The Southwest Missouri basketball scene is dominating the spectrum in Columbia this weekend as five Ozarks teams advanced to Saturday’s state championship games at Mizzou Arena.
Prior to tipoff of the title tilts we wanted to have a little fun with some special honors. Below are the players and coaches who’ve stood out for some unique attributes.
Sat. Mar. 11 Schedule (Mizzou Arena)
11:00 am – Class 1 Boys – Walnut Grove vs. Advance
12:50 pm – Class 1 Girls – Walnut Grove vs. Mercer
4:30 pm – Class 3 Girls – Strafford vs. Whitfield
6:20 pm – Class 2 Boys – Crane vs. Oran
8:10 pm – Class 2 Girls – Skyline vs. Adrian
Fab Frosh – Tyler Campbell (Crane) – The Pirates’ starting point guard averages just 7.4 points per game, but has come up huge in his first year of high school basketball, playing a significant role on both offense and defense, especially when senior leader Dalton Hayes missed time with foul trouble.
Super Sophomore – Hayley Frank (Strafford) – Frank has been the talk of the town this weekend and will continue to be for the next two years. She’s averaging an almost unbelievable 24 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 6.7 apg, 85% ft and 56% 3-pt fg. The 6’1″ versatile forward will go down with the Show-Me State’s all-time greats when it’s all said and done.
Jammin’ Junior – Bayley Harman (Walnut Grove) – The third and final Walnut Grove Harman is making a case for the best Harman (no disrespect to Drury junior Heather Harman). The Lady Tigers’ junior has her team in its sixth straight Final Four and after falling short last year, she wants nothing more than repeating the state championship success she experienced as a freshman in 2015.
Sizzlin Senior – Abby Oliver (Strafford) – Don’t you dare leave the C of O signee open! Oliver is just behind Frank with 21.1 ppg and is as lethal from outside the arc as anyone in state history. In fact, she finds herself just 3 trey shy of the all-time single season record entering Saturday’s championship.
Steve Frank (Strafford) – Don’t Mess with Texas – Frank lost a pair of state title games as a high school player and fell short of the championship game five years ago leading Seymour. Those experiences have shaped the coach he is today and provide an extra motivation to lead his Lady Indians to a second consecutive Class 3 crown.
Kevin Cheek (Skyline) – GQ Coach – The finely-groomed bench boss is no stranger to Show-Me Showdown success. He owns a trio of state titles at Skyline and likely would have four more if not for that pesky Crane dynasty. The Lady Tigers are HEAVY favorites in Saturday’s Class 2 championship and you can bet Cheek will be dressed to the nines.
Kaylee DaMitz (Skyline) – Court General – DaMitz is the prototypical leader in every way you can imagine. She scores, shoots, rebounds, distributes and defends with the best of them and has been a rock in the Lady Tigers’ lineup for the last three years. Hate to tell you rest of the state, but the girl’s got one more year too.
Dalton Hayes (Crane) – Best Football Player at a Non-Football School – Hayes plays with fire in his belly. It has caused him some trouble in the past, but it’s that intensity that’s helped fuel this Pirates team to a handful of comeback wins to reach the championship. With his quickness, toughness and noticeable strength it’s a safe bet he could ball on the gridiron IF Crane had football.
Craig Campbell (Crane) – Raise Your Hands if You’re Sure – Tradition is strong in Crane and Campbell has done a great job carrying on that legacy of basketball success. When the Pirates lost eight of nine games early in the season he could’ve “raised his hands” and written off the season, instead he rallied the troops and finished on an absolute role, all the way to the Class 2 championship game.
Braydon Cook (Crane) – We’re Going to Disneyland – There’s a lot of joy in this Pirates team right now and you can see it in Cook’s face. With just two seniors on the roster, don’t be surprised to see this group back at state when it returns to Springfield next March.
Walnut Grove Girls – Roller Coaster Roster – This title is only in reference to the height difference of the roster when standing side-by-side, otherwise the Lady Tigers are steady as a rock, playing for their fourth state title in the last five years.
Darin Meinders (Walnut Grove) – Did I Forget to Close the Garage? – If so, that’s about all Meinders has forgotten. He’s done a whole lot of winning everywhere he’s been as shown by his 500th win in Thursday’s semifinals. After falling in last year’s finals, there’s even more motivation to get it done this time around with still a very young but experienced roster.
Kayley Frank (Strafford) – We’re Going Where for Dinner? – Ok, so we caught the sophomore making a funny face. Despite that, Frank is a rock in the Lady Indians’ starting lineup and is as unselfish as they come, facilitating for her sis Hayley, Abby Oliver and Zoey Mullings.
Zoey Mullings (Strafford) – Unsung Hero – Hayley Frank, Kayley Frank and Abby Oliver get the majority of the attention, but the junior takes a lot of pressure off those stars. She averages 8.9 ppg, but comes up big at the biggest moments. Mullings has led the Lady Indians in scoring in their last two Final Four games, including last year’s state championship.
Autumn Garrett (Skyline) – Suffocating Stopper – Just a sophomore, Garrett is considered by Cheek to be the Lady Tigers’ best all-around athlete and when she guards you, good luck! Garrett was assigned to a girl averaging 19 ppg in the semifinals and held her scoreless for the first 27 minutes. Nuff said.
Strafford Fans – Rowdiest Rooters – These fans aren’t spoiled by success. Maroon Nation showed up in droves Thursday and I would expect nothing less for Saturday’s championship game.
Logan Thomazin (Walnut Grove) – The Jackhammer – This is in reference to his patented “jackhammer” celebration after a big bucket, but doubles as a good reference to the loud, painfully-talented headache he must be for opposing coaches. The junior, already Grove’s all-time leading scorer, put up 28 points and 12 boards in Thursday’s semifinals and wants nothing more than to bounce back from a down performance in last year’s title game Saturday morning.
Devin White (Crane) – Glue Guy Award – White doesn’t get the pub of others, but gives a blue-collar effort down low each and every game, averaging 7.9 ppg, 7 rpg and providing solid post defense.
Savannah Owen (Skyline) – Glue Gal Award – The lengthy junior is one of several ultra-talented Lady Tigers. She manages to do it all while never taking away from her team, averaging 6 ppg, 6 rpg and shooting a whopping 48% from 3-point range.
Biggest surprise finalist – Crane boys – The Pirates are the only local unranked team in the championship game (the other four are in the top 5). They’ve lost 10 games, but have certainly heated up at just the right time.
Most likely to turbo clock their opponent – Skyline girls – Ok, not trying to provide bulletin board material here, but it’s a fact, the Lady Tigers beat 5th ranked Adrian (their opponent in Saturday’s championship game) by 50 back on Dec. 19. Adrian was missing some players, but it’s hard to imagine they’re THAT MUCH better now.
Most likely to never lose again – Strafford girls – Yes, they’re a long way from Marshfield’s 102 consecutive wins nearly three decades ago, but with the youth and ability of this group, don’t expect too many Ls for quite some time.
Most likely to repeat as state champ – All of them! – So that’s probably a stretch, but seriously, look at the rosters and all five Ozarks area teams return a ton of talent next season. Combined, they have just a dozen seniors. There’s a handful of stars among them (Hayes, Oliver, McKinsey Mountain, Raylie Hejna, Ryan Keith), but all return a solid core in 2017-18.
