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As the end of the 2022-23 basketball season arrived Saturday with Kickapoo boys and Carl Junction girls playing for a state championship, I wanted to give some thoughts on this season and what it has meant to me and some final thoughts.
First and foremost, I want to thank every single one of my subscribers for supporting me with what I do. While I am still not to the point of where I want to be and able to do this full time, I really want to extend my deepest gratitude to allow me to start making a living out of talking about sports. For that in the words of Lou Gherig, I am the luckiest man in the world. I know that some of you will enjoy what I write and some won’t alway like what I have to say but I will never write something that I don’t believe in for likes or subs or attention. I have learned that the hard way this year a few different times.
Secondly, I want to thank the players. I have not been to a single game in three years where I felt like I wasn’t welcome from the players. (Parents on the other hand, I felt my presence wasn’t wanted at Clever a few times) Ultimately, I do not do this for my own glory or for the parents, I do everything for the players and the relationships I form with student athletes across SWMO is SPECIAL and I will always cherish getting to know you guys. I always say that this is a thankless job but my favorite thanks is having former athletes I have covered come and say hi after they have graduated. It is always sad seeing another group of seniors go on to other things but I am equally as excited to see what is next for them!
As we start the transition from Basketball to Baseball and Softball, I just want to state that this has been one of the more special seasons I have covered. Starting with the relationships I have developed and I want to give a special shoutout to the community of Miller and ELDO that I have gotten to know so well over the last couple years. I was not at as many games as I was the last two years, going from about 250 last year to 199 this season, I still got the chance to see 75 of the 124 schools in our coverage areas and 168 individual teams throughout this season. Whether it was sickness that kicked my butt all year long or spending a night to be with my wife as we look forward to welcome our first child into the world in May (Look out for Ravan Elizabeth Akins Class of 2041) but there wasn’t a night where there wasn’t a game I wanted to be at. With all of this being said, Let’s talk about what made this year special.
SWMO DOMINATED Class 3 Girls
The first thing that made this year special was just how good the area was in Class 3 girls. You couldn’t hardly walk into a gym without seeing a state ranked squad. Fair Grove proved to be the cream of the crop after finishing 28-4 and a 54-52 win over ELDO gave them their first state title. Lets also mention they had to beat FIVE STATE RANKED LOCAL SCHOOLS in a row en route to that title. ELDO had yet another special year with another Mays/Schaaf duo but was more balanced than they really got credit for and ended with a runner up. Lets not forget the loaded Mid-Lakes conference Fair Grove, Skyline and Strafford were all state ranked all year. Add in Sparta to the mix and you really didn’t have to go more than 45 minutes outside Springfield city center to see elite level ball. Out east the likes of Logan and Lauren Jones for Mansfield and Abbie Sullins and Hannah Medlock with Licking just added to the dominance. In all reality, I believe that the top seven class 3 girls teams resided in SWMO and that is depth we may not see again for a long time.
Small is Big
I have never been shy about perhaps favoring the little guys. Small schools that is. Being a Clever alum that always felt overshadowed by bigger schools despite consistently beating them, I always made it a goal to give the small schools some love that they usually don’t get from other outlets. This year, I didn’t have to do any campaigning for the small schools to get attention. Sparta boys became an area favorite in the blue and gold, knocking off perennial powers Ozark and Bolivar. 15 squads from SWMO made a quarterfinal in classes 1-3. On the boys side, Thomas Jefferson, Weaubleau, Marionville and Sparta were all one step away from reaching the Final Four. Thayer and Hartville each advanced to the final four and finished 3rd and 4th respectively with Hartville losing to eventual champions Salisbury. The girls list was even longer with Mansfield, Miller, Fordland, and Mack’s Creek falling in the semifinal round with Chadwick (Runner Up), Norwood (4th), Skyline (3rd), ELDO (Runner Up), and Fair Grove (Champions) ending their season at the pinnacle of Missouri High School Basketball. Other teams such as Mansfield, Golden City, Strafford and countless other small schools competed with and even came out on top against all of the best SWMO has to offer against bigger schools. It was a great year for the ultimate underdogs and it was a ton of fun to watch.
Fantastic group of seniors
The group of seniors in the area this year was unmatched on the court and off. Some of my favorite athletes I have ever covered. I mean I could run down the list of great basketball players such as Kael Combs, Sterling Vinson, Brayden Shorter, Trae Oetting, Josh Reeves, Ahlante Askew, Kyle Pock, AK Rael, Kaemyn Bekemeier, Destiny Buerge, Norah Clark, and Kam Green among plenty others but it was the relationships that I formed with with some of the other lesser known seniors that I will miss more. The JD Tate, Marlie Wright, Ryder Blevins, Tom Emerick, Macie Mays, Logan and Lauren Jones, Wil Carlton, and yes my man Jay Baxter’s of the area is what truly made this year unforgettable.
Blue and Gold and TOC Remains Undefeated
Tournament season is my favorite season. Fortunately for me tournament season starts at the very beginning of the year and runs through the Tournament of Champions in mid-January. The TOC, Blue and Gold, and the Walnut Grove Holiday Classic are among my favorite tournaments on the schedule along with Verona’s Tip Off Classic and Bolivar. This year was chock full of storylines from Sparta’s magical run knocking off Ozark and Bolivar and nearly beating Republic to win it all in their grand return to the Blue and Gold field. On the other side Nixa put on a historic shooting performance including 17 threes in their opening round dismantlement of my Clever Bluejays en route to a tournament championship.
Fast forward to January the ToC didn’t disappoint yet again with second year program Link Academy hoisting the trophy behind a balanced attack that featured TWELVE high major players. However, the coolest part of this year’s tournament was the presence of 10 time NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony for all three days of action to watch his son Kiyan play for Christ the King. We also got a preview of the Class 6 state championship game between Staley and Kickapoo before postseason play. This was the most talent rich tournament ever with over 40 players signed or committed to play Power-5 ball in the coming years. What a tournament season we had this year and we can only hope that next year lives up to the hype.
Same Thing Next Year
As my third season covering high school basketball comes to a close, I want to once again say how honored I am that you allow me to live out a dream talking about a kids game. I am extremely grateful for all of the relationships I formed this year and I hope at least somewhat enjoyed our content from the 2022-23 season and I am already excited for the 2023-24 season to begin in just 246 short days! I hope that you will join me for the upcoming baseball and softball coverage starting next week!