chance to share some of my thoughts from last night's loss to the Bears.
First, the impact of Kwamain's absence in the lineup speaks for itself, so I won't spend a lot of time dwelling on that. If you're a SLU fan, you know how much #3 means to the team in all aspects of the game. It cannot be measured by only his numbers.
Also, it would take credit from what I think is a fine MSU team. Cuonzo has put together a well-balanced team that might make a little noise in the Valley this year. They really took some lumps last year in league play, but he added a nice guard in Adam Leonard and some athleticism in Jermaine Mallet, Keith Pickens and the rest of the crew is a year older and more experienced.
His best player, Kyle Weems, was saddled with foul trouble and Leonard was held under control until the late stages of the game when he broke loose. Still, the Bears found a lot of different answers because they had depth. They got 22 points from their bench, including nine from Howell Central's Justin Fuehrmeyer.
We really had trouble defending Mallett, a 6'4" juco transfer with great hops. Matching up with the athletic swing player has been a problem for SLU teams for many years.
It will be interesting to see if they can keep it going once league play starts. I think they are better equipped this year to tackle the MVC slate.
As for us, we were held to 39 percent shooting from the field. We shot only five for 18 from 3-point range. We missed something like our first eight treys, which hurt us because the Bears threw a double-team at Willie most of the night. If we could have hit some of those open looks in the first half, it might have helped our chances. We had three consecutive possessions in the first half when Christian Salecich, Justin Jordan and Kyle Cassity had wide open looks, but could not connect. If we had hit a few of those, it would have been big.
I think the most positive thing I saw last night was our free throw shooting, which has been a sore spot for the team this season. Last night, we made 18 of 23 shots for a robust 78 percent. That's pretty good for a team that has been struggling. Unfortunately, the Bears made 17 of 19 for 86 percent. Blake Ahearn would have been proud of his alma mater's performance at the charity stripe.
I was pleased with how Justin Jordan stepped up last night on the offensive end. He scored a season-high 15 points, including 8 of 10 from the free throw line. He also had five assists and one turnover as he did a nice job of creating some nice plays for his teammates. Defensively, it was a bit of a struggle for J.J., especially when it came to keeping Fuehrmeyer in front of him. That is definitely something that J.J. will have to improve on as the season goes on if he wants to stay in Rick's good graces.
Christian Salecich added a season-high 15 points. He still struggled a little bit with the handles with four turnovers, but he did hit a couple of 3-pointers in the second half when we were trying to come back.
Willie was Willie. He had 19 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. He made the most dazzling play of the night when he came from nowhere to block a wide-open driving layup by Fuehrmeyer in the first half. He came from nowhere to block it and it got the crowd really juiced.
Kyle Cassity got the start at the point in Kwamain's absence. It was tough spot for Kyle to be in. Cuonzo took his best athlete, Keith Pickens, and put him on Kyle and he really made it tough for him to get the ball upcourt and get into our offense. I was suprised when I looked at the final stat sheet and realized that he only took one shot in 34 minutes. He did have three assists and two steals, but he is still reluctant to shoot the ball.
We had some success with a box-and-one defense for part of the first half. I thought we might see some kind of combination defense and it helped us stay close in the first half.
It is always tough to lose at home. It does not happen too often. It was probably hard to see the Bears' fans pretty much take over the Chaifetz Arena as well.
There's not much time to dwell on the loss because UMKC will be paying us a visit in a couple of days. Haven't heard about Kwamain's availability for that game. Either way, we have to be ready to play and avoid another homecourt loss.
See you on Tuesday night. I'll have a preview on Tuesday.
Go Bills!

Bears best Bills

The Billikids went down to defeat for the first time at home this season. Missouri State took a 73-63 victory over SLU to remain undefeated at 10-0. The Billikens dropped to 7-4 on the season.
I'll have my thoughts on the game later today. I had Mrs. Austin at the game with me and we went out for the evening after the game. I'll be watching a lot of youth basketball action today, so I'll have a chance to give you most post-game take sometime this afternoon or early evening.
In short, a good effort, but not enough gas in the tank. The Bears are good, solid team with a lot of depth and we struggled to match up with them defensively. It goes without saying what #3 means to the Billikens, but credit Cuonzo Martin and MSU as well. They are good.
Talk to you later. Go Bills.

Bills vs. Bears

The undefeated Missouri State Bears pay a call to the Chaifetz Arena for a 7 p.m. regional showdown with the Billikids.
Second-year coach Cuonzo Martin, a former star player at East St. Louis Lincoln, has the Bears off and running with a 9-0 record this season.
The Bears are hoping to make some noise in the Missouri Valley Conference this season after sinking into the second division in 2009. They have good size up front, some very athletic players on the wing and a more experienced backcourt.
MSU's backcourt has been bolstered by the play of 6'1" junior Adam Leonard, a transfer from Eastern Kentucky. Leonard is a tough kid, who can make 3-point shots and give you a basket when your team needs it. He led EKU to the NCAA Tournament as a freshman, so the kid can play. He's averaging 13 points a game while shooting 49 percent from the 3-point line.
Mo. State's top player is 6'6" sophomore Kyle Weems, an All-Valley Freshman team member in 2009. He has stepped up his play even more as a sophomore, averaging a team-high 14.8 points and 5.7 rebounds a game. He shoots 51 percent from the field and 44 percent from long distance. At 230 pounds, he will pose a matchup problem for whoever is guarding him.
The Bears have some other impressive athletes on the wing, especially 6'4" freshman swingman Jermaine Mallett, who averages 7.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and a few highlight-reel dunks along the way. Show-Me State products Keith Pickens, 6'4" (Oakville) a prodigious leaper and 6'5" Michael Porter (Sikeston), bring activity to the swing positions up front. Pickens has been a starter in most of the games.
Helping Leonard in the backcourt at 6'1" junior Nafis Ricks and 6'0" Cardell Patterson and senior guard Justin Fuehrmeyer, a graduate of Francis Howell Central.
The Bears also have a little size up front as well with 6'11" sophomore Caleb Patterson, who averages 7.4 points and a modest two rebounds a game. Junior Will Creekmore, a 260-pounder checks in at about six points a game. Another local player in the mix is 6'6" freshman Jerome Jones, who played a Miller Career Academy.
The Bears have good balance and will play solid defense, which is the personality of Martin, who was one of the high school and college game's great competitors during his days at Lincoln High and Purdue, where he became quite familiar with winning championships. He led Lincoln to state titles in '88 and '89 and was a key player in three Big Ten Conference titles during his career.
It will be a big challenge for the Billikens, which got even bigger with the news that sophomore guard Kwamain Mitchell will sit out the game with the eye injury suffered near the end of last Wednesday night's victory over Belmot.
Without Mitchell, the Billikens will be without their lead dog, their floor general, who can also create offense with things break down.
Sophomore Kyle Cassity will return to the starting lineup in Kwamain's place. Kwamain's absence will definitely hurt us, but at the same time, it is a great opportunity for one of our young perimeter players to earn is college bonafides tonight.
Either Cassity, Christian Salecich, Femi John or Justin Jordan will have to give us a big individual performance. Or even better, all four of them step up their level of play. Don't try to do too much because Kwamain's not there, but do your job and be a little more aggressive offensively, especially Kyle, who started looking to shoot more against Belmont.
Although MSU will provide a stiff challenge to our young wings, being a home and not having suffered a loss in the comfy confines of Chaifetz will hopefully provide a source of comfort and confidence for these young men to rise up and give us a solid performance in the absence of their leader.
Getting into our offense will also be a big key as well. Last year, when Kwamain missed the Richmond game, we had a devil of a time getting some offensive flow and we lost a key conference home game. And that was with Tommie and Kevin.
At least the guys have had some experience playing without Kwamain for long stretches. He missed all but two minutes of the first half against Iowa State in Chicago and we trailed by only three at halftime.
It goes without saying that we need Willie Reed and Brian Conklin to give us similar performances like they did Wednesday night when they combined for 29 points and 18 rebounds. Another solid effort by Corey Remekun off the bench will also help.
With only eight healthy scholarship players, foul trouble must be avoided as well. Another foul-fest like we had on Wednesday night against Belmont and we may end up having to suit up former Billiken greats Harry Rogers and Jimmy "Bowhead" Irving, who are being honored at halftime with the rest of the 1971 Billikens team that won the MVC. Could we see a little zone or combo defense tonight? Who knows. I doubt it, but I would not be surprised.
We really have to be very resourceful to pull this one out tonight. I think the home crowd must bring their A-Game tonight as well. If you are coming to the game tonight, be prepared to have no voice left when you leave the arena. Tonight is not the night to just sit on your hands and observe the game as if you are in the movie theatre. I'd love to hear constant noise from start to finish.
This is going to be a struggle. Your Billikids are facing a little adversity tonight with an undefeated regional rival in your house and your team leader not in the lineup tonight. You can help make up some of the difference with your "presence." Yes, you can have a big impact on tonight's game from start to finish. For all of my friends on the Billiken Board who read this blog regularly. It's time to really, really bring it tonight. If you're bringing a friend to the game, tell them it's time to bring it as well. You don't have to wait for Willie's first dunk to bring the noise. Make it happen before the opening tip.
The Chaifetz Arena is your home court as well and you have to fight like hell to protect it tonight as much as the eight young men who will be wearing the white uniforms tonight.
It will be another fun atmosphere tonight as the Bears are another nice regional rivalry to have on the schedule, much like Southern Illinois.
There will be a lot of Bears fans in the house, either local alums or folks from the East Side in support of Cuonzo, which should add to the festivities.
Look forward to seeing you all there. And if not, you can always catch the action on 101-ESPN with yours truly and SLU Hall of Fame play-by-play man Bob Ramsey on the call.
Go Bills!

Viz Girls Tournament Kicks off holiday season

The Holiday basketball tournament season officially gets underway this weekend when the Visitation Girls Holiday Tournament begins with first-round games tonight and Saturday.
The nationally-ranked Incarnate Word Red Knights received the No. 1 seed. IWA is undefeated and coming off the championship of the prestigious Fort Smith Tournament in Arkansas last week.
Incarnate Word is led by the excellent trio of 5'11" senior Jazmin Hitchens, 5'7" senior guard Chloe Nelson and 6'1" junior center Brianna Puni.
The No. 2 seed belongs to IWA's big rival, St. Joseph's. The Angels are also undefeated and playing excellent basketball behind of the play of 6'1" sophomore twins Maddie and Morgan Stock, 6'3" freshman Sydney Stipanovich and 5'9" senior Katye Nash.
Other teams to watch in the field are Class 5 Final Four participants Hazelwood Central and Nerinx Hall, tourney newcomer Fort Zumwalt West, Parkway South, Kirkwood, Lafayette, host Visitation and Francis Howell Central.
First-round games will be held tonight at 4, 5:30, 7 and 8:30 p.m and Saturday at 3, 4:30, 6 and 7:30 p.m.
The quarterfinals will be held on Sunday afternoon with the semifinals set for Saturday, Dec. 26 at 6:30 and 8 p.m.
The championship game is set for Sunday, December 27 at 7:30 p.m.

Local women's semi-pro team to hold tryouts

The St. Louis Surge is a new women's semi-pro basketball team in the emerging Women's Blue Chip Semi-Pro Basketball League.
The Surge will be holding tryouts on January 2 for any women who are interesting in playing. The tryouts will be held at Trinity Church (3515 Shackleford) in Hazelwood, Mo. from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The coach is the team is Mesho Morrow, a native of East St. Louis and current assistant coach at Florissant Valley Community College.
There are more than 50 teams in the WBCBL from all over the country.
For more information on the tryouts, you can contact team owner Randy Steinbaker at (314) 968-8070 or go to the team website at www.stlsurgebasketball.com.

AK-55 scores 1,000

Congratulations to Saint Louis University women's basketball standout Amanda Kemezys on scoring the 1,000th point of her career last night.
The Belleville East product scored a game-high 17 points in SLU's 68-62 road victory at Oakland U. on Thursday night. Kemezys now has 1,009 points for her career. She joins senior teammate Katie Paganelli in SLU's 1,000-point club. Paganelli scored her 1,000th point on Dec. 9.
The 6'4" Kemezys is enjoying an outstanding senior season for the Billikens. She is currently averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds a game to lead the team. She also leads the team in offensive rebounds, field goal shooting and blocked shots. Kemezys has been a model of consistency in the low post with her scoring and rebounding.
I'm very proud to see Amanda develop into such as quality basketball player at the collegiate level. I can remember back several years ago when I talked to then-SLU coach Jill Pizzotti about Amanda when she was still at Belleville East. She was a good player, but not receiving a lot of recruiting attention. I can remember telling Jill to give this girl a look and see what she thought.
Amanda signed with SLU and has battled injury problems throughout her career, but she has stayed the course to become on the program's best players in this decade. Her hard work and persistence has really paid off in some great results. She earned some Atlantic 10 Conference postseason recognition for her efforts last year and she is well on her way to doing the same this year.
A special tip of the cap to Amanada Kemezys. Job well done, young lady.

photo courtesy of slubillikens.com

SLU outlasts Belmont

The Billikids had to punch the clock on Wednesday night to take a hard-fought 75-67 victory over Belmont at the Chaifetz Arena.
It was a tough, physical game where both teams defended each other pretty well. It reminded me of a conference game instead of a game where two programs were meeting for the first time.
There were bodies flying everywhere, people diving on the floor and plenty of charges taken on the night. There were a total of 51 fouls called and both teams combined to shoot 63 free throws. Neither team shot well from 3-point range, but both teams found some success pounding the ball inside to their big men. My kind of game. Inside-out.
As I expected, Belmont provided the Bills with a pretty good test with their overall size up front and quickness in the backcourt. Overall, I thought the keys to the victory were our defense on the perimeter and offensive rebounding.
For much of the game, we really did a nice job of defending their perimeter players and we forced 19 turnovers. To do that against a disciplined team like Belmont was very encouraging to see.
We finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds, which helped a great deal since we shot only 41 percent from the field. Brian Conklin had a game-high six offensive boards while Corey Remekun came off the bench to grab three offensive rebounds.
Belmont did a nice job of getting the ball inside to their bigs and they caused us some problems, especially their 6'9" sophomore Adam Hedgepeth, who scored most of his 13 points in the first half. Luckily, he found himself in foul trouble and was forced to sit much of the second half.
For the first time this season, we had to play a big stretch of the game without Willie Reed, who picked up his second foul early in the game and sat out the last 15 minutes of the first half. We've seen the kids play large stretches without Kwamain Mitchell and Conklin this year, so I was interested in seeing how we would respond to not having Willie out there.
Willie's absence forced Remekun into more duty last night and the kid was tremendous with four rebounds, one steal and a season-high six blocked shots. Corey played a season-high 21 minutes and played all of them hard. Corey averages 12 minutes a game, so he was extended quite a bit.
He played himself into exhaustion a couple of times, which is understandable for someone who is not used to logging big minutes, especially against a team with excellent size. Corey played solid post defense and grabbed some key offensive rebounds to extend some possessions at key times of the game.
Corey was supposed to redshirt this year, but he has been pressed into duty as a young freshman and he has really improved since the beginning of practice. He is going to be a solid frontcourt contributor for this team because he doesn't mind doing the hard work, playing post defense and rebounding.
Before the game, I singled out Brian Conklin as someone who needed to come up big and he did an excellent job with 13 points and nine rebounds, which tied for the team lead. Brian was tough all night as he was at home with the physical nature of the game.
He got a little too physical near the end of the game when he picked up a technical foul for popping a pesky Belmont defender with an elbow after the player had fouled Brian upside the head and poked him in the eye at the same time.
It was good to see him get involved in the action offensively again after a few quiet games. He would have had an even bigger game, but he shot 7 of 14 from the free throw line. He has been very good despite still playing on that bad ankle.
The top scorers of the night were Kwamain and Willie. Kwamain finished with a game high 20 points on seven of 12 shooting from the field. With Willie out of the game with fouls, Kwamain felt the urgency of the moment and started to look for his shot aggressively, which I like. He got to the basket and hit some nice mid-range jumpers off the screen, plus he hit two of his three attempts from 3-point range.
Kwamain missed the last three minutes of the game when he was poked in the eye and had to be taken to the hospital as a precaution. Everything seems to be allright, but I still get a little nervous when I see our point guard being taken from the game after getting knocked around.
Justin Jordan did a nice job of holding things down when Kwamain left the game as Belmont made one final push at the end. J.J. hit four of his six free throws down the stretch and finished with eight points.
Willie finished the game with 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in only 20 minutes of action. After sitting out most of the first half, the Bills went inside to Willie early and often in the second half and he responded quickly with a couple of quick baskets.
Femi John finished the game with five points and five rebounds, but was also saddled with foul trouble much of the night. Christian Salecich struggled with 1 of 6 shooting, but he made some key free throws down the stretch. Kyle Cassity was 1 of 7 from the field, but I think everyone was pleased to see Kyle look to take open shots, instead of looking to pass the ball. They just have to relax and play with confidence and the shots will start to fall again.
Overall, it was a nice win against a well-coached team that wins a lot and is accustomed to post-season play. Belmont is well on their way to 20 victories again and they will battle for the Atlantic Sun title. and just about everyone on their team will be back next year, so look out.
It was also good preparation for Saturday night's foe, Missouri State, which will be another tough game.
I'll have a preview on Saturday.
Until then, Go Bills!

Bills host Belmont

The Billikids return to action tonight with a home game against Belmont University of the Atlantic Sun Conference. It is the first meeting between the two programs.
The Bruins are currently 7-2 and riding a six-game winning streak, which includes three consecutive road wins.
Under the direction of veteran coach Rick Byrd, Belmont has been one of the most well-respected mid-major programs in the country. Once a NAIA powerhouse, Belmont made the successful transition to Division I several years ago with Byrd orchestrating the entire process.
They average well over 20 victories a season during the past six years, which included three consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament. Everyone remembers the near-stunner they pulled off against Duke a couple a years back, losing 71-70 in the last second. For those who follow the game, this is also the same Belmont program that went into Columbia and beat a very talented Mizzou team not too many years ago.
As a side note, Belmont U. (located in Nashville) was also the site for one of the Presidential debates with Barack Obama and John McCain.
The Bruins graduated several key players from their successful run of post-season berths, but they have found several new players to step right in and keep the winning going. That's the sign of a good program.
This year, the Bruins are putting up some pretty impressive numbers. They averaged close to 80 points a game and shoot a robust 49 percent from the field. The Bruins are disciplined and they practice good shot selection. When you shoot that high a percentage from the field, that means that you are executing your offense in a near-flawless manner.
Belmont is big this year, which is different from it's guard-oriented teams of the recent past. Their top scorer is 6'9" senior forward Keaton Belcher, who averages 13.4 points and four rebounds a game. Belcher shoots 49 percent from the field, but he also shoots 40 percent from 3-point range. He leads the team in 3-point attempts and makes.
Mick Hedgepeth is a 6'9" 230-pound sophomore who averages 13.3 points and 5.4 rebounds. He does most of his damage in the paint, where he shoots 67 percent from the field. Another big who averages in double figures is 6'10" 250-pound Scott Saunders, who averages 10 points. That's a nice big-man rotation to have at the four and five spots.
Belmont's top wing threat is 6'3" freshman Ian Clark, who averages 12.9 points while shooting 44 percent from the field. Juniors Jon House (6'6") and Jordan Campbell (6'5") give the Bruins some size and experience on the perimeter.
Sharing the point guard duties are 6'1" freshman Kerron Johnson and 5'11" sophomore Drew Hanlen, a young man we all know so well from his stellar days at Webster Groves High. His little sister Ashley, plays for Shimmy Gray-Miller's women's team at SLU.
There will be a lot of St. Louis folks in the house tonight to see Drew, not only from Webster Groves, but from the STL basketball community, because Drew has really found a niche as a basketball skills development trainer extraordinaire. He has already written a book on basketball skills training and does training all over the country for kids of all ages as part of the Nike family. He is dynaminte in that arena as well as being a fine collegiate player.
Drew is doing an excellent job of getting the ball into the hands of the offensive weapons. In about 21 minutes a game, Drew is averaging four points a game, but he is also averaging a team-high 4.8 assists per game. His assists to turnover ration is nearly three to one, which is tremendous. Johnson provides a little more offensive pop at 7.8 points. He also leads the team in steals.
The Bruins should provide an excellent challenge to the Billikens because of their ability to execute their offense and put the ball in the basket from several different spots on the floor.
Of course, the key to success begins with our ability to defend and disrupt their offensive rhythm. We've done a nice job at home at taking away the major stregths of opposing team's offenses and limiting their shooting percentages to below 40 percent.
I suspect Brian Conklin will get the assignment of guarding Belcher, their top scorer. Brian has done a much better job of guarding bigs that like to roam the perimeter and shoot the 3-pointer. I was very pleased with the job he did on Southern Illinois' top scorer Carlton Fay, who is a big man who can really stroke it from downtown. Belcher will provide a similar challenge as 55 of his 85 field goal attempts are from downtown.
I would also love to see Brian get more involved on the offensive end, like he did in Chicago, when he had two excellent games against Iowa State and Notre Dame. When he and Willie Reed are going well together, it really opens things up for the perimeter guys.
Of course, Willie must continue his excellent play and productivity, plus we must get some positive minutes from freshman Corey Remekun and Jon Smith. If we can play solid defense, it should also create some transition opportunities for the kids, especially for Kwamain Mitchell in the open court and some spot-up 3-pointers.
This should be a very interesting two-game stretch for the kids. I know a lot of people are looking forward to Saturday night's big game against an undefeated Missouri State team, but do not sleep on this Belmont team.
Although it falls in the category of "guarantee" or "buy" game, there will be nothing easy about it. All you have to do is go back to previous "buy" games against Louisiana Tech, Arkansas-Little Rock (coached by current SLU Associate head coach Porter Moser), Oral Roberts and Sam Houston State. All of those unheralded teams left town with a victory over the Billikens. They weren't big-name schools, but they were excellent, well-coached teams that know what they were doing.
I suspect we will see the same type of team in Belmont tonight, but I know our guys will be fully prepared for the Bruins and you should see a much, more focused SLU team tonight than the one we saw last weekend against Rockhoust.
I'm looking forward to tonight. It should be fun.
The fun begins at 7 p.m. Hope to see you all there. If not, you can catch it on the radio with yours truly and my SLU Hall of Fame play-by-play partner Bob Ramsey on the call on 101-ESPN.
Welcome home Drew Hanlen and of course, Go Bills!

Borgia Clips Chaminade

In a battle of state-championship teams St. Francis Borgia defeated Chaminade 81-75 in a very entertaining game at Borgia on Monday night.
All-American guard Bradley Beal scored a game-high 33 points to lead the Red Devils, but the one-two senior punch of Tyler Ressel and Nathan Scheer overcame Beal's excellence on this night.
The 6'1" Ressel scored 29 points to lead Borgia while Scheer added 26 points.
The teams were running and gunning from the start and the scoreboard was lighting up like a Christmas tree from the opening tip.
Chaminade led 41-39 at halftime and scored the first four points of the second half to take its biggest lead of the game at 45-39.
That was when Borgia sophomore Bryce Dolan changed the game with two consecutive 3-pointers to tie the game at 45-45. Dolan's two bombs keyed a 12-2 Borgia run that forged the Knights into the lead, which they would never relinquish. The hot-shooting Knights ended up making 12 3-pointers on the evening.
The 5'10" Dolan has really stepped into a nice role as Borgia's point guard to support to two prime-time seniors. The young man has been waiting for his moment his entire life. From the time he was a toddler, I have been watching him dribble a basketball around Borgia games. The big stage has not been too big for him.
The victory was Borgia's 23rd in a row. Their last loss came at Chaminade in January of last season. They have not lost since. They are also in the midst of an impressive stretch of victories, having defeated Whitfield, Jefferson City Helias and Chaminade in succession. Next for the Knights is a visit to a very talented CBC team on Friday, then it's St. Charles West next week.
Overall, it was a great high school game to watch with two of the premiere teams in the area. Both teams took turns making big runs at each other and each team responded in kind.
It was also a nice atmosphere at the game as well. Adding to the atmosphere was the Borgia student section, which all showed up dressed in tropical, summer clothes to poke a little Beal, who has committed to the University of Florida.
The Borgia students all looked like they were dressed for the beach in their flip-flops, Hawaiian shirts, goggles, while doing the Gator chop for Beal's benefit. They also had signs that said "Welcome to the Swamp," while one student had a stuffed aligator strapped to his back. The kids were a hoot. They were fun, creative without being abusive.
After the game, a couple of the students presented Beal with the "Swamp" sign and gave his mother the stuffed aligator.
It was a fun evening of entertaining basketball.
The last two high school games I've seen have been great. The McCluer North-Columbia Rock Bridge game and the Borgia-Chaminade games have been excellent. I'm a little spoiled right now because it's so early in the season.
Hopefully, we'll see a little more quality play like this as we approach the holiday season.

Earl on the air this week

Wednesday Night, Dec. 16: I will be on the call for the Saint Louis University-Belmont game at 7 p.m. (6:45 p.m. pregame) on 101-ESPN with SLU Hall of Fame play-by-play man Bob Ramsey.

Friday Night, Dec. 18: Yours truly and B.J. Schulte will be calling the Metro Catholic Conference game between Chaminade and host DeSmet at 7 p.m. on Prepcasts.com

Saturday night, Dec. 19: Bob Ramsey and myself will be on the call for the Saint Louis U.-Missouri State game at the Chaifetz Arena at 7 p.m (6:45 pre-game on 101-ESPN.

Showdown at Borgia Tonight

Class 5 state champion Chaminade will travel to Class 4 state champion St. Francis Borgia tonight in a big showdown in Washington, Mo.
Both teams are currently undefeated and looking very impressive this year, coming off of state-championship seasons. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Chaminade is 5-0, which includes the championship of the Pattonville Tournament and Metro Catholic Conference wins over DeSmet and Vianney. Borgia is 6-0 after winning its own Thanksgiving Tournament as well as big victories over Whitfield and Jefferson City Helias last week.
Both teams have big guns who are leading the way early in the season. Chaminade is led by 6'4" junior All-American guard Bradley Beal (pictured, left), who is averaging 26 points a game. Beal, who has already committed to Florida, is also averaging 3.6 assists and 2.4 steals a game while playing a lot of point guard for the Red Devils.
The Knights will counter with their own All-Star player in 6'5" senior Nathan Scheer (pictured, right), who's headed to Missouri State. Scheer is averaging 24 points a game, including a sizzling 21 for 36 from beyond the 3-point line. Scheer dropped a season-high 36 points in Borgia's thrilling 78-76 victory over Whitfield last Wednesday night.
The supporting casts for both teams are very solid. Beal gets major support from his fellow junior class members, who were all part of last year's championship run as sophomores.
Junior forward Brendan Kelly is averaging 11 points and 10 rebounds a game while 6'2" junior guard Luke Bumgarner is averaging 10 points. Other juniors in the mix are 6'1" guard Tevin Evans (5.6 pts.), 6'3" Aaron Lombardo (4.6 ppg.) and 6'2" Giovanni Ferrara. Sophomore point guard Matt Greer also sees time in the rotation.
The Knights also feature 6'1" senior guard Tyler Ressel, who is averaging 15.8 points and shooting 39 percent from 3-point range. Ben Ruether, a 6'6" junior averages 8.7 points while leading the Knights in rebounding. Sophomore guard Bryce Dolan is playing well in his first varsity season, averaging 9.7 points and shooting 39 percent from long distance. Senior Sam Tochtrop is also contributing six points a game.
Borgia will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak against Chaminade. The Red Devils won last year's meeting 76-67 at Chaminade. Beal scored a game-high 30 points to lead CCP while Ressel scored 18 and Scheer added 16 for Borgia. In 2008, Scheer scored a game-high 28 points, but it wasn't enough as Chaminade escaped with a 62-61 road victory at Borgia.
It might be a good idea to get there early tonight, folks. It should be a good one.

Bradley Beal photo courtesy of Wiley Price: St. Louis American
Nathan Scheer photo courtesy of Saintlouis.scout.com

Bills hold off Rockhurst

The Bills raised their record to 6-3 with a 66-53 victory over Rockhurst in a game that was probably more interesting than it needed to be.
SLU led from start to finish, but the Hawks put up a game effort and did not go away. With just under five minutes to play, Rockhurst was only five points down and very much in the game.
Despite the fact that their top player, Aaron Hill, was held to seven points on 3 of 13 shooting, Rockhurst hustled and worked and gave themselves a legitimate opportunity to pull off the big upset, which is all you can ask for as a Division II school playing on the road against a Division I team.
With the Billikens clinging to that 55-50 lead, they went inside to Willie Reed twice and he delivered two big baskets to help the Billikens hold off Rockhurst down the stretch.
I know many people were expecting a big blowout victory over a Division II school, but I knew better.
As I wrote in my preview, this would be a test of our focus. Especially, coming off a very hard four-game stretch (Iowa State, Notre Dame, Georgia, Southern Illinois), followed up by a week of final exams.
Toss in the fact that it is still a young team that has to face a motivated Division II team that has nothing to lose. Shake well and voila, you have yourself a two possession game with five minutes left.
Anyway, it's still better to learn those valuable lessons after a victory than in a humbling loss.
Kwamain Mitchell led the way with 17 points while Willie put up another double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Christian Salecich contributed 11 points and helped do a nice defensive job of Rockhurst's Hill, who is averaging 20 points a game. Brian Conklin had six points and seven rebounds. He got a few more touches inside and delivered a couple of big hoops in the second half. I hope Brian gets the ball a little more inside. He was tremendous in Chicago on offense and we'll need his interior play as the season goes along.
Willie grabbed 13 rebounds, but he got some nice help on the boards, especially from guards Femi John and Justin Jordan. Femi grabbed a season-high eight rebounds while the 5'9" Jordan grabbed six rebounds. Brian Conklin grabbed seven rebounds while Jon Smith came off the bench to grab five boards. SLU enjoyed a healthy 48-33 edge on the board.
Once again, our free throw shooting was a sore spot. We shot 11 for 25 for a paltry 44 percent. OMG! At one point in the second half, we were under 40 percent for the game.
We also had 12 turnovers and only seven assists, plus we had a long, dry spell in the second half. Kwamain opened the second half with two consecutive 3-pointers, then we proceeded to miss our next 10 shots.
As a said before, I could see this game coming. Our concentration level wasn't the best, but it's good to still come away with a win. There's still a valuable lesson to learn from this game, but least you didn't have to suffer a humbling loss to learn it.
The home-stand continues on Wednesday night with a visit from Belmont. Don't get too alarmed Bills fans. We will be better.
I'll have a preview on Wednesday. Talk to you then.
Go Bills!

Friday night hoops

The McCluer North Stars defeated Columbia Rock Bridge 79-67 to win the championship game of the Troy/Peoples Bank Tournament on Friday night.
Rock Bridge, which finished third in the Class 5 state tournament, came in as the No. 1 seed, averaging more than 90 points a game. The Bruins had been beating opponents by more than 50 points a game.
On this night, it was McCluer North that provided a reminder that they had won the Troy Tournament for three consecutive years. Last night's big win gave them their fourth Troy Tourney title.
It was a great battle between two heavyweight teams as the lead changed hands several times in the first half, which McCluer North led 35-32 at halftime.
With the score tied at 37-37 early in the third quarter, North senior guard Ollie Roundtree hit two long 3-pointers in succession. Two run-out baskets by forward Denzel Reed completed the 10-0 run for the Stars, who held off many Rock Bridge charges for the rest of the game.
The 5'9" Roundtree was the star of the evening with 20 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and two steals. The 6'5" Reed finished with 18 points and 6'5" Ryun Davis added 14 points.
The Stars did an excellent job on the defensive end in disrupting Rock Bridge's machine-line offensive rhythm. Their defense forced many quick 3-pointers and turnovers by Rock Bridge, which resulted in easy run-out baskets.
Senior Demarcus Carey also did a nice job of guarding Rock Bridge standout Ricky Kreklow. The 6'6" All-Stater finished with a game-high 21 points, but he had to work hard to get them as the Stars defenders hounded him all night and made him have to take tough shots on a consistent basis. To Kreklow's credit, he made some very difficult shots on the night.
It was a very good championship game for two teams that have very high aspirations in the 2010 season. Rock Bridge has a very talented team that will get even better once it regains the services of standout junior guard Justin Miller, who is still out with an injury.
For North, it was a big statement win that reminds everyone that the Stars are still around and a program to be reckoned with.
It was also a very busy week for McCluer North, which won four games this week, including a Tuesday night victory against Oakville, giving the Stars two victories over Final Four teams from 2009. McCluer North plays a fifth game this week when they travel to Marion (Ill.) to play in the Marion Shootout against the host school.

The championship game of the National City/Webster Groves Classic will be a neighborhood battle between host Webster Groves and Kirkwood. Roberts Gymnasium will be rocking around 4:30 p.m. with the teams tip off.
Webster Groves raced to an early lead and cruised to a 77-50 lead over Belvidere (Ill.). Senior Cortez Conners led the potent Statesmen attack with 18 points. The Statesmen are still in the process of getting their basketball legs with several members of the team playing such vital roles in the run to the Class 5 state title in football two weeks ago. Jay Blossom's crew should be very salty after Christmas.
Meanwhile, Kirkwood battled their way to a 49-46 victory over Lee's Summit North in the other semifinal game. I was very impressed by the play of 6'3" senior Mycole Pruitt in Kirkwood's first-round victory over Maplewood. The muscular Pruitt played like a man-child in scoring 28 points that night. His strength and athleticism makes him a tough match-up for high school kids.

St. Charles West defeated Fort Zumwalt South 48-45 to repeat as champions of the SCW Warriors Classic. The two teams have met in the championship game for three consecutive years. Junior forward Christian Kirk led the winners with 21 points. Junior guard J.R. Alexander scored a game-high 27 points for the Bulldogs.

Old Jefferson County rivals Hillsboro and DeSoto will meet in the championship game of the Gene Steighorst/Hillsboro Tournament tonight. The host Hawks edged Francis Howell Central 46-45 while DeSoto slipped by JeffCo rival Festus 58-56 in two very exciting semifinal contests.

On the East Side, Edwardsville defeated Belleville West 59-53 in a battle of undefeated Southwestern Conference teams. Edwardsville had four players in double figures, led by sophomore Quincy Morgan's 13 points. The big differene in the game for E'ville was 6'4" 250-pound football standout Rodney Coe, who scored all seven of his points in the fourth quarter.
I watched Rodney play last Tuesday and he gives the Tigers a big boost inside with his size and athleticism on the front line. He is a real nimble young man. This is his first year out for basketball, so he is just going to get better as he continues to develop under the tutledge of veteran coach Mike Waldo.
The O'Fallon Panthers continue to roll with a 68-55 victory at Collinsville. O'Fallon is now 8-0. Junior Roosevelt Jones scored 26 points. The 6'4" Jones is playing at a very high level.
East St. Louis has quietly posted two big SWC wins this week. After knocking off Alton earlier this week, the Flyers defeated Belleville East last night 59-50 as football standout Keonte Minor scored a team-high 19 points.
Minor is a standout wide receiver on the Flyers high-powered football team, but he is also a known quantity in basketball, having been a starter since his freshman year.

St. Franis Borgia continued its early season roll with a 61-44 victory at Jefferson City Helias in a battle of Class 4 Final Four participants.

Prep Shootout at Lindenwood Today

The Rameybasketball.com Midwest Basketball Shootout will be held today at Lindenwood University in St. Charles.
Event director Terrell Ramey has brought together 12 teams from four different states in an exciting basketball feast for local fans to enjoy.
The first game will pit Duchesne High of the Gateway Athletic Conference against Madison (Ill.) in a battle of small schools at noon.
It will be followed by Class 5 Final Four participant Oakville vs. Homewood Flossmoor (Ill.) at 2 p.m.
Game 3 features Public High League favorite Soldan vs. Memphis Wooddale at 3:30 p.m.
Fort Zumwalt South will take on Craigmont, Tenn. at 5 p.m.
Ritenour will battle East Aurora (Ill.) at 6:30 p.m.
The finale will feature Whitfield taking on Lee (Ala.) at 8 p.m. in what should be a very entertaining game.
The cost for the event is $10 at the door, which is a very good price to see six games featuring some of the best players in the region.
Enjoy.

Bills vs. Hawks

The Billikens return to action tonight with a game against Division II school Rockhurst University from Kansas City.
The Hawks are members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), which is annually one of the top Division II basketball conferences in the nation.
Rockhurst is currently 5-3 and riding a four-game winning streak. They started slow at 1-3, but have been on a roll ever since.
The Hawks like to shoot the 3-point shot and they have several players that can do it. In eight games, they have taken 204 3-pointers as a team, which is an average of more than 25 per game.
Their top gunner is 6'1" senior Aaron Hill, who averages 20 points a game while hitting 33 of his 71 3-point attempts. Their other top scorer is 6'5" senior Aaron Morrissey, who averages 12.6 points and 5.3 rebounds a game.
The Hawks also employ 6'5" senior Jake Meyer (9.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg.), 5'10" senior Tyler Knust (8.5 ppg., 13-33 from 3-point), 6'2" senior Jazz Neal (7.3 ppg.), 6'5" senior Jawan Davis (6.7 ppg.), 6'6" junior Blake Baird (6.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg.) and 6'5" freshman Russell Burns.
As you can see, the Hawks are dominated by upperclassmen, so I doubt that there will be any fear of intimidation factor for them coming in here to play against a Division I opponent. On the contrary, it is a great opportunity. I expect them to come in and play loose and let the 3-pointers fly.
Willie Reed has been playing with great consistency this season. He has a decided edge over the Hawks in size, so I suspect he will have a lot of company inside whenever he gets the ball, even some zone defense.
If that's the case, Willie has to show good judgement with the ball, as a passer and as an offensive player. It should open up opportunities for all of our perimeter players. Our 3-point shooting has gotten a little better in the last two games, which is a good sign. We may have to hit a few more tonight to keep the Hawks from buzzing around Willie and Brian Conklin inside.
For the Billikens, the challenge is to come into tonight's game fully focused and ready to play. The guys have just finished a tough four-game stretch which included BCS schools Iowa State, Notre Dame and Georgia, plus a big game against regional rival Southern Illinois.
After that brutal stretch, the kids had a week off with the top priority being final exams last week. Now, the task at hand is to get ready to play a Division II school from in your state that might have illusions of pulling off a LeMoyne-Syracuse type upset tonight.
The kids must come out and display that defensive intensity at home that we've seen throughout the five games at Chaifetz. At home, we're keeping teams' shooting percentages in the 30's, so that must continue. After facing power teams that like to jam the ball inside, we have to pay attention to the perimeter shot and force the shooters to either put the ball on the floor or make the extra pass.
The victory over Southern Illinois was the beginning of a six-game home stretch in December. With that victory under their belt, tonight represents the first opportunity to string some good performances at home together this month before tackling that tough A-10 slate at the beginning of 2010.
Hope to see everyone tonight at the Chaifetz. If not, you can always catch the action on 101-ESPN with yours truly and SLU Hall of Fame play-by-play man Bob Ramsey on the call. Pre-game show begins at 6:45 p.m.
See you there.
Go Bills!