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Hey ladies and gentlemen, we've been doing some things 'round here lately.
I'm ready to write...
In the words of Bonnie Raitt, let's give 'em something to talk about.
Here we go...
The "4 Corners" (rankings through January 27):
There's been some movement. A 1-2 record was the un-doing for Seneca as they drop out of the polls and "Quality Wins" is the name of the game for our 2 "big movers" this week.
4. Carthage (12-9): The Tigers went 2-2 in the week that was. They got a good win over Aurora and played a good game in an overtime loss to Mt. Vernon.
Cody Caster has been finding his scoring groove while still continuing to anchor the middle. While Keith Lawrie, as Coach Ray predicted, just gets better and better.
3. Neosho (11-8): Quality Wins! Nobody has more in the Corner. Neosho has beat 3 of SWMO top 15 teams in the last two weeks, each one higher ranked than the last:
No.12 Republic, No.11 Mt. Vernon, and No.4 Parkview. A loss to No.5 Joplin on the road is the only blemish, and the only reason the Eagles stay ahead of them in the rankings. The "Neo Trio" combined for 70 points in the Parkview win (Alex Wise 24, Corey Crandell 23, Micheal Lowe 23)!
2. Joplin (14-3): 3 second place finishes in three tournaments and now...2nd in the polls. The Joplin went 3-1 this past week. The Eagles are holding steady on defense, but hoping to find more consistency on the offensive end. If that offense comes together, they will be deadly.
1. Thomas Jefferson (12-1): The Cavaliers are number one with authority! They beat two undefeated Kansas teams on their way to the Tony Dubray Classic championship. Then to cap off the week, TJ throttled Purdy 66-40 on Tuesday. This past week the Cavs had...Quality Wins: Galena (No. 3 team in Kansas 3A) and St. Mary's Colgan (9-1) and huge margins of victory: 53, 17, 18 and 26. That's how you get to the top.
College Hopefuls
Lane Stephens, 6-1 shooting guard, Carthage
Strengths: He's a knock-down shooter: Lane can shoot the ball with the best of them.
Extended range on his shot: Lane can shoot the 3 easily from behind the college line and then some.
A determined defender: Lane has good size for a high school 2 guard and he uses it well to discourage would be scorers and he comes up with big boards and loose balls.
Hey ladies and gentlemen, we've been doing some things 'round here lately.
I'm ready to write...
In the words of Bonnie Raitt, let's give 'em something to talk about.
Here we go...
The "4 Corners" (rankings through January 27):
There's been some movement. A 1-2 record was the un-doing for Seneca as they drop out of the polls and "Quality Wins" is the name of the game for our 2 "big movers" this week.
4. Carthage (12-9): The Tigers went 2-2 in the week that was. They got a good win over Aurora and played a good game in an overtime loss to Mt. Vernon.
Cody Caster has been finding his scoring groove while still continuing to anchor the middle. While Keith Lawrie, as Coach Ray predicted, just gets better and better.
3. Neosho (11-8): Quality Wins! Nobody has more in the Corner. Neosho has beat 3 of SWMO top 15 teams in the last two weeks, each one higher ranked than the last:
No.12 Republic, No.11 Mt. Vernon, and No.4 Parkview. A loss to No.5 Joplin on the road is the only blemish, and the only reason the Eagles stay ahead of them in the rankings. The "Neo Trio" combined for 70 points in the Parkview win (Alex Wise 24, Corey Crandell 23, Micheal Lowe 23)!
2. Joplin (14-3): 3 second place finishes in three tournaments and now...2nd in the polls. The Joplin went 3-1 this past week. The Eagles are holding steady on defense, but hoping to find more consistency on the offensive end. If that offense comes together, they will be deadly.
1. Thomas Jefferson (12-1): The Cavaliers are number one with authority! They beat two undefeated Kansas teams on their way to the Tony Dubray Classic championship. Then to cap off the week, TJ throttled Purdy 66-40 on Tuesday. This past week the Cavs had...Quality Wins: Galena (No. 3 team in Kansas 3A) and St. Mary's Colgan (9-1) and huge margins of victory: 53, 17, 18 and 26. That's how you get to the top.
College Hopefuls
Lane Stephens, 6-1 shooting guard, Carthage
Strengths: He's a knock-down shooter: Lane can shoot the ball with the best of them.
Extended range on his shot: Lane can shoot the 3 easily from behind the college line and then some.
A determined defender: Lane has good size for a high school 2 guard and he uses it well to discourage would be scorers and he comes up with big boards and loose balls.
Intangibles: A candidate for Corner All-Academic team. Going to school to be an engineer. Nuff' said.
Toughness. Lane is playing his senior year with a shoulder that will require surgery afterward. I've seen it come out, he pops it back in and keeps playing.
Focused! Comfortable in his own skin. Lane plays his game. I have not seen a kid on the floor this year with more focus/concentration.Hard to rattle him.
He'll do whatever he needs to do to help his team win ... Lane doesn't seem to care about personal glory.
The Skinny: Lane has committed to play ball at NCAA DII South Dakota Tech: A great basketball program! Couldn't have happened to a nicer kid.
Hey Lane, invest in a nice coat ... we'll be pulling for you back here in The Corner.
Next Week: Bro Mbuthia (College Heights)
In the hole: Phillip "P-Diddy" Davis (Joplin)
Young teams to watch:
Programs have to come from somewhere...and often it's the "feeder" system.
Who's looking good for the future?
Let's look at 8th grade:
Carl Junction: Undefeated now for almost 2 years. Led by the fastest 8th grader on the planet, Matt Magee and the non-stop offense of Dustin Satterlee.
This team is built for success and they are just plain hard to stop. Seriously, watch Matt Magee push the ball...just don't blink when you do.
Joplin East: The exceptionally-talented Charlie Brown is joined by one heck of a team. Dylan McVay is a heady guard who has unbelievable court vision. When you look at that East team play, you can see district championships in their future.
Seneca: Seneca's only loss was in a battle with CJ. They defeated the powerful, then undefeated Joplin-East squad this past week! Led by the all-court play of Toby Roelfsema's little bro, Elias and the sharp shooting of Seth Harris, the Indian fans should feel very good about its future.
Webb City: Point Guard Supreme Zach Hallacy is joined by perhaps the best 8th grade football player in the state in the ultra-athletic Trey Parra and the smooth scoring Clay Gardner. Add them to the maybe the best 9th grade group in the state, and it ain't hard to picture The Cardinals in Columbia down the road...
The Williams' Legacy
I went to the McAuley vs. College Heights game on Tuesday night.
First the game stuff, McAuley won the contest 51-32. The Warriors' defense was tremendous as they held Bro Mbuthia to (a season-low, I think) 7 points.
Coach Chuck Williams told me that Tim Schoenfeld was use to guarding bigger guys and did a outstanding job denying Mbuthia the ball. Nic Bertoncino led the way with 16 points for McAuley while freshmen Shaw Robertson, making his first start, had 10 points.
The College Heights team and coaches presented Mrs. Williams with roses after the game to a standing ovation from everyone.
In my interview with Chuck, I started with a question considering the bittersweet night. I asked him, "what was going through your mind as the final seconds ticked off the clock". "I was thinking about going through the line to shake hands and not having my dad there to shake hands and hug".
I wasn't much good for an interview after that as I had to ask Chuck to excuse my unprofessional behavior as I wiped the tears from my eyes.
Chuck told his boys before the game, "You guys are going to have to carry me tonight".
And they did. Those boys played their tails off! They gave everything they had for their coach.
What a tribute to Charlie Williams' legacy: His players loved him and gave everything they had for him...and he did the same for them.
There may not have been a more honoring tribute to Coach Williams than the way McAuley played Tuesday night.
Buzzer Beater from the Corner:
The Corner: State of the Union Address
The last two weeks have been great for the Corner!
So, where are we?
One word comes to mind: Faith.
Hey Coach Ponce, do you remember late December/early January? You remember those close calls?
So what about now?
Where does The Corner stack up today?
TJ, Joplin, Neosho and Seneca are serious contenders for conference and district championships...and beyond.
Carthage, Diamond, East Newton, Sarcoxie and Webb City are playing tons of underclassmen...and when the pieces come together, watch out!
Carl Junction is the best 7-11 team around...a hair away from 11-7, Diamond's won 4 in a row and a tournament championship, McAuley is 4-7 after starting 0-5...
Faith.
When one of my players comes to me and says, "Coach I can't make a shot", I say, "You're absolutely right".
You will always be what you think you are.
I always ask my players, "When you shoot the ball, do you hope it's going to go in or do you know it's going to go in?"
To that I say, "Don't even bother shooting the ball unless you know it's going in"
As for The Corner...after two weeks of signature wins against high caliber out-of-area teams.
I am as certain as ever that we're just as good as any area in the state.
I think some of us are hoping that's true ... but ... I believe some of us are starting to know it.
