District Basketball Playoff Preview

The Missouri State High School Athletic Association basketball playoffs will get underway with the district playoffs starting on Monday.

The varsity teams, will be competing in District 5, which will be played at De Smet High in Creve Coeur.

Both the Wildcats and the Lady Wildcats were given the No. 2 seed in their respective district brackets, meaning the coaches who voted on the seedings believed both Hazelwood West squads had the second-best chance of the six teams involved of winning the district championship.

Here at Hazelwood Patch, we’d like to help fans of both teams get ready for districts by offering up our analysis and inside info for both the boys and girls District 5 playoffs.

The winners of District 5 will advance to the sectional round of the playoffs, next Wednesday, March 2, and will take on the District 6 winner at Meramec Community College in Kirkwood.

Here’s our inside look at Missouri Class 5 District 5:

Boys Playoffs

No. 1 seed – De Smet Spartans (20-5)

Top Players – Nolan Berry-Soph., 6’8, 19.1 ppg., 6.6 rebs., 58 blocked shots; Teddy Corwin-Sr., 6’5, 14.2 ppg., 7.9 rebs.; Chris Jacobs-Sr., 6’1, 10.5 ppg, 47 three-pointers.

Last 10 games – 7-3

Record vs. teams in district – didn’t play anyone in the district during the regular season.

Last time out – Berry had 31 points, Corwin 23 as the Spartans defeated Troy 82-79.

Strengths – Size inside. Spartans usually control the paint and dominate the boards with a frontline that features 6’8 Berry, 6’5 Corwin, 6’5 Mike Rehme, and 6’9 Eric Moeller.

Weaknesses – Spartans only have three quality ballhandlers, so they are susceptible to pressure and can sometimes nullify their own size advantage by making bad passes and turning the ball over.

No. 2 seed – Hazelwood West Wildcats (17-8)

Top Players – Darris Smith, Sr., 5’11, 17.2 ppg., 58 three-pointers, 88 steals; Landers Riddle, Sr., 10.6 ppg., Tyree Fleming, Sr., 5’11, 6.4 ppg., 61 steals.

Last 10 games – 6-4.

Record vs. teams in district – 5-1.

Last time out – Lost 67-51 at McCluer.

Strengths – Wildcats have quickness galore in the backcourt, which allows them to really rev up the pressure D on teams that don’t handle pressure very well.

Weaknesses – Lack of size inside. Teams that get the ball into the paint, can score on West, which play three undersized big men.

No. 3 seed – Parkway Central Colts (10-15)

Top Players – Zach Biggs, Jr., 6’6, 16.4 ppg., 10.1 rebs., Zach Carel, Jr., 6’0, 9.1 ppg., Elliot Rosen, Sr., 6’0, 7.0 ppg., 30 three-pointers.

Last 10 games – 3-7

Record vs. teams in district – 2-2

Last time out – Lost 62-35 to Webster Groves.

Strengths – Offensive rebounding. The Colts are very active on the glass, and give themselves numerous extra chances by rebounding their own misses.

Weaknesses –No clear cut leader at the point guard spot. Central doesn’t always get itself into an organized offense and sometimes finds itself struggling to get good shots.

No. 4 seed – Parkway North Vikings (13-12)

Top Players – Darrell Johnson, Jr., 6’8, 11.7 ppg., 7.7 rebs., 96 blocks; Dorian Hobbs, Sr., 6’0, 11.5 ppg., 48 steals; Donavin Newsome, Jr., 6’2, 10.4 ppg., 6.1 rebs.

Last 10 games – 4-6

Record vs. teams in district – 3-3

Last time out – Newsome had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Johnson had 14 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks in a 60-54 loss at University City.

Strengths – Athleticism and energy. Vikings are a live group that plays fast and tends to make opponents play faster than they would like.

Weaknesses – Decision making. With that fast-paced play, North often makes bad choices in both pass attempts and shot selection that really hurt young teams that don’t have any one dominant force on offense.

No. 5 seed – Pattonville Pirates (10-12)

Top Players – Dion Scott, Sr., 6’0, 11.4 ppg., Kevon Johnson, Sr., 6’2, 10.8 ppg., 8.6 rebs.

Last 10 games – 4-6

Record vs. teams in district – 2-2

Last time out – Lost 79-51 to No. 2-ranked Hazelwood Central.

Strengths – Tenacity. The Pirates aren’t afraid of anyone, and go into every game looking for an opportunity to make a name for themselves.

Weaknesses – Size. Pattonville is quite small compared to the other teams in this district, with only one player 6’5 or bigger.

No. 6 seed – Ritenour Huskies (3-20)

Top Players – Christopher Moorehead, Sr., 6’5, 11.0 ppg., 7.8 rebs., Antoine McBee, Sr., 6’4, 8.0 ppg., 8.4 rebs.

Last 10 games – 1-9

Record vs. teams in district – 0-4

Last time out – Lost 90-41 to No. 5-ranked McCluer North.

Strengths – Rebounding. The Huskies have two solid glass-cleaners inside in Moorehead and McBee. Those two make it difficult for any Ritenour opponent to get consistent second shots at the basket.

Weaknesses – Perimeter shooting. Ritenour has been atrocious shooting the ball this season. The Huskies just haven’t been able to find anyone that can replace the 20 points a game two-time all-conference guard Corey Allen put up in ’09 and ‘10.

Girls Playoffs

No. 1 seed – Incarnate Word Academy Red Knights (21-4)

Top Players – Brittany Carter, Sr., 5’11, 11.5 ppg., 78 steals, 32 three-pointers; Brianna Puni, Sr., 6’1, 11.4 ppg., 7.9 rebs.; Taylor Manuel, Jr., 6’3, 11.4 ppg.

Last 10 games – 9-1

Record vs. teams in district – didn’t play anyone in the district during the regular season.

Last time out – Mia Roth had 20 points, and McKenna Treece had 15 points and nine rebounds in a 68-32 win over Ursuline Academy.

Strengths – Post presence. The Red Knights have two dynamite inside players in Puni and Manuel who could potentially dominate every other team in this district.

Weaknesses – Free throw shooting. The defending state champs don’t have many weaknesses, but their foul shooting has been dismal compared to last year. IWA, usually a stalwart free throw shooting team, only has one really solid foul shooter in senior Rita Flynn.

No. 2 seed – Hazelwood West Lady Wildcats (14-9)

Top Players – Shakaunna Oliver-Futrell, Sr., 5’7, 17.1 ppg., 130 steals, 97 assists; Mia Williams, Jr., 5’6, 10.3 ppg., 38 three-pointers; Chanel Gwynn-Williams, Sr., 6’2, 5.5 ppg., 8.5 rebs., 93 blocks; Alexis Robinson, Soph., 6’1, 8.0 ppg., 8.0 rebs.

Last 10 games – 4-6

Record vs. teams in district – 3-1

Last time out – Oliver-Futrell had 20 points, eight assists, and eight steals, and Williams added 17 points in a 69-38 win over McCluer.

Strengths – Depth and quickness. The Lady Wildcats go 10 deep on their bench, so they can really run a bunch of different sets and looks at opponents with no real fear of a drop-off in play. Especially when they go to their full-court press, which has caused problems for opposing teams all season long.

Weaknesses –Frantic play leads to a lot of bad shots and bad passes. Hazelwood West will have to play a near-perfect game to knock off IWA should it reach the championship game.

No. 3 seed – Pattonville Lady Pirates (14-8)

Top Players – Mikala McGhee, Jr., 6’0, 17.6 ppg., 10.5 rebs., 123 steals, 82 assists, 38 three-pointers; Paris Williams, Sr., 5’11, 12.1 ppg., 6.9 rebs., 68 steals.

Last 10 games – 6-4

Record vs. teams in district – 4-0

Last time out – Williams had 15 points, and McGhee added eight points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and four steals in a 61-45 loss to Hazelwood Central.

Strengths – Versatility. Pattonville can play any style and has a pair of playmakers, in McGhee and Williams, capable of pulling off an upset against anyone.

Weaknesses – Bulk inside. The Lady Pirates don’t have any mass inside and can sometimes get pushed around against bigger opponents like IWA and Hazelwood West.

No. 4 seed – Parkway Central Colts (10-15)

Top Players – Alison Magruder, Sr., 5’7, 12.8 ppg., 69 steals, 40 assists; Chelsy Gibson, Soph., 5’8, 8.3 ppg., 8.3 rebs.; Zoe Wallis, Fr., 6’3, 7.1 ppg., 7.0 rebs., 84 blocks.

Last 10 games – 3-7

Record vs. teams in district – 0-5

Last time out – Christine Bergesch had 12 points and 16 rebounds in a 40-33 loss to Webster Groves.

Strengths – Defense. The Colts held a number of the top teams in the area below their scoring averages when they played them this season. Despite its losing record, which is more reflective of Central’s youth than its ability, the Colts seem to have a strong understanding of what kind of defense a team needs to play to win ballgames.

Weaknesses – Scoring. Other than Magruder, Central doesn’t have any consistent scoring in its lineup. Hard to win games when you can’t put points on the board.

No. 5 seed – Parkway North (14-11)

Top Players – Amber Alexander, Soph., 5’10, 16.9 ppg., 113 steals, 99 assists, 33 three-pointers; Alexis Templeton, Jr., 5’7, 6.8 ppg., 27 three-pointers.

Last 10 games – 7-3

Record vs. teams in district – 3-3

Last time out – Alexander had 23 points and six steals, and Templeton added 16 points in a 57-36 win over University City.

Strengths – Perimeter defense. The Vikings have several standout perimeter defenders, led by the sophomore Alexander. Unfortunately, lack of size inside has forced North to play several kids out of position.

Weaknesses – Shooting. North doesn’t have a single player shooting better than 40 percent from the floor. It’s hard to win basketball games, if you can’t make jumpshots.

No. 6 seed – Ritenour (12-12)

Top Players – Alexis Minner, Sr., 17.2 ppg., 113 assists; Des’ree Wallace, Sr., 9.0 ppg., 8.9 rebs.; Donshel Beck, Sr., 8.5 ppg., 8.7 rebs.

Last 10 games – 4-6

Record vs. teams in district – 0-2

Last time out – Minner had 20 points, six assists, and four steals in a 46-41 loss to McCluer North.

Strengths – Minner. A primetime scorer and playmaker, Minner gives the Huskies a chance in every game.

Weaknesses – Three-point shooting. Ritenour only made 45 three’s on nearly 200 attempts this season. The Huskies have to shoot the three-ball better to have any chance to compete in this very tough district.

District Schedule (all games at De Smet High)

Boys: Feb. 21 Parkway North vs. Pattonville  5:30 p.m.

                       Parkway Central vs. Ritenour    7 p.m.

Girls: Feb. 22 Parkway North vs. Ritenour  5:30 p.m.

                        Parkway Central vs. Pattonville  7 p.m.

Boys: Feb. 23 De Smet vs. PN/Patt winner  5:30 p.m.

                        Hazelwood West vs. PC/Rit winner 7 p.m.

Girls: Feb. 24 Incarnate Word vs. PN/Rit winner  5:30 p.m.

                        Hazelwood West vs. PC/Patt winner  7 p.m.

Championship games

Girls: Feb. 26  Semifinal winners   1 p.m.

Boys: Feb. 26  Semifinal winners   4 p.m.