BLUE & GOLD: Scouting Report for seeded teams

BLUE & GOLD: Scouting Report for seeded teams

Here, SWMOBasketball gives its scouting report for every seeded team we’ve seen in person. Interesting fun fact heading into this year’s Blue and Gold tournament, of the 16 seeded teams, the SWMOBasketball staff has seen all but one team play in person (Stockton).

 

(2, Gold) Catholic Fighting Irish (6-3)
Wins: Aurora, Mount Vernon, Hartville, Mansfield, Marshfield, Central.
Losses: Mountain Grove, Aurora, Confluence.
Seen in Person? Yes, multiple times.

SCOUTING REPORT: Catholic is coming off a terrific season a year ago, but they have taken it to a new level this season. They are coming off a somewhat surprising loss to Aurora on Dec. 21, a team they defeated earlier in the season at the Clever Tournament. However, Catholic has all the tools to make a run as a No. 2 seed in the Blue and Gold, with terrific point guard play in Jake Branham, a strong outside shooting wing in Charlie O’Reilly and good, quality bigs.

(8, Gold) Clever Blue Jays (4-5)
Wins: East Newton, Aurora, Camdenton, Blue Eye.
Losses: Mount Vernon, Fair Grove, Eminence, Carthage, Forsyth
Seen in Person? Yes, multiple times.

SCOUTING REPORT: Clever has a pair of good guards in 2018 Devan Hampton and Josh Peck and those two players have helped pave the way. Hampton is a good ball handling point guard who can create off the bounce and Peck is a strong outside shooter. The team has had some ups and downs this season, entering the tournament with a losing record as its varsity newcomers and role players adjust to varsity life under the microscope.

(6, Gold) Fair Grove Eagles (5-4)
Wins: Forsyth, Crane, Clever, Buffalo, Diamond
Losses: Aurora, Mountain Grove, Mount Vernon, Hartville
Seen in Person? Yes, multiple times.

SCOUTING REPORT: The thing that stands out right away about Fair Grove is how big they are … for a Class 3 team, the Eagles have a ton of size with all five starters in the 6’3 to 6’5 range.

And … this team is incredibly balanced at the offensive end. So much so that’s it an amazing feat. Through four games, five Fair Grove players are averaging between 10 and 14.5 points per game. They are led by 2020 Cole Gilpin, who is averaging 14.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Also in the mix is David Oplotnik, 2018 guard Garrett Potter, 2019 guard Kyle Stacey and 2018 guard Brian Carroll.

(4, Blue) Hartville Eagles (7-2)
Wins: New Covenant, Fair Grove, Walnut Grove, Aurora, Seymour, Liberty, Norwood.
Losses: Mountain Grove, Catholic.
Seen in Person? Yes, multiple times.

SCOUTING REPORT: This might one of the more well-rounded Hartville teams they Eagles have fielded under head coach Brett Reed. They don’t have the star power or names that some area fans might recognize right away, but they have a lot of solid basketball players and … all sorts of different players spanning multiple classes.

For starters, Cody Kelley, a 6’9 2018 post player, is a rather rare player in Hartville or the Summit Conference. He has trimmed down and now can run with the up-and-down Eagles a little better than years past.

And they have Stoutland move-in, 6’5 forward Evan Mathews, to help give the team some much needed rebounding and athleticism.

From there, they have a mixture of solid veterans and talented youngsters.

Hartville has losses to Catholic and Mountain Grove, arguably the top two Class 3 teams in the area, but have otherwise largely handled their schedule with ease, posting several convincing wins since its loss to the Panthers.

(6, Blue) Kickapoo Chiefs (3-4)
Wins: Parkview, Branson, Central
Losses: Raytown, Fayetteville (Ark.), Pacific, Ozark
Seen in Person? Yes, multiple times.

SCOUTING REPORT: The Chiefs have undergone a transformation on its roster unlike any we’ve seen at a Class 5 school in southwest Missouri in recent years. Not only do they have a new coach, but an entirely new team at the varsity level.

They don’t have the type of Division I and Division II talent on the roster this year like they have in year’s past, but they still have several players who know how to play basketball. They pass, dribble, shoot and move really well without the ball. This group can get hot from 3-point range and light up the scoreboard at times.

However, this Kickapoo team has to play well to win games. They won’t physically or athletically overwhelm teams like some of their previous teams.

This team has some talented individual pieces and a combination of youth, size and quality depth. However, they are lacking the star power the program has had in the past and can struggle to put the ball in the basket. The team is still gelling under first-year head coach Mitch McHenry and have suffered some ups-and-downs. However, they could easily put together a run and are a dangerous No. 6 seed.

(5, Gold) Mansfield Lions (6-1)
Wins: Richland, Ava, Morrisville, Gainesville, Ava, Morrisville
Losses: Catholic
Seen in Person? Yes, multiple times.

SCOUTING REPORT: This is one of the area’s most disciplined teams under long time coach Terry Writer. They feature fundamentals, patience and a willingness to play to their strengths. And … they also have some really good individual pieces, talented players who are coming into their own at the varsity level. Mansfield has good size for a small school with a big front line led by 6’8 2019 Dylan Caruso, and plenty of depth with a host of players getting key minutes at the varsity level.

(7, Blue) Marshfield Blue Jays (6-2)

Wins: Salem, Hollister, Berryhill (Okla.), Lebanon, Camdenton, West Plains
Losses: Forsyth, Catholic.
Seen in Person? Yes, multiple times.

SCOUTING REPORT: Team is junior-laden and has some good pieces with a some good interior players, solid guard play and improving perimeter shooters. Triston Letterman and Austin Porter are a pair of solid interior players, both of whom can also step out and play on the perimeter as well and cause match-up problems.

(5, Blue) Mount Vernon (7-3)
Wins: Clever, Walnut Grove, Fair Grove, Rogers (Ark.), Ash Grove, Reeds Spring, Frontenac (Kan.).
Losses: Catholic, Fort-Smith Southside, Webb City
Seen in Person? Yes. Once

SCOUTING REPORT: We have heard a lot of good things about this year’s version of Mount Vernon and the Mountaineers appear to have a well-balanced team with terrific interior players and good young guards. They have a unique combination of quick, athletic guards and a terrific interior defender in 6’8 post Kyle Buschman, who has come into his own this season. However, Mount Vernon will have a tough first-round match-up against Class 5 Lebanon team which has struggled through the early going but has played a tough schedule.

(2, Blue) Mountain Grove Panthers (7-0)
Wins: Catholic, Hartville, Dora, Conway, Strafford, Gainesville, Fair Grove.
Losses: none
Seen in Person? Yes.

SCOUTING REPORT: Mountain Grove had a compelling case for a No. 1 seed and they enter this year’s Blue and Gold playing at a high level. They have several impressive wins this season, including a sweep of some of the better Class 3 teams in the area. Back this season is Cade Coffman, Connor McNew, Carter Otwell and others, and the Panthers have gotten a big boost with the health of 6’4 2019 forward Dylan Massey who gives the Panthers some much needed size, athleticism and toughness in the paint. They like to play fast and push the tempo, but rarely get out of control. Fun fact … Mountain Grove is the Blue and Gold’s only undefeated team.

(1, Blue) Nixa Eagles (4-3)
Wins: Lebanon, Fayetteville (Ark.), DeSmet, Glendale.
Losses: St. Joe Lafayette, Confluence, Harrison (Ark.)
Seen in Person? Yes, multiple times.

SCOUTING REPORT: There are a lot of things to really like about the Nixa program: they are well coached, are incredibly well-versed in the fundamentals and the little things. And traditionally, they are tough, setting hard screens, playing tough defense, working opponents over in the paint.

This team is a little different with long and lanky kids, and a freshman, in the starting line-up, they aren’t going to physically dominate teams with power and strength.

The thing we love about the Eagles is they have kids who buy in and wait their turn. It’s darn impressive in the me-first and instant gratification society. They have several seniors who waited for their time as a varsity contributor and who saw limited varsity action and even played a lot of JV ball as juniors.

(1, Gold) Ozark Tigers (6-1)
Wins: Belton, Rolla, Rogersville, Central, Rogersville, Kickapoo
Losses: Blue Valley Northwest (Kan.)
Seen in Person? Yes, multiple times

SCOUTING REPORT: In a year in which there is a crowded field at the top of the heap, the Tigers could very well be the area’s premier team and have overcome the loss of 2018 point guard Curt Gracey who was lost prior to the season to injury. The team shares the ball exceptionally well, shoots from the outside exceptionally well, and really moves well without the ball in its motion offense.

Ozark has several talented individual players, led perhaps by Quinn Nelson and Payton Nichols, the later of whom has come on strong as a senior.

Ozark has played a good schedule through the early stages of the season and its only loss came to Blue Valley Northwest, one of the premier large school teams in Kansas. They are coming off a hard-fought win at the buzzer over Kickapoo, as well as a terrific win over Parkview on Dec. 12.

The Tigers aren’t an unbeatable juggernaut, they will have to play well to win this year’s Blue and Gold, but they are a favorite to do so.

(4, Gold) Republic Tigers (5-2)
Wins: Springdale (Ark.), Forsyth, Parkview, Central, Bolivar
Losses: Rogersville, Rolla.
Seen in Person? Yes, multiple times.

SCOUTING REPORT: Trevyor Fisher is back at it at Republic, taking a team that had just one full time returning varsity player and pulling up a host of varsity newcomers and making it all work. Things start at Republic at the defensive end where they play tough, no nonsense defense and make opponents work for everything they get. At the offensive end, a lot of stuff runs through 2019 guard/forward Broc Smith, but other players are stepping up this season and earning their strips. Look for 2020 forward Tucker Thomas, who is a terrific two-way player, and Trent Rackley, an up-and-coming guard, to play key roles.

Republic enters the field having won four straight, including a win over Parkview.

(3, Gold) Rogersville Wildacats (5-3)
Wins: Siloam Springs (Ark.), Republic, Walnut Grove, West Plains, Hillcrest
Losses: Rolla, Ozark, Ozark.
Seen in Person? Yes, multiple times.

SCOUTING REPORT: Rogersville has an impressive win on its resume over COC rival Republic, and its losses are nothing to be ashamed of — Ozark twice and Rolla, the latter of which is one of the better teams in the Ozark Conference.

Rogersville has a lot of good individual parts with good, solid point guard play in 2018 Andrew Scott, as well as a talented front line that includes 6’5 2019 Luke Vandersnick and 6’5 2019 Ryker Strong.

(8, Blue) Stockton Tigers (7-1)
Wins: Warsaw, College Heights, Jasper, Osceola, Butler, El Dorado Sorings, Monett.
Losses: Lockwood
Seen in Person? No.

SCOUTING REPORT: We’re really not familiar with the Stockton team. I guess we’ll all find out what they’ve got together on Tuesday. …

(3, Blue) Strafford Indians (6-2)
Wins: Berryville (Ark.), Reeds Spring, Hollister, Bolivar, Conway, Omaha (Ark.).
Losses: Forsyth, Mountain Grove.

Seen in Person? Yes, multiple times.

SCOUTING REPORT: Strafford is coming into its own under head Mike Wilson this season and have one of the area’s most underrated shooters in Weston Boswell, and most underrated individual players in 2019 Riley Oberbeck and 2020 guard Mason Foley. Strafford is light on seniors, but has a lot of good up-and-coming players and are still getting their footing at the varsity level.

(7, Gold) Willard Tigers (2-5)
Wins: Fort Scott (Kan.), Hillcrest
Losses: Harrison (Ark.), Bentonville West (Ark.), Parkview, Jefferson City, Kirkwood.
Seen in Person? Yes.

SCOUTING REPORT: Team has been all over the map through the early stages of the 2017-18 season under new head coach Daniel Cutburth. They have had some success and won games over Fort Scott (Kan.) and Hillcrest in convincing fashion, but they enter the Blue and Gold with a lot to prove as they are sporting a No. 7 seed and a 2-5 record, things that don’t seem like they should go together.

Individually, this Tiger team has some talent with solid guard play in Isaiah Davis and Kobe Holloman and one of the area’s top up-and-coming players in 2020 forward Daniel Abreu.

Unseeded Blue and Gold Teams
(Blue) Ava Bears (3-5)
(Gold) Aurora Houn’ Dawgs (3-4)
(Gold) Bolivar Liberators (2-5)
(Blue) Branson Pirates (2-4)
(Blue) Buffalo Bison (3-5)
(Blue) Camdenton Lakers (1-6)
(Gold) Crane Pirates (3-6)
(Gold) Greenwood Blue Jays (2-5)
(Gold) Hillcrest Hornets (2-5)
(Gold) Hollister Tigers (4-4)
(Blue) Lebanon Yellowjackets (2-4):
(Blue) Reeds Spring Wolves (2-5)
(Blue) Skyline Tigers (5-3)
(Gold) Spokane Owls (6-2)
(Gold) West Plains Zizzers (3-4)
(Blue) Willow Springs Bears (3-6)