2013-14 High School Basketball Preview
Belleville Althoff Last year, the Belleville Althoff Crusaders (15-15) bounced back from being second to last in the South Seven and losing in the regional semifinal to being tied for third (5-5) and losing to eventual No. 2 Cahokia in the Class 3A regional finals. “The conference is really strong this year,” said coach Greg Leib. “It will be a battle every night you step out there, so we hope we’ll be better.” Leib lost two starters in wing guard Ryan Marcum and center Erik Furmanek, but returns three in senior first-team all-conference point guard Kevin Renner and two sophomores, Brendon Gooch, who led the team in rebounding, and second-team all-conference combo guard Keenen Young. Eric Mertens, Erik Krause and Rick Edwards will battle it out for the post position. Coach: Greg Leib Seniors: KEVIN RENNER, 6-0, g; Eric Mertens, 6-4, f; Dennis Jackson, 5-10, g; Erik Krause, 6-7, f. Juniors: Rick Edwards, 6-4, f. Sophomores: BRENDON GOOCH, 6-5, f; KEENEN YOUNG, 6-2, g. Freshmen: Jordan Goodwin, 6-3, g/f.
Cahokia The Cahokia Comanches (35-3) are coming off an excellent season, advancing to the Class 3A championship game after winning their second straight South Seven Conference champi-
Boys: South Seven Conference onship (9-1). Coach Darian Nash lost two starters in All-State guard Keenan Minor and all-conference center Vincent Jackson, and his sixth man, all-conference guard Derenzo Jennings. “It’s going to be hard to replace those guys, but I think we have some guys that will step up and play a big role, so we’ll be very competitive,” Nash said. “The returning guys show a lot of fight and I look forward to this year.” Nash has three senior starters back in 6-foot-7 guard/forward Darius Austin, 6-5 point guard Carlton Rivers Jr. and 6-4 power forward Gary Hickman. Junior 6-9 center DeVonte Williams is in the mix to replace Jackson. Coach: Darian Nash Seniors: DARIUS AUSTIN, 6-7, g/f; CARLETON RIVERS, JR., 6-5, g; GARY HICKMAN, 6-4, f. Juniors: Tramon Jackson, 6-5, g/f; DeVonte Williams, 6-9, c; Montez Crumble, 5-11, g.
Carbondale Last year, the Carbondale Terriers improved from 7-21 to finish with a 19-10 record and a regional title. The Terriers improved to fifth in the conference (4-6). This year, coach Jim Miller returns all five starters with the hope his Terriers are ready to make a
serious run for conference for the first time since the 2006-07 season. “I think it’s within our grasp to compete for the conference,” Miller said. “What I like about this team is its versatility and chemistry and I think our depth is going to be pretty good. I think it could be a very exciting year.” Leading the list of returning starters are senior coMVPs, shooting guard Devontavius Payne and small forward Shamarc Bursey. “Devon led us in scoring last year and I think his presence will put a lot of pressure on defenses,” Miller said. “His game has evolved where it’s more than just a spot up shooter. Shamarc usually draws the best offensive performer to defend and he’s going to be a more integral part in our offense this year.” The other returning starters are senior wing guard/forward Elijah Bidinger, junior point guard Allen Billinger and junior center Jordan Kelly. Also back is senior center/forward Anthony Day. “Elijah has vastly improved over the course of the last eight months as far as his consistent perimeter game goes,” Miller said.
Go Wildcats
Ike Honda Marion, IL
618-997-4000
www.ikehonda.com Page 8 Friday, November 22, 2013 The Southern Illinoisan
“Allen has some gifts. He can shoot the ball, get to the basket, distribute the ball and defend. I thought Jordan made the most progress of anybody last year. He earned a starting spot by the middle of the year.” Coach: Jim Miller Seniors: DEVONTAVIUS PAYNE, 6-3, g; SHAMARC BURSEY, 5-11, f; ELIJAH BIDINGER, 6-1, g/f; Anthony Day, 6-3, c/f. Juniors: ALLEN BILLINGER, 6-0, g; JORDAN KELLY, 6-6, c.
Centralia The Centralia Orphans have either won or finished second in the South Seven Conference the last six seasons under coach Lee Bennett, including finishing second at state in 2010. Last year, the Orphans (21-9) finished second in the conference (6-4) for the second straight year before winning their fourth straight regional championship. “Like a lot of teams we have a lot back,” Bennett said. “We are going to be pretty balanced in scoring like last year. Night to night we’re going to have multiple players capable of being the scorer.” Bennett lost only three reserves and returns all five starters, including leading scorer, senior forward Jake Wood. He also has back two sophomores who played significant minutes as freshmen in guard D’Aaron Owens and forward/guard Tyriq Billberry. “We have seven guys coming back that played a lot and all may have started at times,” Bennett said. “Our last game of the year, we started on the front line Wood, Chase Alcorn and Jerod Simmons-Young. At one guard we had De’Ontre’ Cunningham and at the other we had Ryan Overmeier.”
Coach: Lee Bennett Seniors: JAKE WOOD, 6-1, f; CHASE ALCORN, 63, f; JEROD SIMMONS-YOUNG, 6-1, f; DE’ONTRE’ CUNNINGHAM, 5-10, g. Juniors: RYAN OVERMEIER, 6-0, g. Sophomores: D’Aaron Owens, 5-7, g; Tyriq Billberry, 6-0, f/g.
Marion The first year of Shane Hawkins’ reign as the Marion Wildcats’ head coach was a rude awakening — a last-place finish in the South Seven (13-16, 1-9). “We had a good year, but we found out how good the conference is,” Hawkins said. “We spent a lot of time teaching fundamentals and laid the groundwork for what we want to do offensively and defensively and we made steps in the right direction. This year we need to be more consistent.” Hawkins has two starters returning with senior Brant Hill back at small forward and senior Carson Cash at power forward. In addition, senior Colton Carter, who played significant minutes, is also back at shooting guard. “We had a very productive summer and they are ready for the season to get started,” Hawkins said. In the mix to replace Malik Stuckey at point guard is junior Miguel Jackson. Robby Dosier, who transferred from Carbondale, is in the battle to replace Jawan Tucker at shooting guard. “Dosier shoots the ball well and will play a lot whether he starts or not,” Hawkins said. “R.J. Manfredo had a really good summer and we could play him at center (to replace Gabe Murphy) or we could go small and put Cash there to go a little more athletic.” Coach: Shane Hawkins Seniors: BRANT HILL, 6-3, f; CARSON CASH, 64 1/2, f; Colton Carter, 5-9, g; Nick Malone, 6-1, g; Chase Hughart, 6-1, f.
Juniors: Layne Alexander, 5-10, g; Trenton Dierkes, 5-11, f; Brandon Osborne, 6-2, f; Zach Nave, 5-10, g; Braden Reeves, 5-11, g; R.J. Manfredo, 6-3 1/2, f; Miguel Jackson, 5-6, g; Robby Dosier 6-3, g. Sophomores: Adam Newman, 5-11, g; Dylan Baxter, 6-1, f.
Mount Vernon The Mount Vernon Rams slipped last year, finishing with a 15-13 record after topping 20 wins the previous two seasons and dropping from second in the South Seven to a tie for third at 5-5. “We had a lot of tight games last year where we ended up on the short end,” said coach Scott Gamber. “We beat Cahokia and Centralia early to show we could play with anybody, but faded at the end.” Gamber has three players returning who either started or had major playing time. Senior Jake Pike moves from forward to take over for leading scorer Trevor Flota at shooting guard and senior Shakari Hawkins moves from forward/wing guard to replace Micheal Feezer at center. “We are a little more athletic this year, but we’re not very big, so we have to find a post presence,” Gamber said. “Dylan Reeves is athletic and I think he can give us a lot on the defensive end. Tyrez Moore has never play organized basketball before so he is a question mark.” Braden Fitzjerrels averaged nine points a game at shooting guard, but the sophomore will move to point guard to replace Jarron Liddell. “Scoring we have more weapons,” Gamber said. “Bryce Hunter can really shoot the ball. Luke Wilson is very scrappy and Gilwan Nelson has really grown over the summer.” Coach: Scott Gamber Seniors: JAKE PIKE, 6-0, g; SHAKARI HAWKINS, 6-2, c; Doug Gardner, 5-9, f; Tyrez Moore, 6-3, f/c. Juniors: Luke Wilson, 6-3, g/f; Shauntez Taylor 6-2, g; Gilwan Nelson, 6-1, g; Bryce Hunter, 5-10, g, Dylan Reeves, 6-2, c. Sophomores: BRADEN FITZJERRELS, 5-7, g; Blake Jones, 5-11, g. Freshmen: Jake Jines, 6-3, f/c.
— Geary Deniston