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Southwest Missouri teams to watch for this season

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Razzy417

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Jan 24, 2007
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So who will be good this year in SWMO? Who will be better or worse? I'll name some teams...

Strafford - Yes they lost four seniors but they will still be plenty good, may take them a bit to gel as they work in new players. Logan Jones younger sister could make an impact as a freshman. Walker and Mullings should step up big time to go with Compton. But honestly their title run probably ends.

Eldo Springs - Schaaf and Mays will be a junior and sophomore respectively, they scored nearly 40 ppg between them last year, will be even better this yr, but strength of schedule is an issue.

Mt Vernon - Stokes is one of the top 5 guards in SWMO, this team is well coached and should once again be good, and probably better than last season. Johnston can play as well.

Nixa - They played all summer long and look improved over last season. Talent is never the question, chemistry is.

Kickapoo - Still huge, and if healthy, will be a factor in Class 5, arguably the most likely Class 5 team from SWMO to make the FF. No disputing the talent and athleticism of Fontleroy and Green, plenty of other big, athletic talented players. Guard play will be the key, along with keeping the best players on the court long enough to develop cohesiveness and chemistry.

Republic - Flood is one of the best coaches around, always gets the most out of his teams. Fronabarger isn't playing any more due to her second ACL tear, a huge loss, but Bekemeier is already one of the best players in the area and will only be a sophomore. They will be a factor as always. Can they beat 'poo?

Ozark - They lose 3 seniors who will all play college ball, but return Drury recruit Hitt who will try to mesh with some talented juniors. Will be solid but probably taking a step back from last season.

Blue Eye - They lose Patton but return the Arnold twins who are in the best shape of anyone around. Still may be a tough road to make the FF again

Miller - They are due for a FF run these next two seasons with their talented juniors but can they get there? They have a talented move in that can help.

Skyline - If they are Class 2 again, legit FF contender. Always mentally tough and attack the rim like no other team around. They just get after it and won't have it any other way. Quennoz and Barb are very talented players. They have others nearly as good as them.

Lebanon - They lose their leading scorer but McCowan is an up and coming sophomore, one of the best pure athletes in the area. She will get help from Alexander and others, but may not be enough depth here to compete in Class 5.

Clever - 4 good juniors including a move in, they lose Clevenger which is huge. How good they do depends on how they do the "little things" - rebound, play defense, and overall team chemistry and mental approach will be the key. Also some good freshman that could help right away.

Sparta - Humble was one of the best freshman in the area, scored 20 ppg and is strong. May not have enough size or defensive acumen to get past the other Class 2 teams.

Parkview - They pick up Pittman from Central, giving them a much needed post and a very good freshman PG fills a need to go with Ouck and Whalen, two talented seniors. They will be improved after a poor showing last season.

Rolla - If they are Class 4 again, a legit FF contender. Campbell, Libhart and Corley make up a trio of talented juniors but they have plenty of other talent coming up from JV.

West Plains - If not Rolla in Class 4, then these guys... Judd has grown and will be one of the best 2022 players around, Brunson is a two time all state senior. They lost 3 senior starters and rarely played their bench but from what I saw this summer, they have plenty of talent to plug in and not miss much of a beat. Womack is another great coach. The Rolla vs West Plains game or games this season should be lit.

Carl Junction - They lose Katie Scott and obviously won't be as good again. They were undefeated and headed to the FF before MSHSAA pulled the plug, a terrible ending to a dream season. They still may be the best girls team from the Joplin area as they have some very good underclassmen coming back.

Willard - They improved as the season went along last season and return plenty of talent. Have all the pieces to have a really good season. Should be better this time around and they have good depth and balance on their roster.

Licking - Losing Holland is a blow, hard to replace someone of her talent and so they take a step back. Need to find some good guard play.

Waynesville - Evans is going D1 and incoming freshman Hurd already looks and plays like a varsity player. Those two will be two of the best in the area, but depth could be an issue. If they can plug in some good role players to go with those two, they can make some noise. Irregardless they will be improved from last season.

St James isn't technically SWMO but they have a great girls program and the incoming freshman class is loaded. If not this year, they have the potential to make the FF sometime soon.

Crane - Has a lot of young talent and they will be improved this season.

Mansfield - They may be a bit under the radar but they have a lot of talented players and could surprise people this season in Class 2.

Walnut Grove - Another year, another Class 1 title. Enough said.
 
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I'm curious to see where everyone lands with the new classifications. That may shake some things up quite a bit. Marshfield has a really good group of freshman that may see a lot of varsity action. They will be a team to keep an eye on in the next couple years. I don't know that they will be ready to make a lot of noise this year though. Richland is another smaller school to keep an eye on. Cole and Moss are a tough duo in the smaller classes.
 
Yes, Marshfield has Cromer, Peck and Crawford back and the good group of freshman. The question is whether their coach will play the better players or play the older players. Based on past history, the latter has been the case, but if the freshman really show out then that will force the coach's hand and she should play them over some of the older players.
 
Thanks Razzy for firing the board up again, its been awhile. I can't argue with much that you said either nice post!
Kickapoo loaded with talent as usual we shall see how they mesh. Huge if stay healthy
Rolla lost two bigs from last years team but their Junior class is loaded with talent.
West plains has two nice players and their zone is tough to beat.
Nixa looked good this summer but I believe they need to hit shots because they do not have much of a post game.
Blue eye, Skyline, and Miller all looked very good over the summer. Played good competition to prepare for the season as well.
I agree St. James will be improved and pretty tough. Will there be a Clever / St. James game again this year or was that a one time thing?
Licking's front line will be big and they will still be pretty good.
Strafford goes as far as Compton goes. She is a play maker and makes everyone better. Who knows on title runs everyone thought it was over last year? They seem to reload.
Central has a big scorer and two bigs (Unless Pittman was one of those?) might be a tough out as well this year.
 
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Pittman was the bigger of the two bigs for Central.

So did Green end up staying at Kickapoo after all?

My bet is Marshfield will play who needs to be played.
 
basket_ball said:
Thanks Razzy for firing the board up again, its been awhile. I can't argue with much that you said either nice post!
Kickapoo loaded with talent as usual we shall see how they mesh. Huge if stay healthy
Rolla lost two bigs from last years team but their Junior class is loaded with talent.
West plains has two nice players and their zone is tough to beat.
Nixa looked good this summer but I believe they need to hit shots because they do not have much of a post game.
Blue eye, Skyline, and Miller all looked very good over the summer. Played good competition to prepare for the season as well.
I agree St. James will be improved and pretty tough. Will there be a Clever / St. James game again this year or was that a one time thing?
Licking's front line will be big and they will still be pretty good.
Strafford goes as far as Compton goes. She is a play maker and makes everyone better. Who knows on title runs everyone thought it was over last year? They seem to reload.
Central has a big scorer and two bigs (Unless Pittman was one of those?) might be a tough out as well this year.
Click to expand...

The Clever-St James game was a situation where both teams needed a game so they hooked up. Not sure if they will play or not this year.

Pittman transferred to Parkview. There were some things that happened at the end of last season which led to that.

Green is staying at Poo. They can mesh if they would keep the best players on the court together for a prolonged period instead of subbing every 27 seconds.

Nixa has had the personnel (and still do) and depth to play a frenetic trapping/pressing style leading to layups off of turnovers to make up for their lack of size/post game and lack of consistent perimeter shooting but so far they haven't done it.

Another team worth mentioning is Ash Grove. Moad is a junior and getting D1 offers, one of at least four or five 2022 players in SWMO that are bona fide D1 candidates. They have a lot of other players returning as well.

A lot of team's fortunes will obviously depend on what class they end up in with MSHSAA going to 6 classes for basketball.

And yeah my goal was to gin up interest and help keep this place in business lol
 
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So how does one transfer because something happened last year?
If a student lives in one district and chose to attend anther school, can they go back because they live in the other district? Just wondering how that works in places like Springfield were they can go where the want to start high school?
 
I'm not entirely sure... Someone else might know better than I do. But my understanding is that while Springfield has open enrollment, in order to play sports at a given school, you have to live in that district. That's a MSHSAA rule which overrides the open enrollment allowance that Springfield has. I could be completely wrong on that, but I will say that when Tyem Freeman transferred from Hillcrest to Parkview, I seem to recall an article stating that they had moved into the Parkview district.

So in the case of Pittman, they likely moved into the Parkview district.

But again, someone can correct me if what I wrote isn't the case in Springfield.
 
Razzy417 said:
I'm not entirely sure... Someone else might know better than I do. But my understanding is that while Springfield has open enrollment, in order to play sports at a given school, you have to live in that district. That's a MSHSAA rule which overrides the open enrollment allowance that Springfield has. I could be completely wrong on that, but I will say that when Tyem Freeman transferred from Hillcrest to Parkview, I seem to recall an article stating that they had moved into the Parkview district.

So in the case of Pittman, they likely moved into the Parkview district.

But again, someone can correct me if what I wrote isn't the case in Springfield.
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You can play at any school after middle school as long as the school, if out of your district, is not deemed “full.”
You must file a transfer request before HS. If you want to change while in high school, SPS will allow a one-time full family move. In other words, no changing schools and playing varsity sports for a calendar year unless your entire family moves.
 
Baldoldman said:
You can play at any school after middle school as long as the school, if out of your district, is not deemed “full.”
You must file a transfer request before HS. If you want to change while in high school, SPS will allow a one-time full family move. In other words, no changing schools and playing varsity sports for a calendar year unless your entire family moves.
Click to expand...

Okay so in the case of Pittman, and Tyem Freeman before that as well as Brazile, they had to move into the respective districts to be eligible, it sounds like. Or maybe they already did in live the districts but had been transfer students previously. Thanks for the clarification.
 
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Razzy417 said:
The Clever-St James game was a situation where both teams needed a game so they hooked up. Not sure if they will play or not this year.

Pittman transferred to Parkview. There were some things that happened at the end of last season which led to that.

Green is staying at Poo. They can mesh if they would keep the best players on the court together for a prolonged period instead of subbing every 27 seconds.

Nixa has had the personnel (and still do) and depth to play a frenetic trapping/pressing style leading to layups off of turnovers to make up for their lack of size/post game and lack of consistent perimeter shooting but so far they haven't done it.

Another team worth mentioning is Ash Grove. Moad is a junior and getting D1 offers, one of at least four or five 2022 players in SWMO that are bona fide D1 candidates. They have a lot of other players returning as well.

A lot of team's fortunes will obviously depend on what class they end up in with MSHSAA going to 6 classes for basketball.

And yeah my goal was to gin up interest and help keep this place in business lol
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St. James playa Nixa this year, picked them up again and I’m excited! St. James lost to them a few years ago then beat them at Nixa the next year not too long ago. Clever is not on the schedule.
 
Nixa / St. James game is a good pick up for St. James. Help prepare them for post season competition. Should be a fun one to watch.
 
Despite the school size difference, I wouldn't be surprised at all if St. James wins that game. Where do they play at? Hopefully Nixa so I can go watch...
 
Correction: Pittman in fact did not transfer to Parkview. She’s still at Central
 
well that boosts Central and hurts what I thought Parkview would be able to be this year. Will probably mean Parkview will rely much more on frosh for minutes.
 
Parkview really struggled last year. If they don’t have help from underclassmen may be another struggle. 2 solid players but it sure dropped off that that.
 
Miller jumped up to a 150 enrollment assuring they will go up to 3A. Skyline jumped up as well. Them and Sparta will both be 3A. Just about every good 2A school last year will be 3A this year. East Buchanan, Tipton, Ash Grove, Thayer, Adrian, Hartville, Mansfield,
 
Ftballfan16 said:
Miller jumped up to a 150 enrollment assuring they will go up to 3A. Skyline jumped up as well. Them and Sparta will both be 3A. Just about every good 2A school last year will be 3A this year. East Buchanan, Tipton, Ash Grove, Thayer, Adrian, Hartville, Mansfield,
Click to expand...
Does that leave Blue Eye at the top of Class 2?
 
Blue Eye, Richland, New Covenant are probably the top class 2 teams in the area as long as New Co drops. Maybe Newburg would be in that conversation as well, but I don't know if they lost or gained from last year. Leeton looks to be right on the line of class 1 and 2 and they will be really tough in the upcoming years whichever class they land in.
 
Newburg returns everyone I think and they knocked out Richland last year. Should be a good battle between them again this year.
 
Blue eye will be a handful for anyone at that size! Miller and Skyline are also very good just not sure on what class they will all end up being?
 
I think Newburg did struggle.(not a lot of commitment from players) I think only one played travel ball? However I will say most thought Richland would beat them last year and that was not the case. Newburg has some pieces but not much of a bench if any. I think they do add another freshman that has been pretty decent. Not probably a FF team but could give Richland problems again. Guess it all depends on classes as well.
 
Depending on what classes all these teams end up in, there will surely be some loaded and weak classes in SWMO girls basketball. Class 4 last yr in this area was fairly weak after Rolla, West Plains and Carl Junction. Class 3 wasn't super strong either. But I thought Class 2 was pretty loaded last yr with Miller, Blue Eye, Skyline, etc

So if all the above is true, Class 3 might be loaded this yr in SWMO. Especially if schools like Strafford, Clever, Mt Vernon, Eldo Springs, etc are not bumped up to Class 4.
 
Razzy417 said:
Depending on what classes all these teams end up in, there will surely be some loaded and weak classes in SWMO girls basketball. Class 4 last yr in this area was fairly weak after Rolla, West Plains and Carl Junction. Class 3 wasn't super strong either. But I thought Class 2 was pretty loaded last yr with Miller, Blue Eye, Skyline, etc

So if all the above is true, Class 3 might be loaded this yr in SWMO. Especially if schools like Strafford, Clever, Mt Vernon, Eldo Springs, etc are not bumped up to Class 4.
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They are all going to class 4. Cutoff will be around 240. All the above mentioned school are 255 or above. With COVID though who knows. Some schools may not have a season.
 
Ftballfan16 said:
They are all going to class 4. Cutoff will be around 240. All the above mentioned school are 255 or above. With COVID though who knows. Some schools may not have a season.
Click to expand...

What is the upper cutoff for Class 4? Like at what enrollment approximately does Class 5 start?
 
This is info someone else posted I just copied it down. They said last year if we would have had 6 classes this would have been the cut off.

1: 91 schools, 12-78 enrollment
2:98 schools, 79-142 enrollment
3: 98 Schools, 142-239 enrollment
4: 97 Schools, 242-491 enrollment
5: 78 Schools, 491-992 enrollment
6: 70 Schools, 993-1855 Enrollment
 
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Thanks. Incarnate Word's listed enrollment is 466, so just based on that, they would stay at Class 4, but since they obviously are a private school that recruits, I'm wondering if they get bumped up to Class 5 at least.
 
Razzy417 said:
Thanks. Incarnate Word's listed enrollment is 466, so just based on that, they would stay at Class 4, but since they obviously are a private school that recruits, I'm wondering if they get bumped up to Class 5 at least.
Click to expand...
With the championship factor my guess is they will be class 6.
 
Even with the injury, Nixa will have plenty of talent. It will come down to coaching
 
Given that development, and with the personnel and depth they have, Nixa should be pressing the hell out of teams this season, and I've heard from a very good source that this is in the cards for them.
 
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